Bleeding Love

Tuesday, August 19;

Maybe this is what Leona Lewis pictures when she's singing that song..


"You cut me open and I, Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love, I keep bleeding, I keep, keep bleeding love, Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love. You cut me open."

Or maybe not...

I couldn't help thinking of that song this morning as I was watching everyone finishing today's workout. What a freaking nightmare. Literally! There was blood on the bars, bloody tape, bloody latex gloves, bloody kettlebells. I think the perfect word for it was carnage. Nasty, guts laden carnage... In a good way.

It takes a certain kind of person to rip their hand open while doing pullups but then hop right back on that bar and continue to complete your WOD. It's something I'm continually impressed with.

Since the shoulder is out of commission, I was not lucky enough to join in on all of this blood and guts. I would have loved to have had a token of my hard work to show off at work (I'm being serious). I was able to highlight a nice bruise I got from yesterday's ring dips, but that's nothing compared to a serious gash on the palm or a rip of the callous. How dissappointing. I hate missing out on all of this fun!

Check this one out.. and do it if you dare!

Warmup:
5 Rounds:
5 Burpees
10 Overhead Squats
15 Abmat Situps

Workout:
Complete for time:
36, 30, 24, 18, 12, 6 reps
Pullups (I subbed in ring rows)
Box Jumps
Kettlebell swings (started with 35lb went to 45lb)

Total time: 20:25

Biting the bullet (or "Going into the Tube")

Monday, August 11;

After a nasty shoulder workout and a few conversations with some concerned Crossfitters, I bit the bullet this morning. I called my doctor to schedule an MRI for my bum shoulder. I certainly had some interesting conversations with the receptionist with my doctor's receptionist as well as an interesting conversation with the guy who scheduled my MRI.

The receptionist told me that I'd be having a MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) with Arthrogram. That means that they will inject my shoulder with dye. The dye allows the doctors to seek any tears. They are looking for the dye to seep into places where it shouldn't be.

The deal is that they inject my shoulder, and then they stick me into a tube. I have to sit there without any sort of distraction (book, radio, television, someone to talk to) for about 45 minutes. That's its own sort of torture. They say that it's hit or miss if the injection will hurt or not. Some people say it actually relieves some pain. My thought is to prepare for pain, and then be happy when it doesn't hurt that badly.

The scan is scheduled for this Thursday. I was thrilled they could get me in so quickly. My shoulder doctor is out of town this week, so he should be able to look at the results when he returns next week. I will be out of town in Denver, so I expect that I'll be able to know more about the next steps once I return. At this point I am expecting to have some sort of surgery. I'm hoping it'll be fairly minor and I'll be able to return to some form of activity after a few weeks of recuperation.

Some of the questions they asked me over the phone:

Are you allergic to dye?

Do you have claustrophobia?

Do you have shrapnel in your body?

Pacemaker or any other device that regulates your heart?

I guess those are pretty normal questions... the claustrophobia just reminded me that I'd be stuck in a tube for a long time... alone. They didn't ask me if I hated being alone. Ahh.. the good ole' lock-key-kid syndrome rears it's ugly head. Someone hold my hand!

Workout:

lots of ladders

Right Arm Snatch 25lb (1, 2, 3,... 9, 10)

Left Arm Snatch 15lb (1, 2, 3,... 9, 10)

Right Arm Lunge 25lb (1, 2, 3,... 9, 10)

Left Arm Lunge 15lb (1, 2, 3,... 9, 10)

Dips (pink band) (1, 2, 3,... 9, 10)

800 meter run (AKA rest)

Right Arm Snatch 25lb (10, 9, 8,... 2, 1)
Left Arm Snatch 15lb (10, 9, 8,... 2, 1)
Right Arm Lunge 25lb (10, 9, 8,... 2, 1)

Left Arm Lunge 15lb (10, 9, 8,... 2, 1)
Dips (pink band) (10, 9, 8,... 2, 1)

38:29 (I actually don't remember what this time was, but I think this is it.)

Teaming up for Trouble

Saturday, August 10;

It was tough to get up this morning. I've been dragging ass for the past few weeks. I can't tell if it's from work, school and working out or if something else is wrong. It sucks having to drag myself out of bed. I've been trying to stick to the Zone and eat clean, because I thought that was a little bit of the problem. Who knows.. maybe I'm just getting old. Ugh!

After making it to workout, I always expect that I'll be able to rally the troops when I get to CFOT. Lately that hasn't been happening as easily either. I still get pretty sweaty and a good workout in. I'm happy with that, but I wish it was more of a killer workout, heavier, harder.. yada yada.

Today's WOD was a little group work. Usually on Sundays it's a pretty good bet that we'll be doing group work. That's fine with me, but it's hard to measure your own particular output. Each team had a deck of cars. Each card represented a particular movement. The number on the card represents the number of reps. Jokers are the worst.. 1st joker means 10 reps of all of the different exercises.

Workout:
Go through 3 decks of cards:
ringrows
renegade rows
KB high pulls (36lbs)
jumping slamballs (10lbs)

1st Joker: 10 reps of all 4 exercises
2nd Joker: Group 800 meter run

Very tired.. sleep now.

Welcome to the Painstorm

Thursday, August 7;

I walked around the corner this morning, and I knew it wouldn't be good when I heard Jerry say the word "Painstorm." That's never a good thing. Never. There were two options for today's workout either the prescribed Painstorm workout or another option that looked similar to it, but the weights weren't as heavy and the reps were a little higher.

I kept stalling before making the decision, but eventually decided to go with the Painstorm workout, but go light.

I did one round at lightning speed and then Jerry suggested doing reps of 10 instead of reps of 5 in order to get the same metabolic affect. I didn't think it would be a good idea to do high reps of push presses at 55lbs, but I knew I could do all of the other exercises at this weight. Wow, what a difference a few reps make!

Take a look at this ugly workout:



Workout:
5 rounds for time..
400 meter run
10 deadlifts
10 Hang Squat Cleans
5 Push presses (55lbs)
10 Front Squats

Total time: 27:21

I'll have video to post later of the Hang Squat Cleans. Ugh.

On another note, Jerry sent a note out to the website mentioning Fight Gone Bad III . I won't explain the FGB workout, but I will tell you a little bit about the purpose of it. It's a workout done by Crossfit affiliates around the nation/world. The workout also doubles as a fundraiser for prostate cancer research through Athletes for a Cure. Last year, CFOT raised several thousand dollars. I was able to contribute a significant amount of funds to this pot through fundraising. The event holds personal significance for me, because I lost my dad to prostate cancer 7 years ago.


My goal last year was to break a total score of 300 points. I came so close with 297.5. It was so dissappointing to have trained so hard and come so close to miss my goal by so little.

I was hoping that my shoulder would have been recovered by September, so I could take part in the workout as prescribed. Some recent setbacks in my recovery have forced me to realize that this will probably not happen. I know I could do most of the workout, but it's just not safe to push really hard in the pushpress (that's what really hurts my shoulder). I may have to test myself to see where I am with all of these exercises, but I'm pretty sure it's not smart to try to hit this workout as prescribed.
:(

This brings me to wonder what role I can play in a workout that means so much to me. Things to ponder.

Playing Catch Up

Tuesday, Aug. 5;

Sorry for being MIA for a few days! For those of you wondering, my new bed is still in my trunk. I've been a big old slacker this week. I've had some stuff going on that has just zapped me mentally, that has put a big old drain on me physically. I wasn't sleeping much last week or at the beginning of this week. This have evened out a bit (which is a good thing) and I have been able to relax. I'm slowly on my way back to getting some rest and becoming "normal" again.


I don't have much more to write about that, so I'll just list my workout and move on with my day.

Workup:
Clean practice: 15lb, 35lb, 55lb, 65lb

Workout:
5 rounds for time
12 Hang Power Clean (65lb)
24 Pushup (modified to knees)
48 Squat

Total time: 14:19


The time was great, but almost too fast. I can't figure how else I could have made this workout more difficult. I can't go much heavier for the cleans, because I'm nursing my shoulder. Maybe I could have pushed to do standard pushups, but the shoulder holds me back as well. I wonder what would happen if I wore a weight vest and did modified pushups. I could slowly go for heavier weight vests until I'm ready for standard pushups. The problem is that I know I can do the pushups, but after a bit they start to hurt my shoulder in a bad way (not a good muscle hurt). I want to take it easy and slowly work back up to a stronger, healthier shoulder. Maybe I'll just have to settle for a fast time and light weights. bummer.

You've Won a New Bed!!!!

Monday, August 4;

I guess it's a sign that I've been very religious about my diet?? Maybe, it's a sign that I spend too much money on food?? Maybe it just shows that I'm incredibly regimented?? Loyal?? I am not quiet sure what to make of it.. maybe you all can help me shift this little story out.

Last night I stopped by the grocery store after getting back from out of town. I needed to buy my usuals (string cheese, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, apples, cottage cheese, chicken, half & half, coffee...). I made the shopping trip pretty quick and then got into line. I had no idea what was getting ready to happen.

The lady rings me up. As usual I've spent more money than I'd like to, but I justify it because I eat a lot of food. That's okay, right? The lady tells me the total and then she looks at me like I've just won the lottery. In a really thick accent she says, "CONGRATULATIONS, You've just won a bed!!!"

I was a little tired, so I had no idea what she was talking about. I thought she was saying that I'd won a bag, like one of those environmentally friendly bags so I don't have to use plastic bags to carry my groceries. I said thank you, and then she pointed me over to the Customer Service desk. The manager on duty, who was reminding me of Bob Barker and the Price is Right. He looks at me with this big goofy smile and says, "CONGRATULATIONS, You've just won a bed!!!" I understood his accent, so I asked for some clarification. He explained that I had spent over $40 every week for the past 16 WEEKS. My prize was a huge aero bed like the one below.

It is now sitting in a box in my trunk, and I will bring it inside when I get a chance. I may actually sell it and get back some of the money I've spent at Harris Teeter over the past 4 months.

Oh God!

Workout:

Interval work:

1000 m row

21 light barbell thrusters 35lbs

21 ring rows

750 m row

18 light barbell thrusters 35lbs

15 ring rows

500 m row

12 light barbell thrusters 35lbs

9 ring rows

I'll post times to comments once Jerry puts them up.

What makes you strong?

Friday, August 1;

This is something that I've had on my mind recently. What is it that makes a person strong? I know a lot of people in my life who are strong in very different ways. My mom is strong because she raised my brother and I as a single mom working full time. My cousins are strong because they just lost their mom, but they still smile. One of our favorite coaches is strong because he moved with his family and opened up a small little business inside a Jui Jitsu studio.

The more I do Crossfit the more I realize that lifting heavy things isn't what makes you strong. I think it's having the will to go on even though your tired or out of breath. It's knowing when to stop because something hurts in a bad way. It's being there for others when they need it. It's knowing when to ask for help. It's knowing that you can do better next time. It's coming back eventhough last time sucked. Strong is putting one foot in front of the other when all you want to do is stop.

I see strength everyday at CFOT and in the people with which I surround myself. The strength is inspirational.