nothing more needs to be said!

Today, I was able to rope a co-worker into the workout and I think he’s secretly as deranged as I am. Andrew and I stopped in to CrossFit White Bear for today’s free workout. Oh and how much fun</sarcasm>, it was… actually, I love these workouts because they are exactly what I need.

Today’s Free WoD

500 M Row
then
Three Rounds of
10 Ring Rows
20 Walking Lunge (alternating legs)
30 Sit Ups

My Results

12:43

Now, I could blame yesterday’s results on the first early morning workout in quite a while. Today, the 7:00am class wasn’t available, so the 11:00am was the time for me and the early morning wasn’t a valid excuse. hmmmm, what else could I blame it on?? I’m sure I’ll think of something. Here I sit at the computer, my hamstrings are locking up and I feel an increasing amount of soreness oozing through my body… I thought I was a tough guy, so I started doing the walking lunges with a 45# plate overhead – I even did that same 45# plate on the second round. The third round, however, I thought my arms were going to fall off after the ring rows, so I just went body weight (which didn’t seem all that much easier, for some reason).

This was my first time playing with a row machine… wow! Thanks, Jaco, for starting off the workout with something that seemed to be pretty easy and turned out to totally wipe me out for the rest of it! And I actually mean that sincerely. Now, I will need to make sure to do some stretching tonight (as well as drink plenty of water!) as the final free workout will be tomorrow and I’m definitely not going to miss out on another opportunity to kick my own @$$!

WOD

21-15-9
Ball Slams (30lbs)
Box Jumps (24″)

My Results

7:03

I knew this was going to be a dangerous thing going in – I haven’t done much of anything in terms of working out since September/October or midway through the HS football season. And, as I expected, this kicked my butt! Sure, it all started out great… First set of ball slams went as well as expected, but those 21 box jumps is where the fail began! Second round was similar to the first – ball slams, were okay, but the box jumps required a handful of mini-breaks (which, for a timed workout, is not preferred and will greatly hinder time). I was able to just plow through the 3rd round, mentally telling myself, “it’s not even double digits”.

I absolutely loved having someone else there to push me and the facility is exactly what I am looking for. If you’re near the White Bear area and want a butt-kicking, programmed workout facility, you should definitely check out CFWB. Jaco (the owner) is cool people as is most of the Twin Cities CrossFit facility owners – I met a bunch of them at Warrior Dash last year. I would sign up in a heartbeat, but the membership is a little pricey and with the boys eating more like their daddy, the funds gained at a non-profit seem slimmer and slimmer every day. Maybe someday I’ll be able to workout consistently at a sweet-ass place as CrossFit White Bear.

Cocoa, begging in the kitchen

it is with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes that i share that Katie and I have made the very difficult decision to put Cocoa down. Last January, she had been given a month – we have been blessed to have 11 since we were given that news. It has been a very up and down roller coaster of a ride with mostly highs throughout, but she has been pretty bad this last week. The kidney issues that she’s always had and been able to handle without showing any signs of problem, has really taken its hold on our four-legged family member. We can’t get her to eat even her favorite foods of waffles, doughnuts or even pizza (or if she will touch it she is unable to keep it down). She’s lost a lot of weight, can barely get up the stairs and can’t get in the bed (I’ve been picking her up so she is able to sleep next to me). We feel that this is the slump she won’t come out of and we want Joseph to remember the good times he has had with her and not have a lasting memory of her end. It has been very difficult watching Cocoa suffer as opposed to being her energetic, happy self.

I am very fortunate and thankful to have been able to take her out pheasant hunting for the Wisconsin opener this year – for the one final hunt. I will never forget the wonderful times we spent together in the field, her dirty looks when I missed (it has been known to happen) and the absolute joy you could see on her face as she bounded in the tall grass after upland game. She kept me company during those long road trips and would nudge my arm to get me to pet her as she sat in the navigation chair (passenger seat) of Sunshine and of course, I would comply.

Thank you to all who have kept our precious Cocoa and the family in your prayers – the myriad of notes from we still get today from KTIS’s prayer request even though Katie put that out there last January.

And to Cocoa, this has been a very difficult decision for us to make. We love you tons and I promise we’ll get some birds when we meet again.

Edit: Cocoa, being the awesome dog that she was, died silently in the back seat on the way to the vet. She was holding on for as long as possible, yet she still went on her own while Katie and I held her with tears in our eyes. So thank you Cocoa, for not making us make that decision. We love and miss you!

Today’s Workout

10 minute AMRAP
10 bodyweight squats
7 burpees
10 jumping pull ups

My Results

6 Rounds + 10 squats

I wasn’t alone again today, Andrew joined me for the second round, there were two ladies who came back after yesterday’s free WoD, three other ‘new’ folks and one actual paying client who was there for the true daily WoD… it was quite the happening place to be! I find that it’s a lot of fun working out with a group of folks who, when they’re capable of talking, can cheer each other on or more likely look across the way and give you a look as if to say “yeah, it sucks for me too!” And during the workouts, you’re trying to breathe and not look a complete pile of worthlessness – it’s after the workout when you say, “Yeah, that was awesome!”

I walked past Andrew’s cube about an hour after we got back to the office and he let it be known “I hate you”. To which I could only respond with a boisterous “You are welcome!” Now, does he hate me because he’s sore in ways he hasn’t been in quite a while (absolutely), but I think he also is hating on me because I just introduced him to the wonderful world of CrossFit and he, too, works at a non-profit where the financial compensation is lacking and the membership isn’t the cheapest on the block. That’s the world I reside in now. I would love to get in with a group of dedicated CrossFitters and totally kick my @$$ everyday. Anyone want to donate to the “T wants to CrossFit” fund? I can’t give you a tax break or credit, but I can tell you that your dollars would be well spent on turning all this pregnancy weight into a well-chiseled and awesome individual (the awesome part is already there .

I was, so I signed up to get notified when they release their beta: are you interested in Boto or at least intrigued? How do you track issues? I’ve tried a series of methods, can always get more efficient.

btw, Boto, if googled, is a species of dolphin found in the Amazon River… you learn something new everyday, and sometimes you learn a couple things!

Dog, Monkey, Cow & Man

On the first day God created the dog. God said, “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I will give you a life span of twenty years.” The dog said, “That’s too long to be barking. Give me ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten.” So God agreed.

On the second day God created the monkey. God said, “Entertain people, do monkey tricks and make them laugh. I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.” The monkey said, “Monkey tricks for twenty years? I don’t think so. Dog gave you back ten, so that’s what I’ll do too, okay?” And God agreed.

On the third day God created the cow. “You must go to the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves, and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a life span of sixty years.” The cow said, “That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. Let me have twenty and I’ll give back the other forty.” And God agreed again.

On the fourth day God created man. God said, “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. I’ll give you twenty years.” Man said, “What? Only twenty years? Tell you what, I’ll take my twenty, and the forty the cow gave back, and the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back, that makes eighty, okay?” Okay,” said God, “You’ve got a deal.”

That is why the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play, and enjoy ourselves; the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family; the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren; and the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

in case you were wondering, i have been keeping up on the workouts – just not the blog posts. i don’t want to bore my visitor when i really have nothing to post outside of ‘this workout was hell’ or maybe i should??

i still need to focus more on my diet – i keep going back and forth on attempting a Paleo diet. what i’m ultimately looking to find is a Paleo diet on a budget, both cost and time as fresh veggies, fruits & meats aren’t cheap or easy to prepare. any suggestions or a place for me to focus my search?

a good nights rest and we’re back at it tomorrow.