Goodbye 2011

Looking back on 2011, I truly cannot complain.  I celebrated my 1 year anniversary of marriage with Reformed Fatty on a cruise, I saw Ke$ha in concert twice, I went to Vegas, I had amazingly fun weekends and most of all, In April 2011, I joined Crossfit.  


2011 was by far my most active year.  I ran the Broad Street run, 2 5k's, logged almost 100 miles on my road bike,  did the ROC's Biggest Loser Challegen, Philly's Fight Gone Bad 6, Crossfit's Best Shape of Your Life Challenge, and of course, I was attending Crossfit610 at least (if not more) 3 times per week.  


My appearance, my confidence, my attitude, and my mentality have all changed for the better because of Crossfit610.  

April 2011 vs January 2012 - Front

April 2011 vs January 2012 - Side

April 2011 vs January 2012 - Back

When I first joined, I took "before" pictures (I recommend this to anybody) and today (December 31st) I took another set.  After throwing a fit about not being happy about them, Dennis calmed me down and I really looked at the differences. 


Front View -  My stomach doesn't hang down past my shorts.  Notice my belly button ring.  The before picture has it almost folded over while the after picture clearly shows it lifted and higher.  My chest is smaller.  I've dropped a full cup size.  


Side View - Even though my face isn't in the same position, the thickness of my "trunk" is much smaller in the 2nd picture.  


Back View - My shoulders are VERY much slimmer and less broad in the 2nd pictures.  My shorts are fitting lower on my waist (you can tell this by my tattoo).  In the first picture you can only see one clown fish, in the 2nd you can see both of them.  There is no extra fat around my shoulder blades.  


So there you have it.  Those pictures represent 8 months of work.  I will now use the 2nd set of photos as my 2012 before pictures and hopefully I can continue to improve.  



Thursday:

2.5 Mile Run


Friday:

Endurance
50 DU
20 Ab Matt Sit Ups
10 Push Ups

10 GHD
10 GHD (reversed)

WOD
20 Get Out of the Pools
100 Push Press (55lbs)
1,000 Meter Row

19:39

Cash Out:
5 Rouds of 20 Secound "L" holds




Saturday:


WOD
2011 Meter Row
11 HSPU
11 Jumping Lunges
11 Deadlifts (155)
11 T2B
11 Kettlebell Swings (20kg)


12 HSPU
12 Jumping Lunges
12 Deadlifts
12 T2B
12 Kettlebell Swings
2012 Meter Row


36:42

Happy Holidays!

First of all, I hope everybody had a safe, healthy, and happy holiday!


This being my 2nd Christmas as a married person I pretty much knew the drill for seeing lots and lots of family in a short time.  The funny thing of it all was the entire weekend started off with our Crossfit family. 

Christmas Eve started off with one of the hardest WOD I have ever done (see below) and I almost got my first DNF.  But thanks to my Crossfit family, I was cheered and pushed to my limit and even though the WOD took me close to 50 minutes to complete and I was in tears, I completed it, and I completed it RX'd.  So thanks again Crossfit610 family for being there for me!  I was very touched when I read Family Thanks from one of my fellow 610er's. 

Besides keeping my either 3 on 1 off or 4 WOD's a week plan I have been really focusing on my running since my 1st of three races is coming up.  I am running a 10k on Super Bowl Sunday and I need to practice! 

Here are two maps of runs I have done in past week.  The first map shows a 2 mile run I did at 7:00am and the second map shows a 3.5 mile run I did on Christmas morning.  So far I have logged 9 miles today date and with 5 weeks left until the 10k race, I hope I will be ready. 

I am going to try to Crossfit 4 days a week and run 3 days a week with 1 rest day.  If you do the math, that means I have one day per week of both Crossfit and Running. 

Obviously running this 10k, 10 Miler, and Half Marathon is part of my 2012 goal/resolution.  What resolutions and goals are you setting for youself?


Thursday:
Rest Day

Friday:
Strength

7 attempts to find your 1 rep max of:
Front Squat: 135
Snatch Squat: 65
WOD
1k Row
30 Ring Dips
30 Ring Rows

10:44
Ran 2 Miles
 Saturday:

WOD
5 Rounds
30 Box Jumps (20inches)
30 Wall Balls (14lbs)
400 Meter Run

45:50
1k Row 4:21:9

Sunday:3.5 Mile Run

Monday:
Rest

Tuesday:
Endurance
200 Meter Rows 5 times
3x7 Back Squats

WOD
7 Rounds
7 OHS (55lbs)
11 KB Swings 20kg
16:55

Wednesday:
Strength
Find your 1 rep max of Squat Snatch
75lbs

WOD
30-20-10
Rowing for Calories
Hanging Cleans (70lbs)
16:17

2 Mile Run

No Time Like the Present

After an amazing weekend, it was time for me to finally get serious about my dieting, since after all, diet is just as important as working out.  Lately I've totally relaxed on what I've been eating and I'm starting to feel that uncomfortable strain in my clothes. 

So Sunday I pack and prepare my food for the day on Monday and off I go. 

So far so good, 2 Hard Boiled Eggs, 1 apple, 1 Clementine, and 6 Cashews for breakfast.  Another Clementine for snack, and then well, my boss brings in a plate of freshly made Christmas Cookies. 

Karen - Resist!  (and I did)

Then, it is announced that our boss is taking us out to lunch for Habachi....aka noodle heaven. 

Karen - Resist!  (and I did.  I replaced noodles with extra veggies). 

Later on, we got a delivery from our Accountant.  I am not kidding you.  5lbs of chocolate covered cashews.  Now part of me was going to justify the fact that cashews are paleo......but:

Karen - Resist (and I have even though there are still about 3lbs left in the office).

For dinner I eat the hibachi left over Shrimp and veggies, which made for a pretty successful day!  Boy that was hard, but I made it resiting all those temptations.

Tuesday starts off the very same way.  Good work on breakfast and mid morning snack and then, boom!  Our OTHER boss wants to take us out for lunch.  (Seriously? this never happens).  I really wanted something non paleo and delicious, but:

Karen - Resist!  (and I did, ordered a Chicken BLT salad, really good too!)

Today was the day I decided to start my running training program and what do you know, my running buddy is stuck in traffic and its really cold and raining out...but:

Karen - DON'T MAKE EXCUSES (and I didn't, I ran 2.5 miles alone, in the dark, and in the cold rain). 

Today started out pretty normal again and when I went into the kitchenette to fill up my water bottle, I see two huge containers filled with amazing smelling cookies and treats!  This is unbelievable.

Karen - Resist!  (Nothing tastes better than losing those extra pounds).  


Holy crap was this is hard week to start!  But you know what, if I can make it through all that in week 1, just think how easy it will be to get through the next few weeks.


Monday:

Endurance:
30 DU
400 Meter Run
10 Burpees
2 Rounds

WOD:
5 Rounds
15 Wall Balls (14lbs)
10 Pistols (Scaled)
15 Kettlebell Swings (20kg)

500 Meter Row: 1:54

20:56


Tuesday:

2.5 Mile Run


Wednesday: 

WOD:
5k Row
21:12:04 (?)

A Very Christmas Weekend!

As luck would have it, this past weekend Dennis and I had no plans for an entire weekend.  So what did we do?  We made plans.  The nice thing about this though, is we made plans for just to two of us.  Something that we rarely do and is often needed. 


Since I tend to be a bit of a Grinch around this time of year, Dennis was on a mission to shove Christmas down my throat.  


Keeping our priorities straight, we wanted to get a WOD in Saturday morning before we left.  It was a Christmas themed WOD and we got to listen to Christmas music during it.  Perfect way to start the weekend.  (See Saturday's WOD listed below).  


The WOD kicked my ass, and I wanted to quit once I got to the last round.  But with the support of my friends, they cheered and helped me get through the 12th day of Christmas.  Thank you!!


After the WOD we went home, got showered and dressed and off we went. 


Our first stop was Longwood Gardens.  Having never been there I didn't know what to expect.  We started off with an Organ Sing along where we sat in a grand room with a group of 100 people while a man played Christmas songs on an organ to which we sang along.  I know it sounds kinda corny, but it was very enjoyable, (and Dennis sang!).    


From there we walked around the garden and saw the Gingerbread Display, Christmas Display, and all the other amazing plants they have. 

By the time we were done with the inside activities, it was turning twilight and all the gardens and trees were lit up with the most amazing lights I have ever seen.

And right before we decided to head out, we enjoyed this fountain show:

Next on our agenda that Dennis so meticulously planned out was a super romantic dinner at hotel Hershey.  The food was amazing and Hershey sure knows how to do dessert right!

When we left the restaurant for dinner, it had lightly snowed making everything look and feel like Christmas.  It was super pretty and of course, very romantic.  

Believe it or not, the day was not done!  There was one more Christmas item on the agenda which would end the night.  Dennis and I were going to the "Sweet Treat Lights."  This is something similar to Lights in the Parkway. 

 Even though this wasn't quite what we had hoped, it was still really fun to do and we had an enjoyable time. 


We stayed over in Hershey that night and the next day we spent at the Hershey Outlets shopping for gifts (even though we got a ton for ourselves) and driving home.  The weekend was amazing and even though we splurged a big on food, we still got a WOD in on Saturday. 

Thank you Dennis for a wonderful Christmas filled weekend!

Friday:
Endurance
1k Row
20 Push Ups
500 Row


WOD:
4 Rounds
7 OH Squats (55lbs)
11 Chest to Bar PU (Purple Band
7 Hollow Rocks Unbroken


11:00


Saturday:
12 Days of Christmas

1 Power Snatch (65lbs)

2 Ring Dips (Purple Band)
1 Power Snatch

3 Burpees
2 Ring Dips
1 Power Snatch

4 Pull Ups (Purple Band)
3 Burpees
2 Ring Dips
1 Power Snatch

5 Toe 2 Bar
4 Pull Ups
3 Burpees
2 Rig Dips
1 Power Snatch

6 Pushups
5 T2B
4 Pull Ups
3 Burpees
2 Ring Dips
1 Power Snatch

7 Air Squats
6 Pushups
5 T2B
4 Pull Ups
3 Burpees
2 Ring Dips
1 Power Snatch

8 Jumping Lunges
7 Air Squats
6 Pushups
5 T2B
4 Pull Ups
3 Burpees
2 Ring Dips
1 Power Snatch

9 Box Jumps (20")
8 Jumping Lunges
7 Air Squats
6 Pushups
5 T2B
4 Pull Ups
3 Burpees
2 Ring Dips
1 Power Snatch

10 Wall Balls (14lbs)
9 Box Jumps
8 Jumping Lunges
7 Air Squats
6 Pushups
5 T2B
4 Pull Ups
3 Burpees
2 Ring Dips
1 Power Snatch

11 Kettlebell Swings
10 Wall Balls
9 Box Jumps
8 Jumping Lunges
7 Air Squats
6 Pushups
5 T2B
4 Pull Ups
3 Burpees
2 Ring Dips
1 Power Snatch

12 Thrusters
11 Kettlebell Swings
10 Wall Balls
9 Box Jumps
8 Jumping Lunges
7 Air Squats
6 Pushups
5 T2B
4 Pull Ups
3 Burpees
2 Ring Dips
1 Power Snatch

Time: 42:42

Already Thinking About 2012

I'm not sure if it has been showing in my Blogs, but I feel like I have been all over the place with goals.  I know I mentioned trying to have defined abs by New Years, emailing my calories to my friends, running marathons, and anything else I may have said.  


Sadly, I do not have a six pack, I stopped emailing my calories to my friends (and stopped counting them too), and the only "Marathon" I have run has been a 5k.  So clearly I'm really good at setting goals, just slightly bad at keeping up with them.  


This is a SUPER touchy subject for me, especially around the new years.  People think of January 1st as a "new start" and blah blah blah (Ke$ha reference....anybody?).  Well I always look back at the year that is gone and focus on all my failed goals and failures.  Wow that's really positive!  


I think for 2012 I am going to set some really challenging, yet obtainable goals for myself and really work hard to reach them.  I know I want to increase my strength.  I know I want to focus on running this year.  I know I want do major fundraising for two Crossfit charities this year, and for the love of God I know I want to have a six pack.  I am not declaring my goals right now, just sorta brainstorming.  


With all that said, I have to work hard.  I have to be strict, and smart, and give up things that I like but don't help me achieve my goals. How do my fellow yet superior crossfitters do it? 

Wednesday's WOD

Wedneday:

Strength
15 Minutes to Find your Max Snatch Balance
My Max = 65lbs


WOD
50-40-30-20-10
Single Arm Overhead KB Squat (8kg)
Double Unders


Time: 21:19


Thursday:

Glorious Glorious Rest Day

NBC's Biggest Loser 2011

I have to admit, Biggest Loser has become one of my weekly shows that I look forward to watching.  I didn't always enjoy the show, but last year, somebody that I actually knew was picked to be on the show.  Remember Jay Jacobs?

Since then, I have been hooked on the show.  It was a bit less interesting not personally knowing a contestant, but it was still entertaining enough, and let's be real, who doesn't LOVE to watch a weight loss transformation?  This year I was particularly interested in the way Bob Harper would train his fatties.  Reason being?  I knew that he recently started doing Crossfit.  

Every episode that I would watch, I would catch a glimpse of people doing Kettlebell Swings, Wall Balls, and other Crossfit esk moves and it would make me happy!  The one catch, they would never utter the word Crossfit on the show.  

I watched the 2011 Season finale and FINALLY one of the contestants admitted that Crossfit was the reason she was losing/maintaining her weight at home. 

The other funny thing about all of this is that since Bob started Crossfit, he challenged Jillian (the ex trainer on the Biggest Loser and fitness guru) to a common WOD on TV and to be honest, she sucked.  That made me feel so good about myself!  

Jillian Does a WOD

"You don't have to be great to start.....but you have to start to be great"

Endurance:


500 Meter Row
10 Pull Ups (purple band)
10 Push Ups 
2 Rounds


WOD:
400 Meter Run
21-15-9
Hand Stand Push Ups
Kettlebell Swings (20kg)
400 Meter Run


Time: 15:03

Santacon 2011

Knowing that I was going to be away from Crossfit this entire weekend, getting a WOD in on Friday was important.

I was able to work through my lunch and leave work at 4:00 to make the 4:15 class.  After that, the gang and I headed to Hoboken to spend the night at a friends before we ventured into NYC dressed as Santa's. 

Ho Ho Ho Says Everybody, When I Walk In

The beauty of Santacon is that it is the happiest day of the year!  You and thousands of other santas roam aimlessly around New York City stopping at bars and spreading Christmas cheer.  When on subways you sing songs as loud as you can, and sometimes random Santa Dance circles form:





To top that all off, Reformed Fatty and I continued our tradition of Hung Over Chinese food on Sunday.......so no wonder why I feel like a fat cow this week.

I started Monday off right with a 6am WOD and to my delight it was cleaning the bar, which is one of my favorite Crossfit moves. 

I also decided to run a 10k in February, which I hope to do well on.  I ran a 10k years ago and my time was 1:08:57, which I hope to beat.  The ultimate goal here is to run a series of races.  5K (which I've done), and 10k (February), 10 Miler in March, Half Marathon in April, and then finally a Full Marathon in May or June.   

Who thinks I'm crazy!?!?!!


Monday:

Endurance
20 Wall Ball Cleans
10 Abb Matt Sit Ups
20 DU
2 Rounds

WOD:6 Minute AMRAP
3-3-6-6-9-9-12-12.....until time runs out
Power Cleans (85lbs) & Ring Dips (PB)


I completed 3-3-6-6-9-9 +4


THEN


1 Minute to find your max:


Box Jumps (20 Inches)  20
Burpees    12
Row for Calories   18


1 Minute Rest Between Each Round




Friday:
Endurance2k Row

WOD
Amanda
9-7-5


Squat Snatch (45lbs)
3 Get out of the Pool

17:00

I am Woman, Hear Me....Huff and Puff!

Being a woman Crossfitter is empowering!  I have more confidence in myself than I ever had before....and I love it. 

1. I love my leaner, stronger body.
2. I finally own a pair of skinny jeans.
3. I finally could buy/wear hooker boots (since I now have skinny jeans)
4. I have confidence in my ability to do things I thought I couldn't do.
5. I can't wait to see what I can accomplish next!!

Strong is the new Skinny

With all that said, I was the sole woman at the 7pm class last night and I knew that all the guys would be waiting for me to finish.  Coolest part?  The WOD ended with an 800 meter run outside.  When I finally got done and ran back into the gym, everybody cheered for me and was proud that I finished the WOD using my best effort. 


Strength:

1/2 TABATA
Hollow Rock - 8
HSPU          - 5
Ring Row     - 5
Ring Dip      - 6

WOD:

ANNIE
800 Meter Run

50-40-29-20-10
DU
Abb Matt Sit Ups

800 Meter Run

20:20

Why is Running Addicting?

I often feel as if I go through these phases of loving and hating running.  Since running my two 5k's and watching the Biggest Losers complete a full marathon, I have been getting the itch to make some pretty hefty running goals for 2012.  


It's always so funny how ambitious I get in December. 

Since college when I got into running the most, I wanted to run a series of races.  


5k
10k
10 Miler
Half Marathon
Something Between this distance
Marathon


-OR-


Pledge to run "X" amount of miles in a year.  (Similar to the 100,000 meter rowing challenge that I failed).  




I suggested this to Reformed Fatty last night while watching the Biggest Loser and I could tell he had his reservations about this type of goal.  


The longest running race I've completed was the 10 Mile Broad Street Run and I swore that was going to be the max distance of running races I'd ever run because it was really really really really really hard.  Side Note:  I stopped training for it and I had just barely started Crossfit before running the race.  


So I think the reason why it was really really really hard was because I really really really didn't put too much effort into training.  And as I type these words I know it all goes back to my fear of success and my fear of failure.  Oh the tangled webs we weave!  


I am not sure what 2012 has in store for me just quite yet, but until then I will continue to think very long and hard about my fitness goals, and how I am going to achieve them.  



Monday

Endurance:
250 Row
10 Ab Mat Sit ups
3 Rounds

Strength:
3x2 Back Squats
3x2 Push Press from Behind

WOD:
12 Minute AMRAP
10 Kettlebell Swings (16kg)
20 Double Unders
10 Dead lifts (135lbs)

4+35


Tuesday

Strength:
3x7 Squat Cleans (65lbs)

WOD:
21-15-9
Overhead Squats (55lbs)
Box Jumps (24inch)

10:22

Cash Out:
Max Rep Pull Up: 7 w/Purple Band

GHD Work


Wednesday


Rest

Lots of "K's" this Week

This week I participated in two 5k's.  One I was pretty happy with myself and one I was not too proud about.  Let's start with the first.

Lights in the Parkway 5k

I had originally signed up for the Jingle Bell 5k Run for Arthritis and was pretty pumped about it.  I then realized that the race was the morning AFTER the Annual O'Donnell Holiday Party, so I didn't think it would be a stellar run.  Then I heard the ROC Social Club was holding a 5k in the parkway at night to see the lights.  I figured this would be a great opportunity to A. practice a 5k, B. Get a real sense of my running ability, and C. See the Lights in the Parkway.  

My two initial goals were to beat my last 5K race time, (28:48 at the Labor Day 5k in Cape Cod) and to run the entire race.  

Unbelievably, I got the EXACT same time as my last 5k.  My loving husband helped come up with excused for this.  The courses could have been slightly different lengths, one could have been had more elevation that the other, this race didn't use time chips so it could have been a little off, and anything else to help me feel better.  I was upset with my time but.....

I was able to run every step of the race.  This is a huge accomplishment.  Of all the races, I've done, I've walked some of the race.  All except a 5k I did with my friend Jackie a while back, but our time was over 30 minutes.  So I was very happy about achieving that goal.  I was excited and I really wanted to run my hardest at the next 5k but......

  Hand Stand Keg Stand

Apparently I drank wayyyyy too much and ended up doing a hand stand keg stand.  LOL.  The night was really fun, but I didn't get go to bed until well after 4am and woke up at 7:45am to get ready for the 5k.  

Thankfully I am blessed with a "no hang over ever" body and I was ready to go.

Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis

I was really tired, but thankfully it was a nice day and my running buddy and I took it nice and easy.  We finished the run with only a couple short running breaks and finished the cross line in just over 40 minutes.  I was happy I got out and ran, but I was also very happy to go home and get some rest.  

Soon after the 5k my friend and I went to the Bethlehem Brewworks for the Brewfest where I was the DD (thank god!) while others, well, took advantage of the situation.  I find it funny that even when Dennis and I are drunk, crossfit is still part of our lives. For your viewing pleasure:

A BIG THANK YOU to all of those who made it to our Holiday Party!!  We had a really good time and we can't wait until next year's party.