… And Mel Is Down For The Count

Oh, my! I just woke up from one of those naps where I feel like I’ve been slipped a mickey then hit over the head with a cast iron skillet. That was some good napping, y’all.

My day started at 4:30 a.m. after another night of tossing and rutching and pillow fluffing. I don’t know what was up with my sleeping, but I did get to start a new book. (More on that tomorrow; The Jane Project may be in jeopardy.)

At 5:30, I gave up on the possibility of more sleep. Wandered around the house in the dark, fussed with my hair, picked out the perfect knee socks for my workout — you know, the important stuff. Then I went to Weight Watchers for my post-holiday weigh-in. Not too bad. I was up a little but still within the two-pounds-of-goal range. Whew.

And then: I Am CrossFit.

First of all, I was late getting to the gym. I was in line for body fat pinching when my workout group was warming up. Why, oh why, do I always seem to be late for the big workouts? Bad Mel! (My measurements were all down a little bit and my body fat percentage stayed the same since August, which I’m seeing as a victory because I spent a lot of time lifting only the TV remote during November while I recovered from my Frankenneck.)

Second, I was all flummoxed about whether I should do pullups with the band (15 reps) or jump from the box (30 reps). I chickened out and went for jumping/kipping from the box, which may have been a mistake. But inside, I was all… “I haven’t done a pullup since, like October… since I had my throat slit. Man! I had to have surgery. That was so scary. And my scar is itchy today. I wonder how it looks. I mean, I guess it’s OK to not be as strong as I was two months ago. I had SURGERY for god’s sake. I wonder if everyone thinks my neck looks gross. Maybe I should use the bands. Look at Bonita! Man! She can just do the pullups. I wonder what Erin did? I wonder if Julie is using the box.” And on and on like that.

Seriously.

And then suddenly it was time to get started. While Big Mike explained the workout, I did squats and pushups to get warmed up, then did a quick 200m jog. Tested the 65-lb. bar and deemed it hard but do-able.

3-2-1-GO!

We were off and running.

And oh, boy… did that suck.

The bad news: I didn’t finish all three rounds within the 12-minute cut-off time.

The good news: I did almost all of the hang cleans with the 65-lb. bar — and that shit was HARD!

I won’t bore you with the ugly blow-by-blow, but here’s how my rounds netted out:

Round 1
400m run
30 pullups –> some kipping from the box, some jumping
5 cleans w/ 65 lbs. + 2 cleans w/ 45 lbs.

Round 2
400m run
30 pullups –> some kipping from the box, some jumping
7 cleans w/ 65 lbs.

Round 3
400m run
5 pullups –> jumping

Meh. The DNF bugs me a little, but I’m also glad I tried for the heavy weight. I’d rather be thinking about how to get better for next time, then regretting a fast finish with light weight.

When I got home from the gym, Dave and I were supposed to run three miles around the lake. I had nothing. No gas in the tank. No commitment in my heart. Nada. Nil. Zilch. Zed.

Dave is the little engine that could and got his three miles in. (Yay, Dave!) I walked for a while, then spent about 10 minutes alternating :60 of hard running and walking. The hard runs felt fine, but I just couldn’t get myself to do any kind of continuous moving, no matter what the pace.

Back home, I flopped onto the bed (after massive consumption of food at Habanero). Three hours later (!), I woke up sweaty and woozy. It was one of those total lights-out naps. And now, after some protein and blueberries+milk and almonds, I feel ready for the rigors of watching a movie and maybe consuming a salad (but only if someone else makes it).

Guess the 11-mile run on Thursday and the two nights of no sleep caught me.

Strength Tuesday 2/5/13 (w/ Bonus Bear)

[caption id="attachment_2853" align="aligncenter" width="592"] photo - flickr.com/photos/undergroundbastard/[/caption] In my quest for lean superhero-ness, I'm following the Wendler 5/3/1 strength training program. Twice a week, Dave...

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Strength Monday & Friday (w/ Bonus Musical)

[caption id="attachment_2853" align="aligncenter" width="592"] photo - flickr.com/photos/undergroundbastard/[/caption] In my quest for lean superhero-ness, I'm following the Wendler 5/3/1 strength training program. Twice a week, Dave...

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Comments

  • Erin Clare says:

    There is NO WAY IN HELL I will let you say anything negative about yourself and the Xfit kickoff. You did awesome. You poured more into those hanging cleans than most of us. And those box jumps…I don’t care what anyone says. Those things tire your legs out and give you more of a cardio wear-out than the pull-ups. And those were coming off your 400m sprints.

    You’re allowed to give yourself only one punch around me. Then no more. You run more than most. You eat better than most. And now your body may need some rest more than you’re a bit used to. So this is what I’d say to you if Rest were part of a WOD:

    “DIG DEEP, MEL!! Get that rest!! Don’t let that wandering activity let you off that couch. You show that movie what for!!!”

    I love you, my lil iron cheerleader!

  • erikajeanne says:

    Oh hon, I’m sorry about the DNF, and I know that you know the up side of increasing weight and what not…but still sucks to not get sub 12. I want to inquire about a pull up workshop for the ladiez, I think we could all smoke those pull ups after 8 weeks. Smoke em! I hope you can get some rest tonight :o)

  • Melicious says:

    Thank you, ladies! Y’all are the best.

    That DNF rankles because, as you know, I never quit. I almost was tempted to finish the damn pullups and cleans, just for my own peace of mind. But truth be told, I was pretty relieved to be done 😉

    If you look up the official results for the Wildflower Triathlon in 1999, I’m listed as a DNF because I missed the bike cutoff. But I finished the course… just not before the clocks were locked up for the night.

    Pierced pride.

    Of the seven deadly sins, I seem to have traded gluttony for pride — maybe I should try focusing on lust for a while 🙂

  • Victoria says:

    Hi Mel,
    What protein do you include with the bran/milk/blueberries breakfast you have mentioned before?

  • Melicious says:

    I usually just have some kind of meat on the side: 2 oz. of grilled chicken breast or pork chop or lean beef. Whatever I have lying around.

    I also discovered this morning that I have protein powder that’s 1 tablespoon = 1 protein block so I mixed that in with the berries and milk. It was AWESOME! That may solve my “I don’t want to eat meat right now” problem.

  • Bonita says:

    Mel,
    You told me that I have a good looking Kip, I think you have a good looking hang clean and I loved your outfit. I believe this WOD was not meant to be finished the first time at the elite weight under 12 minutes PERIOD!!. Now we (You, Erin and I) know exactly where we are starting from and believe me, we are going to rock this WOD in 8 weeks. Once again you showed your fierce determination and competitive spirit after the 1st round scaling back after a few reps on the hang clean to going RIGHT BACK to the weight that was kicking your ass when you started the next round. That is what you are all about— never quit, never give up, and you finished up your best effort when the clock ran out. AWESOME!
    B

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