Shoes

For the longest time I crossfitted in running sneakers. You know the kind, with the big foamy heel that's supposed to protect me from shin splits. They were comfortable and I never had any problems with them. I think my uncle recommended the Brooks brand so that's what I bought and I never really thought about it. I mean, I gushed over Crystal M and Annie's awesome kicks but I thought that represented more their Sic Style rather than something to work out in.

Then I went to a free CrossFit endurance workout and Eric had me run barefoot. And it was crazy, different, painful, awesome, scary, super cool! I was really sore the next day after that endurance wod and started reading articles about barefoot running. I found out that the Brooks sneakers that I thought were so comfortable and useful were actually hindering my leg muscles from getting stronger. I'm never (I shouldn't say never) going to go out and buy Vibrams because I think they look funny but I definitely have switched up my shoewear ever since that track workout. The only time I have pulled out the Brooks since then was when we did the "Filthy Fifteen" because I thought I would be running 15 miles... only to do 4, ha ha :)

I started wearing my Pumas that I used to wear in high school. I'm not sure what style they are but they're flat and let my foot take it's natural shape without any padding. In the beginning I worried about running in them. Yet slowly my leg muscles adapted to the different shoe and running has been fine. I even wore them to lift in when I was taking classes at Sicfit.

I saw Crystal Nelson's post about many of her clients wearing Converses to class. Web talks about his love for all-black Chucks too and I've seen a ton of people wearing them at the gym. Before I left for my England trip, I bought a pair on sale at the Nordstrom Rack. I know most people go through their stages with Chucks in high school or just throughout their life but I had never owned a pair! I did my first workout in my (hot pink) Chucks last night and I thought they worked pretty well. Bonita had posted a wod that was "Grace" plus 45 burpees after you finish 30 reps so I figured those were two movements that would test out the shoewear. I wanted a wod with lifts so I could test out the sturdiness of having a flat base, which was what the Pumas were lacking. The Pumas are flat but they're more like a sock, super flexible, rather than a solid sole to keep my foot flat.

Zach will tell me that I still need a pair of Oly Lifting shoes but I thought the Chucks worked well! I don't know if they'd be comfortable for overall crossfitting because running in them might be a little hard but I definitely liked them for the clean and jerks last night. I might just need to break mine in a little more before I can run in them!

Slowly getting back into the swing of things...

Great workout this morning with the Tribe! I started from the bottom of the wod and worked my way up to make it this:
100 double unders
400 m run
25 pull ups
800 m run
15 SDLHP (65#)
25 burpees
800 m run
Time: 24:27ish

The pull ups, SDLHPs, and burpees felt good (as good as burpees can feel...), but the runs did not. I'm ready for a cool breeze during those runs and the Texas heat is not working with me. That's okay.

I read a great article about nutrition and sent it off to my Mom (The Mountain Dog Diet). I'm always looking for good posts detailing the foods I (try to) eat because it's hard for me to explain why I follow this particular lifestyle. In my head the nutrition things I've learned makes sense but when I talk about it to others that haven't heard of paleo, I stumble for the answers for "Why no dairy?" or "But aren't whole grains good?".

Mom wrote back with a neat email from her friend that follows a similar diet but with less protein intake (eggs only a couple times a week, meat maybe three times a week but still no grains, no dairy). It sounded like she learned about the benefits of high quality protein sources, yet the primary foods she eats are fruits and vegetables. However, I loved that she knew that dietary fat sources don't make you fat! I think this is something that has been lacking in every day knowledge. She said, "Cholesterol is brain food and if we don't get enough in our diets, our body manufactures it. It's the unhealthy fats that cause the cholesterol to become "chunky" and problematic, not the cholesterol itself." The rest of the email talked about the relationship of foods and an acid/base diet which I haven't researched too much on. I always thought I needed to get dialed into a comfortable paleo/zone diet first before I started playing around with the acid/base relationship but it could be something for me to research now. We'll see!

Endurance wod

I consider myself extremely lucky to have the opportunity to work out with someone like Bonita. She consistently has great advice for me, always unpacks her truck full of equipment for the Tribe and is just an overall hero! And it was a "hero" that I kept calling her today.

Months ago Bonita told me that she had found several endurance workouts online. There is a guy named Shane in New York that is training to be a Navy Seal and apparently he keeps a workout log of everything that he is doing. Bonita found his blog and has put into her programming some of the workouts that he does. You can view his blog here. I told B that I would love to try out one of these endurance workouts whenever we wanted to add one in.

Bonita, Melissa, Karen, Jess E and I attempted the "Filthy Fifteen" this morning:
60 rounds
400m run
10 burpees
3 pull ups
3 dips

I went into this workout without an idea of how many rounds I would want to shoot for. I just thought I would want to continue until it wasn't fun anymore, or until I felt something hurt. I even wasn't planning on doing the pull ups or the dips until all the girls did them so I figured, why not? In the end, I ended up starting at 8am and going until about 9:15, completing 16 rounds. At 10 am, I did two more rounds to keep Bonita company. This workout looks awful but I actually had a lot of fun! It was great to be outside with awesome people to keep me company and I can officially say that I don't dislike burpees anymore! They got to be kind of fun, in the crazy kind of fun us crossfitters enjoy. The only thing about today was the heat. It was so uncomfortably hot without any inch of shade on the track. I'd love to try this workout again on a 60 degree fall/winter day- it would make all the difference!

Other than this workout and having my sister in town, I've tried to catch as much as I could of the live feed of The Games! I'm so proud of all the Central athletes, everyone kicked butt and did awesome! Can't wait to see more of the videos and pictures that come out of this event!

I'm back!

I had a fabulous two week vacation in England but am happy to be back in Austin!

One of the ways to jumpstart my motivation to get back in the gym is to participate in Bonita's crossfit endurance workout this weekend. On Sunday, starting at 7 am at Austin High School, The Tribe and I will be taking on:

60 rounds
400m run
10 burpees

This endurance workout won't be about time, and it won't even be about finishing. For me, it's about trying. All are welcome to participate with us!

BIG "Good Luck" to all CrossFit Central athletes competing in the 2010 Games! I wish I could be out there cheering everyone on!