I love them so much, but good god, I need to stop eating them! I probably have one a day. That’s one a day too many. I convince myself they’re okay because I have one of those instead of lunch or something, but… yeah. I’m not seeing any progress and Clif Bars certainly aren’t helping! I need to start pretending that carrots and celery make a better snack. Bleh..

Shoulder wrecker. Since the competition, Sunday was my only day off, which is what I wanted, really. I was happy I was able to bounce back that quickly, actually! BUT every day since then has been so hard on my shoulders! Every day.. has had something overhead! Even today has wall balls! That’s okay. I feel okay but they’re sore when I do everything, like.. oh take my clothes off, pick up the ketchup, my water, etc. haha I said yesterday that today would be my rest day, but.. I just feel like crap when I don’t do SOMETHING. Yes, I could go for a bike ride, and it’s still not too late to do that instead, but as of right now, it looks like Crossfit will win. 🙂

So.. I don’t want my only memories posted of the RAID games to be the negative. In all reality, I had a blast. There was just a small portion of it that truly pissed me off, which is outlined quite thoroughly in my last post, and I really don’t even want to talk about it anymore. It’s out, what’s done is done. MOVE THE HELL ON.

When I think about my experience, as a whole, I had a great time. I got to spend it with great people, meet some incredible people I didn’t expect to meet, walk around and see all kinds of cool shit I never would’ve seen otherwise, and still get a hell of a workout. It was all in all, everything I expected it to be and way more.

First of all, the coolest part about Crossfit is the community. This weekend was no different, in that the Crossfit Community was definitely present and alive at the raid games! I saw lots of familiar faces, which happens more and more, the longer you’re a part of CF, and I even got to meet some cool new people, too! My two favorites were Heidi and Jamie, from Crossfit Estero. They were like, our soul sisters! Haha Lauren and I had driven down on Friday and stuck together most of the time. Jacob was with us too, so it was just the 3 of us from CFTC. Lauren and I met Jamie almost right away when we had to get in groups based on division. So basically, right from the beginning we hit it off. Thankfully! If you’ve ever been to a Crossfit competition, you’ll know that it can be pretty intimidating if you don’t know anyone there. 

Jacob kept to himself cause he’s a boy and that’s what they do. Most of the time I think he was sleeping in a vacant or abandoned trade show booth or something. We’re not really sure. So.. the 4 of us girls do what we do best, and we took lots of pictures of ourselves 😀

Just some awesome crossfit girls. 🙂

I swear, Jamie (blue shirt) is my long lost soul sister! Except.. you know how usually when you meet someone who’s a lot like you, they annoy the shit out of you? That didn’t happen. And she was just like me! It was pretty badass. We’re BFFFFF now. Heidi (far right) just kept everyone laughing no matter how inappropriate she was, and Lauren (left) made sure we all had enough free protein bar samples to eat, as we constantly frequented the vendors and cruised the aisles for free samples.

I also got to meet Annie Thorisdottir! If you don’t know who she is, then you definitely aren’t a CFer. She won the 2011 and 2012 Crossfit Games! Literally, the fittest woman on earth.

Annie Thorisdottir and me on Friday at the Europa Expo

Me, Annie Thorisdottir, and Lauren on Saturday at the Europa Expo, where the RAID games were held

Which brings me to the next amazing girls I got to hang with. Streaky and BadKat! These two are sponsored athletes of Lift Big Eat Big which is a site that I follow. Russell, my awesome coach, suggested I check out the site awhile back because it’s more about being strong and lifting heavy shit, and eating to support your sport, and not focused on being skinny and thin.  The girls on here are real girls, ones I could relate to more than say Julie Foucher or Camille (as awesome as they are, I will never look like them or be that small!)

I had the honor of meeting Streaky at Wodapalooza, and we’ve stayed in touch since, but Kat’s from Canada, so running into her isn’t so likely! Was seriously awesome to spend time with both of them and watch them compete and destroy the RX division.

Streaky, me, and Kat Ljubicic at the RAID games 2013 LBEB!

Streaky will be up here next weekend for the LBEB Strongman Seminar, so just some more quality time with her lifting heavy shit. It was pretty amusing watching people come up to them from all over, asking for their picture. I know them from facebook (I know, that’s like BFF status!) but to see them deal with their fans IRL was pretty awesome. They totally have a following!!

And last but not least, our awesome team of 3. 🙂

Now that we’re all home safe, and recovering from being hit by our respective invisible trucks, we can move on with our regular Crossfit activities. 😀 I’ll see you at 7a, WOD!

Lots of people have asked about my weekend and how I did at the competition. I don’t like to complain, but I don’t like to lie either. Like I posted yesterday, I am so thankful for good friends. Without those people around the last two days, I would’ve had a really miserable time and I probably would’ve called it quits and came home after the first day. I felt cheated by the way they set their standards, and like a total jack ass because I couldn’t advance through some of the WODs that had movements that I couldn’t quite perform. As some of you know, for the first time ever I got a pull up during the last Crossfit Open WOD and I was ecstatic. I can do 1 at a time, and only if I’m fresh. Two of the WODs this past weekend required pull ups (in the women’s scaled division, no less!) and I was mortified, but opted to give it my best shot. The first WOD resulted in me standing there like an idiot because I couldn’t get through the 5 pull ups buy in. I earned a score of 1, because I could only do 1 pull up.

On the 2nd day, during the 3rd WOD, the people in charge of the standards decided to change what was acceptable after the 1st heat. They first said that only Knees to Elbows would be accepted, not Toes to Bar. Well, I can do Toes to Bar, but my K2E skills aren’t so hot. For those of you who don’t know, Knees to Elbows are a scaled version of Toes to Bar, so both should’ve been accepted. After the 1st heat went, they decided to make T2B acceptable. (I was in 1st heat and the standards changed after I had already gone.)

I also learned that jumping pull ups WERE being accepted (and recorded people doing them, just for visual proof) after I was told they weren’t. Had I been able to do those, I would’ve been able to get through the 5 pull ups buy in on the previous day.  I am beyond frustrated by this, and I don’t expect anything to come of it, I just want it to be known that this happened, and resulted in a lot of people feeling cheated. I didn’t go to this competition expecting to win anything, but I also didn’t go with the intentions of feeling completely and utterly defeated, either.

After over a year of CrossFit and positive attitudes and awesome people and an incredible community surrounding me, this is the first time where I’ve been made to feel this way by someone else’s actions. If I had ever felt defeated before, it was because I was trying something new that I wasn’t quite able to do. But the whole point of a scaled division is so that those who don’t have all the movements yet can still compete and give it their best shot. In my opinion, anyway, whatever it’s worth.

I don’t like being the complainer, but I think everyone else who felt the same way as me was too ashamed of being vocal about their disappointment, or they tried to move on, or they tried to brush it off like it didn’t matter. This DID matter, it mattered to me. Crossfit competitions aren’t supposed to make you feel like shit, mentally. They aren’t supposed to break you down and make you feel like you’re not good enough. They’re supposed to challenge you, and test your limits, and show you what you can do and what you still need to work on.

I know the next one will be better. I just needed to get this out of my system. I need to just answer the question of “Hey!! How’d the competition go!!?” with something like “Oh it was hard but I got through it.” Instead of rambling on the same fucking story. Nobody wants to hear a complainer. The last few times it’s come up, on the inside I’m like, just SHUT UP, Alicia.. nobody cares.  Blehhhhhh.

And here I am.. focusing on the negative. The reality is, I got to meet some really awesome people. Will post about that later. 🙂 The awesome and the shitty don’t go hand in hand.

Badger was a Badass, if this was his WOD! Good lord.

So I’ve never done Hero Badger before, and if I was given the opportunity before, I probably would’ve skipped it as soon as I saw the 3 rounds of 800m. BUT.. yesterday I was like, shiiiit.. I’ll just take my headphones for the run! Which I did.

I also sorely underestimated Hero Badger.. sir, I salute you!

Hero Badger is:

3RFT
30 squat cleans 95/65 (I was like, psh light weight!)
30 pull ups
800m run

I did like 10 squat cleans and it started straining my back. All I could think about was how many more I had to do and started doing power cleans instead.. then I got through 10 of those, and just gave up and did hang cleans.  and I was only 1 round in!

Then come the pull ups. My arms were already exhausted from this point.. I started with the purple band, then got down and got some chalk, and then got the green band. Suck it up, Alicia!

800m run. OMG I’ve never looked forward to running before like this.. I grabbed my headphones and phone and headed out. I ran it and my arms were on fire.. it was hart to even jog and use my arms because they were already so fatigued from the cleans and pull ups!

I came back in… did my 30 hang cleans mixed with a few power cleans again.. and then some more pull ups. But by this time, I had put the purple and green band together, Jesus Christ, really?? Come on!!

I headed out for my run (more like a slow shuffling walk at this pace..) and felt like, omg, our soldiers do this stuff every day, I am so not cut out for this! Got back in at 27 min and gave Tom the “I’m done” motion.  Justin wrote my time down, and I went and did 30 more hang cleans just to get some more of a work out in. Good god.

That was rough.. Thank you Hero Badger! Can’t wait til next year to try it again. 🙂

A blog follower of mine emailed me and sent me a great article. Cancer is something that hits home for me, as my Dad and maternal grandmother both passed away from complications due to its awfulness. I wonder now if my Dad could’ve lived a healthier life had he practiced better diet and exercise habits. When Melanie sent me this, I decided it was worth sharing. I hope it can help others!

New studies have shown a correlation between daily exercise and cancer prevention. However, does physical fitness work for those who already have cancer or who are in recovery? Remarkably, yes! Many studies have shown that just by changing your diet and choosing physical activity each day, you can significantly reduce your risk of cancer returning and prevent other cancers. However, it’s also important to remember which exercises are appropriate related to what type of cancer you have. For instance, certain exercise may help those with mesothelioma but not necessarily ovarian cancer. Researchers from a Mayo Clinic study have shown that patients who exercised regularly before diagnoses were also more likely to exercise after being diagnosed with cancer. One of the hardest parts is figuring out where to start with physical activity and how hard to push yourself when going through recovery.

Is Physical Fitness Safe After Cancer

For many patients, the biggest question is whether the body can handle the physical stress of working out. The answer is yes, in most cases. Obviously, it’s important to speak with a doctor about what kinds of activities you can do safely. But, if you choose low impact exercises such as walking, yoga, tai chi, rowing machines and swimming, you can likely get in a varied amount of exercise every day without really putting any stress on your joints. In addition, there are a ton of benefits for exercising every day.

Cancer patients need to start where they are comfortable. For those who were very active before diagnosis, it may be easier to get back into a routine. However, if you have been going through radiation and chemotherapy, you may want to avoid public gyms and being outdoors for long periods of time in the sun. It’s important to not push yourself as hard as you can but to push enough until you build stronger muscles and endurance. For that reason, low impact exercises are probably the best way to start. You can begin with weight lifting, rowing machines, cycling, yoga, martial arts training like tai chi, and swimming. Each of these activities is rigorous yet, can also be modified for your activity level and needs, which is necessary particularly if you had a more severe treatment process.

Fitness can definitely help those suffering from cancer. With a greater knowledge of how physical activity affects cancer patients, doctors can offer better ways to improve mobility in their patients.

-Melanie Bowen

If you would like to get in touch with Melanie, please feel free to leave a comment on this post. I will make sure the message gets to her.

Soo I had a sunburn on the same day.. heavy backsquats and sunburns on shoulders don’t go well together. 🙁 Was super painful!

High Bar Backsquat 5 Rounds Max Reps
at body weight
rest 1min between rounds

I managed to do 31 reps at 185lbs. NOT my bodyweight, but I was struggling. That bar scorched through my shirt and into my skin.

8min climbing ladder
2 thrusters 95/65
2 toes to bar
each round 20 double unders

(I did 55lb thrusters, and singles.)

increase by 2 each round

I managed to get 55 total reps, so 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 8, 8, 10, 5.

It has become a habit of mine to have a few pieces of dark chocolate every night, and then I feel like shit, and wish I hadn’t. And the next day, I hang my head in shame and say, wtf, why can’t I just skip it?

And sure enough, that evening, I’m like screw it! I want something sweet! And I eat my few pieces of dark chocolate (Dove Dark Chocolate, no less!)

But.. tonight, I sat down at the comp, looked at the piece of dark chocolate and said “NO. I’m not eating any dark chocolate tonight!” I need to break my habit of it. I eat so well all day long, and then I feel like I blow it at night.

I may opt for either a protein shake in a bit, or I might make some of my banana ice cream.

Not that that would be any less BAD for me.. yes it’s paleo, mostly paleo.. more paleo than chocolate is.. but still. it’s 9:15p and I have a hot date with the gym in less than 12 hours. 9 hours and 45 min to be exact.. so its not like eating sweets right now would do me any good.

Sigh. I’m just happy I told myself no tonight. Now that I’m determined to not eat it, it’s like it’s no big deal. Hard to believe that it ever was.

Today I punished myself for not keeping up with the 100 Day Burpee Challenge I agreed to do… and played catch up.. Since I haven’t done my burpees in over a week or so, we determined that I had around 150 of them to do. Shannon had the same number to do, as well, so we did them together.

I must admit, if she wasn’t there with me to do them, I would’ve been like ehhhhhh we’ll stop at 50 today. 🙂

We opted to do sets of 20 with a little 100m run/walk/jog/whatever in between each set, just to keep it interesting. I felt really good when we finished, and actually, I’m surprised at how I really didn’t feel like dying while I was doing them. I actually DON’T mind burpees now. It’s bizarre..

When we finished, I wanted to challenge myself and do a 400m walking lunge with an overhead plate carry. yeah… we got to the corner and opted just to finish the rest of the journey with about 100m of just overhead plate carry. No more walking lunges! We were beat. 😀

My pulse rate has always been high.. as in, 80-90 for my resting heart rate. My blood pressure is always normal to low, and my cholesterol is lower than normal, as well. Everyone’s always like, omg you use so much salt, blah blah blah! And those are my responses.. my shit’s low, go away! BUT my pulse was always on the high side.

The other day.. just on a whim, (when I was sitting outside with the puppies, actually! and feeling all lethargic..) I decided to take my pulse. It was fucking 68. It’s never that low, not even when I’m sleeping, drunk or whatever. It doesn’t go that low! I was shocked and excited.

I took it again about an hour later, and it was 66. W.T.F.  This never happens! I did little excited dance in my head, posted about it on FB and ran off (not literally.. please) to CrossFit.

One friend commented.. “I think that officially makes you an athlete. :)” EEEEK! WHAT?! ME? No way…. I am not an athlete.. I just lift heavy things really well!! And run a mile sometimes. Sigh.. this is the kind of stuff that makes me feel like it’s all coming together.