Introspection

It has been a while since I’ve posted anything. A lot has happened since then and I’ve been doing some thinking.

I have not been mentally dialled in during my CrossFit class and it is showing in my performances with me having slowest times, relatively lower weight, and reduced workout intensity. It’s been a struggle. I don’t know what it is, but things lead me to believe that distractions and personal pressure is contributing to it. I have therefore decided not to post any WOD sessions/times for the meantime and concentrate on some ‘ME’ time. I have also decided to do at least 4 sessions a week and try to add supplementary work if possible.

I think I just need to get the blinders out and keep my head down and worry about what I need to do at that point in time. There are loads of things I need to sort out and I just need to sort them out. Simple as that. I should not be pressure or distracted by anything else. No daydreaming or wishing things to be something they are not, and just make lemonades out of lemons and that sort of shit.

Kitchen Time

A conversation last weekend has led me to believe that the husband has been telling my family that I “still” don’t know how to cook. Well, I will not claim to be the best when it comes to culinary talents, but I have had my fair share of kitchen time at home. Enough to warrant a more confident “Yeah a little” when asked if I can cook.

In fact tonight, inspired by the chicken soup recipe from “My Little Paris Kitchen” (it’s called something fancier but my crappy Internet connection means I don’t want to google) and the fried chicken recipe from “Paleo Comfort Foods”, I blitzed some chicken breasts with an egg and some almond flour and rolled into the spice mix from the Paleo recipe and Voila! Homemade chicken nuggets — and they’re Paleo too! Not bad for someone who can’t cook :p

13.5 not fun. Even in the Philippines

13.5 Crossfit games open
4 minute AMRAP
15 Thrusters 100#
15 Chest to bar pull ups

This might have been actually worse in the Philippines. It’s scorching hot here, which gives me an excuse to do a Cian (do a workout without a shirt). That probably had no bearing as I only managed to do 49 reps total. I would have preferred to do more than 50, which was my goal. I managed to do 10 then 5 thrusters and broke up the pull ups into 3s I think. Then it was a bit of a pain to pick up the bar and do the thrusters, but a voice inside me reminded me that it’s only 4 minutes which gave me time to do a few more pull ups.

Took me about 45 minutes to recover, and I almost puked a few times but managed to keep things together. It was a fun 5 weeks of the games. Looking forward to more of these types of competition and push myself more. Better yet, I’m looking forward to the piss off next week! That is going to be fun, especially with jetlag..

Rambling About in Barcelona

It has been weeks since our weekend in Barcelona and I have yet to post photos of the trip.  We only had a few days, so we had to prioritize.  We knew we had to see Sagrada Familia and whatever else we could squeeze in, we did.

Now I know very little about architecture and have little patience for all the intricacies of how Gaudi finally decided on his designs for Sagrada Familia, yet I was drawn to all of it.  There is no need to an expert in order to appreciate the complexity, enormity and the dedication that has been poured into designing and building the church.  You can see it on the end result and hints of it in what is being built …and you can definitely hear it in the local guide we had during our walking tour.  Allan’s parents were in Barcelona about 10 years ago, and they were amazed by it even without stepping inside.  We were fortunate enough to arrive  now that it is open to visitors.  Maybe it was the solemn music playing, or the ethereal feel of the interiors or  everything that we have heard about it leading up to that moment…but when we stepped inside, we couldn’t help but be overwhelmed.

We didn’t get to see much of the rest of Barcelona, but we did manage to walk around Barri Gotic.  I found the small streets and alleys charming — as I usually do.  I am very partial to narrow streets packed with lots of little shops.  I do hope we will manage to go back…there is plenty more to discover in Barcelona.

Sagrada Familia 2

Barri Gotic Cathedral

Barri Gotic scene

Mary inside the Cathedral

Casa Batllo

Parc Guell

Sagrada Familia 1

Street Art

music in the streets

market goodness

Sagrada Familia 4

Sagrada Familia 3

we realized the cam was taking multiple shots

Sagrada Familia 5

more Parc Guell

Ouch! But I’ll live.

Another session at Crossfit London today, and for those who think that scaled workouts are a walk in the park, here’s what I brought home with me today after doing scaled pull-ups (i.e. less reps than originally prescribed and assisted by a blue band):

Well, that’s one way to remove callus…

Skill of the week:  Handstands and Handstand Push ups; Progression: “Nose to Toes” and Handstand Push Ups with feet on the box
Skill: Double Unders
Strength: establish 1RM Snatch
WOD:
5 Rounds —
3 Hang Power Snatch (30 kgs)
6 Pull Ups (blue band)

My “nose to toes” are still not as close to the wall as they should be, but maybe if I practice my forward roll and learn how to bail out of it properly then it can improve.

On my snatch, I have finally lifted that 35 kgs again!  Having only done it once before, I have been doubting myself and even wondered if it really happened.  But today Kat had added the weight in without letting me see it — the idea that I should “just lift” and not think too much of the weight.  Result:  35 kg snatch!  She did add in a few more (37.5 kgs) but that didn’t quite happen.  A new snatch goal has been set!

The workout originally required 12 pull ups.  On my first round I was kipping the reps even with the band and I got called out for that.  So on my next reps, I could only string them into 2s and then just singles.  Even then it was a struggle to do them strict and with the proper height.  Hopefully my persistence tonight — and some continuous training —  I can add to my 1 pull up and improve on any next WODs with strict pull ups.  Finished 5 rounds at around 11:30 with blood on my hands, literally (see photo above).

Hobbled home after that,  and I was seriously walking funny and very slowly.  Did I mention that I still have a bad case of DOMs from Tuesday’s squats?