Pound for Pound & R+F Reverse

I have been itching to write lately.  Maybe because I have some exciting things coming up.  

I actually touched base on this earlier this year in my blog about the Freedom 2016 conference in Washington DC.  It's a completely free concert on the National Mall with tons of speakers and musicians.  I've wanted to go to something like this for some time now and it's free and in one of my favorite cities on the east coast.  I only say east coast cause that's basically all I've traveled so I can't rule out the cities I haven't been to yet (east and west coast).

So I head out of town tomorrow and I'm staying with a  fellow teacher who is in the DC area this summer.  I'm looking forward to going back to DC and my mission to site see Mt. Vernon the time is happening.  I've been wanting to go there my past two trips.  Friday I'll be spending the day in Maryland and looking forward to seeing Annapolis and the Baltimore area.  The conference is ALL day on Saturday (9am-9pm).  I most likely won't stay for the whole thing.  That's just a long time to be outside!

But with a lot of other things coming up I've got to make sure I still get my workouts in...

Pound for Pound + Training

So I admit, my mind goes crazy on me and I get excited to sign up for something and then I second guess myself and wait to long so that registration either closes or I miss out on a spot in my weight class.  My original plan was to compete in the Barbells and Brews competition in September but I procrastinated too long and registration closed by the time I decided to actually do it.

I have wanted to do one so bad but had lost my confidence because my clean & jerk hasn't improved except for the fact that I can now squat clean 64k and not power clean.  Before I wasn't strong enough to squat clean 64kg, but I can now.  But my snatches have been improving.  I might not have made a huge improvement since last year but it is improving.  And it's hard when you don't have a coach to help make those corrections when you know you're doing something wrong but just can't figure it out.

So I with Barbells and Brews sold out I decided to go for the other one I had heard about...Pound for Pound at South Charlotte CrossFit, my first official home gym.  And the only reason I signed up is because my friend Amy gave me that confidence just by saying how good she thought I was at lifting and that she thought I should sign up.  Granted I've had other people tell me I should sing up for a meet and told me I should repeatedly because they knew I was ready but i just didn't feel as if I was.  You have to be mentally ready for them also.

So with my all registered the last thing I needed was a singlet and a coach for that day.

I contacted my friend Betsey, who I met at my USAW Sports Performance Coach certification course because she helped me with my first meet.  But she is unable to help out with this one so she started asking around for me.  Unfortunately, no luck so I asked her what she thought about one guy I had thought about asking, Matt Bergeron.  I've wanted to grab some programming from him for awhile but I can't swing the cost right now, but definitely in the future.  So I took a leap of faith and asked and he said he would be happy too.  

So coach for the meet booked.  Last thing to worry about was a singlet.  I contacted my friend Bobbie, who I knew had one from competing in an Oly meet before.  So I asked her if I could borrow hers.  If not, I was going to have to order one.  Luckily she found hers and I now have everything I need for next Saturday.  Now all I'm hoping for is a couple PRs (personal records).

Now with this whole training thing.  So I've known I've need a workout partner for awhile now.  Because it's hard for me to push myself during  conditioning part of a workout without a little bit of competition.  I don't have a clock to look at so the clock can't push me to beat a certain time, and without someone else to try and keep up with.  I need that outside motivator to push that little extra.  So I knew my condition had probably gotten a little worse.  I did't realize how bad until Guild's 4th of July community workout.  We did the workout in team of 5 and I was sore from that workout.  A workout that I shouldn't have been sore from!  So there in starts the fact that I need to start going there more to get some conditioning in.  So I decided to join them on Monday and skipped my conditioning which was suppose to be "Jackie" to go do "Cindy."

"Jackie"                                                              "Cindy"

For time                                                               20min AMRAP

1000m row                                                           5 pull ups

50 thrusters 45/35                                               10 push ups

30 pull ups                                                          15 squats

My old score for "Cindy" the very first time I did it was 18 Round + 28 reps...this past time 15 Rounds + 14 reps.  In my book that is absolutely horrible.  I did way worse than I expect of myself and again I'm sore!  But people remind me that I've been focusing a lot on my oly lifting, but I think I still do my conditioning, so it shouldn't be that bad! Yeah well I've got to be careful just for the fact that I have my oly meet next weekend but after that something is going to change.

R+F  Reverse
So I told you that once a week I would write about one of my R+F regimens.  I wanted to start with the Reverse regimen because I feel like it can be one of the least popular once.
So what exactly is the purpose behind using the Reverse regimen.  You no those extra freckles you get during the summer or that blotchy tan (some spots darker than other), dull skin, fine lines and wrinkles, dark marks, and sun damage.  Well it can all be reversed and evened out.  

Dullness and brown spots on our skin can be caused by past sun damage such as sunburns, tanning beds, not using sunscreen correctly, and even just the accumulation and daily sun exposure.  But it has also be influenced by our hormones as well: pregnancy, the birth control pill/path and hormone replacement therapy.  All these things can cause our skin to change.  And one of the great things is that R+F makes a Essentials Broad Spectrum Sunscreen to help protect your skin as well.  
When R+F created the Reverse regimen they made it so that it reflects natural light instead of our skin absorbing it and causing all the skin damage that it does.  By doing this our skin keeps that youthful, radiant, healthy look.  Unfortunately, we only see what is on the surface and not what happens to the many layers of skin we can't see, and these dark marks can make us look older and no one wants to look older than they are
The Reverse Regimen comes with 5 different therapies:

1) Deep Exfoliating Wash (Exfoliates) - cleanses and refines sun damage, blotchy complexion
It helps to loosen dead skin cells, which we all have, and contains exfoliating beads to help get rid of the dead skin cells

2) Intensive Brightening Toner (Fades Discoloration) - helps to brighten skin and fade discoloration, exfoliate and refines, and reduce free-radical damage using different acids approved for  your skin and antioxidants

3) Dual Active Brightening Complex (Brightens and Smoothes Lines) - it uses a combination of Vitamin C and Retinol
The Retinol helps with those fine lines and wrinkles and the Vitamin C helps brighten the appearance of skin.  You want to place a pea sized amount, dab and then blend on that face that we are transforming!

Our last step:
4) Broad Spectrum SPF 50+ Sunscreen 
The sunscreen is designed to absorb UV rays increasing your protection.  The high SPF 50+ formula and Vitamin E and green tea help fight free radicals that damage our skin.

Catching Up On Life + Mint Chocolate Recovery Shake

I swear I'm trying to catch up and get back into getting posts done on Thursday, which there isn't any reason that I shouldn't be able to with all the horrible free time that I'm having that I can't stand.  I've been dog sitting a lot since work has let out and I run around more doing that than anything else.  Heck it might help me make it through the summer...who would have thought!  I have been wanting to sit down and blog for some time now but just haven't gotten around to hit.  

My head has been all over the place and although I swear I will no longer talk about Fidget, he still crosses my mind everyday and I wonder when those days will cease to exist.  Although part of me never wants to forget and hang on to what little time we were together and the things that he said to me, I for my sake need to get it out of my head.  I started dating someone else, just seeing where it goes.  I met him back in April and he works in CA (civil affairs) and I'm not going to lie every second we spent together at first I wished it was Fidget that I was having those experiences with.  It's not fair to me or the guy I have been talking to, but I think feelings started to develop there.
But currently that guy is deployed as of last week for 6 months after only being here a month.  He was living out of a hotel!  But he did take me out to a fancy dinner the week before he left which I'm definitely not complaining and unlike most of my planned meals throughout the week, this girl can put away some food.  He said he was going to make an effort while he was gone but I haven't heard from him yet, so until he makes an effort I probably won't either.  Which only means he wasn't being honest with me.  Maybe on occasion to check in on him but I'm not going to wait around on someone who isn't acting interested.  I know, I know, but I'm over here thinking about Fidget right?  It's because he just gave up for a stupid ass reason.  And I will always wonder What If?

But I'm trying to get out there and move on and just going out and having fun.  Hanging out with friends and I'm getting ready to take a little trip myself...DC for Together 2016.   And if you know me you know how much I love DC!  I could go there a couple times a year and never get tired of it!
But I've added to my bucket list of thing to do....visit Lake Tahoe and WA.  I'd like to do at least WA this year.  
So other than dealing with that mental struggle what has been going on in my life with training, nutrition, and work...

Training + Mint Chocolate Recovery Shake

So training has been doing well.  I've actually seen some improvements in my clean (full) & jerks.  It's been over a year since I've seen any improvements and it's been very frustrating.  I had started on the Catalyst Athletics 8 week general cycle and that cycle ended last week.  Because I was home last weekend I was unable to test for my maxes so I'm going back through the last week of training and going to try them this weekend, but I probably should have backed up two weeks in the program and then tested for my maxes this weekend.
I will honestly not be upset this time if I don't hit a PR on my C&J as long as I'm consistent like I have been the previous two week of hitting a 63kg C&J.  I had been stuck at 61kg full clean for so long and to be able to actually get 63kg makes me happy.  My current max is 64kg but in a power clean. I couldn't do a full clean at 64kg this time last year.  I've been attempting 65kg and have been getting stuck.  I think next I'm going to start a squat cycle to improve my front squat so I can get a heavier clean.  I would love to hit 70kg/73kg but I feel as if I'm a long way off.
I would love to have some coaching and it's a bummer because since school has let out I can't afford it, but I know it would really help.  I've been wanting to get some coaching from a guy named Matt Bergeron but like I said I'm unable to pay anyone at this point.  I was talking with a friend the other day and was telling her how I had debated about competing in a USAW competition in September but I don't have the confidence to since I have no coach.  I've only made improvements in my snatch since competing last May.  Not a lot but improvements nonetheless.  She said that I was really good at lifting and should do the meet, but with my lack of confidence is it even worth me competing when I know that I haven't improved that much especially in my C&J.  But her encouragement has made me want to compete so I think I'm going to go for it!

Now my nutrition has been a completely different story.

There was a Mint Chocolate Recovery Shake in
there.

I haven't been eating like I should and can see the effects of it and it has taken a toll on my confidence.  I have been eating more sweets than I normally do (only on Sundays).  I've been sneaking in the handful of reese's pieces or a few spoonfuls of ice cream during the week, but with being busy dog sitting and spending the night at their place and not mine it's been good because they don't have that temptation even thought I've been told that I was welcome to any food that they had in the house.  I will admit that the cookie dough in the fridge has been staring me down but I have resisted.  
Unfortunately, I haven't been trying many new concoctions as far as food goes these days.  The only thing new I've tried is a Recovery Shake that is Badass Body Diet approved, Mint Chocolate.  I actually got this recipe from Spartan Nutrition.

Mint Chocolate Recovery Shake

1/2 banana

1c almond milk

1-2 scoops choc protein powder (ETB Fit)

1tsp peppermint extract

Schools Out & Work

School was over as of June 10th and I will miss some of my 8th graders but it will b nice to see some of my students again and I can't wait to see them.  I enjoyed last year so much and never in my wildest dreams did I think that working with special education students would be something that would touch my heart so much and feel me with so much joy.  It is a privilege to get to work with those types of kids.  I'm hoping that an Educational Aide position will come open for next school year so I can apply for it.

Like I said above since school has been out I have been dog sitting like crazy.  I think the only break that I will end up getting from dog sitting is the week that I'm going out of town for only a couple of days.  So I have become a dog sitter while school is out.  And like I said it has been keeping me busy and might actually pay my bills for the summer.  If I could make it every summer like this.  This might be the way to go!

These are officially my god puppies
(Remi - tan and Brooklyn - black)

Rodan + Fields
Many people have heard about this company and so many more others have not.  Rodan+Fields is a clinical skincare company, created by dermatologists.  It is a company that uses network marketing to promote and sell their products.  I had been contacted about using the product or becoming apart of the business for several months.  At first I just ignored the messages.  I already had a skincare line I was using, Proactive.  Which funny enough is made by Rodan+Fields, which a lot of people didn't realize.  So after being contacted several time about it I finally decided to talk to one of the consultants.  Money has always been an issue but they have had so much success with the business.  It's all about the marketing and reaching out to people.  
I attending an online BBL (business launch party) on night and had been thinking about it for awhile, just trying the product in general.  I'm 28 years old and have terrible acne and it only got worse when I tried a new product that was all natural that I was really hoping would help.  So what exactly do I do?
I spread the word about how great these products are and I honestly believe in them.  They created for different skincare lines for different skincare concerns: acne, sensitivity, dark spots/uneven complexion, anti-aging for those fine lines and wrinkles.  It's our adult skincare but it also works on kids.  For the next 4 weeks I plan on getting back into blogging and letting you know about each different regimen.  All I do is just spread the word.  I can work from home, by the pool, or while just hanging out with friends!  Who doesn't love that.  I mean I've worked while my oils getting changed.  I'm not chained to a certain location!  I have a great support group to be there for any questions I may have as I grow my business and hopefully become successful with it as I have a feeling I eventually will.

R+F Unblemish Regimen (this is the one that I use)

So why did I join.  It's a way to get me to financial freedom, and to share something that I'm passionate about.  My acne took away a lot of my confidence and the Unblemish regimen started clearing up my skin in only a week and a half.  Who doesn't love that!  But I also have other goals like going back to school and I would love to buy a new Toyota 4runner and house one day.  But to give women of any age their confidence back from their complexion along would be amazing!

Memorial Day + One Screwed Up Training Week

So this past weekend was Memorial Day and I know there can be a lot of confusion between Memorial Day and Veterans Day.  So just to clarify
Memorial Day - remember those that have served our country and have lost their lives for it
Veterans Day - those who have served our country and are still with us today

"Murph"
My Memorial Day actually started on Sunday afternoon around 3pm.  I had friends invite me to do "Murph" on post.  Now if you've never heard about or done "Murph,"  you're in for a treat.  So every year on Memorial Day the workout "Murph" is completed.  It is a workout that many CrossFitters do and other fitness enthusiasts do to honor not only Navy SEAL Michael Murphy bu many other fallen heroes.

Pre "Murph" (I had a sarcastic smile on)

"Murph"

1mi run

100 pull ups

200 push ups

300 air squats

1mi run

Now Sunday is typically my rest day and I love my rest day.  I just relax on my couch, watch tv, take a nap or spend time by the pool.  I was all for doing Murph earlier in the week but the closer to time it came to do Murph the more I was against it just for that simple reason I wanted to relax.  So I decided if anything I was at least going to go out and support those doing Murph.  I was going to show up in my workout clothes because when I watch I usually have an yearning to participate.  So I was still undecided even seconds before it was time to start.  But as soon as my friend Janine pushed start on her timer I took off with everyone else.  It started to get really humid because it had rained earlier that day, partly downpoured.  I was definitely sweating.  I think the worst part of the whole workout was the push ups and the 4 laps around the track for the mile.  I was able to do it in 1 hour and 5 minutes.  Definitely not my best time!  But it is nice to know that after the first year of completing it your legs don't feel like rocks on the second mile.   I completed Murph in 1hr and 5min this year.  Granted it was slower than my time from last year but I'm not in the same place I was as last year.

Working on my 200 push ups!!!  That was the worst part.

Pew Pew Practice
So I've been seeing a lot of friends lately start practicing their shooting more and some are even competing.  I myself own a gun for my protection when traveling by myself and also because I live by myself.  I have had my gun since I was 21 years old.  It was part of my birthday or graduation present.  I saved up that money after my family and I started shooting. 
Well I have always felt as if I was a bad shooter because my shots would never land where I wanted them to on the target and it helps that I never practice either.  I remember I went shooting with a friend before I left to move out here almost 3 1/2 years ago and have only been shooting twice since then.  You only get better or more efficient by practicing, just like at anything else. 
Anyways so for Memorials Day I stopped over by Guild to support my CrossFit family as they took on Murph for the holiday.  I didn't get to stay for the whole thing because I obviously was going shooting that day.  I have a friend that is a SF instructor and not only enjoys shooting but enjoys teaching others as well.  So he watched me shoot a mag at the target that was set to 10m away so he could see where I was having and issue.  My grouping was together, but obviously not in the place where I would like it to be...dead center.  My only issue he determined was just like most people I anticipate the recoil.  Stupid reflexes! 
I think I only lasted at the range for about an hour.  He showed me how to fix my grip so that it would take out some to the movement from the recoil. He moved the target out to 15m and things got worse! It's amazing how much worse of a shooter I felt like at just an extra 5m out from the first time.   We worked on the second site after taking the first shot and the most frustrating part is the wonderful game he decided to play with me.  My gun contains two magazines (holds the bullets that go in the gun).  He took both of them from me and emptied them out, plus we used his ammo, and he told me that he was going to put the magazine in either with a bullet or without a bullet.  I would not know, as I was not allowed to look when he was "loading" the magazine and putting in my gun.  Pull after pull the gun was empty and it was starting to work.  I was relaxing and making sure I was breathing when I pulled the trigger and my recoil was going away.  But my frustration was building.  I was tired of pulling the trigger and no bullet coming out of the gun.  Every single time, nothing.  We did it about 3-4 more times and then he called it a day.  He could tell I was getting frustrated and I'm sure just like with doing double unders in CrossFit, the more frustrated you get the worse and trying to fix the problem gets.

My Screwed Up Training Week
Well remember how I told you my schedule for working out last week was messed up?  Well it all started because of Murph on Sunday. 
Monday being Memorial day and I having plans and not being sure what time the gym opened I wasn't able to get my workout in.  And the only excuse I will make is that I wasn't going to drive to the gym just to find out that it was closed, especially after calling it several times. So instead of my normal rest day being Sunday and not going out for a run which probably would have helped when Tuesday rolled around and I had back squats to do.  And some of my normal Tuesday strength work got thrown in with Mondays work as well.  With quads still sore and meeting animals because of dog sitting this past weekend I had a busy Wednesday.  But I did get a chance to relax on Wednesday night by going to trivia night at Latitude 35.  They have trivia every Wednesday and I had done it once before almost as a double date type of thing.  It wasn't as much of a date for me as it was for a friend of mine.  But anyway.  I felt like all I did on Wednesday was run around and a much as I didn't want to skip out on running that day I'm glad that I did because I was running around with what felt like a chicken with my head chopped off.
Thursday I can't even remember what I did which only begins to tell you how crazy my week was.  Friday I did my normal conditioning and typically on Fridays because I'm so exhausted by the end of the week I go home and take a nap.  With my schedule being different this week I wasn't that tired and needed to go for a run since I've been pretty good about getting in 3 days a week since I decided to start running on a regular basis.  He, Fidget, is still motivation for this, to make him proud.  So I headed out for my 2.5mi run that I typically complete on a Monday as a warm-up for the week and that was probably all my body could handle with the heat and being sore.  I felt really slow that day!  But I couldn't wait to get home and have dinner.  Finally to be able to relax.
But Sunday would bring around a new week and back to my regular schedule!  So glad for that!

I was antsy to get out of my apartment on Froday so my girlfriend Krystal and I headed downtown to Southern Alternative Boutique just tonnage some fun trying on clothes and I need a top for the akort I had bought there previously. I decided to try on a romper: 1) because I have never had one on and 2) because Fidget said it was his least favorite outfit on any girl so I wanted to prove to him that they aren't that bad! Luckily they had one I thought was adorable so I had to try it on!

Man does my back look huge and yeah yeah I didn't
have on the right type of bra for trying this on.

Recovering + Kickball

Toward the end of last week between the stress I had placed on my body from switching up the days that I trained a certain way and being an Aide to a sick kid on Monday at work I caught a cold.  I have some amazing friends for wanting to help me out and take care of me but I've still got all this horrible mucus stuck in me and that's it!  Just mucus and it's aggravating that it won't go away.  I sound like I'm hacking up a lung coughing trying to clear it out.  Luckily for me this week on my Catalyst program it is a down week so volume is lighter as well as the weights.  

Keeping Up With Running
On Monday which is my normal 2.5mi run it decided to bring in a quick cold front and some rain.  And with still trying to clear out my system and get better I didn't want to miss my run so I went inside to hit the treadmill.  Now I didn't want to run 2.5mi on the treadmill although it wouldn't be a bad idea since it would help me with my speed outside but I decided to do a tabata run.  Now for those that don't know what a tabata is, it is typically seen as 8 rounds or sets of :20sec all out work/:10sec rest, giving you a grand total of 4min of work.  The great thing about tabata is that you can use it for cardio geared toward strength (running, rowing, air dyne) or a strength workout.  The pros and cons of using a treadmill for a tabata; pros: you can crank up the speed super high, I usually place mine around 8.5-9mph; cons: it doesn't completely wear your legs out like a true fartlek tabata run does not on a treadmill.  I've gotten so used to doing tabatas for a run on the treadmill that I extend it past the eight minutes and go for 15min.  But that 15 minutes on Monday felt like it took a little longer. 
Tuesday was a super busy day.  It was All American Week on post this week which had a lot of special events like the Army 10 Miler and a huge combatives tournament.  So Tuesday I did my strength work, headed to one job and then had to go in early to the other job early because they were so slammed.  And because we were so busy I wasn't really able to eat anything but what was suppose to be my afternoon snack turned into shoving that down my throat for dinner.  And Tuesday at work got to the point where I started to get irritated and have a headache because I hadn't eaten anything since 1045 that morning.  Here comes the hangry.
Wednesday morning I was lucky enough to finish my Catalyst athletic work early enough to go out for my 2.5mi run that I typically do on a Monday afternoon.  It honestly felt good to get everything done in the morning, and it was a good thing I did because I didn't realize how long my errands that I did that afternoon were going to take me.  
I got finished early with my strength work as well on Thursday and had time to do a little extra work so I decided to do 200 lunges (100/leg).  I'm not going to lie, it might sound hilarious to some, but adding running back into my training scares me a little bit.  I know it can change the appearance of how my body looks, especially my legs and believe it or not I like that my legs have some meat to them.  That they are "thick" for me and I don't want to lose that because of running and my butt.  I don't want to lose my butt either cause I like that too.  And let me tell you my booty is sore today.  Friday morning was going to be my last swim day and sure enough when I walked in the pool was closed and going to be closed all day.  It is time for the outdoor pool to open and they were finishing moving equipment out to the outdoor pool.  So that means the end of my swimming season since it's free to swim during the fall and winter months indoors and will cost me money during the spring summer months.  I can handle a couple months without swimming.  And I was planning on going out after work and doing hill sprints.  Well because the pool was closed I was able to complete  in the morning out of the heat later in the day.  my hill sprintsI used a 1:3 ratio of work to recovery.  And every week that I run, yes it is for me but it is still for Fidget as well.  I still want to make him proud of me even though he's not around anymore.  I'm glad this week is a light week with training.  I was able to come home and take a nap after work on Friday and just to give you an idea of how tired I mentally and physically become from everything I took a 2.5 hour nap.  I normally only sleep for an hour.  And the recovery week has been good for me trying to get all this crap out of my system.  I did have to cut back on some of the CrossFit conditioning though.  My favorite this week was the

7 Rd
20cal row
7 hang clean + thruster 115/80#

I only did 5 rounds and it was a good thing too because I was about to hack up a lung.  

Kickball


Shelby and me


 

So we all remember playing kickball in elementary school and some of us in middle school.  I remember playing it and loving it.  This past Thursday was the last day for a club at work called Bulldog (our work mascot) Buddies.  This club intermingles children with
disabilities and children without.  The plan for the last club meeting was kickball with the kids and hot dogs.  Who doesn't love a game of kickball and some classic American past time (yes I know that's baseball) food.  We headed outside around 330 with all the kids and all the food.  Those kids mean the world to me, like they are my own and I don't have any.  We divided up into teams and I played about an inning and a half before taking some of the students off the field because they needed to eat before catching the bus back to their 

Leilani and me




 

homes.  I had a friend come join us to play and when I took off out of the field to help feed the kids he stayed and played the rest of the same with them.  I hun out with the kids while they ate and we took pictures.  I would love a big group picture with all of them which I should have gotten then but not all of them stayed to play kickball after school.  I took some of them over to the bus so they could head home and then headed back over to hangout with everyone for awhile.  It is so much fun to hang out with them.  I honestly had thought about spending some of my birthday with them.

Oren and me

Confessions of....
So besides all of this I'm not going to lie, I do miss Fidget a lot.  I haven't gotten to talk to him but twice (only a couple hours part) since he's made it back to Washington and one of those conversations he had definitely been drinking.  He says he misses me and yes I miss him.  There are still things that I miss about him being here like us going out on runs together and some things I wish we could do together.  One of those conversations involved him telling me that his deployment was getting pushed forward but he wasn't sure when but he wants to see me before he gets deployed. But if that happens it's going to be tough because finances are extremely tight for me right now.  Yes, I really do want to see him before he leaves but him saying this while he had plenty of drinks in his system makes me really question if he meant what he said.  And the only reason I feel this way is because I've been told by 2 guys before that they loved me and they were drunk at the time when they said it.  I would brush it off and tell them about it only for them to apologize for not remember saying it.  Only for me to realize that my feelings were starting to progress in that direction.  So do I want to believe what he has said about coming to see him in WA or us meeting in New Orleans, absolutely! But am I sketchy about him meaning it, yes.  So hears to hoping he was being truthful even with the alcohol in his system. So with that being said I've got a lot of confusion going through my head on not sure what to do.  Most people would say forget about the whole thing but part of me just likes to hold on the that inkling of hope.

~God Bless

 

"Training strength and endurance mentally, physically, and spiritually."

Running All The Miles + Paleo Sloppy Joes YUM!

Running
Day 1...Loopty Loop
So it's the start of a new week and my legs are still sore from sharing 200 wall balls on Saturday from my workout.  And wall balls are one of my favorites (complete sarcasm).  But it's time to stop wishing I was magically a better runner and actually work for it after not running for two weeks.  It was a hot day Monday but it was more humid than anything.  With the weather suppose to reach almost 90 degrees that day I had a feeling I was going to regret running that afternoon, and almost decided to forego it.  But I knew it needed to be done and would also help with leg recovery. Yes I could run later in the evening when it wasn't so warm outside but running an out and back near my apartment ha gotten old and I can't stand all the traffic and once I leave work and head home I'm not coming back in the same direction, wastes gas.
The worst thing you can do when you're sore is just rest until you feel better.  So running was my answer to solve that problem.  I headed to the gym after work and changed my clothes and decided to repeat an old route I had taken with Fidget before. I want to make him proud for some reason but more make myself proud for sticking with it even though most days I don't want to run.  Running around post is peaceful, there's not too many cars around and the beauty of idea behind that place when you think about it was amazing.  I'm surround my men and women and their families who protect our country.  I don't know if anything could be more peaceful than that thought.  So off I went for a good mile and a half of semi flat surfaces besides jumping on and off sidewalks and then heading through a small neighborhood to make one last turn before hitting two long gradual hills and finish off right by the track. 
My legs started out aching but I can't remember when that feeling just left from my mind, maybe when I started wondering how long it was going to be until my first left turn because I knew exactly where I was at in my run at that point.  But once that feeling escaped my mind my run felt good.  I felt like I was holding a decent pace even though I wasn't sure exactly what it was.  I didn't want to use my run app, partially because I'm almost out of data for the month, and also because I didn't want to be disappointed at my pace not being where it use to be.  The focus was my current run and getting better, not the runner I use to be.
After my 2.5mi run I went back into the gym to redo the push presses that I thought I had messed up that morning. 
Push press (5x5 @ 75%)  my max currently is 52kg/115# giving me a 75% of 38kg.  Well for some reason after doing them I thought that it was suppose to be 75% of my 1RM split jerk (64kg) so I did them again giving me a 75% of 48kg/105#.  My was able to get the first two sets unbroken and then had to back up the last three; 4/1-4/1-3/2.  I knew my arms were pretty worn out from that morning so I couldn't be to upset with it and the fact that I was doing the wrong thing when I had done it correctly that morning.  I'm not sure what my mind was thinking after I finished up this morning.  But the fact that I went back into the gym to correct something I thought I had messed up even though I wanted to go home was an accomplishment in itself!
As of right now the debate is whether to run Thursday morning and lift in the afternoon or vice versa?  Decisions Decisions....

Day 2....Pike Field Trail

A view from the top.  Yes that small dirt road
is still my trail, more hills!

So I was dreading day two all week!  It was a trail run and I had packed everything I needed the night before constantly telling myself I was going to go.  At first I was concerned it was going to be too hot to run.   Then I was worried about it raining, but if it rained at least it would cool off a little bit.  Part of me was wishing it would rain when I left work so that I could postpone my run.  I had thought about just going ahead and postponing until Friday but after strength work that morning my body needed an active rest day and then a nap afterwork on Friday.  So after school I headed to the gym to change, taking my sweet time to get out of my car because I was still debating heading home and saying screw it all.  I was not looking forward to running it by myself especially after the first run.  It was horrible only for the simple fact that it was my first time running 4 miles in I don't know how long and running on a trail!  I wasn't looking forward to heading out and up that hill, especially solo.  But it turns out the run didn't feel that bad. I actually felt faster.  Along the way, before I hit the longest hill ever, some guys were out there in their truck having some fun slinging mud and dirt around.  Last time I wrote a blog after running that trail I said that I would take a picture looking like Rocky at the top once I did it again solo.  I wanted to make Fidget proud that I accomplished this the 2nd time without him!  

Well I didn't exactly do that but I was super proud of myself for making it to the top of this hill at what felt like a faster pace than my first attempt after trudging through soft sand I never stopped running either.  I always tell myself no matter how much it hurts or how tired your legs are it doesn't matter how fast you go, you could be feeling like you're moving like a grandma, just keep running.  I don't care if someone could walk the same pace as you're running because it's that slow.  Don't stop that running pace with your feet.  It only gets better from there.  After posing for a selfie accomplishment at the top of the hill I started back down.  Ahh down hill, passing the guys in their truck again.  Only this time they were trying to dig themselves out of a hole haha
As soon as I hit the water bridge I knew I was almost back to where I started and I couldn't wait.  Even though I was dreading this run today I was super excited I made myself go do it and that I did it solo.  It feels great pushing though those mental barriers.  I can't tell you how hard it was this week to make myself go run after work this week instead of going straight home!





Paleo Sloppy Joes
I've thought about making these several times over the past couple month and I'm honestly not sure why I hadn't tried to make them before.  I remember sloppy joes as a kid and at first when I was younger I didn't like them just off the fact that they didn't look good.  Yes, I was weird like that but I still have my weird things when I comes to food.  It's a nice quick meal to make, maybe taking only about 30min to cook the meat and other ingredients together.  Use what you like for the bun but every since I tried large portobello mushroom caps for a bun in replace of bread I've never looked back.

Sloppy Joe Mix
Cook time: 30min
Ingredients
1-2tbsp olive oil (I just poured some in my pan)
1lb ground turkey (use what you like but I stick with white meats)
1 small red pepper chopped
1 small onion chopped
2tsp garlic powder
1tsp chili powder
1tbsp yellow mustard
1 can tomato paste (6oz)
5-6tbsp apple cider vinegar
pepper to taste


Directions
1.  Chop/dice red pepper and onion.  Place in pan and sautee until slightly translucent
2.  Add in meat and cook thoroughly (completely browned), breaking up large chunks of the meat.
3.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined then let simmer for 5-10min until sauce is thick (mine already was thick after adding all ingredients) but this also allows the flavors to really come together.

For the Bun:
1. preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. 2 large portobello mushroom caps
3. flip stem up and remove (I cut mine out with a knife)
4. over baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray
5. place portobello mushrooms stem side down
6. Cook for 15min

The recipe I used as a guideline also calls for 1/2c beef stock, 1/2tsp liquid smoke.  I forgot about the beef stock (I would have bought chicken though), and didn't want to buy liquid smoke for just one recipe.  That is way see 5-6tbsp of apple cider vinegar.
Let me tell you, reliving this childhood classic was delicious and fun!  This is just a fun dinner to eat because we all know the meat won't stay in the sandwich.   Kind of like tacos, how the meat slides out of the shell and you get more on your plate to eat after and can make another taco haha.  I'm actually very happy about how these turned out if you can't tell.  The meat didn't turn out took thick or too runny, just right.  
With the mushroom caps, make sure to bring plenty of napkins/paper towels because mushrooms hold a lot of water so you will have juice running town your arms.  Mine actually wasn't as bad as when I use them for burgers.  But a great alternative to an actual hamburger bun.



~Side Note
So one of the good parts about living in a military town is when you're friends come back from deployments.  It's always great to see them return especially when they didn't tell you they were leaving.  I had one friend show up last week that I hadn't seen in months.  It was still warm last year (I think) when I saw him last.  I have one more person I'm hoping is deployed to come back and that he didn't PCS without tell me.  I hate when people I am close to don't tell me they are getting deployed or when training starts and I don't know if I can contact them or not.  It worries me when I can't get ahold of them or don't know they're leaving.
So here's to hoping one returns soon and then other is in training and can't be reached.  Either way I hope they are both safe.

My body is still completely exhausted by mid week with changing up my training schedule days.  Since I've had to switch my active rest day to Fridays I'm using the afternoon for naps.  This is the first week I've gotten one.  And let me tell you my body needed it.  I slept for 2 hours!  If only I had more time to take naps during the week.  Why couldn't we like naps as children.

~God Bless

"Training strength and endurance mentally, physically, and spiritually."

A Lot and Nothing All at Once + Cupcake Experimenting

So the weather has finally gotten warmer and I decided to take my blog writing outside this afternoon.  I want to say it's in the 80's as far as the heat goes while I'm home visiting my mom for Mother's Day weekend.  There has been very little but at the same time a lot going on in the past 2 weeks and I'll try to sum it up as best as I can without writing a horribly long blog for you all.  

Secret Church + Strawberry Pickin

Last week I had a quick not even a full day trip back to Charlotte.  My mom had gotten yourself and me tickets to an event called Secret Church with David Platt.  We didn't get there until around 730pm when the event started at 630pm.  So we only missed an hour of everything.  We were given a guide book with fill in the blanks to kind of follow along.  But man does David talk fast.  The booklet was filled with Bible verses that related to the discussion.  We we talking about praying for India and the Muslims in the country.  How some of them are persecuted for being Christians.  Mom and I left around 9pm.  He talks really fast and to think this thing lasted until 1230am.  And part of me wanted to leave because it just wasn't what I thought it was going to be.

So there is a place around Bragg called Gillis Hills Farms and every year they have strawberry picking and later n the year they will have a pumpkin patch. But ever since the strawberries have been ready to pick I've wanted to go pick some.  It's just simple fun to go out and find beautifully red strawberries and pick them off the plant instead of buying them in the store.  So the whole family headed out the strawberry picking farm in the Concord area, new nephew included.  He was 6 days old at that point.  The weather was disappointed as it was cold and a little drizzly.  But we picked 3 gallon containers full of strawberries.  Why I need that many straw berries is beyond me considering I don't even eat the things.  But my whole point of wanting to pick them, besides the fact that it is just fun to do, was I have been wanting to make flavored cupcakes.  Now I don't know why I wanted to make these but had been in that kind of mood since making the apple pie recovery shake the other week.  And I wanted it to be real fresh fruits.  

I headed back to Bragg later that afternoon because I was suppose to go to the food truck rodeo with Fidget on Sunday before he took off back to WA.  Yep, he was leaving me.  The joys of living in a military town!  It was something that I wanted to do as a treat for him that I figured would be fun for the both of us just to enjoy each others company and have some laughs.  But plans fell through and we didn't go and he ended up leaving a day earlier than what was originally planned.

So I hit the gym on Sunday afternoon since I didn't go Saturday because of strawberry picking with my family.  And the weather was nice again.  It called for rain at some point I believe but I was able to get plenty done and even though I was excited about experimenting with the cupcakes I just wasn't in the mood that day.   So I spent most of the day getting my food ready for the week.  

New Training Schedule Abound

So it's the start of a new week and I decided that it was time to try something different with my training.  Not to mention it would be my last time I would get to see Fidget before he took off on his trip only to not know when or if I'd ever see him again even though it has been mentioned about me visiting.  I was super upset with myself and will probably always kick myself for this because I completely overslept that Monday morning.  My alarm is set for 330am so I can be at the gym by 0500 and get and hour and a half workout in.  Well, what do you know?  I overslept until 6am.  So not only did I not get to see him one last time I had actually picked out a dress to wear that day specifically for that reason.  O the joys of being a girl sometimes haha.  But within all that going on I decided it was time to switch up my training a bit. 

So I have try to keep my training pretty much scheduled out in my head at least.  M/T/Th/F/S I go to the gym in the mornings and do all my lifting and on Wednesday mornings I typically used as an active recovery day and would swim.  We the Catalyst Athletic lifting programs I follow call for Mon-Thur lifting, Friday and Sunday rest day and another lifting day on Saturday.  So with how I was doing it I wouldn't get a rest day before the day I was suppose to do my heavy singles.  And trust my lifts probably felt heavier than they should have!  

So this week I decided, which should have been a long time ago, to actually follow the training cycle with rest days on the proper days as written.  It was weird not walking into the pool on Wednesday morning and hitting it on Friday morning instead.  And not to mention I was completely exhausted by the time Friday afternoon rolled around for another trip to Charlotte.  But it all paid off this morning when I finally C&J 140# (squat clean).  O and not to mention I did that twice!  It felt so easy standing up out of 140# this morning I couldn't believe it.  It's been a struggle for me for squat cleans, and it has mentally broke me down more than any other lift I have ever done.  To the point where I've almost started realize that that lift isn't going up anytime soon with out some corrections to my form that I have no idea what needs to be done without a coach.  

But hitting that this morning felt great!

So...about that running. 
I am sad to report that I haven't ran in 2 weeks!  I'm disappointed in myself but also for some reason don't want Fidget to be disappointed in me either.  We used to run together once a week and that actually helped make me go running.  He would make me run further than I would if I was every by myself and it was always good company.  I think it helps motivate me when I have someone that expects something out of me, but I'm not sure he does so I guess I better start expecting more out of myself when it comes to this whole running thing.  It is definitely going to be hard breaking my routine of going home straight from work and start getting ready for the next day but you have to put in the effort if you want some things in your life and training to improve.  Nothing magically improves overnight because you wish it will, you have to work at it.  No one said it would be easy but that's the best part about when you accomplish what you said out to do.  You know how much hard work has gone into what you just accomplished.  So my goal for tomorrow is 2.5 miles an old route that takes me almost passed my place of work.

Cupcake Experiments

So as I mentioned earlier I have been wanting to experiment making natural flavored cupcakes by actually using real fruit for the past 2 weeks.  The first thing I needed to do was try and find a recipe for paleo cupcakes.  Which isn't too hard to do with the internet these days.  I always use theses as a guide for cooking and then tweak the recipe as I need it.  So Thursday night I finally broke down and made my cupcakes, and also the fact that I didn't want my more than I needed strawberries to start getting mushy.  So my flavors that I had been wanting to try: strawberry (obviously), strawberry banana, banana, banana peanut butter, lemon raspberry, and chocolate peanut butter.  I didn't end up making the chocolate peanut butter because I honestly at around 945pm became a lazy cook and left it as vanilla.  So I pureed some strawberries and raspberries, and diced some strawberries as well in order to sprinkle some strawberry pieces into the strawberry cupcakes.   I made two of each flavor except I only made one banana and one vanilla.  My mistake:  putting the banana and banana peanut butter next to each other so I couldn't remember which was which.  But I made them to take to school for some of the teachers that I always work with.  

I couldn't resist trying it before I took a picture of it.  Paleo Vanilla
Cupcake with non paleo vanilla bean ice cream and carmel.

With the strawberry banana I wanted the banana to be the main focus of the cupcake and then have swirls of strawberry in them.  So I mixed that batter with banana and then placed some strawberry puree on top and used a toothpick to swirl it in.  The strawberry was easy, just add the puree to the batter and the same went for the banana.  The banana peanut butter I had to make sure the peanut butter wasn't clumped together and which I might try something a little different with those next time.  Maybe just banana batter with a dollop of peanut butter in the middle.  It was fun experimenting with the different flavors though.

I spent the weekend in Charlotte for Mother's Day.  And that afternoon I helped my mom plant some fruits and veggies in her garden (strawberries, zucchini, cucumbers, cabbage, squash).  I actually enjoyed doing it which was the least thing I expected to do.  We were going to try and head down to the food truck neighborhood rally in Steele Creek but by the time we would have gotten there it would have been too late.  So we went to a Greek restaurant in
Concord instead.  It was good, but I guess I got something that I could just normally fix at home so it wasn't anything special.  It will definitely be worth another trip and to try something different. 

Sunday I spent some time at the lake with the family and we took a boat ride.  It was nice to be out on the lake again and can't wait to go back more this summer! Another thing to look forward to!

~God Bless

"Training strength and endurance mentally, physically, and spiritually."