Running; I've Been Doing it Wrong

I've been meaning to post on this topic for two days now, since I learned two days ago that I have been horribly mistaken on my shoe choices for activities. Greta over at Big-Bottom Blogger beat me to it today, with her post on barefoot running.

During Monday's Crossfit workout, I was to be finding my "max rep" for three movements: back squat, dead-lift, and military press. Before going over the movements with me, the trainer asked me to remove my shoes (I was wearing new running shoes). Not a problem, I love being barefoot. He then proceeded to tell me how running shoes are basically the devil when it comes to form, and go against the natural motion that thousands of years of evolution worked so hard to produce.

He took a section of PVC pipe, and held it upright. He said, "ok, imagine this pipe is your heel/knee/hip all in alignment." He let the pipe hit the floor at a slight angle, as if the bottom of the pipe was a heel hitting the ground. He was placing the pipe down in a forward motion, as most runners do with their legs. When the pipe struck the floor, where did all the energy go? Backwards. Essentially, all these years I thought I had good running form, but instead, with each strike of my heel, I was throwing the brakes on.

I asked what shoes I should be wearing for Crossfit/running. He recommended anything flat; Adidas Sambas, Nike Free's, Puma H-streets, and of course, those ridiculous looking Vibram Five Fingers. I mentioned that I have a high arch, and don't I need support? He then said to me, "what would happen if you walked around all day with a back brace on? Then after years you decided to take it off? What do you think would happen?" So, instead of supporting my arches I have been making them weaker by giving them a crutch. Interesting.

So, I will soon be one of those ridiculous fools wearing those crazy shoes where each toe is defined. Hopefully only in the confines of the gym as to not look like too much of a slave to trends. Apparently not everything new that comes out is a gimmick.

Further reading on this topic, from NPR:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123031997


Oh, and I got called up for a face to face interview from Monday's phone interview...Top 2 Baby! Top 2!

Vacation Over

I didn't necessarily mean for my vacation from work to be a vacation from blogging, but it just sort of turned out that way. As a result, I have so much stuff swimming in my head. It feels like I took more than a week break, based on how much stuff happened.

Mega Victories:
Running a 7K in 48 minutes.









Pre-Start







Remaining 100% Paleo while out of town (away from my kitchen)
Convincing my stubborn mom that Paleo is a) sustainable and b) good for me
Losing 3 pounds! Plateau over!
Today I Back-squatted 185 pounds, and was told I was "smoking the other girls at the gym" (in back squat)

Medium-Victories
Driving a 16' moving truck from San Francisco to Seattle in 13 hours sans accidents/tickets
Making delicious birthday cupcakes for my boyfriend and only eating 2
Making it to 4 Crossfit sessions while on vacation (it should be noted that the gym is next to my work)
Seeing the huge Paleo success my brother in law is having...he and my sister cooked this Paleo meal for my mom and I:

















Mini-Victories
Playing 2 hours of football with my friends and not being sore one bit the next day
Successful first meeting of my mom and boyfriends parents
Ate at many restaurants when my mom was in town visiting...remained mostly Paleo.
Had a phone interview for a job today, I was one of 8 people out of 40 that applied that got a phone interview. We'll see if I get selected for an in-person interview.
Visiting new locations in Washington:


I have so much blog reading to catch up on!

Introducing the "L-Sit"

Today may have been my hardest day at Crossfit thus far, not counting my first day that is, because first days are always the hardest. There were a few moments I was unsure if I would be able to finish my workout, as the way it was set up, the less strong you were, the longer the workout took.

We had to complete 3 minutes of the "L-sit"


Of course, there is no way I (or anyone that was working out with me today) could do that for 3 uninterrupted minutes. So, each time we "dropped" we had to do 5 burpees.

Burpee:


Let's just say I had to do A LOT of burpees, and even now, at 2:30pm 6 hours after my workout, my hair in a bun is still damp from sweat. However, I DID manage to do 3 minutes of the L-sit (well, modified) after 18 minutes, 51 seconds. So, that means I basically did 15 minutes of burpees. I wonder if my arms will be functional tomorrow?

Do I still like Crossfit? HELL YES. Although...ask me tomorrow. Ha ha.

Crossfit is NO Joke

Ok, ok, I know some of you might be sick of me gushing about my newest obsession...Crossfit. Hey, at least I'm not talking about how great Paleo is anymore (even though it really is, and I have to fight the urge to post about how great it is everyday. HA!) So yesterday I was shown/proven how fast my first seven Crossfit workouts result in marked improvement in performance.

There is a lake here in Seattle, Greenlake, and it is a popular place to run. There is an inside paved track (2.7 miles) and an outside loop trail (3.1 miles/5K). I've always run the outside because the inside loop is always packed with people. Since I've lived in Seattle, Greenlake has always been a constant for me. My nine years here in Seattle can be broken down into "being able to run the full loop without stopping" and "not being able to." I remember when I first moved here, I could run the outside loop in 30 minutes.

I like Greenlake because its so familiar. I know what to expect at every turn. Its a benchmark for my fitness, as when I'm out of shape I can't complete the loop without walking, and when I'm "in shape" I can. One year ago I tried to run Greenlake because I knew I needed to see where I was at. I could not run the whole thing. It took me 39 minutes to do the loop. In March, 3 months after I started this blog/journey, I had lost 15 pounds and had been exercising regularly. I headed to Greenlake to see where I was at after 3 months of exercise, and I ran the loop non-stop in 35:41 minutes. I was ELATED! I knocked 3.5 minutes off my time. March - June I continued to run, but really never got faster then a 35 minute loop.

In June, I started eating Paleo, and my exercise pretty much fell off a cliff, even though my weight loss accelerated. I was fine losing weight with no exercise. It was like a dream come true! Somewhere in late July or early August, I decided to try a Greenlake loop. I had to do some walking, but still finished the loop in 36 minutes. Anyone that has spent a lot of time running, or doing any other sport knows how quickly the cardiovascular ability disappears if its not kept up. I definitely was not keeping it up.

September 1, enter Crossfit. As of Friday, September 17, I had completed seven Crossfit sessions.

Yesterday, I decided to hit up Greenlake to see where I'm at. In the back of my mind was how I haven't run distance in weeks. In the back of my mind was the time in July when I couldn't make it around without stopping.

I decided I would just take it slow. I would go as far as I could go, and if I had to walk, fine. I started out and focused on finding a rhythm. A rhythm for my breathing, for my steps, for my thoughts. I felt strong, I felt good. At about the half way mark, I looked at my watch and was blown away to see that I was only at 17 minutes...normally the watch says something entirely different. I realized I was on track to have a really good time, and that motivated me to keep going. I pushed on, I felt like I was moving at a snails pace. I finished the outside loop in 33:33!

Holy shitballs. You mean to tell me that I can essentially do no exercise for 3 months, then do 7 Crossfit workouts and beat my time from prior to 3 months ago when I was running consistently?!?!??! If that isn't amazing, I don't know what is. If that isn't efficiency, I don't know what is. If that isn't proof that Crossfit does exactly what it claims to do, I don't know what is. Crossfit is no joke.





I know it sounds crazy, but even after my first 3 Crossfit workouts, I felt like I was getting stronger.

Shaking...High off my Fix

I'm so high. I'm shaking, sweating, red faced, and can't stop grinning. Yup...just finished some Crossfit "crack." Let me tell you...that is some good sh*t. It was just me today because they were technically closed! I read the hours wrong, showed up at 3pm, and they close at 1pm. Two of the trainers were there working on stuff, and said they would be happy to put me through a workout! How fricken' awesome is that?!

They asked me where I have been. They were certain they scared me off. I said no, its just that today is the first day I can move since Tuesday. They laughed and laughed. Joking ceased.

My workout today was twice as long as any of my other workouts, and WOW, it was great. Maybe I'm crazy, but I already feel stronger? I feel great. I'm walking on sunshine surrounded by rainbows and puppy dogs. My boss is talking in one ear, and I'm like "la la la la la." Maybe its important and I should listen? Nah. La la la la la la la la la.

I can't wait for Monday! Peace b*tches!

H-O-ly Crap.

Ok. Wow. I ended my first Crossfit workout over 20 minutes ago. I'm still panting. My arms and legs are shaking. My face is bright red. I can't wait to go back tomorrow. I just hope my breathing returns to normal by then.

I showed up a little early in case I needed to sign any release forms. I was introduced to everyone, and then there was about 10 minutes of awkward waiting for 1pm to roll around. I eyed all the equipment around the gym. Some of it looked straight out of medieval torture chambers. Other equipment was fun, toy-like looking almost. Other items were familiar.

There was a huge white board on one side of the gym, with WOD scribbled on it, and a list of warm-ups, and then a huge blank space with names and times. Our trainer pointed to "warm-up 1" and we ran out the door for a quick 400m. Once that was over, I was singled out to work with a trainer to learn some basics. I was taught "free squats" (squat till your bum hits a medicine ball- there is more to it, but that's the gist) "samson stretch" (stretch in the lunge pose with your arms above your head) and then told to follow those up with push-ups and jumping jacks. So after my 400m run, I did 3 sets of 10 free squats, 15 seconds on each leg of samson stretch, 10 push ups, and 25 jumping jacks.

I was officially warm. I was told that my form was "very good" and "indicative of an athletic past." No words could ever sound sweeter to me. I'm sure they were just trying to encourage me and be nice, but still, I'm a sucker for that stuff. Next up, I was introduced to kettlebells and the rowing machine. Ah, my 3.5 years of high school rowing DID serve some purpose later in life! Lol. So after the trainer was confident I could do each skill, he told me the workout. 21- 15- 9. I would do 21 kettlebell swings, 21 push-ups, 300m row, 15 kettlebell swings, 15 push-ups, 300m row, 9 kettlebell swings, 9 push-ups, 300m row. As fast as I could.

The whole thing took me 10? 11 minutes? I was DEAD. I can honestly say I gave it my all. I'm sure it was first day jitters, wanting to show that I'm capable of some things. But also, it's a promise that I made to myself, that I will give Crossfit everything I have, every workout. I will leave my infamous attitude at the door. I will not let my brain tell my body when it thinks its had enough. I will not let my brain tell my body what it thinks it can and cannot do.

I gave it so much in fact that it was a full 8 minutes after I was done with my workout that my body felt relaxed enough to get a side cramp. About this time I also came down with an intense headache. One that I knew wouldn't be lasting...but more of a purge of toxins from my muscles. I let the headache wash over me, and as soon as it came, it was gone.

Did I mention I can't wait to go back tomorrow?

And So it Begins...

In approximately 3.5 hours, I will be participating in my very first Crossfit workout. Excited? Yes. Nervous? Yes. Ready? Yes. The best feelings in life come from us pushing ourselves past previous limits, and discovering we are capable of more than we knew possible.

I dropped by the Crossfit location by my work (the one I would be potentially joining) just to check it out and get a feel for the place. It was pretty much exactly what I expected...a rented out space in an industrial type area, with a big garage door open exposing sweaty people, boxes, kettlebells, bars, a GIGANTIC truck tire, etc. I went in, and found an empty front reception area, so I walked back to where the people were. A group of very fit men looked at me, and I asked who I could speak to about joining. One guy stepped forward, and gave me a nice run down of the facility, what they do, etc.

He said to stop by on Monday for a free week trial. He said that the class sizes are small. About 20 minutes is spent learning the correct way to do the moves demonstrated by trainers, and then the workouts last 15-20 minutes. I like the sound of that!

I know once things get going I will be fine. I've never liked the feeling of being new, and unsure of how things will go. It's only a one week trial, so if it isn't a good match, then I can make other arrangements.

I'll be back later to let you know how it went!

Whew. Sore.

On Saturday I helped a friend of mine do some yardwork. I knew it would be a great workout, plus, I really admire this girl. She is quite possibly one of the most 'driven' people I know, ivy league education, intense athlete (even did an olympic sailing campaign), and SUPER, SUPER modest about it all, and so nice. So, we dug, and pick-axed, and wheelbarrowed, and dumpstered. The whole time I kept thinking how "paleo" this workout was. Doing something for a reason, vs. being a gerbil on a wheel.

I was really curious about her diet/exercise habits (because I think she is in great shape), but didn't know how to bring up the whole, "so, have you ever thought of eating paleo" thing without seemingly like a pushy salesperson. As we were shoveling dirt around in the dumpster, she says, "so my husband and I just joined Crossfit." Almost as if she could read my mind! I got WAY too excited and proceeded to go into a 15 minute diatribe about how much I love Paleo. I got to ask tons of questions about Crossfit, because Paleo and Crossfit are kinda like Bert and Ernie. Where there is one, eventually there is the other.

She told me the kinds of things she did during her first few private sessions, I told her menu ideas that were delicious and husband fooling. Still, not believing how the conversation that I was struggling to bring up in my head became a reality (kismat?). We finished up, I went into the office for a few hours, and decided I would be joining Crossfit in the near future. I'm thinking Septemeber 1st ish?

On Sunday, true to my crazy self, I started thinking, well, I can't go into Crossfit without some sort of base...I don't want to totally suck, so, after I painted the first coat on the kitchen walls, I set up a mini Crossfit circuit. I grabbed a bench (for "box" jumps), a full gallon of paint (for "kettleball" swings), and decided to do push-ups and leg throws (lie on my back, grab a chair behind my head, lift my legs up to 90 degrees and lower them almost to the floor, and back up).
My workout, or "WOD" (ha, look at me) consisted of:
20 "box jumps"
20 "kettleball" swings
20 push ups
20 leg throws
20 "box jumps"
20 "kettleball" swings
15 push-ups
15 leg throws
15 box jumps
15 kettleball swings
10 push ups
10 leg throws
10 box jumps
10 kettlball swings
5 push up
5 leg throws

That took me 15 minutes. I was sweating like crazy, and my heart rate was elevated after, box jump #3...of the first set. Yeah, I can see why those Crossfit people are so ripped. Not to mention this was a crude, crude, version of whatever I imagine takes place inside those walls.

I woke up this morning, and WOW am I sore. I think I can feel every muscle in my stomach, pecs, and back. My shoulders, biceps, and hammies are slightly tight. I love it! Oh, and I'm down another pound this week.