2011

It's hard to believe it's the end of January already. 2010 is a year I would never like to repeat. I'm gonna go ahead and leave it at that.

Moving forward, then. It seems Paleo 3.0 is now upon us and what better time for me to get my ass back to class. I needed a break, basically from life in general. I needed to cocoon. But when the cocoon starts feeling stifling, it's time to climb back out, and I guess I'm finally there.

I've been running--a mildly moderate amount. One easy run, one tempo run and one long run per week. I've been yoga-ing. SAY WHAT? Yes, I have. And I actually like it. And I've been doing sort of baby strength WODS about once a week. It's been a good place to get my head back on straight, but physically I've been on a bit of a plateau. I feel tired, and heavy, most of the time. My runs (even the tempo ones) are slow. I'm kind of squishy, a few pounds heavier than I'd like to be and I'm generally operating a bit sub-par, most of the time.

We attended Greg Amundson's most recent goal-setting seminar this past weekend and it did wonders for my soul. My biggest goal for 2011 is to get the negatively-nuanced voice out of my head. I've always struggled with negativity and I've always written it off as my tendency to be a "realist" (read: NOT an optimist). Well, realist or not, I WANT to be happy and I WANT to be successful and I'm willing to believe that the first place to start is with a willingness to rearrange my thought patterns. It's not an easy trick for me and I'm fairly appalled at how often my internal thoughts are negative (now that I'm paying attention).

My 7 day goal from the seminar was to get back onto a healthy Paleo diet by eliminating sugar and grains from my diet. I'd been eating general crap throughout the holiday season, and as always the general crap I put into my body resulted in the general crap coming out. Tired, cranky, chubby, blue. Definitely not my favorite model of Emily. I'm 6 days back in to the Paleo and am already feeling better. Tired and sore, yes. Carb detoxing, yes. But already less puffy, less blue.

One of the things I realized while discussing goals and life with Sam was that this blog helps keep me on track. It helps keep my fitness and diet on track, and keeping my fitness and diet on track help keep my head on straight and my life in order. Putting my thoughts and workouts to "paper"--creates a sort of motivational loop for me. I like for things to be concrete. I like progress to be tracked. I am soothed by lists.

And so this week, a recap:

Sunday:
8 mile run at 9:30/mile pace

Monday:
Rest/Active recovery cycling

Tuesday:
3.8 mile run at 9:30/mile pace

Wednesday:
CrossFit:
Turkish Getups (worked up to 25# kettlebell)
WOD:
2, 4, 6, 8, 10 Clean and Jerk (53#)
w/ 2 Rounds Cindy each set
Time: 19:33

Thursday:
5.25 mile run at 9:00/mile pace

Yoga

Friday:
Strict Press 2 RM
33x5
53x2
58x2
63x2
68x2
73x2

WOD:
5 rounds
200M Run
10 Hang Power Snatch (45#)
7 pushups
Time: 13:37

Sam gave us the option of either doing 10 snatches and 7 pushups or 7 snatches and 10 pushups. I picked the version with more snatches. Clearly, CLEARLY, not my smartest moment.