out and about

I stole this photo from Anna's facebook. Sue me. fathlete confession: I love chillin' with the One World folks - especially when we cross over and hang with the Krav and BJJ peeps. It's always tons of fun! 

Last night we headed over to the VooDoo Lounge because the BJJ guys were celebrating some birthdays and blue belts. Earlier in the day, One World hosted an affiliate throwdown. I had the day off and was glad to be able to go. It was fun to see how big our CrossFit family is. To do that and then celebrate outside our gym clothes was awesome!

Warm-up
Row for wattage
box jump practice (I still haven't passed the red box)
stretching

CrossFit One World WOD: Front Squat
5/3/3/2/1/1/1

95/115/125/135/140/145/150 (fail)

And then... handstand work. (I held my handstand for 19 seconds.)

Notes (to myself) about this workout:

My max on the front squat was 133#. Since I was out til about 3am and the class is at 9am, I was less than ideal to do this WOD. (I knew I was less than ideal because I just couldn't get past the red box during the warm-up - and this is with Jason K. assisting me on the higher box jump!) I am happy that I beat my max. Right now, I'm going to forget that I failed at the 150# attempt. ha ha!

After the WOD we did handstands. fathlete confession: I accidently kicked Jason K. in the face. He and Tia were helping me get up for the handstand. I guess I didn't give him fair warning because I accidently clocked his mouth with my foot.... and his lip was bleeding. I still feel terrible about the whole thing. Big kudos to Jason K. for being a good sport.

remembering Ron...

Early Wednesday morning I opened up my email and discovered some pretty devastating news. Ron Takaki, one of the most prolific academics of our time had just passed away. It’s all still sinking in. If you want more information, please refer to the L.A. Times article that was just posted. For now, I’d like to take a moment (like many of you have and will) to reflect on the ways in which Ron has impacted my academic career.

I didn’t have the honor of reading Ron’s work until my senior year when I was assigned Pau Hana. I liked the book and appreciated the writing style. However, I wasn’t fully impacted by Ron and his work until I started grad school at UC Berkeley. You can only imagine how sureal it was for me to take a class with him during my first semester at Cal.

It was in Ron’s seminar where I developed my “brick.” I’m sure many students remember Ron and his story about finding and developing your brick - the idea, the subject, the topic that will carry you through your academic work. Basically, when you find your brick, it’s that brick that leads to building a foundation, which then leads to building a home. It was his way of letting us know that whatever you choose to study, it all starts with finding our brick. It’s sort of like finding your perfect dance partner. When you find your brick (or your dance partner) there's only one way to go: forward.

The brick that I found in Ron’s class is quite different than what it is now. But I will always remember Ron for his kindness and his support of my current dissertation project. Though we had our disagreements on the direction of the project, I will always be thankful to Ron for helping me chip away at what has become my lifelong work.

Anyone who has ever known or met Ron will agree that he is a kind and giving person. As a first year graduate student at the time, I found it extremely helpful to hear him talk about his work. He invited the class to his home on several occasions. The trip I remember the most was when he showed us all of his books and then proceeded to show us the process of how he came to write those books. We saw it all – how he wrote his drafts, how he took notes, how he marked his books, etc. It was like being in the home of a major chef and that chef was sharing how he came to develop all his culinary secrets. Though Ron didn't give us the ingredients to his secret sauce, he did give us the tools to create our own. This is how generous Ron was. Ron understood what it was to foster the next generation of academics. What I remember most about those trips to his home are the old photos of him growing up in Hawai`i. There's one in particular that I remember. It was of him surfing and that story of "Ten Toes Takaki." Those visits to his home gave me insight to Ron as both a scholar and as a person. These lessons are priceless.

The following semester I had the honor of being his Graduate Student Instructor (GSI). In fact, he asked me to put in an application. I didn’t know I’d actually get the job. But I was so glad to be a GSI because I was part of one of the last cohorts of GSIs for his class. I learned a lot about what it is to engage students in the learning process and to help them develop critical thinking and writing skills. He was also good at giving his GSIs the chance conduct a lecture in a large survey course. It was this class where I “introduced” my research.

Overall, I have fond memories of Ron. He leaves an incredible legacy and has inspired generations of scholars, activists, and critical thinkers. My sincerest condolences go to his family.

luv is in the air!

One of the many reasons why I will suffer the agony of burpees, box jumps, snatches, and the like are because of the fabulous people at One World. Here we are in one of our many luv fests. From left to right we are: Shannon (doing her cutsie pose), John W. (assuming the CFit hubby pose), me (sharing some John W. luv), Anna (trying not to get caught in the rubber bands), and Alex (who just wanted to hold John W.'s hands). If I knew everyone was going to do a pretty smile, I would have opted out of the kissy face. ha ha!

Warm-up
Run 800 meters (slowly)
knee pulls
lunge steps
toe touches
leg stretches
dowel work

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete 100 burpees for time.

Joanne's Final Time - 15:38

And then.... walk 800 meters and stretch!

Notes (to myself) about this workout: The last time I did this WOD was July 2008. My final time was 18:42. I was happy to shave off three minutes from my previous time. Back in August, my goal was doing around five in a row in one minute increments. I may have started at a higher rep and then went down to make the under twenty minute mark. This time around, I started with seven burpees in a row per minute. I like this strategy because then you're working toward the rest. The faster you go, the longer rest you get. I started at sets of seven. After the fifth round, I went down to five and then back up to six. I varied between five and (mostly) six until I hit 100. This is how I shaved off three minutes. Another plus is that I actually hit the 6" mark after the burpee. I usually panty out of the jump because it's just too much effort. Next time I do this, I'm sticking to seven per minute and will push to maintain that past the fifth minute.

Burpees are the freakin' worst. I will say that today wasn't quite so bad. I'm learning to appreciate doing the stuff I can't stand or suck really bad it. It's just good for the personal growth. Right now my inner thighs are burning and I need a break!

pure hilarity!

As promised, I'm posting this total blast from the past. This is me years ago doing a squat clean. Look carefully. I'm sweating like a guilty criminal in the interrogation room and I'm in a full squat position, which makes me think that I'm either posing or the weight is heavy for me. The real clincher about this photo is that I'm squat cleaning only 25#. ha ha ha! (Note: Though my squat rocks, my elbows need to be forward way more. Bad form, j-ro!)

And why is this so funny? Because my current max on a squat clean is 93# and during any weightlifting WOD, I always start with a 33# bar. (In fact, I think I've been banned from using the 15# bars!) Jason K. would be very disappointed with this photo. He always pokes fun at me because I'm always lifting way less than I should be. Go hard or go home. I get it Jason K.! Oooh! I'm totally looking forward to learning how to play lacrosse this summer!

Warm-up
Prepping for the WOD

CrossFit One World WOD
TEN rounds for time of:
5 handstand push-ups (modified on bands for round 1, then switched to the box)
5 box jumps (I graduated to the red box)
5 L pull-ups (modified to hanging L - leg raises)

Joanne's Final Time - 14:54

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I came in with the intention of running the 5K. It was a rest day and usually, we get to choose the WOD. I'm also of the mindset that if the instructor has something she/he wants to do, then she/he is at liberty to conduct the class as she/he sees fit. Jason K. (whose classes I adore; from here on out, every class that I take with Jason shall begin with hearts and praises ha ha!) gave Settie and I the option to run or to do a "10-15 minute WOD" of his choice. It sounds easy. But you have to understand that the shorter the WOD, the more agonizing it is. Settie and I chose to be stupid...

The handstand push-ups (HSPU) are the worst for me. Anything where I have to carry body weight is tough because I'm just so damn heavy! I liked the modification on the bands, but for now, I'm just going to work on holding the position. I have a hard time doing the actual push-up.

Jason K. tried to get me to jump the 24" box and I just couldn't do it. It is a mind thing. But I also know I just can't jump that high. For now, I'm deleting the blue 12" box from my arsenal and will tough out the 18" red box for the high rep box jumps. If it's a low rep WOD like today's, I'll do the 20" box. I tried the 24" box tonight, but I ended up slipping. Another mark on the hall of fame for me. Bleh.

I can't do a pull-up, much less an L-pull-up. What I like about Jason K.'s modifications is that they're really functional and are a build up to the actual movement. My hands are torn up, but I have a sense of the L.

In retrospect, I'm glad we did the WOD where I couldn't do any of the movements and had to scale down like a mo-fo. Reason being is that I now have an idea of how to do and develop these skill sets. Wa-hoo!

graduation celebration

I was MIA last week Thursday because my dear friend Christina A. was celebrating her graduation from Cal. I'm sending mad props to her because she's a re-entry student and a mom of five. To graduate from Cal with those odds is a big thing and I'm really happy for her accomplishments and the love and support her hubby Cliff and her kids have given her along the way. Christina totally rocks! Congratulations!

In other fathlete news, I've been doing a lot of soul searching lately. Oddly enough, this article was posted on yahoo recently. "8 Toxic personalities to avoid" basically lays out the kinds of people who aren't healthy for you. This has been on my mind a lot because my tolerance for bullshit people wears thinner and thinner as I get older. (And let's face it, I'm no spring chicken, here!) The article reminds me of the various people and personalities in my life and what I need to do to get rid of excess crap. Hmph. Have any of you dealt with toxic people? If so, how does one deal with that? 

Warm-up
Run 400 meters
stretching
prep for the WOD

CrossFit One World WOD
This is a two person workout. One person will complete one whole round of work while the other rests. They then will switch for a total of seven rounds of work completed by each partner. One round is:

250m Row
7 power cleans 73#
Your partner will write down your total time for each round. Final score is scored individually by adding the total time of all seven rounds.

Joanne's Series Time - 2:05/1:55/1:57/1:56/1:50/1:57/1:54
Joanne's Total Time - 13:34

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I actually liked this WOD because you were able to "rest" in between and regroup. That was really helpful. I'm not very good at the power clean and I believe my max on them is 93#. I have no idea what Freddy was smoking by putting the women's RX'd weight at 135#. Even "Girl Crush" Cheryl T. had to scale down. Also, most of the guys did the women's weight. Dang!

Anyway... 73# for a WOD like this was good for me. I think I'll bump it up about 5# or 10# the next time we do it. Other than the rest, another good thing about this WOD was that you could progressively strategize to beat your previous time. For example, I eventually figured out that I needed to row at a below 210/500 meters rate to beat two minutes. On round six, I could have done faster, but I dropped the weight because I got over excited. The same thing happened in round seven. Overall, I'm pretty happy with today's performance.

tabata this!

This is Settie ridin' that red bumper! A few weeks ago we were working on heavy deadlifts. For ages Settie has been talking about graduating to the red bumpers and she finally got her chance when she did a 133# deadlift (I think that was it. If not, sorry Settie!). This little mama totally rocks it out at CrossFit and I'm glad to share the floor with her.

Warm-up
Run 800 meters
Three rounds of:
Walking lunge steps
Five burpees
Prep for WOD

CrossFit One World WOD: "Tabata Something Else"
Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are jumping pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups (modified), the third 8 intervals are Abmat sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats. There is no rest between exercises.

Your score is total reps from all 32 intervals.

Here is what my tabata looked like:
Jumping pull ups: 11/9/8/8/8/8/8/8 = 68
Push-ups (on knees, modified to box in round three): 12/12/6/10/9/8/8/9 = 74
Abmat sit-ups: 9/8/8/7/8/7/6/7 = 60
Squats: 10/12/11/10/10/13/11/13 = 90

Joanne's Final Count - 292

Notes (to myself) about this workout: In truth, I'm very fond of taking Jason's classes because he knows how to teach for the quality lifting. This is why I had to change my push-up style. I don't mind modifying on the box. It's actually good for me to do so because I get a better range of motion. The WOD itself just sucked. I tried to not go, but I knew that I'd feel like a panty if I didn't go (especially since I may not go tomorrow). I will say that I did way better this time at this WOD than the last time I did it. Here are my numbers from August 2008:

Jumping Pull-ups: 75 total
Push-ups: 8/6/5/5/5/5/5/5 - 44 total
Sit-ups: 3/6/4/5/7/7/7/7 - 46 total
Squats: 11/10/12/10/10/10/10/10 - 83 total

Joanne's Tabata Total: 248

I'm jazzed because I remember this WOD and I'm sure that the quality of what I did today is way better than last time. Finally, a big KUDOS to little Shannon for rockin' over 300 yesterday. You're such a rockstar!

j-ro from the jungle...

I'm sure it's wrong. All sorts of wrong to refer to myself as "j-ro from the jungle." But this is my blog and I can write whatever I want. Besides, the jungle reference is simply meant to be funny. If you haven't already guessed, political correctness isn't one of the finer points at One World. Deal with it...

This photo was taken today. I'd like to thank the lovely Shannon for taking it on the ONE day I forget my camera! In case you're wondering, the photo is of a love letter from Freddy to me, as written in the white board. ha ha!

Warm-up
5 minute row
prep for WOD

CrossFit One World WOD
Front Squat 3/3/3/3/3

Joanne's Final Weight - 103 / 113 / 123 / 133 (fail; I did 2 + 1 on this) /133

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I'm getting more and more accustomed to liking the heavy lifting days. The front squat is the one squat lift that I'm not too fond of. The most I've ever done on a front squat is 83#, so to start the WOD at 103# was fantastic! I think I did fine until I hit 133. The lift was fine, but the bar kept slipping. This is because I don't keep the elbows far enough. It's a flexibility issue for me. Oh well... I'm happy with how I did.

different game plan...

This is Lori and her lovely children during the NorCal qualifiers. I just wanted to give Lori a BIG shout out for rockin' Mr. Joshua today. She did awesome by finishing well under 40 minutes. The first time I met Mr. Joshua, it took me 55 minutes! You go, girl!

Warm-up
Slow 400 meter run
stretching
prep for the WOD

CrossFit One World WOD: Mr. Joshua
Five rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
30 Glute-ham sit-ups
15 Deadlifts 135#

Joanne's Final Time - 32:45

Notes (to myself) about this workout: When Eric sent me a text message saying we were going to do "Mr. Joshua" instead of the posted WOD, I tried to justify not showing up. I'm not a fan of this WOD. Okay. I hate this WOD and hated Eric even more for making us do it. Seriously, Eric. Did you really have to be one of those kids that was doing is own thing? Did you have to be the one that isn't the same?! Damn!

The first time I did this WOD, I wanted to cry. Literally! Looking back, I made the mistake of pushing the weight. 140# was way too much on the deadlift at that point. Tonight I did 135# and that was a good weight. Knowing Eric, he'll probably want me to up it to 140# or 145#. Knowing me, I'll be dumb enough to do it.

Five rounds is a lot for this WOD. I jumped the gun a little bit in the first round and decided to better pace myself. My pacing looked like this (as I try to recall correctly):
Round 1:
GHD: 20/10
D-lifts: 10/5

Round 2:
GHD: 15/15
D-lifts: 10/5

Round 3:
GHD: 15/10/5
D-lifts: 5/5/5

Round 3:
GHD: 10/10/10
D-lifts: 5/5/5

Round 4:
GHD: 10/10/10
D-lifts: 5/5/5

Round 5:
GHD: 10/10/10
D-lifts: 8/5/2

With respect to the run, I have to give a very big THANK YOU to John W. for running with me for three out of the five rounds. Tonight John W. was my CrossFit hubby (Er. Um. You had to be there to understand this hi-larity.) who not only ran with me, but he gave me my water when I needed it and totally pushed me to my limit. Admittedly, I wanted to throw my shoe at him and make him snort my blister shield. But I will not speak of such atrocities - especially since he really cheered me on and helped me through the agony. In case you're wondering, it does help to have a hot CrossFit guy yelling, "Go baby, go!" when you're trying to finish the WOD. Also, laughing while running is a great way to remember to breathe. ha ha! Maraming salamat, lo-ver! ha ha ha!

While we're on the love letter train, I also wanted to give Bobbi a shout out because she did amazing! Then again, Bobbi is a pretty amazing CrossFitter-in-denial.

Also, I want to say thanks to Eric for doing his own thing. I get why he wanted to change the WOD and I'm grateful to have reached an almost seven minute PR. You're a total rockstar! Thanks!

Finally, Freddy posted this video and I nearly died laughing watching it. Enjoy! (Note: You're better off taking up Krav Maga. Those defenses actually work!)

blister!

In case you actually read this blog, I mentioned the blister scene in the film Run Fatboy Run in my last entry. Again, you all must watch it because it's hilarity and pure ridiculosity at its finest! I don't mean to spoil the blister scene for you, but here it is. The last line is so classic. I love it! Let me know what you all think!

I'm also in blister mode because I need a new pair of cross trainers. fathlete confession: My feet are uber-wide and flatter than a pancake. I have to use New Balance shoes because they come in a double wide for women. I've had the ones I'm using for a year now and they're losing their umph. I switched to an old (but great pair) of Brooks running shoes a few days ago. They're nice, but not quite wide enough. Right now, my left foot has a blister on the arch because of the friction. To cope, I've been using blister powder, which is why after a WOD, my feet look like they've been snorting coke. I was sad to see the New Balance store in Santana Row closed. In fact, it looks like all the local New Balance shoe stores are closed. Boo! What's a girl to do now?!

Warm-up
Watt rowing (Jason, you were kidding about pulling watt body weight, right? You realize that I have no desire to reveal or even lie about my body weight. In fact, I have no desire to know my body weight, let alone pull it in watts. Ya hear me?!)
stretching
pushing John W. away from the start line because he's cramping my space!

CrossFit One World WOD: Helen
Complete 3 rounds for time of:
Run 400m
21 kettlebell swings 35#
12 jumping pull-ups

Joanne's Final Time - 13:49

Notes (to myself) about this workout: My last Helen time was 15:21. All the other times I did Helen, it was with her fat sister. Bleh. I'm actually really proud of my time tonight. Granted, I was still the slowest one in class and probably in the box, but as long as I beat my own time, I'm good.

When I've done Helen in the past, I usually break up the movements. When she and I first met, I did the KB swings in 7/7/7. I then moved to 11/10. Tonight I did 15/6. With the pull-ups, I usually did 4/4/4 or 6/6. Tonight in the first round I think I did 10/2 then 6/6 for the other two rounds. I'm trying to work on my kip for the pull-up so instead of just jumping straight up, I did them with the kip, which takes me a little longer. Ideally I'd like to do the movements straight through. In fact, I wasn't really banking on breaking the movements the way I did tonight. But the damn pressure was on. Bleh! After the WOD I got that forearm burn that I've heard people talk about. They're right. The forearm burn sucks!

I was surprised to see so many guys in the 7:15 class. Okay. If there are ever more than two men (including the instructor) in class, I consider that a lot. Tonight it was me, Settie, and Lori accompanied by Chris S., John W., Chris L., Alex (for the first round) and Imran (along with Will B., Eric, and Jason K. cheering us on). See what I mean by male overload? I don't mean to be selfish, but I kind of prefer that there are more women. The guys' intensity just throws me off and makes me feel inadequate. But that's me, not the guys. Okay. I'll shut up now.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE working out with a bunch of hot, half naked men who look like the cast of 300. I just don't like the idea of them watching me suffer. My suffering is so not sexy. Make sense? Okay. I'll really shut up now.

run, fatgirl, run!

I just saw Run Fatboy Run from my Netflix picks recently. If any of you have ever run long distances, trained for a marathon of some sort, or just like a good old funny film, I highly recommend you watch it! There's a foot blister scene that cracks me up because it hits a little too close to home. Ha ha! Also, if you've ever done something stupid in the name of l-o-v-e, then this film is for you. I had such a blast watching it (numerous times).

Warm-up
Taking photos of Freddy for my XFit files. Damn! There are some freakin' good photos!

CrossFit One World WOD
Run 5K

Joanne's Final Time - 38:23

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I ran this one alone and without stopping. Okay. I walked for about 30 seconds to drink some water. Shoot me. I was glad I did this because I think I was the only one who showed up today. I could have easily walked out of the gym, but I figured I packed my bag for a reason.

Either my love affair with CrossFit has gone overboard or I'm just plain crazy... On a rest day, you usually have your choice of WODs that you missed out. Unfortunately, I missed the entire cycle. It's usually hard for me to choose which WOD to make up because I hate them all. However, with this cycle, I had a hard time choosing which one to do because I could have done any number of them. I had to choose between the 5Krun, Michael, and Purple Rain. I chose the run, but am looking forward to doing any of the other ones (especially Purple Rain).

Want to know what's even worse?! I'm totally looking forward to doing the WODs for the next two days! It's the 2009 Crossfit One World Workout Challenge for the next two days. For the athletes who are doing the WODs rx'd, they basically get to compete for the BADASS of the Year title. (However, in my book it's no contest. Everyone at One World is a badass!)

Tomorrow two WODs have to be completed in an hour (5K row and 30 squat clean and jerks). You can take as much rest in between as you like. You just have to do both in an hour. The next day we do one of my favorite WODs - HELEN! Whaat?! I'm looking forward to these WODs because I want the extra practice on my row, squat clean and jerks, and my least favorite, pull-ups! The KB swings are enough to make up for the pull-ups.

I'm crazy, but I'm lovin' it!

Huzzah!

light day.

This is Eric G., resident weightlifting expert at the gym. This is Eric G. strutting his stuff at the NorCal Quals. He did well and I'm way proud of him. Awesome job Eric!

Warm-up
Run 1.1 miles

CrossFit One World WOD
10 shoulder presses
10 deadlifts
10 front squats
10 push presses
10 sumo deadlift hi-pull
10 overhead squats
10 push jerks
10 squat cleans

Joanne's Final Time - N/A

Notes (to myself) about this workout: Today was a rest day, so I did a very light variation of the WOD Freddy posted. I didn't time the WOD because I just wanted to get some simple lifting done. The deadlifts were done at 135# and everything else was done at 53# to 63#. It was good to lift some weight in a no-pressure situation.

Currently, I'm still sore from the damn Filthy Fifty. I totally hate that WOD!

unmasking.

This is what the "Filthy Fifty" feels like. I lifted this from the main CrossFit site a while back. Sometimes a simple photo says it all.

I also posted this pic because this is how I’ve been feeling in the other parts of my life. Truth be told, I tend to compartmentalize my life. It’s a rare occasion when its different parts intersect. For example, the likelihood of my One World family meeting my academic family is pretty slim. It’s largely due to the fact that I’m not sure how my academic family will react to my One World family. Academic folks, I love you all. But as academics, we can be misconstrued as a bunch of a$$holes who are obnoxious, argumentative, and overly-critical with no social skills. I love my One World family too much to do that to them. Ya hear me? (B--ch all you want, but it’s true. But still, I love my academic family. I just don’t want to deal with your overly judgmental, “I can’t believe you’re friends with those people” bulls--t.)

After a conversation today with a dear friend, I am reminded that the academic world focuses only on the intellectual, the cerebral. It’s not always concerned with the interpersonal, the emotional, or the reality of life. I am reminded of this when during our conversation, a different colleague declared, “A good cop is a dead cop.” This colleague’s ignorant comment is so indicative of what happens when so-called “revolutionary” academics have no real life experiences. Really?! Hating the establishment suddenly makes you cool? Speaking of establishment, what the hell do you call getting a Ph.D. from the premiere public university in the world?! Eat that! In my book, critical knowledge is a privilege. It should be thorough, understanding, and must be shared. A true scholar thinks with her head, listens to her heart, and is well aware that it’s okay to be wrong.

Unfortunately, the academy and I don’t always see eye to eye. This is why I’m the first to say that I’m a terrible scholar in the “traditional” sense. Decent CV aside, I operate with my heart first and academics are expected to function with their heads first and with no regard to the heart. Maybe this is why I don’t mix my worlds. Right now, I will say that what has kept me alive through the treachery of the academy are the four walls I get to enter when I go to One World. The box is where my body is challenged and my soul is nourished. These days, I need this more than ever. 

At the box my CV means nothing. I can come in last at every WOD and my friends will still cheer me on. The playing field is even and I don’t have to be a badass to matter in the box. It’s okay for me to be wrong. It’s okay for me to be slow. It’s okay for me to be weak. No one pokes fun when I need to suddenly leave for a date with pukie. When my fat is hanging from whatever I happen to be wearing that day, no one pays attention. When I forget my shoes and end up doing the WOD in my socks, they give me nothing but respect. I don’t have to lead. I don’t have to be perfect. I don’t have to comb my hair or wear endless amounts of makeup. It’s okay for me to unmask at the box. My One World family asks only one thing: that I be nothing more and nothing less than who I authentically am. Hence, my deep love affair with the box. This is also why I will agonize over WOD after WOD after WOD. It’s because every time I do something, every time I finish, my base gets stronger. I become more grounded and without hesitation, my humble confidence is fed. This is what carries me through.

*end love letter*

Warm-up
Run 400 meters
Stretching

CrossFit One World WOD: The Filthy Fifty
Complete the following for time:
50 box jumps 12"
50 jumping pull-ups
50 kettlebell swings 25#
50 walking lunge steps
50 knees to elbows
50 push press 33#
50 hip extensions
50 wall balls 12#
50 burpees
100 jump rope rotations

Joanne's Final Time - 43:33

The twitter version of my "Filthy Fifty"

50 box jumps 12"
strategy: 20/15/15
thoughts: I hope to hell that I don't fall…. Thank god I opted to do the shorter box because then I really would fall!.. Why do my legs feel so freakin’ heavy?... Um, am I panty-ing out of the WOD for using the shorter box?… Fifty of these?! What the f—k was I thinking?!

50 jumping pull-ups
strategy: sets of 10
thoughts: I'm freakin' heavy!… I hate hand blisters…. I wish I was better at this s--t!… Fifty of these?! What the f—k was I thinking?!

50 kettlebell swings 25#
strategy: sets of 10
thoughts: I actually like this!… Jason, I *heart* you. Please shut up! I’m doing the rx’d weight. I have no desire to go heavier…. My butt is tight! My ass is up! What more do you want from me?!... Fifty of these?! What the f—k was I thinking?!

50 walking lunge steps
strategy: 2 sets of 25
thoughts: I'd feel a lot better if my knees were actually touching the ground. But they don't. So stop whining and keep pushing…. Enjoy the cool breeze!… I am so far behind everyone else…. Fifty of these?! What the f—k was I thinking?!

50 knees to elbows
strategy: sets of 5
thoughts: If there's anything I can't stand or can't do it's these f--kin' things! I can't hold on to the bar…. Is there any way I could get out of this?!… I'd like these a lot better if I was actually good at them…. Why do I feel like everything has suddenly slowed down and I’m moving in bullet time a la The Matrix?… Fifty of these?! What the f—k was I thinking?! (Note: I ended up switching from the silver bars to the black bars and finished them very poorly. My hands hurt like hell because no amount of chalk was going to improve my grip. I’m just a freakin’ heavy gal. Bleh!)

50 push press 33#
strategy: sets of 10? (I don't remember. It's all a blur at this point.)
thoughts: I swear I'm actually good at these… What's up with my headphone ma-le-function?! This would go by so much faster if my headphones didn’t keep slipping off…. Damn SWEAT!.. Fifty of these?! What the f—k was I thinking?!

50 hip extensions
strategy: sets of 10
thoughts: I hate these…. Make it stop!… They make me want to pee…. Thank God I got the good GHD machine. Huzzah!… I’m hanging here and I can’t get up!… Fifty of these?! What the f—k was I thinking?!

50 wall balls 12#
strategy: started with one set of 5, then did sets of 10, ended with a last set of 5
thoughts: OMG. I'm doing better at this than I thought. In all my other previous Filthy Fifty WODs, I've done this in sets of 5!… Okay, so the breaks in between are longer than the actual wall balls.... Jason says my squats are too deep. Um. I don’t know how to not do a full squat. I don’t have the time to figure that one out…. I’m still doing good, right?… Holy shit, I think I can actually finish in under an hour!… Fifty of these?! What the f—k was I thinking?!

50 burpees
strategy: sets of 5
thoughts: I could kill the person who invented burpees right NOW!… This is going so s-l-o-w…. I want to cry. I think I’m going to cry. I can feel the tears falling. Please. Make. It. Stop…. Fifty of these?! What the f—k was I thinking?!

100 jump rope rotations
strategy: 2 sets of 50 (or as close to it as possible)
thoughts: Yeah. I bounce. So what?! Thank God it's almost over!

Notes (to myself) about this workout: All my previous Filthy Fifty times are posted here. Though there are different variations of the WOD (e.g. last time I used a larger box and a 14# wall ball. Ahem. Jason, you said rx’d was 12#!), I was overall happy about the time.

I officially declare that I don’t want to meet the Filthy Fifty for a long, long time.

butt what?!

I have to admit that I have sitemeter on this blog. So every now and again, I like to see what people are looking at, how they found me, and all that other good stuff. In short, I don't get to know too much about my cyber-stalkers, but I get a glimpse of who you are. One of the most visited pages on this blog is this one. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why CrossFit One World hottie Lara is so sought out. I'm just curious to know how the hell y'all find this damn page. Anyway.... I'm naturally envious of Lara cuz she's got sick abs and a butt to boot (as illustrated here in what I'm assuming is her "you're under arrest" pose). Damn. Life just isn't fair for j-ro, is it?! Luckily, I love Lara with all my heart anyway!

Warm-up
Row 500 meters
Stretching

CrossFit One World WOD: "Happy Cinco de Mayo"
You can go get drunk afterwards....

Complete the following:
Run 1600m for time
Rest exactly five minutes
Run 800m for time
Rest exactly four minutes
Run 400m for time
Rest exactly three minutes
Run 200m
Your score is the total time of all the runs.

Here were my estimates before going in to the WOD: 12:00/ 6:00/ 2:30/ 1:10

Joanne's Final Time - 11:16/ 5:15/ 2:22/ :53. My total time was 19:46

Notes (to myself) about this workout: It's ironic that I'm a slow runner because I actually like running. However, as I've said before, this fierce runner is a distance runner, so I don't necessarily run for speed or time. I just run to finish. I'd really like to take a class or get some pointers on running form because I feel like there has to be a more efficient way of running these shorter distances. And yes, I'm heavy. This makes running fast difficult. When you've mastered fast speeds with more-than-Cs, you let me know how it works, okay? Yeah. Thanks.

WODs like this suck, but they're a good wake-up call. I'm glad that I beat all of my time estimates. Wa-hoo!

crack up!

I just wanted to give a shout out to Neil, one of our athletes who competed this weekend. Neil just cracks me up and that's why I decided to feature him here. I think that's a beer in his hand. No worries. That's just how we do it at One World.

Warm-up
Tabata Row: 44 cals total
Stretching

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
400m run
20 jumping pull-ups (Note: The WOD was scaled)

Joanne's Final Count - 4 rounds + 200 meter run

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I hate pull-ups. It's not because they're not good for me. It's because I have a hard time doing them. Plus, they mess up your hands. From here on out, I'll be doing them modified kipping style as opposed to regular jumping. They take longer, are harder, and will most likely prompt me to modify many-a-WOD. However, I really need to get my ass in gear and get going on those pull-ups! I'd like to reach my first actual kipping pull-up by the end of the year. Think I can do it?!

I also want to say that I finally got to meet Little Bear. Grrah! fathlete confession: As I get older I'm realizing more and more that I really like kids. I'm also really good with them... Sometimes. When they're well behaved. ha ha! I'm sure something's ticking, but whatever!

love is in the air!

CFit love is never complete with out its supporting cast. Here are Queen Jolie (who ranked top five last year, so she didn't need to do the quals) and "Girl Crush" Cheryl (who didn't compete in the quals because of an injury). They were there representing One World by cheering on our awesome athletes.

In case anyone of you every wondered why I have such a love affair with my gym, please log on to the CrossFit One World site. This weekend was the regional qualifiers for July's CrossFit Games. As always, it is an amazing event and I totally wish I was there!

Anyway... please scroll through the comments from yesterday and today and you'll see what I mean about CrossFit love being in the air. Everyone is on a total high because watching everyone compete is so inspiring. Everyone's comments are just amazing. I do wish I skipped out on work to be there.

Fine. Fine. Fine. I'll be sure to make it out next year ('cuz Lisette said she'd compete!)!

For now, I leave you with a prime example of CFit luv. Here's what Alex (pictured here with Freddy) had to say in response to John W's post...
So why arent you sleeping there Johnny. Good Luck Brother on your exam, your blog was amazing but you forgot to mention one thing. How awesome you performed as a OneWorld Athlete. I cant believe how long we have come from that day in seattle where a simple WOD tore us a reality check, now look at us here at the mecca of crossfits.It meant a lot to me the motivation you gave me after WOD A, seriously after that performance I wanted to run home in shame. You and Jen came out and really made me feel better and I cant thank you two enough. It was rough really, feeling a wall the day of your competition and hitting it hard while your whole family is cheering you on and while your logo is on your chest not being able to complete something youve done many times over in the best box this country can create.I felt like a let down and I came 30 seconds away from not even attempting the second WOD. I had no juice in that WOD either but looking back behind me was my brother pounding out rep after rep and I couldnt imagine quitting with you and my family cheering me on. I cant thank everyone enough for making me feel so accomplished even after I was acting like a little bitch through the day. I went home after the competition and crashed, waking up 15 hours later. Felt really bad not making it to see Will and Freddy compete, (Freddy I have so much respect for you not only as an athlete but as a brother. You were running around looking for ICE ignoring all the groupies trying to get your attention. You care so much about us and it shows as you coached us all through our WODS.) Not sure what was wrong with me Sat but I am sure of this! This weekend was proof that a family exists greater than most families created by DNA. While Freddy was completing WOD A I couldnt help but peek at schoolboy and remember the same joy I got when I watched him complete lil bear a couple of weeks ago. See it happens everyday in this amazing place in union city, a work out meets a member and we all rally behind each other to destroy it. IT happened in aromas with every oneworlder there cheering each other on. Freddy, Eric, Will, John, Kirk, Bradass, JoeD, Mia, Maria, Brian, Schoolboy, Czar, and Neil, you all did this box well. Every one that came out to support, Mary Anna Rita Chris Cheryl Jen Allison Jolie Lisette doug and the rest, you were equally amazing, I saw it every heat and I cant wait to feel that again as we cheer our team on at the affiliate challenge. Looking at the Oakland banner I couldnt help but think, the title belongs to oneworld and I know with the talent this gym has it will be here in July. keep training hard guys I want to see you guys take it, I am so blessed to be a part of this community and so honored to be everyones friend. Thank you again, miss you guys see you soon.

-Alex C.

Finally, here is a list of our athletes and their standings. Note: There were roughly 200 athletes that competed this weekend. NorCal is by far one of the most competitive regions because it's where CrossFit started. No matter where anyone ranked, their performances were outstanding! There may be minor adjustments because the scores are still being re-tallied and ties are taking into effect. Therefore, some of these standings may go up a few points. Again, I'm SO PROUD of all of you!

Maria C.- 30
Mia S.- 50

Freddy C. - 15
Will B. - 29
John W. - 45
Eric G. - 46
Kirk W.- 69
Chong T.- 75
Brian G.- 91
Joe D. - 95
Josh J.- 97
Marty M.- 112
Alex C.- 114
Neil D.- 116
Bradass M.- 124
Chris L. - 131
Czar V.- 136

re-cap of Saturday

So I totally missed out on this weekend's CrossFit Northern California Regional Qualifiers. Yes, the CrossFit Games have gotten so BIG that they now have regional qualifiers. The top five athletes (men and women) move on to the actual games in July. I was sad to not be there to cheer on my One World family. But do know that I was there in spirit:) Tonight I wanted to share John's re-cap of yesterday. It's lengthy, but the info is great. A big thanks to John for sharing!

I’m writing this because Alex said he laid and egg…and he’s not close enough for me to try and tackle right now…

One World represented it’s self magnificently at the NorCal qualifiers. Everybody that didn’t make the 40/20 cut is somewhat disappointed. But, they didn’t miss the cut for lack of effort. The NorCal region has some absolute beasts in it. It was an amazing time. I’m really glad I got my exam postponed.

So, here is what you missed….

Let’s start where we should with the ladies. Maria and Mia flew through their workouts. Both looked really strong in both workout A and B. I had a couple of people come up to me telling me how amazed they were at Maria’s performance in the Clean and Muscle Up WOD. She strung together cleans that would make Jason K. and the Oly Class proud.

Brian was in the first heat and he started things off…by breaking his rower. That’s the way to come in and make an impact. He did a great job in recovering, getting his head back into the game finishing strong. He also put together some great cleans in W-B. It was great to see Bradass try to get to him to coach him through the muscle ups. It was my first time meeting Brian. What a genial and tough guy. He’s definitely a beast!

Will came up next and put together a couple of workouts that were fantastic to see somebody work through. He had a game plan and stuck to it… except for not doing any push jerks in W-A (hereby the designation for Workout A…and Workout B gets W-B…cause I’m lazy.) He was nice and smooth through burpees and row as well as in the Muscle ups and cleans. He did a good job. His hard work paid off.

Neal, Czar and Marty were all in the same heat. They all did really well in W-B which was their first run. Marty did a great job with his cleans especially. Strong stuff. Neal dominated cleans as well. And I saw Czar string together some fantastic muscleups. However, this crew really showed the one world spirit in their second workout. Neal was first off the rower, then killed the burpees. He finished up the press and then went to pass along the instructions of Freddy to Marty and encourage him. Marty had been struggling with the weight…some minor adjustments and he put the weight overhead with some beautiful presses. Czar was working with weight that was as much or more than he weighed. To see him keep fighting to get it overhead was amazing. And the crew that cheered for him was just as inspirational.

Chong continues to amaze me as he hasn’t been able to train like he normally would for something like this… apparently, there has been a proper priority shift as of late. Little Bear is getting a great role model. Working with either body weight or just under in both workouts, I was amazed at how flawless his technique was. If I had been asked to do what Chong, Schoolboy, Czar and Kirk did in comparison to their bodyweight, I am sure I couldn’t have reached the level that they showed up at. Incredibly impressive! I definitely want to be like you guys!

I only saw one of Kirk’s wods. But, he’s just a great example of consistency. In W-B, he stepped up. His MU were beautiful… I hadn’t done my workouts yet and I really wanted to borrow some of his muscle ups. They were great. Another impressive thing about Kirk was that when most people made their pull on a clean, they would either hit their power clean or they would miss. Kirk sold out and had already decided in his head that if he couldn’t power clean it, then he would squat clean. So much more effort in a squat clean, but Kirk definitely showed up and gave the extra effort.

Chris Lai signed up wondering if he could compete. His body of work today shows that he can. Having just started doing muscle ups last week. He ran through them really well in his W-B. What a strong dude!! The more he works on his technique the more is going to grow into an amazing athlete.

Bradass. Can I be like you when I grow up? Damn. I only got to see his W-A. We all know how smooth he is on the rower. He was just that on gameday. I’m sure we all have seen it on the rower. A hard leg drive, deep strong pull, a breath and then he goes again. He went through his hated burpees. I think he was the last one to finish them in his heat. But, when he got to the presses. He destroyed them…and they were beautiful too. The picture perfect press. Weight overhead, arm fully extended with his ear pushed through the window. Picture f-ing perfect!

Every heat, every individual from One World stepped up their game and gave a tremendous effort. It was amazing. I had a great time getting to know Eric a little more, but one of the biggest roar of the day from the One World supporters might have been after 4 fails at getting his last muscle up. I know everybody knows how a miss can mentally throw you, but Eric did a great job of shaking it off, focusing and then hitting number 10 with just over a minute left…he then became the cleaning machine that we all know he is throwing around the weight like it was paper plates.

I don’t think Joe D got a single muscle up…which sucks because we all know that he can do them. But, Joe decided to do the Qualifier on a shoulder that is just ridiculously messed up. But, to see him out there having fun, cleaning the weight and continuing to make attempts at getting his muscle ups was just awesome. Joe showed the true spirit of the fun that can be had, as well as, an unbelievable effort.

So you wonder why Freddy’s the captain? He once again showed up like he does on gameday. He strategized and executed flawlessly. Cleans, then muscle ups, and keep the cycle moving. He put together one of the more impressive W-Bs finishing with I think 63 reps if I’m not mistaken. He then put on a clinic in W-A. slow and steady through the row and burpees and then 10 straight presses. I don’t know how many times that was done all day…but, I’m certain I can count it on one hand. Freddy’s a beast.

I think, however, his most impressive performance of the day happened as soon as he finished his workout. Schoolboy was in his heat and struggling with weight that outweighs him by ten maybe twenty pounds. He sprinted over to help and coach Josh. Now that’s a good coach…and just so the others coaches get their due…every single coach that I was standing next to, Chong, Cheryl, Joe, was yelling for Freddy to help Josh. What a great family!

Josh what an amazing performance at such a high level. He dominated in W-B. The change of standards for the MU caused him to have to adapt, which he did excellently. It was my first time to really see him workout and he showed amazing heart and perseverance. He cleaned the weight in W-A flawlessly and then had to put it overhead. He got it overhead, but he struggled to get complete lockout and SO MANY reps that were SO, SO, SO CLOSE to completion were counted. But he stuck to it and eventually got every single rep. The effort he put forth to get lockout was something to behold. He is as intense and athlete as I have ever seen once he steps onto the playing field. Awesome. It truly was a sensational effort and performance.

There are days in everybody’s life where things just don’t go according to plan. When things you know you can do…don’t. Alex had that day. In W-A, he hit a wall and couldn’t get things dialed in. In workout, that he did in 5.5 minutes earlier in the week, he struggled and was unable to complete it in time. A huge disappointment for him. But, he still finished the workout, even though time had run out. Even though he was trying to do a workout on a far less than 100 percent shoulder, he refused to give up. So, then he has every excuse to not do anything else. He’s got an f’d up shoulder and a huge disappointment hanging over his head. And W-B comes along. I was in his heat, so I’ve already told the judges that he was hurt and couldn’t do it. Everybody is set up ready to go. The judges call one minute to go…and Alex comes bounding through the boundary like a madman looking for his card so he can do the workout. They finally get him to the station as 3,2,1…go hits and he starts in. I gotta be honest…I peeked a little during my run. His cleans were strong…But, there were a couple of muscle ups that he hit from just IMPOSSIBLE angles. Angles where there is no possible way that he should complete the MU. But he did. He RX’d W-B on a shoulder that required ice and popping motrin capsules like they were jelly beans afterwards. An incredible display of heart!!

The one performance that cannot be understated enough was the support that came from those not even competing. Cheryl, Mary, Allison, Lissette, Raz, Lissa, Marty’s wife and Schoolboy’s parents (the latter three names slip my mind, because I suck at names… I promise to make it up to you all!! I’m sorry!!) You guys were amazing. I am absolutely certain that none of the performances could have been done as well as they were done without the vocal support from the One World family. Nor could we have done it without Mary’s teriyaki chicken!

So…. I’m sorry if this was a bit long…..

But, if there is an athlete from One World that tells you he or she laid an egg at the Qualifier… They’re absolutely wrong.

I can't say it enough... I'm glad to be a part of One World.

-John W.

Well done John! Finally, I wanted to (again) congratulate Freddy and Will B. for making it to the quals. Freddy finished 15th and Will B. finished 29th. I'm so proud of these guys representing One World. I'm also impressed because they make the 30 and over crowd look so grown and sexy. Love it! I'm going to miss Will B. dearly. He'll be leaving our box to run his own CFit program. Best of luck to you!

represent!

I haven't been as good with the gym lately. But all of that changes tomorrow. For now, I just wanted to send a big shout out to team One World who competed yesterday at the Northern California regionals for the CrossFit games. Each region gets to send their top five best athletes to compete in the CrossFit games this year in July.

In particular, I want to say congrats to Will B. and Freddy for making it into today's qualifying round. I know you'll do well and rock it out One World style. Whaaat?!

The photo above is of the One World-ers who competed. They are from left to right: Marty, Will, Brian, Mia, Chong, Joe, Eric, Brad, freddy c., Alex, John, Neil, Maria, and Schoolboy (Josh). Note: Chris Lai, Kirk, and Czar missed the photo op.

P.S. Let's hear it for the Pacman! Two rounds! Whaaaat?!