food. delicious food.

I usually work on Saturdays and never have enough sense to hit a local farmer's market on a Sunday. Unfortunately, my summer work schedule is pretty light. To cope, I've decided to take advantage of doing things I couldn't normally do, such as go to a Saturday morning farmer's market. Union City has one on Smith Street, not too far from Union Landing that I've gone to the past two weekends. (It's also steps away from my FAVORITE coffee shop, so that just makes for a fantastic Saturday morning!) The first weekend I went to town. Hence the photo above. What can I say? I'm a sucker for fresh produce and all the pretty colors of summer food! (A little fathlete tip: to keep your produce from going bad before you dig in to it, store them in these green bags. I swear by them!)

It had been a while since I've gone to a farmer's market and when I dug into the produce, I nearly kicked myself for not going more often. The flavors and quality are so much better at the farmer's market. Strawberries, white nectarines, and yellow cherries (my summer faves) are in season and the vendors let you taste them before you pick your batch. So yummy! For the record, I'm a huge proponent of the farmer's market. It may be slightly more expensive (depending on where you normally buy your produce), but it's so worth it!

So who's with me on the farmer's market this weekend?

Warm-up
Back Squat Challenge:

5 - 45# back squats

5 - 75# back squats

20 - 90# back squats

Run 800 meters

Three sets of TEN reps:
Samson stretch
Shoulder rolls
Overhead squats
GHD sit-ups
GHD back extensions
Hanging on pull-up bar (Okay. I cheated. So what?!)

prep for the WOD

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete seven rounds for time of:
10 sumo deadlift high pulls
10 bar dips (feet on a box)

Joanne's Final Time - 9:43

Notes (to myself) about this workout: This was a good WOD to do after yesterday's hell. I'm always happy to have Jason K. teaching a class. (See? I didn't forget the kudos!) He knows how to push me - especially when I have no desire to be pushed. Case in point: the bar dips. I NEVER do them on the box. But he wouldn't have it any other way. Surprisingly, I actually like doing them on the box because I do get a better range of motion.

Also, I think I'm slowly making peace with the sumo deadlift high pulls. I typically can't stand them because I feel like my boobs get in the way and I get stuck. However, Jason K. kept prompting, "hips first, then pull!" It made such a difference. The next time we do this, I'm upping the weight by 5-10#.

perfection

If I could have a moment in my everyday life where I could dip my feet in ocean water like this, I'd be eternally grateful.

Warm-up
Row 1000 meters
Stretching
Dreading this WOD

CrossFit One World WOD
Set the one minute buzzer. You will work for twenty minutes. At the top of each minute, you will perform five burpees (six inch jump) and then as many thrusters as you can get done before the minute expires. Post number of thrusters and weight used to comments.

Joanne's Final Results - 32 thrusters at 53#

Notes (to myself) about this workout: When I read what the WOD was last night, I wanted to kill Freddy. I still want to kill Freddy because apparently, he didn't even do this WOD. BASTARD! Anyway...

Going in, I tried to figure out how to strategize. I knew I couldn't do a 65# thruster for something like this, so I was hoping to range between 45# and 55#. I settled for 53#. I also told myself to aim for thee thrusters per round and use the rest of the time for a breather.

The thrusters weren't so bad. It was the burpees that killed me. I hate burpees. I really do. I really really hate burpees. On a good note, I'm proud to say my burpees were as legit as they could have been - complete with the push-ups and a jump. As the rounds went on, it took me longer and longer to complete the burpees, so I ended up doing three, two, one, and zero thrusters. I'm sad that my thruster count was low. However, there was just no way to strategize otherwise for this.

I don't ever want to do this WOD again. Anything where I have to do 100 burpees should be banned. Really. It should.

hooker heels

Dear Miss Hooker Heels,
I know we're not at the gym. We're at a sporting event. It's a men's volleyball game and team USA is playing against China. I love volleyball. Especially indoor volleyball. Especially men's indoor volleyball. I'm an island girl and volleyball is an island sport. We take our volleyball seriously. Volleyball games are where we sport shorts, zoris, and the like. It's where we yell until our voices crack and jump up and scream and such.

So please, Miss Hooker Heels, can you explain to me what's up with the hooker heels? Did you not get the notice that there are no trix to be played tonight? It's volleyball night, for fuck's sake! Aren't you afraid that you're going to fall off the bleachers in those hooker heels? I swear I was holding my breath as you were making your way to your seats because I was afraid the point of your heel was going to get stuck and well, you'd fall and keep me from enjoying the game. Also, should you decide to wear a barely-there hooker skirt to match your hooker heels, could you at least (1) wear underwear (2) sit with your legs crossed (3) not sit behind me? Call me crazy, but I much prefer watching the game without having to worry about accidentally turing around and catching a glimpse of your hoo-ha.

It's not funny Miss Hooker Heels. Seriously. I'm not laughing.

So the next time you decide to sport your tricked out gear, feel free. But please leave that shit off my court and go back to your usual corner. Thanks!

Sincerely,
The Fierce Runner

love the bags

Ah, gone are the days when I used to give these bags a good beating. In case you're unfamiliar with my workout genealogy, I always liked exercise in some form. I think I probably stated with some Kathy Smith workout tape and went from there. The first gym workout I ever took seriously was cardio kickboxing. This was way back when I lived in Santa Barbara and Tae Bo was en vogue. From there I just progressed. I have green belts in both Krav Maga and Tae Kwon Do. (Bet you never guessed that, did you?!) Admittedly, I miss kicking and punching the bags and such. Thing is, the impact totally wrecks my body and sometimes I just feel a little too o-l-d to do that stuff. Well, maybe one day I'll pick up the bag work again. I still have my gear!

Oooh! For those of you who are into The Biggest Loser, you might like this article about Jillian's eating habits. What did I take from the article? Eat dark chocolate everyday! Yeah!

Warm-up
Doing inappropriate things to John W. because well, he asked for it. (Seriously. He did.) Then repeating those inappropriate things because Allison wanted to take a photo. (Seriously. She did.) fathlete confession: It's all about the photo op.

When I was done with the pre-obscene 7:15 shenanigans, I started today by doing the Back Squat Challenge. It looked like this:
5 - 45# back squats
5 - 75# back squats
20 - 85# back squats

(Note: This is why I was slightly late for 7:15)

...And then there was Eric's warm-up
Row 200 meters
10 squats
Row 200 meters
10 lunge steps
Row 200 meters
overhead squats with dowel

CrossFit One World WOD: "Finish What You Started"
Complete the following for time:
Run 400m
30 squats
Run 400m
30 lunge steps
Run 400m
30 overhead squats (with dowel)
Run 400m
30 lunge steps
Run 400m
30 squats
Run 400m

Joanne's Final Time - 24:10

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I was dreading this WOD because I knew it would wreck me from the waist down. As I've mentioned before, I've been feeling under because of the allergies and coughing and such. I ran yesterday and it was fine (sort of). I knew today would be tough, but I was willing to stick with it. And I did.

What made tonight tough was that I had a quad injury that I didn't realize I had. Granted, it was bothering me slightly all week. I think my body was so focused on the coughing and such, that I just didn't notice the quad injury. During the warm-up when we were doing the lunge steps, I could barely do the actual lunge. A sharp pain just started shooting up my thigh. It was insane!

So what did I do?!

I did the WOD anyway. (Stupid girl!)

I could feel a little pain when I ran, but it was really bad during the lunges, so I opted to modify them to ease the pain. When the WOD was done I stretched and stretched and stretched. Bleh. It's over. I did it. I want to eat my dinner now.

I'm sure that like many, you're probably mourning the loss of the lovely Farrah Fawcett and the legendary Michael Jackson. Below is one of my favorite songs/videos because along with being an MJ fan, I'm also a huge fan of his little sis Janet. Enjoy!

food inc.

I forget where I found out about this film. I do know it was per Eric's suggestion. Check out the preview for Food Inc. It looks pretty interesting. Anyone up for watching it?

Warm-up
Run 800 meters
wandering around wondering if Jason K. is going to show up

CrossFit One World WOD
Easy 2.2 mile run

Joanne's Final Time - N/A

Stretching
Spotting Settie's back squat.

Notes (to myself) about this workout: It was a rest day, so I took advantage of going light. I'm still having breathing issues because of the allergy thing. Therefore, I decided to tough it out and just run today. I meant to do a 5K, but I was hacking up a storm at the tail end of the 2.2 miles and could feel a mild blister forming on my foot. With that, I decided to call it a day. When I got back, I saw Jason K. made it to class and was coaching Jerry through the clean and jerk. I did a few of those with a 33# bar and then helped Settie with the back squat and such. It was a nice, light day. Yea.

finger toes

Louie "The Ninja" from crossfitoneworld on Vimeo.

Freddy just posted this video on the One World site. It's of Louie doing one round of today's WOD. Look closely at how he climbs the rope. Basically, he walks up the rope because apparently, Louie has finger toes that allow him to do this. It's freakish, I know. But I can't stop watching it! ha ha!

Warm-up
Row 500 meters
prep for the WOD
giving Eric shit because he gave me shit for being late :)

CrossFit One World WOD: "Schoolboy"
Complete as many rounds as you can in 20 minutes of:
5 deadlifts 153#
1 rope climb (modified 3 for 1)

Joanne's Final Count - exactly 11 rounds

And then...
75 GHD sit-ups
stretching

Notes (to myself) about this workout: The last time I did this WOD was here. I'm happy to announce that I beat my last count by a rope climb. I can't do an actual rope climb and doubt I ever will. I don't mind this. Seriously. I could totally do without the rope burns and such. Besides, if I am going to get a rope burn, I like to make sure it's a worthwhile adventure.

I hate that rx'd is body weight because then you have to admit what your actual body weight is. Sorry folks. You're not getting that information from me. I do know that I can't deadlift my body weight like this. I'm way too heavy for it. Therefore, I picked a weight that I found was suitable. 153# seemed to be a good fit. The next time I do this I think I'll add another 10#. I felt a lot better about today's deadlift as opposed to when we did this WOD last. I still can't do the rope climbs with straight legs, but I'm trying. Bleh.

As for the sickness, I'm still coughing up a storm. Yes, in the morning, I still find a little blood in my phlegm. According to the doctor, this is very normal because it has something to do with popping a blood vessel because of the coughing. For whatever that means, I'm perfectly normal. They gave me codeine to take at night for the cough, an asthma inhaler because I was having a hard time breathing, and suggested that I take claratin or some other allergy medicine. The good news is that the cough and such are allergy related, so no worries about swine flu. fathlete confession: I hate being sick. This is pure agony for me.

chill-laxin'

Technically, I'm not actually chill-laxin'. I'm just taking a break to admire my new toe nails. A few weeks ago, I entered an online contest at Makeup and Beauty Blog. Every now and again Karen (the gal that operates the blog) runs contests where you leave a comment to enter a drawing. You can double your chances of winning if you also sign up for her email list (which I definitely do). So anyway... One day I entered this contest. Lo and behold... I WON! So here's a pic of one of my winning polishes. (Okay. I know this post is totally boring but oh well...)

Warm-up
Prep for the WOD

CrossFit One World WOD
Clean 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Joanne's Final weight: 83/88/93/98(f)

And then...

Back squat challenge re-start:

20 80# back squats

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I'm having a really off lifting week. Well wait. I take that back. It isn't just lifting. I'm just having an off week period. My max on the clean is 93# and today that didn't budge. Oh well. At least I hit my max. But it was a total struggle. I failed the 93# attempt at least eight times. Seriously. The first four times I nearly ran out of the gym crying.

fathlete confession: I have the kind of face that can't tell a lie. Therefore, you can always tell what I'm really thinking by looking at my face. This is a tough gift to have.

After battling it out at 93#, I dropped to 88# and did fine. I then did 93# and finally hit it. From there, I bumped it up to 98# and failed miserably. Twice. Bleh.  (Contrary to popular belief, I'm sure that John W. had nothing to do with me finally hitting that 93# clean. No Shannon. I don't need a man cheering me on to do the lift. Really. I don't. ha ha)

What I should have done was stayed at 88# a few times, then did 93# a few times and just stayed there. I totally need help with the clean and any other weightlifting move that requires me to shrug my shoulders and open my hips at the same time. I'm having coordination issues with that.

I wanted to end the night well, so I did my back squat challenge re-start. Instead of doing it at 75#, I bumped it up and did 80#. I've decided that on Mondays and Thursdays I'd do the back squat challenge. Tuesdays and Wednesdays I'd do the GHD stuff (or anything else I'd feel like doing for my "and then").

dolla dolla bills!

Happy Father's Day! I decided to post this photo of Bradass, everyone's favorite daddy! ha ha! Here he is fiddling with the pole while the twins Mary and Maria try to get their money's worth. Damn! How come Brad does this stuff when I'm not around?!

Warm-up
4 minute row
stretching

CrossFit One World WOD
Snatch work

Notes (to myself) about this workout: It's father's day, so Jason (kudos!) took it really light. I think it also helped that it was just me and Tia and I was already 10 minutes late. Bleh. I haven't been feeling too hot lately, so I was appreciative that today was pretty much a skills day. It also reminded me of how much I hate snatches!

I'm still fighting a major cough and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. (It's weird because other than the cough, I'm perfectly fine.) I may have to give in and take some cough syrup and see a doctor tomorrow. I figure finding bits of blood in your phlegm is a bad sign, right? Yeah. I know. I'm hanging in there. I'll let you know what's up with this nasty cough.

fit as...

I just wanted to give a shout out to Fook who had this shirt made. Nice spin off to our usual "Fit as F--K!" t-shirts. You gotta love it!

Warm-up
slow sprints
stretching

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete ten 50 meter sprints. Rest 45-60 seconds between efforts.

Joanne's Final Times (in seconds, mind you):
1) 12.40
2) 12.20
3) 12.15
4) 12.19
5) 12.07
6) 11.79
7) 11.57
8) 11.97
9) 11.91
10) 11.82

Total Time - 2 minutes, 4 seconds

Notes (to myself) about this workout: Fifty meter sprints don't sound as bad as they are until you actually do them. Again, I'm under the weather, but I pushed through anyway. Most people did this under 11 seconds, so I'm way slow. But it's not like you didn't know that already.

Oddly enough, I actually got better as the rounds went on. Most people got progressively slower (which makes more sense to me). As I continued to run, I guess I had a better sense of my rhythm and such. It also helped that JD was giving great advice from the sideline.

Still. I'm so not a sprinter.

bottom's up!

This was taken a few weeks ago at a family gathering. Andy, my cousin-in-law is a bad BAD influence and coerced me into drinking THREE shots of sake. BAD ANDY! This was me on my way to the first shot. Can you see the coercion in my eyes? No? Keep looking!

I forgot to add to my list of ways to nurse yourself through sickness.... It doesn't hurt to have a little alcohol. Not a whole lot. But sometimes I do like to drink a warm shot of sake. It keeps you warm and for at least that moment, clears up some places that need to be cleared up. Again, it's just my thing. I'm thinking of having some warm sake tonight. Or tomorrow night since it's International Sushi Day tomorrow. (Thanks for the heads up, Officer Kirk!)

Warm-up
Some random stuff that I can't quite remember... running, push-ups, stretching, something like that.

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete three rounds for time of:
500m row
21 kettlebell swings 35#
21 box jumps 18"

Joanne's Final Time - 25:31

Notes (to myself) about this workout: It's not a matter of what you CAN or CAN'T do. I think the CrossFit (and life in general) journey is largely about what you are WILLING to do - especially when your mind and your body have already determined that you're done for the day.

This is how I felt today. I'm less than 100% because I'm still recovering from being sick. I have some really deep chest congestion which makes breathing hard. I have the kind of cough that requires my entire body to work overtime just to get rid of a tiny ball of spit. It's frustrating. For me, the last step in getting the EVIL out of you is to resume your normal activities - even if you have to fight for it.

Last year when my mom and I lived overseas, she was sick for two weeks when we got back to Manila from Guam. For two whole weeks I watched her lay in bed battling whatever bug she had. I kept telling her that she needed to just move out and about. My feeling is that when you're sick, you should stay in bed for no more than three days. After that, you need to get out of bed and just move. Anything after three days is to me, mental. You need to just walk around or something because if not, your body gets accustomed to feeling like shit. I don't like this feeling. My mom wouldn't listen to me, so when I finally threatened to bring her to Makati Med for treatment, she caved in and started milling around and finally got better. It's not in my personality to sit in bed for more than three days. If I'm deathly sick, you need to chain me to bed to keep me there.

I knew I wasn't going to do well tonight, but I decided that I would just push through because it helps to shake the EVIL out. The last time I did this WOD I finished in under 17 minutes, using a lower box. Today I did the 35# kettlebell (because I love kettlebells - even when I'm sick) and the 18" box. I was just hoping to finish. That's it. I didn't care about time.

This WOD sucked ass. It wasn't that I couldn't do it, it's that I had a hard time breathing. I kept gasping for air, like I was hyperventilating. In round two I stepped outside to just cry. Seriously. I cried. I came back in and finished the box jumps. The last two reps of box jumps were step ups because I just couldn't jump for shit. 

By then I was an entire round behind everyone else, so while everyone was done and putting their stuff away, I was still agonizing through the WOD. Gasping for air. Crying. Really. I was CRYING! When I finally finished, I thought I was going to just DIE! Really. I wanted to fall over, but I just continued to gasp for air.

I've seen this in other CrossFitters before. You're doing the WOD and something just hits you. You don't want to go on. You're spent. You can't go on. But your stubborn ass refuses to stop until you finish what you started. It reminds me of when Settie first did the Bear Complex. I wasn't there, but Eric said she literally took ten minutes between set reps because she didn't want to give up. I saw Alexis go through this the other week during the WOD with the rope climbs. I saw Chris L. battle it out with the WOD that required 100 double unders. You're agonizing and you're beyond the last person to finish. But you just march on. It sucks. I want to say the finish is worth it. And for the most part, it is. But the process sucks.

I was frustrated because I was just so in my head. I cried half the time for fuck's sake! I had to step outside to cry! It's rare when I have to do that. But when I do, I never forget it. I felt this way the first time I met "Mr. Josh." I also felt that way when I crossed the finish line at the Maui Marathon. I crossed the finish in tears. This wasn't because I was happy. I was just frustrated and wanted to die. It was hot. There was no glory in finishing. And the orange-sized blister that was forming on BOTH of my feet just popped and my socks were oozing with warm blister juice. I would have crawled to the finish line if I had the strength to go on hands and knees.

I'm not sure what it is that makes us crazy CrossFitters agonize to the finish. For me, when I'm in that much pain, it just makes no sense to not finish. You're more than half way there, just go. Easy as that. Even if you have to crawl to the finish. You just do it. Granted, it helps when everyone around you is there to push you, guide you, carry you to the finish even when you don't want it anymore.

Man. Tonight was tough. I don't ever want to feel this way again. Damn EVIL. Be gone NOW!

EVIL be gone.

As if you didn't already know.... I'm kind of a Journey fan - especially since they hired their new lead singer Arnel Pineda a while back. I lifted this photo from someone's facebook page and I can't seem to remember whose. Oh well. Just know it was stolen. I love this photo. I'd love to be sitting at that Peet's Cafe, sipping my latte, and gazing at this STOP sign.

I've been out of commission the past few days because on Saturday I woke up with a funny feeling in my head and body. I knew I was coming down with something. Unfortunately, San Francisco was having their big trend show, so I couldn't call in sick. We were already short-handed, so I had to show up and take one for the team. Since my sister was working and said she had to leave early, I figured I could leave early too if I wasn't feeling up to it.

By 11am I could tell that I was going to fall over any minute. I wasn't feeling too hot and even my sister told me I looked like death. It's not a becoming look when you're trying to sell skincare. Anyway...

I have this theory about being sick... I feel like when I get sick it's my body's way of telling me to slow down or to take extra special care of myself because of something. In truth, I don't know why I got sick. There's no reason for me to get sick. I don't even know where it came from. I do know that I just needed rest.

I ended up leaving work at 2:30, took bart home, helped my sister run her errands, picked up soup, and nursed myself through the weekend. As I get older, I've mastered certain ways of nursing myself while sick. I'm not saying that you do the same thing, I'm just saying that this is how I do it...

(1) I've stopped using cold medicine. I know lots of people who swear by NyQuil, DayQuil, Contact, and the like. I decided a long time ago that there is no profit in curing the common cold. The profit is in suppressing it enough to make you feel better, that you keep taking the drugs. These days, I just let the sickness (which I will refer to as EVIL from here on out) run its course. If nursed well, EVIL will run its course faster than you think. So how do I nurse the EVIL out of me? I stop using cold medicine. Instead, I opt for Zicam or echinacea (or both) and I top that with some patience.

(2) Drink lots of fluids. For me, that means lots of water, water mixed with Emergen-C, and hot tea. (This also means a lot of bathroom trips. The goal here is to drink enough fluids that my urine is clear. It lets me know that the EVIL is coming out.) For the record, tea has to be loose leaf. The crap they serve you at Starbucks just sucks and is best for tip #5. Gross tea makes my throat ache. Loose leaf is best because it's the closest thing to "fresh" tea. It tastes clean and goes down smooth. Dried teas (for me) irritate my throat. I don't do juice because I'm diabetic. But if you're a juice person, then juice up.

(3) Avoid dairy, especially if I'm congested. My chiropractor once told me to do this because there's something about dairy that makes you more mucous-y. I never asked for details. I just took his word. It works so far.

(4)I try to eat as I normally would (but avoid dairy and cheese). In particular, I eat soup! My "get sick" favorites are: hot and sour soup and wor won ton soup (sans the won ton with extra veggies; I know it's weird) from Dragon House in Union City. If you haven't eaten at Dragon House, you should. It's great, cheap, Chinese food. I also like kim chee jigae from your local Korean place. The best I've had it is at this restaurant in Berkeley, but I'm not driving all the way over there for it. The last thing I recommend is pho (sans the noodles, maxed out on the jalapenos). Sometimes when I'm sick, my appetite isn't up. This just means I have to make a conscious effort to eat even the smallest meals. I find if I don't eat, I get weak and tired. This is a "not eating" thing, not a "sick" thing. I try to differentiate the two.

(5) If I'm having throat issues, I make some tea and wait for it to cool down enough to gurgle. I ten add salt (say like a teaspoon or two) to it and do the gurgle-and-spit routine until I'm at the end of the cup. I do this at least twice a day. I find it helps with the chest congestion for some reason.

(6) Get lots of REST! Watch TV. Stay away from the computer. Read something trashy. Just stay in bed.

(7) When all better, I change out my toothbrush! There's tons of bacteria lurking in toothbrushes, so when I get better, I change it out.

That's how I shake the EVIL out of me.

it's in the face!

Again, you had to be there to understand this hi-larity. For now, feel free to LOL at Joe D.'s face and the fact that Raz is deadlifting a bunch of 15# plates.

Warm-up
Jump rope work
some other stuff that I'm too tired to remember

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete the following for time:
Row 1000m
Run 800m
100 double unders (modified 3-for-1 jump rope rotations)
Row 500m
Run 400m
50 double unders

Joanne's Final Time - 24:56

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I hate jump ropes. Other than that, it wasn't as bad as I thought. My thighs are still burning from the wall balls a few days ago. I'm totally looking forward to some rest.

goals. goals. goals.

This is my gal pal Settie. As mentioned before, she hit her first kipping pull-up series the other day. Three in a row. Wa-hoo! I'm so proud of this woman. In the short time she's been a CrossFitter, she continues to kill each WOD. Her skills improve each time I see her on the floor. It's pretty inspiring. Okay. I'm a little jealous 'cuz she runs way faster than me and does a ton of things way better than me. But since she's so nice, I'll put the haterade back in the 'fridge. ha ha! Just kidding. I totally adore Settie and am so proud to share the floor with her.

Today Freddy did a post where he asked what our goals are. In the spirit of Freddy's post, here are mine:

By the end of the year (preferably calendar year, but I'll settle for next school year too) I would like to in the name of CrossFit:

- do one kipping pull-up
- make peace with the snatch (Note: I mean THE snatch as in the weightlifting movement, not MY snatch because we have a perfectly wonderful relationship, thank you!)
- do one unassisted handstand
- make peace with the jump rope; maybe even do an actual double under
- learn to love the GHD machine
- jump the 24" box (once I hit that, I'm done with the boxes!)

For now this is it. fathlete confession: There's a lot that I totally suck at with respect to CrosssFit. In fact, the list could very well be at least five times longer. But I won't do it. A little at a time folks. A little at a time.

Finally, I'd appreciate it if you didn't laugh at my list. I'm the first to admit that I am by no means a natural athlete. I have to fight for every pound I lift and every pull, push, kip, jump, and the like. This stuff just doesn't come easily for me. If you do laugh, that's okay. Just don't do it in front of me. Warning: I'm really good at giving people a bloody lip if need be. Not that I'd ever do this on purpose... but I'm just sayin'.

Warm-up
Run 800 meters
Stretching
Prep for WOD

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete the following for time:
21 deadlifts 145#
21 handstand push-ups (modified on 18" box)
5 rope climbs (modified 3-for-1 subs)
15 deadlifts
15 handstand push-ups
3 rope climbs
9 deadlifts
9 handstand push-ups
1 rope climb

Joanne's Final Time - 15:19

Notes (to myself) about this workout:I've decided that for as much as I like Chong as a person, I totally hate his programming.

Okay.
Thats just me being a whiney bitch.
Sorry.

Moving on... when I was thinking about this WOD, I told myself that I would do 165# for the deadlift. When I actually did the WOD, I realized that 145# is plenty. I still think my form is off and I can't wait for Eric's deadlift clinic on Sunday. Wa-hoo! I'm terrible at handstands, but the modification was much better this time around. I was able to actually touch my head to the abmat. The next time I do this, I think I'll go to a higher box (20") and progress from there. But those ropes, how they suck! I still have to do them with bent knees because i can't seem to lift my body off the floor any other way. Bleh. How in the world I'll ever do an actual rope climb is beyond me. Conquering it straight-legged is still a tough one. I thought this was going to take me well over twenty minutes, so to finish in over fifteen was a nice surprise. Yea.

It's over now. Tomorrow is another Chong WOD. Heaven help me.

it's not just hair!

Before we go into grave detail about how I conquered that bitch "Karen," I wanted to point your attention to a few interesting tidbits. First off, the above photo was sent to me by my dear friend Jahleezah. Attached to this photo was this description:

"Recent photo of a little boy visiting the White House. He wanted to feel Obama's hair because he wanted to know if the President's hair felt just like his. Obama obliged. Priceless."

Personally, I was totally amused by this photo because as someone who does research on beauty, I totally understand the cultural/political meaning of hair - especially as it pertains to the Black community. I'd go on and on about how great this photo is, how touching this boy's simple curiousity is, and the like, but I won't. I'm just going to revel in its awesomeness.

Another thing I wanted to share was this silly article about ways to buy happiness. Interesting. If you read it, let me know what you think about these "happy" investments. (One of the investments mentioned was a gym membership and accessories. Wa-hoo!) Finally, in other Obama news, (actually, it's more like Joanne's projection of her singlehood. Heh!) my friend Raf sent me this article about educated women of color, dating, and what we single gals can learn from our first lady. Again, if you read it, let me know what you think. Sadly, this stuff really hits home and reminds me that yes, I can be shallow too.

Warm-up
some crazy running drill that I missed most of because I missed my bart train back to Union City from Berkeley
25 wall squats
prep for the WOD
random dirty comments about rockin' the WOD with Freddy's balls (you had to be there to understand this hi-larity)

CrossFit One World WOD: "Karen"

150 wallballs for time W:14#; hitting the over 8' target (so not quite rx'd)

Joanne's Final Time - 13:18

And then...
Walk 1.1 miles

GHD Luv!
30 GHD sit-ups
30 GHD back extensions

Cheering on Settie and Lori for the back squat challenge.

Notes (to myself) about this workout: The last time I did "Karen" was about a year ago. I used a 4# ball and my final time was 13:54. I remember it being pure misery. I just got back into the country and I was desperately trying to find my groove. I was also dehydrated and failed miserably at the WOD before it.

Today "Karen" still sucked balls. Seriously. She totally does. My "balls to the wall" strategy was to use the 14# ball and just grin and bare it. I was hoping to hit around 15-16 minutes on this. I was at almost 14 minutes the last time and today I was lifting 10# more. I did it in sets of ten and was able to hold true to that til the end. My issue with wall balls is that I tend to squat pretty low and that's what slows me down. For me, this is an okay problem to have because at least the squat is still good.

I was really happy today because though it was a much heavier weight, I still beat my last time. Wa-hoo. I've come a long way in a year;)

grape girl

Freddy posted this photo today on the One World site. That's me, somewhere in the middle wearing the grape/purple shirt. From far away, this looks like a normal photo. But if you click on it and look up close, I'm making a funny face. I think I'm trying to convince Brad that I need to not do today's WOD. Yes, that's how I start off every class. I come in about fifteen minutes early to try to figure out how I can get out of the WOD. Most people would be smart enough to just not show up. Not me. I'm not that smart. Everyday I come in hoping someone will convince me to go home. Unfortunately, no one ever does. But I still come back. Stupid. Silly. Me.

Warm-up
frantically drive back home to pick up shoes that I forgot to bring
have a minor freak out because I was late for class
Run 400 meters
Stretching

CrossFit One World WOD: Rest Day, Skills Day
Back Squat Challenge:
20 - 80# back squats

Work on Overhead Squat:
10 - 33# Overhead Squats
10 - 43# Overhead Squats
10 - 53# Overhead Squats

GHD Luv!
30 GHD sit-ups
30 GHD back extensions
30 push-ups, using GHD machine as support

Cheering on Settie as she kills the kipping pull-ups!

Joanne's Final Time - N/A

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I meant to do Nancy, but I time was running short and I realized that my overhead squat needs some work. Also, tomorrow's WOD is Karen, so there's no need to over squat for this cycle.

Kudos to Miss Settie who nailed the kipping pull-up today. Wa-hoo! Rock on, girl!

up, up, and away!

The new movie UP has been all the latest rage these days. I'm totally excited because I'm set to watch it next Friday. Wa-hoo! I must thank Miss Lady Di for posting this on her facebook page. Fellow Runbutan Ricky Nierva was the production designer on the project. Here is a NY Times article where he talks about how some of the characters came to be. I hope you Pixar/animation fans enjoy it! *wink*

Above is a photo that was taken in 2005 when we helped Ricky's wife Angie (who was eight months pregnant at the time) cross the finish line at the Nike Women's Half Marathon. Left to right we are: (a friend of Ricky and Angie, whose name complete escapes me right now), me, Angie, Ricky. To this day, I swear that they rank as one of my top "totally awesome couples" (they're up there with John W. and Alex C. ha ha!). Sigh. Ricky and Angie have an amazing love story. I would kill to have a love story like theirs!

Warm-up
Row for body weight wattage
Stretching

CrossFit One World WOD
Back Squat
5/3/2/2/1/1/1
125/145/155/165/170/175/180 (new PR!)


Notes (to myself) about this workout: Before I begin, I'd like to note that I did two 180# attempts. I failed the first one, but nailed the second one. 

Oh the back squat. This is definitely one of my favorite lifts. Yea Jason K. for doing this! (See?! Every Jason K. class will always have some Jason K. kudos!) I've decided that I like the back squat because it's a totally sexy lift.

Really.
It is.

What makes it so sexy? It's not having to get under the bar while racked. It's not having to make sure my ass is properly sticking out in order to support the weight. It's not sticking out my chest to no end. It's not even finding the sweet spot in my back to carry the bar. It's the spotter. It's all about the spotter. Big thanks to John W. for spotting me today. ha ha! fathlete confession: I understand that it may seem that I have a crush-love-affair of sorts with John W. Please know that this is not true. For as much as I adore John W., I would never EVER interfere with the bromance between him and Alex C.  (ha ha!) Besides, there are way too many other women who are dying for the job and I'm having way too much fun watching those women duke it out. Having clarified that, it is important to note that I will continue to reserve the right indulge in various single-legged hugs with him and use him as my spotter/motivator during the WODs. Thank you. (insert tongue-in-cheek sarcasm here)

Moving on... the one thing I'm trying to figure in with the heavy lifting is patience. It's bad enough that I feel like I'm one of the slower people in the class. Lifting is a total mental thing and I guess it just takes me a little longer than most to get my head in the game. I notice that when my head is in the game and I take the time to focus on the heavy lifting, I can really push my limit. When I get impatient or feel like someone is waiting for me me to finish, and I rush the lift, I almost always fail. 

Finally, I need to work on pushing my knees out during this move. I didn't realize that I was moving them in. It's best to push out in order to protect the knees.

I have to start getting a move on the squat challenge. Right now I'm still at 75#. Tomorrow I'll do the 80# challenge.

runnin' the lake

Since today was a designated rest day, I took the liberty to not go to the gym. It's not my usual self to do this because my CrossFit schedule (that I usually hope to follow) is to go from Sunday through Thursday, taking Friday and Saturday off. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. It just depends on what my schedule and my body allow.

I'm seriously considering doing the San Jose Rock n Roll Half Marathon in October with some friends. I try to do one half marathon each year. Last year I did the Nike Women's virtual run. Remember that crazy day I had? I didn't do anything in 2007 or 2006. 2005 was a big running year for me because I did the Maui Marathon, followed by the Nike Women's Half. I don't need to do a half every year, but it's a nice goal.

Today I was in Oakland for my study group and decided that I'd take advantage of being near Lake Merritt and take a run around it. Advice to those of you running with other people: make sure they're not athletic and a foot taller than you. It will make you feel like less of a loser and it will entail less choking of their dust. Seriously. I ended up running today with my study buddy Makana. Here he is:

It's bad enough he's a natural athlete and grew up like he was Sporty Spice. But to run with him was a total joke. His stride itself out does mine by at least a foot. To keep up, he ended up back tracking, making it so that he probably ran closer to four miles because I just couldn't keep up. Plus, he can run without stopping and I had to make two brief stops (mostly because I couldn't figure out where the end line was and I was feeling kind of desperate). And yes, Makana can eat that whole bowl of Korean halo halo without batting an eyelash. He can also run in cotton. COTTON! And he doesn't need body glide or blister shield for his feet. And he doesn't have a crazy "getting ready to workout" routine like yours truly. I hate people like this. To make myself feel better, I will claim that my squat is way better than his.

Okay. Enough hateration.

Warm-up
a short walk to Lake Merritt with random stretching beforehand

CrossFit One World WOD
Note: This was not a CFit WOD. I just decided to run Lake Merrit, which is approximately 3.5 miles.

Joanne's Final Time - 40 some odd minutes

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I need to get into running shape. I'm way better than stopping twice for a 3.5 mile run. Half marathon training here I come...

the obscene 7:15

In the photo is Rita (wearing the hat) and Bobbi during the NorCal CrossFit regionals. Bobbi is an occasional member of the obscene 7:15 crew. Though Rita doesn't really work out when we do, she's a bona fide member of the club. If you haven't figured it out already, a true One World CrossFitter must have a dirty sense of humor. It comes with the post-WOD beer. Case in point...

1) On occasion (actually, it's more often than not) Rita is notorious for grabbing one or both of my girls. She has thing for boobs and for some reason, finds mine appealing. fathlete confession: I'm not one to deny a sista of her fantasy, so I let her grab away. (Guys, don't even think about it!) What makes this acceptable? I pretend that we're on that TV show Will & Grace. I'm Karen and Rita plays Jack (my gay BFF). It makes the grabbing that much funnier! 

2) Today while we were doing squats against the wall, Jason K. keenly observed that it looked like I was rubbing certain body parts against the wall. Note: this was not intentional. I happen to have a good squat and am very proud of that. Should my wall squats be misconstrued as something else, that's your dirty mind, not mine. fathlete  confession: Witnessing Jason K.'s dirty sense of humor just warms my heart because I didn't think he had it in him. Boy was I wrong.

3) Rita suggested that I dress up as a playboy bunny for Halloween this year. (That's quite a jump considering I dressed up as Ugly Betty last year.) Apparently, my girls fit the bill for the costume. fathlete confession: Oh Rita. This is why I *heart* you. Though the idea of me in a playboy bunny outfit is in my opinion, completely horrific, I'm glad you think it's a good idea (even if you have to lie to me).

All in all, my CrossFit family makes me feel sexy. Sometimes a little naughty. And I like exercising the right to feel as such. (Yes, even when I'm uber sweaty and feel gross and stinky.) Heh! xoxo!

Warm-up
walking lunge steps
lower body stretching
wall squats
upper body stretching
prep for the WOD

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete five rounds for time of:
5 push jerks 63# (according to the board, I lifted 83#, but after thinking about it, I'm pretty sure I did 63#)
10 push ups (on knees)
20 squats

Joanne's Final Time - 9:10

Notes (to myself) about this workout: As promised, all classes taught by Jason K. will start with kudos. Kudos Jason K.! Moving on...

Tonight I learned that I just need to push it. Yes. Just like the Salt n Pepa song says. I need to push it. In retrospect, I should have done 73# or maybe even 83#. My lack of soreness tonight tells me it would have been okay to do so. I watch a lot of CrossFitters - especially the newbies - reach this point where the limits are endless because they just let themselves go and give all they can to the WOD.

I'm not there yet.

It's not that I can't do it. I just have a hard time gaging what my limit is. Okay. It doesn't help that I bitch and moan to no end and refuse to let the coaches determine my limit. For the record, I'll try my best to stop the bitching and moaning. fathlete confession: I'll admit that I'm also afraid of falling on my ass. Plain and simple. But I need to get out of my head and out of the current funk I've been in. I just need to commit. and push it.

suck day

This photo makes me laugh. It's from Saturday's throwdown. John W. and I found some spare time to simply be silly. Seriously. Sometimes all you need is a sense of humor to get you through some of life's bullshit. So here we are doing um, I don't know what. Some version of a sick and twisted WOD? Sure. Er. Um. Not quite. I do know that every now and again John W. likes to do this to me. And I let him. Because who can say no to John W.? ha ha? (This is all tongue-in-cheek, you know? If you are part of the legions of women who go ga-ga over John W., please don't hate.) Oh well, it was fun. I'm sure there are dozens of women who would have killed to be me in this photo. ha ha!

Warm-up
THREE rounds of:
Run 200 meters
10 modified ring dips
10 back extensions

Handstand work
Prep for the WOD (Where I wanted to cry and tear my hair out. Seriously.)

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
7 L pull-ups (modified with 7 jumping pull-ups and 7 knees-to-elbows)
7 box jumps 18"
7 wall balls 14#

Joanne's Final Count - 7 rounds with 7 L pull-ups

And then...
Squat challenge:
20 75# back squats

Notes (to myself) about this workout: Truth be told, I was having an off day. A really off day. In fact, I've been feeling a bit useless these days and its manifesting itself at the gym. Now I understand the idea of "train at what you suck at the most." I feel that. But today hit every suck nerve in my body.

My ring dips suck. When I do them, my feet are so close to my body that they nearly touch my ass. That's how weak I am.

Headstands? Er. Um. Did you all not get the bulletin that I kicked Jason K. in the face because I suck at headstands so much?

Then came the box jumps. I decided a few days ago that I would do the red box. During the warm up, I just couldn't get my head into it. I was literally kneeling to the box praying I could jump it.

What about those damn knees-to-elbows? As it stands, this exercise is completely useless to me because it tears my hands apart and just irritates me. It does nothing for my core and is a complete waste of time. There needs to be a more efficient way of conquering these motherf--kers!

I don't mind practicing what I suck at. I just don't like having to deal with them all at once. I suck at a lot of things. I get it. I just don't need it all thrown in my face, really. I'm weak at a lot of the body weight stuff because it reminds me of how heavy I am. Not many people like to be reminded of this and I am definitely not one of those people.

I've also been feeling ugly-and-gross lately. I hate that I'm the only woman in the gym with an abundant supply of sweat glands. I hate that two minutes into the warm-up my first shirt (yes, I double up) is soaking wet and by the end of the warm-up, it looks like I decided to take a dip in the local sweat pool. I hate it. It makes me feel dirty. and fat. and ugly. These aren't feelings I want to have at the gym. When you couple that with me not doing well at the exercises, it just leads me to tears. Bleh. (Okay. I stop with the pity party.)

Thank God we ended with the back squat. Yea. Something I can actually do.

this is why he's so Bradass!

Here is Bradass leading the way for Team One World on Saturday. As part of their WOD, they had to carry 100# bags for 800 meters (that's half a mile, y'all!). I gotta say that Bradass represents the 50+ club very well! Yes, big kudos to Chong (also in this photo) and Will B. for rocking it out in their heat! (Photo courtesy of Kevin via the One World Flickr site.)

Warm-up
5 minute row
prep for the WOD

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete five rounds for time of:
5 deadlifts 143#
20 back extensions

Joanne's Final Time - 10:33

And then... run 1.1 miles

Notes (to myself) about this workout: This was a good WOD. Again, I teeter between pushing myself with the weight and trying to get a decent time. I was going to do 153# for the deadlift, but I dropped it by 10#. In retrospect, I probably should have just kept the 153#. Thing is, I'm just not so sure how good my deadlift form is. Anyway....

I really need to work on the GHD machine. I suck at them. They're a great tool and I think I'll take Freddy's suggestion on doing a little bit of it every day after class. If I'm chillin' out with folks, I may as well do it by developing a skill and working my abs, right? Besides, I'd have to say that overall, I like my body. But if there was one area I'd like to improve, it's my abs. So GDH, here I come!