crazy Sunday

Random Friend/Stranger/Person (RF/S/P): So Joanne, how was your Sunday?

Fierce Female Fathlete (FFF): Fine. It was just fine. It started when I woke up at 3:30am to get ready for a bridal gig. I met the bride at 4:30am and did her makeup.

(RF/S/P): OMG. That's so early in the morning!

Fierce Female Fathlete (FFF): Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. So I got home at about 6am and had a killer headache. I took a nap which was supposed to only be a half hour. But I overshot my nap and woke up at almost 8am. I dressed up and headed over to Berkeley to pick up Margaret. We committed to running the Nike Women's Half Marathon earlier this year and today was race day. Yeah. I had a wedding gig and a half marathon. Don't ask questions. But here are the finish photos!


This is the not-so-sexy me in a sweaty post 13.1 mile run mess. Yeah. Whatever.

And this is Margaret who by the time took this photo had some time to rest, stretch, hydrate and dream about the post-meal. Hence, why she looks way more sane than I do. Boo! I hate you!

(RF/S/P): Er. Um. What the hell kind of race was that? Where are all the Nike+ people and the cool mylar sheets they wrap you with to keep warm? What about the schwag?

Fierce Female Fathlete (FFF): Alright. Alright. Damn! Such questions! Each year the Nike Women's Half/Marathon gets harder and harder to get in to, so they do it by a lottery system now. Unfortunately, I didn't get in through the lottery. (Ahem. Personally, I think the thing was rigged!) So Nike offers another alternative if you want to run and benefit the leukemia and lymphoma society. You pay a smaller race fee and log in your miles through the Nike+ system (personally, I have the sportband, but you can do it through your ipod nano). You have a week after the race to log your miles. From there, the lovely people at Nike will mail you your schwag. Satisfied?

(RF/S/P): Damn. No large gathering in San Francisco? No chocolate mile? Sucks for you.

Fierce Female Fathlete (FFF): Whatever. Don't rub it in. I still get a Tiffany keychain and you don't!

(RF/S/P): Word. So what did you do to celebrate the run?

Fierce Female Fathlete (FFF): We headed over to Union City to munch on delicious Filipino food. Margaret has this thing for lechon kawali. For the record, my limit is about 3-4 pieces. After that I feel like throwing up. It's just a gag reflex from all the fried fatty food I guess. Wanna see pictures? Go ahead. Look!


Oh lechon kawali. How do I love thee? (Um your eyes aren't fooling you. The photo is blurry. Apparently, Margaret got the shivers when the lechon came around and this photo was a simple casualty of hunger.)

My case of the shakes wasn't as bad. So here's Margaret diving in. Yeah. Enough said.

(RF/S/P): Wow. You had one hell of a day!

Fierce Female Fathlete (FFF): I'm sorry. Did I say that the day ended there? Oh hell no! I went home, showered, dropped Margaret off to bart and did the second part of my makeup gig. I was at the bride's place by 4:30pm. Yeah. That's right. I met her at 4:30am and 4:30pm. After her makeup application I went to my sister's house, took a nap and headed to the wedding reception. I got home after 10pm and conked out on my bed. That was the end of my day!

(RF/S/P): Dang!

Fierce Female Fathlete (FFF): Yup. Make-up application. Check. Half marathon. Check. Greasy food for fuel? Check. Make-up application two. Check. Post wedding par-tay? Check check. That's right bitches. This fathlete is fierce!

friday light

This is another old photo of me circa sometime in 2006-2007. Yeah. They used to post way more photos of me on the one world site. What's up with that?! Ha ha. Anyway... this is me doing a deadlift. Um. A very light deadlift. It looks like it could either be 95# or 65#. I forget what the weight is. I'm posting this because I'm sore right now from yesterday's deadlift WOD.

I've been working/busy on Fridays and have been missing my Friday light which consists of yoga and belly dance. So to come back to Friday light was great. I love my dance class and though I don't get to do it as often as I like, I treasure each moment. The dance really helped work out the kinks in my lower back. Plus, it helps me maintain my sexy. ha ha. Seriously. Cheers to more Friday lights for me.

CrossFit One World WOD

This is how I felt like during the entire WOD today. This is Freddy during his post-Fran suffering period. Sometimes (more often than not) you have your bad days. Today was one of mine.

Warm-up
Run 1.1 miles

WOD: Mr. Joshua
Complete 5 rounds for time of:
Run 400m
30 GHD sit-ups
15 deadlifts 140#

Joanne's Final Time - 55:00

A little info about Mr. Joshua:

Today's WOD is one of CrossFit's new hero WODs. It was created in memory of SO1 Joshua Thomas Harris, 36, who drowned during combat operations on August 30th 2008 in Afghanistan. He is survived by his parents Dr. Sam and Evelyn Harris, his brother Ranchor and twin sister Kiki.


Notes (to myself) about this workout:
This WOD made me want to cry. Period. Really. Even Eric said I looked like I was going to cry. At the start of the fourth round, I could feel a lump in my throat because I wanted to cry. Though I scaled the weight down (rx'd was 185# for women), this was still miserable. Deadlifts kill me. And my head just wasn't in the game. I made the mistake of running as my warm-up. I really should have done a much lighter warm-up because this WOD was really intense. In fact, all the hero WODs (especially the new ones they've been posting. Apparently it feels like there have been a ton of people killed overseas because of this senseless war. Okay. Remember to vote because I can't handle more people dying. Though hero WODs are nice gestures, it makes me sad to see a new hero WOD posted because it means another innocent life lost. So go out there and vote. End political rant.) are really hard.

Again, my head wasn't in the game and I'm not sure why. I think the silly stress of the whole Sbux thing (I'll explain if you ask nicely) fucked up my CrossFit karma and not my dating karma. So yes, karma bit me in the ass today and it came in the form of Mr. Joshua. I'm glad to be off CrossFit for the next few days because I really need the rest.

CrossFit One World WOD

Warm-up
Run 1.1 miles

WOD: The Bear
One cycle of "The Bear" is a power clean to a front squat to overhead to a back squat to overhead. Complete seven cycles to finish one round. Once the weight is picked up off the floor, it can only tap the floor between cycles. (Touch and go.) Rest with the bar on your shoulders, overhead, or tucked into your hip. Complete five rounds for max weight in the last round.

Joanne's weight:
Round 1: 35#
Round 2: 45#
Round 3: 50#
Round 4: 55#
Round 5: 70# (for three cycles) 65# (for four cycles)

Before I give my notes about this WOD, here are video clips of JD's last round where he did a 185# round. The other clip is Cheryl hitting a 105# round. Great job, folks! This is such a killer WOD!




Notes (to myself) about this workout:
Since there was a trainer's meeting, I didn't get to the gym til past 8pm. I was actually happy because I finally got to watch the presidential debates live! (I missed the first one but saw the re-caps and analysis; I missed the VP debates and am sure that the SNL version was way more entertaining; I completely missed the second presidential debates, though I downloaded it on my ipod, I still haven't seen them.) Um, it doesn't take a genius to figure out who I'm Barack-ing the vote for. Anyway...

This was a really tough WOD and I want to give special thanks to Eric and Imran who coached me through this late-night WOD (we didn't leave the gym til 10pm!). Admittedly, I was afraid of lifting too much weight because I really wanted to complete all seven cycles and all five rounds. Eric and Imran have different opinions on the matter and I tend to lean towards Eric's way of thinking where you push the weight to your max, but don't aim to fail. Imran says it's okay for the weight to fail because you're still pushing your max (okay, you have to get weightlifting speak to understand this). Between the two, they agreed that I wasn't lifting enough weight, which is why my last round jumped so much. In retrospect, I think I could have lifted the 70# for the whole cycle. I just let the weight intimidate me. I failed on the first movement because I forgot to remind myself to shrug into the power clean. When Eric lessened the weight, I kept saying "shrug" before the first movement and it helped me make it through the rest of the cycles.

Yes, I could have and next time will push more because I wasn't exactly dying at round 4 and 5 like you're supposed to. I didn't hunch over like you see in the above videos, which means I had more in me. I just need to get out of my head and into the movement. Plain and simple.

Here's my take on women and oly weightlifting....
I'm not a weightlifter and have no interest in doing the uber-heavy lifting that Eric is known for at the studio. But I will say that I actually like olympic (oly) weightlifting and wish I did more of it. In fact, when the half marathon madness is over, I'm planning on taking Jason's Sunday morning weightlifting classes just for knowledge.

I know a lot of women are afraid of oly weightlifting because they fear bulking up. My response to that is look at Jolie:
She's very lean but lifts a good amount of weight. Bulking up happens if you follow a particular diet and you mean to bulk up. But if you want to be lean and strong, oly weightlifting is actually a great thing to have under your belt. Personally, I like oly lifting because it requires an awareness and discipline of my body that I've never known. Also, if you're doing it right, it gives you a strong core (for me, the bonus is less useless crunches to lean out the mid-section). Whenever I do a good oly lifting session, I can feel my upper body get significantly stronger and can feel actual muscles in my arms!

I also think women are better suited for the oly lifting because we tend to have better flexibility and grace for these types of lifts. For me, I have weird legs. Eric thinks perhaps one leg is longer than the other, which is why my standard stance is so screwy. Other than that, Eric and Imran agree that I naturally have good form and am consistent. This is a huge surprise for me because I assume that I'm bad at all things athletic. Lesson learned ladies and gents... you never know what you're good at unless you actually try!

I remember when I first started doing cardio kickboxing about ten years ago (OMG, it's been that long!). I thought I would be a total klutz, but I found that I took to the movement pretty naturally. I was a good student and picked up the details pretty quickly. It wasn't long before I went from cardio kickboxing to actual bag and focus mitt work. All this started at Macomber Karate in Goleta after I graduated from college. After I moved out of Santa Barbara, I let about six months pass by before I signed up for another studio. I settled on the Self Defense Institute in Fremont because I really liked the vibe there and was interested in something more practical. Krav Maga (which I first heard of in Santa Barbara) suited me and that's how I started taking martial arts semi-seriously. I did tae kwon do and krav and have green belts in both disciplines. When things at SDI started to fizzle, I followed my favorite instructors to my new home at One World and have been there ever since. At One World, I've done krav, fit-to-fight and am now just a CrossFitter. I'm sure I'll pick up the other stuff at some point. But to balance that with the yoga, dance and running I do, now is just not the time.

Geneology aside, I would have never thought to pick up these activities if I honestly believed that I didn't have something inside me. I'm not the most athletic person in the world. In fact, I'm always the one who finishes last. But I give it my all every time I'm in the gym and for me, that's what matters the most. So the point of the story is, do what intimidates you the most. You never know, because you just might be good at it.

And that's why I think more women should do oly lifting!

CrossFit One World WOD

Warm-up
Run 1.1 miles
Three sets of 10 reps of:
Samson stretch
Shoulder rolls
Overhead squats
Followed by: random stretching

WOD
work on the power clean!

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
Today I was supposed to do the bear WOD. Here's how it goes: One cycle of "The Bear" is a power clean to a front squat to overhead to a back squat to overhead. Complete seven cycles to finish one round. Once the weight is picked up off the floor, it can only tap the floor between cycles. (Touch and go.) Rest with the bar on your shoulders, overhead, or tucked into your hip. Complete five rounds for max weight in the last round.

It looks like this:


I'm not sure what was going on with me today, but I think I let everyone else's weight get to my head. When I contemplated this WOD, I was really concerned about getting the movement down. So when I started, I realized that I didn't even nail the power clean! So I spent about 40 minutes playing with different weights trying to do the first movement, which was the power clean. From there, I did two rounds of the bear at 45# and 50#. It was tough. For me, the hardest thing was remembering the sequence.

Since I didn't finish today, I decided I'd do the Bear tomorrow night. Let's hope it works out!

CrossFit One World WOD

Freddy posted this a few days ago and I thought I'd share it since I did this particular hero WOD today. Condolences to the family and friends of Officer Brad Moody.

Richmond Police Officer Brad Moody, 29 years of age and an 8 year employee with the Richmond Police Department, was involved in a single patrol-car accident Saturday morning (Oct. 4), shortly before 8 a.m. on Marina Bay Parkway just north of Regatta Blvd. in the City of Richmond. Officer Moody's vehicle struck a utility pole in the median while responding to a call that involved a felony assault with injuries. It had been raining a short time before the call and roads were slick.

After heroic efforts at the accident scene involving several members of the Richmond Police and Fire Department, as well as several PG&E employees, Officer Moody was transported to John Muir Trauma Center in Walnut Creek , where it was determined that his injuries were not life-survivable. At 2:45am on October 7, 2008, Officer Moody was removed from life support and passed away.

Officer Moody is survived by his wife, Susan, and his two young daughters. Officer Moody was a K-9 officer with the department and his dog "Rico" survived the accident and is recovering from minor injuries. Officer Moody was also a member of the RPD SWAT Team. Brad was held in the highest regard by his peers.

Brad was a great friend to One World members Mike Mahaney and Silvia Haro. They have purchased wristbands that we will be selling at One World for $5 each. All proceeds will go to the family. Please feel free to sell wristbands to your family and friends.

A fund to benefit the Moody family has been established at Mechanic’s Bank. Donations may be made to the “The Memorial Fund for Officer Brad Moody” and dropped off at any Mechanics Bank location. They can also be mailed to:

Mechanics Bank
3170 Hilltop Mall Rd.
Richmond,CA 94806

It's time to step up to the plate One World and all who visit this website! Dig deep and help this family out.

Warm-up
Run 1.1 miles (my time was 11:36, a new PR!)
Three rounds of:
10 Shoulder rolls
10 Overhead squats
Samson Stretch
10 hanging knees-to-elbows

WOD:Moody
Complete the following for time:
Row 500m
50 push-ups
Row 500m
50 squats
Row 500m
50 burpees
Row 500m

Joanne's Final Time - 27:00

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
I've been out of commission for three days, so this was a hard one to come back to. It was either this or "virtual shoveling" which didn't make it any better. I've been wanting to do this since Freddy posted because doing a hero workout in honor of someone local is just a little more meaningful. Granted, I don't know Officer Moody, but I did see the news coverage of this accident.

I'm not sure what was wrong with me tonight, but I couldn't row for the life of me. I really need some rowing tips because I feel like the harder I work, the slower I go. It sucks! I thought I was doing good time. In fact, I was at about 14 minutes up until the burpees. Oh those damn burpees! I hate those damn burpees! I ever had a signature WOD, (which I actually did have!), I'd never do burpees! EVER! I think the burpees took me a good ten minutes, which is why my final time was exactly 27 minutes. I hate you burpees. I hate you so much!

On a lighter note, I did do a new PR with my 1.1 run. Wa-hoo! Eric wants me to time every warm-up run. Personally, I don't like doing that because it takes the joy out of running and warming up for me. I think I'll time myself every Monday. I'm also working on my kipping pull-up and am the very baby stages of it. Currently, I'm just trying to hang on the bar to support my body weight. Um, I'm lucky if I can get five to ten seconds of that. I'm developing the ugly CrossFit hands even with gloves! Sucks! But I can manage my personal version of a hanging knees-to-elbows, something I couldn't even think of doing a few months ago. I'll get there. Pull-ups here I come!

CrossFit One World WOD

Sick Abs! This is Laura and was taken when she first started at One World a few years ago. As mentioned before, I don't get to see her much because she doesn't train as much at One World anymore. I do get to run into her during our events and things, which is nice. Okay. So I don't aspire to have abs like these. However, I would like to have less jelly in the mid section!


SPORTS BRA SALE! If you're anything like me, you understand the importance of a good sports bra. However, if you're anything like me and are a little on the busty side, you also know that a good sports bra can cost a fortune (I'm talking at least $40 and up). As someone who needs a full support bra at least 3-5 times a week, we're talkin' a lot of sports bras! If you're wondering what my super sports bra secret is, it's all about Champion! In my humble opinion, they make some of the best sports bras and have an incredibly wide range of sizes - anything from a modest A-cup to a voluptuous DDD-cup. They also have a great range of support from light (for yoga) to high (for running). A few times a year they have their $19.99 sports bra sale and ladies, it's that time of year! If you haven't discovered this gem yet, do check it out! They have a bra finder function that customizes your search. If you sign up on their email list and open a free account, they ship to you for free. I find that their bras are pretty true to size. But if you order and find you need to return or exchange, it's a really easy process. So if you need your sports bras, stock up now! I don't know when the sale ends, but stock runs out (and you'll end up on a waiting list and will have to wait up to a month for your support supplies). *End my spiel on sports bras.*

And now on to todays' WOD....

Warm-up
Run 1.1 miles

WOD: Timed Rows
Row 500 meters four times. Rest two minutes between efforts.

Row 1 - 2:16
Row 2 - 2:16
Row 3 - 2:15
Row 4 - 2:15
Row 5 - 2:16

Total Time - 11:18

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
I modified this WOD slightly. The original WOD was timed 400 meter runs. Truth be told, I can't stand timed short distance runs. I'm a distance runner and I have trouble adjusting. Also, for me, running isn't about fast times. It's about completing the distance. I guess this is where I have trouble with the CrossFit system. I completely understand why we have to time the workouts because it totally ups the intensity. However, I prefer to take a little extra time to nail form. Once the form is right, then we can speed things up for time. Right now, I'm still trying to nail my form. In EVERYTHING. Patience. I just need patience.

My fastest recorded row was during my last time trials where I clocked in at 2:14. I was slightly slower tonight, but I think I made a decent showing. I realize I approach my WODs the way I run. I aim for form and consistency. There's not a lot of difference in each round of rows. If you look at other people's times (well, they ran so it's a different story I guess), the rounds are pretty different. Like they say, different strokes for different folks and I'm now finding my groove. Wa-hoo!

CrossFit One World WOD

This is another old photo circa 2006 or early 2007. Something like that. This is what I looked like during today's WOD. I was praying for those damn squats to end. Boo!

Warm-up
One hour of yoga
Run 1.1 miles

WOD: Barbara
Complete five individual rounds for time of:
20 jumping pull-ups
30 push-ups
40 Abmat sit-ups (I weighted my feet down)
50 squats
Rest 3 minutes between rounds and post a time for each round.

Round 1 - 6:36
Round 2 - 6:50
Round 3 - 7:28
Round 4 - 7:22
Round 5 - 8:02

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
Everyone I know who did this WOD says they were sore for the next few days. Apparently, Eric did this WOD and is still sore. Hence, why he was a no-show again. No worries. It's hard working out on your own, but I also need to just suck it up and do it. This WOD is as hard as it looks. By the fifth round I didn't give a shit. That's why the time was so bad. UGH! It's done.

CrossFit One World WOD

Old Skool Style. This is me sometime in 2006 doing box jumps. I'm happy to say that I've recently graduated to the red 18" box. It's a struggle, but I'm trying to manage. Yea me.

Warm-up
Run 1.1 miles

WOD
Complete ten rounds of the following for time:
Run 200m
10 burpees

Joanne's Final Time - 27:47

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
Any WOD that includes burpees sucks. Period. It's getting darker earlier and the weather is getting colder and it's been harder to want to workout. I didn't confirm meeting with Eric and it looks like he took the night off because of extreme soreness from James's class. Yeah. Rest is always in order. That's what last week felt like to me.

So yes, tonight's WOD simply sucked. But I finished. It's not fun doing the stuff alone, but I don't know. I can't seem to get myself into a class. I just hate the competitiveness of it all. I need to think about it. Hmph.

almost 13 miles

This is a photo of JD that was taken during the infamous century game. Yeah. This is what my trial half marathon felt like. after mile 9, I just wanted to kneel down and pray and hope I'd make it today. (ha ha ha)

I've been sick for the past week and the last thing on my mind was the trial half marathon. Meaning, I didn't carbo-load the days before and I didn't pay attention to proper hydration (but I was properly hydrated because I'm trying to shake whatever this thing is I've got). I worked a long day on Saturday and when I got up on Sunday I didn't eat a proper pre-run meal. In short, I did all the stuff you shouldn't do before running higher mileage. I was good up until mile nine, heading into mile ten. In fact, miles six to nine were great. I was really energized. But by the time I took the break at my car, I could hear my stomach growling. I should have listened to my spider senses and stopped right there or opted to go for lower mileage. But I really wanted to get as close to 13 miles as possible. Big mistake. I ended up walking a great deal those last four miles. When I finally ended at 12.9 miles, I did it because I could feel some major leg cramps coming on.

My pace was 13:59 (way slower than all my past runs. It was all the walking I did at the tail end that slowed me down.)

I was exhausted, hungry and wanted my mommy! Lesson learned.

I spent the rest of the day resting my legs. My knees hurt and am currently icing them. I'm so going to pay for this!

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

I lifted this image from the main site. Yeah. Across the nation there are some crazy CrossFitters out there! Beware!

Warm-up
1 hour of yoga

WOD
Run 5K

Pace - 12:08
Time - 37:49

Work on 18" box jumps and kipping pull-ups

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
I'm glad we got to run today because I haven't done a long run in two weeks. Yeah. Terrible. I'm training for a half marathon and I haven't run in two weeks. I'm not worried because it's normal for people to slack and come back strong. But I really should be on it. This weekend is the trial half marathon which I plan on running in San Francisco with my trusty friend Margaret.

The run felt good. I clocked in at a 12:08 pace which is nice. I was hoping I'd be faster, but not bad considering I haven't run long distances. Also, please note that I interval run: 4 minute run, 1 minute walk, which makes this a pretty decent showing. I started the run before 6:30pm and had to beat the dark. There was a lot of wind and I forget how that can slow you down. Oh well.

After the run, I headed to One World because Eric said we'd work on me having a higher box jump and we'd start on my pull-ups. I'm happy to say that I can do an 18 inch box jump. It's hard and requires more concentration and I'm slower at it than when I do the 12 inch jump. But I'm glad to graduate from the blue to the red box. Yea for me.

The pull-up was a different story. For now, I just need to hang. Hanging from a bar like a monkey isn't so bad. I just have to hang and get used to supporting my body weight (though not as heavy as before, it's still pretty damn heavy). I can hang for maybe five seconds. From there, I have to work on swinging and then move on to trying to do the pull-up. It will take a while (like MONTHS), but I hope to do at least one by Valentine's day. At least that's my goal for now. I may have to push it back to Easter. Hmph.

My least favorite part of the pull-ups are the callouses that form on your hands. Ew! I usually wear gloves, but I can see how your grip is better without them. I need to come up with a solution to having callous-free hands. Suggestions? (I know. Don't do pull-ups. Nice try.)

Special thanks to my coach Eric for pulling me through the box jumps. Yea. I did it!

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

In honor of Fight Gone Bad, here's a photo of this past Saturday's event that we hosted at One World. Congratulations to the athletes who competed. You all did a great job. (Ahem. Austin, you pulled a 382? That's so damn sick! If that's your PR, then I think you should say thank you for the red rice and kelaguen because that's what did the trick. Are you listening, you CrossFitters?)

Warm-up
Run 1.1 miles

WOD: Fight Gone Bad
In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. The athlete performs three rounds total. The stations are:

Wall-ball: 14 pound ball, 8 ft target. (Reps)
Sumo deadlift high-pull: 55 pounds (Reps)
Box Jump: 12" box (Reps)
Push-press: 55 pounds (Reps)
Row: calories (Calories)
The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of "rotate," the athlete/s must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

Joanne's Final Score: 198

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
I want to start off by posting my previous Fight Gone Bad times. I've done this WOD only twice before. The first time is here where I scored 193. I think I recorded some things wrong because I'm sure if I did high box step-ups, it was either 12" or 20". I'm almost positive it was 12". I also did 45# weights at the time. Note that this first attempt was nowhere near RX'd.

The second time I did FGB was here. It's important to note that I did 257 reps, a great improvement. However, the wall ball was 10# and the weight was only 35#.

I mention this because I'm currently kicking myself at how much I cheated myself during my workouts for the past few years. In my current state of mind, I feel like, if you're not going to work hard, don't go to the gym. It's the mindset that works for me at this moment. When I looked at my past FGB results, I realized how much I really cheated myself and how much I didn't push myself. As Eric says, go RX'd or as close as you can to it every time. I try to push as much as I can because i feel like if I don't, I'm wasting my time. I was hoping to break 200 and I came close. I learned that FGB is about planning, pacing and pushing. I now know what my limits are and where I can push. I think I could have broken 200 if I just pushed harder and hand a clearer mindset. No big deal. I RX'd everything except the box jumps, so I'm happy with my performance today.

allergies

I'm afraid that I'm going to be cranky for tomorrow's WOD. I haven't been worked out since Thursday. Bad Joanne! I currently have allergies. Personally, I blame all the f--kin' pot smokers at the Journey concert. My system doesn't react well to large dosages of pot smoke. I get totally congested and my throat hurts. I sound a lot worse than I feel.

I had a totally busy weekend working, going to events, spending time with friends, sorting out my project, etc. I decided to take today off because I really need to recover. I will say that I feel a hell of a lot better now than I did this morning. Back to the grind tomorrow!

The video below is of the "Century" game at One World that happened a few Fridays ago. You remember the drunken photos I posted. Anyway, here's live footage. Warning: there are images of Freddy and Will B. battling it with our friend pukie. This is why you just say no to beer... and pull-ups!

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

This is Josh "Schoolboy" doing a 370# deadlift. Amazing. He's 16 years old and weighs 140#. Sick. So sick! Great job Schoolboy!

Warm-up
Run 1.1 miles

WOD: Deadlift
Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

How Joanne's lifts panned out: 95/105/115/120/140/145/150/155/160/170/175/180

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
I was tired today. I didn't get enough sleep and when I was driving to the studio, I cold feel myself dozing off. I arrived at around 5:30pm and just took a half hour nap in my car. When I got up, I was still a little groggy. I decided to take an un-timed run around the block to warm up and wake me up. Lesson learned. Sleep is important. Food is important. I'm feeling how important they are in my not-so-old age. Luckily, today's WOD wasn't too bad. Heavy lifting, but it doesn't suck the life out of you. It's a different kind of intensity.

Before I started training with Eric, I had never done more than a 95# deadlift. A few months ago, I did a WOD that had a deadlift and did 135#. Today, I was happy to do 180#. With better form and such, I think I can lift more. But 180# isn't bad. Hell, it's like I deadlifted Brad!

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

More fun with pukie. I couldn't resist. This is the corresponding photo of Will B. from the century game. Kids, this is reason #4036 why one should just say NO!

Warm-up
Run 1.1 miles (Time - 11:46 new PR!)

WOD: The Filthy Fifty!
Complete the following for time:
50 box jumps 12"
50 jumping pull-ups
50 kettlebell swings 25#
50 lunge steps
50 knees to elbows (on bench)
50 push press 33#
50 GHD back extensions
50 wall balls 14#
50 burpees
100 jump rope rotations

Joanne's Final Time - 47:31

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
This WOD sucked. Granted, they all suck, but this one sucked in particular. When you get to the burpees, you just want to die right then and there. The last time I did this, I had a faster time. However, pay close attention to how I did less modifications today. I RX'd all the weights. The only modifications I did were the box jumps, knees to elbows and jump ropes. In all, I'm pretty proud of myself. Yeah. Burpees suck. I had to do them five at a time. Boo!

I also PR'd my 1.1 mile run. I just felt good running today. I beat my fastest time by 34 seconds! Yea me!

pissy, pissy b**ch!

I haven't posted since Wednesday because I haven't worked out since Wednesday! Four days in a row of not working out is pretty rare for me these days. I needed Thursday off, Friday and Saturday I was working fairly long days and on Sunday, I was just beat because working on your feet just sucks. I'll admit that I was also part lazy and was pushing a deadline. It's the first time I've missed a long run. It's a recovery week, so I'll forgive myself.

Lesson learned. When I don't work out for an extended period of time, I get pissy. Enough said.

On a lighter note, I did go to the One World Fish Tournament and social on Friday night. I arrived late because of work, so I missed the Fish Tournament. However, I did make it for the Century game, where athletes competed to do 100 one-minute rounds of drinking one ounce of beer and doing one pull-up. Um. Yeah. This was interesting. I was part of the "bar-tending" team who so graciously filled the athletes' cups with a shot of beer. Here are some highlights from Freddy's post:


Champion! Congrats to Annie, the reigning queen of the fish game! Honorable mentioned are Austin from CrossFit Unlimited and our very own Chris S.


Where's J-Ro? This is the beginning of "Century" when the athletes were still sober and peppy. Can you spot me? I'm in this photo. Really. I am! Look closely!


Don't try this at home. Our very own Freddy and his date with pukie. Consider yourselves lucky because I had to watch video footage of Freddy on his date. Sick. I don't get those three minutes back, you know?! Thanks to Chris S. for sharing the Kodak moment in reel time.


Designated Driver. This is Will B. during round 90-something. He almost made it to the 100th round, but after round 99, he puked all over the floor. That wasn't fun. Since I poured the drinks, I felt bad and decided to drive Will safely home to his wife and kid. Um. I'm pretty sure Will still has no idea what my name is! ha ha!


This is JD sporting his new t-shirt. Yes, he was one of the century athletes too. So how did we get JD to sport this brand spankin' new tee? Easy. His wife made him wear it! (You should have been there when he realized that he was wearing this t-shirt!) Yes JD, I really am 32. Really. I am.

Warm-up
1 hour of yoga
Run 1.1 miles (Time - 12:20, four seconds faster than my last PR!)

WOD
Complete five rounds for time of:
Row 500m
20 medicine ball cleans 14#

Joanne's Final Time - 27:27

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
Kudos to Eric for dealing with my bitchiness. I can't even say it's that time of the month, cuz it's not. I was just pissy and I think it's because of the lack of work out. I guess my body craves endorphins and when it doesn't get any, it gets pissy. End story. This WOD (as with most WODs, was much harder than it looked like it was going to be). I definitely need to work on those medicine ball cleans. Eric says that last week was my best week to date. This tells me that eating cottage cheese and fruit 45 minutes before working out helps me perform better because it gives me the energy I need. I'll try doing this again and see what happens.

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

The One World site posted it. The main site posted it. So I figured I would post it too. This photo is from Urban Shield. Pictured here are our very own One World athletes: (standing) Kirk Wu (Union City PD), Nick Corti (San Leandro PD), Ken Gemmel (Alameda County SO), Roman Macias (Alameda County SO), Jolie Gentry (Newark PD), David Lee (Newark PD); (kneeling) Freddy Camacho (Union City PD), J.D. Stewart (Alameda County SO), Stan Rodrigues (Union City PD), and Darryl Manrique (Newark PD).

Warm-up
1 hour of yoga
Run 1.1 miles

WOD: "Michael"
Three rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
50 GHD Back Extensions
50 AbMat Sit-ups

Joanne's Final Time - 38:54

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
Eric was tired and decided to take a day off. I was happy because nothing is worse than training with someone who just doesn't feel like being at the gym. Also, rest days are important. In truth, I've been spoiled having him train me because I don't have to think about what I'm doing. He leads, I follow. That's it. So training on your own requires a little more discipline. I could train with the class, but I don't get there early enough. Also, I admit that I'm afraid of sucking in the group session. So there's my dilemma. I decided to do "Michael" because since it was technically a rest day, I was making up a WOD from the main site.

Working out at night has been challenging because it gets colder and colder. I need to bring a jacket to the floor just to keep me warm during the runs. UGH. Gear issues. Michael is pretty tough and the last time I did it, I had a hellish time because I did everything on the GHD machine. This time I decided to do the sit-ups on the AbMat because I needed the practice. Plus, they don't annoy me as much as the GHD. I think my back extensions are getting better, but still need work. Right now, my butt is sore from all the damn squats, running and now the back extensions. I'm giving my ass a break tomorrow. Literally!

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

This is Nicole from CrossFit headquarters demonstrating the overhead squat. Yes, that's Queen Jolie in the background. I'm always amazed at how much One World gets kudos on the main site.

Warm-up
Run 1.1 miles

WOD: Nancy
Complete five rounds for time of:
Run 400m
15 overhead squats 45#

Joanne's final time - around 26 minutes?

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
As predicted, after a ten mile run on Sunday and a tough workout on Monday, I'm simply tired today. Eric showed up really late, so I started the WOD without him. I took advantage of not having him by not Rx-ing the WOD and going slower on the run. Yeah. He showed up at the end of round three and I didn't hear the end of it. Yes, I could have pushed harder today. But I'm not disappointed because my other days have been pretty intense. Also, it's the first time I've ever timed my Nancy.

But I will say that Eric won't always be there and I need to not be such a panty when it comes to doing the WOD. I forgive myself for today's slip. Really, I needed the rest. Besides, I'm still a little sore. Cheers to tomorrow's WOD, which Eric says will "kick my ass." Boo!

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

I can't remember when this was taken. I want to say it was taken sometime in 2006 when CrossFit was still new and not a lot of people took the classes. I'm glad it's grown so much. But sometimes I miss the days of the old Breakfast Club. Um. I've been told I don't look like this these days. I'm hoping these same people are right. I can tell I've leaned out a little bit because I need new gym pants. My Nike pants are on the verge of falling off when I workout. Though nice, I really like my Nike pants and don't want to buy a new pair. Don't mind me. I'm not bitching. I love my workouts now. I love feeling stronger. They work for me now.

Warm-up
One hour of yoga
Run 800 meters

WOD: "Rubber Legs"
Complete the following for time:
Run 200m
50 squats
Row 250m
30 lunge steps (total steps)
Run 200m
25 squat jumps
Row 250m
30 lunge steps
Run 200m
50 squats
Row 250m

Joanne's Final Time - 17:09

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
Today's yoga was really hard, but I pulled through. I can feel myself getting stronger because I no longer need to do the main vinyasa on my knees. I could also feel how weak I felt today because after a ten mile run, I'm just tired. Also, I sweat like a motherf--ker. I just need to own that about myself.

CrossFit Mondays are always hard. I'm always exhausted after the long runs. But I workout for the sake of toughing it out. Today's WOD seemed light, but it wasn't. It was short, but intense. I was glad it was over. I'm also trying to alter the way I eat after the WOD. It's sort of working. I'm kind of hungry, but I fueled up on protein and such. Also, I just don't think late night eating is smart. I'll rough it out 'til the morning when I dive into my lox and wasa crackers. Yummy!

conquering another ten miles

This is the Golden Gate from my car on a good day. The past two weekends, I've been starting my runs at Crissy Field, toward the Golden Gate Bridge, across it to the visitor center and then back. That runs about nine miles depending on the route you take. From there, I stop at the car, re-fuel, take off the long sleeves and conquer the last mile or so along the Marina. My past two ten mile runs haven't looked like this. The bridge has been foggy and I really don't mind because the colder, the better for me. I get warm really quickly.

Margaret didn't join me for the ten mile run. As with last week, we had a sleep over at Diana's and headed to Crissy first thing on Sunday. We usually head out really early, but we stayed up late watching Samoan Wedding, which meant we got to Crissy at 10am. It was fine because it's the city. It's still cold and though I hate crowds, it was kind of nice to be out and about when there are a lot of other people there. I'm glad that Diana and Jen got to get in a good workout too. I stupidly forgot some essential things such as my headphones and had to buy a set at the local Safeway. (Can you believe that the Sports Basement doesn't sell headphones?!) I also forgot my hydration belt and hat. I had to improvise by carrying my water bottle and run without my hat (which made my face suffer from the UVA/UVB rays). Lesson learned: make a checklist and pack your shit!

This week's ten miler was much better than last week. I clocked in at a 12:45 pace, 30 seconds faster than last week. I'll say that the reason why this run was better is because I got smarter about nutrition. I made sure to eat some hearty proteins in the early morning with some carbs. I also stuffed a Cliff Bar in my pocket to snack on. Last week I was feeling like I was running out of gas in the middle of the run. I figured some food fuel would do the trick and it did. I felt a lot better. When I would pause, I noticed that my pure running pace clocked in at under 12 minutes. This was great. I'm still looking for a good nutrition bar to take with me because I'm not sure the Cliff Bars are the best. I'm experimenting with the Luna Bars and the Lara Bars. I'll let you know what happens.

Next week is a recovery week. So all we have to do is six miles. I'll do that here in Fremont. After that, it's the trial half. The schedule says to do just 12 miles, but I'm going to push it to 13.1 because I like having a practice run before the actual race.

light day

This photo was taken when I went to Stinson Beach a few weekends ago. I don't know if you know this about me, but I take photos of my feet a lot - especially at the beach. I just love the way the ocean speaks to me - the way it makes its way through my feet when I'm walking across wet sand. I can never understand why people run way from the water. I feel like if the water runs after you, you should just surrender and let her catch you. She's just trying to talk to you after all.

Today was a light day. Can you believe how many years it's been since 9-11?! My only workout today was an hour of belly dance. Jen T. made her way to my neck of the woods to take a class with me. It was fun. Light. And what I needed after such a rough week (which included getting my car towed!). Ten miles this Sunday! Wish me luck!

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

This past weekend, One World hosted a Level 1 and Level 2 CrossFit certification. Congrats to all the people who participated and received their certs. Nice job!

Warm-up
1 hour of yoga
Run 1.1 miles

WOD: "Time Trials"
Complete each of the following five exercises individually for time. You may go in any order and you may rest as long as you want between efforts.

Exercise / Previous Time / Today's Time
100 jumping pull-ups / 6:03 / 3:26
100 (fully planked) push-ups / 15:17 / 11:05
100 Abmat sit-ups / 10:18 / 7:32
Row 500m / 2:23 / 2:14
Run 400m / 2:12 / 2:09

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
I hate time trials. But it was better than Fight Gone Bad. Also, I was curious to see how much improvement (if there was any) I would have. Overall, I'm really happy because I beat all my previous times. This was the last time I did time trials. Not bad considering it's been six weeks. For our next trials, I want to focus more on form. I don't mind slower times as long as the form is better. I'm glad that today my times and my form were better.

Big thanks to Eric for sticking through with this. These things are such a bitch!

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

He cleans too! This is the magnificent Agent Bradass making sure the women's bathroom is nice and clean. Such a great guy! I hope he gives his lovely wife Carmella a break by taking over the cleaning duties. But knowing Agent Bradass (who I also call Bradley Stewart, cousin of Martha), I'm sure he does his share of house chores. Um... I think he needs a cute French maid outfit. What do you think?

Warm-up
1 hour of yoga
Run 1.1 miles
(Note: my time was 12:24)

WOD: Kelly
Complete five rounds of the following for time:
Run 400m
30 box jumps 12"
30 wall balls 14#

Joanne's Final Time - 46:44

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
This is how I know I'm crazy... I ran ten miles yesterday. TEN MILES! One would think I would opt to take it easy today. And I did by taking a yoga class. My body really needed the stretching. Coming in to the WOD, I knew it would be tough, but I was ready. For my warm-up, I initially thought I would do a simple 800 meter run. But Eric suggested I just do the full run around the block to see if my time would improve. Stupid me said OKAY! So I did. I got a new PR. But I also had the WOD to do which entailed a lot of running as well. Um. Did I mention that I ran TEN MILES! yesterday? Yeah. Uh-huh. Stupid me.

Kelly was hard and I did it as close to RX as possible - the wall balls were RX'd, but the box jumps weren't. It's been a while since I've done wall balls and the last time I did them I used a 4# ball. To use the 14# ball was a total jump. The good thing is that I now know I can RX the wall ball WODs. It's just a matter of finding your rhythm and nailing your technique. I can't believe we had to do five rounds of this shit! Boo! Tomorrow I'm getting as much rest as I can. I deserve it.

in double digits now!

Today I ran ten miles. Ten miles is a long stretch to run.To mark the occasion, Margaret and I ran the ten miler in San Francisco. This is where I used to run when I was training for the marathon. I didn't realize how long it's been. The marathon was three years ago. Wow. It took me this long to go back. It's good to change it up a little bit. The terrain was different - the weather, the hills, it was different. But I loved the run. Though foggy, it was beautiful. I loved it.


In true San Francisco style, you never know what to expect. When we arrived at Crissy Field, there was a slew of people (mostly women) doing a breast cancer walk. Though it was 7am, there were people everywhere. On the way to the Warming Hut there are all these cool globes to look at. And yes, even the strange guy who tried to run with me to start a conversation on the bridge was slightly amusing. I love the city and I can't wait to get to know it better.

The 10 mile run took me over two hours to finish. My pace was 13:17 per mile, faster than I was anticipating because it felt so slow - especially with all the hills and things. It was cold, but I have to remember that no matter how cold it is, I need to just wear a long sleeve top because I get warm so easily. I hated having to wear a jacket around my waist for the run. That, along with the hydration belt felt like there was too much to carry. I firmly believe that when running these long miles, it's best to wear as little as possible. Overall, it was a great run.

basic weight loss mistakes

The original article can be found here. I'm a fan of Gabrielle Reece because she's a vball player. Wa-hoo! Here's how the article starts.

Gabby's Guide to Health & Fitness

Basic Weight Loss Mistakes

Posted Wed, Sep 03, 2008, 4:12 pm PDT

A lot of us are out there watching what we eat and exercising, but still not making a dent in our bellies and body weight. There are a few things we are probably not doing, or doing too much of, that would mean major improvements in our health.

Get more sleep. After a very short period of time (about 6 nights), studies show that your glucose levels can rise if you get only 4 to 7 hours of sleep each night. New parents are excluded, but everyone else should try to hit the 8 hour mark as often as you can and get to bed BEFORE midnight....

a few shout-outs

I forget where I lifted this photo. It must have been on the One World site or the main CrossFit site. Anyway.... This is Jolie demonstrating proper form while doing an air squat. In this photo, they're talking about proper knee alignment. I wanted to bring this photo to your attention because today I had the pleasure of going to the CrossFit Level II certification that One World hosted. When there's a level II cert, the studio needs volunteers to come in so that hopeful level II instructors can show how well they can teach some of the basic weight lifting movements.

I must say that I am so glad that I went. Before I go off on how great the sessions were, I want to send a few shout outs to the folks I got to meet today. First off, a big HELLO AND GREAT TO SEE YOU to Laura K. and Eric T. I miss you guys and it was great to see you there. Yea for us cool volunteers!

My group I shout outs go to: Laura from Hotlanta, Mike from San Diego, Dave and Kimberly from Texas, and of course, the totally awesome CrossFit goddess Nicole. My group II shout outs go to: Brett, Dave, Craig, Ernesto and Mike. (I think I got everyone. If not, big apologies.)

So what do they make you do for these certs? Basically, as a volunteer, you're a crash test dummy. Each hopeful level II instructor has to illustrate that she/he can teach a specific movement which is assigned to them by the grader (the grader is usually a CrossFit God/Goddess like Nicole). So your job as a volunteer is to just be there and learn. It's a great thing to go to because you get to work on the movements in a no-pressure environment. You don't even have to lift anything heavier than a wooden dowel. Granted, it's tiring because you are doing the movements over and over again. But you have people watching you, correcting your form and explaining step by step exactly what you should do. Every now and again, you'll be asked to stand in the center of the circle and do the movement. Again, the hopeful level II instructor will be there to tell you what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong. (I think I was called to the center circle about four times). I learned a lot and hope to go to the next level II cert we host. I was there for about 2.5 hours and I did work up a sweat. Also, I met some great CrossFitters. It was fantastic.

In the spirit of fathleticism, I'm trying to be kinder to my body. I admit that I sometimes fail. While in LA recently, Mae said that other than One World, she most likely wouldn't go to a CrossFit studio because 1) CrossFit is like a cult (which I won't deny) and 2) it seems a little "hard core" and intimidating. I totally understand. It can be and it is. I felt that way when I walked on to the floor today. For a moment, I felt like the fat kid who was picked last for dodge ball. When we separated into groups, I jokingly said, "Oh no. My group is going to plead, 'I don't want to train the fat girl!'" Then Laura turned around and gave me a scolding. I know. I shouldn't have done that. It was my defense mechanism.

Turns out, everyone was really cool. I got to understand what I'm good at (such as my flexibility) and learned how to tweak and improve my weaknesses (like my hip extensions and explosiveness, making sure to create a "violent" movement during the heavier lifting). CrossFit is hard and intimidating. But I think if you learn to own your time in the studio and understand that you're there just for you, then things aren't so bad. Especially today, I learned that the instructors really want you to do well and push yourself. That's why the system has so many cert levels. They care about producing quality instructors. Another humbling thing was realizing that these uber-CrossFitters are still learning everyday. They all have their strengths and their weaknesses. CrossFit is a process and like any process, progress takes time and patience - even in for the Gods and Goddesses.

Before doing the volunteer work, I did an hour of yoga. I missed my maintenance run yesterday. I'm debating on whether I should do a 4 miler today. Hmph. We'll see. I'm up for ten miles this weekend. Wish me luck!

health check

During one of my doctor appointments sometime in June, I discovered that I gained 10 pounds. Ew! It was the heaviest I had been in a long time and I just felt gross. Yesterday I had my usual diabetes check up and everything was fine. My HA1C was 6.6, a bit higher from the 6.2 is was about six months ago. The doctor wants it as close to 6.0 as much as possible. So yes, I hate being a diabetic because it takes so much damn work - even with the meds. Ultimately, I'd like to get off the meds. But it's a slow process that may or may not happen. I don't mind taking meds. I hate paying for them. Plus, having to "shoot up" Byetta is just annoying.

The good news is that I lost the ten pounds I gained when I came back to the country. Now, I'm back to where I was when I was in the Philippines. But even better than that, my body feels better. I feel more solid and strong. My next check is after the new year. I'm hoping to lose another 10-15 pounds by then. I think I can do it!

a dress story (for mae) II

I spent Labor Day with Margaret, Jen and Diana at Stinson Beach. It's become a "thing" to go to Stinson Beach with the gals lately. I'm not sure why. So here's the second dress I bought in honor of the lovely Mae. This dress was a total steal at only $16 from Old Navy. I loved how it was cut and it was a very comfy dress. If it came with pockets, it would have been absolutely perfect! I'm not one to prance on a beach in a bathing suit (yet). So to stroll along the beach in a summer dress was just fine.


It takes a really secure person to stand anywhere near Jen! She's this drop dead gorgeous six foot tall Pinay. Let's just say that when we walk down the street, no one is looking my way. I forgive her though. I can't hate on someone as kind and fabulous as Jen!


And here's my most expensive virtual roomie Margaret joining me in the sun dress craze.


There's nothing better than spending a chill holiday with your good gal pals. In all, I adore the dresses I bought and pledged to wear this past weekend. Next year I'm headed to Hawai`i for a conference. I'm hoping by then I'll be able to muster up the courage to hang at the beach in a bona fide bathing suit. Baby steps, folks. Perhaps I'll share those adventures too. Photos? No photos? Who knows? (Ahem. Diana, we're gonna get you bearing more skin soon enough!)

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

This is why Brad is known as Bradass (or as I like to call him, Agent Bradass!). Personally, if I had to choose, I'd rather take Maestra Pleasure's class way before I'd ever take Senor Pain's class. But that's just me. Heh! Much love from your Manila Wafer!

Warm-up
2.2 mile run

WOD
Back Squat 3/3/3/3/3 reps

Joanne's Final Weight - 95#/105#/110#/115# x 2/115# (with assistance)

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
It's official. I can't stand max weight WODs. I know that you're supposed to change it up and stuff. I don't mind the weight lifting. I just don't like max weight lifting. It's not that it bores me, it just doesn't interest me. Make sense? I struggled with the last two rounds and needed Eric to spot me. UGH! So not looking forward to these WODs again.

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

This is the lovely Lara. I haven't seen her in ages and have no idea if she's even at the gym anymore or not. Lara kicks ass and has abs of steel. Sick! I hope to see her again one day. She's such an awesome instructor!

Warm-up
N/A I had to skip the warm-up because according to Eric, I was running late. Whatever. He was just being pissy!

WOD
Complete four rounds for time of:
Run 200m with weight 25#
30 kettlebell swings 35#
30 kettlebell sumo deadlift high pulls 35#

Joanne's Final Time - 25:52

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
This was one of those WODs that didn't seem too bad until you had to actually do it. Then it turned totally miserable. UGH! To my credit, I did it RX'd! I never RX the the WODs, so to do it as prescribed was great! Yea for me.

a dress story (for mae)

I have a lot on my mind lately. A lot of it personal. A lot of it painful. Some of it hopeful. That's just me, though. I'm a deep thinker. One thing I will say is that I never need a special occasion to wear a dress. I like dresses. It's one of those things in my closet that I'm happy to reclaim because for years I completely avoided wearing dresses. I wrote about my dress reclamation here. So yes, I love dresses. However, after a recent visit to LA, the lovely Mae gave me a mild scolding about the dresses I wore for my best friend's wedding and my brother's wedding. She said that as much as she loved the photos, the most frustrating thing about them was seeing me so covered up. Not too long before that, my friend "Mr. Dukes" wrote me an email declaring that I needed to "show some pride, for real!" I get Mae and Mr. Dukes's point. I'm not one to wear sleeveless anything. It's just me. Somewhere down the line, I was taught that unless you're a skinny bitch with cut arms, you have no business showing your arms to the world.

And then I got to thinking... who the f--k fed me this bullshit?! So in the name of re-vamping the Fierce Runner blog and trying my best to dig deep, deep inside, I decided to take the plunge and purchase and wear those dresses I've been forbidden to wear because of some stupid familial/societal standard. So here it is. My adventures in my two new dresses.


This past Saturday, Margaret, Diana and I decided to "dress nice" and head to Valley Fair to run errands and go on a lovely stroll at Santana Row.


A solo shot with Diana in her lovely orange dress.


This is me with Margaret in her usual lovely sun dress and shawl fare.


Before we left the mall, we stopped by Nordstrom and Margaret insisted I try on this Maggie London dress. We were thinking of possible graduation dresses for me (it's a year from now, but it's never too early to plan) and Margaret picked this one. I liked the color. Unfortunately, my body is a little too curvy for the straight cuts of designer dresses. If you look closely, Diana is actually behind me holding the dress:)


Unfortunately, the dressing room door automatically closed behind me and I was locked out. Since the saleslady wasn't around, I had to crawl under the door to get back into the room and change into my new swirly dress (not bad for $28, huh?). It was pretty funny. Lesson learned. Be sure to keep the dressing room door open to avoid a mishap like this.

And this was day one of my adventures in wearing sleeveless dresses. Any thoughts?