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Running Without Numbers

How’s everyone’s weekend going? I’ve had a pretty low key day so far, so I think it’s time to do a bit of blogging! I seriously had the best day of exercise on Friday. Let me just preface this post by saying this week will be very Crossfit heavy because it is the one week out of maybe 6 weeks all year that I get to go to my home Crossfit, and I absolutely love it there!

I began Friday morning with a run.

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I’ve been doing a fastish mid-long run on Sundays with my Crossfit run group the past few weeks, but this Sunday my sister is graduating and I can’t go, so I decided to do a 6 miler on Friday morning. I wanted to keep my pace up since I’m trying to PR. I wore my watch, but I set it so I could only see time. I think I have a tendency to see a pace that is faster than I think is comfortable, and it freaks me out. I start thinking I should be breathing harder, so I do, and it’s just all bad from there! I ran based on feel, while trying to go a bit faster than a comfortable pace. I ended up just about exactly where I wanted my pace to be, although I must admit the last mile was pretty tough! It’s hard right now to imagine 13.2 miles at a pace faster than this, but I have plenty of time to work on it before then!

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Since I’m a blogger, I take pictures of my watch. But it’s actually a really great tool. I have a log now of my runs so I can look back at half training from a year ago and compare, which is pretty cool!

Also cool? I just realized that I ate exactly the same thing one year ago as I ate today!

Last night for dinner, we made Whole Foods’s Black Bean Soup (although made with 1/2 broth instead of all water for more flavor).

Topped with cheese, and of course, avocado! I had leftovers for dinner as well!

This year’s bowls:

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And for comparison-a picture from exactly a year ago!
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Also from the fitness world: I got new Crossfit shoes! I love love love them! IMG_8060 IMG_8061

 

They are a million times better-I didn’t even realize how bad and worn out my old ones were. These were so much better to run in, and my Achilles felt totally fine after running 1.5 miles in them during Crossfit this morning. I’m wondering if my old Crossfit shoes played a bit of a role in my tendonitis. It’s definitely feeling better today!

On the life front, I’ve trying to get ready for my trip to DC. I’m buying business clothes, I’m seeing my high school friends, I’m figuring out last minute details. Also-an update on the nut allergy. I’ve FINALLY rid myself of all my reactions. I kept accidentally eating half a peanut, and my skin would break out, but since I’ve been super careful, I am happy to say that my skin is 100% fine now!

And lastly-my main activity for today was baking a Boston Cream Pie for my sister’s college graduation. Her boyfriend is also graduating, so his family is coming to our house for dessert.For those that don’t know, a Boston Cream Pie is sponge cake with a custard filling, topped with chocolate ganache. It’s a fairly involved cake, but I’ve made it a few times before so I wasn’t concerned. Funny story-the very first time I made it a few years ago, I fell down an entire flight of stairs while holding it. My foot was bruised for months, but the cake was fine so totally worth it!

Sponge cake:

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Sponge cake is mostly air-I spent so much time whipped egg whites and then egg yolks!

Then the custard:

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And finally the chocolate ganache!

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A Day of First: Kitten Nursery and Crossfit

Hey everybody! I just got a Twitter and Instagram so follow me at @fitnessissweet and fitnessissweet!

Yesterday morning was another early wake up call-I had the morning shift at the kitten nursery at the animal shelter. Before running out the door, I had a quick breakfast of yogurt with banana and sunflower seed butter. Image

As soon as I got there, we went right to work. We had to clean out the kittens cages, weigh them, feed them, play with them, and then set up their cages again. ImageImageWhen we took them out of the cages, we kept them in cardboard boxes, and then carried the boxes to a table and took them out there to play and eat. They were pretty mischievous- the boxes were so hard to close because little paws and heads kept popping out!ImageTo put it in perspective, most of them weighed about .5 lbs. ImageImageImageImageThe next pictures are the group of kittens we took care of last. Since we were basically done after them, we had them out for longer to play and socialize with them. ImageImageThis group was fast asleep when we took them from their cage. Anyone who has had kittens knows this is a recipe for disaster! Kittens have this instant on switch that brings them instantly from 0 to 60! These guys were rambunctious! So much so that the little stripy kittens wouldn’t even eat at first, they were so busy playing! On top of that, they kept trying to wander around. When there are 4 kittens on the table and one of me, there are going to be problems! They kept trying to climb onto the windowsill. The white and striped one was quite the adventurer- somehow he made it off the table without me even seeing him get near the edge! By the time we were all done though, all the kittens were snoozing. We then went back to the other kitten nursery where the even younger kittens are. These kittens can’t really eat on their own, so we learned to feed them with a syringe. It was pretty difficult-the kittens were pretty fussy! I ended up finally being able to get some food in by wrapping the little guy up in a kitten burrito. I managed to feed him enough-he even went for the food bowl a little himself! Soon though, he stopped opening his mouth, and a minute later, he was fast asleep! Having a tiny kitten fall asleep in your arms is the best thing ever. I can’t wait to go back!

When I got home, I wanted a snack, which turned into a snacky early lunch. Image

EdamameImageImageLeftover sweet potato fried from dinner the previous night. ImageTurkey roll ups-big leaf lettuce with deli turkey, onions, avocado, and ketchup.ImageI also wanted to try and recreate the delicious iced tea from the previous day. I brewed Earl Grey tea with mint leaves, and then added ice, almond milk, and a touch of honey. I loved how refreshing the mint made it, so I concentrated on that aspect. Overall, it was good but nothing really like what I had had the previous day. I think it would have been better with coconut milk, or something slightly thicker than almond milk. And the Earl Grey tea flavor kind of overwhelmed the mint. But it was quite thirst quenching all the same!ImageI then spent some time on the old blog, attempting to figure out Twitter. ImageI sent this to my friend asking her what it meant my username was. #clueless

If you follow me on Instagram, you can see tons of cute cat pictures such as this one 🙂ImageBefore I knew it, it was Crossfit time! It was in a warehouse right next to an indoor batting cage where my high school softball team would occasionally practice. 

First, let me just say- I loved it! Everything about it-I love throwing heavy things around. I really liked the warehouse atmosphere as well-it seemed very hard core (in a good way). If you are thinking about trying Crossfit, do not be intimidated! Everyone is super nice and of different fitness levels! We began with a warm up run and stretching with the regular class, and then another new person and I broke off with a trainer to be assessed and to go through a mini WOD. The WOD we did was actually one I had done on my own before,but a shorter version. I had had to modify it when I did it at the gym at school, and it was much harder yesterday. 

10 AMRAP

100 m run

5 pull-ups (banded for me)

10 push ups (chest all the way to the ground)

15 air squats

I made it through 5+ rounds in the 10 minutes. I really, really loved the atmosphere. The workouts are very similar to what I did with my trainer at the gym in the past, and the atmosphere is more what I liked about softball conditioning with other people, except everyone actually cares about working hard! 

The only thing for me is since I know all the Olympic lifts (there are very few Crossfit moves I don’t know), I would really like to try and skip some of the Intro classes and dive right into the normal WODs. I really don’t want to have to sit through classes learning the lifts I’ve been working on for the past 3 years. Plus, watching everyone throw heavy weights around kind of had me drooling-knowing I can do the lifts at the same weight that they are make same want to join right in! I totally could have done the normal WOD! I need to try and see if I can somehow be fast tracked at least a bit. 

But I really, really loved it. I would say I’ve been bit by the Crossfit bug, but I know I’ve been obsessed for much longer! I’m going back again Saturday, and I seriously cannot wait!

Dinner was black bean soup from this Whole Foods recipe. We didn’t want to have to wait for the beans to sit, so we got canned, and probably didn’t add enough beans, because it was pretty liquidy (normally it’s pretty thick). Still delicious though! I highly recommend this recipe. HOWEVER. One major modification I made was using vegetable broth instead of water in the soup. It’s super plain without, but has a ton of flavor with!

My bowl was really weird/pathetic looking so I took a picture of my sister’s instead!ImageImageImagePlus a side salad.ImageAfter dinner, my wimpy mouth was burning! What better solution than frozen yogurt (with chocolate sauce)?ImageWhat a fabulous way to end the day!

Have you ever done Crossfit? WHat did you think?