Spring Itch

The weather in the northeast always keeps you guessing.  Last week was painfully cold.

The last few days have warmed up leaving the roads super fogged and the snow melting.  The warm weather is making me start to itch for spring, warm weather and sunshine.

Spring colors in winter

I know I have a bunch more weeks of cold weather but I am hoping to really take advantage of at least the sunshine expected around here in the next few days.  My friends even have been knocking on me for how little sunshine I have been getting in my life…hellooo pale everything

I had a few people ask me about my eating lately and how I am doing with experimenting paleo/vegetarian.  It’s still a work in progress.  I am still figuring out what works for me.  Given that I am also always on the go, so far the easiest thing for me has been more paleo and meat based.  

I am not 100% paleo but I go grocery shopping with something one of my CrossFit certification instructors told me: “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.”

typical afternoon snack

I am eating lean protein at most meals, more vegetables than normal, tons of fruit and very little starch.  I am still eating sugar…more than I would like to admit and mostly in the form of cake and ice cream.   Like I said, it’s still a work in progress.

How’s the weather by you?

gm

Hero WOD

If you live in the Northeast you know its been cold.  Really cold.  Almost unbearable cold.  And while I get it, it’s cold and it sucks having to bundle up so much….I think everyone should just stop for a minute and try to appreciate how even though its bitter cold, it can still be really pretty.

seen on my drive to work

Yesterday I braved the cold and headed to the gym early.  I was meeting a few friends to do a quick WOD before the class at 9.  We decided on Karen – 150 wallball shots as fast as you can.  Basically you thrown a weighted ball (I used 14#) to a 9 foot target all the while making sure you squat with the ball every time.  It took me about 10 minutes and it wasn’t pretty.  Wall balls are my least favorite thing so I am glad I finally did that WOD since I had been ignoring it.

At 9 the WOD at the gym was scheduled.  It wasn’t any old WOD though.  Yesterday meant something…

In CrossFit there are hero WODs that are made in memory or to honor fallen or injured military or law enforcement. The great thing about this is that a hero WOD can be written for anyone that you wish to recognize.

A fellow gym member as well as great friend of the gym owner suddenly passed away a couple of weeks ago while he was doing what he loved…working out.  In order to honor the great man who lost his life too soon, a hero WOD was created for him.

Each number represents something significant in his life… children, years married, years as a marine.  The exercises chosen were even significant in this mans life.

This was tough.  But every time it seemed like every time someone got tired or had a weak moment where they didn’t think they could go anymore they realized this WOD meant something…it was more than just a workout but it was a way to honor someone.  Everyone- including myself- had to dig deep and really push for it.  And that’s the point of a hero WOD.  It shouldn’t be easy. They should make you work harder and dig deeper than normal.

Everyone did an amazing job and I couldn’t be more proud to be associated with not only a great group of people but also a great gym.

“Captain X-Static”

gm

2

Today is a big day.  My most favorite person on earth celebrates her 2nd birthday today!!!!!

I think it’s safe to say that in just the two short years we have known her, my entire families lives have changed for the better.  She is the most fabulous 2 year old I know and she is only getting more awesome as she gets older.  I freakin’ love that munchkin to death!

I wish I was with her and Minnie celebrating but I know her mom and grandmom will send me a ton of pictures… right? 

Happy birthday Ryann Lynn!

Love, TiTi

Going HAM

I have so many posts I want to write up.  I want to write about how I wake up so early every day. I want to write about starting CrossFit.  I want to write a letter to my 12-year-old self.  I have all of these ideas and projects I want to work on… but right now I just don’t have time.  And I am not complaining either!  I am busy but busy doing what I love.  I am working out, I am coaching, I am personal training… I have a busy schedule and it’s working for me so far!  I am not sure if it’s possible but I even feel more energized than ever!

So…. I do have some posts coming that will hopefully be worth the read but until I find to sit and write, in my head they will stay.

In the meantime I wanted to share with you two things.  One— the most amazing family that I wish I was with right now.

And 2—  I went all HAM yesterday on Chealsea

Source

I received my CrossFit badge of honor and ripped my hand for the first time ever!

It’s pretty sick that I am proud of this but I am.  I did the WOD with all kipping pull ups.  At least until I saw my hand.  I didn’t notice it and it didn’t hurt at all.  BUT, as soon as I saw that it ripped I think it hurt and after 18 rounds of kipping pull ups I dropped to a band.  It was definitely too easy with the band and I know I could have finished the WOD rx’ed but I was nervous about hurting myself more. #pansy #wimp

Now I am cautiously doing everything I can to make that bad boy heal quicker.

Any tips or suggestions for that paw of mine? 

I think being proud of my ripped hand is nuts but awesome…what are your thoughts on CrossFit wounds like that?

gm

Race Season And Deadlifting

Spring is coming.  That means racing season is upon us.

I have mixed feelings on this.  For others, I am pumped and can’t wait to see what amazing things are accomplished but for me… I am not sure what I want.  Last year was so goal heavy that I am part feeling I don’t want to run any races but another part feeling I want to sign up for as many as possible.

Signing up for races gives me anxiety. I instantly think numbers, times, paces, training plans and none of that sounds like anything I want to jump into.  BUT… I like to run, I like shiny medals and I like to run with friends and family.  With all of that taken into account I decided to sign up for a couple of spring races but not put any pressure on myself.  I will run for fun.  I know I will be able to do the mileage (especially after this weekends run) but I am not going to force myself to follow any kind of plan or schedule.

I did St Lukes 1/2 for the first time last year.  I did this 2 weeks after the More 1/2, 2 days after I completed my first ever CrossFit workout AND I freaking killed it.  I surprised myself with this race big time.  I had no goals in mind but I ran an awesome race that was intended to be fun.  Let’s hope I have just as much fun this year 😉

One main reason I don’t want to commit to any running plans yet is my lifting. I am loving CrossFit and even heavy lifting lately.  Yesterday was a big day for me.  I went to the gym early with intentions of running when I found out the rest of my coworkers were going to be heavy deadlifting.  I was peer pressured into skipping my run and pulling some weight.  Now, after the fact, I am really happy with that decision.

Before yesterday the heaviest deadlift I ever did was 205 pounds.  That’s a whole lot of weight for me.  Well…yesterday I made a huge gain.  I pulled 225!!!  I felt great pulling that weight too.  It was heavy but not impossible so I decided to jump…to 245.  That’s over 2 times my weight! HOLY CRAP! That would be awesome to say I did that…..

Unfortunately I can’t say I did that 😛   I got set and ready to pull 245 and that weight didn’t budge.  I literally felt like my eyes were going to pop out!

I am pumped with my accomplishment of deadlifting 225 but…245… I am coming after you

Super big thanks to the amazing people at the gym that pushed me to go heavy…and to even deadlift at all yesterday!

What was your latest accomplishment you are super proud of..in or out of the gym?

gm

Photos and Busy Week Advice

Busy but successful weekend.  I spent much needed and loved time with my family.

Niece, Brother, Brother’s Hair

The Girls

I was welcomed home with some snow and a pretty messy ride into work but I am not letting that ruin my day!  Today begins the first day of a 4 day streak of 15 hour days.  I am hoping for the best this week.  Even though my weekend was busy, I feel full of love and happiness after spending time with my most favorite people on earth (minus 1- J ❤  ).

How do you mentally deal with knowing you have a crazy week ahead?

gm

ps- Today J and I have been dating for 2 whole years.  That’s like 14 in dog years 😉   Check out my gushy post I wrote last year!

Run Update

If it hasn’t been obvious, I haven’t been doing any great runs lately.  I am really loving CrossFit and have been dedicating most of my workout time to throwing around some weights and practicing some technique things.  I try to fit in miles where I can but it’s not too high on my priority list.  Also, the runs I have been doing haven’t been leaving me feeling overjoyed or like it was kick-ass.

This week was a busy one for me.  But, that just means I am perfecting the task of multitasking.

2 nights this week while dinner was in the oven (yes, I cooked twice) I got some miles in on the treadmill.  It required me to set the alarm on my phone so I wouldn’t lose track of time but it worked out well.

Both of these runs were good.  They were both at a comfortable pace.  7 miles bouncing from 8:34 to 8:49 and 4 miles done as a progression…starting at 8:49 and finished the last 1/2 mile at 7:19 .

I am out of town this weekend- in Florida to be exact-which means I spent friday working then traveling. I planned to take friday as a rest day which meant I would hopefully get in a good, longer run Saturday morning.  I came prepared with my garmin and woke up alarm-less around 6.  Just as the sun was about to come up I laced up and headed out the door.

I knew for this run I wanted to go longer than I had been, I wanted to take it easy for the first half and even negative split if possible.  I didn’t obsessively check my watch but when I did I was shooting for 8:25’s.  I ran an out and back *to the beach 😉 * and decided on the way back I would run by feel, not what my watch says.

I am pleasantly surprised with how it went!

I am definitely stoked with this run.  I felt amazing the entire time.  I was worried I would be mega slow and not have the stamina to hit 10 miles.  Shows you how awesome CrossFit is 😀  I am glad I hit double digits and I love love loved running in shorts and a tank.  Makes me ready for spring!

I had some family things to tend to today but tomorrow I plan on getting my game face on like my favorite girl…

…. and we are heading out tomorrow to go stalk Mickey 😉

What was the last run or workout you had that left you feeling amazing?

gm

Paleo Struggles

Lately my feelings on Tuesday have been pretty craptastic.  I was in the mindset that Tuesday sucked more than Monday and I typically found myself more tired and it harder to wake up on Tuesdays  Not today.  My first alarm went off super early and I popped right out of bed.  I even had time to take care of some house chores nice and early!

I recently posted that I wanted to try and eat more paleo-like.  That doesn’t mean I am going to be super strict yet but I am playing around with the idea.  I am food shopping with a paleo mindset, I decide on weekly dinners with the same mindset as well.

One thing that I was really struggling with at first was not eating my beloved peanut butter.  Sure I can have almond butter but…have you ever tasted almond butter?  Not exactly the same sweet treat as peanut butter is! I am happy to say that something finally clicked and I am now an almond butter fan.  I still purchase peanut butter for J but when reaching for a quick snack, lately almond butter has been my nut butter of choice.

One thing I gave up all together is yogurt.  Chobani, fage, yoplait.  You name it, I stopped eating it. This was the hardest for me.  Last week was the first full week I didn’t eat any yogurt and I found myself so incredibly starving. All the time.  I was hungry.  I would eat and no less than 2 hours later my stomach was growling again.  I was making sure my meals had the proper breakdown of fat, carbs and proteins but I was still starving.  I was trying to blame my lack of calcium that I was getting from yogurt but I think, in all reality, I just needed to eat more each meal.  So far my theory is working and I am not a hangry beast 95% of the day.

Another challenge I found myself having is dinner.  I need foods that I can eat on the fly…and really I mean I have approximately 10 minutes to eat dinner lately. And those 10 minutes are spent in a gym in front of at least 15 other people so it needs to be something quick, not stored in a fridge, not heated but also satisfying.  Am I asking for the impossible here? Any suggestions?

I am hoping that if I keep incorporating more paleo meals and snacks into my life the transition to eating 99% paleo will just occur naturally.  While I am excited to see how this way of eating will make me feel and effect or maybe affect, im still dumb and dont know the right choice my workouts….I am not about to give up ice cream or coffee creamer just yet…

And just because I love this….I leave you with Vice and Lola 🙂

thanks for the photo J 😉

gm

1 year and Blogger love

It just dawned on me that this bad boy of a blog I have here is over a year old!  Holy macaroni!  I can’t believe I have been steadily doing this for a year.  When I first started writing in this blog space I thought it would be a fun hobby…for a little while.  Never did I think that I would still, although rarely nowadays, be typing in my little space on the internet.

Thanks to the 3 people that are regular readers ( mom, slull and gg ) I figure I will keep at it.  Why not, right?

A while back I wrote up a post and linked to a few of my favorite posts.  I oh so cleverly named it Favorites.   I love being able to look back and see how much my life has changed in just a year… new house, new hobbies, new goals.  I tell ya, this blog thing isn’t a bad idea after all!

I decided to start gmruns after being inspired by so many healthy living or running blogs that I follow.  Sure the list of ones I religiously read may have changed, there are a few new ones and old ones that are definitely worth your time!

samHOTmess

Sure she may be my sister-in-law and my real life BFF but even if I didn’t know her, this would still be my favorite blog.  She is funny, witty and her posts, although they may be few and far between at times, they always benefit me somehow.  Helloooo chicken parm! Plus, her adorable daughter should be enough of a reason to follow.

BusyLittleBeaver

Again, another real life friend here but I swear I would read this blog too.  She is basically super mom with her two mini-me’s.  Always creating something fun, cooking something delicious or hosting a fabulous night in…visit her if you want tips on how to be an awesome mom…and not to mention a kick ass runner too!

Running Bun

I have never met this one IRL but let me tell you…it’s going to happen.  If you are from the NY area and want to know about the latest and greatest fitness class to take, visit her page for an awesome review. She also has some amazing hair, cute dogs..oh, and is shooting to (and WILL) qualify for Boston this marathon season!

OUaL

This girl.  The original blog that gave me a glimpse of hope that maayyyybe I could actually qualify for Boston.  From shooting for a sub-4 marathon to missing it by 2 minutes…this chick rocks.  She ended 2012 with a craptastic injury but 2013 is going to be here year.  I suggest you follow along for some inspiration with the occasional freakout-number-crunching-holycowlookatthattraininglog-posts.

I am always looking for new reads so if you know of any other blogs you think I need in my life, please share!

gm

Dog time and Miagi

This weekend flew by!  For you too?  I guess that’s what happens when you’re having fun!

Both Friday and Saturday night was spent in and relaxing.  A lot of time catching up with the dogs, who I seem to neglect all week with my busy schedule, and even some qt with J’s sister.  No complaints here!

Saturday morning I headed to the gym nice and early. MIAGI was on the schedule and I wanted to fit it in before I had to coach.  Miagi is a bitch.

I did 50 reps of everything except wall climbs.  Those were the worst. I failed at 20.  Looking back, I think if I wasn’t doing this WOD alone I would have been able to complete more.  It took me 41:31.  Definitely a long one to do alone and I don’t think I pushed myself hard enough.  I need to stop being a pansy about the weights. I did 95#deadlifts but went much too light for clean and jerk and kb movements.

For some reason I haven’t been going heavy.  I haven’t seen many gains on my big lifts and that’s my own fault.  In the WOD’s I go way too light with a lot of the lifts.  I am not saying I am not sore as hell afterwards, I am just saying that if I want to see improvements in my strength, I need to go heavier.

My mom and SIL came to this WOD and I loved having them there!  They told me they are going to try to make it to a few classes a month, I am holding them to that! *hear that slull? I am holding you to that!*

Like I said, I relaxed both nights this weekend.  My Saturday night was spent vertical watching tv and puppy cuddling.

V was jealous about the chihuahuas on the couch…so he decided to pretend he was a lap dog too.  No V…you do not fit in Lola’s bed.  loser.

Sunday I hit the road for a quick run.  The sun was out, birds were chirping and it was actually warm!  I ended up being too warm in my long sleeve and pants so I rocked a tank….In January. Makes me so ready for spring!  I ran the same 5.5 mile loop as last week and went about 10 seconds faster per mile.  I am hoping to be able to incorporate more running into my schedule.  Right now I am only getting about 15-20 miles a week.  I am hoping to up it to around 25ish.  If only the days were longer!

gm