The Rundown

It's official: School is taking over my life. As a result, I have not had a lot of time to write my blog. So... here's the rundown on this past week:

Friday, I did "Helen" prescribed for the first time. I completed the WOD in 11:18. Needless to say, I was very excited.

Team Saturday, we did 200 meter partner carry and then three rounds of 2:00 of muscle-ups, power cleans (bw), and air squats and then another 200 meter buddy carry. Lisa and I teamed up for this and she was nice enough to carry me for about 300 meters. In the end though, we did not come out on top but we did get 200 reps. Yay for us.

Sunday, I played with my new toy I received for my birthday. My toy, the iPod+Nike chip, fits within my new kicks and measures my pace, calories, distance, etc. It even lets me play a power song to get me going (bet you can't guess what it is...) Anyhow, I decided to jog a 3K, which I completed in a little less than 15 minutes. After running my 3K, I decided that it wasn't enough and then jogged for an extra 20 minutes. According to Phil (the voice on my iPod), I ran 2.5 miles. I'm not going to argue with him.

Monday, we did two rounds of 500 meter row and AMRAP pull-ups. Essentially, we were paired with someone and competed against them. While one person rowed, the other did pull-ups and vice versa. Jennie and I were partnered up (guess, who won?) My rows were far from impressive (around 2:00 each) and I was able to crank out 20 pull-ups both rounds (which I was fairly happy with considering pull-ups are my arch nemesis).

Tuesday, we first did overhead squats [OH squats] (3-3-3) before moving onto "Karen." True to form, while OH squatting, I nearly dropped the bar on my head and fell on my ass. However, I did OH squat 25-30-35 kg. I'm not even sure if 35 kg is a PR or not. Personally, I was just glad that I was able to practice my snatch form.

Onto "Karen." Also true to form, I lost count, got confused, and I'm almost positive that I did at least 10 extra reps. Regardless of my counting ability, I did manage to crank out the workout (however many reps I did) in 10:00, which was 1:46 better than my previous time.

Finally on Tuesday (Tuesday was a big day for me), I did a rowing WOD. I completed three rounds of 1:00 on, 1:00 off, 1:00 on, 1:00 off, 1:00 on, and 1:00 off. All in all I rowed 2252 meters (or something like that).

Today (Wednesday), I took a rest day. I wanted to workout in the morning but, like I said in the beginning, school has taken over my life. Instead, I decided to read student papers rather than CrossFitting. Of course, I would have preferred to do the latter but you can't always get what you want.

Monday Funday

For Labor Day, we did a special team challenge for Monday's WOD:

1 mile run
Seven rounds for time:

• 10 weighted walking lunges (20 kg/15 kg)
• 5 burpees

1 mile run

Well, I was excited when I saw this workout. There's no reason to explain why. To prepare for Monday Funday, I warmed up by rowing 500 meters, cut the sleeves off my tshirt, slipped on my new kicks (thanks boyfriend) and teamed up with Tommy Mo. Our strategy? Go as fast as you can and try to keep up with The Show.

When Bill gave us the 3-2-1-Go!, Tom and I were off. I started out ahead of Tom but he quickly made his way past me. I then spent the rest of first mile trying to catch and then pass Sparky, which I managed to do both. I'm not sure how fast our first mile was and I'm kind of sad about that because I would have liked to know whether or not it was sub-seven.

In regards to the walking lungs and burpees, well, they were just what they were. The burpees allowed for a little bit of rest and the walking lunges took a dueling on my legs. Fortunately Tom was counting and we finished them sooner rather than later. All we had left then was catch up with The Garth Show and Matty-Lo.

The first 200 meters or so of that second mile run sucked. My quads were tight and I was having difficulty keeping form on my run. I could actually feel myself heel striking. However, soon enough my legs started to loosen up and I was on the move again. Tom quickly moved out ahead of me, which left me trying to keep him in my sights throughout the rest of the run.

I'm not sure how long the second mile took either but unfortunately Tom and I were not able to catch Garth and Matt. I pulled into the Fort at 22:07, almost two minutes after the speed demons, and then fell to the floor in order to celebrate second place and the fact that we were done.

Personally, I think my new shoes helped my run with the big boys; I felt that fast.

Friday Goods

Thursday was Kilo's birthday and, as a result, he was able to pick the WOD for the following day. I'm not sure if he saw this WOD somewhere or if it was of his own creation, but it was awesome. We started out with some deadlifting, three sets of five (65-75-85), before moving onto the following:

Kilo's BDay WOD

With a 400 meter run in between each three rounds:

3 rounds for time:
7 deadlifts
7 box jumps

3 rounds for time:
5 deadlifts
5 box jumps

3 rounds for time:
3 deadlifts
3 box jumps

Like I said, "awesome," right? Well, I thought it was. Deadlifting, box jumps and runs are all good in my book; however, I was a bit hesitant to go too heavy during the WOD because I didn't have a whole lot of energy (It had been awhile since I had eaten, let's just say that). As a result, I did not go at the 85% of my five rep max that day (72 kg). Instead, I went with 60 kg so I wouldn't be completely gassed round four and so that I would be done in the 15-20 minute cut off period.

During the WOD, I'm not sure if it was actually the lack of food, if it was completely mental, if it was just the workout itself, or if it was all of the above, but the weight started to get to me more than I would have liked. In the end, I finished the WOD in a little over twelve minutes, and then I went home and ate. I had a good breakfast (some eggs and sausage... yummy); I had had a good workout. Friday was a good day.

Team Bug Zappers

I am a sales person's dream. Just imagine the following scenario:

I am walking around Woodfield, minding my own business, trying to decide if I should purchase those new pink Pumas or buy some new black pants for work. I think to myself: Black pants are necessary; however, Pumas are so much more fun and they're better for pose running. I pause, exactly two seconds too long, one foot inching towards the Puma store and the other towards Express, when a sweet, confident voice calls out to me: "Why hello there. Would you like to purchase this new iPhone?

I shake my head: "No. No thank you."

Mr. Confident is fully dressed in his AT&T polo and smiling. My 'no' has had little effect on him: "But it is fully featured - with a large touch screen; it holds up to 10,000 different applications, includes full Internet service, plays music and can practically wash your hair for you."

I remain semi-tough. "No thanks," as I turn to head back towards Puma.

Mr. Confident interrupts my departure, again: "But it comes in a variety of colors, including blue, lime green, orange, purple and pink."

Wait. What?

I stop, turn and head over to the counter, which Mr. Confident has littered with colorful iPhones. My eyes widen and both my Pumas and black pants are forgotten as is my two year contract with TMobile: "You say it comes in pink?"

While this situation did not actually happen (and is a bit exaggerated), there is some truth to it. I can often be easily talked into purchasing and/or doing things. (Apparently, Dare did not do a very good job with me in the whole "peer pressure" department.) Take for example this past Saturday.

I went into the Fort early Saturday to get in my final rowing WOD. I finished the WOD right before Team Saturday was about to start; I headed downstairs to grab my things so that I could go shower and get ready for the Cubs game that afternoon, when Bill asked me if I was going to stay for the workout. I looked over at my boyfriend, who was standing in the doorway, his bag over his shoulder, ready to go.

I shake my head. "No," I tell him and then walk towards the entryway to grab my purse and sweatshirt.

Jennie then stops me: "Are you working out?"

I peer back up at the whiteboard. It's the OPD Team WOD we did several months ago: 400 meter run - 80 deadlifts, 80 box jumps, 80 push press - 400 meter run. Me likey.

Begrudgingly, I tell her "no" and inch towards the doorway before Bill chimes in much like Mr. Confident from above and says that I have to stay to help even out the numbers. Once again, I look over at my boyfriend, who is still standing in the doorway.

"Do you care if I stay and workout?" I ask over the growing noise in the Fort. He shakes his head; I smile, and just like that I am a part of another Team Saturday.

Jennie and I partnered up. We scaled a little more than perhaps we should have, but we were both tired from the row we had completed earlier that morning; we also designated ourselves "Team Bug Zappers" because of all Jennie's mosquito bites. Regardless, when Bill gave us the 3-2-1-Go!, we were both ready to gut out the workout.

Long story short, we kind of flew through this. We completed the WOD in under fifteen minutes and we won the team challenge. Personally, I always enjoy pairing up with Jennie because she makes me work harder. (A little motivation and competition never hurt anyone if you ask me.) As a result, my primary focus (beyond winning) was to try and match Jennie in reps. I think I succeeded for the most part, and lucky for both of us, our pretty Team Bug Zapper picture will soon grace CrossFit Fire's mainpage for last Saturday's post.

For the record though, I should probably still work on that "peer pressure" thing.

Friday's Episode: "Caleb"

It was my birthday Friday, and while I usually hate my birthday (for reasons I do not care to get into here), one good thing did come out of it: I was able to pick the workout of the day.

Originally, I had wanted to do the rowing, burpee, running workout from the tryouts; however, Bill suggested that we stay away from rowing because a lot of people had been completing the extra rowing workouts for the team (Again, we'll talk about this later.) Not wanting to be difficult, I emptied out the corners of my brain for a good WOD. I quickly narrowed it down to three:

• Harco: Four rounds for time of: 200 meter sprint, 20 jumping pull ups, 30 push ups, 40 sit ups and 50 squats


• Michael: Three rounds for time of: 800 meter run, 50 back extensions, 50 sit ups


• Caleb: Eight rounds for time of: 400 meter run, 8 walking lunges and 8 box jumps (24")

Well, I eliminated "Harco" because I just kind of didn't feel like it; I eliminated "Michael" because I didn't feel like substituting supermans for back extensions; and so I settled on "Caleb." I had done this workout during my second week of CrossFit and wanted to see how I had improved.

In a nutshell, of course, I had improved tremendously. Not only did I beat my old time but I also did the box jumps prescribed; whereas the first time I completed the WOD, I did not. In addition, to improving my time; I was able to spend some time with the Graveyard Gang, which is like living in a sitcom itself. Here's some of the highlights from Friday's episode:

• Garth, shirtless of course, hauled ass and crushed this workout. Yes, it is worth both italicizing and bolding this word; he did that well.
• Tom reminded me mid-third or fourth round that I had no one to blame except myself if I was hating my life at that moment or if my legs were tired or sore tomorrow.
• Both of the gentlemen mentioned above were talking some major booty chatter (aka talking trash).
• Matt went outside to run beside my brother Nate on his last 400 meters, and when Nate reached the 200 meter point or so, he took off like someone stuck a hot poker on his butt, leaving Matt behind him. It was something to see.

All in all, it was an eventful morning, a good workout and a great start to my birthday. I loved the WOD, although I can't say the same for anyone else except for maybe Brian. Everyone was nice enough to wish me "Happy Birthday" throughout the day (I went in to the Fort later for rowing practice) but they also were not shy about telling me they hated my workout (e.g. Mark, Jennie, Season, Zach, Bender, etc.). I'm sure they will have their revenge though someday and our positions will be reversed.

On a side note: Thank you all for the birthday wishes and to those of you who were able to make it out on Friday night. I had an absolute blast and it was by far the best birthday I have had in a very, very long time (not exaggerating here either). So thank all of you. It meant a lot to me. *Tear*

Keep on Keepin' On

I haven't blogged for the past couple of days because unfortunately I haven't worked out in the past couple of days. I've kind of been engrossed in my preparations for the upcoming semester and allowed myself a couple of unnecessary rest days. As a result, when I made my list of "things to do today" this morning, I was adamant about getting a WOD in before my afternoon meetings. Well, when I realized I had unfortunately left my book and list of travel workouts in my car (and I didn't want to go get them because then my book would be forever on my desk opposed to taking its needed steps back to the shelf at the Fort), I began scouring the web for potential workouts. Lucky for me I didn't have to look too far, as this is what the coaches at CrossFit Twin Cities provided me with:

• 50 push-ups
• 100 meter row
• 40 push-ups
• 200 meter row
• 30 push-ups
• 300 meter row
• 20 push-ups
• 400 meter row
• 10 push-ups
• 500 meter row

Since I do not have a rower stashed in my basement (I have a canoe in my garage but that's not the same thing), I decided to go with, you guessed it, running. Admittedly, I did not want to make the exchange as it was a bit blustery this afternoon and I dislike running when it's windy; however, I sucked it up and altered the workout in that respect.

After measuring all my distances out beforehand (I learned my lesson), I ventured out onto my front lawn to start doing push-ups. I was particularly pleased with my first round of push-us because I cranked out twenty, which is a lot for me. Unfortunately, thereafter the most I was ever able to string together was six or seven. Also, I actually did a lot of one rep push-ups because, well, I suck at push-ups and because I wanted to continue doing chest to floor or at the very least, nose to ground.

In regards to my running ability, I was a bit off. I'm not sure if it's because my legs have been in a permanent sitting position the past two days or maybe it was just the dang wind, but I was kind of dogging it. In fact, it wasn't until I reached my 400 and 500 meter runs that I actually felt like I was even beginning to hit my stride.

In the end, the whole ordeal took me 23:44, which I guess I have to live with even though I don't particularly want to. Life isn't fair though, as we all know, because it it was, I'd be amazing at pull-ups, cleans, have a sub-5:00 Fran time and be able to keep myself from eating too much almond butter. Guess I'll just have to keep working on it, and I guess I'll just have to keep on keeping on.

Nicole's Revenge

Remember last week, how I tried to do a variation of Nicole (aka Nikki) only to realize that I had incorrectly measured the length of my run? Remember then how I tried to make up for my error by completing that horrendous walking lunge, sit up, pull up workout in order to practice my pull ups? Well apparently, Nicole didn't appreciate my dissing the latter part of her workout. Apparently, she is very protective of her shins and so she, like any evil villain, waited, biding her time before seeking revenge. In fact, she waited until I was completely oblivious before she pounced. It was much like the video below:

See how horrific the experience was for me? Well, it wasn't exactly like the video but you could imagine what it would be if it was. Regardless, the experience was still rather traumatic.

So when I walked into the Fort and saw Nicole there, I was nervous. Okay. I admit it. I was kind of scared. My pull ups aren't strong and I (honestly) didn't want to spend the whole twenty minutes running. I know I can run. I want to get better at things I'm bad at. Of course, I realize that Nicole was there for that very same purpose but the whole "max pull up thing" freaked me out. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

In the end, the video was not too far off: I did run pretty fast; however, in regards to pull ups, I only did 43 on the red band. My only consolation was that I somehow cranked out fifteen reps on my first round and that I didn't ever drop below five. Lucky for me though that I can still run fast, because had Nicole been able to catch up to me in her hockey mask and chainsaw while I was on the pull up bar, I would have been a goner.

On another note: Jennie, I am really sorry I kicked you in the head (she was helping me get into the band). It was an accident and I wasn't trying to get back at you for making me do the workout. Promise. Please don't come after me like Nicole.

Miss Productivity

When I woke up today, I decided that it was necessary for me to be productive. For one, school is quickly approaching and the more prep work I do now, the more time I have for life. For two, I was supposed to meet a friend in the afternoon for a little joint birthday celebration. (I told her that we could just celebrate her birthday twice, but she was not having it.) The combination of these two circumstances led me to a conclusion that I needed to quickly decide on a WOD to do and get after it. As a result, I decided to go with a workout that I had seen on the CrossFit headquarters discussion forum sometime last week:

• Run 1 mile
• 80 burpees
• Run 800 meters
• 40 burpees
• Run 400 meters
• 20 burpees

Well, when I added up the burpees it didn't make sense to me just to do 140. If you're already doing 140, why not just add the extra ten and do 150? Or maybe I'm the odd one and just have this thing about numbers. Who knows? Regardless, I did change the WOD slightly so that it would calm my apparent OCD and came up with the following:

• Run 1 mile
• 75 burpees
• Run 800 meters
• 50 burpees
• Run 400 meters
• 25 burpees

I'll just tell you outright that I don't know how long the WOD took me. When I finished I was disgusted when I realized that I had apparently failed to activate the button on my iPod stopwatch like I thought I had. (Okay, I was kind of pissed off as I laid there, sprawled out on the grass with sweat dripping down my face). Either way, it was a good workout and probably one I'll have to do again in the future, just so I can add my time to my record book.

Happy Trails to Me

I'll just say it: I know I've been running too much lately. Last week, I did sprints and a 5K, and I usually jog a mile as part of my warm up. I plan on mixing it up a little more but I had the opportunity to do a challenging run yesterday that I could not pass up, so please be kind.

My mom is currently visiting from Minnesota, and so my aunt and her were heading up to Lake Geneva, WI, to take a boat tour of the lake. Yesterday, they had spent part of the day in LG too but had walked the shore path, which is 26 miles around the lake. Now, I remember this path. I walked the entire route once before back when I was younger and stupider, and it's a combination of perfectly manicured lawns, beaches, stone paths, concrete walkways, dirt trails through woods, and a whole lot of hills; there are beautiful houses to look at, boats to pine over, people to dodge, rocks and trees to jump over and stairs to run up. It's 26 miles of walking/running heaven or hell, depending on your point of view. But what got me was that the trail aspect of it. I am sick of running on asphalt/tracks/concrete - and being older and stupider, I decided I needed something different and something different was exactly what I got.

I should preface that I actually have no real record of how far I ran. The trail is not necessarily marked very well and I do not own a pedameter, but I do believe I ran at least six miles total (to and from) based on one sign I saw. My point was though was to run for a half an hour and then turn around to meet my aunt and my mom back at the docks. It was far from your typical CrossFit WOD because I do not know necessarily how far I ran or how much time it took me (I forgot to turn off my stopwatch when I finished); however, I wanted to test out the trail before trying to con other people into coming out there with me, and test it out I did. Here is a list of what happened to me while on and after my run:

1. I ran through some pleasant boggy areas; my shoes and socks are now coated in mud;


2. I nearly ran over a couple of walkers, a gardener and an elderly gentleman taking pictures;
   
3. I tripped over a loose rock on a patio and fell down. Luckily, only my pride was wounded and not my hands or the knee I landed on;


4. I got lost and ended running at least an extra 200 meters at least both up and then downhill;
   
5. A bee stung me. In all my 25 years, I had never been stung by a bee until yesterday. Seriously, that sucker came out of nowhere and it hurt. (Stupid bee.)


6. When I finished, I walked up to my mom and aunt, who promptly told me that they had found some nice summer dresses I needed to try on. I'm sure that the workers at the store were absolutely thrilled when the sweaty/dirty girl in knee highs walked through the door. Luckily (for both the store owners and for me), we bought everything I tried on (Yay for new clothes).

So there you have it. It was a fairly eventful run and morning, and I'll probably go back once I figure out the exact mileage, have a specific time to go for, and when it gets a little cooler so I don't get attacked by more bees.

July 21st = Good Day

What's that? Yesterday was fabulous? How right you are.

I'll keep this brief. Yesterday was terrific for three reasons and only one was non-CrossFit related:

1. I got another teaching gig at one of the local colleges (Huge for me and for obvious reasons).
2. I ran a 5K in 23:12, a time that was almost three and a half minutes faster than than the previous leading female time on the record board.
3. I made the record board for doing seven pull ups in a row, which I know is nothing compared to a lot of people - but it's a big deal for me, so lay off, okay? Just let me enjoy my moment.

Now I'm done patting myself on the back, and I'll get back to practicing things I'm bad at (i.e. more pull ups, cleans, push ups, presses, etc.). It's not as fun, but what can ya do?

The CrossFit Continuation of Awesome

Three things:

1. I went to the Fort this past Saturday for "Team Saturday."
   
2. We did the Stadium WOD from the CF Games.
   
3. It was awesome.

We started out with a short 800 meter run, mobility drills and some burpees because The Garth Show failed to introduce himself to Darryl, a visiting CrossFitter from Buffalo, New York. We then we all waited anxiously as Bill determined the teams.

I turned out to be pretty lucky that The Show failed to introduce himself to Darryl because I ended up being on a team with him, and I wouldn't have remembered his name otherwise. Jeff and Stephanie rounded out the rest of our team, and I was feeling pretty confident about our chances. All the teams seemed pretty evenly matched.

After everyone was sorted into their respective teams, set up began. It took longer than I think anyone anticipated; for some reason there were mix ups with where teams were competing and so on. Regardless, we got it all sorted out and were soon in our places to begin the workout. Just as a reminder, the Stadium WOD consisted of:

Stadium WOD

30 Wallballs (20lbs/14lbs)

THEN

• Row 300m
  
• 30 Box jumps (24")
  
• 30 KB swings (24kg/16kg)
  
• 30 Push press / Push jerk (40lbs/25lb)

THEN

30 Deadlifts (225lbs/135lbs)

Since there were a limited number of 20 lb wall balls, we did a stagger start with the teams. My team was one that started later; however, when we got the 3-2-1-Go!, Stephanie was off, repping through those wall balls like a mad woman. I was the next to go, then Jeff, and then Darryl. We were all there cheering each other on throughout, driving each other to do better. It was your typical CrossFit continuation of awesome.

After finishing the wall ball portion of the WOD, we moved onto our respective stations. I went from rowing, to box jumps, to push presses, to kettlebell swings. Out of all the exercises I was most pleased with my kettlebell swings and push presses. I almost repped through both exercises. I was less pleased with my box jumps and rowing. I was able to get a good string of about 12 box jumps in and then ended up having to stop every so many reps rather than pushing right through. As for the row, I'm not sure what I was doing there, but I know I could have rowed faster. Then came the deadlifts.

I love deadlifts. They are by far my favorite lift, and I felt pretty good about my pacing throughout, especially since I hadn't done them in awhile. I only had to stop twice and it was due more to my grip rather than feeling overly tired. Stephanie, on the other hand, was like "Psh. Who stops on their deadlifts?" and then repped right through all 30 of those beasts.

When we called "time," I was proud of my own and especially my team's performance. Stephanie had been a deadlift machine; at one point, I saw Jeff popping that kettlebell up like it was nobody's business, and I remember looking over at Darryl while I was rowing and thinking, "Daaaaaaaaaammmmnnnn." Let me tell you, Darryl took out those push presses faster than a mugger in Central Park. It was awesome. What made it even better though was that these were the only things I witnessed from my own team. The other teams were equally intense and focused.

On other teams, I saw Zach, Jennie, Beth and Stacy all crushing the deadlifts; I witnessed Tommy Mo and Super Dave flying through the wall balls, and got to watch Jessica and Garth cranking it out on the rower. All around, everyone did a phenomenal job. It was great to see such intesity and hard work from everyone.

After all was said and done though, it wasn't until I was writing down the WOD on a stolen piece of paper (my book is at home), that I noticed that my team had won with the time of 18: 12. I do believe that my response was: "Wow... We won." All nonchalant and such. It felt good though, and I must admit, we look pretty good holding that belt too.

Jeff, Stephanie, Me, & Darryl

Track & Field Day... By Myself.

I decided to go to my local high school yesterday to use the track. I decided to do a workout that I have been hesitant to do on my own ever since I quit attending the gym regularly:

4 Rounds for Time:

400 meter run
50 air squats

I'm not sure why I have been so hesitant to do this WOD. I'd done it before. In fact, I had even made an attempt to do this on my own prior to yesterday and ended up only making it halfway through the first round and deciding I wanted to do something else. Regardless, I decided to give it another try.

To warm up, I began with a simple 400 meter run. I then moved on and did 2 sets of 15, 1 set of 20: sit ups, supermans, push ups and air squats (no, I'm not sure why I did more squats). I then got a quick sip of water, shook out my legs, got my stopwatch ready and convinced myself that I really wanted to do this workout.

I quickly switched the song on my iPod to make sure it was good enough to start out on, pressed the button on my stopwatch and gave myself the 3-2-1 Go! Instantly, I was off, trying to imagine I was chasing after someone to keep me motivated both on the runs and on the squats, especially the squats. For some reason or other, I find/found it rather difficult to keep myself moving through those squats without someone next to me. I kept trying to force myself to do two sets of 25 each time, but found myself resting more than I would have liked (I really need to work on pushing through the suck). I also tried to imagine Bill yellling at me, telling me that I wasn't going to beat Kris's time (this is what happened the previous time I did this WOD), but it was still difficult. Imaginary yells and people just aren't the same.

Although my time did improve slightly (13 seconds), I do believe that had I had someone else there that I would have completed the WOD faster. Like I said before, but for some reason, I had a hard time with doing this workout by myself. Even though I haven't been particularly fond of working out alone lately, completing other WOD's alone has not been a trial like this one. Luckily though, I forced myself through this and did show some improvement. The whole experience did reinforce one thing for me though: I need to get back to the gym. Kicking my own ass is just not very fun.

Zoology Lesson #1: The Badger

Awww... Ain't he cute?

Today kids, we'll be talking about the Badger. The badger is short-legged, heavy set carnivore that is a part of the weasel family. They primarily shelter underground in intricate burrows, which are otherwise known as "setts," and may either live alone or in clans of 2 to 15 (www.wikipedia.com). While the badger may appear to be cute and cuddly, they can be fierce animals, particularly when they go up against gophers, wolverines, Chief Illiniwek, wildcats, Spartans, and so on. They will also go to any lengths to protect themselves and/or their young, in which case, they look more so like this:

"Grrrrr... Don't f*&^ with me."

Now kids, if you ever encounter a badger that looks like the one pictured above or if you encounter a badger that looks like this:

3 Rounds for Time of:

30 Cleans (40kg/30kg)

30 Pull Ups

800 M Run

Make sure that you either run away or have a really big stick with you to take that sucker down.

I had an unfortunate run in with Mr. Badger yesterday. It was not pretty. I think he knew I was from Minnesota. He was fiesty; those jaws clamped down on my legs as I was trying to clean and front squat and would not let go, and then he crawled up my arms and sat on my shoulders, growling in my ears as I tried unsuccessfully to kip him off. Luckily, I was able to escape him for a bit when running. His short legs don't carry him very fast, but whenever I finished those 800 meters there he was - waiting, baring his teeth, and growling at me to go faster.

Eventually, I was able to outrun Badger; however, the whole ordeal took much longer than I hoped. It was more of a mental battle for me; it has been awhile since I have taken on or been attacked by an animal. Next time I'll be more prepared though and be sure to carry a big stick with me just in case I need to knock him out.

Beware of Chipmunks and Bad Times

I heart running. So when I saw the 10k listed on the CrossFit main site today, I was a happy girl. I haven't been for a (semi) long run since March, when my brother, sister-in-law, and I all decided that it would be a good idea to suck it up and run the 8k we had signed up for despite the spectacular snowstorm that had happened earlier that morning. Like that lovely day in March, today's weather conditions were not exactly ideal, albeit they were much, much more tolerable. It has been overcast all day (there seems to be a thunderstorm looming; however, it had, and still has, yet to come to the party) and it's kind of cool outside. Regardless, I concluded that I would try to match my 8k time at the state park across the way rather than run 6 times around my neighborhood, which would have amounted to a 10k. I made this decision for three reasons:

1. I wanted to see if my time was better than my last 8k;
2. I figured I would get a better workout running the trails and hills at the park rather than simply just running the 10k on pavement;
3. All I had to worry about at the park was getting attacked by a chipmunk (which could possibly happen if you are familiar with my past relationships with animals) opposed to running into chatty neighbors or sharing the road with cars.

I quickly made this decision though (and was quite pleased with it), grabbed my iPod, some water and then took off to hang out with Mother Nature for awhile.

When I showed up at the park, my next big decision was which direction I should take on the trail. If I went right, then I would be running primarily uphill; if I went left, I would be running downhill. Well, I opted for uphill, because I figured that's what the CrossFit gods would have me do (and I figured it would make my legs look better), and then started out on what I thought was a relatively decent pace considering the length of the run, the fact that I was running on gravel and was going to be encountering a number of hills.

I did not check my stopwatch until the very end of the run. Had I, I probably would have picked up the pace, especially towards the end when the long sloping hills were starting to get to me. Instead, there I was just chugging along - zoning out with my iPod, avoiding chipmunks and praying that I wouldn't get caught in a torrential downpour. When I finally came up on my self-proposed finish line, I sprinted ahead and then hit the stop button on my stopwatch; I looked down, excited to see my time. My excitement, however, quickly diminished: 50:38.

Wait.

What?...

I was running 10 minute miles? Since when? When I ran the 8k back in March, I finished in 43:00 (which I wasn't happy with either, mind you, because I was shooting for 40:00), but when I ran the race in March, I had to dodge 13,000 other people, raindrops, ice, slush and puddles whereas today all I had to worry about was having a run in with Alvin, Simon and/or Theodore. Granted, today I was running on an uneven surface and took on several hills, but still… 50:38? I'm embarrassed, even as I write this…

Regardless of my head shaking and tinge of shame, I now have two new missions to add to my list: Improve my 8k time at the park and see what my time would be simply running on pavement. I also think that next time I will invite (or con) someone into coming with me to keep me on pace and to use them as a basis for comparison. Of course I will take volunteers; if you or someone you know would like to go for a little run in the park with me sometime, just let me know. I just can't guarantee that I can (or will) save you from any animals should they attack. Woodland creatures aren't overly fond of me. Just ask the donkey, the bird, the horse, the goat...