Hot!!

Well here we are mid-summer and I haven’t blogged in forever. Seems to be a pattern.

So, I’m working again. Another energy company which shall remain unnamed. I don’t hate it but I don’t love it either. It’s a decent paycheck until I can convince Allan to sail off into the sunset. That or become a full time farmer. We shall see.

Anyhow - today was a team WOD and I partnered with Heidi. I don’t have it all in front of me but it involved running, deadlifts, rowing, rope climbs and walk ball sit ups. We got 2 rounds and some deadlifts. Good way to end the week I guess. It’s so hot I was sweating like I’d worked out before we even started.

TGIF!

Progress as Promised

Remember those signs the City of Tulsa puts out to show where your bond & tax dollars are going?  I always laugh because they are so far behind. 

My Podiatrist had promised me that I'd eventually start getting back to "normal" although he was kind of snarky about "what is normal".  I have been doubtful, impatient and frustrated at times.  But, last week, I climbed the 10' rope more than 10 times.  That's progress.  I'm lifting a little heavier.  More progress.  And today, without really thinking, I did a split jerk (yikes) and it didn't hurt at all.  OH - and I'm running again.  So, yes, "progress as promised" applies here. Today is 5 months post-op so I'm going with the thought that I'm 99% healed.

For Time:
-200m Row or Run or 0.5km A Bike
-12 Sqt Cleans 95/65 RX+ 115/75 MRX 75/55
-12 Push Press
-200m Run or Row (opposite of last)
Rest 2min/add weight
-200m Row or Run or 0.5km A Bike
-8 Sqt Cleans 135/95 RX+ 155/105 MRX 95/65
-8 Push Jerk
-200m Run or Row (opposite of last)
Rest 2min/add weight
-200m Row or Run or 0.5km A Bike
-4 Sqt Cleans 165/115 RX+ 205/135 MRX 125/75
-4 Split Jerk
-200m Run or Row (opposite of last)
Post total time minus 4 minutes of rest to responses.

My time:  15:03 - 4:00 = 11:03  MRx

Ugh!

Ever have one of those days where you just don't want to...be?  I mean, if I had a switch and could just shut myself down for a couple days; like a reboot.  I'd totally do it. Not that I'm about to put a gun to my head or anything - but it seems I'm either overwhelmed or underwhelmed. 

Cold weather grates on my nerves.  I despise it.  I have a million things I want to do and none of them are indoors.  Plus, I have stuff to do indoors but it's crappy stuff like cleaning out attics, which are freezing cold right now so, I do essentially nothing.  I'm not putting on a parka and mittens to clean out 20 years worth of stuff. 

I keep going to CrossFit because that's my one outlet for the day.  Although, every day I tell myself I can't keep doing this forever.  You know, though, I probably will...

For Time:
-12 Squat Cleans 135/95 MRX 95/65
-9 S2O
-7 Ring Muscle-Ups
-15 Power Cleans
-12 S2O
-9 C2B Pull-ups
-21 Hang Power Cleans
-15 S2O
-12 Pull-ups

My time:  10:44

I used 55#, and subbed burpee pull ups for the muscle ups.  Chest to bar pull ups take me forever but I did them.

So, now, off to plug in my nutrition for the day on DailyPlate and then out in the freezing cold to feed the less fortunate. Today is a Meals on Wheels day.  Cheers!

Food Prep Day

I had CAKE yesterday.  And mimosas.

I still have 4 lbs of vacation weight to lose.  So why did I do that?  Sometimes you just have to celebrate an occasion, and then move on and refocus on your goals.  Done and done.

So today I'm doing a variety of meal prep chores.  Some for the freezer - chile verde, and red chili, both to be portioned out for convenient, healthy lunches.  And some for backpacking meals: Yesterday I made a huge batch of Dirty Rice, adapted for backpacking (using the leanest meat possible so it dehydrates well).  Today I've got that on the dehydrator and will package it up and keep it in the freezer for our fall backpacking excursion.   My house smells so good right now!

This morning was one of those days when I woke up, looked at my phone and thought "Oh, Hell no!" when I saw the posted workout.  But I got my bootie out of bed and went anyway.  Scaling is my friend! 

“Pick Your Poison” by DB
For Time: 
-2000m Row
-1 Mile Run
-4 Km Assault Bike
REST 4min
-30 MUs Ring
-60 C2B Pull-Ups or 60 Ring dips
-90 Pull-Ups or 90 Bar dips
REST 4min
-70 Thrusters 75/55
-50 Thrusters 95/65
-35 Thrusters 135/95
**Pick one exercise from each group, go in any order you desire and give it your all on each one**

I chose the following (scaled to my ability), in this order:

70 Thrusters w/35#
30 Pull Ups and 30 Parallette dips
2000m Row

My times:
5:19
5:48
10:41 

Core work today was 50, 75 or 100 butterfly abmat sit up.  I chose 100.  Did the first 50 unbroken and it was rough going after that.  Should know better than to stop!

Hello again!

Well, I've almost let a couple months slip by since my last post.  Holidays, vacation, etc. kept me busy I suppose.

The foot continues to heal, although much slower than I want it to.  I have said a number of times, if I had it to do over again, knowing what I know now, I likely would not have done it.  But, here I am and this is now part of my story I'll just live it.

I was released to start lifting weights on Jan 2.  Nothing major - just start building back up.  I was stunned at how heavy a 25# barbell felt the very first time I did strict presses.  I've got a long, long way to go before I'm back at my old weights. I did manage an 80# snatch this week, so that was a big accomplishment, in my eyes anyway.

No jumping or running yet.  I wouldn't be ready to try it even if the doctor released me to do so at this point.  There is still a lot of soreness in there.  I'll know when I'm ready.  He says the six month mark is a good goal.

 BUT - I did get to go hiking last weekend.  Started out with the idea of just a mile or so (one of the trails at Osage is a flat loop of 1.2 miles).  Ended up doing 3 miles on Thursday, 6 on Friday and 4 on Saturday.  Sunday, my foot was swollen and a little bruised, but self-corrected by Monday after rest.  So, I'm back to training for the big backpacking trip in October on the Ouachita National Recreation Trail.  Two hundred and twenty three miles of fun! 

Today's WOD gave me a bit of a challenge with the lunges.  Had to turn my right toe into a funny position, but I managed just fine.  My buns were burning by the end of the workout!!

For Time:
-9 Front Squats 95/65 RX+115/75 MRX 75/55
-10 Front Rack Lunges(stationary, alternating)
-200m Run or 0.5km A Bike or 200m Row
-10 Front Rack Lunges
-9 Front Squats
REST 2min
-10 Back Rack Lunges (stationary, alt)
-12 Back Squats
-600m Run or 1.5km A Bike or 600m Row
-12 Back Squats
-10 Back Rack Lunges (stationary, alt)

Scaled to 35#
Time:
1.  3:33
2:  6:27
10 min total work time

Update on the foot...

So, since my last blog post I've made a little progress.  My last check up was two weeks ago and the doctor asked me to wean myself out of the boot (YAY!!) and into a shoe.  He did not like my soft, awesome, zero drop running shoes, however.  I bought some low-top hikers which will be useful after recovery when I get to start hiking again.  For now, I'm wearing them all day, and for workouts.

 Although I prefer ankle support on "real" trails, these will be okay for beginner stuff, which is where I will have to start when I'm released to start doing "stuff". 

I go for my 8 week follow up today. I'll be curious to hear what he has to say about the healing process.  I really had different expectations, i.e., thought I'd be further along, but apparently I was just delusional.  Still have lots of swelling, particularly if I'm on my feet a lot.  I kind of think I've been overdoing it.  I'm making an effort to spend time with my foot elevated.  I'm learning all kinds of patience.  Literally one minute to the next, I get frustrated and have to talk myself down and just remain patient, think long-term healing and focus on the now. 

Here's today's ugly foot pic.  The incision is almost completely healed, meaning the scab is mostly gone.  Still plenty of discoloration, etc.  But trending toward normal looking.  I still don't like the way the big toe leans over toward the second toe, but perhaps when all the inflammation is gone, that will correct.  I'll ask today what I should reasonably expect. 

If you're considering this surgery (several women I know have the same issue and have asked about it) be sure you have a good caretaker, a lot of patience and a lot of time to recover.

For now, I'm trying to hit CrossFit three days a week, and might bump it up to 5 next week.  I'm modifying the hell out of everything.  Still rowing on one leg, etc., but I'm doing something which makes me feel good mentally and physically. 

Surgery, misery, boredom and recovery.

So, WOW - it's been a very long time since I've blogged.  Or really since I've had anything to blog about, really.

Just wanted to chronicle my recent bunion surgery. (I wish they could come up with a more glamorous name for it, but alas, it sounds disgusting.)

I had put this procedure off for many, many years.  It is considered elective surgery and I wasn't going to die without it so, I put it off to the point where I couldn't ignore it anymore. One HUGE reason was I hated the thought of 6 weeks out of the gym. 

What is a bunion?  Well, a bunion is a bony bump that forms on the joint at the base of your big toe. Bunions can develop as a result of an inherited structural defect, stress on your foot or a medical condition, such as arthritis. Mine was the result of 35 years of wearing gorgeous stilettos.  I love my high heels!

So, the result of this comes out making everything shift around push other bones out of place in my foot, and was painful especially after long hikes or runs.  Here is one of the initial x-rays showing what a mess it was in there!  Next to it, the outward appearance of my foot.

So the recommended procedure was a Lapidus Bunionectomy.  Basically what that involved was removing a portion of the first metatarsal, realigning it, and then fusing the first metatarsal and medial cuneiform bones.

Here is the "after" x-ray taken 5 days post-op, which shows the plates and screws used for the fusion. 

I had read everything I could about the recovery, pain, success rates, etc., but nothing prepares you for the real thing.  Some of it was worse, some of it was better. 

The pain afterward was minimal.  Honestly I was surprised.  I took the pain meds for 20 hours and stopped.  They are awful and I seriously for the life of me cannot understand how people get hooked on that shit.  Anyway, Tylenol was my go-to.  I also had 800mg Ibuprofen for inflammation, which also helps with pain, in my opinion.

Starting on night two I had some really awful nerve pain which felt like hot razor blades and needles poking into my foot all over.  Yeah.  But I still just took Tylenol.  They offered a pill to help with that but it is an anti-depressant which I wanted nothing to do with.  So, I just suffered through it and learned to cope.  That nerve pain seemed to hit only at night (you know, when your body is in repair mode) and lasted about a week and a half.

The procedure was on Friday, October 6.  By Monday morning I was bored and filled with regret - "what have I done?" kept going through my mind.  I wanted to work out. I kept having visions of laying on the couch getting fat and lazy.

So, four days post-op (Tuesday) I decided  to get up and actually work out.  Now, this wasn't CrossFit by any means.  Lots of stretching, knee push ups, sit-ups, leg raises, hip exercises, seated dumbbell presses, etc.

Week two I made it upstairs (which was hilarious - lots of crawling and scooting) so I could use the rower.  All in all I've managed to only miss about 4 days of working out  to date.  Week three I got to go back to the gym, and started going every other day.  The off days I still did my home workouts.

I've lost weight.  I've also lost muscle, so, win/lose there.  But I'm okay with it.

I had a few pity party days, where I just felt like this was never going to end.  I just want to DRIVE my car.  I want to be able to go somewhere when I get the urge.  I do not like being dependent on someone to bring me water, food, etc.  But thank God I have Allan who did all that and more.

Recovery:
My first visit post-op was 5 days.  At that visit I got permission to start putting slight pressure on my foot, in the boot, with crutches.  About 1/4 of my body weight.   Same advice at the second follow up - 11 days in.  At the next visit which was 3.5 weeks post-op, he instructed me to start putting more weight on my foot, working up to full weight walking without crutches.  All still in the boot.

As of yesterday I'm there!  It's a bit achy sometimes but no big deal.  Part of the process.  My six week post-op is in two days and I'm hoping to be released to take off this boot and put on a shoe and walk, and drive, etc.  The surgeon has told me no running, jumping, hiking or heavy weight lifting for at least 12 weeks, and expect "full recovery" to take 9 to 12 months.  That seems like forever.

Anyway, if you're grossed out by feet or scabs or bruises, you can tap out now.  Here are some progress pictures taken over the weeks:

day 6 post op

bruising was horrible (day 13)

day 16 - soaking in hot water bath

day 20, incision progress is slow

 

1-month post op

 

38 days post-op, incision healing more

So, that's it for now.  Hoping for a good post-op visit this week and moving on with my life!  I'll be modifying every CFJ workout for a while, but I'll just be glad to BE THERE! 

PR day

Long time no blog.  I've been busy not being busy.  Ha!  Housewifing takes up a lot of time.  Not sure how I ever managed a career with all the stuff that goes on around here.  We are all super-women when we have jobs outside the house I suppose.

Anyway, since I last  blogged, I hit my 25lb weight loss goal and then went on a two week sailing trip and gained 5 back.  It'll come right back off.  I'm back on track and working hard at it.

Today, I managed to set 2 PR's at the gym.  The first was on hang power snatch.  Actually I set 2 PR's on that alone - 95# and 100#.

Then we had a choice of Isabelle or Randy and I chose Randy.  75 power snatches for time at 55#.  I took 1:46 off my old PR with a time of 5:54.  So, it's a PR day! 

Housewife

Yep.  That's me these days.  Actually, I'm unemployed, so I'm being a housewife until I find a new job.  Not digging the whole house cleaning thing, but I realized the people I've been paying to clean my house were slackers.  So much was just being done half-assed.  I'm fixing all that.  I will probably just continue to do it myself even after I find a job.  Like the old saying goes, "If you want something done right, do it yourself."

We had our usual winter escape to the caribbean - this year to the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas.  Very enjoyable and relaxing trip.  And I got my annual cold on the return.  So, I'm almost over that, and in the meantime I've been scaling everything at the gym.  Still maintaining my meal-planning and weight loss.

“The MLK Muscle-Up Mile ” by DB
For Time:
-805meter Row
Then
-10-8-6-4-2-1 Muscle-Ups (ring) MRX Burpee C2B
-20-18-16-14-12-10 WallBalls 20/14lbs 10/9′ MRX 20/10/9′
(i.e. 10 MUs & 20 WBs, 8 MUs & 18 WBs, 6 MUs & 16 WBs……10WBs & 1 MU.)
Then
-804meter Row

My Time:  21:53, modified

I scaled the burpee/pull ups to 5-4-3-2-1-1 double-burpee/single pull ups due to a bicep tendon issue.  Always an issue...always.  :)

Core development:

2 x 10 sec L-sit
30 Hip Extensions
25 abmat sit ups
25 GHD sit ups

Goals and more goals!

So, this week, on Tuesday, I hit my 20 lb weight loss goal!  8 months, and honestly, just a little bit of effort.  It hasn't been all that difficult once I set my mind to it. 

And now I think I want to lose more.  So, today, much to my surprise, I was down another half pound! Wooo!!  I think I can safely lose at least 5 more lbs.  I see the areas of fat I can stand to lose.  So, 5 or 10 more perhaps in the next few months. 

The really cool part of this is I've developed strong habits.  Weigh and measure everything 90% of the time, but learn to let go when it's time to have a "free" meal.  I don't call them cheating because I'm not really "dieting".  I'm just eating right.  So, anyway...yeah, I'm hitting goals. 

Next up is the goal to find a job.  I'm feeling pretty positive about it, and letting it all go this week and next while I go on vacation.  I'm ready for some bikini time on the beach.  Snorkeling, kayaking, exploring and eating some locally caught fish in the Bahamas.  And...wine.  :)

Today's WOD

For Time:
-25cal Row
-25 Pull-Ups
-25 WallBalls
-20cal Row
-20 WallBalls
-20 Pull-Ups
-15cal Row
-15 Pull-Ups
-15 WallBalls
-10cal Row
-10 WallBalls
-10 Pull-Ups
-5cal Row
-5 Pull-Ups
-5 WallBalls

My time: 17:01 - scaled

I took the pull-ups to about half the reps, so 13-10-8-5-5.  Still got a really good sweat going and felt like I pushed myself, so worth getting out of bed!

TGIF kids!!