Milestones

This week I hit a milestone of 200,000 miles on my Honda Civic which I purchased new in 2003. In 10 and a half years, I have traveled up and down New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Most of the miles were from work commutes from NH to MA, but I also tacked a lot of miles visiting Mark up at Vermont Law while he was studying there. In the wake of this milestone, it seemed useful to reflect on some of my major workout milestones since it was not until about ten years ago that I started to seriously train and workout beyond some brief phases in college. During my senior year of college I dabbled briefly in lifting with machines and some light free weights, so it is hard to believe at 32 that I am more fit than I was at 21.

Highlights from 2004- 2013:

5 Half Marathons with a PR of 1:58:33 at Half at Hampton in 2012
6 Recorded (but several not listed in Athlinks) 5Ks with PR of 26:37 at Concord Rock N'Race in 2012
3 10Ks
7 Snowshoe Races
2 Olympic distance triathlon
4 Sprint distance triathlons
1 Half Ironman

Crossfit Gains from 2011-2013

Deadlift 130lbs --> 215lbs
Military Press 45lbs -->85lbs
Back Squat 90lbs --> 150lbs
Front Squat 65lbs --> 105lbs
Split Jerk 55lbs --> 100lbs
Power Clean 65lbs --> 95lbs
Push Press 55lbs --> 100lbs
Bench Press 67.5lbs -->105lbs


Being a Type A and an overachiever, I tend to think anything less than perfect is not good enough. Consequently, this past year has been a challenge because I focused on certain areas in my life more than others. We had a tremendous loss in our family, and I became a homeowner. Despite all of these changes, I still made huge gains in terms of my strength and conditioning. Last year, I hurt myself deadlifting and stopped doing that for about 6 months, yet now I am up to 215lbs for my one rep and am looking to top that in the next 4 week cycle. So, instead of reprimanding myself for failing at my 150 perfect bricks and nutrition, I think I should acknowledge that it has been a successful year in many ways. The failures are just opportunities to crush goals next year. I did hit #100 for perfect bricks in November and will focus on trying to clean up a bit on food for December before doing a Whole 30 reset in January.

Last weekend I participated in a partner workout(Erica and I pictured below) as a fundraiser for the Movember foundation. It is rewarding to give back while getting your butt kicked! I am so proud to belong to a crossfit gym committed to the clients and philanthropic causes.

Seacoast Century Ride Complete!

After a summer of limited training for the Seacoast Century, I was uncertain how it would go. In fact, until about Thursday, we did not even know if it would happen because Melissa and I were not interested in riding 100 miles in the rain. Luckily the weather for Saturday shifted in our favor and we tried to get psyched for a long ride.

The Seacoast Century is not a race, it is a bike ride meant to be enjoyed. You can go at your own pace, but there are certain times the gates/rest areas are available. After getting up bright and early at a little after four, I headed over to Melissa's and we carpooled to Hampton Beach together. Our intention was to get on the road around 7 but it ended up being just before 8. I had very little idea of what to expect from this event as it was my first. We knew it was flat and also knew we definitely wanted to finish in under 10 hours. There was a bit of confusion as to how to start out because you could go two directions. We opted to head into Massachusetts first and then loop back past the beaches and over the bridge to Maine. We had a slight thorn in our ride early when we were told there had been an accident on the bridge that we were originally supposed to go back over into NH. We hastily turned around and followed a large group of cyclists who routed us through Seabrook to eventually loop back to the beach areas. We had no idea how serious the accident was until later in the day (I'm glad we did not or it may have caused us to call it a day right then). I'll follow up on that in a bit after the recap because it was a very tragic day for the event as a whole.

The crazy thing about this ride is the only guidance you have is to follow little orange arrows painted on the roads. However, with the detour, we had to rely on just following others--definitely not my usual planner style! Once we got back onto the regular route I was relieved. A few other mishaps included my chain falling off (not unusual), and a quick stop near the Rye rotary which caused Melissa to bump into me and take a small spill. Thankfully it was just an elbow scrape and we continued on our way. Melissa pushed us at a strong pace for the first 50 or so miles. We felt good going into the rest area in Maine. There we treated ourselves to PB sandwiches, cookies, and plenty of water. After fueling up, stretching a little, and a bathroom break, we hopped back onto the bikes bound for Nubble Point Lighthouse past York Harbor. This part of the ride had more hills than the previous flat stretches. I was pleased that the time spent on hills in New Hampshire over the summer paid off. It was a bit funny how groups would race past us on the flats but then slowed to near stops on some inclines. It actually got a bit annoying after awhile because it is much harder to pass on a hill than a flat. There was a thick stretch of fog in York that made the ride a bit unpleasant in that section. By the time we got to Nubble, we were definitely ready to head back to NH.

The journey back through Maine was definitely more taxing than the trip in. We again hit up the rest stop--this time for a longer stretch as our necks were really bothering both of us. It was exciting to know we were well past the halfway point, but your body definitely starts to feel it more after mile 70 :) The route back through Portsmouth was a bit precarious as we had to go through some small, narrow New England streets with a fair amount of traffic and a festival going on. My favorite part of the ride was the short stretch through Newcastle (my dream town!) and then we began to make the much more ardous ride up the beaches again. This time the wind was definitely against us and it seemed as though those last 15 miles would take forever! I'm not going to sugar coat that my training buddy Melissa got quite cranky in this stretch. I thought she might deck any group of cyclists who tried to pass us without giving the proper "on your left" shout ;) I write this in jest, but we were so ready to get off our bikes!

We hit our 100 miles slightly before the Hampton Beach Park due to the detour. Our finishing time was 7 hours and 18 minutes which seemed very respectable given our training (or lack of). I'm not sure if I'll do another one, but it is certainly something to check off by bucket list!

I wanted to end this blog post with a reminder to drivers to share the road. I recognize that not all cyclists obey the rules of the road, but far more drivers seem to have little concern with making room for those who are out enjoying a ride. I can say this from my experiences as a commuter and as a cyclist. I have been nearly knocked off the road several times despite the fact that my friend and I always move to single file in narrow spaces. Unfortunately, this year, there was a tragic accident during the century. Although the details are not confirmed, it would seem that a driver tried to get around some cyclists and slammed into another group across the way. It was so sad to hear that these two ladies just out for a ride had their lives ended due to careless driving. There may or may not have been texting involved, but it is so important that people pay attention while driving. I don't condone cyclists riding side by side in busy stretches impeding traffic--it is annoying and unsafe. However, even when I have followed the rules of the road, I've found myself in dangerous situations. These cyclists are friends, parents, and people setting an example of healthy fitness habits--you can wait a few extra minutes for an opportunity to pass.

Week of September 16th- September 22nd

Monday- AM Yoga/Mini Boot Camp / PM xfit
Tuesday- AM Spin / PM xfit (Brick #67)
Wednesday- AM Walk / Lunch Walk/Run (Brick #68)
Thursday- Xfit
Friday- AM Yoga/ Mini Boot Camp (Brick #69)
Saturday- Seacoast Century (100 mile ride)
Sunday- Rest Day

*Pushups 5 sets of 20 for 6 days and 3 perfect bricks*

August Conclusion

As I knew it would, the remainder of August flew by. Here it is September 2nd and I am recapping the final two weeks of what is usually a fun but busy time. We spent our vacation at Squam Lake for a week and then it was back to work. During the vacation (Mark's family rents a house on Squam every summer), I was able to squeeze in a few long bike rides (we lapped Squam Lake) that incorporated some brutal hills. One morning I completed a yoga session on the dock with the sunrise which prompted me to begin doing more sessions of yoga at home (I needed it badly!). I returned to Concord for a few crossfit sessions in order to keep up progress for the WMCSF challenge. We enjoyed beautiful weather the whole week and spent plenty of time out on the boats. It is always sad when the week comes to a close, but it is something to look forward to for the next year.

Not only did I return to the grind of work the last week of August, but also we had testing for our 6 week challenge. I was not sure how the testing would go. I made it to 3 sessions of crossfit for all but one week during the challenge. My food choices during the first week and last week were clean; however, I had a 3 week time frame where I just did not focus on nutrition. My body felt the wrath of those choices, but that was not enough to push me back on the right track for the month. However, testing went well and I made some progress towards my goals of kipped pull ups and improved double unders. I'll add in the side by side comparison of lifts later this week (my workout log is at the gym), but I was psyched by how much I went up on some of my lifts. The highlight of the week was benching 105lbs. My major goal with the bench press is to be able to bench my own body weight--so with a few lbs shaved off and a few more added onto the lift, I should get there ;) Also, we did our mile time trial run and I was able to complete that in 7:54. This may have been my first mile under 8 minutes, so that was super awesome! We have not yet gotten the announcement of who won the challenge (I don't have any grand illusions that I did), but I consider it a success. I'm very glad that we had something to focus on during the summer. I can't imagine how things would have gone if I did not have the support of my gym. Though it was by no means my best summer in terms of exercise and life choices, it was not a failure. I progressed on lifts and crushed some long run times. As far as the other things to improve (morning cardio and clean eating), I know what to do--I just need to be ready to make those things a priority in the fall.

Week of August 19th- August 25th

Monday- Crossfit
Tuesday- AM yoga/Kayaking
Wednesday- 41 mile bike ride
Thursday- Yardwork/ Crossfit
Friday- Rest
Saturday- 10K Run
Sunday- 20 mile bike ride

Pushups 5 sets of 23 for 6 days

Week of August 26th- September 1st

Crossfit testing week

Monday- AM Yoga/Short Cardio Boot Camp / PM Crossfit- Brick #60
Tuesday- Crossfit
Wednesday- Crossfit
Thursday- AM Yoga/Short Cardio Boot Camp/ PM Crossfit- Brick #61
Friday- Crossfit
Saturday- Rest
Sunday- 9 mile run

5 sets of 24 pushups for 6 days

The Week Before Vacation

Last week, I powered through my work week knowing that by 4:00PM on Friday, I'd be on vacation for a week! In my years as a teacher, I often had several weeks off (though not when I was nannying and certainly much less than most people assume teachers have), but with my advising job, I have to plan my vacation carefully. I had a week in June and a week in August planned ahead. Also, I took all Fridays and a few other days in July off. However, with the house purchase/move and my grandfather's funeral, most of July was not quite a vacation. A week at Squam Lake with the Beaudoins was exactly what I needed to relax and focus more on training. I was consistent with my crossfit workouts and pushups last week but again found the idea of getting up early for cardio daunting. I made it to one morning spin workout on Friday, which felt fantastic btw!, but forgot necessary clothing items for work and had to drive back to Hopkinton and then to Manchester for work. Not living in Concord has posed some serious inconveniences; although I am usually very organized, the lack of a routine in my every day life has thrown me into a tizzy many days. I am hoping this will all stabilize soon and I'll find a routine/schedule that is consistent and effective. Mark and I finished off the week with a 35 mile bike ride around Squam Lake which was difficult, but made me believe the century ride is obtainable in September! The highlight of my training this week was my 8 mile run on Saturday. I had a fast (compared to my normal runs) run of 9:33 pace. I attribute part of this to actually resting my legs a bit on Friday afternoon/evening and part to the obscenely delicious Ruben sandwich that I had on Friday night at Kathleen's Cottage in Bristol where we saw one of our favorite music duos--Tina and Her Pony! I am kidding about the sandwich, but it was a great run! I've found several running routes in Hopkinton that I enjoy so that is important as we start to settle into the new home.

Week of 8/12 Workout Summary:

Monday- Crossfit
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday- Crossfit
Thursday- Crossfit
Friday- AM Spin Class
Saturday- 8 mile run (9:33 average pace!)
Sunday- 35 mile bike ride

*Pushups 5 sets of 22 X 6 days*

I also want to congratulate the triathletes that participated in the Timberman Triathlon in Gilford, NH this past weekend. That is a very challenging course and it takes serious dedication to complete events like Timberman.

And so it begins...

2013 has not exactly started in the way I had hoped. I had high ambitions of jumping right into perfect bricks and participating in more snowshoe races. Although I have not been completely sedentary, I am disappointed in how the year is panning out. Nonetheless, now that I am into the second month of the year, I feel that I am getting my act together, finally!

The month of January was actually not a total wash--I completed 13 perfect brick days and participated in one snowshoe race in Hollis. The snowshoe race with my friend Alaka was enjoyable. Could I have put more effort into a faster pace? Sure, but it was really more about getting outside and having some fun! I had plans to complete at least 3-4 more snowshoe races but was derailed by our honeymoon in Jamaica and another back muscle injury.

Jamaica was fabulous and I'd return in a heartbeat! Mark and I did moderate cardio and lifting while we were there. I continued with my frequency pushups throughout that trip. Also, we participated in a variety of water sports including snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, and jogging on the white sand beach. Despite a fairly active trip, I indulged heavily in delicious foods and beverages. And this was ok. After all, I had worked out in order to enjoy our trip. However, I had plans to jump right back into my routine/food plan as soon as we returned from our trip. But unfortunately, my body had other plans...

About three days prior to Jamaica, I strained a muscle somewhere in the right side of my back. I ignored it and figured I'd be easier on it during the vacation. I felt some pains during the trip but didn't push it to the extreme so I was able to function normally.

Upon returning from our trip, I went to crossfit on Monday. I'm not exactly sure if it was the overhead press or kettlebell swings that pushed the injury over the edge, but I was in a lot of pain that evening. The next day, after sitting at my desk for an extended period of time, I stood up and felt a stabbing pain that made it difficult to move and breathe. It seemed I had pushed my body to its limits and it was time to see the chiropractor. This is also meant some serious forced rest. Unfortunately, when I am not active, it is very difficult to maintain healthy habits due to boredom.I ended up taking a total of 8 days off with just a few low-impact elliptical sessions mixed in. My food choices during this rest period were awful. I still drank my gallon of water every day and had a decent breakfast but that was where my healthy habits stopped. I ate a lot of carbs/sweets during the afternoon and evening hours. I did not cut carbs at 2PM and had wine in the evenings. The result was irritability in mood, difficulty sleeping, and of course, some weight gain.

Last week, after 5 sessions with the chiropractor, I finally felt almost one hundred percent better. I went to three sessions of crossfit, completed four sessions of fasted cardio, and made much better food choices. It was so easy to fall into a pattern of poor habits and a much bigger challenge to dig myself out. I also started running on the treadmill again which helped me feel like I was making substantial progress.

Even though I started 2013 a bit slow, I still have plans to make this a great year for physical fitness. The next steps to meeting this goal are committing to some races and getting involved in some of the crossfit open sessions at White Mountain Crossfit in March! Additionally, I will plan to blog weekly as it holds me accountable. Finally, I will look to the people and blogs that inspire me: Ignite the Fire, Irongirl & Ultrarunning Boy, Live Free & Run,, Weaving in the Ends, House Bella , and of course White Mountain Crossfit..

Week of February 11th Workouts:

Monday- AM Elliptical/ afternoon xfit
Tuesday- AM run
Wednesday- PM xfit
Thursday- AM elliptical/ afternoon xfit
Friday- AM run
Saturday- rest
Sunday- afternoon run

* 6 days of frequency pushups 5 sets of 20

The Bike Has Arrived!

After waiting patiently for three weeks, my beautiful new FELT bicycle has arrived! I got it fitted at Revolution Cyclery and Herb did a great job! I rode the bike home and in that short amount of time I noticed a huge difference :) I can't wait to get out and enjoy the beautiful weekend.