Tonight we had our first soccer game of the spring season! Wonder Boy had practice that overlapped buy a bit, so I missed most of the first half. Wonder Dad got there on time and represented for our family until the Boy and I could join him.
I simply ADORE soccer! I didn't really play as a kid. It wasn't offered in my hometown until my senior year in high school. But Wonder Dad played as a boy and he introduced me to the beautiful game and it's been my favorite sport to play ever since. In the months leading up to Wonder Boy's birth, we found an adult league in town that was just getting started and they even had an "old folks" division. We had found our soccer home!
We play on a team of "mature" folks, many of them friends and coworkers. We bring our kids and spouses - in many cases both mom & dad play on the team, but in the case where only 1 parent plays, the rest of the family acts as cheering squad for us all. It's a wonderful atmosphere in which to play, I must say!
While I enjoyed each and every minute of tonight's game, it was C*O*L*D out there tonight! By the start of the 2nd half, my toes were completely numb. But despite the frigid temps, I stayed vertical throughout. And to put the cherry on top of a great, fun night, our team pulled out a 2-1 win! In fact, Wonder Dad scored the go-ahead goal (off of a beautiful pass/assist to boot)! So to say I "enjoyed" our game tonight seems like such an understatement.
I felt GREAT! I don't know ... it just felt so good to get back out there on the soccer pitch. Back with our friends. Back to running and playing. Just ... fun. Ya know?
Another thing about tonight is that I was able to feel some positive changes due to our workout routine. The crossfit workouts are definitely helping in my ability to recover more quickly. A couple of good sprints up and down the pitch was enough to get me asking for a substitute in seasons past. But I really felt great tonight. In fact, when I came out of the game to take my time in the cheer squad, it was because I wanted to make sure all my teammates got some playing time - not because I needed to collapse on the sideline. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up such efforts once the temperature warms up, but for now, I'm feeling good. And I'm going to soak it up!
And one final note - since this is the last day of the month, I made it a point to remember to do my plank. My shoulder is still bothering me, but it felt wrong to not at least TRY to get a plank in today. So I held my breath, counted sheep in my head, sang the words to every silly kids' song I could think of (in my head, still) and manged to hold on for a new PR of 3:30 on my plank! And then I did 100 air squats as well.
A good day. A GREAT night!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Guilty Pleasure
As part of this fitter/better New Year deal, I've been avoiding a lot of my favorite treats. Unfortunately, I am just not the type that can indulge in moderation. I don't keep my favorite sweet drink (Dr. Pepper) in the house. And chocolate is something we keep at arm's length as well. Crackers and bar-b-que chips are also on the "keep away" list.
But I have found one treat that I can have in moderation that fills so many of my cravings.
Orange Juice!
I've taken to just calling it "liquid sunshine." It is certainly better for me than the soda that I crave. But this is one drink I can manged to not over indulge. How?, you might ask.
It's simple really. Though I truly love OJ (and oranges in general), I get heart burn when I over indulge. And there is nothing like that crazy burning sensation from stomach to tongue that will discourage you from imbibing too much or too often. I guess it doesn't hurt that I am the only family member that enjoys a big glass of that sweet, tangy sunshine. So we don't typically keep it in the house. And that means I have to make a special trip somewhere for my treat.
Regardless of the reasons, I am enjoying OJ more than I have ever done before. Once or twice a week I'll pick up a bottle and just inhale it. It leaves me feeling bright and bubbly, which is something I cannot say about my beloved Dr. Pepper. So for the time being, I plan to keep the occasional bottle of OJ as my not-so-guilty pleasure.
Bottoms up!
But I have found one treat that I can have in moderation that fills so many of my cravings.
I've taken to just calling it "liquid sunshine." It is certainly better for me than the soda that I crave. But this is one drink I can manged to not over indulge. How?, you might ask.
It's simple really. Though I truly love OJ (and oranges in general), I get heart burn when I over indulge. And there is nothing like that crazy burning sensation from stomach to tongue that will discourage you from imbibing too much or too often. I guess it doesn't hurt that I am the only family member that enjoys a big glass of that sweet, tangy sunshine. So we don't typically keep it in the house. And that means I have to make a special trip somewhere for my treat.
Regardless of the reasons, I am enjoying OJ more than I have ever done before. Once or twice a week I'll pick up a bottle and just inhale it. It leaves me feeling bright and bubbly, which is something I cannot say about my beloved Dr. Pepper. So for the time being, I plan to keep the occasional bottle of OJ as my not-so-guilty pleasure.
Bottoms up!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Feb 26 - Memory Lane
OK. The title is a little cheesy and not really accurate, but I'm tired so that's my best effort. :+P
Tonight I got my 20 minutes of "jog time" in during Wonder Boy's soccer practice. The fields where he practices (& has his games) are in a park dedicated to Veterans. And one of the neat things that the City has done with this park is that, on the sidewalk looping through the park, they have "year markers" every few feet. The markers have a year number on the far left and are followed by significant historical events from that year.
It's kind of fun to try and read an event or two from each year as I make my way through the park. It's a nice distraction. Though I do admit, when I get near Wonder Boy's field, I only focus on his team and picking out what he is doing at the time. A mom has to have priorities, ya know.
Still no plank for today. My shoulder is starting to feel better, but I wanted to give it at least one more day. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
Tonight I got my 20 minutes of "jog time" in during Wonder Boy's soccer practice. The fields where he practices (& has his games) are in a park dedicated to Veterans. And one of the neat things that the City has done with this park is that, on the sidewalk looping through the park, they have "year markers" every few feet. The markers have a year number on the far left and are followed by significant historical events from that year.
It's kind of fun to try and read an event or two from each year as I make my way through the park. It's a nice distraction. Though I do admit, when I get near Wonder Boy's field, I only focus on his team and picking out what he is doing at the time. A mom has to have priorities, ya know.
Still no plank for today. My shoulder is starting to feel better, but I wanted to give it at least one more day. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
Seirous Craving
I gave up my beloved Dr. Pepper (again) back in December, just before the holidays. And for the most part, it's been a pretty smooth transition. I haven't had near the cravings or withdrawal that I have experienced in the past. I attribute that to the fact that I really wasn't drinking too many of these - a few a week - at the time I quit. I had mainly been using them on days when I was tired and needed a boost. I don't care for coffee, so this was my "wake up juice" on the days when I was really dragging.
So that brings us to today. And I am tired. Seriously tired. My seasonal allergies have kicked into high gear and have given me a splitting head ache. And I want a tall, frosty Dr. Pepper like you wouldn't believe.
I'm sitting here sipping a flavored water instead. And I have no real intention of caving to this craving. But I will admit to wanting it. More than I have for months. I'd settle for a nap as well.
Oh well.
So that brings us to today. And I am tired. Seriously tired. My seasonal allergies have kicked into high gear and have given me a splitting head ache. And I want a tall, frosty Dr. Pepper like you wouldn't believe.
I'm sitting here sipping a flavored water instead. And I have no real intention of caving to this craving. But I will admit to wanting it. More than I have for months. I'd settle for a nap as well.
Oh well.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Feb 25 - WOD
Today's WOD is called "Grace." And "Grace" is where you do 30 clean and jerk repetitions in as little time as possible.
This is especially difficult following yesterday's WOD where we did all of those push presses. But we pushed through it anway.
My time today was around 4 minutes and 45 seconds. I think it was a little bit quicker than that, but honestly, I forgot to write it down before Wonder Dad started his set and so I just don't remember fully. I *know* it was under that time though by at least a few seconds. So that is what I am recording for today. I set my weight at 80 lbs. This is still a bit below the prescribed weight of 95 lbs for women. But I'm getting closer. I'll just keep adding a few pounds each time we try it.
I skipped out on the planks and ab work again today. My shoulder has really been achy as of late and holding that position is not easy when my shoulder is complaining like that. I am hoping to get back on track tomorrow, but after all of these cleans, I wouldn't lay money on it.
This is especially difficult following yesterday's WOD where we did all of those push presses. But we pushed through it anway.
My time today was around 4 minutes and 45 seconds. I think it was a little bit quicker than that, but honestly, I forgot to write it down before Wonder Dad started his set and so I just don't remember fully. I *know* it was under that time though by at least a few seconds. So that is what I am recording for today. I set my weight at 80 lbs. This is still a bit below the prescribed weight of 95 lbs for women. But I'm getting closer. I'll just keep adding a few pounds each time we try it.
I skipped out on the planks and ab work again today. My shoulder has really been achy as of late and holding that position is not easy when my shoulder is complaining like that. I am hoping to get back on track tomorrow, but after all of these cleans, I wouldn't lay money on it.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Feb 24 - WOD
Today's WOD was pretty straight forward ... 7 sets of push presses, 3 reps each set.
When we have a WOD like this, we try to increase the weight with each set, hopefully setting a new PR by the last set.
My 7 sets looked like this:
Set 1: 60 lbs
Set 2: 75 lbs
Set 3: 80 lbs
Set 4: 85 lbs
Set 5: 90 lbs
Set 6: 95 lbs
Set 7: 100 lbs
As usual, this doesn't look like much of a work out when written out like this. And granted, there wasn't much of a cardio component in this WOD, but it still kicked my tail.
And I'm still hurting from Friday's killer ab workout, so no planks and no ab exercises today. Gotta give my body time to recover or I'll end up wearing myself down. Plus, we've got places to be this evening and just no more time for anything else.
So maybe not our most grueling WOD, but still some good work for my sore old body.
When we have a WOD like this, we try to increase the weight with each set, hopefully setting a new PR by the last set.
My 7 sets looked like this:
Set 1: 60 lbs
Set 2: 75 lbs
Set 3: 80 lbs
Set 4: 85 lbs
Set 5: 90 lbs
Set 6: 95 lbs
Set 7: 100 lbs
As usual, this doesn't look like much of a work out when written out like this. And granted, there wasn't much of a cardio component in this WOD, but it still kicked my tail.
And I'm still hurting from Friday's killer ab workout, so no planks and no ab exercises today. Gotta give my body time to recover or I'll end up wearing myself down. Plus, we've got places to be this evening and just no more time for anything else.
So maybe not our most grueling WOD, but still some good work for my sore old body.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Feb 22 - WOD
Friday. Even the word looks optimistic. And today has been a pretty good Friday. It's been a busy day, but still a good one.
Decided to skip the side planks because they are hurting my rickety old shoulder. But I managed to hold on for a 3:11 regular plank. And, as usual, I finished up with 100 air squats.
But the real workout came after our day jobs were done. Today's WOD featured power snatches and Burpees, as follows:
12 - power snatches
12 - Burpees
9 - power snatches
9 - Burpees
6 - power snatches
6 - Burpees
3 - power snatches
3 - Burpees
When I look at it listed like that, it really doesn't look like much. But the reality is, again, it is much more difficult than it looks. This effort took me 9 minutes and 30 seconds, but I think I stayed gasping on the floor for at least that long afterward.
We finished out the day with 50 "21 crunches". I don't like that exercise at all. And I hope never to try it again. But at least today I can say I finished every part of our workout.
Decided to skip the side planks because they are hurting my rickety old shoulder. But I managed to hold on for a 3:11 regular plank. And, as usual, I finished up with 100 air squats.
But the real workout came after our day jobs were done. Today's WOD featured power snatches and Burpees, as follows:
12 - power snatches
12 - Burpees
9 - power snatches
9 - Burpees
6 - power snatches
6 - Burpees
3 - power snatches
3 - Burpees
When I look at it listed like that, it really doesn't look like much. But the reality is, again, it is much more difficult than it looks. This effort took me 9 minutes and 30 seconds, but I think I stayed gasping on the floor for at least that long afterward.
We finished out the day with 50 "21 crunches". I don't like that exercise at all. And I hope never to try it again. But at least today I can say I finished every part of our workout.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)