Running and cleaning

Today at the gym we had an awesome WOD. Even though otherwise my day was not a very good one(apart from the cake we had at work..), but right as I got to the gym I totally forgot all those worries. One of the best features of working out for sure. 

Squat clean and snatch were my favorite movements already from the first few onramp classes. Even though technically very difficult ones, somehow I just like the intensity and how you need to use your whole body to get that barbell up and not just your hands as you would assume, or at least how I assumed it.. To get to those impressive heavy weights I definitely still need many, many reps and loads of practice but one WOD by one, I am getting there.

So about todays workout(and I totally realize this blog is nowadays super boring and only consists of me rambling about sports, but what can you do thats what I am into right now. Maybe in a few months the topics are totally different. That's just life I guess.), as I read the description on Facebook I was already hyped but still a bit worried how I would make it.

Partner WOD: 25 min AMRAP

a)400m run

b)8 squat clean @25kg

6 rounds

I was b), so my part was to start with doing 8 squat cleans as my partner would run 400m. Then we switched and I ran 400m and so on. This continued for 25 min. When running for the second time I was already feeling pretty tired, but somehow I found the energy to just keep on going. In the start of the fourth round I was totally feeling it again, with heaps of energy or at least determination. I managed to push it to the end and even do a slight final spurt! 

I think there is no need for me to emphasize this any more but I am just totally hooked on CrossFit, loving every bit of it. Even the max reps we did on Tuesday(and my extremely weak and embarrassing PR result, lol..).

Tomorrow we are having a day off from work as it is some kind of a religious holiday(didn't pay too much attention at school during this topic, soo..) and I am so happy to just sleep in, play some golf if its not raining, go orienteering in the evening and maybe film some vids :-)

Hello lover

Probably my favorite thing to do in the internet is to watch handbag reviews, TEDx talks and documentaries of prisons or drugs on YouTube. Other favorite of mine is online shopping.

My week 21 in workouts

Its time to wrap up the week again and start a new one with a fresh mind. The time flies by so fast at this moment of my life, with loads to do and not much time to sit and listen to the birds whistle haha. I guess that is a good thing as I am a type of person who gets bored really easily. So especially during the summer I tend to keep myself very busy. I mean, we all know that when it gets super cold and snowy again there is no way I will be spending any spear time outside but instead inside with a thick sweater on me. But luckily the heath wave has hit the town and already for a couple of days we have had the chance to enjoy those +30C sunny days. Even so much that I managed to burn myself and get a real nice tan line...

This week we finished our onramp-course and I managed to already check out one of the "real" classes at our gym, and boy was it a hit in the face. I think I was already super tired from the week and so I decided to take the weekend and really relax, get some sleep in and just nurture my body  and mind with stretching, foam rolling(..eating ice cream..) and reading in the sun(..eating more ice cream..)!

Was really satisfied on my orienteering on Tuesday until I ran 6 min to a total opposite direction as I was supposed to, so in total a 12 min miss, not good! Maybe I should learn how to hold the map the right way up first..

For the next week my goal is to keep up with foam rolling preferably every night even, and to really work on mobility and stretching. I do think that is one of the most important things to do besides working out. It keeps you from straining yourself and by that getting injured. It would suck to have to cut down on sports just because of not stretching enough or poor recovery. As said, your muscles/body really gets the progress from the rest after a workout. Said that, my other goal for the week is to really enhance my sleeping schedule. Now that I don't have those late night onramp sessions anymore, its easier to go to bed earlier and prevent the total exhaustion in the morning caused by just a few hours of sleeping. Maybe I could even cut down on my coffee consumption, which to be honest has kind of escalated because of the free coffee at our office..

Done and ready for more

Yesterday we finished our three week OnRamp course. During the nine practices I learned so much, but of course I have plenty to learn still. But I feel like I have really got the hang on what crossfit is about; and I am really liking it. Also, all those late nights watching the sun set and biking back home with awesome music on and barely no people around; thats what I call quality time just by myself.

Three weeks ago, we did a WOD which I managed to finish with time 7:19 and now on our last session of course we had to do it again. Before starting, I was feeling the nerves in my stomach as there was no way for me to do worse than the first time but I was afraid I would. After a steady start, I felt pretty good so kept up the pace and finished in 6:36! I am so happy!! Could have gone better and even faster, I was not totally exhausted finishing but oh well..

WOD 22.5.2014: 6:36
300m row
15-12-9
squat
ring pull-up(not sure about that name?)
KBS 12kg
300m row

Now its time to hit the actual classes and see where this journey takes me. I really need to work on my upper body strength, as noticed today I couldn't even do a full pull-up..

I wanted to start off strong, so already today we headed over to the gym for a nice friday night workout. And not just any workout, but one of the toughest I have ever probably done. We didn't even need to do it full-on but I was exhausted even after the first round. Somehow I couldn't get myself going 150% at the end and that really showed in the outcome, but I accept that however this was my fifth working out day in a row. I can't wait to see some result, especially with those goddamn burbees... Killing me each and every time. Today I made 60 of them so hopefully next time it won't be so bad.

WOD 23.5.2014: 3 rounds and 400m run
30min AMRAP
400m run with med.ball(6kg)
20 box jumps(50cm)
20 burbee
20 med.ball(6kg) clean

My week 20 in workouts

Better late than never I guess, so here comes the summary of how my last week pretty much looked like all-in-all. I was feeling pretty tired from all the late nights and early mornings, but gladly I managed to get some sleep in during the weekend. Even though I missed a wedding after party just because of my sleepy eyes and a too comfy sofa... :( As my weekend passed by pretty much just sleeping, eating chocolate and lounging on our backyard terrace, I was not feeling the most energetic and fit on Sunday evening; very bloated and still low in energy. 

Monday: 1h30min CrossFit
Tuesday: 1h "easy" orienteering...
Wednesday: 1h30min CrossFit + biking back and forth
Thursday: 1h30min CrossFit + biking
Friday: rest
Saturday: Easy range session with daddy
Sunday: Full round of golf, with my new carry bag

For the next week my mission is to once again lift my energy levels and include one or more runs to my excerising calendar; running always makes me happy and super energetic even though extremely exhausted at the same time. I mean, who wants to run slow and near when you can go fast and far, right!?

Not all those who wander are lost, but I sure was

Today, an hour of my afternoon was spent wandering around the forest trying to find my way to the finish line, an hour full of both physical and mental struggling. So I went orienteering.

When orienteering you really need to trust yourself and your skills, or actually first you need to know how to do it and then trust yourself. But don't trust too much. No matter how good you or how "easy" the route is you still might find yourself feeling pretty lost and alone in that silent, misty forest. This happens to me quite often; I really trust myself and just keep on running until I have no idea where I am at because the place I was supposed to end up at is nowhere near the place I actually ended up being. And all I can see around me is a pile of rocks, trees and some more trees, maybe even a pit. Still somehow every tuesday I find myself queuing to pay 6€ for a map to be able to wander, get lost and get very angry for whoever came up with the route trough all those thick bushes and very wet swamps. The most rewarding part is when you see that white-and-orange flag with the right number on it and you are back on track. At that point you just forget that for the last 20 minutes you had no idea where you were at and just keep on running pointlessly ahead.

And also, it seems that peat is very good for your skin, so its a free pedicure every tuesday! Or a free map, 6€ pedicure and a pari of extremely smelly shoes; however you want to see it.

Obviously it wasn't a huge success for anyone else either as I ended up being 7th out of 24 and only 13 minutes behind

My week 19 in workouts

For this week I was pretty active, and I can feel that. I have had a lot more energy and I feel more upbeat for sure. My new hobby also excites me so every training session ahead I am really looking forward to, and that is only a positive thing! Sometimes it is really hard to motivate yourself but when you find the right sport and environment to train in, it should not be a challenge for a bit. Also, I started to use HeiaHeia again for tracking down my workouts. There you can really see the overview quite nice I think. For runs I really like the Nike+ iPod app. You can see your distance, time and average paste easy if you just remember to take your iPod with you and actually start the program(I would not trust the calory calculator at all though..)

Monday: 1h30min CrossFit
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 1h30min CrossFit + 2x40min biking
Thursday: 1h30min CrossFit
Friday: rest
Saturday: 2h golf training, 30min/5km run
Sunday: 40min/7,5km run

Everybody wants to rule the world

So what else than working and sleeping has happened within the past month or so..

Visited Helsinki twice and did some cheeky yet awesome shoppings. 

Well, spring almost made it to Finland too but then it started snowing.

Kicked off my golf season for this year and bought a new bag, this time a stand bag.

Already been to two orienteering sessions, but now my new hobby will be distracting me as I will miss all Monday orienteering's.

I have been doing some cooking too and discovered my new absolute favorite dish. It includes bulgur, marinated tofu and assorted veggies, so yummy!!

Long time no see

I feel so exhausted yet extremely happy right now.

For a nice while I have been kind of feeling down and not completely myself. I have always been an outgoing person, happy and social even though I do loove to spend an hour or two at home just lounging on the sofa. I guess my everyday life has just been lacking some positive energy and something exciting to do. So, already months back, I signed up on a course for which I was completely and utterly scared of. This whole social media scene including Instagram, blogs, Youtube etc. had shown me some parts of this new sport I am about to conquer.

My first official wod, lets see how the numbers look like in three weeks

Just four hours ago my body was shaking and cold and my thoughts were going from right to left and doing cartwheels in the middle; what if I can't do it, what if no one talks to me and everyone knows so much already and I just suck. I can get kind of competitive and that either makes me try 150% or just give up. Today I decided to be brave, to face my fear and head to that gym. And I could not be happier I did. And I even made some new friends! For the first time in a while, I really feel alive. There is this nice and tingly feeling in my every muscle that I will(not be able to walk tomorrow..) be spending some nice moments at the Reebok CrossFit 33100 gym. I am so excited and ready to reach my limits and go a little beyond.