For my buddy

This past weekend was both physically and emotionally draining. I had a six hour competition on Saturday. 24 hours earlier, my dog died.

I'm sad, tired, and heartbroken. 

Dundie went in Thursday to have his gallbladder removed. The day before, they had done a bunch of tests to make sure his heart could handle the surgery. They called us Thursday afternoon and said the surgery had been successful and he was resting comfortably. My dad got a call Friday morning and they told him Dundie's blood pressure had dropped and his heart was failing. My dad got another call soon after and they told him Dundie's heart had failed and this time they weren't able to revive him. He passed away. 

I came home Friday after coaching at CFC expecting to go visit Dundie at the hospital and bring him home the next day. I arrived home to my dad waiting for me in the kitchen, my mom sobbing, and my dad telling me Dundie died. I don't think I've ever been so sad or cried so hard. I kept repeating "no" over and over. I said they told us he would be okay and they said his heart could handle it, but my dad said sometimes this just happens after surgery. They did the best they could but he just couldn't hang on any longer. I was devastated. My dad and I went to the hospital to say goodbye to him and that was really hard. I couldn't really wrap my head around the fact that I would never see him again. 

On the way home, I realized I had to compete on Saturday. I told my dad I had no idea how I was going to get my mind right to focus on competing but he told me I should do it anyways because it would be a good way to get my mind off of everything. I wasn't sure if I was going to end up at the gym on Friday but I decided to go. I was sort of in a daze the whole time and cried twice in the bathroom. I did feel a little better while I was there but then I just got sad again as I was driving home, realizing Dundie wouldn't be there. 

I sent Emily a text Friday night telling her what happened and told her I might not be 100% focused at the competition. I still wanted to do it but at this point I wanted to just have a fun day with my friend. I didn't care if we made the podium or if we came in last. This didn't mean I wasn't going to give my full effort, but I honestly didn't care about the outcome anymore. 

I'm glad I ended up doing the competition because it was really fun and it made me feel better. It was a great day hanging out with Emily and we did really well on all the events (minus that wall climb.....). We both hit our goal numbers in the first event, we smashed the second event and we also crushed the floater workouts. We executed everything really well and I am really proud of our performance. I honestly had no idea how I would feel physically since I had basically been crying for ten hours straight the day before and I was already pretty drained physically and mentally. I basically just got my shit together before each event and focused on one thing at a time. I wasn't really worried about anything and I knew we would do a good job. We make a great team and Emily (and Heather) are awesome friends to me. 

So now it's Monday and I'm still sad. A little bit less now that the shock has worn off, but it still feels like someone sort of stomped me right in the heart. I don't really want to talk to anyone but at the same time I want to be around people so I don't think about it. It's mostly just weird not having him around. He was a member of our family for eleven years, that's a long time to love something and then suddenly he's not there anymore. It has definitely been a hard adjustment but I know it will get better eventually. 

Dundie was just the best dog. He was my buddy. I looked forward to seeing him every day. It's such a sad feeling driving home and knowing he isn't going to be there. He was always happy, he was weird, he was stubborn, he was smart, he was the best. He was very loved by my family and I will miss him so much. 

8/3/2016

AM
45:00 assault bike @Z2 by feel

PM
A1. Bear crawl, 5x15' forward + 15' reverse, very slow & controlled keeping hips level; :30 rest
A2. Deadbug w/hands pressed into wall, 5x10 alternating breathing out hard each rep; :30 rest
B. Back squat, build quickly to a single @80-90% 1RM
+
For 15:00
1st: 3 touch and go squat snatches, 95
2nd: 3 bar muscle ups
3rd: :45 assault bike recovery
+
3 sets:
:30 row @95%
4:30 rest

AM
DNS- needed the sleep

PM
A1. complete
A2. complete
B. 250
+
complete
+
150m (1:40.4)
151m (1:39.3)
148m (1:41.3)


I didn't get to bed until midnight because I was at the O-Town/98 Degrees concert with my best buds. I skipped my AM session so I could sleep in but I was still exhausted when I woke up. I am just not used to going to bed that late. It was definitely worth it though. 

Back squats were rough today, I was tired and my hips were tight. I worked up to 250 and it must have been pretty slow because New Joe asked me if I was working up to a one rep max hahaha. OKAY NEW JOE, POINT TAKEN. Just kidding, New Joe is awesome. I got to watch him PR his split jerk by fifteen pounds so that was neat. 

The EMOM was okay, bar muscle ups were super easy but snatches were all over the place. My hips would just NOT loosen up today, it was awful. 

Row sprints were fine, I sort of fell off a bit on the third one. 

V tired. 

8/2/2016

AM
20:00 assault bike very easy
+
20:00  mobility work of choice

PM
3 rounds not for time:
:60 handstand hold work
5 dragon flags
+
A. Gemini complex- build quickly to a moderate/tough set- not a max
+
AMRAP in 12:00 w/Emily
100 double unders
80 kettlebell swings, 53
60 thrusters, 75
40 toes to bar
20 handstand push ups
max bar-facing burpees in remaining time
+
Crossover Symmetry recovery

AM
complete
+
complete

PM
complete
+
A. 185
+
51 burpees
+
DNS, forgot but did some Balza shoulder stuff at home 


Gemini complex was easy, I should be able to hit more than this on Saturday. 

I thought Emily and I did really well on the AMRAP. Double unders were 50/50, KB swings were 20/20/20/20, thrusters were sets of ten, toes to bar were 10/10/5/5/5/5, handstand push ups were 12/2/6 and then we started chipping away at the burpees. I really don't think we could have broken this up any differently. Thrusters were definitely the toughest movement for me, I was pretty fatigued by the third set. I was planning on doing two sets of ten toes to bar but I had to switch to sets of five at the end because my shoulders were tired. The same thing happened on the handstand push ups, I was planning on doing nineteen in a row but once I started doing them I realized that wasn't going to happen. I came off the wall after twelve reps, Emily did two, then I finished them. I should be able to knock out a bigger set during the competition, hopefully. We moved pretty well on the burpees, I think trading fours was a good idea. 

I'm excited for the competition, we should do very well! 

8/1/2016

A. Front squat w/chains, 2-2-2; 2:30 rest
B. Squat clean, build quickly to a heavy single for the day
+
6 sets:
500m row @2:04.0-2:04.9/500m 
2:30 walk rest
+
Crossover Symmetry recovery

A. 155-170-185 (plus chains)
B. 210
+
2:04.0
2:03.9
2:03.8
2:03.9
2:03.9
2:03.6
+
complete


Front squats were tough today, I definitely rounded my back on my final rep at 185. 

Squat cleans were okay, I was doing that weird thing where I was jumping under the bar REALLY early, almost as if I wasn't fully extending my hips at all. I don't know why I keep doing that. I need to be more patient before I pull under the bar. These actually got easier as I went heavier, 205 was probably my best rep. I think I could have gone heavier than 210 but it was kind of slow on the way up so I called it there. 

I just couldn't hold the row pace at 2:04 today, I really was trying! I kept ending up at 2:03. Merrrrrr. 

7/31/2016

Long, unplugged hike

DNS


Unfortunately had to skip the hike this morning, had too much to do before I drove up to Dayton for the day. 

7/30/2016

10:00 triple under and free-standing handstand push up practice- alternate between the 2, nothing fatiguing 
+
A. Power clean from blocks (bar @mid-thigh), build to a heavy single in 10:00 (clock starts when you load the bar above 125)
+
For time:
3 strict muscle ups
6 muscle ups
9 bar muscle ups
+
Partner work, TBD
+
Bis, tris, and abs of choice

complete
+
A. 175
+
1:56 without the strict MUs
+
For time:
400m run
2 rounds of [12 toes to bar + 12 push ups + 24 air squats]
400m run
2 rounds of [12 toes to bar + 12 push ups + 24 air squats]
400m run
(15:10)
+
complete


TODAY WAS THE WORST.

Seriously, this was probably the worst training session I've had in a long time. I came into the gym exhausted and sore. I knew as soon as I started doing my freestanding handstand push ups it was going to be a bad day. My shoulders were so fatigued I couldn't string together more than two handstand push ups. I felt like I could barely control the negative into the next handstand. I skipped the triple unders today because my right knee was feeling a little weird. 

Power cleans from the blocks were also pretty terrible, 175 is usually light for me but today it was just really heavy. It was awkward cleaning from the blocks because I haven't done it in awhile and I was having trouble being explosive and dropping under the bar. I caught 175 really far forward and just called it there. 

Next came the strict muscle ups and these were a shit show. Five attempts, five fails. I just had nothing in my shoulders and couldn't pull. At this point I was pretty pissed and just wanted to be done. I decided to just skip the strict muscle ups because I clearly wasn't going to get any. I did all six regular muscle ups unbroken and bar muscle ups were broken up 3/3/3.  

The workout was pretty slow, my running wasn't great today. Toes to bar were broken up 7/5 each round. I tried to stay steady on the push ups but those get tough for me after awhile. 

I left this training session feeling very discouraged and mad. This was basically me the entire time:

Not a good day at all. Hopefully Monday will be better. 

7/29/2016

AM
30:00 bike @Z1, off every 5:00 for 4-5 moderate barbell upright rows, 31x0

PM
A. Squat snatch, 10x3 touch and go @95, begin a set every :40
B. Back squat, 2-2-2, 20x1; 2:30 rest
+
3 rounds for time:
10 alternating DB snatches, heavy
15 handstand push ups
20 row calories
+
Not for time:
30 glute-ham sit ups
200m sandbag carry- switch sides as needed but goal is no drops
20 glute-ham sit ups
200m farmers walk, 35/hand
10 glute-ham sit ups

AM
complete 

PM
A. complete
B. 225-240-250
+
9:00 w/55# DB
+
complete 


Snatches were crisp but I was definitely breathing hard after this. 

Back squats felt heavy today, I wish I could get above 250 for two reps. 

The workout was fun, I thought I pushed myself pretty hard on this. I went at the same time as Leah because we had a similar rep scheme/movements and even though she wasn't doing the same workout as me I was definitely going pretty hard because I didn't want her to catch me. It has been good for me to work out with other people every now and then. Dumbbell snatches weren't bad the first round but got tough the second and third round. These are so awkward. Handstand push ups were unbroken until the third round, then I had to go 10/5 because I could feel myself slowing way down. I thought my row pace was good, I was trying to keep it between 1100-1150 cals/hr. I was on the ground after this one. 

Glute-ham sit ups continue to be the worst.