Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Some tuesday AM pain

I would like to share the Crossfit Rochester workout I did this morning..... because it kicked my a$s. In fact, as I write this, I'm sprawled out on the floor at school with 10 minutes until my next class. I just took a Spanish test that was difficult not because of the content but because there was no way to sit in a chair without muscles cramping.

So the listed weight was 95 pounds for guys and 65 pounds for girls. I tried it with 55 pounds-- and was still slower than several of the more-badass girls at the gym. Fastest girl time on the board was 20 minutes and change. My time was 27:22. (As always with the CF workouts, the goal is to finish as fast as possible while maintaining proper technique.)

25 overhead squats
25 front squats
25 back-squats
50 double-unders (again, this is jump roping in double-time. If you can't do these, the substitution is 250 single jump-ropes)
25 shoulder presses
25 push-presses
25 push-jerks
50 double unders
25 power snatches
25 hang squat cleans
25 deadlifts
50 double-unders

Join the suffer fest and try it!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Weather report

The canal was iced almost completely this morning, I noticed as I rode my bike to the grocery store for zucchinis and fish oil. Now for some snow, please!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Amazing Archeological Finds

One of of today's projects was "erase all your old stuff from the family computer." I figured there wouldn't be anything interesting left over on there from high school. Boy was I wrong! I will now share with you some of my favorite finds.

This cell-phone snapshot is circa 2005, taken after a minor disaster during ski practice at Mendon Ponds Park. I was rollerskiing with Dylan and we ran into Warren McDermott and stopped to talk for a minute. While standing completely still and talking to them, I fell down hard. Thankfully (and oddly!) neither Dylan nor Warren noticed me crash right next to them (or the blood dripping down my leg) because they were so engrossed in their conversation.

From document I kept entitled "Westonisms" (quotes from our iconic high school ski coach Roger Weston):
"Back in the old days, they didn't use gloves, they just drank whiskey and stopped complaining"

"This shouldn't be too hard. The Norwegians used to ski on smooth logs and used one 20 foot long pole"



2005 World Canoe/Kayak Marathon Championship team, in Perth Australia

From the document entitled "Excuses for a Bad Race" which I compiled with Matt Deady in the back of the ski team bus as a satirical piece for those individuals just looking for excuses. The original list includes over 100-- here are a few of my favorites. * means that this was an actual excuse used-- sometimes they were even valid!:
My poles are too heavy
There were wild animals blocking the course
There were wild spectators blocking the course
There was bad cheering
I didn't wear enough clothes*
I wore too many clothes*
My roomate was snoring last night
My sunglasses were foggy*
I missed the start*
I missed the finish
I got stuck in a snow fence*
I got lost*
Fallen trees were blocking the course
There was an avalanche on Little White face
I had a non-motivational song stuck in my head
I tripped over my beard
I'm taking the Per Elofseson approach
Nobody told me there were uphills in cross-country skiing
Nobody told me there were downhills in cross country skiing
Our bus got stuck in a ditch and tipped over*
I was attacked by a _____ (fill in animal here)
I forgot my windbriefs*
Small animals became embedded in my kickwax
I stopped for a snowball fight
I was pushed into a thorn bush*
My leg was run over by a wagon
I put my skis on backwards
My wax iron was set 1 degree off*
I was too busy looking at ____(guys/girls) in spandex suits
The pitch of the cowbells was slightly too high
I gave this race as a sacrifice to the snow gods
I was trying to look good for the pictures

Me posing with my nalgene collection in 2006. (It's bigger now.) I think the purple and the yellow ones are having a fight.

haha. High school prom with Brian!

I also found a bunch of old itunes songs, the funniest of which is this song, which was a favorite in like, 6th grade. I used to sing along but I didn't really pay attention to the lyrics. Whoops.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Fem's Dream World: Part III

Last night, I dreamt that all members of the US kayak team were paddling on a beautiful freshwater mountain river, led by Coach Guy. Suddenly, a flood of barracudas surrounded us; Guy caught one with his bare hands (without flipping his kayak) and held it up for us to see. Then he told us to paddle like hell downriver. Our race to safety attracted several great white sharks. The river became full of barracudas and sharks and the sky went black. As we paddled blindly downriver, my only thought were "Who put all these damn barracudas in this river!!!!?"

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Fem's Dream World: Part II

Last night, I dreamt that I was a nutella-eating geisha.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Um


I saw Harry Potter. *swoon*

Fem's Dream World: Part I

Last night I dreamt that I got married. I don't remember who the guy was, just what the ring looked like (haha!) After the wedding, the Australian men's kayak team taught me how to do tricks on a trapeze.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Pizza pizza pizza

Pizza is:
A. Heavenly and delicious
B. Something I want to eat every day
C. Kicking and screaming in protest to its being lately listed as a sometimes-food
D. What my family had for dinner tonight.

Evil Fem wanted a slice, or four. But Focused Fem decided, for the sake of her 4 remaining workouts this week, to eat something nutritious that will power her through deadlifts and a hard paddle tomorrow. Aka not pizza..... Pizza salad!! While no substitute for real pizza, it was tasty and filling.

Ingredients:
3c shredded lettuce in a large bowl
1c finely chopped myriad of green, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers
1/4c (or less) finely chopped onion
basil
oregano
garlic
2t olive oil
1/2 serving 50% reduced fat pepperoni slices, finely chopped
1/4c mozarella cheese
1/2 can of diced italian tomatoes
3oz cooked shredded chicken


Toss the peppers, onion, pepperoni, basil, and oregano in a pan with 2t olive oil. Sautee them and then put them over the 3c lettuce. Next, put the diced tomatoes, garlic, and chicken in the pan and sautee for awhile. Add that to the bowl of goodness and top with cheese.

For those who are zoning I've rudimentarily calculated this meal to be 4 protein, 2.5 Carb, and 2.5 Fat

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Epic introduces new "Fall Wing" for Northern paddlers



Brian-who prefers paddling on top of water instead of on a carpet of leaves- is the mastermind behind this one.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Joshua Tree

As I turned my calendar to November, I sadly realized that this is the first November that I won't be visiting Joshua Tree since 2007. I miss it. I guarantee it will be my first stop when I return to California in January. In the meantime, this is beautiful.... and exactly what it's like there. At night, I hate to blink, much less sleep, because the stars are too wonderful.