Time to catch up on the ol’ blog. I can’t believe it is already Friday. This week has flown by! Monday I went down to Saint Louis for my Structural Integration appointment. There is a Trader Joe’s around the block so I stopped to do my grocery shopping for the week. I love going there because I find some little treats and meals that I can’t get here.
Also close by is Chipotle. MMMmmm. I wish I could eat there daily. Take a look at the hookup I got on some guac! Yay fat!
About ten minutes away is The Gallery. I stopped by a few months ago and purchased my first pair of Toms. I love them so much that I have to force myself to wear other shoes! I have been looking online for another pair since I bought my first- so I decided to splurge.
Also about ten minutes away is the deadly Lululemon store. I have the same problem with my Lulu shorts as I had with my Toms. I couldn’t resist!
Final blog worthy excitement: I finally changed my lip ring! Yay! I love the little sparkle of the diamond.
I had a wonderful start to my week because I chose for my week to be enjoyable. Thanks Wayne D.
I just finished preparing “Tim’s feast #6″ and am sitting here thinking about how good my breakfast on Saturday sounds. MMM. Caroline and I went to Flat Top Grill where you can customize your own omelet. YUM! WHY don’t we have one of these in Springfield?!
Today I had an appointment in St. Louis for Structural Integration. I have to wear shorts to the appointment and I decided to look ONE MORE time for my missing Lululemon shorts. They are my favorite and have been gone for a few weeks! So sad. I finally found them! Yay! I have been wanting to write about these. These are GREAT CrossFit shorts. Built in undies, slim zipper pocket in the back, front pocket on the waistband, slits in the sides, and stretchy, soft material. They fit really well and don’t give me love handles. They are called the Turbo Run Short. Today I bought some more shorts from their store while in STL. I will post about them after I wear them. Ladies, I know these seem pricey, but from how much I missed them while I couldn’t find them I KNOW they are worth the money.
I recently got some Lululemon clothes so thought I would share, because I am obsessed!
The top photo is of the “No Limit” (click to see website) tank. Built in sports bra= awesome! The top is attached to the sports bra but open on the sides allowing for nice airflow. The top itself is very loose fitting but is tighter at the bottom which is great when I need to be in a handstand and not worry about my shirt. I love the skinny straps as well. I wish all of my clothes could be make of Lulu materials. MMmmm.
The bottom picture is of the “Wunder Under Crop”. The waistband is ver stretchy and thick which means comfort and best of all no love handles! It has a pocket in the waistband as well as on the lower portion of the leg, which can be folded up for warmer days. The fit is unbelievable. They don’t fall down when I jump and they just feel plain wonderful.
The picture on the right is of my arm! Results of breaking down muscle adhesions. Yay. I have been trying similar but less invasive techniques on my mobility clients. Feedback has been good (besides the pain)!
Time to get back to work. Throwdown today! YAY! I love CFI competitions. So many people have set PRs already. It’s been a very positive day! I will post my WOD up later tonight if I have time! I have a feeling I’ll be sore!
Say that five times! This was Tim’s favorite. This was creamy, pasta-like and had lots of depth in the flavor department. This recipe made a big batch. It’s great for leftovers!
This was mighty tasty, mighty portable and mighty mmmmmmm. Having food pre-made for breakfast makes things SO much easier. MAKE THIS.
Okay enough about that. Worked out this morning with a few gals. We did an upper body dynamic day- I love upper body! Maybe that’s why my lower body is lacking…
I worked on ring dips today. Last time I worked on them I felt like I couldn’t do them very well if I would go pretty deep into the dip. I practiced today and was able to strongly push out of the bottom of the dip. Thank god. Now I am not as scared to work on that muscle up again. I know I can get up, but can I dip out? I think so.
Later I went ‘shopping’ (is it REALLY considered shopping here?) with Caroline and found this AWESOME shirt (not only is it awesome, but we have a joke with it, which makes it even funnier)!
Bobobobo be bobo be bobo bo-bo-bo-bo-bo (is anyone else catching on?)
I also found some nice polish (summery, yay!) and a cute top that I think I might wear when I go celebrate Liana and Caroline’s graduation at ISU! I’m thinking some white shorts would look cute with this. I never would have thought I would be buying a shirt that will show my belly again… I don’t think I have worn a belly shirt since early high school!
Oh and I almost forgot! Two new pairs of WOD shorts. I hope these fit me well… I tried them on but sometimes you don’t know until you really wear them. I like these because not only are they good running shorts, but they are great for squatting, lunging, and doing other spread leg, bent hip/knee movements. Hah. I don’t have to worry about annoying shorts in the way or showing things I don’t want to! Oh and an extra bonus… Long enough to cover the bum! I tell ya… Shorts these days!
I don’t really spend much money so I am super excited for these things. If it seems like I was a big spender today, you’re kind of correct, BUT I rarely shop- and when I do I am stingy as heck. One last thing. Poor Raggie had some diarrhea today and had a poopy bottom. I gave her a bath which resulted in the following… I <3 her (and Bernie and J)!
I have been searching for a something in between a foam roller and a lacrosse ball to improve my mobility. I came across the Rumble Roller, and foam roller with firm bumps on them. The bumps stretch and massage your muscle fibers in multiple directions. According to their website, “This action erodes trigger points, helps restore flexibility, and brings quick relief to common types of muscular pain.”
Sounds exactly like what I need. I ordered one recently and it is fabulous! The day I got it, I used it on my calves. Normally with foam rolling, it feels like the knot in my calf is just getting moved around and not broken down like it needs to be. The lacrosse ball works, but takes a while due to the small surface area. The Rumble Roller worked perfectly. It felt like I was simultaneously rolling 4 lacrosse balls on my calf. It is great… and painful! I think this is my next step towards my goal of staying injury free.
I will have it at the box with me, so feel free to try it out! They are a bit pricier than normal foam rollers ($44.95 for the travel size, $69.95 for the full size), but it will last you longer and get your body more supple. They are available for purchase through Rogue Fitness. If you are truly interested, check out Kelly Starett’s video on the Rumble Roller.
Since I have started living this Paleo/Whole9/CrossFit/overall healthier lifestyle, when I come upon things I like I usually stick to them until something better comes along.
I have eliminated coffee from my diet. It is inflammatory to me and causes me pain. I hate this, because coffee has been something I have loved since I was a child. Searching for an alternative had been tough. I have tried psudo coffee… yuck. I have tried all kinds of teas…. too bland.
Finally, one day I sadly went into Starbucks, missing my coffee. I randomly chose Vanilla Rooibos Tea and fell in love. It has a great taste of vanilla along with some sweetness and an underlying white tea flavor. I get it so often that I finally splurged and bought a tin of it. I was ready for it to cost me a fortune (you’ll understand why when you see the tea bags), but it was only $7 for 15 tea bags! Now I am able to enjoy my tea in the morning while Tim has his (wonderful smelling) coffee.
Another thing I dearly miss is sauces, dips and spreads. I usually make my own coconut milk sauces to put on meats and veggies or I will concoct some type of tomato based sauce or dip.
I was at Schnucks this weekend doing my normal shopping and I spotted a new kind of guacamole. I thought, “Hmmm is this worth trying?” I have had Wholly Guacamole before and wasn’t too impressed. I figured I’d give it a shot. I still have never had bad guac, so I thought it might be worth it.
Holy cow. This stuff is GOOD. Big chunks of cilantro, onions, tomatoes, and delicious bits of avocado. This is better than what you can get freshly made in a restaurant. I just finished the last of it for lunch today. This is worth the money.
I dipped some carrots in it, put it as a topping on my meat and even spread it over a bland veggie mix. If you have a hard time eating something, slather this on it and you won’t have any trouble!
Finally, the last thing I love…
Yes, Jack the cat is licking Raggie the dog.This has nothing to do with the above, but I think this is hilarious/cute.
Since hurting my back in December, I have been doing lots of work on learning about injuries; how to deal with them, how to prevent them, and how to stay positive throughout the injury. I started coming across more and more articles and books about injuries stemming from our feet and traveling upwards. Problems in the feet lead to calf, knee, hip, back, and even more problems within the body. While I was in Arizona, I came across the book pictured below.
This book had so much in it that I was interested in just by paging through a few chapters. The picture below shows how your foot should land when you run. Forefoot first, then toes, then heel. Ken Bob discusses how you will not have proper footwork unless the rest of the body (all the way up to the head) are positioned in the right way.
This chapter talks about how you should program your running in order to not get what he calls, “Barefoot Running Exuberance Syndrome” aka over training.
He has some interesting thoeries on shoes, injuries and which ones to wear.
I know this post is long, but I HAD to share. I took Raggie on a walk to the park today; while I was there I took off my shoes and found a rougher part of the road to run on. I tried to keep everything I have been reading and working on in mind. After about two minutes, it all clicked. It felt great! The pain that is always in my left arch (which has been getting worse and going into my toe/heel) completely vanished, I felt no pressure on my knees (and they stopped clicking), I stopped bouncing, my feet were landing correctly, and I felt weightless. I have never felt this before. I thought I had felt good running, but now I know that wasn’t good running.
I highly recommend this book to everyone wether you are injured, like to run, hate to run, are interested in Matt’s endurance (no, that’s not a plug!), or simply are curious about barefoot running. This book is easy to read and Ken Bob has a quirky sense of humor. Once I finish the book and feel like I am closer to mastering the running, it will be at the box for you.
I love this headband I picked up at the Life As RX tent at the CrossFit Games Regionals. I cannot wear tight headbands or I get killer headaches and this one is perfect. Tight enough to stay in place but loose enough to keep my blood flowing! The best thing about it, though? It’s under $10!
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