May was crazy for me! I barely stopped moving this month, but it made for some exciting posts. Here are my top twelve blog posts from May!

Reach the Beach Relay

If you missed my previous Reach the Beach posts, here they are: Last-Minute Relay Preparations New Balance Factory Tour & Team Dinner Reach the Beach Relay: 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM Reach the Beach Relay: 4:00 PM – 1:00 AM Reach the Beach Relay: 1:00 AM–11:30 AM Ok, so where did we leave off?

Mal’s 30th Birthday

Hooray! Mal’s (first) birthday celebration was a success! It started with 30 beers, which he drank all at once. Not surprisingly, he got sick, so we ended up in the emergency room to get his stomach pumped. Ok, that’s a total lie. None of that happened, except the part about me giving him 30 beers.

What to Pack for a 10-Day Vacation

Hi, friends! Remember my 10-Day Packing Challenge? If not, I basically tried to get all of this: Into these two carry-ons: I eventually made it happen, but it was quite the packing challenge! What I packed for my vacation.

Core Fusion Kicked My Butt

Holy moly. What a workout. I totally got my butt kicked at a Core Fusion class this morning. And I still don’t know what happened to me. — This morning, I was invited by the folks at Exhale to attend a complimentary Core Fusion Barre class at their Back Bay location.

Fitness Blogger Meet & Tweet

What a cool event! Fitness did an awesome job with the Blogger Meet & Tweet! I’m so glad I had the opportunity to attend. The event was held at the Metropolitan Suite in the Chelsea/Flatiron area of New York City. Theodora got her tweet on! Ahhh! Speaker badge! So cool!

Reebok Blogger Event

Here’s part one of my recap of the Rebook Blogger Event just in case you missed it! Ok, where did we leave off? After CrossFit, we all headed back to Reebok Headquarters to learn about some of the sneakers on the market right now as well as some of the new ones, which will debut in July.

What to Pack for an Overnight Running Relay

Ahhhhhh! Reach the Beach is in just four days!! I am pumped for it! 200 miles in 24 hours? Bring it on! Be sure to follow our team’s adventures on Twitter with the hashtag #teamoffbalance. Our Twitter handle is @RTBoffbalance.

“The Skinny Rules” Launch Party with Bob Harper

Good times in New York City! I can’t believe my trip is already over and I’m back on the Bolt Bus to Boston. I think I may have spent almost as much time on the bus as I did in the Big Apple!

Two Stories About Double Unders

Once upon a time, there were two newbie CrossFiters—let’s call them “Mal” and “Tina.” They had never done CrossFit before, so, not surprisingly, there were a bunch of skills in the CrossFit repertoire in which they wanted to become proficient.

2012 Run to Remember Half Marathon

Hooray! I did it! I got the PR I wanted so badly! The Run to Remember Half Marathon started at 7:00 this year (thank goodness since last year’s heat kicked my butt), so I picked up Elizabeth at 6:15 to drive to the race together.

2012 Northeast Regional CrossFit Games

Hi, guys! Happy Memorial Day! I spent the last two days at the Northeast Regional CrossFit Games at the Reebok Headquarters in Canton, Massachusetts. The three-day event officially kicked-off on Friday, but I only attended the Saturday and Sunday competitions. Spectating the event was a lot of fun.

Why I Don’t Do Diets

The main reason why I don’t do diets: beer!! But, seriously, I’ll get into why I don’t do diets in minute. Let’s first recap my eats! Ok, beer really is a big reason though.

—

In case you missed them:

• Top 12 in 2012: January
• Top 12 in 2012: February
• Top 12 in 2012: March
• Top 12 in 2012: April

Last night at CrossFit, before we started the WOD, I overheard a pretty hilarious conversation. If you like unintentional dirty humor like I do, you’ll get a kick out of it.

In reference to plyo boxes:

If your box is loose, let me know.

In reference to a recently repaired plyo box:

I screwed it and that’s Gorilla Glue.

Mal and I both have a juvenile sense of humor, so, as soon as we heard this conversation, we looked at each and started cracking up. Nothing makes us laugh harder than unintentional dirty humor!

Another favorite from a few weeks ago:

After mobility work:

The massage is over. Put your balls away.

And, of course, there are a ton of jokes about snatches, jerks, and thrusters.

I love that our box (and the CrossFit community, in general) isn’t hardcore all the time. Of course, we work hard and take our workouts seriously, but we also laugh and joke around. I mean, isn’t fitness supposed to be fun?

Workout

I loved last night’s WOD. It actually didn’t seem too hard when I first read it off the whiteboard at the start of class, but it kicked my butt, especially the Push Presses and Double Unders. (The Push Presses got really tough toward the end of the workout, and I sucked ass on my first set of Double Unders, which slowed me down. I eventually warmed up and rocked them though.)

Strength:

1 set of Max Strict Wide Grip Pull-ups

WOD:

AMRAP 5
10 Push Press
15 Double Unders
10 Box Jumps
15 Abmat Sit-ups

Rx: (75, 55) (24, 20)
L2: (65, 45) (20, 16) (3x Singles)
L1: (55, 35) (16, 12) (2x Singles)

Rest 1 minute. Repeat two more times for a total of (3) 5 minute AMRAPs.

For this WOD, we had 5 minutes to do as many Push Presses, Double Unders, Box Jumps, and Abmat Sit-ups. I got through 2 rounds + a bunch of reps and then I rested for a minute before doing the whole set two more times. My total was 6 rounds + 58 reps, and I did the workout as prescribed, which feels awesome to say. I don’t do that many WODs as prescribed, so it’s especially cool when I do!

Dinner

Last night’s dinner was a good one! It was inspired by a recipe for a One-Pan Scramble from a cookbook called Sweet Potato Power that the author sent me to check out. All of the recipes include sweet potatoes, which is obviously right up my ally!

To make this dish, I cooked some Italian sausage and then added sliced sweet potato, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, and chopped frozen kale to a skillet along with a few cloves of minced garlic and 1.25 cups of chicken broth. I let everything simmer (covered) for 25 minutes or so—basically until the sweet potatoes were soft. It turned out great and was so easy to make.

After dinner, I still wanted a little something to eat, so I ate an orange.

Question of the Day

What’s the most hilarious thing that has ever happened to you while working out?

Hi, friends! Hope you’re having a wonderful Hump Day!

Workout

After breakfast, I got on my Summer Run Streak on and ran 2 miles, which was from my front door to the end of the street and back again. It was short and sweet, and I listened to Pandora on my iPhone and zoned out. I love runs like this because they totally clear my mind.

Speaking of running and iPhones, I use mine to listen to music, track my runs (via the MapMyRun app), and snap photos. (A bunch of you guys asked if I run with my camera, but I just use my iPhone to take pictures.) I also use my phone to get in touch with friends and/or Mal before and after races and, of course, I like having it, especially on my long runs, for safety reasons. I can’t say, however, I’ve used my cell phone to make a call or tweet during a run or race, but I’ve seen plenty of people do it!

Do you run with your cell phone? Do you think it’s a necessary piece of running equipment?

After my run, I quickly stretched, showered, and then headed to the dentist for a check-up/cleaning. I’m happy to report: no cavities! That’s three appointments in a row now! I guess my obsessive brushing/flossing/fluoride rinse routine is working!

Lunch

After my appointment, I returned home, starving for lunch. There was some leftover cod in the refrigerator from last night’s dinner, so I added it to a big salad, which I topped with truffle oil and balsamic vinegar.

Snack

A few hours later, I whipped up a smoothie with frozen mango, banana, almond milk, vanilla protein powder, and a scoop of peanut butter as an afternoon snack. Mmm!

Just now, I ate a Kashi Trail Mix Granola Bar as a second afternoon snack.

I’m off to walk Murph and then to go to CrossFit. There’s a fun WOD tonight!

P.S. I’m a little behind with my magazine reading, but I just finished this article about Dave McGillivray, who heads up the Boston Marathon, in the April issue of Runner’s World, and I absolutely loved it. Just wanted to share!

Exciting news of the day year: I’M GOING TO THE CROSSFIT GAMES!!!!!

Yep, that’s right! On behalf of GNC and Fitfluential, I’ll be heading to Carson, California from July 13-15 to spectate, blog, and tweet about the CrossFit Games.

AHHH! I am so pumped! This opportunity is seriously a dream come true, and I am beyond excited. Someone please pinch me! I’ll definitely keep you guys in the loop about all things CrossFit Games in the coming weeks!

Workout

Speaking of CrossFit, I’ve recently received a bunch of questions asking how long a typical CrossFit class lasts. Most classes are about an hour and usually include a warm-up, strength/skill work, the WOD, and a cool down/mobility. Check out this post for a breakdown of a typical class.

And here’s last night’s workout:

Strength:

Snatch Complex: 1 Power Snatch, 1 Snatch below knee, 1 Overhead Squat, 1 Snatch @65% of 1 RM. 5 sets.

WOD:

For time:

Run 400 meters
15 Hang Snatch
Run 400 meters
15 Snatch Below the Knee
Run 400 meters
15 Snatch

Rx: (115, 75)
L2: (95, 65)
L1: (75, 45)

I made some progress with my snatches last night! They’re a hard move for me, but I’m starting to get the hang of it. I used 45 pounds of the WOD and ran an extra 400 meters at the end of the workout, so I could count it as my one mile for the day for Summer Run Streak. I finished in 15:18.

Dinner

Last night’s dinner was a good one: Maple-Glazed Cod with roasted broccoli. Instead of Dijon mustard, I used a grainy one, which ended up tasting delicious mixed with maple syrup.

Breakfast

I woke up craving a Protein Pancake this morning, so I tried a new recipe. In the mix:

• 1 banana
• 1 egg
• 1 heaping tbsp sunflower butter
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• Dash of cinnamon

I mixed everything in a food processor, but you could easily blend the ingredients by hand. This pancake turned out great, and I love that it’s a recipe for one since Mal isn’t always in the mood for pancakes in the morning.

I topped my pancake with a scoop of sunflower butter and fresh raspberries.

Question of the Day

Have you tried CrossFit? If so, what’d you think? If not, would you want to try CrossFit if you had the opportunity?

P.S. Check out my post about what I ate during the Reach the Beach relay!

As you probably know, I’m all about motivational quotes and mantras when it comes to fitness. (I actually have a whole Pinterest board devoted to them.) They inspire me to work hard and help me overcome challenges. With that said, here are some motivational fitness (and life) quotes from New Balance. They were printed on the floors of the New Balance offices, and I snapped photos of them when Team Off Balance visited before the relay.

What are your favorite motivational quotes? How do you remind yourself of them? Do you display them or keep a Pinterest board?

Speaking of New Balance, check out episode 1 from Reach the Beach! It’s called “Campfire”.

Lunch

Our refrigerator is packed full of fresh veggies (we did a huge shopping this week), so I threw together a massive salad with Bibb lettuce, tomatoes, shredded carrot, mushrooms, avocado, a hardboiled egg, almonds, raisins, cottage cheese, truffle oil, and balsamic vinegar.

I finished off lunch with a Four Seed Cookie that Lauren gave me. It was thick, delicious, and really filling.

Snack

I thought my massive salad and hearty cookie would hold off my hunger until CrossFit, but a few hours later, I found myself in the kitchen looking for a snack. I decided on a Kashi Honey Almond Flax bar and a banana. Apparently, I’m really hungry today!

I’m off to walk Murph and then to CrossFit. After spending all weekend at the Northeast Regional CrossFit Games, I’m psyched to get my WOD on!

P.S. I read this article in Men’s Health a few weeks ago and it sort of blew my mind. I just had to share: The Dirty Little Secret of Perfect Health.

The main reason why I don’t do diets: beer!!

But, seriously, I’ll get into why I don’t do diets in minute. Let’s first recap my eats!

Ok, beer really is a big reason though.

Dinner

While I cooked dinner last night, I sipped on a Left Hand Milk Stout, which is one of my new favorite beers. I first tried it at Picco back in February, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. It’s so smooth and flavorful—it’s definitely a sipper.

Left Hand actually makes a bunch of great beers, so if you haven’t checked out this brewery yet, please do!

On the menu for dinner last night: Shrimp & Avocado Omelets. They turned out great—delicious and super duper filling.

Breakfast

For breakfast this morning, I whipped up a batch of “Oatmeal” Minus the Oats in a nearly empty Teddie Peanut Butter jar, but this batch wasn’t completely oat-less.

I added about a 1/2 cup of Plain Jane peanut butter granola that Lauren gave me yesterday. I ate a little bit of it after dinner last night and immediately knew that I wanted to incorporate it into breakfast this morning. Mmm!

Weekly Workouts

• Sunday: Run to Remember Half Marathon
• Monday: 2 miles
• Tuesday: CrossFit (WOD includes 1 mile)
• Wednesday: 2 miles + CrossFit
• Thursday: 2 miles + CrossFit
• Friday: 2 miles
• Saturday: 2 miles

Why I Don’t Do Diets

The other day, I received this dieting infographic (click to enlarge) from DietDiva.com in my inbox:

The statistics on the right side didn’t really surprise me, but I found the graph on the left side to be really interesting.

It shows what percentage of your dietary intake comes from what food source on different popular diets. For example, if you decide to try a raw diet, you can see that most of your calories will come from grains, vegetables, fruit, and nuts. Where on a South Beach Diet, you will get almost equal amounts of each food group except for grains, and, surprisingly, it seems that this plan is high in sugars.

Interesting data, right? It’s really neat to see these different diets presented in this way. I’m not generally a fan of diets, but it’s still interesting to see how they stack up against one another. With that said, let me briefly explain why I don’t do diets—I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Paleo, so I want to explain that too.

Even though people say Paleo is a “way of life” or a “lifestyle,” I still see it as a diet. Basically, I see any way of eating that restricts or cuts out an entire food group(s) as a diet. Maybe some people can sustain a certain way of eating for the long-term, but, personally, I think life is too long to not enjoy all kinds of foods. I need cake in my life, dammit!

When I first started CrossFit, I tried a Paleo-esque diet. I never fully cut out grains or dairy—I love beer and cheese way too much to ever eliminate them—but I increased my intake of meat, veggies, and healthy fats (avocado, nuts, coconut), which satisfied me better than my previous way of eating and helped me take control of my sugar cravings. (I still can’t get over how my once-crazy sugar cravings are almost nonexistent now. Eating less sugar also helped me lose a few pounds!) Changing up how I ate with Paleo in mind helped me eat healthier overall, but sticking to a diet just isn’t for me.

The diet that works best for me is eating mostly fruits and vegetables (lots of bananas and sweet potatoes), meat, fish, beans, whole grains (quinoa, bulgur, barley), nuts, and nut butters. When I can, I try to avoid trans fats (obviously), wheat (it’s generally tough on the digestive system), and soy (check out Michael Pollan’s reasoning), but I’m not super strict with these things. I truly love food (both “good” and “bad” – this blog is called Carrots ‘N’ Cake after all), so I just try to do my best and balance my choices. I also never want to turn down a food I want to eat just because it’s not part of my diet.

Question of the Day

What do you think about diets? What is your way of eating?

Hi, friends! I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful Memorial Day! Mine has been pretty low-key, but really nice.

Workout

My day started with breakfast (waffles + peanut butter + banana) and then a 2-mile run to kick off Summer Run Streak. My legs (especially my calves) were tight from yesterday’s half marathon, so it was one of those slow and steady runs, but it felt great to “shake out” my legs and get them moving.

A few minutes after I finished my run, Mal and Murphy returned home from the dog park. Apparently, Murphy had a really good time there and “elephant butted” in a swamp, so he desperately needed a bath.

Look at his bugged-out pug face!

He’s such a baby when it comes to baths.

Once he’s wet, Murphy doesn’t mind baths that much—it’s just the anticipation that gets him.

After his bath, we tried to dry off Murphy with a towel, but he thought it was playtime and started biting and jumping at it, so we didn’t have much success. Mal thought using some cool air from my hair dryer might work, but Murphy was just not having it—even when I tried to bribe him with a peanut butter Kong.

Murphy wanted no part of the hair dryer action.

Lunch

A couple of hours later, I drove to South Boston to meet Lauren and Ali for lunch at Legal Harborside.

It was a gorgeous day, so we chose to eat outside.

Check out the view from our table. So pretty!

I ordered the “Salad Bowl” with crabmeat on top and a grainy mustard dressing on the side. It was an awesome salad—super fresh with lots of crabmeat, veggies, and chickpeas. The dressing was also pretty amazing. I even used half of a roll to soak up every last bit of it.

My lovely lunch dates:

It was so nice to see these ladies. I hadn’t seen either of them in awhile (Lauren since last year’s HLS and Ali since October), so it was great to catch up in person.

Snack

Just a little while ago, I sliced up an orange to eat as an afternoon snack. I’m not sure if it’s the warm weather or what, but I’ve been seriously craving citrus fruits lately.

How was your Memorial Day?

Hooray! I did it! I got the PR I wanted so badly!

The Run to Remember Half Marathon started at 7:00 this year (thank goodness since last year’s heat kicked my butt), so I picked up Elizabeth at 6:15 to drive to the race together. (She ran the 5-miler, which started 15 minutes after the half kicked off.) Clearly, it was an early morning since I couldn’t even keep my eyes open for a pre-race pic.

Check out the adorable shirt I wore for race day!

I absolutely love it. The front says “run long” and the back says “& eat more cake.” Is this shirt not perfect for me or what? The nice folks at Run Pretty Far (I love ALL of their gear) sent it to me, and I think OpenSky is offering a deal on it soon. I’ll be sure to let you guys know about it!

Ok, back to my race recap!

After my previous years’ performances at the Run to Remember (2:03:57 in 2011 and 2:06:04 in 2009), I was gunning to PR at this race.

The start was slow and crowded (it reminded me of the New York City Marathon), but I had a pseudo pacing plan, which kept me from starting out too fast. My goal for the first mile was to keep my pace around 9:00 and then slowly pick up my pace for the second and third miles.

• Mile 1: 8:48
• Mile 2: 8:42
• Mile 3: 8:35

The first three miles of the race went through downtown Boston by the State House, Government Center, and Faneuil Hall. Around mile 4, we approached Memorial Drive where the course was open to the sun, heat, and humidity of the morning. I tried to stay on the side of the course in the shade as much as possible, but it was still pretty warm outside, even for 7:30 in the morning, and it just got hotter.

Surprisingly, I felt great running along Memorial Drive. Even though it was hot, the course was super flat, so I tried to keep my pace around 8:30.

• Mile 4: 8:22
• Mile 5: 8:07
• Mile 6: 8:28
• Mile 7: 8:35
• Mile 8: 8:30

Around mile 9, however, as we headed toward Boston Common, the Public Garden, and the Old State House, the heat started to get to me and lost some steam. I stopped at every single water station on the course, but I still ended up with a relentless side stitch, which plagued me through miles 9, 10, and 11, so my pace slowed down quite a bit.

• Mile 9: 8:48
• Mile 10: 9:18
• Mile 11: 9:10

Even though my pace was slowing down, I knew there was still a chance of PR-ing, so I reminded myself of a pep talk (via text message) that I had with Theodora on Friday afternoon. Here’s how it went:

Me: I wish you were running with me on Sunday. Who’s going to tell me I can’t stop?!

Theodora: You! You’re going to tell yourself to STFU and run!

I took Theodora’s advice and did exactly what she said. I told my whinny, tired self to shut the f up and run. I still had a chance to PR, so I didn’t want to waste my opportunity to achieve my goal. Plus, I knew I’d be pissed at myself if I didn’t give this race my all.

The final two miles were brutal, but I gave them everything I had to finish strong. I picked up the pace as soon as I saw the Seaport, but I couldn’t see the finish line, so the last mile seemed endless. Was it ever going to end? My legs burned, but I was so close to a PR, I just kept pushing myself.

• Mile 12: 8:35
• Mile 13: 7:40

I saw the clock as I crossed the finish line, so I knew immediately that I PR-ed, but I didn’t know by how much until I checked the results online yesterday afternoon.

I finished the Run to Remember Half Marathon in 1:54:56, which is 1:14 faster than my previous half marathon PR. Woohoo! Mission accomplished!

Question of the Day

What’s your favorite race PR?

P.S. Speaking of running, don’t forget that the Summer Run Streak starts today!

Hi, guys! Happy Memorial Day!

I spent the last two days at the Northeast Regional CrossFit Games at the Reebok Headquarters in Canton, Massachusetts. The three-day event officially kicked-off on Friday, but I only attended the Saturday and Sunday competitions.

Spectating the event was a lot of fun. It was a lively experience and there were a ton of fans cheering on fellow box members, family, friends, and their favorite athletes. After two days of watching these incredibly athletes, I left feeling inspired, motivated, and ready to work hard at CrossFit tomorrow!

Saturday

At 8:30 on Saturday morning, our friend Nick picked up Mal and me up at our house to drive down to the Regionals together. The first event kicked off at 9:00 AM, so we didn’t want to miss a thing.

When we arrived, there were already a ton of people at the event. It was almost like a big CrossFit festival with vendors, games, food, and a huge tent area where boxes could set up for the day.

It was neat seeing all of the CrossFit-ers representing their individual boxes by wearing shirts and other gear.

I didn’t wear my CrossFit 781 shirt on Friday and felt totally left out, so I bought a CrossFit tank that said “Stronger Than Yesterday” to wear.

Actually, the truth is that I sweat through the tank top I originally wore because it was so damn hot on Saturday, so I bought a new, cooler (both temperature- and look-wise) tank to wear.

Highlights from the day:

Watching the women do the Individual Workout 3, which was four rounds for time of 10 one-arm dumbbell snatches with 70 pounds followed by a sprint.

Seventy pounds is insane! Just to give you an idea how talented and strong these ladies are, I could maybe do 1 one-arm dumbbell snatch with half the weight. These ladies are beasts!

All of the workouts during the Regionals had a time cap, but in CrossFit spirit, the ladies cheered on the final athlete while she finished her last reps.

The team events were also a highlight of the day. Each of the teams was made up of two men and two women and they competed together to finish each of six workouts throughout the three-day competition. Team Event 4, in particular, was cool to watch:

For time:
75 Back squats (95 lbs)
50 Pull-ups
25 Shoulder-to-overhead (95 lbs)
75 Front squats (65 lbs)
50 Pull-ups
25 Shoulder-to-overhead (65 lbs)
75 Overhead squats (45 lbs)
50 Pull-ups
25 Shoulder-to-overhead (45 lbs)
75 Back squats (135 lbs)
50 Pull-ups
25 Shoulder-to-overhead (135 lbs)
75 Front squats (85 lbs)
50 Pull-ups
25 Shoulder-to-overhead (85 lbs)
75 Overhead squats (65 lbs)
50 Pull-ups
25 Shoulder to overhead (65 lbs)

While any member of the team was performing, the other members needed to hold the bar off the ground. If the bar touched the ground, there was a 1:00 penalty.

Imagine how tired you’d feel after performing all of these different exercises and then need to hold a heavy bar? Holy moly. You could tell it was a serious challenge for some of the women.

Here’s a short video of the start of Team Event 4. Check out CrossFit New England in the red at the front. The team came in first place at the Regionals. They’re animals!

Another highlight: the fun CrossFit t-shirts at the event. I wish I snapped photos of more of them, but here are a couple that I liked:

The final highlight of Saturday was seeing Austin Malleolo compete. He coached our WOD at the Reebok blogger event a few weeks ago, so it was really cool to see him in action.

Spoiler alert: Austin came in first place at the Regionals!

Eats from the day:

Mal packed a bunch of snacks in his backpack: apples, oranges, Kashi trail mix bars, and mixed nuts + dried fruit. I ate a bunch of nuts and dried fruit as well as an orange.

I also ate a burger from b.good, but never snapped a photo of it, and I stayed hydrated with water, iced coffee, and coconut water throughout the day.

Sunday

On Sunday, I ran the Run to Remember Half Marathon (recap coming soon) and then drove with Elizabeth down to Canton for the final day of the Regionals.

I rocked my CrossFit 781 shirt!

Highlights from the day:

Seeing the guys (both team and individual) dominate Event 5, which was a Snatch Ladder. In this event, teams/individuals work their way through a series of stations with progressively heavier barbells. Check out the men’s weights (pounds): 155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 205, 215, 225, 235, 245, 255, 265, 275, 285, 295. Yowsahs!

Spencer Hendel (in the red shirt) snatched 265 pounds to win the event!

The final team event was nuts. Check it out:

For time:
20 Muscle-ups while partner holds 225 pounds
60 Wall ball shots (20-pound ball to 10′) while partner holds chin over the bar
100′ Buddy and 100-pound dumbbell carry
40 Box jumps, alternating on 24″ box
100′ Buddy and 100-pound dumbbell carry
2 Muscle-ups
20 Muscle-ups while partner holds 135 pounds
60 Wall ball shots (14-pound ball to 10′) while partner holds chin over the bar
100′ Buddy and 70-pound dumbbell carry
40 Box jumps, alternating on 20″ box
100′ Buddy and 70-pound dumbbell carry
2 Muscle-ups

The workout started with one person doing Muscle-ups while the other person held a 225-pound bar (for the men). The partners could switch, but the Muscle-up reps only counted while the partner was holding the barbell. Once they accumulated 20 Muscle-ups, they moved on to the Wall Balls.

While one person did the Wall Balls, the other person hung in a pull-up until they finished the Wall Balls. Again, the partners could switch, but the Wall Ball reps only counted while the partner was holding on the pull-up bar.

Once the Wall Balls were done, the partners moved onto the “buddy carry.” One person carried their partner plus a dumbbell for 100 feet across the stadium. Crazy, right?

Check it out!

The workout finished with 40 alternating box jumps, the opposite athlete carrying their partner and dumbbell back across the stadium, and two Muscle-ups. Once the men finished, the women started. They did the same workout, but with lighter weights.

I still can’t get over the women busting out multiple Muscle-ups in a row! I can’t even do one!

Seriously, these women are so inspiring.

Another highlight of the day was our box’s tent! We didn’t have one on Saturday, but we came fully prepared on Sunday with a grill, food, and beers! So fun!

CrossFit 781 ladies!

Mal totally photo-bombed this pic of Colleen and me! Haha!

Eat from the day:

I had just finished running a half marathon, so I refueled with a packed of sfh Recovery Whey Protein and some almond milk that Mal brought me from home.

I drank about half of it and then broke open a celebratory beer!

For lunch, I ate a cheeseburger.

And an apple.

What a fun couple of days! Now, I seriously cannot wait for the CrossFit Games in July!

Question of the Day

What athletes inspire and motivate you?

Hi, guys! I hope you’re all enjoying the long weekend!

I’m posting this week’s meal plan a day early because we have no food in our house. I’m running the Run to Remember Half Marathon in the morning, so I need my usual pre-race breakfast of whole grain toast with peanut butter and banana and a glass of iced coffee with almond milk. We have none of these foods in the house right now, so a grocery shopping trip needs to happen ASAP. I mean, I can’t run a race without my go-to breakfast!

With that said, here’s this week’s menu:

• Sunday: Shrimp & Avocado Omeletes
• Monday: Maple-Glazed Fish with roasted Brussels sprouts
• Tuesday: Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce and grilled veggies
• Wednesday: Curried Chicken Wraps and roasted broccoli
• Thursday: One Pan Scramble with Sweet Potatoes
• Friday: Wing it (Mal’s Super Awesome Birthday Weekend)
• Saturday: Out to dinner

Shopping list:

• Sweet potatoes
• Almond milk
• Bananas
• Chicken
• White fish (whatever is on sale)
• Brussels sprouts
• Greek yogurt
• Cottage cheese
• Peanut butter
• Berries (whatever is on sale)
• Eggs
• Dijon mustard
• Maple syrup
• Broccoli
• Almond butter
• Chicken broth
• Bell peppers
• Mushrooms
• Zucchini
• Sausage
• Bibb lettuce
• Carrots
• Hummus
• Onions
• Chips

*My shopping list doesn’t include all of the ingredients necessary to make the above meals. For a complete list, please see the individual recipes linked above.