Spider Log, Spider Log, Does Whatever a Spider Log Does

So I found out on this fine evening that I have some avid readers that have been disappointed by the lack of reading material this weekend. Ergo, I shall rectify this.

The end of last week was rough. I was about ready to find the nearest brick wall to bash my head into if it meant not having to deal with the sugar cravings anymore. I can't say I came out completely strong because I may have succumbed to a brownie or two. Other than that, the meals have been going pretty well. That spaghetti squash dish I made softened up in the fridge so it actually tasted really good the next day. Maybe next time I shouldn't be such a lazy-ass and roast it the right way.

Saturday was our first Challenge WOD against Desert CrossFit....at 8:30 in the morning. Now THAT'S a bit too early, even with my newfound sleep schedule. We all got warmed up with 8 rounds of tabata jump roping and then got split up into groups of 4.

The workout was:
50 up and over box jumps (16")
40 sumo deadlift high pulls (36#)
30 toes to bar
20 ring push-ups or hand release push-ups
10 wall walks

The name of the game was that you move through the workout as a team. You don't move on to the next movement until everyone in your team has finished the one you were working on. The final time recorded was when everyone was finally done. The box jump portion was a little intimidating. I've never done that many consecutively in my life, but it really wasn't that bad. Although around my 30th, one of my teammates must have had some kind of issue because his defibrillator went off. We all stopped to help him out so the coaches decided to move on to the deadlifts and just add 4 minutes to our final time. Everything else leading up to the wall walks really wasn't that bad. Challenging...but doable. Wall walks suck! I'd never done one until that day. You start in kind of a push-up position with your feet up against the wall. Then you literally start walking up the wall, using your feet to push you up and walking your hands closer to the wall getting yourself as vertical as possible, then you walk back down. Other than pull-ups, those are probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I couldn't get completely vertical but I got as close as possible. Had to keep singing the Spider Log song to myself just because it seemed fitting at the time. I just remember being in agony after all that. I can't remember what the final time was.

My performance has definitely improved these past few weeks. Jumping in general has gotten so much easier. It's still hard work when you're doing that many box jumps in a row, but my stamina has definitely improved a lot and I think I'm getting the hang of really involving your hips instead of just trying to get all your force from your legs. Even my stamina when it comes to strength is getting better. I'm using heavier weights even with the higher reps AND I did full body push-ups. Toes to bar are still tough, not because my abs start hurting first, but because my shoulders generally give out. Still have to work on strengthening those. I'm sure those wall walks certainly helped!

Other than that, the weekend has been pretty chill. Worked Saturday and Sunday night. Saturday was dead, we just slept all night, which was amazing since it meant I didn't have to do screwy things with my sleep schedule. Last night was a completely different story. Didn't get to bed until 2:45, slept a whopping two hours and then got another call. Let me tell you, I honestly wasn't fully awake until we were back at base washing the truck. I'm not the same vampire I used to be. Came home and grabbed a cat nap before I had to be awake again. Spent the rest of today cleaning up my room, finally folding the laundry and I decided to go all out and take the evening shift at RITA. And now here I am.

I'm really glad the cravings started going away, because I was about to go batshit insane. Like it just completely killed my motivation for a good couple days. I went through a couple day period where I just felt huge and bloated. I usually go through something like that when I first start something new. I don't know what it is, but for some reason my body feels the need to make me feel worse than I did before and then one day I wake up and it'll be all gone. I've stopped trying to figure out what that's all about. Regardless, it's over and Week 2 is over and I let it take my self-doubt with it. Point wise I did much better this week than last. Still not completely cheat free, but getting there. Maybe this next weekend will be the one I can get through without slipping.

It's looking like bedtime for me! Because of the way things worked out this week, I'm going to the gym 4 days in a row, early tomorrow morning being one of them. I have the three classes I signed up for and now every Friday for the next month they're having an open gym session. It doesn't count towards the number of classes I pay for so it'll be a good month-long test of whether or not I'm ready to take the next step. I won't be able to go to this Saturday's challenge WOD because of work :( It's alright since there will be more. I'm just hoping at some point I'll be able to go to one of the potlucks.

Goodnight all, tomorrow is recipe day!