41/52

Felt good today when I woke up and hoping to get everything done early so I can take a nap before going out. I feel so old....hehe....can't even stay awake until midnight. It's going to be fun, I'm so excited. I won't waste a lot of time today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sw5ky-5zcg

This video is hilarious! Why hasn't anyone thought of this yet? Nice.

5 x 2 Box Squats

+

Alternating Tabata :

Push-ups

Abmat Sit-ups

115,135,155,175,185(1)

PU-10

SU-15

My goal on the squats were to go pretty heavy today. Wanted to see how my leg would feel. It felt good and I could of done 2 on 185 but you kind of need a spotter for these so I only did one. On Tabata push-ups I did 12 first round and knew I wouldn't be able to hold it so went to 10 and struggled through those but held it. Sit-ups were nice change of pace and held 15 every round.

Fatigue-3

Stress-1

Leg-1

BW-137.2

HR-48

40/52

Well I woke up this morning and I had turtle neck. My traps are so sore. I had to go get a massage on my upper back just to make it through the day and the massage therapist was in shock too. That's not good. She loosened it a bit but it was definitely still sore when I left. So again I took one more rest day. I figured I could go and just do a bunch of stuff with my legs but it was rainy and yucky out so wasn't very motivated.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1948208,00.html?artId=1948208?contType=article?chn=sciHealth

Okay so talked to Colin today about my next 6 weeks. We are going to do a low intensity cycle focusing on strengthening my leg, strict pulling and pushing movements, and to dial in grip strength. I know it's going to drive me a bit insane because I just want to sweat and breathe hard but it will be perfect because with all the treatments and things going on it's going to have to be real flexible. Last cycle was medium-low intensity.

Don't have much else to say besides my mom got her tests results back and they still don't know what's wrong with her. It's been weeks and she just keeps getting worse. I pray they find something out.

Fatigue-5

Stress-2

Leg-1

BW 140.0

HR-48

39/52

Oh rest days. I love them. My traps are really sore today so it's definitely needed. I hope everyone had a good day, mine was busy today. I'm going to wait one more day to talk about my programming because I got a super long email I have to send out tonight so this will be short. I did talk to my military doc today and he's going to push UCLA because they are being ridiculous, so he said I will be in some type of treatment next week. I really hope it isn't chemo but if I have to I have to.

http://www.westside-barbell.com/westside-certification/

This is so awesome! Certified through Westside, you can't get better than than. I just wanted to share this with everyone. Also didn't want to post the video because it's just double unders and those are boring to watch but Colin posted it on his gym site and there was a girl on the USA jump rope team did Rhiannon- AMRAP Double unders in 10min, yah she got 893. No big deal. She made it look so easy too and she said she could of got more if she wasn't already sore. You've got to be kidding me! I would love to see anyone even try to challenge it. Good luck. I wonder when I'm going to do something amazing like that, Geez. Oh one more thing, I want to take a second to recognize the women at CFV. You ladies are AMAZING! I've always been a strong beast and kinda fast metcon beast but you women are metcon beast! I'm so proud to get my butt kicked by you guys because it pushes me to go faster. I haven't had the opportunity of anyone to push me in about a year and I'm so happy to have that here. Jaala a 5:40 mile! Seriously! Guys can barely run that. Katie your 8:40 Helen right, amazing. I know someone has like a 1:46 500m row right?! 5:27 Annie, and everything else you women have done not to mention how great and respectful everyone is to each other. I wouldn't ask for anything else from this family. Thanks Colin, Huff, and Faith you have done an awesome job creating greatness, hopefully I inspire you to start cleaning 175lbs:)

Fatigue-5

Stress-4

Leg-2

BW-138.8

HR-47bpm (Colin it's always this low just to let you know)

38/52

I don't think anything to eventful happened today, let me think............oh, talked to my doc at UCLA. Got a lot of useless info as of this point in time so won't waste your time but my CT of my chest results were back. Lungs still got nodules but they are still to small to measure (good news), it didn't spread anywhere else (also good news), and I guess the top of my liver showed up as well and he said there was one lesion there about 9mm (still small and again good news). People this is awesome! Thank you Robb I know the diet is helping and all the homeopathy crap I'm taking as well(thanks DAD!). Without those I think I would be pretty bad off right now. I'm still trying out new stuff because there is so much stuff that my father and I are finding and it seems the more we look, the better stuff we find so we keep trying the new stuff. Oh just so everyone knows this stuff is not harmful to the body it's all natural things and whatever your body doesn't need it just rids of. Oh and how can I forget the love of my life, God. All the prayers for me (thank you), he has been answering them, just a little. Now if it would just progress the other way, GONE! Ok I'm blabbing.

http://vimeo.com/8334280

Colin posted this video today and it was so ridiculous I had to as well. Really? A sub 3:00 C2B Fran. I'm still trying to break 3 on regular Fran. Crap. Granted there were some pull-ups I wouldn't of counted but even if he had to redo them he still would of broke 3. I love CF! Oh, Katie, one of the girls in my gym made her soon to be mother-in-law (congrats guys!) a CF shirt for Christmas that said "I'd rather clean a bar then clean the house" genius. I always love new slogans:) My WOD:

"DT"

5 Rounds:

12 Deadlift 105lbs

9 Hang power cleans

6 Push Jerks

Time- 10:53

This workout hurts sooooooooooo bad and weight is starting to feel real heavy to me now. I didn't pr on this, not even close but still kicked the crap out of it. I'm happy with this time for what's going on. Well Colin and I finally decided on how to plan out my cycles from now on. I'll talk about it tomorrow because I'm getting a bit long. Stay tuned superstars!

Fatigue-4

Stress-4

Leg-3

BW- 138.2 (oh yes gaining, good news)

37/52

Well another long weekend down. I wish it could be longer because I get so worn down going to work. I started thinking about this whole cancer thing and I've gotten to the point where I almost wish I could stay home and not work. I guess everyone wants that huh? Ha! I've been thinking about going home and being with family and what I could do there if I got out. I don't know just talking I guess. I get so tired of the military sometimes but I also don't know what I'd do without it.

I finally talked to one of my girlfriends, Christy today. It was so relieving and made me feel happy. Christy has become one of my really good friends and I had to reassure her of this because she has been hesitant to talk with me with everything going on. Christy, I hope you keep rocking in school, don't loose focus and I love you with a huge piece of my heart:)

http://paleobrands.com/2009/12/20/socal-margarita/

http://paleobrands.com/2009/12/25/fish-omega-3/

I guess they didn't screw up my time on the 4th WOD from the Games so the final outcome isn't that big of a deal so I just emailed HQ to give them a heads up.

Ok, I'm getting long sorry. Just wanted to say that church was awesome as always. The pastor always reassures me that the Lord is here and keeps me heading in the right direction.

My WOD:

1 Mile Run

Time- 7:10

This was 42 seconds behind my pr. I knew I wouldn't hit it but was shooting for right under 7 minutes. I disappointed myself again but of course there are always excuses I can throw in. For one, it was to cold for me to run and the wind blew me around a bit. Also, my leg was still really sore. I should of took one more rest day. I ended up hurting myself a bit. I thought my leg was fine on the run but once I got up from stretching I realized the feeling I was feeling when I was running wasn't the lactic acid it was my leg telling my to slow down or even stop. So needless to say it's swollen a little bit and sore of course. I want to do this again around March when it's a bit warmer I think I will do quite well.

Fatigue-2

Stress-2

Leg-3

BW-136.6

36/52

Well I realized the other day my diet will have to be stretched a bit further than my expected goal. The trial is requiring me to not eat certain things for the week prior to starting until day 26. That's about an extra 20 days or so that I will have to wait until I can eat my delicious chocolate ice cream with reese peanut butter cups. Sounds so good. I will wait patiently.

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitJournal_LouieSimmons_ProgrammingPRE.mov

This video is genius! I can't wait to go to this cert. I'm going to learn sooooooo much. I wanted to post the whole video but since members pay to view the CFJournal I don't think by law I'm allowed to. Sorry!

Another thing I found out today......I actually did better in the Games than expected. I knew my time had gotten written down wrong but they told us we weren't allowed to second guess our judge their word was God so I left it as is. My time accidently got swapped with another girl in my heat on the third event. Now it only brings me up 2 spots but it also knocks her down 2 spots and brings 2 other women up. I think they did it on event 4 as well so I will wait to see, if this is the case, guess what people.....I got cut when I wasn't supposed to which means I had a possibility to move up over 20 spots because I was going to kick the crap out of that last WOD on day 1. I will keep you updated.

I didn't workout today because the gym is still closed but I will be in tomorrow oh and my leg didn't swell. It's definitely sore but not big and fat. This is good news for once:)

Fatigue-3

Stress-1

Leg-2

BW-136.6

35/52

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_Sv0DniGmI&feature=related

http://70sbig.com/?p=972

34/52

I wanted to upload this because it's disgusting looking and I got to keep everyone interested you know. This has grown in only 2 weeks. Man I really hope this medication works or I'm going to have a massive lump in my leg. Yuck!

Merry Christmas Eve! I don't want to write to much because I know there is a lot to read on my blog so I just want to talk about my WOD today.

40 Wall ball 14lb

+

"12 Days of Crossfit"

100m run

2 SDLHP

3 Thrusters

4 Pull-ups

5 Burpees

6 Box Jumps

7 Push-ups

8 KBS

9 Wall ball

10 Sit-ups

11 Jumping Squats

12 Double Unders

Time-24:41

The way this WOD worked was just like the song i.e, 100m run, 2 SDLHP, 100m run, 3 Thrusters, 2 SDLHP, 100m run, 4 Pull-ups, 3 Thrusters, 2 SDLHP etc.... So my original workout for today was going to be 30 Muscle-ups for time that's why I did the wall ball in the beginning but when I started I just couldn't warm-up. It was so cold today and if you ain't warm for MU you can't do them so I stopped and decided to do the gym WOD today and it was so much fun. The weight was 65lbs for sumos and thrusters, 14lb for WB. I used a PVC and a 6lb (because I did 40 WB like 30min before) My leg is going to hate me but I figured since the gym was closed down for the next 2 days and I don't have to work, I can just baby it. Time to get this volume put in for my leg. I'm sure Colin won't be to happy but let's just wait to see how my leg reacts to it. Everything else was rx'd.

Fatigue-4

Stress-2

Leg-2

BW-136.2

33/52

I'm not going to post an article today because I don't feel like it. Sorry. Actually I don't want to take the time to search for one because I was SO busy today and I'm finally sitting down to write my blog and it's 9:30. I'm really excited about x-mas eve tomorrow. My mom sent me gifts that she wrapped and it brought happy tears to my eyes. To open a gift is AWESOME! Thanks mom:)

I went to UCLA and was there all day. I got my CT scan done this morning and seen the dermatologist in the afternoon. I got a ton of questions answered so things are looking good so far, well besides the cancer spreading. The derm said they got my blood work back and they are wanting to get me into the trial quick because my blood count is up which means it's spreading. Good thing I already knew that from the results of the last test I got.

On to my WOD:

60 Box Jumps 20"

+

"Randy"

75 Power Snatches 55lbs

Time-5:15

I was going to do a max deadlift before this WOD but the gym was doing dodgeball today and you definitely can't do a workout when the adults come out and play like we do so did a quick WOD and got out of the way. Of course I always want to go faster, I wanted sub 5 but still very happy with this time. The box jumps I just did the best I could with them. I signed up for a spectator spot at the sectionals....I'm so excited to go cheer everyone on. On to tomorrow!

Fatigue-5

Stress-3

Leg-2

BW-136.8

32/52

Oh man, 20 days left and I'm eating an ice cream. I know I'm not supposed to for a very long time but this will be a goal to me and I deserve a cheat after 52 days of hell I'm going through. I hate being tired all the time. It gets old quick. I just want to be normal again. For those of you that know me know that I don't have patience for these kinds of things.

http://www.fit4younutrition.com/article6.html

Well I got some news today and overall seemed like good news. Now take with a grain of salt because I was talking to my nurse and not the Doc so I think there might be errors but whatever. My MRI of my brain, same as before. The CT scan of abdomen and pelvis came back and it didn't spread to any of my digestive system, kidneys, or pancreas. This is great news! The only bad news is the big tumor in my liver that was 2.8cm is now 3.8cm, that's about 1 3/4" big. She also said I have more new lesions in my liver (this is what I don't believe) and my leg she couldn't really say if it was Melanoma but it def looks like it........it's huge. So I didn't stop it completely but I slowed it down.....A LOT! That's better than nothing because at the rate things were going I would of been dead in about 3-4 months. Just keep praying everyone I will get through this. I'm getting admitted first week of Jan to start my trial so got less than 2 weeks right now.

Last thing, I was tired again so came home and took a nap, set my alarm to go workout but I needed more so I slept longer. I didn't go but I thought about it and this works out for the better because the gym is closed Fri so I can go tomorrow and Thurs then rest days.

Fatigue-6

Stress-4

Leg-1

BW-136.6

31/52

Another beautiful day in Cali. I was really tired today, probably because I didn't go to bed until 1. Tony and I stayed up watching a movie and talking about all kinds of things. He's awesome! I don't know what I would do without him. I hope I'm as good of a friend to him as he is to me. I did manage to sneak in 2 short naps today. I feel better but now I'm tired again so off to bed soon.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427383.700-biological-passport-to-catch-sports-cheats.html

On to my WOD:

"Helen"

3 rounds:

400m Run

21 KBS 35lbs

12 Pull-ups

+

20 Pistols

Time-8:55

I was very happy with my time today on this WOD. My goal was to just break 9minutes and I did! This isn't a pr but wasn't expecting it to be. My KBS and pull-ups were same flow as last time, my run was just slower which of course was expected with my leg and no running for 3 months. Lungs were hurting of course but this WOD just does that to you. Pistols were fine. I couldn't hold up my right leg 100% and don't know if I'll ever be able to but I will continue to try. I wonder what I want to do tomorrow:)

Fatigue-6

Stress-3

Leg-2

BW-136.6

30/52

Well I didn't go to bed until about midnight last night so decided to not set my alarm for the gym and wake up when I wake up because I know I need the sleep. I finally rolled out of bed around 9 which was to late for the gym and got up and got ready and had to do laundry and iron before church but was still tired. I didn't go to church either and felt so guilty but I needed to relax had no energy. Well not a lot to pass today besides:

http://startingstrength.com/articles/squat_rippetoe.pdf

http://paleobrands.com/

Both good of course. Oh Rip is a genius so you can never go wrong and the second one is the finally paleo brands site. This is going to be a good thing to check up on people. I'm just glad it's up. I hope everyone had a good weekend, well rested too. This week is Christmas and I'm so excited. Oh and Troy, finally watched Kat Williams.....hilarious! Thank you!

Fatigue-1

Stress-1

Leg-1

BW-135.8

29/52

No post yesterday was to busy and tired. Went to UCLA and got tests, took a nap, then went to my roommates' x-mas party. No WOD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBUP3NGYAXU&feature=related

This is crazy! Casey Burgener with 484lb C&J! No big deal, I can do that with my pinky. Today was another busy day but fun and relaxing. Not a lot to say. I did however finally finish my profile last night for match.com. I got 9 people interested today and I only picked one to follow up with. He seems interesting and fun. We are meeting up tomorrow. Anyways, on to my WOD:

3 x 5 Front Squats

+

"Grace"

30 Clean and Jerks 95lbs

FS-45,95,115

Time: 2:56

My legs were still sore from the 50 squats I did but I got to start establishing my legs or they will never get back to where they were so it's my goal to do some type of squatting 3 times a week as long as my leg is fine. If not well then I'll stop. The front squats felt strong today and wanted to go heavier but figured this was good enough. It's about 57% of previous 1RM. For Grace I was disappointed of course but Colin always reminds me that I'm not 100% so I can't expect 100%. My previous pr was this same time but with 100lbs. 95 actually felt heavy but I can throw it around fine and I haven't done any consistent let alone any serious metcon in 3 months so I'll take a sub 3. Great meeting tonight at the gym....glad things are changing the way they are. It's going to really help improve everything. Many people aren't happy but no one is with change and once it's established it will just be another normal thing in your life. I promise to everyone that once this gets up and running that you will see better improvements with your performance but a lot faster. Now I really don't ever want to have to leave:)

Fatigue-2

Stress-1

Leg-3

BW-136.6

27/52

A ton of info today so no extra article, just me blabbing. First of all I can't believe Troy was the only one that helped me out with getting my immune system up by laughter. Geez, great support guys. Thanks Troy your awesome! Next, today has been the best day I've had since I've been miserable. Nothing but a huge smile on my face for the second half of the day and a ton of energy. Work was a bit boring besides all the holiday decorating that was going on for the x-mas party we had tonight.

Got a call from my doc.....I'm approved for the trial. Thank you everyone for the prayers. I'm going down to UCLA for tests they need(Urine, Lab kit, liver enzyme, EKG). I also have to see a dermatologist before the trial as well as get another CT Scan of my chest. Yah SD missed that part. Figures huh, screwed up again. My chest is the one test I was waiting on too, it's the one with my liver and lungs, great, more waiting. I should hopefully be done testing by next week. The enzyme test takes 10 days for results so I'm going to push to get admitted the first week of Jan for this because I'm supposed to be flying to Ohio the following week for a cert at Westside. One more thing about the trial, a bad side effect they didn't tell me about but it was in my paperwork. I asked why do I need to see a derm and the answer was "one of the possible side effects is squamous cell carcinoma" For those of you that don't know it's another type of deadly skin cancer. Not as extreme but still bad. I wasn't happy about this of course but what options do I have. Just got to be extremely careful now with everything in life.

On to the gym. I decided to to Diane today. I wanted to use bands on the HSPU instead of an abmat because I wanted to get the full depth so I set up my bar and the bands. I decided to give one more go at my always failed attempts at an rx'd HSPU. Guess what?! Oh yes ladies and gentlemen I did one. I was amazed! 1yr and 10 months of doing CF and I finally got my first HSPU. It's over ladies. I'm officially a force to not mess with. Not only did I get one but I got 24 before I had to start kipping to get out of it. Now it took me forever and technically it still wasn't rx'd because I kipped on the rest of the 21 but I did them.....ALL. The deadlifts felt like cake, cranked them out with no stops. All the time was spent on the HSPU and I'm proud of it. First time I did 30MU for time it took me 24min and I could probably more than half that now. Anyways:

50 squats (not fast but continuous)

+

"Diane"

21,15,9

Deadlift 150lbs

Handstand Push-ups

Time-30:15

Fatigue-4

Stress-1

Leg-1

BW-136.6 w/pj's

Last thing, we had an x-mas party at work tonight and Santa came for the kids. It was so cute and great to see all the smiling faces. Then I came home and turned the TV on and what's on....oh yes.....Pinks All Out! For those of you that know me really well this is my favorite show and this was the best one I've seen so far. Not only did they have the normal two lanes they had 4 strips and they were running all 4! Then they picked 64 cars too. Oh it was sick. I needed a day like today, thank you Lord. Got to sleep now:)

Half Way!

I was on my way home today and had to stop about 45minutes from reaching home to go to the bathroom. I decided to get gas as well. As I was pumping I looked over and seen this from a far. What caught my eye was the word hardcore. I thought it was a tattoo shop at first. I sat and tried to make out the second word and it said pilates. I couldn't help but laugh and had to take the pic to show all of you. Hardcore Pilates......Is that even possible? I would like to see one of those "hardcore pilates women" come to my gym and clean even 95lbs or even do a couple pull-ups and then I'll call them hardcore. It was a nice chuckle for the end of the drive.

Well today is the halfway mark through my goal on the veggie for breakfast diet. I'll tell you what, I hope it's helping because I feel like I'm starting to drag. I need more carbs. I'm to tired, dragging all day, I feel miserable all the time, and my recovery from WODs are horrible oh and it sucks! I decided to reward my halfway point with a 1/4 of a Paleo treat. That's it. I knew I couldn't eat anymore than that. It was so good but really sweet too.

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/02/sugar-hydrogen-bacteria-and.html

Robb brought up a good point about stimulating my immune system. Laughter. I know this is true but he wants me to focus on it more. I need help. Take a minute and list some movies, stand-up comedians, TV shows that will make you laugh until you pee. I'm going to make this another goal of mine. Watching as many things as I can to make me laugh. Robb also talked to another Naturopath doc and he said we are nailed with what we are doing as well as impressed. It's got to be helping! Also talked with Colin today and the next 2 weeks are going to be nothing but benchmark WODs (that I'm able to do of course) so we can see where I'm at. On to that:

Annie

50,40,30,20,10

Double Unders

Abmat Sit-ups

+

Max reps dead hang pull-ups (straight legs whole time)

Time-5:10 pr

PU-9

I was happy with the pr but I know I can break 5 minutes on this. I had some issues with the rope in the start of it (hitting other people as well as equipment) before I finally turned a different direction and they do there abmat sit-ups different from what I do so it took until 30 reps to get into my speed of it. I have found that both ways are difficult and work different muscles. I will be implementing both in my WODs from now on! The pull-ups, I was shooting for 10 and I could of got it with bending of my legs but I wanted to on 8 and real bad on 9 so I stopped there.

Fatigue-6

Stress-3

Leg-1

BW-136.6

Another Rest Day!

Made it down to SD fine and wanted to get my blog done early because it will be late and I will be sleepy by the time I get back from the hospital. Last appt is at 9:00pm. I went and talked to my doc about the lump being back in my leg and guess what he said: "It's looks like Melanoma". Why did that statement not surprise or upset me? Probably because I hear it all the time and I don't care anymore because I will beat it whether it wants me to or not. If it's still spreading I will just have to change what I'm doing now. There are other things that I can do (tweaking the diet again, other supplements, different approaches on life, etc...) to try and make it stop. I am not scared to tangle with the devil on this one, he messed with the wrong chica.

http://sageolylifting.blogspot.com/

That's right guys......Sage has started a blog and she is going to talk about nothing but oly lifting. If you want to learn about it she is definitely a great person to learn from. Stay tuned for the info.

Well finally talked with Colin and he wants me to start posting some extra things on my blog so you can just ignore it....it's for him. I told him to expand out our current 6 weeks to 8 weeks until we get results and some more info, before we focus on something else. I got to set some goals out as well for what to train on so we can start the next 6 weeks. Well off to relax for a couple minutes.

Fatigue-4

Stress-2

Leg-1

BW-136.2 (with pj's on)

Rest Day

Well I start my new cycle of training today but Colin hasn't emailed me back so hopefully everything is ok. I'm excited for him, he's always so careful with things which is a good thing but he's going to take the leap and to try and qualify for the Games next year. I'm happy because we will have at least one of every type of athlete going to Regionals to compete for those spots. Hopefully we have more than just one....would like to see at least 10.

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/04/cordain-on-saturated-fat.html

Found a good blog. Read up people, get your knowledge on. Well I had a rest day today because I had to finish my brakes. I ended up having to take them to the dealer to get turned, wasn't happy about that and then had to borrow a torque wrench because my spindle nut needed 295 ft lb. Crap! Well I'll quit boring you with my brake talk just got a bit aggravated with it. I'm off to SD bright and early tomorrow to get my scans done. Hopefully this is the beginning of a good news streak and not a continuation of the bad but regardless of what the outcome is I know there is a reason behind it so it's fine:)

42/42; 23/52

I want to make this short because I'm running behind today. My 1hr brake job turned into 3 1/2 and still not done. Going to have to finish it tomorrow before my trip down to SD. Work is going to just have to give me a break on this one. I officially hate Ford at this moment. They decided to put a one time use spindle nut on the rotor and you don't realize it until you take it off and no one around of course carries it but Pep Boys and then they only have one. I got to drive to the other one tomorrow and hopefully get my rotor's turned too because the other place was to much of an idiot to remove a snap ring to take the bearings out to do it. Or Just to lazy which wouldn't surprise me either. Enough about my wrench head talk. Had a great service today at church, learned a lot more than I usually do which was very interesting. Now my WOD:

Pull-up Ladder (1 pull-up first minute, 2 pull-ups second minute, etc....)(chin must break vertical plane)

rest 3 minutes

Maintaining push-ups on the minute for 10 minutes

11 pull-ups

rx'd push-ups

*Foul- if you fail to maintain push-ups for 10 minutes, stop and complete a total of 5 minutes of handstand holds against the wall, stopping the clock when you come off the wall to rest)

This was tricky for me. I know I really suck at push-ups so I didn't want to do like 20 and then fail every minute trying to maintain 20 push-ups every minute to 10. I gamed it and did 11. I wished I would of went to 13. I think that would of been perfect. By round 10 I was about 45sec in before I finished so I think 13 would of been close but I have been doing push-ups more than I normally do so hopefully I will get better and can shoot for 20. Great WOD, thanks Colin!

41/42; 22/52

It's amazing what sleep will do for you. I was so exhausted and sore from the week that I crashed out at about 9:30 last night and slept for 11 hrs. I woke up and felt like a rockstar. I went to the gym and crushed everything I had to do today and wanted to do more but had things to do today. Won't talk a lot today.....in the middle of the UFC fight and way to distracted to talk to myself right now! Hehe.

http://www.CrossfitVentura.com/crossfit_ventura/2009/12/impressed.html

This is one of the guys in my gym. I don't usually post up other CF websites but this is my gym and there was an amazing feat done 2 days ago. Craig, rock on dude!

My WOD:

A. Hang power clean- 2,2,2,2,2 rest 180sec b/t sets (go 2.5-5lbs pr from day 11)

B. Shoulder Press 65% of 1RM 2 x 10 rest 40sec b/t sets (no whipping of hip, work on explosive on concentric)

C. GHD Raises 12-16 x 3 rest 90sec b/t sets (play with hand placement)

A.-108, 123, 133, 138, 143

B. Rx'd at 78lbs

C. Rx'd 16 reps with hands in front, behind head, both

The hang power cleans felt really strong today and wanted to go for 148 but that would of been over 5 lb pr. Last was 140 on 3 position power cleans. I used a women's bar because it slipped the last time plus I had to do the shoulder presses. I accidently started 10lbs heavier but it worked out fine. The SP started to get hard around set 9. Was really focusing on exploding so it helped. I did move my hip either. The raises were fine just played with hand placement and speed on each round. All in all good day! Ok main event is on got to go:)

40/42; 21/52

I decided I needed another rest day. It only took me until I drove to the gym, warmed up and did the first thing in my WOD to realize that. My fast twitch muscles are in pain. My arms are sore which is fine but the muscles I needed to use today was painful when I lifted so I knew it wouldn't of done my body any good to keep going. I will attempt it tomorrow.

http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/2009/12/skill-standards-for-building-strong-useful-adaptable-athletes/

Another good article. My appt for my scans are on Tuesday.....hopefully I get to keep it and they don't cancel it on me because I really want to know the results. As far as how I'm feeling, tired as always but no pain. I know I don't usually talk about my love life but decided I want to tonight. I've decided to start dating again. Men seem to move on so quickly. I left VA almost 2 months ago and haven't been able to date because of the guy I loved and everything I'm going through but I think I would like to spread my wings on this one. It would be nice to have someone sweet around. Rudy was dating a week after I left so 8 weeks is plenty of time. I got turned on to match.com and eharmony.com. I've been browsing the 2 to see which is better and then I will sign up for one. My roommate is on eharmony and a woman in my gym met her hubby on match. I have always been real against it because I don't understand why people can't just go out and meet others but.....where? The bar? No thanks. My gym? No eligible ones I'm interested in (sorry guys). I'm willing to try out something new. This whole cancer thing has really put a new perspective on things and you don't realize how much people out in the world take advantage of what they have. I don't even take one single day for granted anymore. Any moment I get with my dogs is the happiest moment in my day. You just got to live one day at a time and really appreciate what you got and what others do for you. Oh and be as happy and nice as you can because it actually causes less stress. Why snob your nose at someone for no reason? Pointless. Just say hi, thanks, or even give a hug:-)

39/42; 20/52

I just realized I'm at the end of my first 6 weeks of programming. To bad I wasn't healthy because we'd be moving on to something else but being in the condition of what's going on that's not going to happen. I was so excited to see the 2010 Games site come out today. They are offering $25,000 to first place this year. I knew it. Man I wish I was better to compete that is a nice chunk of change to have. They are only taking 4 people from my region this year and considering I can think of about 6 females in this region that competed in the Games last year.....it's going to be a blood bath for those spots especially when there are going to be 80 new people fed in from the 4 sectionals. I'm jealous.

Anyways, today is a rest day for me so decided to post early and be short since I've wrote a lot the past few days. I got message from someone on Facebook today that said "Nice scar, karma is a b%@ch." I didn't recognize the person and I don't really care. I thought about it and I must say I wasn't the best person growing into who I am today but have been forgiven and have left my past behind when I decided to ask God to be in my life. I basically messaged her back and told her the same thing and apologized for hurting her. Then told her happy holidays. Maybe killing with kindness will help but I have a feeling it will just make her more immature. Sad to see people out there like that. I figured this would happen once I became public about my situation but it's more about helping others now and being inspiration to everyone that they can do better than just "average" or "ok". Have a good day everyone:)

38/42; 19/52

I woke up today.......SORE! My whole upper body is definitely in recovery mode, working on repairing those muscles that I tore the crap out of the last 2 days. It figures I would have another WOD today that requires your upper body to work too. No worries though I really enjoy it.

7 more days and I'm halfway through my delicious veggies for breakfast diet. I can't wait! I'm excited to see what these scans say and so is Robb. A bit nervous too though because if nothing is working I don't think I want to hear anymore bad news. I'm still feeling good though so that should stand for something.

http://robbwolf.com/?p=1028

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNjXtFi3dUQ

Both of these are good! Read and watch. The first is informational and is basically how I'm eating but I am eating carbs. This will lay it out so I don't have to have suuuuupppppper long posts everyday. Everyone would be bored then. The second thing is a video that Sage B. had posted on her Facebook and it was hilarious so had to post it so everyone could laugh too. Got to love us redheads, we sure are a bit crazy hehe.

On to my WOD:

"Rhiannon"

Max double unders in 10 minutes

#-609

This was really hard. My arms were so sore as is and to have them tense the whole time for this was ridiculous. I even shortened my rope so I didn't have to spin as much weight. I'd like to try this fresh once to see how I do but all in all was satisfied with this number.

Oh yah, I'll try to make this quick because I'm getting to be long. I want everyone to understand that even though the military screwed up, my doctor and case manager are taking excellent care of me. My doctor called me at 8pm tonight and was still at work working on my case because he's leaving for a few days and wants to make sure my case manager can handle things while he's gone. My case manager spent 4 hrs working my case today. I'm not there only patient trust me. They have a ton. They are doing everything they possibly can to make this as speedy, painless, and correctly done as it can be. I want to reiterate..... Melanoma has NO CURE! I'm not just another patient that has a typical cancer that they can just hook me up with chemo and radiation and I'll be all better. If that was the case I would of started that 2 months ago. This is serious and we are doing everything we can to make sure we are taking out the extra time that is being wasted. This has to be done right or I will miss my chance. I just hope everyone knows that I'm not mad at what has happened and I'm not pointing fingers at anyone. I'm looking at the future because there is no point on focusing on what did happen or what could have been because it didn't happen that way. It happened the way it did for a reason and I have no worries.

37/42; 18/52

Ok another update. Talked with the UCLA doc again and they will need scans again so I got to get ahold of my Oncologist at San Diego again and I will be down there next week. No exceptions. I'll probably be taking 3 days off work or so for the biopsy, MRI, and CT scans but hopefully I'll know more tomorrow. The swelling in my leg looks gone so that's awesome but I've been noticing my scar is starting to look a bit odd where that knot was in my leg and it's been itching. I'm going to tell the doc about that too because compared to the rest of the scar it feels like the knot is back but pretty sure it's just scar tissue.

My picture made it on to the Crossfit Journal article that came out today. Pretty excited, I look all dirty, HA! Also, been getting some good feedback on the blog and I appreciate it. Glad I can keep everyone updated as well as make you smarter. I love helping people. I got an email from a guy that I talk to on Facebook today while I was driving to the gym(yes I'm a texter and drive). We've had some good conversations and I just want to write what motivational speech he sent to me because I was all teared up before I could finish(he read my blog today):

"Anyway, I know you already know this, but I just want to tell you that YOU WILL BEAT the Stage 4 Melanoma. Keep up the good work. You know that is not going to be easy......so you need to fight harder, and when you'll find yourself in a weak and sad moment, remind yourself how strong you are and how many ppl are cheering for you!"

Thank you Cristiano you truly touched me with that and I wish you the best:)

http://www.citizensreport.org/2009/12/08/new-concussion-policy-for-nfl/

K post is getting long so let me wrap up with my WOD:

"DB C2B Lynne"

5 rounds:

Max Reps DB Bench Press (I choose weight)

Max Reps C2B Pull-ups

Rest 5min b/t rounds

1-28,10

2-23,11

3-20,9

4-20,8

5-19,10

#25 DB

This was hard! I enjoyed it though as always. I really wanted to get the most I could out of the bench press because this is weaker for me than pull-ups. I went as hard as I could and picked #25 because it's not to heavy and not to light. The chest to bar focus was getting my butterfly back. For some reason I've been having an extremely difficult time getting this back but of course I nailed it on the last round but was spent by this time. I've been doing enough C2B that I shouldn't loose it again.

Just Thinking

I was thinking yesterday and today and just wanted to say a few things. It's the end of the year everyone is enjoying family, friends, egg nog, and delicious christmas cookies. I wish I could enjoy those things. It's things that only happen this time of year, bummer. I hope no one takes advantage of the holidays. To have people you love and that love you are a blessing, oh and my mom's christmas cookies are the best. We used to make them growing up. I miss those days sometimes.
I wanted to take a minute and look back on my year of 2009. I realized it has been the best, most accomplished, and worst year for me. I don't remember what my New Year resolutions were but I can only imagine that they weren't any of the bad stuff. I have:

-Went through the hardest enlisted military school there is and graduated to become one of 38 in my job today
-Have completed more college (31 semester hours) in 4 months than any civilian ever has
-Had to deal with the most drama at work this year (crazy army wives, someone telling me the want to hurt themselves)
-Quit drinking
-Competed in the 2009 CF Games
-Lost 12lbs which put me at 17% BF
-got in the best shape of my life
-ate better than 99.9% of the world
-got arrested for drunk in public
-broke into my apartment by throwing a grill through my window (from one above)
-Met the love of my life that I can't ever be with because he's an idiot (no offense Rudy)
-became a very knowledgeable trainer and have helped many
-found the best people at my new awesome CF gym
-got diagnosed with Stage 3 Melanoma which required loss of tissue and 16 lymph nodes in my right groin, no feeling left, and my Sartorius muscle moved to a different location. Was considered disease free after this
-my grandfather passed away
-my cousin got out of jail( I love you Shauna)
-my other cousin put in jail and on trial for murder
-my brother turned 21 and is official to gamble his heart away
-voluntered helping numerous families with entertainment for their kids
-diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma (going to beat this too)
-got my first Muscle-up, 175lb clean, 150lb snatch, 43 pull-ups, 12.1sec 100m sprint, 3:14 Fran(no butt ball), did Elizabeth rx'd for first time, 160lb thruster, 205 front squat, 18:56 Filthy 50, 87 unbroken double unders, and tired of typing here

I must say this has been an amazing and upsetting year for me. I don't think there are to many people that can top this. I know God is setting me up for something incredible. To go through this much there is a plan waiting for me. I can't wait to figure it out. I really hope everyone enjoys this holiday season to the best of their ability because you deserve it. All anyone needs is love. :)

36/42; 17/52

Sorry about the delayed post. It's hard to do when your power goes out for about 5 hours at night. I have a lot to write today so I will do 2 maybe 3 posts.

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-nutrition30-2009nov30,0,852160.story

This article isn't like "Oh my Gosh" but it's a little interesting. I got a great call from the doc at UCLA. Not really but was trying to get you excited for a second. I was supposed to be going down there for an appointment on Thursday about results and the trial and etc....but now it's canceled. I guess the rest of the tissue that was sent over has no more Melanoma cells in it. Do you know what that means? Yep, I got to go get another liver biopsy done. I thought I was in the clear but now I'm not and we just wasted another week for this and probabaly 2 by the time I actually get it done, results are sent and the test is done again. I originally was going to go to UCLA for this but now I think I might go back down to San Diego because I think I will have to be getting scans done again. I will find out as soon as I can about that. This is a bummer. I actually just started crying at work and I don't know why. Probably because I feel helpless in all of this. Usually when I get aggrivated with someone I will just take whatever it is they are doing and do it myself because I know it will be done quickly and correctly. On this I can't though and I think the pressure of it all just caught up with me. I told my master chief what's going on and he actually gave me a hug. It was nice considering all I work with are dudes besides one other female......kinda hard to have that girly support here.
On to my WOD from yesterday:

A1. Deadlift 5,5,5 rest 120sec b/t sets (no bouncing and only go up 5lb pr from day 18)
A2. True eccentric HSPU 6,6,6 rest 120 sec b/t sets
B1. KBS 1.5pd 15-18 x 3; rest 90sec b/t sets
B2. Anchored sit-ups 35 x 3; rest 90sec b/t sets

A1- 205, 220, 230
A2- HARD;rx'd; trainer pushed down on feet as I resisted all the way to ground
B1- 18 x 3 unbroken
B2- rx'd unbroken

230lbs felt heavy compared to the last time I pulled 225 but I figured that's from having the HSPU involved with it. I think I have finally learned how to DL. We will see once I can max out. The HSPU (thanks Colin:)) were really tough. I resisted really well on the first rep and sometimes the second, but it all went to crap after that. I tried and that's what mattered. The KBS were fine even though the combo with the sit-ups had a nice twist to it on the stomach and back. Sit-ups were easy but also been doing those forever.

35/42; 16/52

I think we should mandate 3 day weekends. I could get a lot done with 3 days off. Plus to only have 4 days at work would be awesome! I had a good rest day today. Had a lot of things I wanted to do and got about 3/4 way done so I'll just do little pieces throughout the week. I'm really craving some sushi so I asked Robb if it would be cool to eat as long as I limit the rice intake. Still waiting on a response so I'll go tomorrow night if he says it's ok.

I went to church this morning, again another awesome service.

http://www.nacactfca.org/articles/Hart-eng.htm

Really good article on the 400m run. A must read for all the trainers and crossfitters.

34/42; 15/52

I had an excellent day today...well for me. I was awake all day up until now. I'm sleepy. I got to hang out with my girlfriend Karla which I haven't seen since I was in San Diego about a year and a half ago. She came over and hung out while I finished some stuff, then we went to the movies, and then dinner. I love friends especially old ones because you know they will always be there for you and vice versa.

http://www.livescience.com/history/080806-human-evolution-olympics.html

So today was the day of the Lumberjack 20. My gym participated in this and it was an honor to watch(wished I could of done it but not ready yet) and cheer everyone on as they pushed their heart and soul through this workout remembering our fallen soldiers from Fort Hood last month. My opinion on the whole thing, I think it's disgusting that someone like that made it into the military and was in for as long as he was. I wished I could of been there to give him my Sparta kick and then take his gun and shoot him with it. How dare them.

Anyways, on to my WOD:

A1. High bar back squat @ 40x2; 4-6x4; rest 120sec b/t sets

A2. Strict Supinated Pull-ups @ 30x1; 3-5x4; rest 120sec b/t sets (add weight if complete 5)

+

3 Rounds:

Run 400m @ 80%

Row 500m @ 80%

rest 2 minutes b/t rounds

A1. DNF

A2. BW, 5, 10, 15

4:02, 4:03, 3:59

I was going to do the back squats but since all the bars were being used today I had to skip it which is probably better with my leg sill being a bit swollen even though today it almost looked normal again so I figure a couple more days. The pull-ups were hard with the weight, I only got 4 at 15lbs. On the metcon (thanks Colin even 80% is nice) I ran faster than I wanted but it felt like 80% to me. So unless I got faster compared to before I was running about 95%. Row was perfect though because I could just watch the screen the whole time. Goal was 2:00-2:02 pace. Kept it for the most part. On to Sunday!

33/42; 14/52

Well called UCLA today and got an appointment scheduled for Thursday. Hopefully there is good news. I got 50% that I'll have the protein they are looking for, then 66% chance that I'll get put on the drug, and then finally a 70% chance I will respond to it. You know what I don't get? How inhumane clinical trials are. It's like well you don't qualify so, sorry there is nothing we can do oh but by the way you still need to take this placebo pill and let us monitor you and see what your outcome will be without any help. Oh man that would be horrible to hear. Hopefully my plan is staying here and still making change in others by touching their life in some way. If not, well then that's not the plan set out for me. Anyways, leg is still swollen. Starting to wonder if I have lymphedema. Great just another thing to add to the list.

http://startingstrength.com/articles/incremental_increases_rippetoe.pdf

On to my WOD:

Power Snatch 3,3,3,1,1,1 rest 180sec b/t sets

+

Dip Squat 5,5,5,5 rest 180sec b/t sets

+

3 Rounds:

15 GHD Sit-ups @ 2020; rest 60sec

15 Back Ext @ 2020; rest 60 sec (use 10-20lb DB)

80,95,105,115,DNF,DNF

140,185,205,235

Rx'd w/15lb DB

The snatches actually felt strong today but I felt it pulling on my leg at 115 so I just stopped. I probably have one of the lowest starting positions for the snatch so my legs really take it on this one. The dip squats were great. My focus was straight torso the whole time and I was popping it a bit at the top. This was more painful to my bones then it actually was hard but I enjoyed it. Last was GHD and back ext. Figured 15lb DB was good and man was it. My back and butt were on fire! Satisfied with another day at CFV. Thanks Colin:)

32/42; 13/52

Not to much to say today I don't think. Work is boring because my leg is still swollen and don't want to make it worse so I sit at my desk all day and do training. I'm feeling pretty good, was a bit nauseated today but I think it's from all this stuff I'm pumping through my body so that is a good sign if that's the cause.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahL4wvjoARs&feature=related

This part of the movie is my favorite and I feel I can finally relate to it because that's my stubborn self getting mad and kicking my cancer to the end of it's life! Haha.

On to my WOD:

Push Press 5,5,5,3,3,3 rest 180 sec b/t sets

+

3 rounds:

50 Double Unders

Row 300m @ 85%

80,95,100,115,125F,125

Time- 7:59

I'm happy with the push press. I failed on #3 at 130 when I did this a couple weeks ago but only had 3x3 and today I had 5x3 before I even hit the 3's and got 125. The time for the WOD was slower than I wanted but for some reason double unders and rowing are a horrible combination for me. I have a hard time finding a good rhythm. The row was nice, I notice I'm pulling about 1:36-1:43 on 100% so figured about 1:59, staying under 2 was the goal even when I get tired. I accomplished that.

31/42; 12/52

I've been talking with Robb Wolf a lot and he wants me to start sending him a food log everyday so he knows if something is wrong or things aren't working out right he can tweak what I'm eating. I started yesterday and he said I'm doing good so far. I'm going to be testing the ketones in my body and letting him no that as well. The reason I bring this up is because it's a great thing to do. I have never done a food log before because....um.....I'm lazy I guess. HA! No I'm not I just never seen a reason for it until, I started. I kept telling myself I was going to give into the temptations of the strawberry cake I made for the guys at work tonight, the grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup (classic), or even cheesy garlic bread dipped in the best sauce ever. Now that I don't have the option to cheat at all, I want it all but Robb (even though he doesn't know it) saved my life again. The last thing you want to write down in your log after the whole day was awesome is: HUGE slice of strawberry cake with vanilla frosting. On top of just looking at it yourself saying "Man I'm such an idiot and my stomach hurts" now I got Robb yelling at me as well telling me yah you are an idiot and your killing yourself too. HeHe I made all of you hungry now huh? Anyways, if you haven't tried a food log, try it, even for a week. It will help you stay on the yellow brick road:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY_-1GGebQE&feature=player_embedded

I got this video off a friends' site and it's excellent! I know a lot of crossfit folks struggle with rope climbs. This video will help I promise. I watched it and now I want to climb a 50ft rope just to see if I can.

Last thing, took one more rest day. Leg is still swollen but I will be back in the gym tomorrow to finish the week off strong. I will be calling UCLA tomorrow too to talk to my doc to make sure he got the sample from Walter Reed and when I should be making an appointment to go in. Again, let's pray that I get into this one. My Oncologist in San Diego said 70% of patients are responding to the drug they are giving them. That's the best odds my docs have seen for Melanoma (and me too from reading A LOT).

30/42; 11/52

Today wasn't supposed to be a rest day but my leg is still extremely swollen and I think doing anything on it will make it worse. I even sat on my butt all day at work with my foot propped up. I felt lazy. I did get some good news though.......amazing huh! I don't have to go back through another liver biopsy. They are going to pull more samples from my original surgery and get it out to UCLA by tomorrow. So I should be in there next week with results, options, and hopefully starting something to get rid of this disgusting cancer.

http://startingstrength.com/articles/core_stability_rippetoe.pdf

I must say Rippetoe is a genius. I love the way he speaks about training.