Sore Legs, Saying Goodbye, & Celebrating 1

I think I'm done naming these posts "Weekly Workouts + Blah Blah Blah" because they're really all I'm posting these days aside from some random Whole30 posts and vacation recaps.

M - 0.7 mi walk + CrossFit

• Weightlifting: Back Squat (5 x 2) - I did 135, 155, 170, 180, 190.  The 2 at 180 felt great, the 2 at 190 were a little bit of a struggle but I know I'm going to hit that 200 soon.  We have the CrossFit Total programmed for next Friday (max deadlift, back squat, and shoulder press) and I'm hoping to hit it then!
• Metcon: Time - Every 3 Minutes x 5
• 200m Run
• 15 Wall Balls (20/14)

My goal was to get under 2 minutes (and not get last place for the day) and I did it!  My first two rounds were 1:38 and my last three rounds I finished in 1:49, talk about consistent.  I really focused on pacing myself so I could last through all 5 rounds and I think I did a great job.  My runs was super consistent aside from my last run, which was the fastest and really helped me to not blow my time on that last round.

• After Party: Every Minute on the Minute (EMOM) for 5, 20 Sit Ups - These were hard and I was very aware of my lower back during them.  I ended up skimping on a few rounds and finished 75 out of 100.

T - 0.7 mi walk
 
W - CrossFit (at 6 am!)

• Metcon: AMRAP - Rounds and Reps
• EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute)
• Min 1-8: 3 Deadlifts at ~70-80% of 3 Rep Max
• Min 9-?: Death by Bar Facing Burpees

My back hasn't been feeling super great since vacation so I went super light with my deadlifts.  I haven't tested my max in years, but I know it's over 200 lbs so I should've been lifting at least 140#.  I stuck with 105# and focused on my form and working on putting the bar down in between sets (I typically just drop it from the top to avoid any additional stress on my back, but I know I have to actually put it down for the Total).  The real fun started when the burpees began!  Death by means you do 1 burpee the first minute, 2 burpees the second minute, and so on until you don't finish the prescribed amount within the minute.  I was trying to work on improving my efficiency in the early rounds, but by the end I was just exhausted.  I finished round 10 and got 9 in the 11th round.

Th - Rest day, actually does scrubbing baseboards count?
 
F - 0.7 mi walk + CrossFit (another 6 am class!)

• Hero WOD Holleyman (Modified)
• U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Aaron N. Holleyman, 27, of Glasgow, Montana, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was killed on August 30, 2004, when his military vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Khutayiah, Iraq. He is survived by his daughters Shelby and Erin, son Zachary, parents Ross and Glenda, and siblings Kelly and Daniel.
• 30 Rounds for Time
• 5 Wall Balls (20/14)
• 3 Hand Release Push Ups
• 1 Power Clean (175/125)

The actual prescribed workout has handstand push ups instead of hand release and the power clean weights are 225/155, but my coach made our modified version the Rx and the actual prescribed version the Rx+.  125# is only 20 lbs under my max clean, so although I probably could've done it, 30 rounds is A LOT. I went with 110# which ended up being perfect, it was challenging throughout but my coach said all of my lifts looked consistent.  I enjoyed the rep scheme, the small number of each movement at a time was nice.

Somehow around round 10, I got it in my head that there were only 20 rounds.  I was like Yeah! Halfway! and then I looked at the clock and I was like no, that doesn't make any sense and realized I was really only 1/3 of the way done.  Fun times.  Did I mention 30 rounds is A LOT?  Towards the end my legs started to feel sore, hamstrings, quads, and glutes (keep growing please lol).

My original goal was to get under 40 minutes.  Once I started and saw my pace, I wanted to beat 35 minutes so I was pumped when I finished at 33:19!

S - Rest day

S - Rest day

My weekend was a busy one that started with getting our carpets cleaned as an early Christmas gift from my in laws.  They look amazing!

We spent our Friday evening at the gym celebrating our coaches birthday, cheering on people doing the grueling workout, and stuffing our face with lots of treats and Chipotle catering.

Saturday was a long day that started with saying goodbye to my Grammy.  The service was really nice and my dad's eulogy was perfect.  But the whole thing was sort of weird because throughout the mass I kept feeling déjà vu from my uncle Dennis's memorial a month and a half ago.  Same place, same priest, same singer, some of the same songs.  It was odd and made it extra sad.  Hopefully my family won't be coming together in this manner for a long time.

The day continued with a trip into Philly. We headed to Michelle and Alex's apartment to finish up our Halloween costumes before heading to our friend Sarah's party.  I can't believe I didn't take any photos all night but I promise to get some good shots next weekend.  Can you find me and Dave and guess what we are?

Photo from Taylor, thank you!

On Sunday I headed to church and then made my way to a beautiful park for Leah's son's 1st birthday party.  It was a little breezy but the weather was perfect otherwise and it was great to catch up with a bunch of friends and their super cute kiddos.  Happy Birthday Reese!

Life is hard when you're 1!

Thanks for the pic Jen!

Sunday concluded with more catching up with friends, cooking my lunch for for the next two days, and watching two episodes of Westworld.

Is anybody else watching HBO's new creepy drama?!

Fish Taco Lettuce Wraps + 5 More Easy Whole30 Dinners

Take me back, wahhhhhhhh.

September is long gone and our amazing trip to Hawaii has been over for 3 weeks.  I'm still dreaming of the pristine beaches and turquoise water... and endless sushi, loaded kalua pork fries, and pina coladas.  It's really no surprise that when vacation ended, I was unable to flip the switch back to sensible eating.  So after consuming 4 slices of pizza during a lunch meeting at work, I decided that it was time!

Tis the season for weekends full of Halloween parties and Thanksgiving feasts, so I honestly couldn't find any time to do a Whole30 (21, 14, 10... anything).  But because I believe something is always better than nothing, I am doing a Whole5!  It sounded kind of dumb when I first thought of it, but I'm excited for a quick kick in the pants!  I'm hoping to debloat a little and get back in a healthy eating frame of mind.

I'm really excited about my menu for the week, it's full of delicious favorites!  I didn't realize until afterwards that it was full of ground meat, but I like all the recipes so much I didn't want to change any and it will allow me to buy organic without spending a fortune.

Sunday

• Chicken & Zucchini Poppers with Guacamole and/or Homemade Ranch
• Roasted Turmeric Cauliflower
• Chopped Summer Salad (since I'm still pretending it's summer...)
• Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, minced red onion, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), white balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste

Monday

• Fish Taco Lettuce Wraps with Cilantro Lime Slaw and Pineapple Salsa (recipe below!)

Tuesday

• Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs with Creamy Pesto
• Garlic Roasted Broccoli
• Sauteed Spinach

Apparently I've never felt compelled to take a photo of these meatballs.  Although they are delicious, they look pretty unattractive.  Maroon sun dried tomatoes + green basil = brown pile on top of your meatballs lol.  Don't judge the pesto goodness by its gross appearance!

Wednesday

•  Bahn Mi Loaded Fries (Omit honey and substitute a compliant hot sauce instead of sriracha to make it Whole30 compliant)

Thursday

• Zoodles with Shrimp and Bacon
• Balsamic Garlic Roasted Green Beans & Mushrooms (I'll add some onions to this too!)

Friday

• Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps (Omit honey & palm sugar to make it Whole30 compliant. I also skip the water in the dipping sauce, I find it doesn't need it.)
• Asian Cucumber Sesame Salad (Omit maple syrup)

And now, time for a new recipe!

Because ain't nobody got time fo making their own Paleo tortillas or breading and frying fish.  Like most of my recipes, this one is pretty loose.  I generally don't measure things while I'm cooking and to be honest, I don't really think you can mess this one up!  Just remember to taste things as you go and don't start with a heavy hand, you can always add more later.

Ingredients:

Fish:

- 1 lb of cod filet (or tilapia, mahi mahi, whatever you like)

- EVOO

- Lime juice

- Salt & pepper

- Garlic powder

- Onion powder

- Chipotle powder

- Cumin

- Cayenne

Cilantro Lime Slaw:

- Thinly sliced cabbage (shortcut: use a bag of coleslaw mix)

- Thinly sliced carrot

- Lime juice

- Chopped cilantro

- Salt & pepper

Homemade Pineapple Salsa:

- Diced pineapple

- Diced tomato

- Diced onion

- Minced jalapeno (optional)

- Lime juice

- Chopped cilantro

- Salt & pepper

Other:

- Romaine, iceberg, or butter lettuce for wraps

- Avocado

- Hot sauce (optional)

Directions: 

1. Cover fish with a splash of EVOO and squirt of lime juice and then sprinkle a generous portion of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle powder, cumin, and cayenne on both sides.

2. Place in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes (or until fish begins to easily flake with a fork).

3. In a bowl, combine all slaw ingredients and place in the fridge.

4. In a bowl, combine all salsa ingredients and place in the fridge.

5. Prep lettuce wraps & slice avocado.

6. Pile all ingredients in lettuce wraps and prepare for a delicious messy feast!

Anybody interested in joining me for 5 days of clean eating?  It's only 5 days!

Our Trip to Italy Part 6: A Rainy Day at the Colosseum

Ok, I know it's been over a year since our trip.  And I know you would probably rather see pictures from Hawaii.  But I have to finish these!  There only a few left, I promise!

Catching up?

- Part 1: Arriving in Florence

- Part 2: A Full Day of Florence Adventures

- Part 3: Goodbye Florence, Hello Orvieto

- Part 4: Etruscan Tunnels, a Winery Tour, & More 
- Part 5: Wandering Rome

We started our day off with breakfast at a lovely cafe down the street, which was included in our hotel stay.  We sat in the window and enjoyed cappuccinos with ham and cheese sandwiches and pastries.

Our first activity of the day was the Baths of Caracalla.  It would've been a 3 mile walk from our hotel and we knew we had plenty of walking to do later, so we decided to save our legs and take a cab.  The weather was looking pretty iffy and the baths were almost empty while we were there.  It was pretty cool to picture how grand it must have been back in the day, but I think we would've gotten more out of this with a tour guide.

Our next stop was Palatine Hill, the Forum, and the Colosseum.  Our tour started soon after we arrived and we headed into the ruins.  Our tour guide was awesome and super knowledgeable.  It was raining on and off during our entire tour, but it wasn't too bad.

Afterwards we headed into the Colosseum.  We had booked the underground tour that was supposed to take us down below the floor, but due to the rain they were not allowing anyone to go there.  It was kind of a bummer and some people in our tour were pissed about it, but you can't control the weather and the tour group gave us a small refund.  Our tour did include exclusive access to the arena floor and the third tier as well.

The Colosseum was awesome!  I was truly in awe of the scale of such a project built so long ago.  Our tour guide told us that the large gladiator games were only held about once a month because they were so expensive and that everything was free to the public, fresh water, large feasts, and epic entertainment.  She told us that they brought in animals from all over the world and after they were killed in the arena they would distribute the meat to the people for them to cook right then and there.  They would basically have a big tailgating party around the outside.  She also told us this lead to a few fires in the Colosseum, but because the building was designed so well not one person died while evacuating.

Being on the arena floor was really cool.  They rebuilt a portion of it to give you an idea of what it would've looked like.

Next stop, second tier.

When we got up to the third tier, the sky completely opened up on us, it was pouring and super windy!  The timing was kind of hilarious.  But the views were worth getting wet for!

After we finished up, we had planned to check out a few more things like an open air market and the Pantheon, but we were soaked (mostly Dave, Mr. I Don't Need an Umbrella), starving, and over it.  We trekked back the 2 miles to our hotel and decided to grab some lunch at the super cute place directly next to our hotel, Mimi e Coco.

Dave ran up and changed into a fresh pair of clothes, but I was feeling ok.  After our iffy dinner the night before, I was feeling like I needed some veggies in my life and kinda sick of wine (in Italy, I know... the horror).  I ordered a yummy vodka drink and we split a tuna salad and a veggie pizza that seriously hit the spot!

We were having a really nice time people watching and hanging out.  I was probably on my second drink, but I wouldn't really say that I was drunk when I went to push my chair back a little and instead knocked our entire table over, putting the majority of Dave's wine all down his front!  I was fairly mortified, but the table was pretty wobbly and the waitress came out and said I was not the first person to do it.  She splashed some water on the ground and brought us new drinks and Dave went up to our room to change his clothes, again!

Eventually we headed up to our room to shower and relax.  We drank a bunch of wine and lounged and then eventually enjoyed some prosecco in the courtyard before we headed off to dinner.

Earlier in the day we told Traiano about our little dinner experience, so he insisted that we go enjoy a less "traditional" dinner at one of his favorite places.  He told us that he was friends with the owner, but not because he was friends with someone who owned a restaurant, but because he had gone there so much that he became friends with the owner.

Our dinner at Cybo was one of the highlights of our entire trip!  When we arrived they were still prepping our table, so we sat down at the bar where we were treated with complimentary champagne.

A few minutes later we were seated at our table right in the front window.  The bar had an extensive cocktail list and my coconut mojito was one of the best drinks I've ever had.

Dave started with cheese filled pasta with bacon and I went with the shrimp risotto.  Both dishes melted in your mouth.

Next Dave ordered a medley of seafood and I got the salmon.  Everything was just perfect.

Our meal concluded with the best tiramisu I've ever tasted with a coffee ganache.

It was such a wonderful meal, quite the redemption from the night before!

To be continued...