Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. We are starting the third week of our Paleo Challenge (less than 2 weeks to go, which my husband is excited about!). He is SO excited to be done with the challenge that he has been making a list of foods that he wants to eat and meals he wants to make the second it is over! I’m looking forward to being done with the challenge to allow a little more flexibility in my eating, but I’ve learned a lot, and have been thinking of where I want to go from here. More to come…
Now, about the competition: I had a blast, probably the most fun I’ve had in all three of the competitions that I’ve done! It was great to compete as a team and with such a strong one, especially with our coach being a part of it. We took 17th out of 34 teams, the middle of the road, not bad, but not the best. There were a total of five WODs: three main ones assessing strength, conditioning and gymnastics and two floaters testing accuracy and efficiency. We did things that you don’t typically see in a box: spear throws, log cleans, tire flips, stone lifts and sandbag runs! By the end of the day, my body was tired to say the least. I have done three WODs in a day with the previous two competitions that I did, but for some reason, with the type and amount of work we had to do on Saturday, I was more exhausted than I have ever felt!
When I got home, all I could think of was taking a hot bath and relaxing on the couch (which is what I did!). I brought lots of food and water to keep me fueled and hydrated on Saturday, i.e. protein smoothie, homemade trail mix, almond butter, bananas and apples, but I don’t think it was enough protein, or the right kind that my body needed. I was so tired and fatigued by the time we finished our fourth WOD, I didn’t think I could do another one. Also, it probably didn’t help that I went to bed late the night before (I had planned on getting to bed early, but like always, it didn’t quite happen!). So, I learned that I definitely need a full eight hours of sleep or more, in addition to bringing better protein sources, such as hard boiled eggs, sliced turkey meat, low-sodium jerky, etc.
Will I do another competition? I definitely want to do another one, but at this point, I’m going to take a break and concentrate on improving my technique for all lifts, finally getting a muscle up (I’m SO close!) and increasing my strength, especially, since the CrossFit Open is in a couple of months. I saw so many incredible athletes on Saturday and girls doing muscle ups like they were effortless and lifting weights that seem impossible to me. Seeing them has inspired me to work harder, be faster and be the best that I can be. (Sorry, my husband completely forget (or rather didn’t have time, since he was watching Keenan) to take any pictures of the competition.)
Fortunately, my husband, who is also a Massage Therapist (not practicing professionally , gave me a full body massage yesterday and it made a world of difference! I’m still sore, but not as bad as I felt Saturday night and yesterday. Also, we enjoyed a lazy day starting with Paleo Coconut Banana Blueberry Pancakes (finally not as dry or crumbly as the other coconut flour pancakes that I have made) and almond milk lattes. It was a perfect recovery day after the competition!
So good and not crumbly like other coconut flour pancakes!
Before I forget, here is my Chicken Scallopini recipe that some of you have asked for.
Have a great rest of your day!
Questions: What have you learned from a recent competition or race? What changes have you made in your training in order to do better at your next race or competition?
Congrats on the competition! Wow! How lucky to get massages from your husband…I’m so jealous!
Thank you! Yes, it was very nice of my husband! He doesn’t do it as often as I would like, though!
Congrats on finishing your competition! I’ve definitely found that finding the right fuel balance (protein, carbs, etc) is very difficult. Lucky you for having a massage therapist for a husband! I bet that made a huge difference in your recovery time. It’s been three years since my last competition, but in preparing for my next 5k, I found that the biggest help has been to take a short portion of my workout and really push my limits for that entire time. Then, after huffing and puffing for a couple minutes I spend the rest of the workout at a more comfortable pace.
Thank you! I definitely have to find the right ratio of carbs and protein for my next competition, because I definitely don’t want to feel like that again! Congrats on doing your 5k soon! I like your training tip. Doing intervals where you push yourself to a very high intensity for a period of time and back to a regular pace is so beneficial!