Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Open Book

To end my blog of Team KT Kicking Breast Cancer’s Ass I want to say one final thing. I am a complete open book. I love to help people and share whatever knowledge I have learned in the past 8 months with anyone. So if you are recently diagnosed, or you know someone who’s diagnosed, whether it’s breast cancer or something else, please feel free to reach out to me if you think  I can be of help. Whether it’s ideas on tips to combat the side effects of chemo, what workouts to do or how to modify workouts, or simply to just connect or vent, I am here to listen! No questions are too personal for me, so don’t be shy and contact me today!  Send me an email: kelliday12@gmail.com

Thank You:
Lastly, Thank you. Thank you family. Thank you friends. Thank you to the strangers that have reached out. Thank you doctors and nurses, surgeons and admins.Beautiful Valley View hospital.  Thank you Sopris Crossfit and the coaches. Thank you Mt. Sopris for gracing me with your beauty every day. Thank you fellow breast cancer survivors. Thank you Conway and thank you Lubby.

And thank you Tony. I would not have made it through this adventure without everyone mentioned above, but I definitely would not have made it through this without my husband. I am so fortunate to have someone so strong by my side through all the good days and the bad. 


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Livin' Life

I know I have talked about this in the past but I didn’t think it would hurt to share again. Please, I beg you, live your life to the absolute fullest. I know this sounds so cliché, but I promise you, when your time is up, you will be so glad that you spent your time doing the things that make you happy. The things that make your soul sing. 

Yes, we need to work, but you don’t have to do a job you hate. If you don’t have the skill sets or ability to do what you love and you have to do a job you don’t enjoy, at least do it at a company or for an employer that makes you happy and believes in you. Be with coworkers that you like, that you respect and they respect you. Inside and outside of work, surround yourself with people that make you better, people that make you happy.

Live in a place that makes you happy to walk outside to every day.



I believe at times you may have to live, or work, or experience things that don’t fulfill you like you want and need. If you are in one of those times in your life, have the courage to realize it and set yourself on a plan of action to get you to where you want. Whether it’s a new job, a new city to live in, or a new relationship. Do not settle. Do not say, “oh well in 5 years when I have lots of money I will go do what I want.” You never know if you’ll have 5 years..or if you'll have that money. :) So make it happen today, whatever that entails.

And then, live it up. Because I promise you when I was told I had cancer, it was on a Thursday and it wasn’t until Tuesday that I learned the seriousness of that diagnosis. So for those 5 days, I believed and hoped and prayed for the best, but of course there were times that I thought, “what if this is it? What if they tell me I have a few weeks to live?” I distinctly remember thinking, “well shit, I sure had a lot of fun and a pretty rad life.” So when your time is up, I hope you have had the courage to live a life that makes you think the same thing.

~Do not fear death, fear the unlived life.~


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Crossfitting Through Cancer

I have shared a few workouts I have done through certain stages of my Cancer treatment, but I wanted to outline what workout I did every day, in case there is someone out there that is going through something similar and looking for thoughts on workouts, comfort on what is possible, or just a total crossfit nerd that likes to read about workouts. :) 

So from the end of March to the beginning of May was a little rocky with workouts. This was because after the initial biopsy I had to take some time off. Then I trained hard. Then I got the Port placed and wasn't allowed to workout for a little while. The day after the port placement I started all the fertility stuff and couldn't workout hard for a lot of that time. So I went into chemo treatments strong, but not as strong as I had been in March. 

Here are some of my 1 Rep numbers prior to any cancer treatments, this way you may know how to compare. 
  • Back Squat: 260
  • Deadlift: 265
  • Fort Squat: 225
  • OHS: 145 
  • Press: 110
  • Bench Press:135
  • Push Press: 160
  • Split Jerk: 200 
  • Clean: 190
  • Snatch: 130
  • Thruster: 165

And here are all my workouts as best I as documented them and any notes I made. And I shall apologize in advance because I'm sorry about the length of this post! Also, this does not include all the hikes and other outdoor activities we did outside of the gym. 

May 13th-Wed: Chemo Day 1- A/C
May 16th: Feeling a little ambitious this first round of chemo. :) 
  • 3x5 of Press, ended with 75#, 3x3 Push Press, ended with 125#, 3x1 Jerk, ended with 155#. 
  • Did accessory work of strict pullups, ring dips, ring rows, DB press. 
  • WOD: 2K row. Alternating every 250 meters from a fast pace (2:10) to slower pace (2:25). Took me 9:09. 
May 17th: I was having hard time breathing because of mouth sores/issues. 
  • Backsquat 5x3, ended with 170#. 
  • Reverse lunges. 
May 19th: I felt very weak and tired and had to rest a lot this day. My ears and mouth were bothering me. I felt very weak and very humbled by a simple workout. Didn't feel like puking and was glad to be there but wanted to cry with frustrations. 
  • 35 Pushups, 35 Reverse Lunges (45#), 35 Shoulder to Overhead (45#), 35 Situps, 35 Box Step ups (20"), 35 Air Squats. Took 14:32 
May 20th: Yoga and it felt awesome!! I wasn't much into yoga prior to cancer but it helped pull me out of my chemo funk and bring me into my recovery week. 

May 21st: Felt so much better and didn't get out of breath as much. Did a slow and controlled workout. 
  • Back Squat. Hit 185# for 1 and 155# for 6. 
  • 3 Rounds: 5 Strict Pullups, 10 Strict Windshield Wipers (ab movement on the bar), 15 Back Extensions. 7:45
May 22nd: 
  • 10 min AMRAP: 5 MU transitions w/a band, 10 GHD, 15 Wallballs. 3 rounds +2 transitions.
May 23rd: I was so excited to be able to do a team workout and not feel like I was slowing anyone down. And I did all the runs too! 
  • Teams of 3: 175 Snatches (55#), 25 Rope Climbs, 115 Thrusters (75#). Rest 5 minutes and then do: Run 800 M, 50 wallballs (14#), Run 600, 40 wallballs, Run 400, 30 wallballs. Took our team a total of 45:05. 
May 25th: Memorial Day.  
  • Murph: Normally 1 mile run, 100 pullups, 200 pushups, 300 air squats, 1 mile run. 
  • This was actually my first time doing Murph! So I did: 1 mile run (very slow 11:35), 20 rounds of: 5 pushups (on knees), 5 pullups, 5 pushups, 15 squats, then I biked the last mile. 59:23. 
  • Then we shaved my head. :) 
May 26th: 
  • 9 Min AMRAP: 7 Power cleans (105#), 7 T2B, 70 DU. 3 Rounds + 7 cleans. 
  • Postwod: Great ab workout of planks and situps. 
May 27th: Chemo Infusion 2 of A/C

June 3rd: Round 2 I didn't push it by going into the gym during that first week. But 1 week after infusion I went to Yoga and got pulled out of the chemo funk! 

June 4th: 
  • Backsquat: ended with 5 reps at 135#
  • BenchPress: ended with 3 reps at 95# 
  • 3 Rounds Not for time: 5 strict pullups, 7 pushups (regular), 5 dips on box 
June 5th: Went slow and steady and I didn't let myself get too tired. 
  • 21 Minute EMOM:: Min 1: Hang Power Snatch (85#), Min 2: Box Step Ups, Min 3: T2B 
  • Snatch my lowest number was 4. Stepups was 8 each minute, and T2B lowest number was 7
June 6th: Slow and steady for most of workout. This was a girls community workout. 
  • 20 Min AMRAP: 20 cal row, Lateral Box Step Overs, DB Ground to Shoulder, Med Ball Pushups. Rotated when rower was done. Then a good, hard postwod ab workout. 
June 8th: Pushed it today and let my heartbeat get jacked and out of breath. 
  • 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of SDHP & Thrusters at 55#. Took 8:59 
June 9th: 
  • 3 Min AMRAP: 20 Cal Row, 30 KB Swings (.75 pood), 20 Box Jump, 30 Wall Ball, 20 Burpees. Rest 1 min and then do it as a 6 Min Amrap. Rest 2 min and then complete it all the way through. 21:51 total to do. Took me 9:51 to complete the last round. 
  • Postwod was ab workout. 
June 10th: Went before chemo infusion 3
  • 3 rep max OHS: 125#
  • 3 Rounds: 21 Pullups, 7 OHS (105#). Took 10:11 
June 10th: Chemo Infusion 3 

June 11th: I got tired and didn't do the snatch and front squat that was supposed to be done after the jerk and squat clean. 
  • Jerk: 3 reps-145#  ( I think I dropped every time, had Tony clean it and I immediately jerked again, I didn't feel comfortable dropping the bar back into front rack because of port) 
  • Squat Clean: 3 reps- 135# (Still nervous with Port so didn't go super heavy).
June 17th: Yoga 

June 18th: Oh I remember this day. I didn't make any notes but I recall being so jacked about life. I felt strong, I felt good, I was doing hard movements and was loving it. It was also 95+ degrees outside and later that night we went to the rodeo in the sun. After 10 minutes of sitting outside I had to go home and was so wrecked and heat exhausted, I pushed it too hard...but it was still totally worth it! 
  • Jerk: 5 reps at 135# (again, dropped each time). 
  • 3 Rounds: 20 GHD, 10 HSPU (I used 1 abmat), 2 Rope Climbs, 1 Legless Rope Climb. Took 20 minutes. 
June 22nd: 
  • Tabata: Row for calories, KB Swings (1.5), DU, Front Squats at 45#. 1 Minute rest. 
  • Row hit minimum of 3, KB swing: min 7, DU: I must have been hurting because this is my most favorite movement and it looks like I went to situps after 2 rounds, Front squat: min 4. 
June 23rd: To this day I still remember doing this workout. It was very humbling. My notes say: Was very tired on runs, walked parts of last 200 m, even rested on 1. Pullups felt good, but broke thrusters up. If you see, the thruster weight was 35 pounds. It was the bar. And I broke it up. I was exhausted. Chemo was coursing through my body and I had a clear insight into what fatigue was that day. I can not wait to do this workout again some day just to compare times. 
  • Supposed to be Daniel for the class workout but I did: 30 Pullups, 400 M run, 15 Thrusters (35#!), 200 M run, 15 Thrusters, 200 M Run, 30 Pullups. 
June 24th: LAST Infusion (#4) of the Red Devil!! 

July 2nd: 
  • Strict Press: 3 reps and ended at 85#
  • 2 Rounds: 8 Strict Pullups (used green band), 3 KB Rows 
July 3rd: 
  • 24 Min AMRAP w/partner. Partner 1: 200 M run. Partner 2: 2 rounds of Cindy (5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 air squats). 
  • Tony was my partner and I rowed about 150 M each time and then would only do 1 round of Cindy, and did knee pushups. 
July 5th: Was sleepy tired this day. 
  • Back Squat 2 reps for a 10 Min EMOM at 175#. Did 4 minutes and then my legs started to cramp really bad so I stopped. 
  • 3 Rounds: 10 T2B, 10 Back Extensions, 20 OH walking lunges (25#), 20 Bench Press. 15:00
  • Postwod: good,hard ab workout. 
July 6th: warmup was 800 M and I almost had to walk some of it. Running was really really hard. 
  • 12 MIN AMRAP: 21 OH walking lunges, 15 bar jumps, 9 deadlifts (155#). 2 rounds + 21
July 7th: 
  • Nasty Girls but I did: 3 Rounds: 50 Air Squats, 7 Muscle up transitions w/ green band, 10 Hang Power Cleans (95#). Took me 14:59 
July 8th-September 23rd: For 12 weeks I had my taxol chemo infusion every Wednesday. 

July 9th: Slow and steady
  • 16 Min AMRAP: Partner Wod "Joes". 3 Power Snatch (75#), 9 Pullups. 19 rounds +9
July 10th: Sleepy, out of breath very easily and tired. 
  • Back Squat: Ended 3 reps at 175#
  • 60 DU, 30 Shoulder to Overhead (75#), 60 DU, 30 S2O. Time: 8:43
July 13th: Really tired when I got to gym but felt better as I got going. 
  •  Snatch: 1 at 88# . Clean & Jerk: 1 at 148#
  • 4 Rounds: 7 T2B, 3 sec. handstand hold, 1 legless ropeclimb (after round 1 I didn't make it all the way to the top) 
July 14th: 
  • Front Squat: 3 reps at 155#. Back Squat: 3 reps at 175#. 
  • 3 Rounds: 3 MIN AMRAP: 5 C2B, 10 T2B, 15 Air Squats . Rd 1: 1 round +11, Rd 2: 1 round +5, Rd 3: 1 round +2.
  • Postwod: NTF: handstands, strict pullups, pushups, etc. 
July something: 
  • 3 Rounds: 64 DU, 16 Deadlifts (95#), 8 Push Press (95#). Took 9:20 
July 18th: We were in Crested Butte for a trip and we couldn't make it to a gym there but we found this outdoor "gym" that had pullup bars and other stuff. Elevation was over 9000 feet. 
  • 2 Rounds: 10 Dips, 200 M Run . Then rest 2 Min and do: 150 Jump squats as team and if you weren't squatting you were hanging from bar. Then rest 2 minutes and do 15 burpee pullups. 
July 20th: 
  • Snatch: 3 reps at 95#. Jerks: 3 reps at 155# (dropped bar each time). I attempted one jerk at 170 and failed. :/ 
  • 4 Rounds:  4 min EMOM of: 8 T2B, Wall handstand holds, 5 Pushups, Rest
July 24th: 
  • 2 Legless Rope Climbs, 50 GHD Situps, 40 HSPU (used 2 abmat pads), 30 Pistol lunges, 20 deadlifts (175#), 10 ring dips (used blue band), 2 legless rope climbs (only went 3/4th the length). 16:30 was time. 
July 22nd: 
  • Angie: 100 Pullups (I butterflied them all!), 100 Pushups (did 30 regular), 100 situps, 100 squats. Took me 31:01 
July 25th: 
  • 3 Rounds: 5 Back Squats, 200 M Run, 30 seconds of burpees. Rest 2 minutes after each round. Then rest 5 minutes when done and then do: 
  • 3 Rounds: 15 Hang Power Snatch (65#), 2 Min Row. Rest 2 min. after each round. Then rest 5 minutes when done and then do: 
  • For Time: 21-15-9 of KB Swings (53# and russian), Box Jumps (20").  Total time was 38:32 
July 27th: 
  • 400 M Sled Push (60#), 30 Wallballs, 30 weighted situps, 50 stepups, 400 M Sled Push. Team of 3 to complete the sled push. 
July 28th: Really hot outside. 
  • Diane: 21-15-9 of Deadlifts (155#) and HSPU (I used 2 abmat pads). Took 10:34. 
  • Postwod: hard plank, situp workout. 
July 29th:

  • Lift 10,000 Pounds as fast as possible. Doing 1 Front Squat, 1 Press, 1 Deadlift. Took 18:28. 
July 30th: 
  • 3 Rounds: 10 Snatch (85#), 200 M Run. Took 9:20 then a rest of 10 min. Then: 3 Rounds: 100 DU, 7 Hang C&J (95#) Took 8:54 
August 1st: 
  • 20 Ground to Overhead (105#), 30 Cal Row, 40 Jumping Squats. Time: 9:34 
August 3rd: 
  • 18 Min AMRAP: 15 T2B, 5-2 for 1 Wallball (14#), 3 Deadlifts (205#). Did 4 Rounds + 8
August 4th: 
  • 3 Rounds: 21 Pullups, 15 HSPU (used 2 pads), 9 Thrusters (95#). Time: 20:44
August 10th: 
  • 50 Air Squats w/ bar, 40 hand release pushups, 30 strict pullups 
Also worked out August 7th and 11th but didn't write down workouts. 

August 13th: 
  • 14 Min EMOM: 5 Push Press, 10 PVC Jumps. 
August 17th: 
  • 21-15-9 Deadlifts (145#) and 2 Bar Muscle Ups after each round. Took 9:38 
August 18th: 
  • 3 Rounds: 10 Pullups, 20 OH Lunge (15#), 400 M Run. 
August 19th: 
  • Backsquat- hit 205# for 1 rep 
  • 30 Backsquats for time: 95# 
August 20th: 
  • 2000 M Row, 1.5K Run, 100 DU. I biked instead of ran though. 7:36 
August 22nd: 
  • Teams of 2: 1000 M Row (switch every 100 M). Then 5 Rounds of 30 T2B ( I did lying T2B), 30 GHD, 30 Pullups, 30 Thrusters (65#). Then: 1000 M Row 
August 25th: Really hot and tired and couldn't hook grip because of my nails aching. 
  • Isabell 30 Snatches- I did 75#. 2:38 
August 26th: 
  • Partner WOD: Each do: 400 M Run/ 150 DU-Switch. 4 Rounds: 16 Front Rack Lunges (75#), 16 SDHP, 16 Synchronized Burpees.  Then each do: 400 M Run/150 DU .Took 21:00
August 27th: 
  • Oly Class: OH Squat for 1 rep at 155#. Deadlift: 245# 
  • 4 Rounds: 1 Min max effort/reps: Sit Ups, KB Swings, PVC Pipe Jumps, Planks, Rest 
August 29th: 
  • 5 Rounds: 3 Deadlifts (180#), 200 M Run. Rest 75 seconds. Then rest 5 minutes and do: 3 Rounds: 15 Goblet Squats, 1 Min Row, 2 Min rest. Then Not for Time, 3 Rounds: 10 Strict Pullups, 10 HSPU, 10 Strict Ring Dips 
August 31st: 
  • Crossfit Total: Backsquat: 205. Strict Press: 105. Deadlift: 255. 
  • Track Workout 3 Rds: 800 M, 400 M, 200 M
September 1st: Hands felt horrible 
  • Josh: 21 OHS, 42 Pullups, 15 OHS, 30 Pullups, 9 OHS, 18 Pullups. 12:48 
September 2nd: 
  • 20 Min AMRAP: 800 M Run, 80 DU, 40 T2Rings, 20 Plate ground to overhead (25#), 10 Pushups. Did 1 Round +93 (had to walk a little of the second 800 m) 
September 3rd: 
  • 21 Weighted Pistols (45#), 15 Clean & Jerk (135#), 9 Muscle Ups (did red + blue band). Took 10:48 and then rested 8 minutes and did: 21 HSPU, 15 Snatches (95#), 9 Muscle Ups . Total 32:28
September 4th: 
  • Teams of 3: 75 cal row, 75 box jump over (20"), 75 deadlifts (125#), 75 wallballs, 75 deadlifts, 75 box jump over, 75 cal row. Took 21:43
September 6th:
  • Jackie: 1000 M Row, 50 Thrusters (35#), 30 Pullups. Took 11:38 
September 7th: My white blood cell count was low at infusion so I went easy and slow. I felt tired. 
  • 800 M Row, 20 Muscle Ups, 20 Snatches (75#), 800 M Row. Took 16:50 
September 8th: 
  • 21-15-9: Wallballs and lunges. 150 DU after each set. 10:30 
September 14th: 
  • 20 Min AMRAP with partner: 50 cal row, 50 KB situps (1 pood), 100 DU, 50 KB Snatch, 400 M Run, 50 KB Lunges. Did 2 rounds +3 calories
September 15th:
  • Fat Grace: 30 Clean & Jerks (135#). I did it! Took me 11:10 
September 23rd: This was my last chemo day!! I didn't work out for 8 days because my white blood cells were so low and wanted to be able to finish chemo. I ate like crap and felt like crap but was stoked to be back in the gym. 
  • 12-9-6 Front Squat (95#), Strict Pullups and 100 DU after each round. Took 14:35 
September 24th: 
  • 3 Round: 21 Ground to Overhead (25#), 15 Box Jumps, 9 HSPU ( did box HSPU and felt really weak). 7:30 
September 26th: 
  • 3 Rounds: 21 KB Swings (35#), 21 Ring Pushups (did on knees), 400 M Run. Time: 15:30 
September 28th: 
  • 25 Min AMRAP: 20 Pushups, 20 Hollow Rocks, 10 Backsquats (95# from ground), 400 M Run. Did 3 rounds + 50 Reps
September 30th: My ice cream workout! Did an ice cream social at the gym to celebrate being done with chemo. 
  • 100 DU, 4 Bar MU (just attempted some), 8 Burpee, 16 Pullups, 20 T2B, 16 Pullups, 8 Burpee, 4 Bar MU, 100 DU  . Took 12:09 
October 1st: 
  • Teams of 2: 2000 M Row- alternate every 250 M. Then 10 Rounds: 10 Squat Clean DB Thrusters (25#), 10 Box Jumps. Time: 23:23
October 3rd: Jenny Labaw's Epilepsy Move Mountains workout. 
  • 400 M Run. Then 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 KB Swing, Box Jump. Then 400 M Run 
October 4th: 
  • Teams of 2, rest 1:1. 1 Barbell per team. 
  • 15 Minute AMRAP: Fran, then Grace, then Diane. We had 7 HSPU left of Diane. 
October 6th: 
  • Max Pullups: 22 
  • Karen: 150 Wallballs (14#). Took 9:24 . Not good at all! Frustrating! 
October 7th: So sore from Karen! 
  • Partner WOD: 300 DU. Then 8 Rounds: 12 Deadlifts (105#), 9 Hang Power Cleans, 6 Shoulder to Overhead. Then 300 DU. 
October 8th: 
  • Oly Class: 3 rep Strict: 90#, 3 rep Push Press: 125#, Clean- 1 rep: 160#
October 12th: 
  • 10 Min AMRAP: 5 Front Squats (110#), 3 Shoulder to Overhead, 1 Muscle Up (I did attempts and/or transitions). Did 6 rounds +1 
October 13th: 
  • Lumberjack 20: 20 Deadlifts (195#), 400 M Run, 20 KBS (1.25), 200 M run, 20 OHS (80#), 400 M Run, 20 Burpees, 200 M run. Took 32:02 
October 14th: 
  • 16 Min AMRAP: Partner 1: 500 M Row, Partner 2: 10 Wallballs, 10 HSPU (did 1-2 pads). Hit 6 rounds 
October 15th: Super awesome day!! 
  • Start with empty barbell and increase by 10# each time. After you fail 3 times you're done. Start with Snatch then move to Clean when you fail. I hit 125# squat snatch which matched my old PR!! It was magical and awesome! Then hit 180# Squat Clean- which was  pounds under my Squat clean PR, and 10 # under Power Clean PR. 
  • Oly Class: 1 rep strict press: 102#, 1 rep push press: 145#. 1 rep jerk: 170# 
October 16th: 
  • Nasty Girls: 3 Rounds: 50 Air Squats, 7 Muscle Ups, 10 Hang Power Cleans (95#). I attempted 3 MU each round. Took 12:33
October 17th: 
  • Teams of 2: 100 Wallballs (14#), 100 Box Jumps (20"), 100 KBS, 100 Situps, 100 Cal Row. Then some rowing for calories (didn't make good notes), then 7 Min AMRAP: 15 Snatches (55#), 30 DU. 
October 20th: Surgery 1: Mastectomy. Wasn't supposed to workout or lift anything for  6 weeks. 

October 29th: First day back from surgery. Very slow and controlled. 
  • 50 Air Squats, 40 Stepups, 30 Hollow Rocks, 20 Lunges, 10 Russian Twists. Took 9:1 
November 2nd: 
  • 10 Minute bike and EMOM: 10 air squats. 
November 3rd: 
  • 16 Min EMOM: 10 hollow rocks, 20 lunges, 20 stepups, 40 sec bike
November 4th: 
  • 14 Min AMRAP: 12 Ice skaters, 9 Back Extensions, 6 Pistols (did to a bench). Did 7 Rounds. 
November 5th: Surgery 2. Was even more "restricted"- not supposed to raise heartrate or lift anything for another 6 weeks. 

November 16th: 
  • 10 Minutes on bike. EMOM 10 Air Squats. 
November 17th: Very slow and controlled, rested when hear rate got high. 
  • 3 Rounds: 10 lateral lunges, 20 Box Stepups, 30 Air Squats. 
November 24th: 
  • EMOM 20 Minutes: 1: 20 Hollow Rocks. 2: 6 single leg forward reach. 3. 10 Wall facing squats. 4: 45 seconds on bike. 5. 10 reverse lunges(raised arms as high as I could go). 
November 30th: 
  • 6 Rounds: 1 min box stepups, 1 min hollow rocks, 1 min. air squats, 1 min rest. 
December 1st: Felt good and went fairly slow on squats and row. Didn't use arms much on row. Focused on chest out. 
  • 28-21-15-9 of Back Squat at 45# and Calorie Row . Took 17:22
December 3rd: 
  • 5 Min AMRAP: 10 DB Front Rack Lunges (25#), 10 Stepups. Rest 90 seconds. then 5 Min AMRAP: 10 DB Thrusters, 10 Box Jump Overs. Then 2 Min max farmer's carry (did 10# on each side). 
December 4th: Happy 29th Birthday to me! 
  • 16 Min AMRAP: 10 cal row, 15 deadlifts (45#), 20 situps 
December 8th: 
  • 3 Rounds: 5 Backsquats, 5 Ring Rows, Row 350 M. Rest 2 minutes. Then rest 5 minutes and do: 5 Rounds: 15 Yard Front Rack Walking lunge. 30 Seconds on bike. Rest 5 minutes. Then do 3 Rounds: 10 Wall Squats, 10 SB Hamstring Curls, 20 Situps
December 9th: 
  • 3 Rounds: 30 Back extensions, 20 Deadlifts (45#), 10 Box Jumps
December 11th: 
  • Partner Cindy: I did 5 Ring Rows, 10 Wall Pushups, 15 Airsquats 
December 12th: 
  • Buy In: 50 Medball Cleans (6#), 30 Burpees. Then 6 Rounds: 30 Situps, 30 Air Squats. Then Buy Out: 50 Medball Cleans, 30 Burpees. Took me 23:58. For burpees I did a walk to a plank, then walk up and jump. 
  • After 12/11 and 12/12 I was soooo sore! Like I'd never worked out before sore. It was awesome!! 
December 15th: 
  • 6 Rounds of: 1 Min of Rowing, 1 Min of Burpees, 1 Min of DU, 1 Min rest. 
December 16th: 
  • Press, 3x5 and end weight is 30#
  • 10-8-6-4-2 of OHS (15#), 2 for 1 Wallballs (10#). After each round 50 DU. Took me 12:31
December 17th: 
  • 3x5 of Sumo Deadlift: Last weight was 145#
  • Tempo Pushups and Tempo Pullups- I did knee pushups and ring rows. 
  • For time: Row 30 Calories: Took me 1:23
December 18th: 
  • 50 Walking Lunge Steps, 25 False grip ring rows, 50 Box jumps, 25 triple unders, 50 back extensions, 25 ring pushups, 50 lying T2B, 25 wallballs (2 for 1 at 10#), 50 situps, 5 rope climbs (I did 15 pull myself up off the ground and lower myself. Took me 30 minutes. 
December 19th: 
  • Worked out with my sister-in-law at her gym (not a crossfit gym). We did 12 Days of Christmas and #1 was a minute plank! 
  • A few hours later I met a friend at her crossfit gym. Partner workout: 5 Rounds: 400 M Run (each person runs 200 M), 14 Power Cleans (65#), 24 Strict Pullups (I did a sort of jumping pullup). 
December 21st: 
  • Clean progression: hit 3 rep of 115#. Squat Snatch hit 4x2 of 55#. 10 rep back squat, hit 155#. 10 rep push press: 75#. 
December 22nd: 
  • 3 Rounds: 20 alternating pistols, row 2 minutes. Rest 2 minutes. Then Rest 5 minutes and 3 Rounds: 10 hang power snatch (75#), 200 M run, 10 Burpee box jumps. Rest 2 minutes. Then rest 5 minutes and do 20 Strict Pullups (I used a green and red band). 
December 24th: 
  • Ivan the Terrible: 50-40-30-20-10 of Double Unders, KB swings (26#), Situps, Walking Lunges. Took me 18:08 
December 28th: 
  • 8x3 Deadlift, worked up to 185#
  • 4 Min AMRAP: 15 Power Snatch (55#), 30 DU. Rest 2 min and repeat. Hit 2+15 first time and then 2+6 second time. 
December 29th: 
  • 5 Rounds: 25 KB Swings (1 pood), 20 Lunges with KB. Took 10:17 
December 30th: 
  • Top Gun: 20 reps of Thrusters, SDHP, Push Jerks, OH Squats, Front Squats (55#). Then EMOM 4 Burpees. Took me 8:52. 
January 2nd: 
  • Did handstand holds and felt good! Tried handstand walking that didn't go well. 
  • Every 30 seconds for 5 minutes: 1 Squat clean + 2 Jerks: 85#
  • 1000 M Row, 10 Push Jerk (65#), 10 Strict Pullups with green +red band, 750 M Row, 10 Push Jerk, 10 Pullups, 500 M Row, 10 Push Jerk, 10 Pullups, 250 M Row, 10 Push Jerk, 10 Pullups. Took 21:14. 
  • Afternoon did 14.2/15.2: For the C2B I did kipping pullups with a band. 
January 4th: 
  • Clean Progression- every 2 minutes for 6 reps total of: Full Power Clean, Clean below the knee, squat clean above the knee, 1 split jerk. I hit 115#. 
  • EMOM x 8 for Snatch, Behind the neck Push Press, OH: Hit 100#. 
  • Backsquat: 3x5: hit 155#
  • Pushpress: 3x5: hit 105# 
  • Did some strick chinups with a band, and some benchpress- 3x5 and hit 75#. 
  • Rowing, running workout afterwards
January 5th: 
  • 12 min EMOM: 3 handstand holds, 5 strict leg raises while hanging on bar, 3 kipping pullups (no band!!) 
  • 2 Rounds: 7 clean pulls (did 165#), 150 DU. rest 2 minutes. Rest 5 minutes and then do: 2 rounds: 20 yard walking lunge behind the neck and from the ground (95#), 2 minute row. Rest 2 minutes. 
January 6th: 
  • 14.4- 14 Min AMRAP: 60 cal row, 50 T2B, 40 Wallballs (14#), 30 Power cleans (95#), 20 Muscle Ups. I did all 50 T2B! I got through 12 of my cleans so total reps of 162. 
January 7th: 
  • Clean and Jerk- 15 reps at 125#. Took me 5:37. 
  • 6 minutes to build to heaviest squat snatch starting with bar. I hit 105# 
  • 4 Rounds: 7 Front Squats (75#), 7 Ring rows, 5 Thrusters, 5 Ring rows on box, 3 Clusters, 3 Ring rows on box
January 9th: 
  • Teams of 4: 5000 M Row, 300 Box Jumps, 300 Plate Ground to Overhead, 200 Pushups, 500 Situps, 2000 Single Unders
  • Yoga! 
January 11th: 
  • Clean and Jerk 12 min EMOM of 1 Hang Squat clean, 1 front squat, 1 split jerk. Hit 145#. 
  • Snatch progression of 2 power + 1 squat, 5 rounds. Hit 105# 
  • 5 rep backsquat- hit 170# 
  • 5 rep Pushpress- hit 115#
  • 9x 150M rows-Fast!! 
January 12th: 
  • 3 Rounds: 7 Hang Power Cleans (100#), Shuttle run. Rest 2 minutes and then Rest 5 minutes and 3 Rounds: 20 DB stepups (35# in each hand), 2 minute row. 
So a little over 10 weeks since surgery and I am really starting to feel strong in some areas and still weak in others. But I will say this, man do I have a fire under me to not only get back to where I was, but to be even better. Pre-surgery I was worried that I wouldn't be as strong as I was, since the surgery cut up my pec muscles, but already I feel confident and hopeful that in time I will surpass all my old PRs! 







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Thursday, January 7, 2016

Road to Recovery

The human body is amazing. What it can endure, bounce back from and how quickly it heals. It’s been over 11 weeks since surgery 1 and  9 weeks since surgery 2 and I am thrilled to finally have my “restrictions removed”. And each new movement, whether it’s in the gym or outside of it may feel slow and awkward, but eventually it feels normal again. 

Thankfully the past 2 months have been a blur of activity and fun.

The first few weeks were full of hiking, Hunger Games, my first beer and other random adventures. Oh and healing from surgery! 




November 21st we spent the weekend in Denver while Tony and a few friends competed in a Crossfit comp. I was so jealous to not be participating (except when they were doing burpees in puddles outside in the freezing cold). But it sure lit a fire under my butt for when I would get back to the gym. There’s nothing like watching other people work out to get you all revved up to hit PRs and get your butt kicked. J  And. Tony took second place at the Turkey Challenge too! So proud and happy to see his hard work paying off.





After the Turkey Challenge the holiday season began. We started it off in Grand Junction with my sister and her family, and my brother-in-law's family.  


The next day we hoped on a jet and journeyed to Santa Cruz, California for Thanksgiving with Tony’s extended family.  It was so great to see our aunts, uncles, cousins and many loved ones. It was a weekend full of cards, food, laughter and great conversations. And because I’d never been to Santa Cruz we did the touristy things, like the boardwalk, watching the surfers, whale watching while the sun came up….and watching Boise State play San Jose.











On December 4th we had a small get together for my 29th birthday and it was my first night of being intoxicated since April. During the day I hiked my favorite trail, Mushroom Rock and it was hot enough to be in a tank top! Later with all our friends we played some cards and Mariokart ßwhere I almost had a perfect 16-0 game, but I lost on Rainbow Road. Damn you Connor! The evening then progressed into late night dancing at Phat Thai for Carbondale’s First Friday.







We spent the next few weeks working out, attending Christmas parties, skinning (I only went halfway up the hill, once it got steep I turned around because the risk of falling was too great), hikes and other fun events. 






And then on December 13th Becca (Tony’s sister) and I drove to Boise, where the real whirlwind began.In Boise I was busy working, which was so fun to be in the office and see all my coworkers. In the evenings I was attending dinners with friends and family and of course Crossfitting. I had a lot of different gyms to attend to see lots of different people. 





Tony made it to town on December 19th, just in time for the Mather Christmas party. This was my second night of late night dancing and a time to connect with all my friends that I miss and hadn’t seen in a while! We are so lucky to have so many great friends, family and acquaintances. And I took my mom downtown for her first time ever! We even took her dancing at the Balcony. :) 






The next week we headed to one of my most favorite places ever, my family cabin in Donnelly, Idaho. It had been a few years since I had been back there in the snow and man did I miss it! And holy crap, did we have a crazy amount of snow! Like more snow then we have seen in a long long time. I didn't even bring my snowboard to Idaho because I didn't want to get tempted and go snowboarding. Per my surgeon my restrictions were removed but Tony and I didn't know if it would be a good idea for me to risk falling. So here's the deal, I was really really good during my rehab. I never pushed it, I listened to my body and all went well. That week I was getting a lot of movement back and doing really good in and out of the gym. So when my most favorite resorts ever, my home resorts, got dumped on, well, I went snowboarding. And it was SO worth it! That was the best two days of riding I have had in like 6 years. Epic awesomeness! The snow was deep and light, my body felt safe and fine, and I had lots of good friends to shred with, life was great! 









Besides the great snowboarding we also did some Crossfit, played lots of games, relaxed in the hot tub, and ventured outside for other winter activities. And shoveled, a lot! 





We finished out the Christmas vacation with my family and again, it was full of lots of other Cabin adventures, like cross country skiing, snowmobiling, lots of cards, and taking a sleigh ride to see some wild elk. I also spent about 4 hours coloring in my nephew's Harry Potter coloring book. I was so happy to see my 4 nephews (and I think they were happy to see me with hair on my head).






On Monday December 28th we drove back to Carbondale from Boise. When we were in Salt Lake we decided to drop by Ute Crossfit to get a workout in, and guess what? 1 of my 2 favorite male crossfitters was there! Yes, he may be the owner of Ute but I never thought he would be there (especially since they have 3 locations). And even better, he worked out with us! I kept my cool...I think...but I did ask for a picture afterwards. It was a great cap to our trip. 


Back in Colorado the festivities continued at a super fun, late night New Year's Eve party. The next day after a huge diner breakfast we got out for a gorgeous, but cold walk. 



We had a super fun holiday season but I will say we are excited to get back into the swing of things. I made a vision board for 2016 as I am very eager to have an epic and fun year. What are your visions for 2016? 



Nitty Gritty Details of my Rehab:
Surgery 2 went really well. It was a lot longer than they planned but it was successful and that’s all that mattered. She was thankfully able to get 450 cc in, because they seem to be a little smaller than my real boobs, but I am happy with them. I know I’m not that picky, but she did great work! You can’t really see the scar and the boobs themselves look just fine. I have this weird “pucker” happening but we believe it’s just from my pec muscle being so tight right now and will eventually even out. Even in the past few weeks it has smoothed out a lot already. 

I had a surgery on Thursday and was off the pain meds by Saturday and off Tylenol a few days after that. It was not painful, and I was not nearly as tight as I was after the mastectomy. The boobs were a little weird to get used to and felt foreign to me.

Tony got me set up to see some of the physical therapists at his Carbondale office and I had about 6 visits. We did not begin this until about 4 weeks after surgery. This was sooo helpful. Tony could have given me the info and exercises at home but it was really good to go into the office and have them spend an hour doing soft tissue work on my pectoral muscles. They were really tight from the surgery so they worked on loosening them up and then they would send me home with lots of stretches and exercises to do at home. I tried to be diligent in doing those exercises as I was determined to get my range of motion back as quick as possible. And it was pretty cool to see how it did come back.

For my physical body changes- the nails are almost fully healed. And I have a lot of hair on my head! Hair that is starting to turn more brown than silver. 

Crossfitting and Adventuring:
My plastic surgeon did great work and that is all that matters but she was not very helpful when it came to my rehab. I was just told, “don’t lift more than 10 pounds for 6 weeks and don’t do exercise that would elevate my heart rate for 4-6 weeks.” So, with the help of my husband who sometimes was a little more conservative than I wanted, we figured out our own plan of action for my exercise routine. From surgery (11/5/15) to 11/16/15 I didn't do any workouts, just light hiking around the area (some of which was steep though). After 11/16 I slowly started adding in some workouts, very light and easy to begin with. I’ll be posting another blog post of all the workouts I did from April to current, but here’s a quick recap of when I hit some milestone movements and weights post surgery.

2nd Surgery was: 11/5/15 
  • First Ring Row: 12/8
  • Rowing: 12/1 was first time rowing, but I didn't use my arms much. On 12/15 I went much harder on row. 
  • First time touching a barbell: 12/1 and it felt so good to just hold it in my hands! Did some 45 pound backsquats. 
  • Wall ball: 12/1 did 2 for 1s but let ball drop and only did 10#. 1/6 I did 14# to 9 foot target and felt fine. 
  • First time hanging on a bar: 12/19. Felt very scary and hard! Definitely pulled on my chest as it opened it up. 
  • First pushup (on knees):12/17
  • First pullup (with a band): 12/22. I did 20 strict pullups with a green and red band.
  • First unassisted pullup (kipping): 1/5, did 3 in a row! 
  • First Toes to Bar: 1/6 I went in to do 14.4 at the gym. I assumed I would have to do lying T2B since  the day before I didn't even feel that comfortable hanging from the bar. But I ended up doing all 50 in the workout! 
  • Snatch: 12/21 I did 55# squat snatch for 2. On 12/22 did 75# power snatch for 10 reps, 3 rounds. Squat snatch is much harder as it opens my chest a lot more than power does. On 1/4 I did 100# Snatch, a power and a squat. Felt great! 
  • Clean: Did 6# medball cleans on 12/12. Did 65# power cleans on 12/19. 12/21 hit 135# for a squat clean. Did #95 in a workout on 1/6. 
  • First Overhead Squat: 12/16 did 15#. 12/30 did 55# for 20 reps in a workout. And 1/4 did 100# overhead squat.
  • Thruster: 55# on 12/30, did 20 reps. 
  • Press, Pushpress, Jerk: 12/16 did 5 reps of 30# for strict press. On 12/21 did 10 reps of push press at 75#. On 1/4 I did 5 reps of 105#.  1/2 I did 65# push jerk in a workout (10 reps for 3 rounds). #115 split jerk on 1/4.
  • First Intense workout:12/12 
  • First box jump (rebounding): 12/18 
  • First time running: 12/19 I did 200 meters in a workout, 3 rounds.
  • Burpee:  First one that was stepping back and “worming” down and up: 12/15. Full burpee of jumping back and jumping up: 12/22
  • Double unders: 12/15 was first time. 
  • KB Swings: 12/24 did 26# and 12/29 did 1 pood. 
  • Deadlift: 45# deadlifts in an AMRAP on 12/4. Did sumo deadlifts for 5 reps at 145#. On 12/28 did 3 reps at 185#.
  • HSPU: 1/2 I did 5 in a row with about 1.5-2 pads. 
  • Handstand and handstand walking: 1/2 I did handstand holds and felt great. Then tried to walk (I love handstand walking) and that was too much stretching and/or pressure on my chest so I immediately stopped. 
  • First dip: With a green band did 5 dips on 12/30.
I remember on 11/24 doing a few overhead squats with a PVC pipe and wow, was I tight! It was amazing how hard it was to do and I almost couldn't do it. I had to have my hands sooo wide and the pipe was actually touching my head. But within a month I could do one with a barbell. My mobility still isn't back completely but it's come a long long ways and it is amazing how quickly things do come back. 

So if you are headed into surgery, or if you are in recovery, have faith and put in the time to do your exercises and stretches, you'll get there! You will have lots of ups and downs. Some days I am so exited because I feel like I am making so much progress. And then other days I feel so far from it. Hell, yesterday at the gym the skill portion was muscle ups. Just trying to hold in a static position on top of the rings was so hard....and it made my boobs look super weird. :). I don't care about the boobs, but I was frustrated that it was so difficult to just hold myself there. And then the workout was 14.4 and I thought for sure I would have to do lying T2B. Well I did everything RX and I was only 3 reps behind my 2014 score, so yippee! The point is, just keep swimming. :) 

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