The Year of Living Trippily

[DJtrippyT]

New Challenge! Or rather a series of challenges because I am trying to do multi-challenge character arc and it will span the course of 12 months.

 

So, in case I have not mentioned it, tomorrow is my birthday! And also Thanksgiving if you're one of us Yanks. Which means I plan to get some extra stuffing and NOT feel bad about it. I turn 49 tomorrow, which is a weird combination of WHOOOT WHOOOT and holy fuck. I want to make my next few challenges all about getting out of my comfort zone, trying new things, and basically revving the engine so I come screeching up to the starting line of 50 with my tires smoking and my helmet on and some other racing cliche that I cannot in this moment think of. Half a century, baby! Bring me the bifocals and the comfortable shoes BECAUSE IT IS ON.

 

I used my ongoing obsession with the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as a framework. In the course of the movie, Walter takes on a whole series of challenges that lead him to the prize and leave him a different person. Or... does it?

 

 

 

There's a scene in the movie where Walter, after all his adventures, is sitting in a coffee shop and trying to write his resume - because while he was out having his grand quest, the magazine he worked for folded and he lost his job. It's almost a throwaway scene, but it's always stuck with me, because I watch it and wonder what happened to him after the movie ended. Like, did he get another boring job, and Cheryl get another boring job, and they just went back to being little gray pieces of paper again? I hate that thought. I refuse to believe it. I think - I like to think - that having gotten a taste of life outside his comfort zone, Walter and Cheryl bought an RV, and traveled across country with her kid and her three-legged dog, rock climbing and surfing and selling cupcakes at music festivals, with Walter's mom baking clementine-infused weed brownies whenever they traveled somewhere with legal marijuana. I am 90% sure that Walter's mom makes kick-ass weed brownies. 

 

My last couple of years have taken me waaaaay outside my comfort zone, or what I thought was my comfort zone, and I want to build on that and really start to stretch. Think about this:

 

- I started weight training with a 40-pound back squat and a zero-pound deadlift, because I didn't know what the fuck a deadlift was. I now squat 175 for reps (or did, and will again when my knee is back) and my 1RM deadlift is 225. I'm still considering getting that printed on t-shirt, by the way. 

 

- I went from 42% body fat to 31%, and I gained 18 pounds of lean mass. I'm heavier, but a smaller size, so I guess I got denser. I'm weirdly proud of this.

 

- I started riding my bike with a 3-mile loop around my neighborhood that was almost enough to kill me. This February I attempted the 52-mile "Brushy Tunnel" ride for the first time (a rite of passage for local cyclists) and was shaking in my shoes because I was sure I couldn't do it. I've since done it 8 times. I've ridden 6 metric centuries (100 kilometers) in the past two years and I have Tyrannasaur quads like Usain Bolt. I never want to wear long pants again.

 

- I planned and did my "Keys Loop" Adventure, I went diving in Hondouras and was not kidnapped by drug lords, and I toured California and spent a week in Yosemite and ate every taco in Los Angeles. I took a sailing class and got certified as a keelboat operator. I bought a decent car.

 

It doesn't seem like much taken individually (just like my resume!) but as a whole it's actually a lot.

 

Now it's time to look ahead and really start to stretch. I made a wish list of everything I wanted to do in the next year, and I'm going to attack a couple of items each month until I get them all. Some will span a few challenges and some will be one-and-done things, and a few can overlap which is good because I am all about efficiency. A few things are goals about accepting my own self, like stopping dying my hair and being embarrassed about my love of nature movies and how much I adore things that are fried. A few are athletic goals that I've been wanting to do but chickened out because I was afraid to fail at them. Some are professional to make my job and my life easier. And some are just things that would give me enjoyment, like starting an instagram for my obsession with street art. But they are all things that have unique meaning to me and will allow me to grow. 

 

I'll post a copy of the list on my challenge periodically and cross things off as I accomplish them. I'd put it in my signature but I can't figure out how to make a pretty multi-colored signature with editable items and different fonts like some people have, and godamnit if I can't have the My Little Pony version than I'll just make my own.

 

 

Given, then, that the challenge starts right after my birthday (I will plug this shamelessly, I am a complete attention whore), here are my items for this month:

 

- 250 pound 1RM deadlift: The Mantis is convinced I can do this, though I find it slightly terrifying. The one good thing about my knee being janked so I can't do squats is that I am really focused on my deadlift and I am frankly kicking some ass there. My most recent workouts were 165 pounds for 3 sets of four reps. 

 

- Find a uniform: Like Steve jobs and his turtleneck, or Diane Von Furstenburg with her wrap dresses. I want to have a go-to look that always looks decent so I can stop thinking about what I'm wearing. So far it looks like my winter look is a pencil skirt with knee boots and a long sleeved top, or jeans (actually jeggings; there is no getting my quadzilla thighs in jeans anymore) with the same boots and top. I also promised myself I'd buy a decent pair of winter boots this year; Atlanta is not that cold but it's constantly wet in the winter and I'm always miserable. I want something with traction because I have a phobia of falling.

 

- Revise the side hustle: I had a little ebay business that I ran on the side of my regular job, but it takes a ton of time for some reason and even at it's peak it only made about a hundred bucks a month. I'd be better off finding a different side hustle or just putting in more hours at my regular job. So this month I am going to give myself permission not to think about it or try to work on it. Bonus: more time for gym!

 

Enter a powerlifting meet: I won't actually accomplish this goal over this challenge, but I'm going to attend a powerlifting meet so I can get a feel for it on the 9th, unless I have to work. I want to see how they run and what the competition is like.

 

My gym workouts will continue on the strength end of things because I've discovered that 80 miles a week on the bike and three to four crossfit-style workouts make me want to become one with the carpet. I'm going to be working on my pull-ups a lot because I can't enter the Crossfit Open unless I can do a pull-up (even in the Master's division, where I totally am) and getting back to squatting. I did a couple bodyweight squats at the gym Monday for the first time in 5 weeks and they worked pretty well, just stiff.

 

I'm also going to give myself permission to drop out of the online video bike training program I was using because a) it was killing me and b ) I hate riding the trainer five days a week. I'm going to mix up the trainer and outside.

 

okay this has totally gone on long enough, you're all very patient. Go eat turkey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DJtrippyT]

PLACEHOLDER TEXT TO BE FILLED IN WHEN I'D I'M DRUNK AFTER WORK TOMORROW

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following along again.

[jonfirestar]

Following again

[Wild Wolf]

Sounds like the Christmas parties started early this year  

 

 

Following Stumbling along!

 

Wolf

[DJtrippyT]

Not drunk yet but my challenge is up now in the first post. Where's my margarita dammit

[Sloth the Enduring]

Here for swole quads and no pants.

[DJtrippyT]

2 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

Here for swole quads and no pants.

 

YAAAASSSSSS

[Xena]

LOVE your list.

I thought the side hustle was some kind of '70s dance and I was psyched that you were gonna single-handedly bring it back.

 

Didn't realize that the lifting and biking were new-ish to you. I assumed you had always been a badass.

[DJtrippyT]

17 hours ago, Xena said:

LOVE your list.

I thought the side hustle was some kind of '70s dance and I was psyched that you were gonna single-handedly bring it back.

 

Didn't realize that the lifting and biking were new-ish to you. I assumed you had always been a badass.

 

 

Thanks! I did some cycling in college but nothing like I do now. I roomed with a couple of cyclists at the time. 

 

Lifting is weird, I sort of fell into it - I worked at a co-work space and a few people there did P90x, so I started doing that, and one of those guys had a copy of 4-hour body that I borrowed and started doing the kettlebell workouts, and that sort of led me through the back door into crossfit, and somehow here we are. I just started doing it and I really liked it, and it turned out that I was good at it, which made me like it even more. 

 

I swear half the appeal is that it's "not something girls do" which appeals to my rebellious side ;-)

[DJtrippyT]

Technically still zero week, but I did 23 miles on the Comet yesterday (opt outside!) with sprints on the return leg. I havent' done that for a while, it was fun to just open it up and go. Sometimes you get a point when you are riding - @Sloth the Enduring and @doctorake will probably recognize this - where the maximum you're putting out is exactly what your gears will absorb and the transfer of energy from your body to the machine is seamless, and it's just amazing. It feels like flying. This usually ends when the lactic acid buildup bats you in the face, but it's great while it lasts..

 

gym today if I get all my adulting done. I'm terrified to step on the scale after thanksgiving. So much food. Erf.

 

 

[Xena]

16 minutes ago, DJtrippyT said:

I'm terrified to step on the scale after thanksgiving. So much food. Erf.

 

I forget who said it, but one of my all-time favorite NF quotes is "any fool can lose weight in January"

 

Just hang tight through the holidays. Do the best you can, and you'll be fine.

[DJtrippyT]

Week Zero/Day One Week one:

 

Got all my adulting done yesterday except for some work paperwork (which I will do directly after this post) so I went to gym. Did 5 miles on the stationary bike to warm up and then some stretching and then did DT as my main workout (five rounds of 12 deadlifts, 9 hang cleans, and 6 overhead press). I'd like to say I did it at the crossfit-prescribed weight of 115 pounds, but I would be lying. I did it at 65 and it was still almost enough to knock me out. Hang Cleans! Why are you so horrible?

 

I did 5 BW squats and 5 OH squats with a broomstick (very slowly) to start testing those moves. Not too bad. Did those before DT, obviously.

 

I weighed myself at the gym  and the Thanksgiving-induced destruction was not too bad. 209, up from 206.5. I feel like that will re-stabilize in a week.

 

Also I got an REI gift certificate from my aunt so I ordered the new winter boots I wanted. My "uniform" goal is halfway there and I will have warm feet.

 

Today: Day one got off with a bang as the Mantis made me ride a 37 mile loop from stone mountain park to piedmont park, with hills the whole way. God Almighty. I spent half the ride wanting to kill him and half the ride wishing I were dead, and then every time we hit a downhill section I was like "This is awesome! we should do this EVERY weekend!" Clearly my internal monologues are schizophrenic.

 

 

I can hear my cat in the kitchen knocking things over in the sink. Must go...

 

 

 

 

 

[jonfirestar]

10 hours ago, DJtrippyT said:

I weighed myself at the gym  and the Thanksgiving-induced destruction was not too bad. 209, up from 206.5. I feel like that will re-stabilize in a week.

Yeah that'll probably stabilize back out quite quickly.

[DJtrippyT]

I ran up a flight of stairs today! Admittedly just a half-flight in my house but still. That's improvement from edging up carefully so my knee doesn't explode. Did a long yoga/knee rehab session this morning to counteract yesterday's bicycle abuse.

[Emerald Eagle]

Awesome goals! I've been wanting to try Crossfit for a while but been too intimidated. Any advice for a newbie?

[doctorake]

On 11/25/2017 at 10:25 AM, DJtrippyT said:

Technically still zero week, but I did 23 miles on the Comet yesterday (opt outside!) with sprints on the return leg. I havent' done that for a while, it was fun to just open it up and go. Sometimes you get a point when you are riding - @Sloth the Enduring and @doctorake will probably recognize this - where the maximum you're putting out is exactly what your gears will absorb and the transfer of energy from your body to the machine is seamless, and it's just amazing. It feels like flying. This usually ends when the lactic acid buildup bats you in the face, but it's great while it lasts..

 

gym today if I get all my adulting done. I'm terrified to step on the scale after thanksgiving. So much food. Erf.

 

 

 

 

Following along!

 

It is very great while it lasts.

[Xena]

On 11/26/2017 at 7:39 PM, DJtrippyT said:

Today: Day one got off with a bang as the Mantis made me ride a 37 mile loop from stone mountain park to piedmont park, with hills the whole way. God Almighty. I spent half the ride wanting to kill him and half the ride wishing I were dead, and then every time we hit a downhill section I was like "This is awesome! we should do this EVERY weekend!" Clearly my internal monologues are schizophrenic.

 

 

I can hear my cat in the kitchen knocking things over in the sink. Must go...

 

 

1. Pretty much everything you write about your interactions with the Mantis is awesome!

2. Sounds like one happy cat.

[DJtrippyT]

14 hours ago, Xena said:

 

1. Pretty much everything you write about your interactions with the Mantis is awesome!

 

 

He comes up with these ideas, I just tag along and try not to die.

 

Edited to add: this is odd, since I'm the adrenaline junkie of the two of us.

 

14 hours ago, Xena said:

 

2. Sounds like one happy cat.

 

Behold the savage beast.

 

 

 

On 11/27/2017 at 8:24 PM, doctorake said:

 

 

Following along!

 

It is very great while it lasts.

 

excellent! pleased to have you.

 

On 11/27/2017 at 5:49 PM, EmeraldEagle said:

Awesome goals! I've been wanting to try Crossfit for a while but been too intimidated. Any advice for a newbie?

 

I'm the wrong person to give advice, as I don't train at at proper crossfit gym ( @Agnarrand @DarK_RaideR do though, I think) but I do a very cross-fit style workout and I think it's a great program. I haven't seen anything else that combines strength and conditioning work as effectively as it does. The one place I break with the program is the oly lifts for time; in my opinion nobody should be doing heavy snatches for time, it looks like an excellent way to slip a disc.  I will be the first to say it looks completely badass, though. But really you can get 90% of the benefits of the program with some kettlebells and a barbell.

 

So the only things I would advise (because I wish I'd done them) is to work with a coach for the oly lifts (my progress would have been a lot faster if I had, I think) and try to remember you are not Sarah Siggmondsdottir, even on the best of days. I occassionally forget this and then my body reminds me sharply. Though I do share her obsession with food.

 

 

 

[DJtrippyT]

Midweek update:

 

Monday was rest day, so nothing to report there.

 

Tuesday I felt like I was coming down with a cold, so nothing there either. 

 

Wednesday: Kickass!

 

Gym Workout:

 

3 miles (15 mins) on stationary bike to warm up

Deadlifts: 2 warm up sets at 45 and 135, then 3 sets of 4 reps at 175. Holy F*%K.

pull-ups: 3 sets on the assisted machine at 105; I've kind of stalled here. 

Leg press, 3 sets at 200, new PR 

Bench: 1 set at 105, then was afraid of death by crushing so backed down to 95

Prone Ham curl: Is there a way to not feel weird on this machine? There is not.

 

I should have done the prowler push but I was definitely coming down with a cold so I skipped it. I made sure to wipe down everything in the gym so I didn't get my disgusting germs everywhere, but there were three other people there sniffling so it must be going around.

 

Back to those deadlifts, though: holy cow. I'm improving by leaps and bounds here, and I think my goal of a 250 1RM by the end of this challenge is really within reach, which is sort of terrifying. I'm going to do one more week of 4 reps, and then start working on 1 rep workouts, with my 1RM test somewhere in mid-december. I keep replaying last night's workout in my head, and I keep coming away with the same scary result: I did 175 for 3 sets of four, and it wasn't even hard. Yikes.

 

Other goals: 

 

I cleaned out my closet and made about 8 outfits that fit my "uniform" and put everything else in the offseason closet. I'm going to rotate those for a couple of weeks and see how they feel. I wore one version to lunch with a friend yesterday and he told me my outfit was cute.

 

I ordered my new winter boots from REI and they are ready to be picked up today! At last, warm feet. I'll pick them up on my way to get a haircut, since one of my goals for the "trippy year"  is to find a haircut I and everyone else can live with.

 

I'm going to a powerlifting meet on the 9th since I probably won't have to work - the project I thought was going to take up that weekend fell through - and my boyfriend agreed to go with me, which was surprising. I'm not entered, I just want to see how they run so when I do enter one I know what I'm in for.

 

Vitals:

weight: still 209, dang

BP: up a little, 163/93. Have to get back to the meditation and the soba noodles. 

Knee: getting better, was sore yesterday but not too bad. Still running the knee improvement protocol - no squats, lots of mobility. I made a huge crockpot of chicken soup this morning and since I have a cold I put enough garlic in it to slay an army of vampires. The other day I was thinking this injury started in mid-august and it's now practically december, so that's worrisome, but I really only started focusing on rehabbing it about 6 weeks ago. So it may just take time to heal. It very rarely hurts sharply anymore, and when it does it returns to baseline much more quickly. So I feel there's genuine improvement there. But I decided if it's not clearly improved by Christmas I'll go to the doctor and get an MRI in January.

 

Later today I'm going to ride the trainer for a bit and get my body temperature up and then turn the bathroom into a sauna, to see if I can burn this cold out of my system. If nothing else I'll be super relaxed.

 

 

 

 

 

[DarK_RaideR]

2 hours ago, DJtrippyT said:

I'm the wrong person to give advice, as I don't train at at proper crossfit gym ( @Agnarrand @DarK_RaideR do though, I think) but I do a very cross-fit style workout and I think it's a great program. I haven't seen anything else that combines strength and conditioning work as effectively as it does. The one place I break with the program is the oly lifts for time; in my opinion nobody should be doing heavy snatches for time, it looks like an excellent way to slip a disc.  I will be the first to say it looks completely badass, though. But really you can get 90% of the benefits of the program with some kettlebells and a barbell.

 

So the only things I would advise (because I wish I'd done them) is to work with a coach for the oly lifts (my progress would have been a lot faster if I had, I think) and try to remember you are not Sarah Siggmondsdottir, even on the best of days. I occassionally forget this and then my body reminds me sharply. Though I do share her obsession with food.

I think Agnarr stopped a while back though. @Rurik Harrgath is certainly your go-to guy, but he's been away for a while now. @IslandGirl_Becks might wanna chime in too. My advice is pretty simple

1) Find a good and qualified coach. People who just did a weekend seminar to get the Level 1 certificate and nothing else are dangerous.

2) Try it out for a while and see how you like it. Don't expect to know what all the buzz is about with just a few workouts though. At first you're just learning proper form while building some strength and conditioning. There might be something though that gets you hooked, whether it's the unpredictability of the workouts, training intensity, community, competition, whatever.

 

P.S. The only -dottir worth a damn is Annie Thorisdottir. I'm a solid fan of Crossfit's chief goofball, Kara Webb

[Xena]

4 hours ago, DJtrippyT said:

Prone Ham curl: Is there a way to not feel weird on this machine? There is not.

 

I should have done the prowler push but I was definitely coming down with a cold so I skipped it. I made sure to wipe down everything in the gym so I didn't get my disgusting germs everywhere, but there were three other people there sniffling so it must be going around.

 

Back to those deadlifts, though: holy cow. I'm improving by leaps and bounds here, and I think my goal of a 250 1RM by the end of this challenge is really within reach, which is sort of terrifying. I'm going to do one more week of 4 reps, and then start working on 1 rep workouts, with my 1RM test somewhere in mid-december. I keep replaying last night's workout in my head, and I keep coming away with the same scary result: I did 175 for 3 sets of four, and it wasn't even hard. Yikes.

 

Other goals: 

 

I cleaned out my closet and made about 8 outfits that fit my "uniform" and put everything else in the offseason closet. I'm going to rotate those for a couple of weeks and see how they feel. I wore one version to lunch with a friend yesterday and he told me my outfit was cute.

 

I ordered my new winter boots from REI and they are ready to be picked up today! At last, warm feet. I'll pick them up on my way to get a haircut, since one of my goals for the "trippy year"  is to find a haircut I and everyone else can live with.

 

Yes hma curl is weird.

SOrry you are getting sick. Especially sorry it's interfering with your prowler time.

YES deadlift!!

Uniform sounds like it is really working out well!!

[Emerald Eagle]

5 hours ago, DJtrippyT said:

 

I'm the wrong person to give advice, as I don't train at at proper crossfit gym ( @Agnarrand @DarK_RaideR do though, I think) but I do a very cross-fit style workout and I think it's a great program. I haven't seen anything else that combines strength and conditioning work as effectively as it does. The one place I break with the program is the oly lifts for time; in my opinion nobody should be doing heavy snatches for time, it looks like an excellent way to slip a disc.  I will be the first to say it looks completely badass, though. But really you can get 90% of the benefits of the program with some kettlebells and a barbell.

 

So the only things I would advise (because I wish I'd done them) is to work with a coach for the oly lifts (my progress would have been a lot faster if I had, I think) and try to remember you are not Sarah Siggmondsdottir, even on the best of days. I occassionally forget this and then my body reminds me sharply. Though I do share her obsession with food.

 

 

 

 

Thanks! I don't think getting ahead of myself should be too much of a problem, even after nearly 3 years of NF gym workouts I struggle to think of myself as "an athlete". I've only ever done dumbell snatches, and at a relatively light weight. I can see you'd want someone who can really help you with technique so that you stay safe.

 

3 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

I think Agnarr stopped a while back though. @Rurik Harrgath is certainly your go-to guy, but he's been away for a while now. @IslandGirl_Becks might wanna chime in too. My advice is pretty simple

1) Find a good and qualified coach. People who just did a weekend seminar to get the Level 1 certificate and nothing else are dangerous.

2) Try it out for a while and see how you like it. Don't expect to know what all the buzz is about with just a few workouts though. At first you're just learning proper form while building some strength and conditioning. There might be something though that gets you hooked, whether it's the unpredictability of the workouts, training intensity, community, competition, whatever.

 

P.S. The only -dottir worth a damn is Annie Thorisdottir. I'm a solid fan of Crossfit's chief goofball, Kara Webb

 

Thank you. The gym (box?) I'm looking at has 2 coaches with their Level 2 certificate so that looks like a positive sign! Looks like 2018 might be the year of trying new things  

P.S. As an Aussie I think Kara Webb is pretty awesome.

P.P.S. Thanks for letting me hi-jack your thread! 

[DJtrippyT]

4 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

I'm a solid fan of Crossfit's chief goofball, Kara Webb

 

Agree 100%, I love Kara. She and Sam Briggs are my two favorites on the female side. Katrin gets on my nerves for some reason.

 

I just find the way Sara is always talking about the next thing she plans to eat endlessly endearing.

 

 

[DJtrippyT]

45 minutes ago, EmeraldEagle said:

 

P.P.S. Thanks for letting me hi-jack your thread! 

 

ha! Hijack away