I can honestly say that I am not one of the biggest fans of the Capital District Transportation Authority.
Since moving to Albany in August, I have done my best to be a responsible citizen and have taken advantage of my status as a student at SUNY Albany in order to access free bus transportation around Albs via CDTA. Actually, in deciding to move to Albany, a choice was made. I knew that if I got an apartment here instead of living at home, I would not have access to a vehicle and would therefore be left to find my own way to-and-from UAlbany. Now, when I made this decision, I didn't exactly factor in the schedule, total loss in travel time, and...Albany CrossFit.
I do have my mother's car at my disposal for a few more months, but the last two days I have gone without using it even once. I have gotten to school on time on the 12, made the trip successfully from UA to Albany CrossFit via the 90, and made it home safe on the 1. After experimenting for a few weeks, I now know that I can get to where I need to be. The only part I think I'll need to work on is my patience.
Since not too many people take advantage of the system, the bus times for me to get from Sand Creek Rd. to Lark run every half hour. So if I get out of a workout late and miss the 7:05 or 7:09 or whatever the time is...I have to wait an extra half hour. An extra half hour before I shower. An extra half hour before I eat. But you know what? It's humbling. I'm showing the world that I'm not going to let a motor vehicle (or lake thereof) hold me back in doing what is good for me. I can still get to the grocery store. I can still get to school, work, and the gym. It just takes a little scheduling and creating my "loop." And as long as I don't get stuck in an infinite loop, I think I'll be okay.
UPDATE FROM LAST POST:
The next workout I had on Tuesday was rough (Kettlebells and Burpees), and Wednesday was even rougher (Tuck Jumps, Toes to Bar, Deadlift). Deadlifts are definitely a "suck" of mine. Actually, any Oly lift from the ground is a suck for me. My lower back is in bad condition from years of hunching over to cover up my rolls and from having desk jobs and being a student. Definitely something to work on. But today we did 5-5-5-5-5 Back Squats and I hit a PR! 185, woot! Gotta go for 200lb next time. Tomorrow's my rest day before the 5K on Saturday. Can't wait to see how much I improve on my time!
Later, skaters.
Measuring has never been something that has been my forte. In high school, I never understood why Tim always wanted me to be his lab partner because I always did awful in lab. In some ways, I love to be exact. When things are exact they are perfectly clear. It makes it much easier to track mistakes when something goes awry. But sometimes in real life we can't measure everything out to an exact science. As much as we try to use recipes and follow procedure, sometimes you just can't make Grandma Noblett's Apple Pie like she used to.
I'm having a little trouble with this lately. Since starting the Zone, I have been very tough on weighing and measuring my foods to get the proper proportion of my nutrients, and I think it has been working. The problem is that over the past two days I have not been so exact on blocking out my food and haven't been checking my references. Doing a lot of eyeballing. But, suddenly today I had an amazing WOD. Here's what we did:
WOD Monday 09/27/10
1000m row (Concept2 rowers)
Tabata Hang Squat Snatch (45#, 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest, 8 rounds)
1000m row
Score is total time and number of snatches.
The snatch is a really difficult move to execute. For these, starting with the barbell at a normal hang with a wide grip, you use a hip extension (plus a little muscle) to get the bar over your head while squatting underneath, and standing up with the bar still overhead. But somehow, between the warm-up and being in the Paleo-Zone, I was able to pull off a time of 12:39, with 36 SNATCHES!! After being one of the "athletes" who always scales and sometimes finishes last in the class, I rocked it. At Rx, the prescribed weight of the day! [NOTE: The name "Life as N(x)" is a parody of "Life as Rx," a CrossFit apparel organization]
But here's the problem...what gave me such great results? Was it staying in the Zone all last week? Was it a change in my diet by adding in more fish? Was it because I was less stressed with school? Was it because I ate pre-WOD? Started taking Progenex, a protein powder for recovery? Was it because I hit FGB5 hard and was just ready to rock out? Too many variables were changed. It wasn't a positive result. It could have been a fluke; a perfect storm of epic proportions.
I wish I had a better way of measuring my progress. I just have to be more diligent about being consistent now and making sure that what I'm doing works. I guess I learned something in high school chemistry after all...
While training for the 5K that Ricky, Stacey, Amanda and I are running in, I've been going to an endurance class on Wednesdays. One of the first lessons I learned was, well, learning how to run.
I was under the impression that, if I learned how to walk, then I should know how to run, right? Just walk really, really FAST! And the faster I wanted to run, the harder I would dig my legs into the ground to get that extra push to get me further. Not only did this make me NOT want to run, but it also gave me painful shin splints. You know what I'm talking about.
Apparently, the safest (and potentially fastest) way to run is by using what's called the "pose method." The pose method was developed by Dr. Nicholas Romanov in an effort to get runners to run longer distances without stressing out all of their core muscles. "Pose" emphasizes the "pull" motion of the leg movement, and tells you to forget all about pushing off of the ground. By pulling your leg up high and landing just behind the balls of your feet, you can run further distances while keeping the stress off of your feet, shins, and other leg muscles. I definitely recommend doing some Googling/YouTube watching if you're interested in learning more.
Now, switching to "pose" doesn't necessarily guarantee you instant results. But after a few weeks of running in the best pose I can muster, I will say that I get much further in the same amount of time that I used to run, and it's really all in how much I pull and how much I lean. I'm really looking forward to our race coming up. My last 5K result was at the Hannah's Hope 5K one year ago, and I got 30:09. I am really hoping for at least sub-26 minutes this time around. I'm sure I'll be reporting back soon on how it felt running a 5K just one year later!
If I meet my goal, I'll definitely be running up these stairs in victory, Rocky-style:
As I sat in my Real Analysis class today (study of the behavior of the real numbers, if anyone was wondering), the first thing we talked about was bounded sequences. In some senses, we should not be bounded. You should never compromise your aspirations before you have even tried to achieve them. Your enthusiasm in your work and relationships with friends and loved ones should never be boxed in. But in some things, like nutrition, finding a set of boundaries can be very helpful in getting our body what it needs.
We have all seen what overindulgence has done to American society. Obesity rates are running rampant. Even with the Americans who may "look" healthy, some of them aren't really in as good shape as they think. Ailments like cancers and heart disease eat away at us. Television and the internet consume us. But what should we do?
It was very good and satisfying. That's how I'm keeping bounded. Feel free to comment on how you try to keep your eating habits bounded. What works? What doesn't? Again, we're all different.
Time is a parameter we often don't compensate enough for.
I know that sometimes I, in particular, schedule meetings and events very tightly with one another. Sometimes too tight. I realized that this past week was no exception, and between going to class, studying, dialing in my nutrition by preparing meals well in advance, going to ACF, working shows at the Palace, and visiting with friends I hadn't seen in forever...it was more than enough for me to handle. By Friday, after 4 days of rushing and squeezing every ounce of energy out, missing on sleep and almost having my first puke session post-WOD, I was exhausted. It was a busy day, and I hadn't drank enough water. And then it was time to face "Elizabeth."
WOD 9/17/2010: "Elizabeth"
21-15-9
Squat Clean (75 lb, scaled)
Ring Dips (with red band)
It was a disaster. My time was 16:19, definitely making me last to finish in my class. Luckily, Dean and Ian kept me on task and got through it, but it was more than that. My body was tired and exhausted. My lower back wasn't locking in place and my form was horrible. My original weight for the squat cleans was 95lbs, but I had to scale down even more to 75lbs to get through it. Even worse: today, my shoulders still hurt from the ring dips...that I did on Friday.
It's really important to give our bodies enough time to rest. I thought taking a day off from CrossFit on Thursday was enough to get my body back in the game, but Friday's Elizabeth told me otherwise. I knew I wouldn't have time to catch up on sleep Friday night or Saturday, but Sunday I came home from Boston and crashed for 5.5 hours, ate dinner and ran some errands, and slept for 7 more. I finally feel relaxed and well-rested, and I think with Paleo-Zone and an extra day off from ACF today (with some foam rolling and stretching, of course) I will be ready for both school and WOD tomorrow.
If N(x) was my position, then N'(x) would be my velocity. And I'm definitely setting N'(x) = 0 for a bit.
The first thing you want to understand about a function is its properties. What does it look like? Where is it defined? Undefined? How does adding or multiplying change its shape? These are all great questions to think about when trying to assess where you are in life, and where you are looking to go.
My name is Nick. And I'm a mathematician. Well, sort of.
In August 2010, I moved from my hometown of Ravena, NY to make it in the big city. I mean, moderately-sized city. Okay...Smallbany. And as I moved my boxes and furniture into my apartment on State and Lark, I realized that this was the perfect time to make a change in my life. It is pivot points like starting a new job and moving to a new city that can be the greatest catalyst toward achieving our life goals. Moving into a place on my own, without the excuse of "I'm in college" to hold me back, it gave me a sense of ownership and responsibility. It was time to start taking care of myself and treat my body and mind the way it should be treated. No more laying on the couch for hours at a time. No more 3-night drinking escapades with Chinese food to follow the morning after. No longer would I go to the gym only to do cardio and use the machines for ten minutes (if that).
This is what prompted me to start my journey into the world of CrossFit. If you know me, and I haven't told you about CrossFit, I'm surprised. I probably talk about it more than I should (for those CrossFitters out there, it kind of comes with the territory, right?). I learned about CrossFit by chance, and by chance I mean Facebook stalking. I did some Google magic, and learned a little bit about what the deal was. Here's a blurb from Wikipedia:
CrossFit has been "variously portrayed as a fitness company, a grassroots health movement, a nascent sport, a fad, a publishing business and sometimes, disparagingly, a cult." Classes at affiliated gyms typically include a warm-up, a skill development segment, and a high-intensity workout that lasts around ten to twenty minutes. Affiliates create a new workout each day called the "Workout of the Day" or "WOD."
CrossFit prides itself on its varied workouts, and as someone who went to the gym and did the same boring thing every time until I just decided it wasn't even worth going anymore, I appreciated that. I went for a free trial and met Jason (the owner of Albany CrossFit) and Caleb, who gracefully showed me the ropes. After one day I was completely hooked. The first workout made me feel awful while I was doing it (I think it was a few rounds of kettlebell swings, box jumps, and pushups for time). But I felt absolutely amazing after leaving the Court Club that day. And I knew I had to do this. For me and for my body.
What ensued was a crash-course into CrossFit, as well as the Paleo diet. We'll save nutrition for another post, as Austin has gotten me "in the Zone." After three days, my body was aching. Throbbing. But I felt more energetic and healthy than I had in months, maybe years. I didn't need caffeine. My energy was coming from being active and getting the best sleep of my life after those lessons. Once I started going to regular WODs, I would (and still do) scour the Albany CrossFit website to see what the next day's challenge would be. Every day I go in, I face the WOD with passion and intensity. The same passion and intensity that I want to put into my career as a mathematician. And the best thing about it is the community: when I finish a WOD, I root the next person on and help them get through it. If I'm having a tough time, they do the same for me.
So, I may have failed to mention that I'm still a student. I'm attending the University at Albany and am on my way to getting my PhD in Mathematics. It's not going to be easy, juggling my math career and nutrition and fitness and still having time for friends and family, but it will definitely be worth all of the effort. It's true that we should put mind over matter. But matter still matters.
