Fight Night Southern IL Style

So, tonight is the first MMA style fight event that Southern Illinois has seen. It will be interesting. Most of the guys and one of the girls that I have been training with here will be fighting, so god luck to all of them. The fight was less than a week away when I got here, otherwise I would have thought about competing, but it would not have been the smart thing to do. As it turns out, our coach's wife is in my weight class and couldn't find anyone to fight. Oh well, others will come.

Also, on a North Carolina note- CONGRATULATIONS to all the badasses from New Bern Jiu Jitsu (my fight family back home). They whooped ass at Ruckus In The Cage (a fight in VA today). A special congrats to my girl Steph who got second in her division in her first tournament. I wish I could have been there!!

As far as my training is concerned- jiu jitsu is at least once a day Mon-Thurs here, so Thurs night after class I took my puppy for a short run in the rain. Yesterday- I had a really good kb workout with my dad in the driveway of our house (in the woods) and then came into town to my real dad and step mom's house for a run. I felt so strong- I knocked 6 miles out like it was nothing and I was keeping a pretty good pace. When I got back I did some abs on our decline bench and a few light deadlifts. It felt really good. Today, I just did a short run (with the dog again- he's l-a-z-y and we're definitely gonna have to fix that). And more abs and deadlifting in the basement. There's no kettlebells here at this house, but I think tonight might be perfect for a late night kb workout at my momma house!

I have pictures from the lake and other random stuff that I've done since I've been home which I'll post soon. I'm really looking forward to getting back to NC, to the places I love to train and all my own beloved kettlebells ;) I'm a dork.

I promise I'll get better...

I know that I have really been neglecting my blog, but other things have been occupying all my time, and I have satellite internet where I live (in the sticks). FYI: Satellite internet isn't exactly broadband... it's as slow as dial up, but doesn't work in the rain. Anyway. I have been training really hard. I'll give a brief rundown of what the last week's been like:
I have been going 4 days a week to jiu jitsu, and two of those days there's a stand-up class immediately afterwards. Pretty good group of guys I've been training with. I've been working the 15:15 up to 35 sets (w/the 16k) and doing a bagillion swings, lunges, high pulls, clean/jerks, presses, pistols, and still working on the damn OAPU. I don't know what my battle with that is all about. I have been running myself into the ground since I also am making a concerted effort to get some miles in (running) to keep my sanity.

This weekend was super f'n fun. We stayed out at the lake all weekend on my family's boat and jet skied and jumped off stupid high cliffs into the water. I am such a lake bum. It was so fun. The sweet part was that some of the rocks we climbed from the water and then jumped back in (I don't know how high, but I'd guesstimate a good 4 stories). I couldn't get enough (well, until I did a spectacular 1 1/2 flip off of a not-high-enough spot and ended up belly flopping... holy ouch Batman).

I also forgot to mention that I've been flying as much as possible working on my private pilot's license. Really expensive hobby, buy I totally love it. I'm cool with the takeoffs and landing, but I taxi down the runway about as well as I drive (not well at all).

All of my time has been in kettlebells, jiu jitsu, and helping my mom out as much as possible. I'm looking forward to heading back to NC in a few weeks and being back with my jiu jitsu "family" back there, lol. I miss them- Jerry, Stevie, Steph, Richie, all of thems (even the handsome blond guy who's name I don't know that Jerry made me blush in front of, HA!).

That's all for now. I am going to start logging my training better, really I promise. And as for my lack of structure- I am gearing my kettlbell training towards making myself better at jj and fighting in general. I had a definite advantage when I got here- even training with dudes, as I had awesome endurance, speed, and core strength (hip power) that has given me a fighting chance on the mat (no pun intended... yeah, I'm still a dork).

Megadeath, Kettlebells, and Running with the Big Dogs

Recap of the weeks events:

Tuesday
workout:
(all w/16k)
30 tactical lunges
1 min waiters walk
150 lb d.l. x5 (that's all the weights I had to use)
10L/10R high pulls
3 sets (w/ a little rest btwn)
~4 mile run (after my kb wo... smarter not harder)
(I stopped a 1/4 mile short of my house and did 500 walking lunges inspired by my fave girl Katie- she rocks, and my legs were on fire, whoo-hoo!)

Then, I got an unexpected phone call that a friend of mine had extra tickets to the Megadeath concert that night in St.Louis. I had to go up there the next morning to take my mom to a dr's apt anyways, so I was super stoked. The concert rocked. What didn't rock is that the concert was in East St.Louis (for those of you who don't know, I think it has the highest murder rate per capita in the country- every neighborhood is a bad neighborhood there). Well, being the genius that I am- as I pull up, so do about 5 cop cars (lights and sirens) to apparently escort some gentlemen who were getting a little rowdy to the station (they were well restrained and tazered I believe). Anywho, I made myself a protein shake on the way up there and had my protein powder in a large plastic bag. Coincidentally, as I sit there with the door open, ready to walk into the club, I realize that I better lock my pistol in the center console (where my bag of protein was). So... as one cop is pulling by on his way out of the parking lot, he notices me- wiping powder off my hands and arranging my .45 cal pistol and bag of white powder in my glove-box. Needless to say, I got the royal, "Step out of the car ma'am." treatment. I explained to the cop that I had a legal and registered pistol for protection and that the white powder was orange flavored protein (he preferred to taste it despite my suggestion for him to snort it and see how it felt). All was fine in the end- and it made for a funny story once I got inside. My friends walked outside after the cops pulled up to look for me and they thought all the cops were there for me- sprawled against my jeep being frisked and questioned. Right. Enough about that. The concert rocked. Megadeath = a supercool hairband and the rest of the night rocked. 'Bout the only thing I would skip jiu jitsu for- but I'm still feeling guilty about that since I only got to train jj one day this week.

Wed
Took my mom to the doctor. Awesome news: all of the surrounding tissue from the cancer they took out came back negative, so that means that they think they got it all. Chemo is the next battle, but my momma's tough as nails!

Thurs
I ran suicides at the track and drilled on the heavy bag at the gym. It was fun and an awesome workout. My new gloves rock (even though they're only 14 oz). Then Jiu jitsu for a few hours.. love it.

Friday (tonight)
workout:
180 lb. dl x 3
10L/10R Zorsky lunges w/2 16k's (ouch)
2 min jump-rope
150 lb. off-rack squats x 5
(1st time I've ever done these)
20 swings w/ 20k
3 sets
Then I murdered my abs... mmm... love the pain.
~4 mile run with my dogs (I felt super strong and fast- the dogs... not so much)

The coolest thing was that I was running with my (Renee-proof) phone in my sportsbra because we took off right before it got dark. Well, my driveway is a very hilly 1-mile gravel road with a heavy canopy which makes for very difficult visibility in the evening. So turned on the sweet ass flashlight feature, flipped it over my sportsbra so it faced forward and *ta-da* instant headlight. It was almost freakin' McGyverish, lol.

P.S. I know there's been a lack of structure in my workouts. There's been a general lack of structure in my enitre life as of recent. So... I'm doing my best to stay disciplined, strong, and becoming a better fighter. All I can do is try to make the time to make all that happen and I'm doing my best. My dad once told me that when you think you are doing your best, you've got at least 50% more in you- so turn it up... which is what I plan to do.

What Not To Do

I think I read somewhere that its a bad idea to run before you do kb's. Either way, I wasn't using my better judgment tonight when I got inappropriately excited about the new little "map my run" program that I found. I ended up running farther than I mapped out, but that's not the point. The point is that I ran before I did my kettlebell workout. Bad idea for those of you who should ever be faced with the decision. I remembered this about three miles into the run, but overestimating my own abilities, decided I would be alright. When I got home, I went to the gym downstairs and only got about 15 min in, but realizing that I was pretty worn out, only did my favorite workout to put my fighters through- to benefit myself, but also because there was no jiu jitsu tonight.

workout (w/16k):

1 min TGU's L

1 min TGU's R

30 sec L/30 sec R snatches x 2

1 min low, med, high swings

~45 second rest

1 min lunges racked L

1 min lunges racked R

1 min deck squats

1 min windmills L

1 min windmills R

~45 seconds rest

1 min clean/press L

1 min clean/press R

1 min swings low, med, high

1 min clean/fr sq L

1 min clean/fr squat R

3 x 5 minute rounds with 45 second breaks between. Given that I was pretty beat from the run- I didn't feel super strong, but still felt like a pretty decent workout.

I know I haven't posted my training in a few days, but I have been working a lot on my anaerobic conditioning in an effort not to get gassed breathing through that (seemingly) tiny hole in my mouth-guard. I will say, that learning to breath with my diaphragm has helped this, but I often catch myself forgetting to do it in trying to focus on everything else. I've been running a lot of suicides, boxing, jiu jitsu, the 15:15 (which I have switched to for convenience purposes I won't get into), and OAPU's (which I will get damn it).

The moral of the story is: kettlebell workouts are to be done before you run- learning the hard way is not a very cool experience.

New Run Log

I'm Back :)

It's good to finally be back. By back, I mean back to working out again. The past week has been unbelievably stressful. My mom came out of her 6 hour surgery very well, and got out of the hospital yesterday. She did wonderful, and is dealing with this whole cancer thing way better than my brother, dad, or I. She's incredibly strong. The funny thing is that, all she worries about now is her pets (which I have been assigned to take care of). She's more concerned with her cats than with her recovery, lol. But, anyway. Thank God for modern medicine and the power of prayer. I have no doubt that both were what carried our family through this. I know that chemo is the really tough part, but we'll tackle that in three weeks when she gets started with that. Thank you to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers.

After the longest break that I've taken in a long time, with the exception of a few interval workouts and some strength workouts here and there, I eased back into things today. My heart and mind are a lot clearer now that I know my mom is going to be alright and we know that the worst part is over, for now. There was no cancer in her lymph nodes, so hopefully, after chemo- its the end of the line for this cancer b.s.

So, today I hopped back into things with the 16k with some swings and giving the 15:15 a shot.

warm-up:
40 2-hand swings
5 sets =200

workout:
50 transfer swings
(30 sec rest)
50 2-hand swings
(30 sec rest)
5L/5R x 5
(30 sec rest)
25 transfers/ 25 2-hand
(30 seconds)
4 sets =800

cool-down:
40 2-hand swings
5 sets = 200

1200 swings total

15:15 (w/16k)
20 sets

5L/4R pistols

10 min abs.

It felt really good to get back to a real workout. I would have liked to do swings for longer, but I didn't want to over-do it since this was my first "real" workout in like 4 days. About 10 sets into the 15:15- I felt ready to "toss one's cookies" lol. I was starting to feel really crappy. Between not working out, stress, nerves, and lots of driving to and waiting for doctors and surgeons, I felt like mush. Even though I didn't eat much- I still felt weak, because I hadn't even been doing any significant bodyweight work. Undisciplined I know, but it was a time that I needed to be where I was needed and not be a pain in the ass about taking time to myself for working out or anything else. No regrets. Family is always priority. Looking forward to some good strength work and suicide drills at the track tomorrow. The weather is beautiful here in IL and life is a lot better now that I know my mom is going to be alright.

FYI

As anxious as I was to compete in the upcoming TSC- I won't be. I did train very hard for it and was very excited, but unfortunately family takes priority over everything, and I need to go back to IL to be with my family right now when they need me. So, good luck to all the competitors, and I look forward to competing when things are back to normal. I am leaving this evening for IL, so probably no more posts for a while. But, I have a wonderful training facility in my basement back home with all the kettlebells I could ever want (and a gymboss- YAY). So, I'll be back to posting my workouts (and neurosis, lol) as soon as possible. To everyone that I've talked to, thanks for your thoughts and prayers in this tough time. It means very much to me and my family.

~Stay disciplined!~

You Can't Just Take A Day "Off"

So, I learned the hard way. The one thing that I had missed, like really, truly missed since becoming vegan was milk (not rice milk, or soy milk), cow milk. So, yesterday I finally dragged my three year old god-son to the grocery store to pick out his favorite foods... from the organic section. I figure if I have anything to do with it, at least he'll be eating organic pop tarts and frozen dinners (I had a list of things to get from his mom). One of the things she wanted me to get was milk. So, I picked up a gallon jug of organic milk with everything else and we went home. Later that evening, I decided that I would have just one glass of milk, since it sounded so good. Well, apparently you can't just take a day off from being vegan without paying some seriously disgusting consequences. My body was in such shock from the glass of milk that I was sicker than I ever remember having been this morning. I won't share details, but it was gross. So, no more deviating farther than whey protein for this vegan- and for others who wish to reintroduce dairy into their life after not having it for a significant amount of time- do it slowly.

I slept pretty much all day, as my body was dehydrated and drained completely, but I woke up in time to make it to jiu jitsu. Great session- never trained in a gi before. It was very different (and a lot hotter) than no gi, which is how I've always trained. Nevertheless, it is a big part of the sport and something else that I need to work on.

When I got home from jj, I was really exhausted, but managed to squeeze in a really short kb workout and a little 30 min jog.

warm up:
2 hand swings on/off for ~5 min
L/R weighted pistols
(0 then 12k then 16k on each leg)

workout:
20 tactical lunges
20 double swings
20 high pull then snatches (10L/10R)
20 double swings
10 windmills (5L/5R)
20 double swings
20 high pull then snatches (10L/10R)
20 double swings
5L/5R clean/press

~30 min jog

I was not very pleased with how I felt during the kb workout or run. I had barely dragged myself out of the house for jiu jitsu. My body was tired and I felt really weak, that's why I didn't do the three-five sets that I would have liked to of kbs or ran longer than I did. But, I have a long day tomorrow- boxing, jj, 2 clients and preparing for my l-o-n-g drive back home, so I hope my energy is back up to par when I wake up.

Dirty Girl

I don't know why everyone gets such a kick out of the fact that I like to work on my jeep, but there's even these dorks on the flikr site with a group called "Girls N Jeeps." Needless to say, I'm not exactly the topless bikini model bent over the hood of her boyfriend's jeep with a bucket of water and suds everywhere that they look for. But, none the less, I do like to work on my jeep. Unfortunately, when I lifted it up, I didn't drop the transfer case (to keep clearance) and something funky happened that caused it to grind in reverse.


So today, I took it apart, fixed it, and changed the oil.

Damn fun thing to do in the Sunday sunshine. Damn funny thing to do if you ask my room-mate who thought it was worthy of a photo op. I needed to post a picture of my beloved Jeep up here anyway since it didn't get proper photo recognition in my "Renee Proof Things I <3"

P.S. If you ever find yourself in a position having already drained the oil, but unable to unscrew the filter because your ding-dong puppy ate your filter wrench- hammering a flathead srewdriver into it and cranking it off that way works just as well ;)

Now I cross my fingers for rain tonight, so we can go tear it up in the mud tomorrow :)*

Taking Good Advice

So, today I felt kind of fresh. By fresh I mean that all I did yesterday was jiu jitsu, then I had refined sugar in the form of white bread, actually a bread bowl with some super yummy vegetarian chili in it... and a cookie. Post jiu jitsu indulgence I guess. Put me into a carb coma- boo.

Without putting my business all out there and in the mix- recently I have grown more appreciative of everyday. This doesn't mean that I want to go out and be self destructive or abandon my healthy lifestyle, but I'm not gonna be so hard on myself when it comes to things like the aforementioned indulgence (and a beer every now and then). Every day is another one that I am lucky to wake up to and have this wonderful life. There's this corny poster that I have walked by in the hallway of my college almost everyday for the past five years (I was in the Marine Corps- not just on the 6 year plan). It says, "Tough times never last, tough people do." I always just looked at it and kept walking, until today when a close friend said those exact words to me. So- enough mushy gushy shit. Here's to being a tough girl with a damn tough mom ;) She's my ass-kicking, name-taking inspiration and too tough to let anything get the best of her.

Today I took the advice of someone super good to be doling out advice and not charging me anything for it (which he could- and should, lol). I backed off my dead-lift weight 60% since I was scared by last weeks bamboozled (jeez I'm a dork) attempt at pulling my PR weight. I am getting used to the belt- and the feeling of lifting with my glutes (its been a bootylicious few days). Thank you Brett. You rock!

straight leg d.l.
touch n go (just the bar)
10 feet together
10 feet shoulder width
10 feet plie

sumo d.l.
170 lbs. x 2
5 sets

kettlebell workout:
36:36 w/ 16k
10 sets

swing ladder
(all dbl swings w/ 2 16k's & hindu squats)
50 swings
10 squats
40 swings
20 squats
30 swings
30 squats
20 swings
40 squats
10 swings
50 squats

This is my favorite little thing to do to work up a sweat when I'm kind of in a hurry, and I was trying to make it to the pistol range before it closed. Mostly in the red, all in the black :)