Little Sweet Pea (Week 5)

So...if you didn't miss the first announcement...we're PREGNANT!!!  OMG...it feels so good to finally air the news.  I have been feeling great so far (I'm now 10 weeks)...but the effects of pregnancy are definitely catching up with me.  My students are starting to wonder why I'm so tired and I have to sit down to teach instead of standing up and walking around the room like I normally do.  Now, I can finally tell them what's been going on!  Oh...and my already big appetite has been hard to cover too.  I've been sneaking snacks and eating mini meals so that I could keep something in my always hungry belly throughout the day.  My co-workers have been looking at me funny because my lunches have gotten smaller and why my food has gone back to what it was pre-Paleo.  So...since I can now tell you guys are amazing news...I want to do a weekly update throughout the pregnancy so that I can always look back on it and see how I was feeling, what my body was doing, and the doctor's appointments and such that we'll be going to.  I hope you keep up with us throughout this amazing journey.  We are SO excited that God has blessed us with this baby and cannot thank Him enough for healing Cody to make this miracle of life.

Week 5 of pregnancy doesn't really feel much different than pre-pregnancy.  I can tell a little bit after I eat a big meal that my tummy bloats more than it used to.  And, the more I eat as the day goes on, it gets a little pooched out.  But, when I wake up in the mornings on an empty stomach, it's just as flat as it was before we got pregnant...so I really like the mornings right now!  I'm not feeling very tired, but I am pretty moody!  It's kinda like PMS...bless Cody's heart.  Hopefully it will go away soon!  Thankfully it is not an everyday occurrence...but I'm definitely more emotional than my usual self.  Being overly emotional for me is what actually tipped me off.  I'm not one to cry, really ever, and I was finding myself getting teary eyed about little things that either set me off or even some commercials.  That, and my boobs hurt so bad.  And not from doing a WOD either.  It was definitely not a workout hurt.  That's the other change I've noticed.  I actually have boobs now!  So, all in all week 5 of pregnancy feels just about like normal, everyday life.  I am being more careful when I CrossFit.  I don't (or I try not to) go as high intensity as I was even the week before...still pregnant...just not knowing it!  But, I still do the RX weight, and I'm obviously still doing the Open.  Which, now you probably know why I haven't done as well for me as I normally would do.  I can't go balls to the walls!  This little sweet pea inside of me is much more important than doing well in a WOD or even the Open.  Although, I find myself getting frustrated with my times and reps.  But, I just keep reminding myself that it's for a reason and being safe is much more important than doing well in CrossFit right now.  I'm just so thankful that I can still do CrossFit and I have no restrictions other than to keep my heart rate in check.

This week our baby is the size of a sweet pea!  Only 35 more weeks to go!!!

And here are the pictures we put on the pregnancy announcement we sent to our friends and family!!!

CrossFit Open WOD 13.5

Well...this is the 5th and final WOD of the 2013 CrossFit Open.  Cody and I were both sitting at our computer last night in full anticipation of what they were going to throw at us this week!  Since this was the last WOD of the Open, we knew that it was going to be a brutal, killer one.  We were also excited to see the two groups of athletes compete after the announcement of the WOD.  Camille Leblanc-Bazinet and Samantha Briggs were the two female competitors and Rich Froning and Jason Khalipa were the two men competitors.  All four of these athlete have competed in the previous CrossFit Games and placed in the top 10 or won the Games.  When Dave Castro got ready to make the official announcement, we were on the edge of our seats.  They had the four athletes in another room where they could still hear the announcement, but they showed a little square at the bottom of the screen of their reactions.  Their reaction told us all that this WOD was going to be, by far, the hardest WOD of the Open!  It is basically a modified Fran (21-15-9: Thrusters and Pull-Ups), which every CrossFitter knows is probably the hardest Girl WOD in CrossFit.  Not only that, but the set of 15 in Fran is by far the hardest and most grueling of the 3 sets.  And in this WOD, you repeat that set over, and over, and over again!  We watched the four athletes compete and were blown away by how amazing they did, then talked a little about our goals for 13.5 before we headed to bed.

The last time I did Fran, my time was 4:44.  So, I knew I would be pushing it to get 90 reps before the first 4:00 minutes of this WOD was up.  In fact, I kinda figured I wouldn't get past the 4:00 minutes or probably even close to 90 reps.  Since I've been pregnant, my workouts have slowed down a bit, which they should.  Dr. Tadvick told me that I can keep doing what I'm doing, lifting the same weights I was before and running, and CrossFitting.  I just can't get any new max's and I really need to tone the intensity down.  So, I knew that I needed to keep my goal reasonable for 13.5 so I didn't push myself more than I should (I've done that all through the Open).  I decided that if I could get 60 or more reps, I would be really pleased with myself.

I went in in the morning and warmed up by walking a mile, stretching, doing a few thrusters with the pvc pipe, and a few chest to bar pull-ups.  I was nervous about the chest to bar pull-ups.  I don't do them often and they are A LOT harder than regular kipping pull-ups.  I also haven't gotten my butterfly pull-ups down yet, which would have saved me a lot of energy on the chest to bar pull-ups on this WOD.  After about 15 mintues of warming up, I was ready to do my last WOD of the 2013 CrossFit Open.  At 3...2...1...GO!  And I was getting after it.  I did my first set of thrusters unbroken and went straight to the chest-to bar pull-ups.  I rarely break on a set of 15 pull-ups, but these were different.  I wound up breaking them into 3 sets because I just couldn't keep my grip and I was absolutely drained.  I finished the pull-ups with more than half my time left to go, so I knew I could get through the second set of this WOD.  I broke the second set of thrusters up into two sets.  I did 8, then 7.  And then moved on to the chest to bar pull-ups.  This time, I think I broke them up into 5 sets.  I could really feel my energy level going down and I just couldn't make myself stay on the bar.  BUT...I finished the last pull-up of the second set with 3 seconds left and before I complete a full thruster, the timer went off.  So, I accomplished my goal of getting 60 reps on 13.5!

I am so thankful that I was able to compete in the 2013 CrossFit Open.  Not just because I love CrossFit and I am so blessed to be a part of something so awesome that pushes you every single day and where the community is more like a family.  But, also because I started the open at 5 weeks pregnant and finished the last WOD at 9 weeks and 5 days pregnant.  I did every single WOD RXd and wound up coming in the top half of the women that competed in the Open for the South Central Region.  Not bad for a pregnant girl!  I loved how the people at my box pushed me and cheered me on each and every time that timer went off for a WOD to begin and I love the fact that I can still compete and WOD even though I'm pregnant with this sweet little baby.  I've said it before and I'll say it again...I absolutely love CrossFit!!!  I have never felt better, been more fit, or been stronger in my whole life.  Even through this pregnancy, CrossFit is something that I love doing and look forward to each and everyday.  The Open was a blast and I am super excited about going to watch Regionals at the end of May in San Antonio.  Hopefully, we'll be cheering Brent on and one other guy from Abilene that will definitely make it, Roy, as they represent the South Central Region of CrossFit.  The CrossFit Open 2013 was unbelievably fun, challenging, brutal, and just amazing.  All in all, I'm really happy with all 5 of my WODs and I look forward to competing in the 2014 Open next year!!!

Open WOD 13.5 - 60 reps

Weeks Pregnant - 9

CrossFit Open WOD 13.4

I seriously can't believe that we are already in week 4 of the Open.  This has flown by!  But...I guess that's how things go when you love CrossFit and look forward to it everyday.  I have been especially looking forward to every Wednesday night these past few weeks wondering what the Open WOD will be.  It's so much anticipation and excitement...and a little nervousness!  This was the first week that I thought...oh my gosh...what if I can't clean and jerk 95lbs more than just a few times.  My max on cleans is 125...but my max on clean and jerks (the last time I did it was months ago) is 115.  95lbs is about 80% of my max...so I was afraid that I would really struggle with this one.

On Thursday morning I walked into CF325 and was immediately nervous.  I warmed up really good...rowed and stretched a lot.  Then did a bunch of clean and jerks with just the PVC pipe and then did some with the 35lb bar.  Jeremy told me to do a few with the 95lbs just to see how it felt...but I told him no.  Which I never do!  I told him I was afraid that it would take too much strength from me since I knew it was going to be so heavy anyways and I didn't want to burn off any strength or energy that I knew I would need.  After I did a few T2B...I was ready to get this show on the road.

3...2...1...GO!  And the 7 minutes started.  The first 3 clean and jerks were the hardest throughout the whole AMRAP.  I had to split jerk it to get the bar all the way up and my elbows locked out.  Then...I had to get my feet back to being under my body, shoulder width apart, and locked out before 1 rep counted.  But, the first 3 didn't take me long and I was off to the T2B.  When I started the 6 clean and jerks, they surprisingly got easier.  I was still having to use a lot of body power to jerk it up, but I wasn't having to split jerk anymore.  I finished the round of 6 for T2B quick and started the 9 clean and jerks.  By this point, I was super warm (and I think my little baby cakes was giving me extra strength and energy) and I was push pressing the 95lb bar up after I cleaned it.  The 9 T2B were getting harder by this point because my grip was starting to get tired, but I finished them pretty quick and started the round of 12.  I think I had a little over a minute left when I started the 12 clean and jerks.  So, I knew that this would be it and I needed to try to get as many as I could before the timer went off.  I wound up getting 6 of the 12 and was still push pressing the bar up after I cleaned it.  I found that the weight got easier for me the warmer I got and the more my body got used to the weight.   All in all I'm super pleased with my number on 13.4...I finished with 42 reps total.  My goal was to get 36 or more and I definitely accomplished my goal!  Only one more week of the 2013 CrossFit Open to go!!!

Open WOD 13.4 - 42 reps
Weeks Pregnant - 8

CrossFit Open WOD 13.3

Man on man.  When I watched the announcment and the two athletes compete in this WOD...I was not looking forward to it on Thursday morning.  "Karen" is one of the girl WODs...which is 150 wall balls by itself.  We did that WOD at CF325 not too long ago and doing that by itself was a killer.  I remember my quads, hamstrings, and butt were sore for several days after doing it.  My time for "Karen" was 6:34...so my goal was to do the wall balls in around that time so I could get as many double-unders as I could in the remaining time.  Double-unders are something I struggle with.  I can string about 10-15 together...but after doing 150 wall balls...you're shoulders are shot and you're pretty much beat.  My plan was just to do the wall balls as fast I could because I knew that doing 90 double unders was going to take me awhile after being so drained from the wall balls.  So, I knew that 13.3 was going to be pretty brutal.  And...this was a repeat WOD from last year's 12.4...so everyone remembers it from the year before and was NOT looking forward to it!

All in all...I'm happy with my performance on this WOD.  I didn't do as good on the wall balls as I planned.  I think mentally I was pacing myself more than I had physically allowed myself to do.  My mind and body were not exactly on the same page...and that happens sometimes.  I don't know if I had kinda psyched myself out trying to strategize the night before or what.  But, I can honestly say that I did my best and pushed myself to the max.  I wound up getting 181 reps.  Which means that I did all 150 wall balls and 31 double unders.  I finished the wall balls at 9:48...so I had 2:52 left to try to get as many double unders as I could.  And let me say that after those wall balls...they were super hard for me.  I wound up doing them one at a time...which wasted a lot of time.  But, I also didn't think that jumping up and landing so hard to try and string as many together as I could would be a good idea.  So...13.3 ended with 181 reps.  Two more weeks of the Open left to go!!!

Open WOD 13.3 - 181 reps

Weeks Pregnant - 7

Telling Our Parents They're Going to be Grandparents!

Cody and I talked, and talked, and talked, and talked about how we were going to tell our parents that they were going to be promoted to grandparents.  I had seen so many ideas on Pinterest about how to tell your parents, or anyone else for that matter, that you're pregnant.  I found out on Saturday afternoon, February 23rd and told Cody that same night.  I posted about that in the blog post right before this one.  It's a super cute video of him opening up a box full of baby goodies...and the two tests I had taken...you should go watch it if you haven't!  So, we spent most of Sunday discussing different ideas on how to tell them.  I suggested waiting a few days so that we could come up with something super cute and creative.  I mentioned a puzzle, making a picture frame, making something like a bulletin board with cut out letters and cute decals, etc.  The more we talked about it, the more we agreed we should tell them soon because the news was going to be hard to keep from them.

The way we decided to tell my parents was by having a cake made.  We went to Albertson's right after life group on Sunday night to pick out a cake.  Thankfully, they already had one made up that all we had to do was tell the lady what we wanted written on it.  It was just a regular rectangle cake with chocolate frosting and then all along the sides it had pink, blue, and yellow squiggles and sprinkles on it.  Perfect right?!?!?  We had them wright, "Surprise...We're Pregnant!  You're going to be Grandparents" on the cake in yellow.  I had called my parents on the way home and told them that we had leftover cake from life group and wanted to bring them some and of course they said bring it over!  So, we pull up and go inside with the cake and I sat it down on the counter and Cody came behind me.  I'm sure they knew something was up because we told them that this cake was decorated really cool and wanted them both to see it...so they would be in the kitchen and open it up at the same time.  My mom was timid...she thought something was going to pop out at her!  But, when they opened the box and read the cake, the were SO excited!  It was so exciting to see their very surprised and sweet reaction.  They were overjoyed and couldn't stop smiling.  My dad immediately took a picture and sent it to Michael (who was at a friend's house) and Michael sent a text back right away that he couldn't be happier.  They will be amazing grandparents and Michael will be an awesome uncle!  We stayed over there and talked to them for awhile then headed back home to see our four legged babies.  I'm so glad that we didn't wait...it would have been so hard!

I had blood work done on Monday, February 25th and as soon as we go the word back from Dr. Tadvick that my levels were perfect and we were pregnant, Cody called his dad to come over for dinner that night.  He called his mom right after to see if she was at work...he was going to take her pink flowers with a blue ribbon tied around it with a card telling her she was going to be a grandma.  But...she wasn't at work that day...bummer.  But...he went up there the following day and gave them to her.  She was so excited and said she knew it...mother's intuition!  So, Cody's dad came over on Tuesday night for dinner, but he had no idea what he was in store for.  Cody had gotten me a gift card from Healthy Skin awhile back and I kept the bag it came in.  He filled that bag up with some of the same goodies that I had put in his box and told his dad that we had gotten him some new skin care stuff.  He rides a motorcycle and has to wear heavy duty sunscreen and keep his face moisturized so he doesn't get sun damage.  So, he was just thinking that we had gotten him some new stuff.  Well, as soon as he opened up that bag he knew immediately.  He started crying and gave us both hugs and couldn't stop talking about how excited he was.  We had SO much fun telling our parents!!!  This is going to be such a sweet journey!

Some AMAZING NEWS!!!

CrossFit Open WOD 13.2

The CrossFit Open is well on it's way and 13.2 was no disappointment when it came to the announcement of this WOD.  When I first saw the announcement and heard what the WOD was going to be, I was so excited.  METCONs are what I'm best at because it's moving around a light enough weight that I can throw around easily and it involves a lot of endurance, cardio, and stamina...which are the things I'm best at in CrossFit.  I'm strong...but the three things I just mentioned are my forte.

As I watched Iceland Annie Thorisdottir and Lindsey Valenzuela completely fly through the movements, I thought...this will be a piece of cake!  What I failed to forget is that Annie is a two year CrossFit Games repeat champion and Lindsey has competed and done well at the Games too.  These girls are not only 1,000 times stronger than me, but they're also a lot faster!  My max on push press is 110 lbs, so 75 lbs was 70% of my max.  That's a lot of weight to push press when you think about only doing 5 reps each round for 10 minutes...it gets HEAVY quick!  The deadlifts were a breeze...at first.  75 lbs is super light for me compared to my max and what I do in a normal WOD.  I usually do WODs with 135-155 on the bar.  So, the 75 lb deadlifts were something I was expecting to be easy.  And they were, but after doing box jumps and multiple rounds in 10 minutes, your legs start to get tired.  You're also using your legs to push press the bar up towards the end because you get tired and need the extra push from your legs.  And the box jumps...those were my enemy in this WOD!  I'm usually super fast on them...touch and go, touch and go.  But, I could not get in a rhythm.  The first two rounds I was flying, but after that I think my body just got exhausted.

It was spring break the week of 13.2, and unfortunately, I had woken up on Monday with a stomach bug that had been going around at school the week before.  On Thursday, which is when I did 13.2, I felt better.  But, I could tell that my body was extremely fatigued compared to how I do in most WODs and METCONs.  So, that may have been part of my problem during this WOD.  I've also heard, read, and talked to a lot of people that did step-ups instead of box jumps, which saved a lot of their energy and saved their legs.  Maybe I should have done that!  However, I didn't want to redo the WOD again.  Especially after not feeling so great all week.  But, I wound up getting 7 complete rounds plus 3 push presses.  So, 213 reps total.  I know I could have done better on this WOD, but I'm still pleased with my score!  Bring it on 13.3!

Open WOD 13.2 - 213 reps
Weeks Pregnant - 6