I did the supplement side first.  If you're into organic lip balm (I am), aluminum-free deoderant (yes, please) and things of that nature, you'll have fun here.  There's also a nice selection of fish oil, probiotics, protein powder, aloe etc.  They cater to every gimmick and every neurosis, so you may have to wade through things to find the products you're into.  The huge selection of vegan products - protein, sports gels, electrolyte mixes - stood out to me.  I had never seen that before.

On the supermarket side, they had a lot of what you'd expect.  There were lots of drinks, a large election of Applegate Farm products, and tons of supposedly healthy snack foods and chips.  I imagine that vegetarians would have a lot of fun here.  Soy was everywhere I turned.  

If you're the type to pour over ingredients - or the type who thinks ingredients is a dirty word - you'll find yourself in good company.  

I have to admit, I was hoping against hope that they'd have a nice butcher counter with lots of good grass-fed options.  No luck there, but they do have some grass-fed beef in the freezer section.  It's something.

I spent a small fortune buying up things that caught my eye.  My top 5 finds were:

1. Kombucha.  Kombucha is everywhere - but this cost me well over a dollar less than the bodega by me charges.  (And, yes, I know it's not paleo, but since I take so much antibiotics, it's a somewhat necessary evil now and again.)  
2. Organic Pickled Ginger Carrots.  They had a really nice selection of naturally fermented/raw foods (pickles, beets, kimchi, etc.).
3. Organic Grass-Fed Whey Protein.  I care what my food ate.  Also - the "no" list is amazing: no gluten, no soy, no added sugar, no artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors, no GMO ingredients of fillers, no added hormones and no high fructose corn syrup.  Let's hope this doesn't taste like chalk!  
4. Buddha Cups.  These pricey wonders are raw organic dark chocolate almond butter cups.  Diary free. Gluten free. Soy free.  And they're made in Brooklyn.
5. Organic Grass-Fed Heavy Cream.  Not so uncommon - but it makes me happy.   

Happy shopping!

-Gym Belle-

According to my Garmin, I hit 13.16 at 1:57:09.  That would be (at least) a 10 second PR.

Official time: 1:57:44.  Not a PR.

All in all, it was good race and I am happy.  My strategy going in was to maintain a steady 8:46 pace.  8:46 over 13.1 miles would have given me a 1:55 time exactly.  I was pretty confident about hitting the PR, unless I went out too hard at the beginning.  I've done that for my past few races.  It's one thing to do that in a 5K or a 4 miler - it's another thing to go out too hard in a half marathon.

For the most part, I stayed on pace: 

• Mile 1: 8:51.5
• Mile 2: 8:39
• Mile 3: 8:20.1
• Mile 4: 8:30.7
• Mile 5: 8:47.9
• Mile 6: 8:50.5
• Mile 7: 8:30.8
• Mile 8: 8:44.4
• Mile 9: 8:45.2
• Mile 10: 8:48.9

I wish I could have held back on the faster miles, but I was feeling good.  I was even starting to think that I had sold myself short with my 1:55 goal.

But then something odd happened as I approached the Mile 10 marker.  Very suddenly, I kinda had to pee.  I was annoyed because I still had 3.1 miles to go and stopping just wouldn't have made sense since I was on track to PR.  And then, not even 60 seconds later, it wasn't a problem anymore.  Woah.

I slowed down a bit wondering what to do before I realized that there wasn't much to be done.  Sadly, my mojo was gone after that.  Within a mile, 1:55 had become a lost cause.  At mile 12, I thought I could still eke out a PR, but the course went on for .2 longer than my Garmin said, and that made the difference.

After the race, I didn't say anything about "the incident" to my friends.  (Really, what would I say?)  But, when I got home, I Googled "peeing while running."  Lo and behold, it's a thing.  But, at least according to Internet wisdom, it happens to old, overweight, out of shape women who have given birth.  I'm 34, not overweight, in great shape and I have a dog and a turtle.*  WTF!?  I stopped Googling because it was not making me happy, and decided to ask my sister the Ironman what she thought.  She says it's totally normal.  I do know at lot of women at the gym complain about peeing while doing double-unders.  I guess it's the same kind of thing.

Looking ahead, I'd like to do another half in the fall.  Maybe Newport again.  Or Philly.  Or Staten Island. 

-Gym Belle-

*The turtle technically belongs to my sister, but I have been turtle-sitting for over a year.

Happy racing!

-Gym Belle-

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/YhsGc5kROo/

Not surprisingly, some of my 2013 goals are coming along better than others.  I wanted to bring my snatch up from 60lbs to 85, and, as of this morning, I'm at 78.  [Insert happy dance here].  On the other hand, I haven't done much about my lack of muscle ups or my lackluster double unders.

For whatever reason, I didn't set any specific 2013 running goals.  I have some rowing goals, and I suppose last year's unmet goal of a 1:55 half marathon still counts, but that's it for endurance.  Still, I'm committed to getting faster, and I'm excited to see that happening.

A few weeks ago, I hit a PR in a 4 mile race: 33:03 (8:16 pace).  In February of 2010, my 4 mile race time was 35:00 (8:45 pace).  I credit  CrossFit Endurance programming with the change. 

Speaking of which, this week I programmed six 400m time trial sprints with 3:30 rest between them for CrossFit Metropolis' endurance group.  I tackled this yesterday, and I thought it went ok:

1. 1:39 (6:38 pace)
2. 1:41 (6:46 pace)
3. 1:35 (6:22 pace)
4. 1:40 (6:42 pace)
5. 1:49 (7:19 pace) (got stuck in park traffic on this one!)
6. 1:42 (6:50 pace)

This morning, I took at look at my old times to compare them.  I had never done this exact workout, but on September 13, 2011 - while I was training for the marathon - I did eight 400m with 2:00 rest between them.  That went like this:

1. .22mi 1:37 (7:17 pace)
2. .25mi 1:45 (7:01 pace)
3. .25mi 1:48 (7:13 pace)
4. .25mi 1:54 (7:30 pace)
5. .25mi 1:55 (7:37 pace)
6. .25mi 2:05 (8:26 pace)
7. .26mi 1:59 (7:48 pace)
8. .25mi 1:56 (7:52 pace)

Yes, the rest period was shorter, and that makes a difference, but I think it's safe to say that I'm moving faster these days.  

Onward and upward... 

-Gym Belle-

My very first Total came right at the beginning of my CrossFit career - February 24, 2010.  I was as green as can be and a fish out of water.  I didn't know where the weights were and couldn't adjust the rack, let alone lift.  I wish I had this on tape.  My backsquat was 94 (I can't explain this number; it's what I wrote down.).  My press was 48.  My deadlift was 128.  Total: 270#.

I did this workout again that fall, on October 13, 2010.  By then, I had moved to CrossFit Metropolis.  I backsquatted 105.  My press was 55.  My deadlift score was zero.  I had started going for 145 (my then one-rep-max) and couldn't make it happen.  Total: 160#.

My next total was on January 30, 2011.  (Seriously, click the link - there's video.)  My backsquat was still 105 and my press was still 55, but my deadlift went up to 165.  Total: 325#.

I videotaped the next one, too - on March 20, 2011.  My backsquat was still 105.  My press jumped up to 65, and I deadlifted 190.  Total: 360#.

All of these feel like they happened in another life.  So much has changed in the past two years, and particularly since I started coaching last year.  My technique is better (phew!) and my approach to training is so much more methodical and deliberate.  In that first Total post, I talk about wanting to feel at ease at the box.  These days, Metropolis is very much my home.

Today, I backsquated 135 (PR), pressed 70 and deadlifted 200 (PR).  Total: 405.

Objectively speaking, my numbers aren't anything spectacular - there was a guy today whose deadlift alone was 405 - but I am super jazzed about the improvement that I continue to see.  

And as excited as I was about my gains, I was even happier for the woman I shared the bar with this morning.  She's fairly new to CrossFit, but dedicated and strong.  She bested me on every lift setting new - and substantial - PR's for herself.  It was exciting to be a part of that.

Looking back at these old posts, I see that it's not just me who has grown over the past few years; CrossFit Metropolis has evolved into such an amazing place.  We've come a long way since the days when we were a dirty little gym with two racks and two rowers and a single coach.  I can't wait to see what happens next.

-Gym Belle-

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/XxSkKLkRKc/

1. 5K PR: 26:05
2. Snatch PR: 75 lbs (three times!)
3. Tried Kira Stokes' Rip Ride at Revolve with the Fitmapped crew (first spin class in a long time)
4. Tried 13.1 twice on my birthday - scored 100 both times. 

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Monday

Rest

Tuesday

Adult Gymnastics at Chelsea Piers.  

I had always been curious to try this class, and this week I really needed the playtime.  The class was 90 minutes long.  For the first 30 minutes, we stretched and then worked on hollow position holds and pushups - all good stuff.  The stretching made me feel less guilty about skipping yoga to go to gymnastics.  Once we were warm, we worked on kicking up to free-standing handstands, and then we started tumbling.  I was a mess, but the instructors were really encouraging.  I'm thinking that I should add a back handspring to my 2013 goals.

Wednesday

Oly Practice: Lots of shoulder mobility/accessory work, and then worked up to three 70lb snatches.

WOD: This was an utter disaster of double-unders and 95lb backsquats.  I still have whip marks all over my arms.

Thursday

10K time trial: 56:03.  This was a beautiful sunrise run with a friend, but not the true time trial I meant to do. I know I can do this  faster.  My 10K PR from 2011 is 54:04.

Friday

Shoulder mobility/accessory work.

Saturday

Oly Practice: Snatch: 53x2-58-63-68-73(f)-73(f)-73(f)-73(f)-73-73-73.  This was awesome.  Even though I technically snatched 75lbs three times last week, they were all super ugly power snatches, so, in a way, 73lbs felt like a PR.  And after four failed reps, it felt so good to start making that lift.

CrossFit Games Open WOD 13.2 (10 minute AMRAP of 5 75lb shoulder-to-overheads, 10 75lb deadlifts and 15 box jumps/step-ups at 20"): 195 reps.  I fell short of my 7 round goal, but I was happy with it.  Getting 75lbs overhead is no joke for me.  I jerked from the beginning, which I think was the right call.  Unfortunately, I had to break up the last two sets of five; that slowed me down a lot.  

Sunday

Endurance WOD: 3x 1000m sprints with 3 minutes rest between sprints:

1) 4:42 (7:34 pace)
2) 4:34 (7:21 pace)
3) 4:37 (7:26 pace)

-Gym Belle-