My butt and my thighs have been burning and aching since Friday of last week. I have to lower myself into my desk chair with my hands first, exhaling as I do so, and brace myself for impact. Even though the impact will be slow and measured and painstakingly cautious, it will inevitably hurt my butt.
One thing about concentrated, cross-functional training is that one area of my body is perpetually sore. Sometimes it's my shoulders, often it's my legs, sometimes, if we do a lot of lunges, it's my butt. I stretch a little bit before every workout, but i probably should be doing a bit more. But I'm doubtful that even the most diligent stretching will combat the soreness completely. Our workouts are so tough everyday that there are bound to be residual effects on my body. If I'm perfectly honest, I kind of like a wee bit of soreness. It tells me I put in some effort.
But, I'm still struggling to find my balance. I've reached my body goals, for the most part. I've lost most of the flab and toned my stomach and my pancake bum has gone the way of the dodo bird. I haven't weighed myself in months but I can tell from the way my clothes fit and the fact that I feel good in my skin that I am where I want to be. Now I want to maintain. Well, I want to maintain and also learn to do a kipping pullup properly sometime in the near future (but that's a whole other goal-setting post)
Right now, we're doing Crossfit 5-6 days a week and running 1-2 times a week. Each Crossfit workout lasts less than an hour - the longest Workouts of the Day are half an hour, max. When we run, we usually go between 5 and 10K, sometimes longer on Sundays. Because Corey has an obligation to whip the ass of a certain Black Hockey Jesus in the Vegas Half Marathon this December, we have made a pact to start running longer and harder at least 3 times a week. (You should try explaining to your friends that you are training to beat a man named Black Hockey Jesus whom you actually do not really know. Who used to have a blog that had Vagina in the title. It's kind of awesome.)
Anyway, how about you? How often do you work out? I know there's no such thing as a perfect balance but I am wondering what other earnest fitness enthusiasts do. How much time do you put in and where is the border between too much and not enough?
***
Corey is putting the finishing touches on a very cool healthy recipe sharing site, but in the meantime I wanted to share my favourite new recipe creation. We're still pretty heavily committed to the Paleo diet: it is good food, you can eat as much as you want, it reduces bloat and sometimes I feel like I could easily haul my Jeep over one shoulder: simple food seems to give strength in multitudes.
This recipe is pretty high in fat because of the avocados, but it is totally Paleo-legal and totally delicious.
Avocado Stuffed Portobello Tuna Mushrooms
2 large portobello mushrooms with the inner accordion stuff all scooped out (inner accordian stuff? you totally know what I mean though)
1 ripe avocado (skin should be green/black and yield slightly to touch)
1 can ocean-friendly, sustainable tuna (we buy Raincoast Albacore Tuna with No Salt Added which uses a hook-and-line method to catch the fish rather than traditional methods that can harm a lot of other sea life, including dolphins)
6 sundried tomatoes, diced (it's hard to find unsalted sundried tomato but check your dried goods section at the organic grocery store, or your farmer's market)
2 green onions, chopped
half a purple onion, chopped into tiny pieces
cracked black pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place uncooked portobello mushrooms on baking sheet.
Peel and de-pit your perfectly ripe avocado. Mash like guacamole into a medium sized bowl. Add chopped red onion, green onion, sundried tomatoes, and tuna and mix until all ingredients are moist and mashed. Add pepper to taste. Spoon half the mixture into one mushroom and half into the other. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes and then rejoice in the sheer deliciousness.
(The picture doesn't do it justice)
(If you want a small Paleo cheat, crumbled melted goat cheese on top of this would likely be a tasty decision. OK, I know for a fact it is.)
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