I am in the middle of going through some training videos at work and I came across this old video from my team! Over here in the Rackspace world we work extremely hard. Hard work brings us closer together especially when we spend the majority of the week sitting in close proximity. This day happened to be the Friday of a very long week. Some of the guys had heard that we liked Kings of Leon…. sure enough, they brought in their guitars, took a break to go practice and then serenaded the whole support floor! Talk about bringing a smile to your face and making your day brighter. That’s what Friends and Family is all about. Shout out to Nate and Kris!
Archive for January, 2011
Scissor Hands
2011 -
01.21
I’m really tired. I did not get enough sleep last night due to my allergies. I am so over this “mountain” cedar!!!! My nose goes from dry to runny…. and its so frustrating! I miss sleep, the kind of sleep that does not require Tylenol PM, Nyquil, or Lunesta. I brought my workout clothes because I really want to get to the gym today… but I am so freaking tired I don’t know if I have it in me. Sounds like excuses… I know 
I guess we shall see how it goes when I get to the Blanco and Bitters intersection.
Here is a quick recap of yesterdays workout (Gotta keep my logs up to date!). Yesterday’s work out was called Scissor Hands. We started with calisthenics and stretches and then did a 400m run outside. I have to add, that running in the middle of a cold front should be illegal!! I felt like there were needles in my lungs, not a fun feeling. I will add however, that I kept a really consistent pace. I felt stronger with my strides as I followed the route. I think it has to be those runs I am doing on the treadmill.
The WOD was set up of 5 Rounds for Time (RFT) with 3 separate stations. Ring Rows: 10 reps, Toe to Bar: 10 reps and Box Jumps: 20 reps. I did the first round prescribed, but ended up modifying the Toe to Bar to “Knees to Elbows” and the Ring Rows down to the floor instead of elevated (which you will see below):
Gotta love my face during these box jumps… definitely NOT my favorite can’t you tell 
. I kept these intact and did not modify at all throughout the WOD!
Overall, I completed the workout in 14 minutes and 14 seconds. My goal was to finish in under 15 minutes so, I am pretty happy with myself. I kinda wish I hadn’t forgotten my weight gloves…. my hands were so raw and blistered afterward the WOD.
I have plans to see my little brother’s show tonight. He is the bassist/ lead guitarist for IN BEDS. I can’t wait to see his show at Limelight!!!
Has the Randomness Stopped?
2011 -
01.20
I am sitting at home, debating what to write about today. First off, yes I did get my but to Alamo Crossfit today so, my writers block is not coming due to lack of material. When I first started this site, it was meant to be a work experiment. I wanted to learn about the products my company offered first hand… by being a customer and consumer. I felt that by putting myself in the customers shoes, I would be able to relate to them better when they called or chatted in for support. Setting up this site was time consuming but a very fun learning experience too.
When I first started blogging, I stated that this was a site about randomness. I had no idea what to write about, no recurring theme that I saw coming out. I did however, know that if I had the urge to write something fun, I wanted a social avenue that would serve as an outlet for posting my ideas.
To recap, I have written about love, family, work, life, posted funny videos, funny jokes and fitness. Lately, all of my posts have seemed to center about Wellness and Fitness. I assume this will subside as the year goes by and I’m not so consumed by staying on track with my workouts. Right now, I am trying my best to spread the word about overall wellness, a healthy diet and a good workout regime. I write about it and try to encourage others about it, because this is something that I am passionate about. But heres the thing… I am passionate about alot of things! I am passionate about finding true love (which I am blessed to have found), about family and friends (which have been all around great lately) and about the general things that surround our every day life, whether it be the economy, a new movie (because anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE going to the movies), celebrity gossip, ongoing events in the news, a new book (by the way, I highly recommend “Something Borrowed”), etc…
All I can say is that I promise to write in this little blog when I have the time and a good idea. (Whether it be the randomness I wish to get back, or just a simple log about my workout.)
Men and Yoga, Women and Weights
2011 -
01.20
Hiya peeps! I’m sitting here with my sister, Lynda enjoying some girl time. Today was one of those days that makes you deserve 2-3 glasses of wine. Work was non-stop and stressful and I did not get the opportunity to workout …… so there goes my stress relief. Instead, I got to vent to my sister and boyfriend about my day. We ended up talking about financial stresses and the economy, which really isn’t that much better of a topic. I will say though, that nothing beats good company….. its the best cure in the world.
So even though, I didn’t chance to work out today…. I am here sipping my wine, hanging with my sis thinking about yesterday’s workout. So here is the latest:
Yesterday I headed to Fitness 19 with my friend Billie. We focused on cardio, abs and legs. Please note, the reason I titled todays post “men yoga, women and weights, is because my boyfriend and all his guys friends decided to go to Bikram Yoga, all the while my girl Billie and I decided to go lift weights…. what’s wrong with this picture??? HAHAHAHA
Anyways, back to the workout: For cardio I did a 2 mile run. I have to add that this day was difficult!!! I found myself crossing the 2 mile mark after 24 minutes, which is 2 minutes slower than usual. My highest speed was 7.0 and my highest incline reached was 9.0… so I am not going to beat myself up too bad about it especially when I went up a notch or two!
As far as abs went, I worked on abdominal intervals. This means that between every set of crunches, I did a 45 second plank… it ended up looking something like this:
58 vertical crunches (pic below), 45 second plank, 24 regular situps, 45 second plank, 40 vertical crunches, 45 second plank, 26 situps.
After situps, must come the stretches! I caught little Billie in mid stretch:
Today we focused on legs. Again, 3 different machines with 3 sets of 10 reps each. We worked on squats, leg press and calves:
Sorry for being so short today, my sis is here with me and I had no time to write…. today will I let the pictures speak for themselves!!!
Rackspace OpenStack
2011 -
01.18
Here’s a great video from Rackspace’s Openstack initiative. I know this seems out of place from my usual blog posts, but I am so excited to celebrate the 6 year month anniversary with my fellow Rackers! Life is about having an overall awareness of your surroundings. Health, Family, Friends, Fitness and a good Work Environment are all involved parts of maintaining a happy life. I love my job and I get a satisfying feeling every day I walk in to work. Congratulations to all of the developers, programmers and leaders that helped make this initiative possible.
Scuba Steve
2011 -
01.18
This weekend was a fun one. I went to my first hunting trip out in Freer, Texas. First, I will start by saying that I, myself did not shoot a single living thing. I opted for hanging out in the ranch, driving the fun hunting cars, and drinking lots of wine and vodka 
.
I did however, shoot my first gun! I will have to write an additional post about that adventure once I download the photos. What I can say, is that I was super lazy and ate junk food the entire time. This whole trip, while relaxing threw me back onto lazy mode. It was very difficult for me to get up to work the next day, but I was at the office on time and ready to work. I convinced myself that if I missed Crossfit due to working late, that I could relax one more day before getting back into my gym routine. Surely enough, I got home around 6:45 (which is way too late for CF), but to my surprise my boyfriend Steve was dressed in workout clothes heading to the gym. He asked me to join him which was a first for me. The gym is my escape…. I go there to forget my present and to let out any frustrations. Not something I usually let a guy see.
Steve and I have been dating for 1 year and approximately 8 months, so I figure its time to venture into new territory and to work out with a boy. We started with Cardio. We ran side by side on the treadmills. I had chick rock music playing on my iPod. You know… Flyleaf, type of stuff. I mouthed the words to all my favorite songs while running at interval speeds. My highest speed was 6.5 and my lowest was 3.8. The highest incline I reached was 4.5. Although I only ran for 22 minutes, I definitely worked up a sweat and got to my goal of 2 miles.
After our Cardio, Steve and I went to work on our arms. Biceps, Triceps, Chest and Deltoids. We worked 3 machines, 3 sets of 10 a piece. We alternated sets… this is SOOOO new to me. I am used to going so fast during my workouts…. used to getting a cardio workout while lifting weights. I feel I get more out of my workouts when I do this… exhaustion shows me that I truly gave it my all. Instead I waited while Steve finished his reps so that I could start mine. The one thing I really did enjoy about this workout, was seeing my sexy boyfriend working out his muscles I snuck in a few pics on my iPhone when he wasn’t looking! What can I say… I am still smitten!
Yes ladies and gentlemen… he is MINE all MINE
Dead to Rights
2011 -
01.12
Today was a fun day. I felt very productive throughout the day and I maintained energetic the entire time. There was no need to bust out the redbull that I have become so incredible fond of. I can see that eating healthy and going back to the gym has helped my sleeping patterns and energy levels come back to normal.
Its easy to be motivated at the beginning of the year. Everyone has set their resolutions, has started going to the gym and is eating healthy. But its only January, so the real challenge will be to maintain this healthy pattern for the entire year! Today’s workout was especially fun for me since I hit a new Personal Record! WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO
We started with calisthenics to get our heart warmed up, our muscles nice and loose and stretched. These usually consist of jumping jacks, shuffle splits, tire toe touches, and tire pushups.
Part 1 of the WOD was to reach a max dead-lift. We started with 5 reps- then 3 reps- then 1 rep, and 1 more rep. Each rep count’s goal is to increase weight until you reach your one rep max. I maxed out at 220 lbs!!! Its 5 lbs. more than the last time I tried this. So I was happy to have at least improved my number
The second part of the WOD was to do 10 deadlifts with a bar that holds 70% weight of your max and to run 200 meters. This was an AMRAP workout (as many rounds as possible) to be completed in 12 minutes. I used a 145lb. bar for this workout… I know that 70% was 155lbs. but I was scared to hurt my back so I settled for 10 lbs. less. As they say at ALAMO CF, its more important to have good form than to lift a high weight.
Melissa, our coach for today’s 6:15 class, informed me that there will be a Paleo challenge starting on 1/31. I am so excited to do this again. Last year, I lost 10lbs in the 7 week challenge. Lets see if I can do it again
