I finally made the move and took up Crossfit this year. Crossfit is insane. It is basically strength and cardio done all at once in a 20 minute spurt (sometimes longer for me). It works every muscle fiber in your body and I leave every class feeling more exhausted than some of my longer rides! Crossfit is insane, but you have to be sane to do it safely. There are a lot of arguments against it, and a lot of arguments for. You can seriously get hurt by pulling too much weight or just focusing too much on time rather than slowing down and focusing on form. To really do Crossfit the right way, you have to know yourself first.
It has been a bit of a struggle balancing the physical needs of Crossfit with the increased physical needs of my running. My short distance running has benefited ten fold from the incorporation of these strength and intense cardio workouts. I hit the track soon after it got warm, about a year since I was last on a track, and I was pulling splits that were as fast as the ones I was pulling after spending a whole summer incorporating track workouts into my rotation. It was pretty awesome.
Why I love long distance running…the views! (Me at the Toughman Tri – Ken Shelton Photography)
Except, Crossfit has had more of a negative effect on my longer distance running. I find it harder to go the distances due to the general fatigue gained over the course of the week from the WOD’s (Workout of the Day). Now that I am embarking on my marathon training, this is not a good thing.
This is how I feel by Thursday…
So, I have to learn how to balance Crossfit with my training. While I am still experimenting with the right balance in terms of working out, another balance I am seeking is between what I eat.
I don’t eat a lot of meat on a daily basis. I still enjoy eating meat, and do indulge in a good burger or a perfectly cooked medium rare steak (oh…i miss thee!), but I limit it to special occasions. Without the meat, and the focus more on a vegetable based diet, the problem is how to get the protein I need without having to eat an entire can of beans or tub of tofu with my meals? Lately I’ve been trying to incorporate more protein rich foods into all my meals. But, this also just means I eat everything with a hard boiled egg and some cheese.
Hard boiled eggs are so easy to make and store really well in the fridge so they are there when you need them for a quick easy snack or part of a meal. I love slicing them up and throwing it on top of whatever dish I am making. They go really well sliced up on top of ramen, as part of a salad, or sauteed veggie meals. Since the farmers market is back, I’ve been splurging and getting farm fresh eggs to hard boil. Totally worth it the extra money for flavor alone.
Make a half dozen and throw it into the fridge to be used as an addition to any quick weekday meal!
Hard Boiled Eggs (Thanks to Andrew and Liz for their words of wisdom as I was learning how to do this properly)
Put your eggs into a pot and fill with water up until about 1″above the eggs.
Put pot on a high flame until it comes to a boil. Count to 60 once it starts boiling.
Turn off flame and cover for 12 minutes.
Drain and put into a bowl with ice water to stop it from cooking, or keep running them under cold water until they are cooled.
When they are cooled, peel what you need, and store the rest of the eggs in the fridge for when you need them. They can be stored with or without their shells. I like storing with since it saves me on plastic wrap.
If you did it right (like above), then the shells come off super easily and there is no grey layer between the yolk and the egg white. Pure deliciousness with just a hint of salt, fresh ground black pepper and maybe some herbs if you please. When I was in Japan for a month, I used to eat them with a touch of salt and some of that Japanese Mayo (Kewpie), and it was so delicious (and so not good for you. It was the only trip where I came back noticeably heavier than when I went…but for a multitude of reasons, not just my penchant of eggs and mayo).
I know I can’t just eat a hard boiled egg as my sole protein source. Any suggestions?
ChezSylvia 