Delicious holiday party hors d'oeuvres - Bacon wrapped dates with blue cheese

I tried this recipe a week ago and it was a success.  I plan to make it again this holiday season to take to a friend's house for her Christmas party--yummy!

Ingredients:

1 pound sliced bacon, cut in half

1.5 pound pitted dates

1 package wooden toothpicks

4 ounces blue cheese

Directions:

1.   Soak about half the pack of toothpicks in water for one hour before placing them in the dates.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

3. Slice dates in half, and open them up (and discard pits if you bought non-pitted). Pinch off pieces of blue cheese, and place them into the center of the dates. Close the halves of the dates, and wrap a half-slice of bacon around the outside. Arrange in a baking dish or on a baking sheet with sides to catch any grease.

4. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bacon is crisp. Turn dates over after the first 20 minutes for even cooking and secure each one with a toothpick before placing them back in the oven.

Knee surgery recovery

So today is day three of my knee surgery recovery and I'm feeling pretty hopeful.  I decided to go ahead with the surgery after increasing pain and reduced range of motion were keeping me from advancing in my fitness goals.  I was hesitant for several years because I didn't want to put my training on hold and figured I would just suffer through it.  After a few meetings with my orthopedic surgeon, I was convinced it would be best to get it over with now to avoid further damage.  I went to my first physical therapy appointment today and already feel better than I did on Friday after the surgery.  The swelling has gone down considerably and I should be back to my normal routine in a few months.  Until then, I will work on upper body strengthening to keep myself active.  I will have the left leg done in about two weeks so the total recovery will be about 10 weeks.  Cant wait to get back to normal and pain free!

11/18/10 WOD

Trained alone while Marlie hung with Leon.

Warm-up: CF warm-up x1

Met-con: As many rds as possible in 15min of:
10 KB swing, 70 lbs/ 53 lbs
10 GHD sit-ups
10 burpees

***I finished 6 rds plus up to 2 burpees. I liked this one but my stomach is feeling it now.

11/17/10 WOD - PR

I trained with the 11 a.m. Elysium class.

Warm up: CF warm up x1

Strength: Split jerk 1x1x1x1x1.  I got up to 133 lbs - PR!

Met-con: 8 rounds for time of:
-squat cleans 115 lbs/ 75 lbs
-10 burpees
***I finished in 7:58 but subbed power cleans for squat cleans since I'm going easy on my knee and the squats are too painful.

11/16/10 WOD

Trained alone at home today while Marlie napped.

Warm-up: CF warm-up x 1 (minus the pulls)

Met-con only: Spin bike workout: level 16, strength program, 30 minutes.  I completed 10 miles at an average of 20 rpms.   I also did 6 rounds of 10 push ups and 10 full-range dips in 3:58.

11/12/10 WOD - hopper???

Fun day at CF Elysium.  The prescribed wod was hang cleans 3x3 and then coach's choice hopper wod.  The first two classes used the same hopper wod: (hang cleans 3x3 and) 15 cleans at lighter weight, 30 air squats, as many rounds as possible for 15 minutes.  Then it got interesting....   I was scheduled to coach both 5 and 6 pm today and two of our 5 p.m. members wanted to repeat the torture from yesterday, "Nutts" (see yesterdays post).  As class-members staggered in, they were talked in to foregoing the hopper wod and join the repeat wod too.  Well, needless to say, they all got PRs--some at heavier weight on the deads.  "What bad-asses," I thought to myself, not because they are Elysium members, but because they have the mental strength of champions!  I ended up doing the 6 p.m. wod with one of our newer members and one other.  It was fun since Leon's hopper pull was easy on my style:

Warm-up: CF warm-up x2

Strength: Hang cleans 3x3.  Since I'm having knee surgery next week to fix an 18-year-old injury, I didn't push it.  I got 103 x3, 108 x 3, 103 x3.

Met-con:
AMRAP 15 or 5 rounds (which ever comes first):
10 dead-lifts 155 lbs (women)
15 ring dips (I scaled to 1/2 dips since I dont quite have full--should have used a band for full range of motion)
25 air squats

***URG--so close!  I got 4 rounds plus up to 10 dips.  Next time I'll use the band, get full range and get all 5 rounds before the cut-off!

Thanks to Leon for teaching the last class and letting me jump in.

Veteran's Day, 11/11/10 WOD

I tained with Ben and Alessandra today at Elysium while Marlie ate her apple slices and played with Luca and Leon.

Warm-up: CrossFit Warm-up x2

Strength: off

Met-con: "Nutts"

For time:
10 Handstand push-ups
250 pound Deadlift, 15 reps (175 lbs for women)
25 Box jumps, 30 inch box
50 Pull-ups
100 Wall-ball shots, 20 pounds, 10' (15 lbs for women)
200 Double-unders
Run 400 meters with a 45lb plate (35 lb plate for women)

***I finished in 34:13.  I had to scale the handstand push ups and did 600 singles instead of 200 double-unders. 

Lieutenant Andrew Richard Nuttall, 30, from the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI), based in Edmonton, Alberta, serving as a member of the 1 PPCLI Battle Group was killed by an improvised explosive device that detonated during a joint foot patrol near the village of Nakhonay in Panjwaii District, about 25 km southwest of Kandahar City on December 23, 2009. He is survived by his parents, Richard and Ethel Jane Nuttall.

Posted by lauren, May 28, 2010 5:00 PM 


***I coached both classes tonight and we have some amazing athletes in our gym--I so proud to be a part of it.  They are all very inspirational.  

11/10/10 WOD

Trained alone at home between appointments. 

Warm-up: CF warm-up x1 (minus the pulls) 

Met-con only: 45 minutes on the spin bike at level 16.  Got up to 14.4 miles.  I also did 100 sit ups and 50 push ups in 4:30.  I broke them up and did 49 sit-ups and then about 10 of each after that.  Looking forward to getting back in the gym tomorrow. 

11/9/10 WOD

Trained alone at home while Marlie napped.

Met-con only: 30 minutes on the spin bike at level 16.  Got up to 9.6 miles.  

Metro Dash WOD

I had a great time at the San Diego Metro Dash with my CrossFit Elysium teammates Alessandra and Nick last Saturday.  We were eager to get the 1.5 hour race underway when we met up at my place bright and early Saturday morning.  Ben was kind enough to drive us down to the Embarcadero in SD where the start/ finish line was. ****We finished in 1:25.  It's been a while since I've worked for that long without stopping. It was fun and my teammates kept me going--thanks guys!  Here is a decription of the event and some pics:

The whole course is about 3 - 5 miles:

TABATA – At all Tabata challenges you will be required to complete 4 minutes of interval training. Tabata is 20 seconds of maximum effort followed by 10 seconds of rest. Maximum effort is defined as proper form combined with as many reps as possible.  

***During Metro Dash you will complete the following Tabata Challenges:
Squats
Pushups
Burpees
Star Jumps

-BEAR LUNGES – What do you get when you mix bear crawls with lunges? Bear Lunges. You’ll perform walking lunges from one set of cones to another and then bear crawl back to the first set of cones.

THE GAUNTLET (completed twice): 

-Power Ropes – You’ll grab a set of these ropes and complete 30 seconds
of intense movements.

-Tire Flips – You’ll flip these 150lb tractor tires from one set of cones to
another and then back again for a total of 12 flips.

-TRX Rows – You’ll complete 12 reps of inverted TRX rows.

-Sled Drag – You’ll sprint with a 50lb sled from one set of cones to another
and then back again.

-Slam Balls – You’ll slam a 12lb rubber ball into the ground 12 times. The
goal is to catch it after only one bounce.

-Box Jumps – You’ll perform 12 box jumps on either an 18” or 24” metal
box.

-Kettlebell Swings – You’ll complete 12 Kettlebell swings using either a
15lb or 25lb bell.

-The Wall – You’ll jump over an 8’ wall.

11/4 and 11/5/10 WODs - PR!

11/5 - I trained with the 11 a.m. Elysium class.

Warm-up: CF x1

Strength: back squat 3x3 ???

Met-con: "Air Squat Assualt" - 30 secs on, 30 secs rest for 15 mins of air squats.  ***I got a total of 336 squats.

Javier's birthday WOD!!

11/4 - I trained with the 6 p.m. Elysium class while Marlie stayed with Ben.

Warm-up: CF warm-up x2

Strength: Power cleans 3x3. I got 113 lbs, 123, 128 x2 - PR!

Met-con: 21 - 15 - 9 reps of:

power cleans at 95 lbs

pull ups

*** I finished in 10:02--not an ideal time. Stupid hand tears!

11/1/10 WOD - PR!

I trained with the 11 a.m. Elysium class today while Marlie drew all over herself and her exersaucer with ball point pen. At least she kept herself busy for an hour while we got a wod in--thanks beebs!

Warm-up: CrossFit x2

Strength: Dead-lift 3x3. I got 235 lbs x3, 245 x3 (PR), 255 x1, 250 F. I should have gone up to 250 before 255…next time.

Met-con: As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of -

15 dead-lift (135 men / 95 women)

15 push ups

***I finished 9 rounds and 15 dead-lifts

Check out this video Paul posted on our site:

10/30/10 WOD - Amazing "Grace" fundraiser and PR!

CrossFit Elysium hosted a Barbells for Boobs / Amazing “Grace” fundraiser today and we had a great time.  Some members of CFCV joined us for a little friendly competition and we got some great pics: 

Several people got PRs on their “Grace” times as well.
	Workout	Grace
	Result	3 mins 58 secs | Rx'd
	Date	Saturday, October 30, 2010
	Notes	New PR by 13 seconds!
	Avg Power	100.7 (ft*lbs)/sec
	Rank	Gym Rank (W): 1st | Site Rank (W): 97th

Leon and Paul were published in the CrossFit Journal!

Click here to read the article

10/27/10 WOD

Met-con:I trained with Alessandra this morning and only had 30 mins so no strength again today L

Warm-up: CrossFit warm-up x 1

Met-con:

1 min max rep handstand push ups

rest 1 min

1 min max rep box jumps, 20 in box

rest 1 min

1 min max rep pull ups

rest 1 min

Repeat for a total of 3 cycles.

***I completed a total of 191 reps. The jumps were particularly hard today.

Check out this video of Annie doing HSPU--she is awesome!

Trained alone at home while Marlie napped.

Met-con only: 45 minutes on the spin bike at level 16.  Got up to 14.4 miles.  

10/25/10 WOD - "Helen"

I trained with the 11 a.m. Elysium class today while Marlie watched and begged for raisins... 


Warm-up: CrossFit warm-up x 1

Strength: front squat 3 x 3 reps.  My knee is wiped from several recent runs so I felt it on my first work set of 135 lbs.  I decided not to push it today considering we also had a run for the met-con. I got 115 lbs x3, 135 lbs x3 and 135 x2.

Met-con: "Helen", 3 rounds for time -

400 m run

21 KB swing, 1.5 (men) /1 (women) pood

12 pull ups

****I finished in 11:28 today.  My last time was 11:14 so no PR for me--URG!

10/24/10 WOD

I trained with the 12 p.m. Elysium class today while Marlie looked on from her play-saucer and ate apple slices. Alessandra played peek-a-boo with her between sit-ups and she was laughing hysterically.

Warm-up:
400 m run, then two rounds of
10 squats
10 push-ups
10 supermans
10 sit-ups

Met-con: AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 20 mins -
400 m run
15 burpees
20 sit-ups

***I finished five total rounds.  I didn't stop more than a breath maybe once or twice which makes me think I couldn't have done another round, even on an especially great day.  I'm happy with this score.

Recipe: Pumpkin Fries

Who doesn't love fries?! I just came across this recipe on another paleo foodie's blog and had to share:

Ingredients:
1 pumpkin
2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
Spices such as paprika, chilli flakes, fresh finely chopped garlis and cumin
Dried herbs such as basil, thyme, parsley and sage

Method:
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil.
1. Peel and chop pumpkin into fries - I go for a 1cm x 1cm thickness, but shoestring would still work (be gentle!) as will bigger wedge-style cuts.
2. In a medium bowl, toss fries with oil.
3. Sprinkle with selected herbs and spices, tossing to coat.
4. Place fries on tray in a single layer, and bake in oven until golden and slightly crisp on the outside.  It will take a while so be patient 
Serve hot!

10/22/10 WOD - PR!

I trained with the 11 a.m. Elysium class today.

Warm-up: CrossFit warm-up x 1.  I’ve switched out butterfly kip pull ups for regular now to improve my form.  I got three in a row for the first time today

Strength: back squat 3 x 3 reps.  I got 155 lbs x3, 165 x3 and 170 x3 –PR by 10 lbs!

Met-con: Four rounds for time of -

6 clean and jerks, 155 (men) / (women) 105lb

12 toes to bar

***I finished in 11:50.  That was a good but hard workout.