Why is it there is never just good news, it always has to be tempered with bad news? Silly life! Anyway, as the title announces, I have some good news and some bad news. First some Crossfit related good news:
I got a new bona fide Personal Best down the gym on Saturday. Not just a 2008 PB as I rebuild backup to my pre golfers elbow issues, but for the first time this year a lift that beats my previous best in 2007 too. I was doing Push Jerks and I managed a single at 82.5kg, beating my previous PB of 80kg. 82.5kg is over my own body weight by the way.
As you can see my elbow is holding up nicely. We were actually doing sets of 3 and it was only when I got to 60kg that I started to notice it. At 70kg it was starting to become uncomfortable and at 75k there was a bit of pain, so I stopped the 3 reps. Actually it’s not the act of lifting the bar that hurts, but bringing it down to the rack position (on your shoulders) in order to get the 2nd and 3rd rep, that’s when the elbow is under most load whilst bent. That’s why I decided a 1 rep PB attempt was ok, I could just dump the bar afterwards.
In other good news, I alluded to the fact recently that I was going to make some changes at work and to that end I have a new client, one that is going to occupy 90% of my time for the foreseeable future. It’s a good project too which will see me effectively working for British Telecom on a high profile role (read Director level project sponsor). As a result I will not be taking on any new clients as this one will be occupying all my time.
Now for the bad news…
The new client means I’ll be spending most of my time working away from home in London Monday to Friday. Apart from the fact that I’ll be away from the family all week again, as I’ve got used to seeing my daughter every day, there are other considerations too: the weekly commute is damned expensive: £230 for a normal return ticket; I’ll also miss the guys and gals from my lunchtime sessions at Crossfit Manchester. They’re a great bunch of people and seeing them only on a Saturday would be a drag.
It’s worse than that though, as I’ve just discovered that Crossfit London only does group sessions on the weekends, which is of course when I’m back home in Manchester. I knew there wasn’t a Crossfit London gym, but was hoping for evening classes on a Tuesday and Thursday say just to keep my hand in. Seems I’m going to have to find a “normal gym”! Oh the horror! Actually to be 100% honest, I’ve never actually been in a normal gym, so it’s likely to be a rather intriguing experience.
Can anyone recommend a Crossfit friendly gym in the EC1 / N1 area?
I’m also obviously looking for digs too. My mate Jim has kindly offered to put me up for a bit on his sofa until I find a place. Easy Room Mate.com (dodgy name for a site!) has been recommended to me as a good site, and certainly I’ve already found 10 places on there that are potentially suitable. Anyone got any tips for how to chose a room to rent, not something I’ve ever had to do? I guess it’s mostly location and gut instinct on the other occupants.
So any way you look at it, it’s been a busy week.
