First Week

Hi everyone!!

It has been one week now that I've been in Chelyabinsk. After that headache of my first 24 hours, I have to say that everything is pretty great!!

First and foremost, the weather overall is absolutely perfect - mid 60s, sunshine. I went on a very nice run through the forest earlier this week. No music, just went out for a very easy jog. I set out to do 30 minutes but I was enjoying myself so much that I went ahead and ran for an hour.

I am pretty settled in to the dorm. I bought a few things to make it feel more home-y - a bath mat, a shower organizer, and - my favorite thing ever so far - a multicooker! These are not popular in the US but they are very popular here because they do a TON of stuff but take up very little space - in my cooker I can make soup, bread, yogurt, rice, oatmeal, sauces, french fries (!!!), and even a few desserts.

I haven't been very adventurous yet.... just made some borsch and that's it.

Another fantastic bit of news is that my classes are NOT all-day, 5 days a week like I feared. This week's schedule is Tuesday/Wednesday 9:45-1:05, Thursday 9:45-11:30, all in the same room. Next week I will have an additional two classes - I believe one was philosophy, and I didn't catch the other, but the dean said that I will likely have Friday free as well.

This is fantastic for a few reasons - first it opens up the possibility of traveling for competitions and events around Russia. Since I am not going to Germany, I am looking at trying to compete for my unversity at the Russian Championships among Students. Second - I can train with my coach! :)

Speaking of, I trained a little bit today which was nice. Just a nice, easy kettlebell set. Lots of stretching. A little ab work. Felt pretty good except for my neck/shoulder still acting up. Just need to stretch and get a massage!

Tomorrow is the first day of class - I'm sure it will be an interesting experience.

Thanks for reading!
Amanda

First 24 hours in Russia

First the bad:

The university "didn't know" they were supposed to meet me at the airport, took a taxi to my apartment. Went to the store with my friend, tripped and hit my knee hard on the stairs. Today I realized I don't have enough for tuition. Then the university told me legally I have to stay in the dorms (have paid 4 months rent already, university said nothing when I first told them I'd be in an apartment.) Tons of fees I was not informed of in advance.

Ahhhh, adventure. :)

Now for the good:

The weather is gorgeous. Cost of living is cheap. My roommates are all very sweet (one is a KB lifter as well). I made it here safely!

Seems like it will be an interesting 2 years!

Checking In

I finally received my visa. It is all becoming real now! I leave for New York early Thursday morning, compete on Saturday, then I fly to Russia on Sunday. What a weekend! I haven't been updating because training has been a little off lately, with scheduling, etc. But I thought I'd check in about the trip and also about my preparation for New York.

Training has been going well, cardio feels great and the 24 doesn't feel too heavy. But I've been fighting the elbows again. I have a feeling that this will be something I am dealing with for a long time... The frustrating thing is that it is both sides still, rather than just the left. Been dutifully treating with compression, rest (when possible), massage, Airrosti, flexbar, and some liniments/poultices from a friend.

To prepare for the slower pace/longer overhead times, I've been doing all of my lighter sets at competition pace for the last week. This is a tip I got from a friend and it seems to be working well. I've also been doing tricep extension work, different rehab exercises, etc.

So, we'll see what happens on Saturday! I am still adjusting to the new methodology, so I'm not really sure what to expect. I have full faith in my coach and I am going into this without too much stress or anxiety.

I have just two days left in Dallas - Tuesday I am busy all day, and Wednesday I will be trying to spend time with my mom before I leave. Somewhere in there I need to also finish packing and get good rest. Wish me luck! :)

Training Week in Review - 7/21-7/26

Next event: USA Nationals. 4 weeks to go.

July 21st-

7km - 1hr 2min

(https://www.endomondo.com/workouts/377085608/9861611)

July 22nd-

Snatch - 20kg (switch each 20)/160/10'30"
Squat - 50kg/30
Overhead Holds - 24kg/average 30"L, 1'00"R

This felt pretty good!! I was happy with the difficulty level. It was tough but manageable. No elbow pain. 

July 23rd-

.5km warm-up
4km at avg heart rate 160 (30'48")
.2km "sprint"  (1'06")

I think this is my best 4km so far! :)

July 24th-

2' between each set 
16/20+20
20/20+20
24/15+15
26/10+10
10kg Hyperextensions/20 × 2

This session was a VERY nice surprise! I was not expecting to be able to do it but it went really well. No elbow pain, no struggling. First time with 26kg. It wasn't too bad!!!!

July 25th-

4km 37'42"

Heart Rate 145-150

First time to run in the heat for a long time. 97F/36C outside. Ouch. Definitely felt it.

July 26th-

20kg/96/6'20"

Well, this was supposed to be a 10' set but I did not have it in me at all today. More accurately, I did not set myself up for success today. I was dumb and didn't eat until 1pm (got up late, had to rush out the door, and didn't have any food cooked), then tried to train at 3. Yeah. So that was stupid.

Training week overall-
Once again ended on a not-so-great note, however, I am really happy with 4 parts of my training this week - 1) Snatching the 26kg and not struggling with it!, 2) Running 7km, most of it uphill, in 1hr, 3) Getting my best 4km time so far, 4) Finishing the multiswitch set without much trouble.

Running total time and distance - 15km, ~2 hrs

Training Week in Review 7/14-7/20

Next event: USA Nationals. 5 weeks to go.

July 14th-

50' jog @ heart rate 135. 5km.

5' rest. 

(50m sprints, 1' rest.) 5 rounds.

July 15th-

16kg/142/12'

I should have gone a bit faster! But I am really happy with the 12 minutes, and I'm happy technique didn't change toward the end!

July 16th-

10' easy 

25' @ hr 150-60
5' @ hr 160-170
Totals: 30', 3.71km

July 17th-

1.5 minutes rest between each set

16kg/30+30 (3'10")
20kg/30+30 (3'45")
22kg/15+15 (1'35")
24kg/15+15 (2'00")
26kg high swings/10+10
10kg hyperextensions/15 * 3 sets

I went into this session thinking it was going to be horrible.... it actually went REALLY well! No issues at all. A little tension in the left elbow but no pain.

July 18th-

5' warmup jog
20 jog @ hr 155-165. 2.82km in 20'.
Squats without coming to lockout - 25 * 3.

July 19th - REST

I woke up on Saturday unable to move my head/neck.... and I didn't hear from Coach, so I decided to take the day off (instead of Sunday).

July 20th - 

20kg - Left Hand 54 reps in 4', 5' rest, Right hand 56 reps in 4'45".
50kg barbell rolls until failure, 3 sets.

This one didn't go too well. I was really tense and kept holding on too tightly to the bell. Almost got 5 on the right, so that's good! Some pain in the left elbow, and I tore my palm back open from Thursday. Overall "meh"

Total running distance and time (not including sprints): 

11.53km, 1hr 45min

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This week overall:

Unlike last week, this week started off great and ended on a lackluster note. The 30 degree temperature drop and the neck/shoulder stuff definitely have something to do with it... The former helped out a lot, and the latter... I doubt it!!

I have been trying to reduce the amount of squat I use before the drop. I can do it no problem with 16kg, OK with 20, OK with 22kg.... but 24 I revert back to it because it feels more safe. Work in progress as always! :)

I found a chalk company based out of Austin, TX called "Primo Chalk", it's chalk with added essential oils, supposed to soothe your skin and is antibacterial. It will be interesting to see if it's as good as it sounds!

Training Week in Review 7/7-7/12

Next event: USA Nationals. 6 weeks to go.

July 7 -
Easy jog 40'
Distance 4.29km, Avg. Heart rate 144

July 8th -
Snatch - 16kg, 100 reps. 20kg, 60 reps.
Swings - 22kg - 60 reps, 55 reps, 40 reps, 20 reps.
Squats - 30kg, 50 reps.
Cooldown jog - 5'

July 9th -
3km - 26'21", average pulse 156.
Bodyweight circuit (rest 1' between each round):

1. Situps 20 reps x 3 rounds
2. Jump Squats 20 reps x 3 rounds
3. Dips 15 reps x 3 rounds 
4. Sprints 50 meters x 5 rounds

July 10th-
Snatch - 16kg/35/2', 20kg/57/4', 24kg/28/2'
Overhead holds 20" L, 20" R

July 11th-
6km (5.8km easy, .2km fast)
58'34". Average hr 153

July 12th-
Snatch 20kg - 45 left (5 minutes rest) Snatch 20kg - 45 right.
Barbell finger rolls - 50kg 3 sets to fatigue.


This is my first week leading up to the USA Nationals. I definitely felt the increased intensity of training. Tuesday and Wednesday absolutely destroyed me. I've also tightened up my diet considerably so that might have an affect on it. My run on Friday was also fairly difficult.

Because of all that I was pleasantly surprised when my sets on Saturday went really well! My PR with 20kg is 106, so this was not a max effort set, but it was edging up towards my left hand's best result. No elbow pain, not fatigued cardio-wise. But I did start to change my technique a little bit at the end. 

I usually hate the 20kg with a passion. It's a weird "tweener" weight to me - not light like the 16kg, but not heavy enough to do a lot for itself like the 24kg. It always seems to catch and pull on my calluses. Yesterday felt great though!

Total running distance and time: 13.29km. 2hr:4min:55sec.

Why?

After yesterday's announcement, a friend of mine commented that folks who don't lift kettlebells may not "get", to the full extent, why the move is so exciting, or why Chelyabinsk is an awesome city for a female kettlebell lifter to live in. I could list names, ranks, numbers, etc. but that wouldn't really mean much if you're not within the sport. Plus name-dropping is always a little weird.

Here's what I think will make sense to the widest range of people:
1. Except for a very, very small number of cases, Russia is to kettlebell sport what the USA is to American football. 
A vast majority of the athletes are simply untouchable by anyone else in the world. The World Championships tend to feel like a fight for second place. There are, of course, exceptions to this.

2. Chelyabinsk is home to nearly half of the entire Female Russian National Team.
There are 8 spots for women and junior women on the Russian National Team. Of those 8 spots, 4 were from Chelyabinsk. Of the 4 spots in the under-18 category, another 2 of 4 are from Chelyabinsk.

3. The absolute male and female champions both live in Chelyabinsk.
There are two competitive events for males and one for female. The absolute best male has the best all-time result in both Biathlon and Long Cycle. They both live in Chelyabinsk, and train at the Elesino Winter Stadium. Which is where I'll be training, too.

4. My coach lives in Chelyabinsk.
There's nothing like being able to work one-on-one with your coach. Other than the 3.5 months I spent living in St. Petersburg, for the almost 2 years I've been training snatch, I've always worked remotely with my coaches. I'm really happy with my progress, but I want to have that direct interaction to help push me forward.

So that should hopefully illustrate WHY Chelyabinsk was a no-brainer when I was considering the list of possible cities. Now, I'm not going there hoping their strength just rubs off on me. I'm going there because I know that these people work hard, and being around them will motivate me to work hard, too.

Additionally, there just aren't many women in the USA lifting the same kettlebell weight as me, unfortunately, so my chances to compete are very few and far between. In the USA there are just two other women in my weight class who put up the same kettlebell on the platform. In Chelyabinsk, not only do I get to train with some of the best, but I'll have to compete with them too. If that isn't motivating, I don't know what is.

All of that said, I am going to be continuing to fight to maintain my spot on Team USA. I do have some amazing ladies to contend with, and I know that they're not just idly working towards bettering themselves. Since I'll be coming home each summer for sure, I'll absolutely be competing in the USA Nationals each year (including this year).

Essentially, this will not only be 2 years of immersion in the language, but immersion in the sport, as well. I'll be working very hard while I'm over there, and I'm really excited to see where that hard work takes me!