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Interview: Ruth Anderson Horrell, New Zealand's Fittest Woman

26/2/2015

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Part of my plan for this blog is to talk to people who have inspired me. People who are driven to overcome the hard stuff to becoming the best they can be, who follow their passion and push the limits of their potential. 

If you’ve taken an interest in competitive CrossFit on any level in New Zealand, you will have heard of Ruth Anderson Horrell. She’s unarguably New Zealand’s best CrossFit Athlete, having gone to The Games in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and last year won the Battle of the Fittest, New Zealand's premier CrossFit competition, with six first place finishes out of eight events. 
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Shoulder to Overhead movement at the Wellington Cup, August 2014. Ruth was part of the International All Star team of her, Lucas Parker, Lauren Fisher and Wes Piatt.
I got to know Ruth when she was my coach at CrossFit Invercargill and CrossFit Wild South in 2013 and 2014. When I was back in Invercargill for the Southern Crusade, I had a chat with Ruth about some specifics of her training and mindset that I wanted to know about. 

What is your morning routine on a normal training day?

I usually get up at 6am if I’m coaching or 6:30 if not. For breakfast I’ll have a green smoothie, scrambled eggs and coffee with coconut oil. I’ll start training about 10am. On heavy lifting days I’ll usually do the lifting first, some days gymnastic skill work, then a WoD. I fit my business work around everything else, and that usually takes about 5 hours a day. 


You are a world-class CrossFit athlete even though you mostly work out by yourself in a small CrossFit box in a small city at the bottom of the world. What systems do you have in place to keep your skills sharp and to keep motivated?  

My coach is Dusty Hyland who is based at Dogtown CrossFit in Los Angeles. We have a private Facebook group, just the two of us, in which I send him videos of my movements and get feedback. He makes sure my gymnastic movements are as good as possible. Also to keep improving myself I video my training pretty much everyday and review it each evening. This is what allows me to train at international level, but really it’s no different to how I would train if I wasn’t at that level. I don’t have that constant comparison to other elite athletes but at the competitions I go to I use the opportunity to test myself against top Crossfitters, and see which movements maybe I need to work on. 

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Ruth at the top of a bar muscle up at the Wellington Cup, August 2014
You've faced some injury challenges in the past few months - an issue with your elbow that almost needed surgery, and recently a snapped thumb extensor tendon that did get surgery. How have these affected your mindset? 

The elbow didn’t actually effect my mindset as I only had to avoid certain movements for a short time. I was disappointed on missing out on the Schwartz’s Challenge competition in Melbourne though. 

With the thumb I don’t think it has affected me as the injury itself wasn’t painful. It was the immobilising part of having surgery has been frustrating. I can’t do anything much for two weeks, and that’s been hard. I can’t get going with rehab, like you normally would with an injury, so mentally thats been tough. The splint came off Tuesday, I hope can still do the open. I have been doing a lot of legs!


Do you have a internal monologue - that voice that chatters on in your head? Do you control it? What does it say?

Yeah I suppose, there’s a voice in my head during a workout, saying things like “come on, keep going, don’t put the bar down!” And I use it more when taking a rest, saying things like “I gotta get back into it”. Sometimes with certain things I imagine there’s someone beside me, for example when I’m pulling a sled I’ll imagine someone else doing it racing me, which helps me push harder. 

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Ruth on the rower, Wellington Cup
Who are some people that have influenced you positively, and what have you learned from them? 

Well just recently there’s a guy called Brad Davidson who runs Stark Training in Orange County in California. He’s my nutrition protocol, supplement protocol, volume of training and rest/recovery man. If there’s any questions about anything going on with my body he’s my first port of call. I’ve never met him in person but have skyped and I’ve listened to heaps of his podcasts. Every time I listen to him I’m so impressed by just how much he knows. 

A long time ago I had a meeting with a guy called Cliff Harvey, a holistic performance nutritionist from Auckland. He knows a lot about sports psychology, training, and nutrition, and he’s a very inspiring person. I just spent an afternoon with him four or five years ago but that’s been a huge help to me. 

The constant support of my family and friends keeps me going day to day. I could never do this on my own if the people around me were not supporting what I’m trying to achieve.

I’ve met heaps of amazing athletes and coaches so its hard to pinpoint one. My movement coach is Jules Burgemeestre, who is based in Melbourne. He’s a guru on human movement. He helped me with my thoracic spine injury in 2013, which was the hardest injury I’ve had to deal with because of the chronic pain. He knows how to fix any movement problem, and he’s inspiring way that he lives. 

Dusty Hyland inspired me many years ago when I attended his CrossFit Gymnastic certificate. I have been so lucky to work one on one with him, he helps me not only with my gymnastics and CrossFit, but with my life in general. Dusty understands the mental side of competition and training having been a high level gymnast himself. 

The truth is so many people have infleunced me, I'm willing to learn from anyone who is willing to teach. 
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Ruth and friends, training in L.A. - see any famous faces?
Thanks very much for your time and insights Ruth, and all the best with the Open, especially with a gammy thumb! 

Check out her website, you can download a free weekend competition guide and buy cool workout gear, such as the Just Another Wod range - Ruth is NZ's exclusive JAW supplier. 

Facebook Athlete Page
here (nutrition tips, competition and training news, and cute animals among other interesting stuff. She's also a small animal veterinarian, btw!)
Instagram here (lots of clips of Ruth training)


Ruth is grateful for the support of Again Faster, Primal Life, Just Another WOD, Rocktape NZ and Sportsmed Physio.


Who inspires you? In what way? Is there someone else you would like me to interview? Who? Comment below!
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The Perfect Protein Pancake

25/2/2015

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After months of trial, error, success and documentation, I bring you my very own Perfect Protein Pancake recipe. This pancake has a light and fluffy texture, holds together like a traditional pancake  and tastes yumm-o. 

The texture is the tricky bit with high-protein pancakes. My Perfect Protein Pancakes don't have that rubbery texture and cardboard taste you may have experienced when trying to make protein pancakes. (Believe me, I've had a few like that while working this one out!) If you choose your protein powder, baking powder and oil accordingly, it can be gluten-free and paleo too.


One serve has 29 grams of protein, 11 grams of fat and only 5 grams of carbohydrates, so you can put all sorts of delicious toppings on and still have a balanced, nutritious breakfast, ready for whatever badass mission you're on today.
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Ingredients:
2 whole eggs

1 egg white
1/2 large scoop (about 15g) protein powder of your choice
1 tsp psyllium husk*
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

2-3 tbsp water
Oil for cooking

*Psyllium husk is available  from supermarkets in the baking section. It's full on fibre so you may want to start with 1/2 tsp if you're not used to it. It's useful in this recipe as a binder to hold the pancake together, as well as being more valuable fibre in your diet. If you would rather not use psyllium husk, substitute 2tsp of wheat flour or rice flour. The Wikipedia on psyllium husk here.
Method:
1. Break eggs into a jug and whisk. I use two whole eggs plus one white, you can use more or less yolks according to your fat/protein requirements without affecting the perfectness of the pancake. 
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2. Measure the protein powder, psyllium husk, baking powder and salt into a separate container. A coffee mug works great. Add just enough water (2-3tbls) to mix it into a sloppy texture. Small lumps are ok. Don't leave it standing as the psyllium husk will form a gel. 
 3. Add the protein powder mixture into the egg and whisk briefly.  Apply tiny bit of oil to your frying pan (I do a very short spray of cooking oil) and set it on medium heat. Pour in all the pancake mixture, no need to wait for the pan to heat up.
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4. Turn the pancake when the top surface is almost no longer runny. The bottom should be a toasty brown. Remove from pan and straight to your plate about 30 seconds after turning. 

5. Enjoy! I love my Perfect Protein Pancakes with a generous dollop of unsweetended yogurt, blueberries and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

Bonus Tips:
• Time saver: measure multiple amounts of the dry ingredients into a lidded container and keep in the pantry with a spare scoop (pictured right), then you can just measure out a half scoop each time.
• Be sure to rinse out the mugs/bowls used for mixing straight afterwards, because if the mixture dries on you'll have some scrubbing to do!
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Other Topping Ideas:
Chopped fresh fruit: apricots, cherries, pear, melon, pineapple, peach, mango etc
banana  with cinnamon
cottage cheese
apple sauce
heated and mashed frozen berries

bacon
sweet potato
cream

mashed pumpkin 
peanut or other nut butter
Nutritional Info:
This is as made using ingredients list above, without toppings. The protein powder used here is MusclePharm's Combat protein powder, banana cream.

Energy: 1004kj / 240cal

Protein: 29g
Fat: 11g
Total carbohydrates: 5g

Dietary fibre 3g
Sugars 2g

Have you got a go-to recipe for pancakes, high-protein or otherwise? What are your favourite toppings?
Have you tired this recipe out? What do you think? 
Leave a comment, I'd love to know how it went for you!
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Whakaata, Lake Hayes - Stephen Bambury 2015 at Nadene Milne Gallery, Arrowtown

22/2/2015

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Stephen Bambury, "New Zealand's leading contemporary artist" according to Urbis magazine, opened a show on at Nadene Milne Gallery in Arrowtown yesterday evening. It was preceded by the film documentary about an influential artist in Stephen's life, Agnes Martin: With My Back to the World at Dorothy Brown's Cinema. 
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Stephen Bambury, ICO89325, 2008/2014. Arcrylic and iron filings on aluminium. 789x789x85mm
I love this one above, on the wall in the office in the Gallery. It stands out because it's a trickster. Here Stephen has chosen to play his colours to dazzle. The pink and rust colours jar in their contrast but are of matching intensity. About two inches all around the edges, but not quite square, the colours shift slightly. The pink lightens to make it look translucent. To add to my confused perception, the unframed painting on aluminium, about two and a half feet square, sits well off the wall to cast a shadow to echo the shift in light in the painting.
I had to go up close to figure it out. It turns out that the the pink surface is almost completely flush. The rich rust brown has wrinkles and pucks in which the speckles of iron filings differ in concentration. 
A jeweller recognises a kinship with Stephen Bambury. His work is carefully formalist and structurally assertive. Like jewellery, it is the details of the texture that make the pieces remarkable. They are thick with paint, and it looks like the paint has been scrapped or pressed, bringing to mind the delight of constructing to a maker like me. 
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Jeweller Jessica Winchcombe, wearing one of her pieces, and the reflections on Stephen's "World Still Turning"
After spending some time with the pink cross, I went into the next room and saw the purple and gold cross pictured below,  said 'hmm' to myself and gave it a thoughtful frown. A tall gentleman with white hair said "that was an interesting "hmm". 
I explained, "I don't like it as much as the pink one"
"Oh, I like them both" he said.
"You're the artist, aren't you?"
And a good laugh was had by all. I chatted with Stephen, he seems nice. 
While chatting we noticed the gorgeous reflection of Jessica Winchcombe's blazer on World Still Turning, 2014. This piece, although beautiful as is, comes alive with people moving around it. The reflections of colours and the shadows and shifting light bounce and diffuse on the surface. This piece would look amazing in a busy home, hung to reflect the changing light and the colourful family moving around it.  
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ICO98339, 2008/2014. Arcylic and 23k gold leaf on aluminium. 795x795x85mm
There are eleven large paintings and some smaller on show now in the exhibition Whakaata, Lake Hayes - Stephen Bambury. It's on now at Nadene Milne Gallery, on Buckingham St in Arrowtown. A treat for fans of international abstractionism and New Zealand art, but with special appeal to those that love their art in three dimensions.  
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The Southern Crusade

19/2/2015

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Held at CrossFit Wild South, Sunday 15th February 2015
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Photo by http://alex-und-oki-auf-weltreise.weebly.com/5-invercargill-bis-te-anau.html
The golden Plate was up for grabs again when CrossFit Wild South hosted the Southern Crusade competition at their box in Invercargill. I started CrossFit in Invercargill in the way back when(2012-13) and it was good to be back and catch up with everybody.
I was there with a few of my Remarkables CrossFit buddies - Adam, Clint, Mel and I were in the Rx section and Carly and Danny G were in scaled, with coach Bruce and his wife Taryn in support. 
They released the movement standards a couple of weeks before the competition but the WoDs were a mystery until the day. First one, starting just after 8am, was a 3km run around the estuary. Running is not so much my thing and I came in 8th out of the 12, but Clint and Danny G both won their sections. Maybe I was enjoying the scenery a bit much - I saw a Kotuku, or white heron, on the estuary as well as other birds. I used to go on bike rides with my kids around there and it's beautiful. 

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My mate Ange from Massage Therapy Works was set up the mezzanine with her massage table. After spending some time with her magic hands, a good feed and some rest I was keen for the third WoD. And it's  beauty: 
50 Double unders
40 Burpees (time taken here as WoD 3 results)
30 Toes to bar
20 Power snatches 35kg
10 Handstand push ups to abmat
5 Rope climbs 
We had around two hours until the next WoD: 21-15-9 45kg cleans and pull-ups. My training buddy Mel was right behind me on the lifting strip. It was intense but not long enough to be completely exhausting - that'll come later. You can see in the pic to the left that a the start of the 15s I'm first back to the bar but Heather from CrossFit Cromwell (red singlet) is only one rep behind. At the end she bet me by one second.

In the meantime the scaled divisions did their final WoD: 100 air squats, 50 bar hops, 40 burpees, 30 overhead plate sit-ups, 40 kettlebell swings, 50 calorie row, 100ft plate overhead walking lunge. Ow! Would definitely rather do the Rx, that scaled one will screw with your head! Danny G and Carly slogged through it bravely. 
I love competing. I suppose it's because I grew up with three brothers in a sporty family. Standing out there, waiting for the countdown for the final WoD, I'm in my happy place.
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The Southern Crusade HQ
The first part went well, only one break with the double unders even though I had chosen to wear my lifting shoes. I got though the burpees with an even pace. With the toes to bar I took one at a time, steadily if not swiftly, and got onto one of my favourite movents, snatches. I stormed though, although was thinking at the time I need to learn how to do them touch and go.  As it is I drop the bar, then take more time than necessary steadying and re-gripping the bar for each rep. I could have done the handstand push ups better as I had almost as many no-reps for coming off the wall as good reps. More practice needed there. 
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Rope climbs during
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Rope climbs after
There's this 5kg bumper plate, the "Golden Plate" that is the prize fought for when CrossFit boxes from our part of the country meet up to compete. The winner is judged on each box's top three athletes' scores. As it turned out, there was a tie between CrossFit Gore and CrossFit Queenstown. Anissa from Gore and Olga from Queenstown were put forward by their teammates for a mystery tiebreaker. Glad I wasn't either of them when the tiebreaker was announced: two minutes airdyne for calories! Oh, the pain faces. Olga won out and Queenstown took home the golden plate. Wonder how long they can keep it? I'll be doing my best to make it short! Watch out next time, CrossFit Queenstown...
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Spectators favourite was last of all: the rope climbs. They're a tricky thing in competition, even once you have the hang of how to do it. You need to be able to make the judgment call about how much to rest in between climbs. You need to take enough time so you can get all the way up the rope without overtaxing to failure and having to come down, but without wasting any time while your competitors are getting  on with it. I *think* I made good judgements about the rests in between. It seemed like such a long time, shaking out my arms, controlling my breathing and steeling up for the  jump to start climbing. Increasingly feeble jumps too, as my tank emptied and I pushed myself more than I ever have before to get to the top. While women around me scuttled up and down and the crowd screamed encouragement, the most important thing in the world was getting up that rope.  I did it, I got up there to touch the ceiling beam five times.  The last two were so slow, inching up mainly with my arms, as my core was blown and I couldn't lift my feet up high to get good distance with each pull on the rope. I finished third, six seconds behind Rebecca from CrossFit Dunedin and around forty seconds slower than Janine from Wild South who was in the first heat. 
I collapsed on the ground, then stumbled to the corner to lie down with Rebecca and gasp and groan.

Ever had that feeling where your arms are just so painful that you want to cut them off and throw them far away? That's how it feels. But I was also also elated, partly because it's over, but mostly because I've done something really hard and done it well alongside the best of them.

In a fitting end to a CrossFit competition, the Invercargill Medieval Club did a demonstration of actual sword fighting with actual swords in actual armour that they had actually made themselves. Cool as. 
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Our Adam did us proud with his second place in the Rx guys. He's a relative newbie to CrossFit, but with a solid karate background, an intense, deliberate training program and the smartest head under pressure I know, he's one to watch. Tim from Dunedin won the mens' Rx and Daniel from Wild South came in third. 
Rebecca of Dunedin, Heather and Olga took first, second and third in my grade. They are all amazing athletes, who train hard and train smart. It is good to see womens' CrossFit in Otago and Southland with a high and continuously improving standard. In the scaled womens', Louise and Rachel from CrossFit Queenstown got first and third, with CrossFit Alexandra's Sonya in second. 
I would be lying if I said forth place didn't sting though. I had a sulk to myself for a couple of hours afterwards. But then I remembered that my mediocre result in the run, which dragged my overall score down, is a reflection of my decision to train in powerlifting. I knew when I started concentrating on the deadlift, squat and benchpress that my running wouldn't improve and possibly slow down. To be a good powerlifter and a good runner would take being a full-time athlete, and I'm not! In another competition, the WoDs may fall more in my favour. 
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I'm proud of my mates at Remarkables. They got in there guts and all. It's heartening to compete alongside friends. Congratulations Wild South for hosting such a smooth-running, exciting event. Next the Open!
Click here to see a time-lapse of the event made by Wild South's Mr Tech, Doug. 
Were you there? What was you favourite thing to do or to watch? What was the hardest? Comment below!
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First Blog Post!

19/2/2015

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This blog is a personal record for me. I’m no expert in anything, but I’m learning all the time and you are most welcome to join me. 

Way back in Art School, when I was having an existential crisis of the sort that Art School students are prone to, a tutor told me “find out what you like, and make that”. So I did, it worked for me, so I've been doing that ever since. 

This blog will be eclectic because my life is eclectic.

I like lifting heavy

I like learning - science, art, psychology, history

I like exploring the land around me

I like metalwork, specifically hand making silver jewellery


Why blog? 

It's about time I made a website for my jewellery. The Anna Claire Art Jewellery Facebook Page is useful, but I want a base for all my stuff, done the way I want it to be.  I'm impressed with Weebly, the web-hosting server I'm using. I went from never having tried to build a website to this in a couple of weeks.  But if you know more than me and can see things I could be doing better, please let me know!

I love to learn, but without documenting what I’ve learnt, I tend to forget it all again. I want to record the things that go on in my life. Some things are funny, some stupid, some beautiful, but all the things can be valuable. Writing is, for me, an effective way of processing events and ideas. Writing takes a wispy idea or a potentially useful fact and turns it into something real that I can put to work to get results. 

Recently I lost my religion, and without the idea of heavenly rewards to work towards I realised that life is too short to stuff around. I want to live my life with purpose. Work towards goals. Be happy and do what I can to make others happy. Keeping a good record of goals, progress towards them and things learnt along the way is a tool to help me live my life well. 

Maybe blogging is just shouting into the wind. But that’s ok, this blog is here for me and I’m fine with just that. But if the things that I learn along the way might be in any way helpful to you, join me here, on my Facebook Page or my Instagram and we'll do the best we can at this 'life' thing. 



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    Anna Claire Thompson is an Artist, a mother and a strength athlete. 

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