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  • April2nd

    1 Comment

    the best laid plans…

    Posted in: body gone badass challenge, relationships

    I just lost an entire post. It was one of the best blogs I’ve ever written. And now I’m left to piece it together. Hmph. Just thought you should know, since I don’t think this version does it justice.

    ———————

    My goal over the past two months was lofty – obtaining a bad-ass body. But, well, sometimes life gets in the way…in a big way. I should note that I did, in fact, get to the gym a LOT more over the last 8 weeks. Something that I’m extremely proud of, which showed when I did my end of challenge workout, and improved my Fight Gone Bad score by 26 points. Now THAT shows promise. Promise of the animal that I will be when I can get myself all the way on the proverbial wagon. Of course, there were 2 weeks when I did not make it to the gym as much as I would have liked. It was those two weeks where a little of the ground fell out from under me.

    Relationships are complicated. Especially that of a father and his daughter. Since my parents were divorced, I had two dads. The dad that I grew up with, and the father that I didn’t have a close relationship with. Not for lack of love, but more because I just didn’t know him. And I carried a lot of guilt for not trying harder than I did. But a few years ago, I learned that this was ok. Relationships are different, and sometimes they just are what they are.

    We got to know each other a little more over the last year or so. And I knew that he might not be here much longer, though I tried to push those thoughts off, because, well, that’s difficult to imagine. But that time came, and I was glad that I put other things aside, and had my chance to say goodbye in a way that felt right for me.

    And here I am. Knowing that my father gave me many gifts, some of which he might not have known about. To remember the good things. To make time for family. To be good to others, because that’s how you’ll be remembered. To take care of myself. To live my life as fully as absolutely possible.

  • February22nd

    4 Comments

    the workout that broke me…

    Posted in: body gone badass challenge, crossfit, crossfiteastdecatur, motivation, paleo

    I can count on two hands the number of workouts that have completely broken me. Maybe that’s a bad thing. I mean, maybe the point of every workout is to push you harder than before? And many of my workouts have done that. I mean, most often, I have a sense of accomplishment and pride about what I’ve just done. But there are a small percentage that have literally left me in a puddle, completely broken, angry and defeated. The WOD that did that to me last week was the following –

    For time:
    21 Mankillers* (a burpee done with 2 DBs, a pushup, then a clean and push press at the end)
    28 Plank Rows*
    35 Thrusters*
    42 Suitcase Deadlifts*
    49 Step-Ups*

    *Each move is to be done with dumbbells. Only one pair of dumbbells is to be used for the entire workout. In my case, I used 20# DBs.

    Looking at it, it doesn’t sound that bad. I mean, there are scary workouts in every genre, and I have done other Crossfit WODs that were longer or more daunting (hell, I’ve run for hours and hours, ridden 125 miles, swam 5000m, pushed my body for 15+ hours in Ironman), nothing should break me, right (ha!)?

    This one stuck up on me and beat me up. Maybe because I’m in the midst of changing my diet for the long-term. Maybe because I’ve been dealing with lower back pain for the last few years (which has left me really tentative about anything that makes it hurt). Maybe because out of anything I’ve done, Crossfit has had the biggest learning curve. Whatever the combo was, I just crumbled. I finished the WOD (because quitting lasts forever), went home and got in the shower, and thought about that workout.

    What is it about the ones that have broken me? Tour de Cashiers, BOBBBR, Maui Marathon, ING Georgia Marathon, Ironman. I can unequivocally say that it was 30% physical, and 70% mental. All of those races and events were HARD. And Crossfit is HARD. When it’s just you and some dumbbells, you get a glimpse at where your head is. At where the challenge is. And at what you can accomplish. But it also shows you where the suck is. It doesn’t let you get comfortable with the things that might be a little easier. Because just when you start getting comfy, it kicks you in the face and you end up on the floor wondering how you got there in the first place….

    I like it.

  • February9th

    2 Comments

    that little devil…

    Posted in: body gone badass challenge, crossfit, food, inspiration, paleo, primal

    Day #3 of the BGB Challenge, and it’s getting better! Not gonna lie, I was super cranky on Monday and all I wanted was a Coke Zero (blasphemy, I know!) and some chocolate. But this time around, I’ve been focusing on planning ahead and packing meals and snacks, and that’s made it considerably better.

    All I thought about on Monday was the yummy dinner that my boo (yes, mushy pet names, but I’ll never use cuddlywuddlybear) had planned for dinner. Was it ever yummy, and the perfect kickoff to 8 weeks of paleo! Pan seared filet (medium-ish) with mushrooms and onions, a balsamic reduction and asparagus.

    Drooling on your keyboards? It was tasty!

    So all of this thinking about food (because that’s just how it goes the first few weeks, all you can think about is meal planning, shopping, etc..) has me pretty tuned into the ‘voices in my head’. Not the creepy, Sybil type voices, but the little angel and devil voices that sit on your shoulder. Being a part of a challenge, where you have to keep a food log and be 100% honest about what you’re eating, is a huge motivation (aka little angel). But then, there’s that little devil who likes to sit on the other shoulder and be a real jerk. Let’s take a few of the recent suggestions from ‘Jerk’.

    While walking into the Farmer’s Market to pick up more breakfast stuff…“You should have some bread samples, remember how yummy they are? And they’re just samples, they don’t count”.

    While driving home from work…“Dark chocolate sounds really good right now, how about just a small piece?”

    While at work…“You’re so tired, how about some caffeine? Drinks don’t really count…”

    Seriously dude? Screw you!

    I’ve been more in tune with these kinds of thoughts that keep popping up throughout the day, and I’m just blown away. And done. I’m done with the sabotage, done with the negative. Either get on the train dude, or take a hike. Because I’ve got work to do.

  • February8th

    3 Comments

    body gone badass…a challenge

    Posted in: atlanta, body gone badass challenge, crossfit, crossfiteastdecatur, food, paleo, primal, triathlon

    So, my Crossfit box (aka gym) is doing another 8 week challenge. Thank the little baby Jesus! I really enjoyed the challenge last time, but I also really enjoyed the last 2 months of indulging, and my pants are screaming for mercy. It’s time to get on the paleo-wagon, kids. Spring is right around the corner, which means ditching the sweats and wearing shorts!

    Since I was a part of the last challenge, it wasn’t so bad to prep for this one. I tossed out anything non-paleo (I really didn’t have much in the fridge, all of my “cheating” was eating out) and hit up the Farmer’s Market for fresh fruits, veggies and meats.

    We had our benchmark WOD (workout of the day) on Saturday, and it was called “Fight Gone Bad”. See me in the back, laying on the ground, gasping for air? Yah. It was a good fight.

    Fight Gone Bad translates to –

    In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. There are 3 rounds. The stations are:

    1. Wall-ball: 14 pound ball Women/8 pound scaled, 10 ft target. (Reps)
    2. Sumo deadlift high-pull: 55 lbs Women/35 pounds scaled (Reps)
    3. Box Jump: 20″ box (Reps)/step-ups scaled
    4. Push-press: 55 pounds Women/35 pounds scaled (Reps)
    5. Row: calories (Calories)

    The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of “rotate,” the athlete must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

    We could choose from RX (prescribed weights above) or scaled. Since I’m still dealing with back pain, I went for the scaled version. I really wanted to go higher on the weights, but coach recommended it and I’m not going to do anything that’s going to get me injured. See, smart girl!

    The workout was SO.MUCH.FUN. I mean, seriously hard, but I really enjoyed pushing myself to see what a good benchmark is, and where I can improve. For me, it’s going to be a wall ball with every attempt (I missed a couple), and maintaining reps on the SDHP. Score for the benchmark? 231.

    I have a lot of goals for this challenge – I want to get an unassisted kipping pullup (basically, a pullup with a kipping swing to help you get above the bar), and I want to get full plank pushups. Body-wise, I want to get into several pairs of jeans in my closet. Good goals, I think!

    I plan on sharing more during the challenge this go ’round, I want you guys to see the difference that eating clean can make and maybe I can inspire you to try it out for a few days?

    In other news, my bike tires are completely flat and I think cupcake has given up on me. As soon as it gets a little warmer, I’m definitely going for a ride. I miss it so much! I’ve been contemplating whether or not I want to sign up for a race (tri) and I’m going to hold off for now. I have a strong pull that I’m doing CF now for a reason – to get stronger and healthier, and I should give it the attention it deserves. I definitely want to ride and run, but the pressure of any sort of training schedule just doesn’t sound fun right now. I love being able to show up at the gym and have a different workout every day. That feels more like playing, and less like work.

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