CrossFit Open 2013

So, I've been doing the CrossFit open which is a series of workouts you go through to qualify for regionals then for the CF games. That wasn't my goal, it was merely to see if I could do this stuff. So, this is the last week and we have chest to bar pull ups. Mercy! My initial reaction is "I can't do that", but then I'm thinking, that is what I said about the 75lb snatch and the toes to bar. Got both of those done, so why not these?
***update, I just completed this last workout and did not get any chest to bar pull ups ***

What I have learned is that I have so much more to offer and give than I do daily. Why do I hold back? So, other than the torn hands, that is what I am taking from this experience. I am more than what I think I am. So, what am I going to do about it?

Sprinklers

I'm just sitting here watching the sprinklers. "Why?", you may ask. Or not. I'm kind of a strange person, so many folks would just say "ok", or smile and nod. But back to the point. I'm watching the sprinklers today.

See, I just fertilized, and I have a puppy. Enough said? Let me elaborate. The puppy. Puppy. Baby teeth. Lots of chewing/eating. LOTS of chewing. So much interesting eating that I do know now exactly how big a foreign object can be in order to pass though his digestive system. TMI, I know... Now, you do too.

(See below for a pic of the cute turd we call Griffin or goober or, why yes, even turd on occasion)

Anyway, I am making sure that the sprinkler system is getting to the entire yard in order to activate or whatever the fertilizer so my dog won't come out here and think "treats" and then we have to make him vomit. (Had to do that with my sweet JJ who recently passed - not pretty. Fairly easy to do, but not pretty)

I digress.

See, earlier this week I discovered why my gerbera dasies were dying. Just in one spot. Yes, me, AKA Einstein, figured out that the sprinkler head nearest those flowers wasn't working, so I proceeded to screw, and unscrew until I almost lost the components flying through the air (some may know what I'm talking about) got drenched and still did not fix the bugar. I'm blaming nightfall. Couldn't see it anymore. Haven't gotten back to it, but that is neither here nor there.

I'm full into the spring planting thing. Fertilizing, auditing my sprinklers system, mowing through the inch think layer of pollen.....I was on my back porch a while ago and saw all the plants I was trying to keep alive through the winter. (I'm a sucker, so there were plenty). I kept thinking, I can totally get this to grow again (you know, cause I'm flush full of the power of resurrection). Why do I keep this stuff when it is obviously dead? Why do I keep high maintenance plants when it isn't my passion to tend to them as much as is needed? I let go of my garden this year. Can't do it. I let go of the tropical plants I thought for sure would come back. They won't.

Do you know how good I feel? Strange? I can go out of my back porch and see living things... Not constant reminders of my failures. Those plants that I couldn't keep alive. Do you know how much that messes with your head? "Couldn't keep that one alive". Ugh

So, this Is what i challenge whomever is reading to do (ha, just ended with a preposition). Take back your back porch. Make it your sanctuary. Throw away the dead stuff. You will feel so much better.

Now. I am going to look at that sprinkler head again. Wish me luck.

Challenge

So, one thing I struggle with as an at home mom is goals. You go to work, you have a task, you complete it. You either do well or you don't. You get feedback, you adjust, then take on a new project. You get reviewed yearly, get new goals, then hopefully receive a promotion, or raise to reward your performance.

Now, I'm not saying I am never thanked for the thing I do and the house, not at all. My family does a great job at that. But you know, " yay mom, you did laundry " just doesn't have the same oomph as " yay lynda, you really nailed that project."

I digress

So, what I have had to do to keep direction in my life is set my own goals. Be it repainting the house, making quilts or doing something physical, I set goals.

Last year I set a goal to run a half marathon. Four months of training and I did it. Very proud of myself. This year for a physical goal I am stumped. I don't want to do another half. Did the mud run thing last year. Did a super sprint tri. Maybe I will do a sprint tri. It is a bit longer...

So my crossfit box starts talking about the crossfit open. Anyone can enter. I haven't a chance in hades to make it past this round, but I thought it would be fun. We found out what the first workout is tonight. Fun isn't the word I will use for this.

I realized that this may be my physical challenge goal this year. I can so talk my way out of doing it. I mean really, I physically can't do a 100 Or a 120 lb snatch. I just can't. But I can challenge myself to do the best I can. I know without a doubt, if I talk myself out of this, I will fail. I will regret.

That is a strange thing, but also a gift...I know I will regret if I don't do. I can see it before. I don't have to wait.

So here it is. My goal. I have expectations. I will either meet them or fall short. Here is my measuring stick.

God help me.

Oh mercy!

I figured out how to update my blog from my iPad. Maybe I will finally meet my goal to keep this current. I literally have a list of ideas to write about, but then get distracted or have to arm wrestle one of the kids to use the computer. (It wasn't simple, google has weird things in place so I can't update it like I would on the computer...hoops, u know). Anyway, onward!

Mama Sweat: Pelvic Floor Party: Kegels are NOT invited.

Mama Sweat: Pelvic Floor Party: Kegels are NOT invited.

Had to post this for a link. Interesting read. A little old, but interesting none the less. Something a lot of women I come across have issues with. It is embarrassing, but common.

Running

I like to run.  I never used to.  In fact I would whine (albeit quietly) when my swim coach wanted to add laps to our dry land workouts.  Hated it.  Hated them.  Hate.

So, on the cusp of turning 30, I decided I wanted to start to run.  Looking back, I am not sure why.  Perhaps I started thinking about the things I wanted to accomplish in my life... my bucket list.  I decided I wanted to run in a marathon.  Fast forward a few years...

First, I came to my senses: I decided a half would be adequate.  Really... 26 miles?  That is insane.

Anyway - I have made it my goal this year, a mere few years before I hit my next age milestone (29 again, of course) to accomplish this task.  I have selected a race.  I have found the website.  I have checked the date with my husband.  They even have kid fun run races while I am running...

I have not registered.

Why is it that my heart is beating out of my chest just TO REGISTER!  YIKES.

I have given myself a deadline to register.  I will and can do this.  I am week 3 into my training, so I know I can do it physically (I mean really - they give you 3.5 hours to complete the race - I could walk fast and do it in that time) It is just squeezing the trigger.

If I wait until everything is lines up perfectly, I may just miss this opportunity and kill my goal.  Is this what I want?

Got duped today

So, I have been doing CrossFit for a few months now.  We are participating in an Advocare 24 day cleanse and are on day 16.  I am feeling good.  Looking better and my weight is down almost 12 pounds.  Feeling strong, but I digress.
So we are going to do Fran today.  For those of you who don't know, some of CrossFit's more common workouts are named.  Some are named after men, some women and some for the event they are created for.  Real funny names sometimes.  Filthy Fifty is one of my personal favorites.  No, not the workout, the name.  Big difference.
Anyway, today was Fran.  21-15-9 of thrusters and pull-ups.  I can't do a pull-up, so I do ring rows.
We had a bunch of ladies in our class today which means the 15# bars went fast.  I ended up with what I thought was a 33# bar.  No prob.  Since this was my first Fran, I was told to start at 35#, then add weight as I needed.  So I tossed on 2 2.5#, tested the weight and called it good.
Away we went.  The first 21 thrusters were ok, the second 15 were tougher, by the last 9 I thought I just may die.
But I finished.  5:56.  Not too shabby for my first Fran.
We were stretching after and noticed my trainer had put my time and 50# next to my name.  I thought "Sure, that looks good, but I need to come clean and let her know I only did 38#."
Still stretching, it dawns on me that what I thought was a 33# bar that I grabbed, was actually a 45# bar, so I really did do the 50# thrusters.
Ha.  I would never have willingly done that much, but I still did it.

Funny.  Maybe I should always blindly pick my bars.  Never know what you really can do when you get your mind out of the way!

Hijacked from another

So, I havent posted for a while, although I have tons of ideas running around my brain, so I thought I would copy something I wrote for another blog and add it here. This is about my first triathlon super sprint I did on Mothers Day this year. 

*****

So, I was having lunch with a few girlfriends back in March and one of them mentioned doing the trigirl in May. It sounded really fun, so I signed up. I chose the first timers wave, I didn’t want to get manhandled (or rather woman-handled) too much this first time out.


 The weeks before the event, I set out to train as best I could. In between CrossFit workouts, I spent my days off riding, running, and going from bike to run as often as I could. The day of the race, I woke at 4:45am, got in the car with the husband and kids and off we went. We arrived at 6am, giving me a good 45 min to set up transition, double check transistion, and warm up. Heading down towards the start I was freezing. Looking at the water, I wondered why I thought this may be fun. Once the air horn blew, we were off. 


I was about midway deep in our wave of 98. We got in the water and I figured, “lets go”, so I scrambled my way in between the crowd, getting to a position where I didn’t have anyone directly in front of me. The water was choppy and my nice pretty freestyle was not happening. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t stay in a straight line, so I did what I could and swam breaststroke for the majority of the swim. That was hard. Fortunately, one of the many ways to volunteer at this tri is to be a water-helper-outer person. I am sure there is a more formal name, but these are the guys who are waiting in the water on the boat ramp to help pull you out at the completion of your swim. I was really glad to see him. He pulled and I was out. Whew! Off to transition and the bike I went. 


 The bike leg was fun… lots of downhill… exhilarating… then we had to go back up…. not quite as exhilarating… but such is life. By the completion of the bike, I had calculated that my time goal was within reach as long as I just kept going. 


Transition from bike to run was entertaining. My legs were jello and it took a good half mile to feel normal again. My feet were wet too. This was my hardest leg. So close to finish, yet so long to go. I had to keep repeating to myself over and over, “Not much longer”, “breathe”, “I can do this”. And I did. 


 I had a little comic relief on the way to the finish. I could see the finish line banner and I was going to give whatever I had left. I started to pass and someone and shouted “on your left” . When I got even with her, she looked at me, yelled “You are not passing me!” and she picked up her pace (I think i will see the image of her for the rest of my life... priceless). I told her we will finish together, hard, holding nothing back. And we did, she held to my pace for a while, but did fall back. I finished strong. I didn’t achieve my time goal, but got darn close. I am proud of my performance. I have only been training seriously since November and only recently added a strength regimen.  I am excited to see how much I can improve in the weeks and months ahead.  I am currently shopping for a road bike and looking forward to my next sprint tri in October.