I didn’t know there would be running…

Hey guess what?  Getting better is hard freaking work.

Three weeks ago when I started working one on one with a coach to help to improve some of my many Crossfit weaknesses, I was totally pumped and ready to go.

“I want better endurance,” I told her.  “My lungs always go before my legs.  And my heart rate goes really high really fast.  I want to be able to string together movements better.”

“Ok, ” she said with a devious smile.  I shoulda known.

It’s amazing coming from a triathlon background to recently realize that endurance is my limiter.  Lift a really heavy weight anywhere between 1-5 times?  Sure, no problem.  Lift it 10?  Eff you buddy, I don’t wanna.

When did that happen?

I distinctly remember starting Crossfit and loving it because so many of the movements were things I had never done before.  I wasn’t comparing myself to the “in shape” version that used to do triathlons, because there wasn’t much swimming, biking or even running in the workouts.  I didn’t ever feel bad that I was not measuring up to what I knew myself to be capable of, because we never did that shit.

Instead I was learning new movements and working out with really big WEIGHTS; things I had never tried before.  And things that I turned out to be pretty darn ok at.

Now that I’m at the point where I have a super secret goal of *gasp* competing, I need to look at myself more holistically as an athlete, identify those gaps, and train those weaknesses.

Which is what I’ve been doing for nearly three weeks now.

It sucks.

My “homework” every week is a list of movements that, given the choice, I would rather have a bout of diarrhea than do.  Lots of jumping.  And running.  And core.  And shit in sets of 10.

But you know what?  Yesterday before my session I ran a timed mile and did it nearly 1:30 FASTER than my first attempt just 3 weeks ago.

Is there a little nagging voice in my head reminding me that I’m still almost a minute off of my half marathon pace (from five freaking years ago)?  Sure.  But you know what, that voice can shut the f*ck up.  I’m improving, and working my ass off to do it.

This is just the results after 3 weeks.  Is anyone else as excited as I am to see where I end up in September?

Have you tried Fabletics yet?

I’m a sucker for great workout clothes.   Actually sucker is probably not a strong enough word, I’m a complete workout apparel whore.  Seeing as I’m at the box daily and doing workouts on top of those sessions, I go through a lot of spandex in a given week.  I’m always looking for brands that are both high quality and affordable, and as I’ve reviewed here before, Fabletics has some great stuff.

Almost as enticing as the great style, selection and quality of their products are the awesome price point AND rewards program they have.

For around $50 you can get a complete outfit, including 2-3 pieces.  First time buyers also get a 50% off discount, so really you can’t lose trying it out for just $25.

Additionally, you earn rewards points for every piece you purchase and review, and at 1000 points (which doesn’t take long if you love this stuff like I do!) you get a free outfit.

In fact, I JUST received this beauty today in the mail for FREEEEEEE (no shipping, no tax, nothing), because I had earned enough points!

 

Ready to give it a try?  Check it out at Fabletics (my referral link, another great way to earn points), and let me know if you have any questions!  At this point I own 6 pairs of capris, pants and shorts, 4 sports bras and 6 different tops from them.  Generally they fit very true to the sizes on their size charts, are great quality, and exactly as described.

Give it a shot and let me know what you think.

Push it real good…

Operation Fit Bitch is in full effect over here.

Honestly, I don’t really know why.  I just woke up one day last week and kind of realized that I’m coming up quickly on my 2 year Crossfit Anniversary, and I’m sick of just being kind of mediocre at Crossfit.

Now don’t get me wrong, I walked into my box for the first time in late August two years ago sedentary, overweight, completely out of shape and terrified to try pretty much anything.  I’ve come a long way both in my fitness and my confidence.

Yeah, I’m still terrified of heights so things like pull ups, rope climbs, and even box jumps present a little bit of a complex challenge for me, but by God I’ve done them.  All of them.  And I’m brave enough now to at least *try* new skills or movements, whereas I never would have been before.

Recently I’ve realized that while Crossfit has helped me to unlock my potential, I’ve let myself become a little bit lazy in my workouts.  Yeah, they still suck.  Running outside in Florida in the summer will always suck, but when I analyze my mile times, my max lifts, or even the weight that I’m using for WOD’s, I realize it’s stayed pretty much the same for the past 6 months or longer.

No wonder my fitness is stagnating.  No wonder I’m *gasp* almost becoming bored with my workouts.

NO MORE my readers.  NO MORE.

Last week I enlisted the help of one of our awesome coaches to help me get out of my funk.  I know myself well enough to know I’m at the point with Crossfit where I’m either going to push it and get to a whole new level, or I’m going to quit.

I refuse to quit.

So here’s to week 1 of progress.  Stay tuned for updates, because it’s only going to get better from here.

Murph… Not just another workout

It’s been over a week since I had the honor of completing another Memorial Day Murph with my Crossfit family.  I’ve sat down to write this post a number of times, but it seems like every time I started words just seemed to fail me.

I think it’s because this WOD isn’t just another workout.  It isn’t just another day at the box.  It isn’t something I want to chronicle so I can compare my time and scaling to last year; it’s something I want to write about because it means something to me every time I find the strength to do it.

The short version is that this year the workout was harder than I remembered.  The day was hotter, the box was much more packed, and I finished slower than I did in 2013.  I did ring rows instead of kettle bell swings (the scaling we did in 2013), and I did all the pushups starting and finishing on my toes.  After 100 that felt like a bad idea.  After 200 I couldn’t take my bra off and had to enlist my husband’s help, but I’m glad that I did it.

My Crossfit family is amazing.  Around me for the entire workout were fellow members sweating and cheering me on.  We were all deep in the suck together, but no one quit.  In the end, as one of the very last to finish, I had my own cheering section and even a personal coach who “ran” (if you could call it that) the last mile with me.  She had already completed her workout, but pushed me along just the same.

I get a little emotional every time I think about the mental aspect of this workout.  Physically, it’s challenging.  But mentally, the number of times that I had to push myself to keep going, to talk myself out of just quitting, or of cutting it down a few reps, or any number of other ways I could have “cheated”, was really the biggest challenge for me.  It’s amazing how our inner demons, the voices who tell us we’re not strong enough or good enough to do something, really come out when we’re struggling.

Which makes me wonder what our soldiers hear in their heads during their tough times.

In the end, so much of what helped me through was thinking about that.  Murph is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life.  It’s one of the biggest challenges I will ever face, and one of the toughest things I will ever need to conquer.  Talk about a blessing.  When doing a hard ass workout, that I PAY a facility to subject me to, surrounded by friends, and fun is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done I KNOW I lead a great life.

I have so many things.  So many freedoms.  Like everyone I have so many problems, but unlike some of our soldiers, mine are really inconsequential.

While this is a post about a workout, this is really more of my trying to say thank you.  To express my gratitude to those who have served and are serving for all they stand for a represent.  To remember those who won’t ever come home to us, not that we don’t remember them for at least a moment daily.

So thanks guys.