WOD:
50 Double Unders
40 Push Ups
30 DB Rows 20#
20 OHS 65#
10 Wall Walks
1 min plank
1 min wall sit

I'm pooped! It has been a long week at work, a busy week with sports, a disaster trying to drive through downtown (Mumford & Sons Music Festival) and instead of sleeping, I'm wide awake playing on the computer!

We leave tomorrow morning for our Labor Day Family Camp. I'm probably the only person packing a 53# kettle bell and jump rope. My competition is 1 week away and I will be out of town for work Thursday and Friday. I need to get in as much as possible. My sister once told me that it's not like studying for a test. I can't cram the week before and expect to have great results. I guess I will keep that in the back of my head as I start to FREAK OUT even more than I have the last 6 weeks!

If you have a minute, check out the recipes I added earlier. The Chia Pudding was delish...and gone! I ate the entire thing in 2 days. YUMMY yummkins.

When we get back from camp, Infinity will be opening the doors to our new box. I can't wait.

I hope you all have a fun and save holiday weekend. I'll report back on Monday evening (after football and soccer)!

Last night I made two treats for the family! (recipes below)

If you know me, you know I do NOT like to fix anything that takes longer than 10 minutes to prepare and then eat! These were both easy.


No Bake Coconut Cookies
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil (find quality coconut oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup raw honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
Place cookies in the freezer to harden. Once hardened, remove to a lidded container. Store container in the freezer or fridge, depending on your preference.

Chia Pudding
2/3 c Chia Seeds
2 c unsweetened almond milk
1/2 t vanilla extract
2 T dates
2 T unsweetened coconut flakes
Mix & refrigerate

WOD: EMOTM Snatch Complex
           2min AMRPA Back Squats
           1 mi for time

On the way home from working out last night, I was talking to Nick about my 1 mile PR. I have shaved 30 seconds off of my time. I was proud of that! If you know me, you know that I have maybe one competitive bone in my body. 95% of the time, I could care less what anybody is doing around me. I don't count weight, I don't watch reps, I don't look at the board to compare my scores. Running is usually the only activity where that 5% shines through. I must admit, it sometimes feels good to pass these young kids and know that whatever I'm doing, it's still working! But, I also humbled by those runners who pass me or push me to puke status. I guess I can appreciate those around me. The faster and slower :)

In my conversation Nick reminded me of this: My goal is to be healthy. My goal isn't to be the strongest, the fastest, the best...it's to be me. A healthy me. As long as I go in everyday and do my best, I have won.

Who is this Ken guy, anyway?!

Often times, I go without mentioning how grateful I am for somebody helping me. A simple, "thank you" doesn't always seem like it's enough. I have had some great running coaches. For me, running is something that I have to dig deep to find within myself. Nobody is there running beside me the entire time yelling down my throat to keep pushing myself until the very last second. I guess somebody could do that, but that would be expecting a lot, right? When I run, it's me who is yelling at myself to keep pushing to the finish line.

Crossfit is different. When your hands are behind your head and that clock beeps, I am fighting my own mind to keep pushing but there are also others there helping to motivate me. Someone yelling (encouraging) me to pick that weight back up, rest in 30 seconds, give more, give more, GIVE MORE!

I have had some good trainers and I have had some GREAT trainers. Nick, my husband, is a great trainer. Do I listen to what he tells me? Maybe 85% of the time. I respect his knowledge and his skill but I always say, "he just doesn't get me" or if he's trying to motivate me, I'm rolling my eyes or talking back. He takes a lot of heat. I give him that much.

But, the one trainer that I hear in my head over and over again is Ken. The picture below was taken at Regionals this year.

Besides his massive beastly structure and his build, he has an attitude. Ken was my trainer at the first Crossfit box I went to. He moved and then we moved shortly after. Ken will give me crap for showing up late, call me out when I'm talking in the back and tell me to add more weight to my bar in addition to his other "training" duties.

About two years ago, I asked Ken a question. I don't even remember what the question was...but his nonchalant response was, "What are you going to do about it?" OOOOOOHHHHH, that mad me mad! I wanted an answer. I wanted to be told exactly what I needed to do to improve whatever it was I was asking him.   Time went on..... he kept giving me a hard time for showing up late, talking in the corner, not adding enough weight, blah blah blah. I roll my eyes (not to his face, like I would my husband) but I kept going to his class.

Something I have realized since that question two years ago: I always ask myself, "What am I going to do about it?" Only I can make something happen. The support, the yelling, the pushing...that happens but I need to show up (and probably stop chit chatting) to do the work.

So, in a round about eye rolling way, thank you Ken for the best words of advice I have ever received. I appreciate ALL of your help. I may not always know what "to do about it" but I know quitting or not giving 100% is not the answer.

rewarding with food

I'm struggling to make a conscious effort to not reward myself or my children with food. This is a new concept and huge attitude shift for the entire family.

Looking back, I think the majority of the rewards I have given has been rewarded with food:

You peed in the potty? Lollipop.
It's your birthday? Restaurant and favorite cake.
You scored? McDonalds.
You behaved at the grocery? Candy bar at check out.

I could go on and on. (Almost embarrassing, isn't it?)

Food is comfort. Food makes us feel good. Food brings happy memories. But why?! Everything I mentioned above that I am doing with my kids is exactly what my parents did for me! It's ingrained in my mind.

How can I change this behavior? My kids don't need the treats. They need my love. My love isn't candy or fast food, it's quality time.

So, what am I going to do about it?

I'm starting to reward them with special time. With three kids, they all want our attention. It's hard to spend one on one time without jealousy sneaking in. Instead of McDonalds, we will do something fun. Maybe we will go fishing, take a fun bike ride, play catch...just the two of us.

I'm holding myself accountable. I'm going to have to do a little bit of redirecting so the kids don't feel like this is a punishment.

Just like anything else in life, it takes time, patience and consistence.

dreaming about pistols

I woke up at 3:30am and had pistols on my brain! All I could think about was needed to practice my skills.

I can do pistols but they aren't pretty and it isn't graceful. It's almost painful to watch.

I found this video and am going to try this tonight:



This is a three step video. If all goes well after tonight, I'll post the other two videos with my progress!

Plan A to Plan Z

Endurance: Trail Run/Hills

Last Sunday, I mapped out my week. I took into consideration all of the sports practices and work and carved out time in each day to make sure I was able to fit in my strength, endurance, speed work, rest, etc.

Well, the plan changed on Monday, again on Tuesday.....

I'm learning the art of becoming flexible. I have a treadmill and a light garage gym so I am able to do work at home, if needed. I was able to get in 5 gym WODs and 3 long runs (3+ miles).

I'm 13 days away from the Crossfit competition. I heard people talking about it today and I could feel the anxiety start to build up. When I run, I always know what to expect when I sign up. The miles and the course are published. I won't know what the workouts are until I show up. Clothes, shoes, swimwear, nutrition...There is so much to think about!

The gym gang met at a local park to do some hill work this afternoon. It felt great to sweat and push myself! All about good company!

After coming home to shower off all of the poison oak, we ate dinner. The picture is dark, but the kids were so happy. We had grilled salmon and everyone had seconds and thirds! My good little eaters!

Saturday

WOD: AMRAP in 22 min
 2, 4, 6, 8,...
dball slams 16#
mason twists 16# (R+L=1)
burpess
100m dball carry

Woah! Saturday's WOD was a good one. I love the programming. I think at one time I counted 32 people there to work out. The atmosphere can't be matched. It's like nothing I've ever experienced. I guess that's what makes me go crazy over Crossfit!

Saturday was supposed to be my rest day. The family headed to the lake for some much needed time spend together. Nine hours of swimming and relaxing was good for the soul.

This is the family!
L-R: Connor, Josalyn, Me, Maggie, Parker & Nick

a peek into my head

I stood in front of the mirror before my shower this morning. For at least 1 minute, I was happy with the way I looked. Then I exhaled, turned sideways and it was gone.

One minute! I'm making progress. Usually, I can only stand to look at myself naked for less than 10 seconds.

I got this text this morning from my friend, "Today IS going to be a GOOD day! We are going to eat well, workout hard, and enjoy doing both. And, at the end of the day, we ARE going to feel good about ourselves and how we made today AWESOME."

Tomorrow I will read that text again and stand naked in front of the mirror for 2 minutes.

My goal is to love myself as much as I love others. It's a work in progress.

sugar-free, free range, organic, paleo, turkey loaf (or something like that)

Tonight I made a sugar-free meatloaf. Technically, it was turkey. It had an interesting consistency and didn't really hold together like your traditional meatloaf. I have been blessed with children who will eat just about anything and this attempt was no different.

I really need to follow recipes but everything I look up online takes more than 4 ingredients and prep time. Cooking is about the only spontaneous thing in my life!

17 days until my first Crossfit competition...

"Willpower is trying very hard not to do something you want to do very much." -John Ortberg

It is not unusual to see food outside of my office area on a weekly basis. I have been blessed to have my cubicle in the "party room".

I am guilty of indulging in these snacks from time to time. But today...TODAY is different!

A wave of anger went through my body when this food was dumped into the room. EVERYTHING on this table has sugar. NOTHING is offered that I want to eat. WHY isn't this all about me?! Hello! Don't you all know that I'm on the 21 Day Sugar Detox! I feel like the angry pigeon. I could write a book, "Don't let the Pigeon eat the Snacks."

Back to reality. I shouldn't be upset. Everybody has a choice. I'm proud of people that have the willpower to eat one snack or one bite and put the rest back. I am not one of those people. It's all of nothing. I'm going to sit in my cube and chug my water and try not to think about what's lurking outside of my cubical wall...

this is where it all goes down

WOD: Badger.

Tonight I gave it 110%. It felt great to push myself. I wish I had that drive every day. Some days it's there while other days I call it a success if I walk in the building.

Here's to many more 110% days!

19 days until my first Crossfit Competition...

it all starts with a plan

Those of you with a Type A personality can appreciate this:

Here goes nothing!

I'm just an ordinary person. I might have an extraordinary attitude and extraordinary enthusiasm when it comes to certain things but I think I'm like most other 30-something aged women that are working full-time while raising three active children. I want to experience as much as possible with my kids, I want to eat healthy, train hard, run faster, lift heavier, be a good role model, etc...

The reality is we are all going 5 different directions at any given time. To get a WOD in during a regular scheduled class means we have to carefully coordinate drivers, arrange babysitters, leaving work on time, dinner prep and then if all goes as planned, SUCCESS!

So, why the blog? I've tried blogging before. It was mostly for my family to see the kids and get quick cute family updates. This blog is for me. This blog is for you. It's for the person reading my introduction and thinks, "This is me!" It's to share with you my fitness journey.

My husband and I just moved to a new box (gym) to allow us a little more flexibility and less driving. Crossfit Infinity has been so welcoming, the athletes are amazing, and the trainers are incredible. Perfect timing to refocus and get re energized!

I'm now more motivated that ever to make a positive difference for myself. I promised to not let myself down. More to come...