HOLY MOLY I DID IT

Back at the Ranch Competition

First off, there aren't enough pictures on my camera to do this competition justice.  It was crazy. I was scared out of my mind. The only goal I had was to not have an accident in my pants from being scared.

I don't even know where to begin. I had to be there at 6:30am. By 7:30am I was loaded on a party bus (stripper pole and all) and headed to a remote location. We get off the bus and our team was given an 8' 4x4 and told to run. Hills, fields, hills, road, field, hills and finish. Okay. (huge relief having the run be first, I can run, I've done that before, I can run fast if I have to) Running, not so bad. My team did great. We were the third team to finish. (50 teams total in the competition) Okay, great. Got that done. Time to rest.

Second WOD was not as pretty. Jumping squats, swing across a ditch and land on straw, kettle bell swings, sled push. The sled push was nasty. It was in grass, going uphill. Being in the first heat did not have any advantages, lets just say that. I was so tired on the second round I don't even remember squatting. (I was almost in a blackout stage. I didn't hear anything around me and I was just puhsing myself to give more.) At this point I was getting upset with myself. I should have done better, I should have pushed faster, I should have, should have, should have....

Third WOD was a team scavenger hunt. 300 squats, 150 pistols, max burpess while someone on your team is out getting bales of straw or swimming for flags. Kyle and I went out to the lake to grab the flags, Kevin found one flag in the tree and then we found 3 bales of straw. Okay, that was fine. We did well and I even contributed to 5 pistols! Making progress there. (Who holds an event in a field full of ragweed, in September, and adds 250 bales of hay?! Someone that has never experienced allergies, apparently.)

Fourth WOD was the strength. Max back squat with 3 ring muscle ups in between attempts. We each took two attempts and I squatted my 1 rep max. Okay. I did the best I could with that one. (Would have been the perfect opportunity to try for a PR. Lesson learned.)

Going into the 4th WOD, we were in 12th place. In the back of my head, I knew Kevin really wanted to be in the top 10. (This was noted after I made the comment I didn't want to come in last place!) After the last WOD, we were in 10th place (even better, we tied with another team from our gym)!

I'm not sure if I'm up for doing another competition. I gained valuable lessons from this experience. Two of the three kids were there to watch. That was a wonderful feeling having them be a part of the day also. I was so worried about letting my team down. I know that they know I tried my hardest. I just fear that they thought my "hardest" was better than what I was able to do. I don't mean that in an "oh feel sorry for me" type of way. I just mean it like maybe next time they would want someone stronger, faster, better... I hate letting people down.

The big group picture is of everyone from Infinity who competed today. What a fun group!!!

What does one take to a competition that is in the middle of a field, has two ponds and no WODs posted?

• 2 pairs of Nanos (old and current)
• Running shoes
• Vibrams
• 4 tank tops
• 4 bras
• 6 pairs of shorts
• 1 pair of pants
• 2 t-shirts
• 4 pairs of socks
• 4 headbands

 

OH! and the best news is, I didn't have any accidents in my pants!!!

 

SUCCESS!

my journey

Thursday: hike 4.5 miles
Friday: Run 4miles
             70 squats
             25 sit ups
             plank


This is my journey. I did not invite anyone to come along. I am only doing this for myself. I welcome any encouragement and avoid any negative comments. This is my lifestyle, this isn't a trend. We are all on a journey following different paths. No one asked you to follow. You can go your own way and I will be just as supportive. To each their own.

You never know where someone is on their journey or how far they have come. I wish my feelings were as strong as my heart. Sometimes people can poke fun and laugh when it's only for their own pleasure.

Unfortunately, sometimes they are they people that we have to see everyday.

On a different note:

I have to give a shout out to two of my co-workers who joined me on my Friday morning (early) run. It was such a peaceful morning. The brisk air, the calm trees and deer running along the road. It was one of those moments in time when nothing seemed to matter.

a new home

In my first post, I explained how recently Nick and I left our old gym and joined Crossfit Infinity. My extravoerted personality thrives on being surrounded by tons of people. Being at the gym is no different. I was a little nervous at first. Crossfit is a tight community. You spend a lot of time with these people. You know one rep max's, PRs, strengths, etc so coming in new, I had to learn all of this. I still wouldn't say I'm fitting in, but I'm getting there. The gym moved to a brand new facility. The trainers are great and the programming has given sore a whole new meaning! It is organized. It is clean. And the people are amazing. I'm meeting a lot of great people. The atmosphere is contagious. When I walk in I instantly am pumped to start working out.

If you are local, check it out. There is always a Community WOD on Saturday mornings. If you aren't local, find a box near you.

My home away from home box is Crossfit Cohesion in New Phila. Check that one out if you are in the area!

I stole these pictures off Facebook but here's a picture of the outside of the buidling and a picture of Nick from our partner WOD on Monday.

Wednesday

WOD: 2 Rounds
            5 squat snatch
            20 pull ups
            30 push ups
            40 sit ups
            50 squats

              1 mile run

3 days before the competition. Nervous as hell. The thought of being out there in front of people probably crosses my mind at lest once every 30 minutes. I walk into the gym. It's going to be an easy day for me. No heavy weight, just going through the motions. Well, wouldn't you know...one of my teammates decided to drop out of our team. WTF! 3 days before? I wanted to drop out the minute after I said, "yes" but did I? NO. Was I ever going to? NO. Would I do that to my friends? NO. Ugh. Disappointed, yes. The bright side? It shifted my stress to something else besides my performance! I ended up doing the WOD at full speed ready to blast off somebody. Anger is always a good motivator. I worked out and I was over it. We will get another teammate. Probably someone better, someone more dedicated and someone who has put in the work the last 6 weeks. Rant over.

The carrot protein bars: almost gone. It went from a breakfast food to a dessert to a snack. Seriously. I ate an entire row.

To say I obsess about food is an understatement. Ask anyone who spends more than 5 minutes with me. I count calories, chart my protein, fat, and carbs, weigh my food, and map out the entire day before I go to bed the night before. It's crazy, yes. I know this. It's exhausting, but I can almost eyeball any weight. I just never seem to "get" what works for me. I had so much success on Weight Watchers 5 years ago. When I look back at my logs, I was eating 800 calories a day. Well, no wonder the weight was shedding off! (I don't recommend that approach.) Once I started Crossfit the weight slowly crept back on. On in a good way, but the number was (is) getting high. Do I like the way I look? Some days, yes. Most days, no. I'm a perfectionist. I'm a busy body. If I don't feel like I gave 100% one day, then my entire day has been a failure.

I decided to reach out (in other words, hire) someone to help me. I have friend requested him on an app and he is watching what I eat. Nick thinks I'm nuts. He is convinced this guy will tell me the exact same thing Nick says every day: You can't live off of 1300 calories a day! True story. I'm not hoping for a miracle answer, I just want to be more educated. I want someone who knows Crossfit and knows food to give me realistic examples of how to eat. So, stay tuned. I will share more as my journey continues with that!

I'm going on a retreat Thursday and Friday. I have packed my own breakfast and snack food. I'm freaking out about all the crap that will be served. I'm excited to get in some miles out in the woods! Should be a relaxing couple of days before Back at the Ranch!!!

WOD: 4 Rounds for time
           500 m row
           20 DUs


I know I've mentioned this little competition coming up on Saturday....and that I'm a tad bit nervous?! Today I went to the gym to work on some of my skills (or lack there of). I started practicing with what I thought was the 95# atlas stone. It took a little bit of effort but I was able to get it to my shoulder. Only later to find out that I was using the 115# stone. Okay, I think I have that covered. Moved on to the ring swings. I attempted these as a kid at the lake but never as an adult and I had no idea what was going to happen. Well, it worked! I had a lot of fin.Who knows is that will be at the competition, but I was able to try something new and I didn't give up when I got scared. Making progress.

After the workout, I came home and made some delicious Carrot Protein Breakfast Bars. Who cares about breakfast, these are like dessert!

Carrot Breakfast Protein Cake
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 35 mins
Total time: 45 mins
Serves: 8
Ingredients
2 large carrots, finely shredded
⅔ cup almond butter
2 eggs
3 tablespoons raw honey
35 grams (or 1 heaping scoop) Formulx Vanilla Whey Protein Powder (or 2 tablespoons coconut flour if you do not eat use protein powder)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
½ cup raisins
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Shred carrots as thin as possible. Place in large bowl.
Add almond butter and eggs and mix well.
Then add honey, protein powder, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and mix well.
Fold in raisins.
Grease an 8×8 glass baking dish with coconut oil, pour batter into the dish and place in oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top of the cake has a nice crust to it.
Let cool before cutting.
Notes
Makes 8 pieces of cake
(I doubled the recipe and used a 9x13 dish)

Monday

WOD: Teams of 2:
            1-10
            Wall Balls
            Burpees
            Dball slams
            Mason Twists (L=R=1)
            *After each element, 20 G2OH


I wish I had a picture of what Nick and I looked like after this workout! Oooohhhh mmmmm ggggeeeee, it was HOT! About one element into the WOD, I started regretting asking Nick to be my partner. He is just so stinking fast that I would just get a breath and it was my turn again. It felt great to be pushed and when it was over I felt like I had worked. No complaints.

The new gym is ah-mazing! I will take pictures this week to show it off. It was fun to feel the energy the new building has brought to so many people.

5 days until my first Crossfit competition. I'm trying not to think about it or I will just freak out and run away. Speaking of running...when I get nervous, I always feel the need to run. In my mind, running will make it all go away.

Nick has drill this weekend so he won't even be there to watch. Gosh.... the things I get myself into sometimes.  

Saturday/Sunday

We were camping in the hills over the holiday weekend. I didn't mind the hills because the camp food was straight out of a can. Anything to help burn off that crud, the better!

We had such a great time!

No gym available so I did some hill work with Nick on my back. The kids got a kick out of that.

I typically don't complain about food and eat whatever is being served but Sunday for lunch I had to draw the line. I walked into the hall and saw the menu was corn dogs and french fries. Nick and I bailed on the family and headed to the grocery store where we purchased a pound of turkey and salsa!

Never a dull moment.