Day: March 18, 2013

would it…

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
— Helen Keller

Fresh off of a CrossFit filled weekend, I hobbled into the triple-wide to get my due at the Monday 8:30pm WOD. The 8:30 on Monday is becoming a lovely new tradition. Taught by Andrew, it is a small gathering of folks at the end of what is usually a very long day. Insert standard Monday cliches here. But cliches have grown to who they are because they are true. The weekend was full. Almost too full. Friday Night Fights (a group/team WOD that usually lasts about two hours), followed by a Paleo Food Fest for which countless athletes cooked and shared their dishes with other countless athletes. I cooked paleo curry chicken salad, with paleo mayo. It was delish but time consuming to make and left my kitchen in a shambles as cooking from scratch a new dish for the first time for a large number of people tends to do. Then home and to bed late Friday night.

Back to ACF Saturday morning to judge fellow athletes for 13.2 WOW (Workout of the Week) of the CrossFit Open, then I hit the 13.2 Open WOW myself (227 score), then home to throw the ball for Oliver, then back to ACF for a jump rope clinic to try and learn double-unders from 2:30-4:00pm, then back home to shower and get ready for a Birthday/St. Patty’s Day celebration at a CF friend’s house. Sunday, Strongman, followed by more Open judging, then home again whereby I was so wound up, so stimulated from the packed weekend of socializing, that I ended up back out again to meet a fellow Strong Person for appetizers and a weekend recap. Lots of busy time. No time to write. No time to regroup. Monday’s WOD, while difficult to motivate to get there after getting home from work and just wanting to lie down and sleep off the weekend, was a destination I was committed to reaching. I said I would be there and I was going to make it. My performance, less then stellar, weak really. Could barely get the 100lbs. overhead. Was unable to do so with the standard Power Clean grip, so channeled KeHo’s teaching and widened my grip to the Snatch grip and up the bar went to the shoulders. Split Jerk overhead.

Sometimes when I write this stuff I wonder if anyone is actually reading it. Does it even make any sense, a Snatch, a Clean and Jerk? I remember the first time the terms started to make sense, about 8 months into CrossFit when it finally clicked and I thought, I know what the F* a Clean and Jerk means! That was a good day. So many anachronisms, so many terms.

More importantly let’s focus on how sleep deprivation and a weekend of cheats can affect your performance. They have a profound affect on your body. Remember that. I try to whenever the fun of socializing over beer and nachos seems so much more important than swollen joints and arms going soft on an Olympic lift. It all comes down to choices and acceptance of the outcomes of the choices.

I. Barbell Strength:

Establish a 1RM Clean and Jerk

Completed: working up from 65lbs. to 100lbs. with the Snatch grip. Wouldn’t it be something if I could get my weight down and my strength up and thereby meet in the middle someday where I can lift my body weight overhead?

II. Conditioning:

CrossFit Open 2011 WOW 3

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 5 minutes of:

Squat Clean (165/110)

Jerk (165/110)

*Each Squat Clean counts as 1 Rep, a Jerk must be completed before moving on to the following round

Completed: at 85lbs. 18 reps total.

hit the delete button. Open WOD 13.2

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.” ― Lao Tzu

If you haven’t heard, the CrossFit Open is upon us. It is a five week competition and we just finished week two. Anyone anywhere in the world can compete in the CrossFit Open, you just have to sign up. It may sound overwhelming at first, like why would I want to compete against CrossFitters like Rich Froning or Annie Thorisdottir? These people are the real deal, professional athletes, Fire Breathers, as we like to refer to the true badasses in the CF world. Alas, I’m not a Fire Breather. I’m a pretty avg. person who wants to stay healthy and enjoys feeling strong, connected, and in the mix of things I enjoy.

I am a competitive person but I’ve been struggling recently with the idea of competing.  I simply do not like feeling like I’m about to throw-up in the hours and minutes leading up to the actual competition. It’s too much some times, the built up anxiety and fear. There’s a never-ending list of What If’s that flood my thoughts usually concluding with tragic blood curling infused consequences. The imagination is deep and graphic and capable of drumming up some pretty outlandish stuff, I assure you.

You have to take control though, hit the delete button and deposit those paralyzing thoughts in the trash. What can help you hit the delete button? The people around you, positive people, engaged people, people ready to do the same. There was too much enthusiasm in our box about the Open and too many of my fellow athletes, none of us Fire Breathers, swallowing their doubts or fears or hesitations or all of the above, and signing up for the Open.

Inspired by our community, I signed up too:

WOW 13.2:

Standards

Complete As Many Rounds & Repetitions As Possible In 10 Minutes of:

5 Shoulder To Overhead (115/75)

10 Deadlifts (115/75)

15 Box Jumps (24/20)

Completed: RX weight for women at 75lbs. 227 reps total.

Bullet Proof Coffee.

I’m updating my list of things I love: CrossFit. Writing. Oliver. (He needs to be on there.) And Coffee. I freaking love coffee. But wait, there’s more, check out this freaking awesomeness below:

BulletProof Coffee:

Bullet Proof Coffee

I haven’t tried it yet, but it just simply looks delish.