I Work to Pay for CrossFit…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

I remember a mom telling me she got a part-time job to pay for her kids to do an expensive soccer travel program.  I remember thinking at the time she was nuts.

Yet here I am, working to pay for my passion–CrossFit–and everything that goes along with that.

I’m sure she’d think I was nuts as well.Image result for paying out money

In the last month, I’ve spent a great deal of money on maintaining my body because of CrossFit.

  1. Sprained wrist.  Doctor’s visit
  2. Massage
  3. Chiropractor for scar tissue built up in my hand from ripping
  4. Muscle activation technique to get my muscles working again
  5. Hydrostatic testing for body fat measurements

Throw in life on top of this:

  1. My son broke his finger
  2. I have an eye appointment because I have a partially detached retina from who-knows-when that I have to have monitored
  3. I chipped a tooth and had to have that fixed

And my whole paycheck for the month is gone.  All for body, routine, and emergency maintenance.

I wonder Is it worth it?  All this time and money and aches and pains.

And the answer is always the same:  YES!

Why?

For what CrossFit gives me, most of which is indescribable.  An outlet.  A venue.  A community.  A sense of belonging.  A release.  Health.  Happiness.  Fulfillment of a deep need.  Satisfaction.  Confidence.  Goals.  Connections.  Friends.

 

I’m Tired of Being Alone…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

Everything I’ve accomplished over the last year has been because of me.Image result for finding mentors

Because I’ve pushed.  I’ve done the extra work.  I’ve wanted it.

The results are more than I could have imagined.

However, this is draining.  Mentally.

I need a cheerleader.  I need a coach.  I need someone else to push me to where I need to go.

Finding this won’t be easy.  It may still end up just being me again.

But I can try.  Hope.  Pray…

Feeling Down? Turn to WordPress…

by crossfitmomm, posted in Life Lessons and Advice

I often feel insignificant.

Like what I say doesn’t matter.Image result for images you matter

No one cares what I do.

Or how I do it.

Or why.

After all, I am one in seven billion people on this planet.  Why SHOULD anyone care?

It’s been a tough week in my little life that no one cares about.  Stressful, anxious, characterized by impatience, draining, running on empty.

With the Open over, one is left ambivalent:  glad but sad.  And I would dare say, lost.

What now?

On a whim, I decide to check out what you all are doing and what’s happening in your lives.

I was led HERE a post where someone actually said I helped them.  Me!  My site.  My words!  My miniscule life.

It was the boost I needed. To persevere.  To strive, to seek, to find, and not to fail.  To push back harder when pushed.  To go against the grain.  To be true to yourself when the world tells you to conform.  To put yourself out there when others won’t.  To be the best you you can be.

You do make a difference.  You do matter.  You are significant.  You are important.  You contribute much more than you could ever dream.

Fight for the good life.  You deserve it.  You will be rewarded.

In your heart.  In your soul.  In others…

That’s what life’s about.

Lessons From CrossFit Open…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Open

The Open pushes you to do things you normally wouldn’t.  It’s a gauge of where you are fitness wise.  It exposes your strengths and your weaknesses.  It drives you to do better next year.

18.1  My best performance.  It played to my strengths:  long, short repetitions of movements, and pure mental game.

18.2  I PR’d my clean.  Strength is something I always have to work on, which just takes time.

18.3  I’m closer to a ring muscle up than I thought.  I almost had one, and I’m confident I’ll have one soon.

18.4  Handstand push ups.  I learned I’m not as good at these as I thought I was.

18.5  Chest to bar pull ups.  I know I’m not good at these.  Last year I could only strict them.  This year I kipped them.  Another weakness to work on.

I’m very competitive for my age group.  Next year, I’ll be near the top.

Overall, this was a challenging year.  If I could have done all the movements, I would have enjoyed it.  Instead, frustration reigned and by the end, I just wanted to be done.

What I’m looking forward to:  doing some competitions, Murph, improving Olympic moves, getting stronger, getting my final pieces in place, dialing in my nutrition, and continuing to improve daily.  That’s what CrossFit is all about.  Being healthy.  Using your endorphin rush to fuel the crap in your daily life, and thriving despite adversity.

The year ahead couldn’t be brighter!

Image result for end of crossfit open

After Five Weeks, the Open Has Come to a Close…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Open

I finished 18.5 last night and felt horrible.

I had to sit down for 15 minutes and then eat something.Open 18.5

Still, I felt bad.  I usually never feel bad after a workout.

I think it was a combination of things:  stress, anxiety, pressure, my wrist sprain, odd workout times for me, pushing hard on 18.5, etc that my body protested.

I came home and took a bath.  Laid down.  Felt a bit better…

The Open this year was tough.  Very tough.  Demoralizing in a way I haven’t been in a long time.

Training begins now for next year.

I’m unsure yet how much of a break I’ll take first.

Right now, I’m just enjoying it being over.  I’m awaiting Wednesday when I find out my final place in the region.  I know it’s better than last year and that’s all I could have hoped for…

 

Does Anyone Else Feel Like a Failure in Life?

by crossfitmomm, posted in Life Lessons and Advice

I know I do.Image result for overcoming adversity

Every day.

Of every year.

Perpetually.

Failure in life.  Parenting.  Citizenship.  Relationships.  CrossFit.  Work.  Eating.  Nutrition.  As a wife.  Being a good person.  Caring for others and about others.  Doing things for others.  Being humble.  Cleaning my house.  Reaching out to others.  Getting together with others.

Luckily, failure is temporary and you get another chance.  You can’t dwell on it.  You can’t let others make you feel guilty over it.  It’s how you react in the moment.  You can either let it bring you down or use it to do better next time.  You do the best you can with what you have at the moment.  It’s who you are that will shine through…

Trust in that on the days you feel you can’t do anything right.

It’s who you are at the end of the day that matters…

I am LOVING Blogging…

by crossfitmomm, posted in Life Lessons and Advice

Image result for coffee and computer

I’ve been blogging now for eleven years.  I’ve been with WordPress that entire time.  Some blogs of mine are defunct, but I currently run three blogs.

And I’m having the time of my life!

As some of you know, my other passion in life besides CrossFit is writing.  I’ve written eight novels (none of which are published).  Last year, I decided to take a break from novel writing because the rejections from literary agents was killing me.

I started this blog.  And then another.  Along with one I’ve had eight years now.  Besides my time every day doing CrossFit, this is my favorite time of the day.  Writing.  Sharing.  Connecting with you all.  Reading what’s happening in your world, on your side of the globe, and where you all are traveling to and what makes your heart sing.  It has been a true joy to see all of this and learn so much!

I started thinking, “Maybe I’m meant to blog instead of write novels.  I’m insanely good at this after all this practice.  And I love it.”  I even interviewed with a company to blog for them (that I’m hoping to hear from next week!).

Only time will tell.

Right now, I’m embracing every minute of this.  I want to thank you all for making this so enjoyable.  You visit my blog.  You leave comments.  I visit yours.  Learn about your world.  I feel so very blessed being able to do so.

The internet is many things to many people.  Here I believe is one place it shines.  Opening up worlds that before would be unknowable.  Seeing what you see.  Visiting where you visit.  Learning what you know.  Being a part of your world as much as you can be on the Internet.  I am so very blessed…

Thank you, everyone!  I look forward to the future and what you all bring!

Happy blogging!!

You CANNOT Overlook Skills…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit, CrossFit Open

In CrossFit, this is the one place many fail:  skills.  These include:  rope climbs, double unders, bar and ring muscle ups, handstand walks, handstand push ups, etc.

Why?

Because skills is all practice.  Practice takes time.  Time most aren’t willing to invest in mastering these skills.  Time you have to put in on your own or you’ll never get good at them.

Most people only do these when they occasionally show up in a WOD.  This may be once a week if you’re lucky.  Otherwise, they are forgotten.

Furthermore, these skills have to be kept up to speed or you will lose them.  You have to do all regularly 1) to get better at them and 2) to keep them sharp.

These skills can make or break you in an Open Workout because you either have them or you don’t.  And you either have them well or you don’t.

Let’s take double unders for example.  Many people suck at these.  Why?  1)  They refuse to purchase their own rope ($10).  You can never get good at double unders without a rope that fits you.  Intuitive really.  2)  They never practice them–even in a WOD.

I practiced double unders every day for 6 months straight.  EVERY DAY!  It still took me 2 YEARS to master.  2 Years!  It’s only been within the last few months that I can say, “Yes, I can do 100 double unders unbroken every time I pick up a rope.”  Double unders are that hard.

Image result for double unders crossfit

A lot of people honestly don’t care enough to practice.  And that’s okay.  We all have our passions and CrossFit may just be a good workout for them.

I just keep practicing.  Like I always do.

That’s my secret.

If you want to get good at anything in life, there’s no secret.  We all know what it is, but few of us choose to do it.

Practice, practice, practice!!!

I’m Pissed Off at the Open…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Open

18.4 was a doozy:  Diane (21-15-9 reps of deadlifts at 155 lbs and then handstand push ups) followed by heavy deadlifts followed by handstand walks–all with a 9 minute timecap.Image result for athletes moments of defeat or disappointment

So I correctly predicted handstand walks would show up in the Open.  I’m excited about that.

However, what I didn’t anticipate was not even getting to them.  I didn’t finish the 15 handstand push-ups.  With the new standards and my wrist and my lack of strength I just didn’t have it in me.

I was pissed off.  I thought I was stronger than that.  I breezed through the deadlifts.

One of the best things the Open does is show you your weaknesses.  I now know handstand push ups is one of these for me when I thought I was pretty good at them.  Something else to work on.

So why am I pissed off?

18.3 I was stuck at the ring muscles ups.  For 10 minutes.  18.4 I got stuck at the handstand push ups.  And I only had 9 minutes to do it in.

And I’m not your average CrossFitter.

Most CrossFitters can’t do ring muscle-ups (less than 10% of CrossFitters can).  Most CrossFitters can’t do handstand walks (even a smaller percentage than 10%).  So why is Dave Castro programming these in?

I get extremely frustrated when I can’t do something, and I can tell you right now this will be the last year I won’t be able to because I’m gonna bust my ass this next year to get these moves down and grow stronger.

But that doesn’t erase my frustrations right now in this moment for this year.

I want to do good.  I want to be the best.  I want to win.

It’s hard to do that with these workouts.

None have played to my strengths except 18.1 where I did do really well.

I’m on a rant, I know…

For me, I need to crush a workout.  We all do.  I need 18.5 to be one I can crush.  I’m doubtful it will be…

Hence, I’m just pissed off…

I’ve spent an entire year training for one event that has left me feeling inadequate, angry, frustrated, and that I’ve wasted a whole year of my life.  Hours and hours and hours…for what?

I’m frankly depressed and ready for the Open to be over, so I can get back to training.

Am I the only one feeling this way?

Holding Back…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit, Life Lessons and Advice

My hand feels good.  Really good.  To the point I want to be all in again.

I have to tell myself, Not yet.  Hold back.  A few more days.

In the grand scheme of things, a few more days is not that long.  We sleep a bit of it away.  We work some of it.  We spend the rest of the time eating, reading, blogging (of course!), and spending time with our family and doing things together.

Training is just a small part of my life.

Next week, I will probably be 90% in.  I don’t want to lift too heavy right off the bat.  That time will come.  And sooner than my mind tells me.

So like a racehorse who finishes strong, hold back.  The end game is what matters.

 

Image result for finish strong