2016 Goals in Review

I started 2016 with a list of goals I wanted to achieve. Spoiler alert! I only achieved one, but I'm not mad about it.

WOD 200 times in 2016. I did not reach my goal, but I did recommit myself to CrossFit this year and I am so happy that I did. I strengthened existing friendships and made new ones with people at my box whom I love very much. My girl Kayte became my bff. I had some pretty awesome drop-ins. This is definitely a goal I am going to try for in 2017.

Tuck 10 times a month. Not even close. I couldn't keep working at Pure Barre with the demands of my day job. And once we were no longer allowed to take class during the last class of our shifts, the whole perk lost its allure. I have an unlimited month at Pure Barre Brookhaven in January and I am going to participate in their New Year Challenge.

Train for a 1/2 marathon. I didn't train for the HOTLANTA Half Marathon or the Area 13.1, but I ran both of them.

Complete the Marine Corps Marathon in under 4 hours. Nope. But I did PR my marathon with a time of 4:15:35.

Sleep 8 hours a night. Sometimes. I make an effort to get more sleep and I am more willing to admit that I need to take something to help me sleep some nights.

Drink 3 liters of water daily. For a while I was really on point. Lately not as much. This is another keeper for 2017.

Rock the GMAT. I have rescheduled this thing so many times. I'm taking it in March 2017. I'm so sick of thinking about it.

Comment on other blogs. I engage with bloggers more but mostly on Instagram.

Focusing on living my life one moment at a time. This is the only goal that I think I accomplished. This year has been so incredibly stressful, and yet I made it through and I am so happy. Sure, I still get overwhelmed and stressed out. I probably drink too much and don't spend enough time doing important things like studying for the GMAT. But I have stopped thinking that once I do, get, earn, or lose X, I will suddenly be able to start living my life. I'm not waiting for the day that someone moves here, or the day I lose 10 lbs, or the day I make a certain salary, or anything else for that matter. Today is where I am and that is exactly enough.

December 2016 Goals and Some Thoughts for 2017

Pure Barre Goal: 1 time for a total of 53 tucks in 2016.

CrossFit Goal: 160/200 WODs. I went to class 14 times, one of which was a drop-in at CrossFit Downtown Atlanta.

I PR'd my Kelly time at 26:44 Rx while injured on 12/28/16. Kelly is 5RFT 400 m run, 30 box jumps (24/20), and 30 wallballs (20/14). My old time from 1/31/15 is 31:29 Rx and I didn't have a shooting pain up my back. My back is getting better and I have been scaling most of the workouts. I did step ups instead of rebounding on the box jumps. I have been going really light on the weights each day.

We got some brand new Lynx barbells and they are gorgeous.

Mileage Goal: I ran 10.8 miles this month for a total of 154 miles for the year. I chuckle because I used to run this in a month. The other day someone decided to lie to me about our evening plans and so I left my car at his place. When we ended up at the bar DIRECTLY DOWN THE STREET from my apartment, I was pissed. One and a half miles of this total mileage is me running back down the Beltline to pick up my car the next morning. I think this was just his way of making sure I came back.

Shit Happens aka My Morning in the ER

I spend a lot of time being told that CrossFit is dangerous. That's different than when someone interested in CrossFit asks me if it's dangerous. I'm talking about when random guys on Tinder, some guy my sister dated, the bartender at bartaco, and some drunk dude at Tin Roof Cantina all decide that it is their duty to inform me that CrossFit is going to kill me. Is there some inherent risk involved? Sure. Will it kill you? Well, how stupid and how stubborn are you?

DayQuil is the Best Pre-Workout

I spent about 24 hours in the great state of New Jersey and came back with a terrible cold. I was just minding my own business, sitting in the exit row, looking at dick pics on my phone when I realized my eyes were watery, my throat was scratchy, and my nose was running. Earlier that morning, as I sat trying to keep warm while waiting for the train from Newark to Trenton, a preacher came by and started talking about eternal damnation for people who look at dirty images. I guess this is my punishment?

My 3.5 Year CrossFit Anniversary is Saturday

So I was reading a member spotlight in another box's newsletter yesterday and the member says of her changes: "I can lift my stereotypically overpacked suitcase into the trunk of an Uber without the driver's assistance. They're always like 'let me help you with that' and I tell them 'NO I CAN DO IT BY MYSELF!'" And I felt exactly the same way. I was so dang proud of myself when I could casually toss my ridiculous suitcases above my seat on the LIRR. While I can certainly still carry my own luggage or multiple cases of seltzer in from the car, proving I can isn't that important to me. If you offer to help, go for it. That being said, I enjoyed watching two guys from PetSmart struggle with Daisy Mae's condo and was like here, let me do it. As they protested, I picked it up, loaded it into the car, and wished them a Happy Thanksgiving.

Some other things have changed in the years that I've been doing CrossFit. Six months into CrossFit and I was fitting into jeans I bought when I was 13. Three years and six months into CrossFit and I just don't fit in jeans.

Houston and a Drop-In at CrossFit Downtown Atlanta

Hey y'all. Last week I was in Houston for a program monitoring site visit with some grant officers. I didn't realize how stressed I was about it until it started going well. I don't think they're taking my money away just yet.

Because it's totally normal to weigh your sashimi at the sushi bar. I love going to Oishii whenever I'm in Houston.

I didn't workout Wednesday through Friday and it began to drive me crazy. I should have gone to the gym instead of the hotel bar on Wednesday night. Oops.

I Did EVERYTHING This Weekend

I accomplished so much this weekend. After having my ass kicked at Friday's WOD, I powered through a work day that was defined by excessive amounts of coffee and a stupid federal website being down. Fighting with that thing was a true delight. I went out for drinks at the Lawrence, made the poor decision to try multiple selections off of their cocktail menu, and then finished up the night at The Highlander with my neighbors. Saying I was overserved is probably putting it lightly.

I ordered one of these as a road soda on Friday. It was pretty tasty.

Maybe It's Actually Winter

This morning my alarm went off at 5:45 AM again and I was committed to making it to the box. Blaine's my favorite coach. Blaine coaches in the early morning. This is my motivation to get out of my nice warm bed, put on pants (I hate pants), and go out into the frigid Georgia morning. It's been even better since I started having to clean up a crate before I can leave. Poor Daisy Mae.

This morning was not my jam. Snatches are hard. Overhead squats are hard. I don't have muscle-ups and subbed 3 pull-ups and 3 ring-dips for each muscle-up. I have to use a band for ring-dips. It was basically an entire morning of highlighting shit I have to work on. I got 4 rounds plus 10 overhead squats in 12 minutes. I wasn't moving very fast but I did all of the OHS unbroken and never dropped off the pull-up bar between pull-ups. Small victories.

I always feel like a beautiful dalmatian when I wear those leggings and the matching sports bra. That's my new Cashel hoodie, also from Fabletics. Unfortunately it's already sold out, or I would highly recommend it. It's fitted and warm but not bulking or restricting.

I'm 90% sure Trump won the election in response to this bullshit color of the year combo. That caption pretty much sums up how Pepe the Frog started a movement. Let that be a lesson to you Pantone. You should have picked Scuba Blue!

How the Hell is it December?

Seriously, how is it December? I still have shit on my to-do list from August.

It's a beautiful day in Atlanta and I had a blast at Country Cardio Thursday this morning. It's an actual thing on Thursdays at CrossFit Identity. Apparently none of us can be trusted to take rest days on our own, so Brandon programs active recovery stuff and we listen to country music. A lot of people don't show up on Thursdays. Might be the cardio or the country.

Today was my jam - 4 rounds for time of a 400 m run, 20 American kettlebell swings (32/16 kg), and 10 burpee box jumps (24/20"). It took me 15:28. It was so cold this morning that I almost kept my clothes on during the workout, but I took of my shirts (a tank and a longsleeve, I told you it was cold!) after the last run. I just can't do burpees efficiently if I'm wearing a shirt.

I practiced strict pull-ups today for skill work and got 3 singles. I also tried to boulder the bench and I am so fucking close. I just about had it yesterday and I'm going to get it this month.

In other good news, it looks like my appetite is back. I came home, made eggs, heated up some veggies, and I cleaned my plate. I'm not dying after all.

November 2016 Goals

Pure Barre Goal: I went once. Woohoo! That 52 classes for the year. I'm getting close to being part of the 100 Club.

CrossFit Goal: 146/200 WODs. I went to class 15 times and I did a CrossFit competition that had 3 WODs throughout the morning. I'll post about the competition as soon as the event photos are posted online.

October 2016 Goals

Pure Barre Goal: Zero, but I went to something called [solidcore]. It is really hard but a lot of fun.

CrossFit Goal: 128/200 WODs. I went to CrossFit Identity for 13 WODs this month. I didn't drop in during my travels to save some money and to make myself go running instead.

Mileage: I ran 38 miles, including the Marine Corps Marathon. MCM 41 is my fastest marathon to date. I swore I would never run another one as I crossed the finish line, but then I found myself googling best Boston Qualifier courses in Georgia a few hours later.

Marine Corps Marathon 41

Guys, I ran my fastest marathon yesterday! And I didn't even train for it. I've been dreading this race for months because I just couldn't get myself to commit to a training plan. I don't like running alone in the daylight during the summer in Georgia. It's boring and it's hot. I just can't bring myself to run at 6 AM when it's still dark out. Thank you Quantavia Rivers for ruining my ability to train for marathons like a normal person you son of a bitch. I hope the Georgia state correctional system misplaces you again and forgets to feed you.

[solidcore] with Pepper!

One of my favorite CrossFit friends, Allison Pepper, is coaching at the new [solidcore] in Midtown Atlanta. It hasn't officially opened yet, but they have been offering free mock classes. There's still time to sign up.

I went to Pepper's 7 AM class on Wednesday. [solidcore] is located at 915 West Peachtree on the same block as the Alta and right next to the Wich Wich. I couldn't figure out what parking deck they referred to (maybe the Alta's parking garage?), so I just parked in a metered spot outside of Marlow's Tavern.

I woke up feeling puffy and bloated, so I took a photo of it to document that this is normal. I'm not going to be my leanest every day of the month. In other good news, you don't have to wear socks or cover your mid-drift for [solidcore]. It was cold so I did put a shirt on, but I didn't have to and that's what matters.

Hotlanta Half 2016

I ran the Hotlanta Half on Sunday, June 13 and the photos are finally ready (and then I forgot to post finish this post for a while, so the photos were actually ready back in June.) The event has free race photos - yes, I said FREE race photos. How awesome is that?

I tried not to freak myself out about this race. One, I wanted it to be fun. Two, I signed up because I needed to prove to myself that I could do some long runs for the Marine Corps Marathon. So I kept telling myself it was just an expensive long run with hydration stations and 1,600 of my closest friends.

I woke up on Saturday viciously hungover and dragged my ass to CrossFit to sweat it out. I had a great partner workout with Dave (I've been trying to get him to be my best friend for months), but there was rowing, doubleunders, over the rower burpees, and thrusters. All things that would catch up to me on Sunday. I had drunkenly slept through my 5K the previous weekend so riding the struggle bus on Saturday was actually clutch for my pre-race preparation. The boyfriend and I adulted the rest of the day and then I cooked the shrimp in my refrigerator because it was going to go bad and ate a bunch of sourdough rolls. It wasn't my usual pre-race dinner of buffalo wings, but it wasn't bad. I was in bed by 10 PM.

It's Sunday morning and I'm out of bed by 5 AM. I walk the dogs, make some toast, and cover one piece with Earth Balance creamy coconut and peanut butter spread and the other with some Kerrygold butter and fig spread. I decided to take an Uber to the race and conveniently one of my neighbors was coming home at 6:15 in the morning so I snagged his driver.

The race was super easy to get to down at Pemberton Place by World of Coke and the aquarium. I arrived, walked my ass over to bag check, and took my shirt off. I was ready to roll! Unfortunately the porta potties didn't arrive in time and the line for the real bathroom was a bajillion people long. I decided to line up and hope I'd find a restroom along the way.

I took this photo instead of standing in line to pee.

The Crossings of Colonie

Guys, I found the coolest park full of running paths on Wednesday morning. I flew up to Albany Tuesday night for yet another AmeriCorps program director training and they have us staying at the Radisson on Wolf Road. The Crossings Park is a 130-acre public park in Colonie, which I believe is a suburb of Albany. Fun fact - I spent two years of my life researching the Capitol District and Western New York when I did new site development for Teach For America, and I randomly know the zip codes of a bunch of suburbs. I also know that you're never supposed to say Upstate New York unless you want to offend someone who might give you money.

My plan was to run 2 miles and then figure out how to get back to the main road so I could stop at Dunkin Donuts for my 32 oz iced coffee. When I don't want to get up and run, I find it helpful to build in a fix for my iced coffee addiction and then I walk back caffeinated and happy. The weather was beautiful, i.e. sunny and cool, and the park had so many trails that I was able to complete an easy 5 mile run. I was pretty pleased with myself even if I did get lost in the woods.

I didn't bring my phone because I am the worst blogger on the interwebs. I fully intended to get back to take some photos but it rained yesterday and we had a 7 AM start time today (like what in the actual fuck?) so y'all don't get any photos of this idyllic place. Maybe it will motivate you to go check it out yourself the next time you're in Albany.

But here is the front of the hotel so you can see that the trees are changing colors!

Progress: Seeing the Big Picture

Last week I drove to Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a conference. I got to the hotel, obviously a Hilton, and was delighted to find the world's most flattering mirror in my room. I took that as a sign to take A LOT of selfies. (Note that "a lot" still has a space in between the a and the l, even when it's capitalized. It is my biggest Instagram pet peeve and apparently every fitness-related account can't be bothered to learn that ALOT is not a fucking word.)

Anyway, I went for a quick run around the mall parking lot on Thursday morning before the sessions started. Basically, I just wanted to get Starbucks so I took the longest possible route to get to the location that was directly next to the hotel. It was a little cold so I wore a long-sleeved shirt.

Since the mirror was just chilling out there on the closet door every time I walked near the bathroom, I felt compelled to document what I looked like post-run.

Not Getting Kidnapped in Alexandria, VA

A couple of weeks ago, I had to fly into DC for a conference in Alexandria. It conflicted with a work retreat, so I ended up being there for less than 24 hours and only attended the opening session. Serious waste of time and money, but I did enjoy a nice run.

I wake up in Hiltons ALL of the time. The rooms pretty much look alike, and the ones from the same chain are usually identical. They only vary in size based on the location. New York hotel rooms are usually tiny. Houston hotel rooms are usually big enough to have guests over for handstand practice.

I like to look for potential running routes on MapMyRun when I'm in a new place. Then I compare the route to Google maps to make sure I understand where I'm heading. I had a general idea of where I wanted to go and set out from the hotel.

I wasn't sure about all of the green space I saw on the map, but I figured I'd find something nice and I did. I made a random right and found the entrance to the Dora Kelley Nature Park.

September 2016 Goals

Pure Barre Goal: Zero, but my colleague from our New Orleans campus is a certified barre3 instruction and she taught a class at our retreat last week. She is a GREAT instructor. I can't say if I like the method because it wasn't a traditional class in a studio. We took over the basketball court and borrowed equipment from the hotel gym. I'm going to make her take me to class with her when I go visit her campus this year.

CrossFit Goal: 115/200 WODs. I dropped in at Reebok CrossFit 5th Ave and PR'd my Fran time! I also did a two-a-day with my best betch Kayte. I am so proud of her and her dedication to CrossFit. She hits the gym twice a day regularly. She let me row with her and then we did clean and jerks and GHD sit-ups and some handstand work. If I could get my life in order and get on top of all of my work, I would definitely train with her more often.

Mileage: I ran 7.6 miles while traveling for work. I did a 5.37 mile run in Alexandria and found a nifty trail. I then did a short 2.26 jog around the golf course with some coworkers while we attended our retreat at the Minerals Springs Spa and Resort in New Jersey.

Life and Wellness Goals: September was freaking stressful. I felt like I was in a bad mood the entire month. But a lot of good things happened in September. We passed our site monitoring visit for our New York State grant, and I was really concerned about that. I got to see some great friends while I was in New York. I had a great conversation with our CEO and finally feel like maybe I'm doing a good job at work. I got to spend two days with my colleagues at the retreat and actually make a few work friends. Working from home is the shit, but you don't get to make friends in the mailroom because you don't have one.

I've been sleeping pretty well, eating pretty okay for the amount of travel I've done recently, and binge drinking a moderate amount. Things could definitely be worse.

Lately, I've been catching myself trying to cut calories or skip meals. While this can deliver results in the short-term, it can really fuck up your metabolism. I've been playing around with my macros to see what I respond to best. I am currently aiming for 135g of protein, 150g of carbohydrates, and 55g of fat a day. This is less fat and more carbs than I'm used to and it's been working pretty well. I feel rich in carbs and that makes me feel good about what I'm eating. If I do a long run on Saturday (which I've done exactly once), I up my carbs to 300g and my fat to 80g. I'm not a doctor and this is not advice. The macros I use won't work for you because they're not based on your size, goals, or activity level. If you want your numbers calculated, I highly recommend Jenna Carelli.

The Best Week in New Jersey Ever

This morning I woke up from a really weird dream where I was at a house party in Princeton, NJ and something really creepy was living in closets filled with water in the basement. While definitely terrifying, it was also a really fun party. Frank was there but he did not want to go in the basement, because he is smart.

My dream got me thinking about the last time I was in New Jersey. I fly up a few times a year to attend meetings with the New Jersey Commission on National and Community Service. Last month's meeting was held at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor and I decided to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hamilton. Dude, I stay in several hotels a month and we know I've got loyalties to Hilton, especially Garden Inns, but this was my favorite hotel to stay in ever. I walked in and it was like Cheers. There's a bunch of regulars who come in each week for work and everybody knows their names and I really really wanted to become a regular too. There is also a mini putt putt course. And party lights in the lobby.

Fran at Reebok CrossFit Fifth Ave

Way back in 2013, I was sleeping with this guy who was really into CrossFit. He routinely asked me how many doubleunders I could do, and the answer was always zero. He was a member at Reebok 5th Ave and he invited me to drop-in with him pretty often. I always said no because I was ashamed that I had gotten so out of shape. I made many poor decisions, including sleeping with him, and ordering a ridiculous amount of Chinese food instead of going to the gym. He told me that if I ever got a 5 minute Fran time, he would publicly declare me superior to him and buy me a tiara. The relationship ended terribly, but it was the catalyst I needed to turn my life around. I signed up for my own CrossFit box and now I have friends and I say nice things to them and let them say nice things to me. I can't even relate to Tilikum anymore.

I was back in New York last week and I got to work out with two of my favorite CrossFit loves, Abby and Svetlana. They now go to Reebok 5th Ave, and ironically the workout of the day was Fran. It's been three years and I have now dropped at 5th Ave and I can easily do 100 unbroken doubleunders. I do not have a 5 minute Fran time yet. I did knock 21 seconds off of my time for 7:09.

I literally couldn't do a handstand the last time I worked out with these ladies.

We finished off the perfect night with spicy margaritas and tacos at Mexique.

It's Football Season!

Yesterday was a fantastic day. I woke up at 5:30 to get ready for a long run with the Chattahoochee River Runners. I just joined this running club and this was my first run. This week's course was in Brookhaven, which is an area of Atlanta that I really like. I met some really lovely people, and I am grateful for Henrik who pushed me and kept me entertained for 10 whole miles. I haven't run 10 miles that fast in a very long time.

For real. Look at these splits.

There's a coffee social after the run and I chatted with some great ladies while enjoying some iced coffee at Starbucks. Then I met up with Kayte for brunch at J. Christopher's. I ate all of the things because long runs mean high carb day. We walked over to the farmer's market and bought some green beans, and then I was off to my rolfing appointment. Yesterday's session focused on my thighs and quadratus lumborum and it was intense. The QL muscle is the deepest abdominal muscle and mine is apparently very tight.

I walked my dogs, spent some time at the pool, and then got ready for the highlight of Labor Day Weekend - the Georgia football game. Sadly I did not have tickets this year, but we went to Highland Tap to watch. Martinis, steaks, and football is truly a winning combination.

August 2016 Goals

Pure Barre Goal: I went to Pure Barre twice this month, which makes 51 classes this year.

CrossFit Goal: 97/200 WODs. I dropped in at CrossFit Hamilton and CrossFit Central LI.

Mileage: I ran 23.5 miles this month. It included a brutal 6.4 miles on the Beltline, the Area 13.1 Half Marathon, and a nice 4 miler through Oyster Bay.

Sunday Morning Run and Friday's Perfect WOD

This morning I woke up refreshed from a solid night's sleep at my parents' house. I decided to go for a short run and was promptly reminded of my abs as I tried to get out of bed. My abs have never hurt while running before but I suppose there's a first for everything.

Drop Ins

Drop ins are my favorite part of traveling for work. I have been so fortunate to meet so many wonderful people across the country because of CrossFit.

I've sat at similar desks in so many hotel rooms over the past 5 years. I have my routines and my hotel loyalties (Hilton Garden Inns are by far my favorite), but sometimes being alone in a hotel room sucks. It's lonely. I was traveling for work for 2 years before I started CrossFit. I used to spend a lot of time in hotel bars.

I don't dread business trips as much. I don't drink as much while on the road. I feel better about the career I have chosen. Traveling for work isn't as glamorous as I once thought it was, but it pays my bills and lets me work from home with my dogs every other day of the year.

Drop ins are an opportunity to see the magic of CrossFit all over again. You walk through a door in an office park or a strip mall or a converted warehouse and it's a little nerve-wracking. You introduce yourself, fill out a waiver, tell the coach your injuries, and look around to see how that box compares to yours. I always get nervous about being late. I like to get the lay of the land and observe the community before the class starts. 

For an hour, you are welcomed into someone else's family and made to feel at home. They share their things with you, they cheer for you. They tell you the good places to grab dinner or the best route back to the highway. If you want to feel special, go be the new kid for a day at a box. Sometimes I get sick of being just another person in an airport or a rental car or a hotel, and it feels really good to be treated as one of the pack but also as someone a little special because I'm only here for the day or the week.

Area 13.1 2016

I ran the Area 13.1 Half Marathon on Saturday. I did this race back in 2014, but it was in November that year. In case you were wondering, the same course in August is a heck of a lot harder.

The Area 13.1 is a night race in Roswell, GA. It's alien-themed. Get it? Like Roswell, New Mexico? 

The race starts and ends at Riverside Park. There's free parking but you have to find it an available spot in one of the three parking lots. I had to pick up my race packet the day of so I arrived pretty early and had an hour to wait. After many trips to the porta-potties, we lined up and got ready to roll.

National Watermelon Day

So National Watermelon Day is apparently a thing. I had no idea until I started seeing it online, but I was already wearing my cute Brady Bands watermelon headband. It went with my flamingo print shorts, but that's another story.

After realizing I didn't run at all (outside of a WOD) for the entire month of July, I knew that I needed to step up my game. And so I set out for a 6 mile run. Only when I was about to go, my Garmin touchscreen froze. I called up Garmin and a real life person named Julian who spoke with an American accent (I have no problem with accents, except when I don't understand a customer service representative and then I lose my shit) answered all of my questions and fixed my problem in less than 10 minutes. That alone should motivate you to buy a Garmin over another brand. They are completely worth the money.

Let's Go Blaine

CrossFit Identity members got a fantastic message last week when we were told that Blaine would be coaching the 5:30 and 6:30 AM classes starting August 1. Blaine is one of my favorite coaches, but he stopped coaching before Eric and Brandon bought CFID. I have missed him telling me to get back on the bar because there's no time to stand around, that I have a butt wink (I think I fixed this), and that I need to push my knees out by my elbows.

The butt wink is the moment at the bottom of a squat when the pelvis begins to rotate backward and slip under the body.
source

So Kayte and I got on #theblainetrain and have gone to the 6:30 AM both mornings. It's actually kind of delightful to start the day with my favorite thing to do. Granted we haven't maxed out a lift yet, but I think I'm going to stick with this on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings.

July 2016 Goals

Life and Wellness Goals: July felt like the longest month. I traveled to Memphis, Chicago, Houston, and Newark within a three week period. My inbox still has 400 emails in it. I feel like I wasted my weekends with too much drinking at the pool and I didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked. Despite some serious work stress and anxiety, I'm feeling pretty good about life.

I listened to both seasons of Serial during my travels. When is Sarah Koenig going to come out with Season 3? For real though, I miss her soothing voice.

Speaking of soothing voices, the highlight of the month was meeting Doug Larson at my box!

My GMAT prep course started again and I'm trying to keep myself organized and on top of the work. I need to do well in the course so that I feel confident taking the exam in October. I wonder if there are podcasts I can listen to for GMAT prep? If you know of any, send them my way por favor.

Pure Barre Goal: I went to Pure Barre twice this month, which makes 49 classes this year.

CrossFit Goal: 79/200 WODs. I dropped in at CrossFit Tupelo on my drive back from Memphis. They just moved into their new space and it's beautiful and air-conditioned. Looking at this, I don't think I am going to hit my goal of 200 WODs.

Mileage: 0. I should probably find some time to run before my half marathon on August 13.

Everything Hurts and I'm Dying

So on Monday, I was calmly minding my own business answering my emails in bed with my dogs. Maintenance comes to my apartment to go about addressing the 6 work orders I submitted on Sunday night, because let's be honest, isn't it better to have your pals come and spend 2 hours fixing stuff that's broken rather than send one-off requests all of the time? I quickly brought the dogs to daycare so they'd stop aggressively informing Kenny he wasn't welcome in our bathroom, and sat down at my desk to handle the project from hell. This is the annual project of telling your straggling AmeriCorps members that if they do not sign their evaluation and complete their exit form immediately, you cannot and will not release their Segal Education Award. This year it's $5,730. For the love of all that is holy people, just slap an electronic signature on your positive evaluation and tell the Corporation for National and Community Service that you do not want them to contact you about anything but that you did serve your 1,700 hours and you want your money. I didn't move from my desk the entire time my maintenance guys (who are seriously awesome by the way) fixed my thermostat and my shower and my light and that screw on the toilet and placed an order for the ice machine parts that I was apparently supposed to have the entire two years I have lived in this apartment. I sent a lot of friendly but slightly menacing emails.

So then maintenance is done and I stand up to go over the work orders with them, and my back starts to spasm. It is effed up. It feels like the time I threw my back out doing touch and go power cleans at 105# when that was a heavy weight for me. That time I ended up doubled over taking muscle relaxers and hydrocodone for a week. The scheduled WOD was max clean and jerk, followed by 30 cal row 15 clean and jerks 30 front squats for time using 70% of daily max for WOD. I rushed to the chiropractor. I was fixing this immediately.

I got adjusted. I came home and put heat on my back. I had to continue sitting at my desk because I had too much ish to do that needed two screens. By CrossFit time, I couldn't walk at all.

I have not done CrossFit since Tuesday, July 19 and I am dying! Things seem better now, but this much physical rest is killing me. Unfortunately I'm not getting much actual rest between the annual project from hell, the fire that was lit by some colleagues overreacting to this annual project (it happens every year - they always sign in the end!), some grant officers who are trying to get me to commit suicide, and my GMAT prep course. Obviously that was scheduled to start back up this past Tuesday.

The next time someone tells you that CrossFit is dangerous, you can tell them your favorite blogger incapacitated herself typing.

Fat Kid Strong Diet

I upped my macros to 145 P 145 C 65 F and told myself I have to eat that as a minimum every day. It's been rather freeing to see those numbers as the baseline and not the limit. I've hopped on the scale a few times but have purposely told myself to ignore the number. I think I look more defined weighing in at 145-148 lbs this week than I did when I hit 140.2. I'm sure it has something to do with water weight.

I've been kidding around that I'm a fat kid diet, but I really just want to get strong again. I returned to CrossFit last fall pretty weak compared to where I had left. I had lost and then gained weight and lost muscle mass. I don't compete in Olympic Weightlifting so it's not like I have to make a weight class. I want to start PRing lifts again.

Sometimes I get down on myself because I see girls at the gym who now move 95# overhead like it's big deal and I used to be stronger than them. I know I need to work on my mobility and fix my right shoulder. I know that I took time off last summer and then went away all fall. But it still frustrates me. I've also felt torn by too many goals that are all over the place, so I decided to simplify things - get as fucking strong as possible.

Guess Who Was in Our Box Today?

I'm at the 9:30 AM class this morning because I'm already on Zonolite for an 8 AM appointment and Brandon is coaching and he's my favorite coach. We've done the warm-up and we're going over the WOD - three attempts at a chipper. You get three minutes, then 5 minutes, then 7 minutes to complete a 500m row or 400m run, 10 burpee box or bench overs, 15 box jumps, 20 wallballs, 25 push-ups, and 30 sit-ups. There's one minute of rest between each attempt. Brandon explains what we need to do and then asks if we have any questions. I raise my hand, nod towards the back of the gym, and ask, "Is that who I think it is?"

Doug Larson of Barbell Shrugged was in our box! I have watched hours of TechniqueWOD. I think about him every time I row (because of TechniqueWOD, not because of my huge crush on him.) It pains me that he's not on the new podcast episodes. I recently started rewatching the old episodes because I missed his voice.

So today, I mustered up my courage, went back to the lifting platforms and told Doug Larson I have had a crush on him for three years. I'm sure I freaked him out a little since I basically stalked him across the gym, but he gave me a hug anyway and agreed to take a picture with me. Brandon joined in too.

photo cred: Anna Marie

The workout was fun but challenging. I made it through 4 box jumps in 3 minutes, 20 wallballs in 5 minutes, and 4 sit-ups in 7 minutes.

There's This Guy

There's this guy at the gym. His hair is longer than mine. His tits are nicer than mine. He's got more tattoos than I do. Not to mention he's faster than I am, AND he was doing muscle ups at his first day of on-ramp. He's also a lawyer and happily married. I hate him.

I actually don't hate him at all. He's awesome. But a few years ago, I would have definitely hated him because I was insecure in my own self-worth and accomplishments. I have the power to change the way that I look, and I'm working on being happy with how I look today while always striving to look better. I can work to be stronger and faster, which I am (hashtag all the gains.) I love my own job and I am really grateful for the strange career path I found myself on because it lead me to where I am now. And relationships take work. I'm dating someone who loves me and puts up with my shenanigans and my dogs and my CrossFit addiction and the fact that I am frequently out of state. I've learned a lot since my last relationship. The end goal is not marriage and you don't put up with bullshit because you're so close to "happily ever after" in that house you've always wanted.

And so friends, be thankful today because you are enough just the way you are. Get some goals. Go after those goals. But don't let yourself or anyone else eat away at your confidence and make you feel like you'd be better or more lovable if you weighed less, lifted more, made more money, or did whatever else differently. Someone once told me that the thing he loved most about me was that I made him feel perfect just the way he is. I was like wow, I have never felt that way, especially not from you. So obviously that relationship did not work out, but it also showed me that I don't need someone else to make me feel that way about myself because I can make myself feel that way.

And it's deadlift day so let's rejoice.