August 2017 Goals

Hi friends! I'm back! I've found it pretty difficult to blog all summer. I've been struggling, and sometimes I hesitate to write about it because it feels like I'm airy dirty laundry. Work has been hard. I got an awesome promotion that recognized the hard work that I have been doing, including the additional responsibilities I've taken on since a colleague left in June 2016. But more money and a new title didn't add any hours to my week. I try to keep things in perspective but I broke down and cried on Tuesday. My team is so understaffed and my right-hand woman works remotely from Houston. Her house is destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. I am so thankful that she and her family are safe, but she's offline for the foreseeable future. That's 25 hours of work a week that's back on me. I'm trying to get temps in but that's a whole extra level of stress when I work remotely from Atlanta and the temp agency is in New York.

The travel is killing my personal budget because I'm spending so much money on dog boarding. I don't want to go anywhere for personal travel when I rarely get to enjoy a day off in Atlanta. That being said, I just got back from some trips that were pretty great. I had a really great birthday in Charleston. My Mikes planned me the best weekend where we ate all the food and drank all of the rosé. I got to see the eclipse in totality and a special someone threw me the best space themed birthday party.

Eclipse Margarita

February 2017 Goals

Fitness and Nutrition

CrossFit Goal: 32/200 WODs. I went to CrossFit 13 times this month, which I find impressive because I was gone so many days. I dropped in at CrossFit Downtown Atlanta, CrossFit Cool Springs in Tennessee, and CrossFit Central in Austin.

The all-ladies morning class at CrossFit Central.

Not CrossFit: I went to Pure Barre once with my mom, which I always enjoy. I went to Bikram in Roslyn with my friend Keith, and I went while I was in Houston. Bikram Yoga Meyerland Plaza was really nice. I really want to add Bikram to my regular schedule, but I want to take advantage of this 30 day unlimited deal and I can't decide on the best date to start.

Macro Tracking: I loosely tracked every weekend but I wouldn't say I fully captured my days or hit my numbers. I'm a little fluffier than I would like to be but at least I've put something into My Fitness Pal.

Water: I've been really shitty at tracking my water intake. I'm going to say I failed this goal this month.

Happiness

Church: I went twice this month and hit my goal. Woot woot!

Call a Friend: Even better than calling a friend, my best pal Kristen was in Atlanta for work and she met me for drinks at Ladybird. It was so wonderful being able to spend time with her in person. She was just happy she got to see where the Real Housewives of Atlanta live.

CrossFit Open 17.1

The Open is here! It's the magical time of the year when the community comes together for 5 weeks of anxiety, PRs, vomiting, and a general hate for Dave Castro. I am so fucking excited.

All I want is an Open season where I don't have to travel for work at all. Unfortunately February/March tends to be my busy travel season. I thought I had planned my travel perfectly so that I would fly back every Thursday night in time for Friday Night Lights, but God laughs at our perfectly made plans. Last week I was in Houston and found out that I would need to fly to Iowa on Thursday to attend my grandmother's funeral on Friday. I'm sad. She was a fantastic lady, and I will miss her very much. My poor boyfriend has bore the brunt of my sadness and associated nastiness because I'm a jerk who can't let people be nice to me. And because I am neurotic as all hell, I decided to become obsessed with pinning down exactly when and where I would do the 17.1 workout since I'd be freezing my ass off in Iowa while all my friends were at CrossFit Identity's Friday Night Lights.

All the fretting was senseless because I went with the boyfriend to CrossFit Downtown Atlanta on Sunday morning and everything was great. Coach Michael got us all set up. Coach Brian was my judge. The boyfriend and I got to compete at the same time, which meant I wasn't available to judge him or cheer for him and he didn't have to throw a 50# dumbbell at my head. (We actually really like each other. I promise.) All great things.

Coach Brian and me post-WOD

Twenty-Four Hours in Tennessee

I had to drive to Tennessee on Sunday evening for a meeting yesterday. I left at 5:30 PM Eastern and arrived at 9 PM Central. I then left the following day at 4:30 PM Central and arrived at 10 PM Eastern. That means I drove on I-24 in the pitch black dark both nights. It was terrifying. My hands were shaking, my stomach was in my throat, and I was close to tears.

But the trip wasn't an entire bust. I got to see my Volunteer Tennessee and fellow program manager friends. I listened to Barbell Shrugged. I went to an all you can eat Chinese buffet and ate as much as I could. I enjoyed some scattered, covered, and chunked hash browns at Waffle House. And I kicked ass during my drop in at CrossFit Cool Springs.

First off, I'm a big fan of their logo. I am an even bigger fan of all the people I met. Everyone made me feel very welcomed and included. And I accidentally left my old temporary paper license on the ground (I guess it had been living in my gym bag all these months?), and Coach James sent me a text message to let me know within minutes of me leaving.

We had two metcons, and I was pretty decent at both. 

Metcon 1

13 minute clock

800 m run

75 wallballs (kill me)

AMRAP squat cleans (95/65) for the remaining time

I got 35 and those squat cleans hurt after all of those wallballs.

Metcon 2

200 doubleunders

30 KBS

100 doubleunders

30 KBS

50 doubleunders

I finished in 6:33 and felt like a rockstar.

This was plate 1 of 3 at China Buffet in Kimball, TN. It's exit 152B off of I-24. I had just listened to Obese to Beast aka John David Glaude on Barbell Shrugged for the past hour and he talked about his inspiring journey from 360 lbs of fat kid to CrossFitter and physique competitor. He briefly mentioned Panda Express at the beginning of the interview and obviously Chinese food was my primary takeaway.

I saw this Instagram post on Sunday afternoon so I obviously reposted it and then had Waffle House on my mind. But for real, I love Waffle House. One of my favorite things about living in the South.

There's a Waffle House at practically every highway exit but I chose to dine at the lovely establishment in Cartersville. The fine folks were so nice to me. It was clear that I was exhausted, cranky, and starving. I left full, mildly less bitchy, and thankful for my to-go Diet Coke.

And this is me when I arrived home. It was too late to pick up my dogs, the guy I have been seeing had agreed to substitute teach the next morning (?!) and so he was already asleep, and it was just me at home terrified of home invaders. I'm definitely staying an extra night the next time I have a 3 hour meeting.

Weight Loss Wednesday 1.18.17

The Fat Loss Accelerator program has been a bit more challenging than I expected. Princess doesn't handle low fat very well. Katiesfitscript, one of my favorite bloggers, has written about how some of her clients do better when she increases their macros because it gets them to stop binging on the weekends. Dude, I made it until Thursday night before I was like fuck this noise, and went to Hacienda for fajitas and margaritas. That guy I've been seeing came home the next morning and I used that as an excuse to keep drinking and eating whatever I wanted... which was apparently lots of dumplings and dan dan noodles. I committed to (and paid for) this program, so I'm getting my ass back on the wagon, but I don't think these are sustainable numbers for me. I mean it's a four week program for a reason, right?

1/18/17 at 143.2

Despite my love for tequila, pinot grigio, and meat wrapped in dough, I otherwise ate pretty well (did I mention that this guy cooks a lot better than I do?) and I got a bunch of workouts in. I went to two different CrossFits on Saturday, made it to Pure Barre on Sunday, and went to CrossFit on Monday and Tuesday.

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.

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.

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.

CrossFit and Fearless

I was in Austin last week for the Texas AmeriCorps conference. The conference was informative, the people were pretty great, AND I got to see my bestest friend Jesse, her fantastic fiance Dave, and the star of their family, Rue the mini Aussie!

No business trip is complete without a drop in. Fortunately CrossFit and Fearless was a mile down the road. I dropped in on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. The first night I took an Uber because I wasn't sure where it was and I signed up for the 6:30 PM class. Like many boxes, CrossFit and Fearless is in an industrial park but it was also super close to some apartments. I imagine it's a convenient location. On Wednesday I mentioned that I was going to CrossFit during a break in the conference and it turned out that Jennifer also CrossFits AND she has dropped in at CFHK since she moved to New York from Sydney.

I happen to like the Pukie mural but apparently it's controversial.

I loved training at CrossFit and Fearless. I partnered with Madison both days for strength. She really pushed me and I ended up PRing my push press by 5 lbs. Hello 100! I also hadn't hit 95# since 2014 and before my shoulder and lats started bothering me, so this is a big accomplishment. We had back squats the next day. Madison hit her 1RM (215#) for 2! I was able to get 185# for 1. It's been a long time since I hit a 185# back squat. I was psyched.

New York

So I started this post in December when I started my new job and then I promptly forgot about it until now. 

photo courtesy of CrossFit Hell's Kitchen

Last Monday I started my new job as the Manager of AmeriCorps Residency Programs at Relay Graduate School of Education. I am so very excited to take on this work because I am passionate about AmeriCorps, and I know that this is the way that I can have a positive impact on education. I just also really enjoy managing AmeriCorps programs - everything from service events to making sure we're in compliance.

Relay has campuses across the United States, but the home office is in New York. I feel really fortunate that they found me such a strong candidate for the role that I get to work remotely with regular travel to New York. I flew up Monday morning (after driving back from Tampa on Sunday, ugh) and stayed through Friday. I got to drop in at CrossFit Hell's Kitchen for a debilitating workout - 50 front squats at 50% back squat 1 RM, followed by 5 rounds of 20 wallballs, 10 hang snatches, and 10 chest to bar pull-ups. I was walking funny all week. 

As thrilled as I always am to make it to CFHK, I was nervous to come back to New York.

I was nervous that I'd come back to New York and use my new job as an excuse to move back. I was pretty sure I really loved living in Atlanta, but it's hard moving somewhere, making all new friends, being hundreds of miles away from your nearest family member, and leaving the only company you've ever really worked for. When I came up in December, I kind of entertained the idea of moving back to NYC, getting to go to CFHK all the time, and seeing my parents every other weekend because I am a helicopter child. And then I snapped out of it. I dislike New York. Frank hates Manhattan. We'd end up living at my parents' house and I'd have to change the title of my memoir to Alone with Dogs. (Type alone with cats in the search bar at the top of my blog.)

Beltway CrossFit

Greetings from Houston! Yesterday I cancelled my early morning Pure Barre class to spend some quality time with my two favorite guys - Frank and the boyfriend. I knew I needed to get to the airport a little earlier than usual because of the impending snowmageddon inch of snow and that attending a noon class anywhere in Atlanta was really pushing my luck. No worries, because a simple Google search told me that Beltway CrossFit is located right down the road of Bush International Airport.

I always like to call ahead before I drop-in. I spoke with Coach Michael Gager, who told me that I could show up to either the 5:30 or 6:30 PM WOD. I landed early but had a bit of a delay at the rental car desk because the lady in front of me was trying to use a false address. I ended up arriving at the box at like 5:32 PM but Coach Aron Anderson was awesome and let me get changed and join a little late. Unfortunately I missed the tire flip warm-up.

Beltway CrossFit does chipper WODs on Fridays. I really like chippers because I find them mentally less challenging - I've got a goal to do, I just need to get to the next movement, and I don't have to keep track of rounds.

WOD

1 Mile Run

6 Gymnastic Combos (1 Rope Climb + 10 Strict Push-ups)

80 Alternating DB Snatches (60/40lb)

***Each exercise must be completed before moving to the next!

*3 short dead climbs will equal 1 tall climb

*Must alternate arms on the db snatches.

source

I used the one mile run as my warm up. I made sure to stand right behind the run leader because I wasn't really sure how they measure a mile even though Coach explained it about 6 times. It felt good to loosen up after my flight.

CrossFit Identity had rope climbs and handstand push-ups on Tuesday. I think I switched from the J wrap to the S wrap sometime last year and now my left ankle has some sweet permanent rope bruises. It's not a burn as much as tender mark from pressing the damn rope into my leg. I could definitely feel Tuesday's rope climbs the minute I got up on the rope. We climbed to the 15 foot mark. The push-ups were regular push-ups. I thought maybe they were HSPU when I saw strict, but they were not.

I used 25# for the dumbbell snatches. I probably could have used 30#, but I hadn't done any dumbbell snatches in a minute and wasn't sure how low to scale. My time was 23:08.

This was the best group I have ever dropped in with and I had such a great time. The class was really supportive of each other and included me right away. Roger and I shared a rope for the climbs and he cheered me on for every rep. As people called time, they turned to the person next to them to cheer them on. Chris Rx'd the WOD and was fighting to get through 24 more reps at 60#. We gathered to help motivate him and I kept count. I fucking hate trying to keep count when I am fighting through the pain cave so I try to make myself useful and count for others when they're in that situation. I was really impressed by Chris' drive to knock out those reps.

I enjoyed myself so much that I hung out for 45 minutes after class. Chris was giving me some tips for chest to bar pull-ups. I'm excited to work on them with a wider grip and see if I can finally get one. A group of us discussed our respective diets and I shared my new found love of macro-counting and flexible dieting. I encouraged everyone to sign up for the Open. Beltway CrossFit was a great time and only $15 to drop in. You can also buy a $25 shirt instead.

Thanksgiving Fitness

My sister lives in Dallas and my aunt lives in Plano, so the family trooped off to Texas for Thanksgiving this year. Frank was a little miffed that he wasn't invited until he found out he got to spend the long weekend with his trainer Jennifer. Frank now has his own Instagram account, be tee dubs.

I arrived at DFW on Wednesday and headed back out Sunday. I made it to three different gyms in between.

My aunt lives super close to Flywheel Plano so on Thanksgiving morning I agreed to help my cousin push one of his Mustangs into the garage if he'd drive me to Flywheel in the other. His other car is a white Shelby Cobra and it's beautiful and makes a ridiculous amount of noise and I love it.

River North CrossFit and HeritageBBQ Chicago

I flew to Chicago last Wednesday for stop 3 on the HeritageBBQ by COCHON555 tour. (Fun fact, we're supposed to write Cochon555 when it's found in the middle of a sentence, but I think it looks better always capitalized and since this is my blog, I'm going to be a rebel and do what I want.) I overslept and had to take a later flight, but it worked out for the best because I got on the same flight with two of my coworkers. We had so much luggage because we had to bring a bunch of stuff from Toronto and it really helped to have all three of us. We landed at ORD and then took a shuttle to the rental car place. I was able to put my functional fitness to use by throwing a 79# bag of pop-up banners on my back and dragging it to the shuttle stop. The driver made some cute comment about how I must workout and then tried to take the bag from me. His tone changed after that.

By the grace of God, my schedule permitted me to drop in at River North CrossFit for the 8 AM class on Friday. I felt like such shit from San Francisco and Toronto - exhausted, hungry, bloated, dehydrated, and just plain frustrated. Getting an hour to myself to do what I love made all the difference. My only complaint about tour is not really having the space to recharge - both in time and physical space.

CrossFit Golden Gate and the Start of the HeritageBBQ Tour

This past month has been a whirlwind. I left Atlanta on September 11 for the first stop of Cochon555's HeritageBBQ tour in San Francisco. Our event was held at Magnolia Brewing in Dogpatch and the light of my life Colton came to help us sell merchandise. 

I fucking love this kid.

We had incredible dinners at The Battery, Dirty Habit, and at our own event. By Tuesday I was dying to do a WOD and was able to drop in at CrossFit Golden Gate for the noon class before my redeye to Toronto for stop two.

My Trip to Orlando and SUBU CrossFit

I was in Orlando all of last week running logistics and ops for a work event. Every region welcomes its teachers at some point during the summer at an induction welcome week and I got to help out with Orlando's. It's long, it's tiring, but I really enjoy it. I only wish I still got paid hourly. Womp womp.

This was not my first rodeo and I knew that I wouldn't have a lot of time to workout, but I did get in a run and a drop in.

I volunteered to take any interested new teachers on a group run on Tuesday morning. The route I mapped out was only 3.27 miles but we missed a turn and got a 4.64 mile run instead.

CrossFit Dix Hills with Coach Chad

When I was in New York a week ago, I had the awesome opportunity to drop in at CrossFit Dix Hills. Coach Chad, formerly of CrossFit Central LI, and one of my absolute favorite coaches ever - CrossFit or otherwise, is head coach there. CrossFit Dix Hills opened earlier this year.

Their 3,200 sq. ft. facility is conveniently located on Jericho Turnpike in Dix Hills, NY. As convenient as that is for a Long Islander commuting home from work, it is not convenient for someone who is visiting her parents' in Oyster Bay. The trip was entirely worth it.

CrossFit Mean Streets

Continuing my LA box tour, this morning my friends Jhon and Raiza accompanied me to CrossFit Mean Streets of Downtown Los Angeles. Jhon had gone the day before while I was hungover in my hotel bed praying for a swift and sudden death and he had on the t-shirt to prove it. It was nice that he could lead the way to the box since my brain doesn't always function at 5:30 in the morning.