31.7.12

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts

I've been getting really frustrated lately with CrossFit. It's not CrossFit's fault. I've been doing it for three years and while my body weight movements have gotten so much better this past year, my lifting has remained the same. It's frustrating. After not being able to clean what I should be able to clean yesterday, I was in a pissy mood and started thinking about how I could possibly make progress.

As an athlete, I wish I could start over. Learn all the movements for the first time so I can stop these habits I've formed. Clear all of my old PRs and start logging new ones. I know I'm hard on myself. I know that I don't have an athletic background and my eating habits are terrible. I know I get frustrated easily. So what do I do?

As with many areas in life, I need to have an open mind and an open heart. I need to pay attention. I need to listen. I can't unlearn what I already know, but I have to make sure that I'm not tuning out or else I could miss something important. You can't make progress unless you're open to it.

18.7.12

More of my Writing

Mainly for my reference, here are some more articles I've written that were published on the CrossFit Games site.


Holding Nothing Back: Austin Stack
For the Fun of It: Samantha Petersen
Focused on the Task: Ruth Anderson Horrell
Australia's Fittest Woman: Kara Gordon


For some reason, this one didn't stay up too long,  but we managed to get a screen shot before they took it down. Phew!
Excellent Journalism Right Here!

12.7.12

Gratitude

This week marks my three year CrossFit anniversary. I've been thinking about it a lot. It's different this year. It's not about me at all.


I've been coaching more over the past two weeks. I'm subbing for different people and meeting different athletes who go to different times. There's one constant in their stories, whether they've been coming for a year or a month or a day. They notice right away that it's different. And it has something to do with what I've posted before:


"I saw an Oprah once where she talked about happiness and how to find it and have it in your life. I've also been pretty forward about my depression here. Anything helps. But one things she said you can do is at least once a month (or week?), go to a  place outside of home or work where people expect you to show up - a club, a group, a common interest. Some people have church. Some people have potlucks. Some people have knitting circles. I moved out to Eugene 4 years ago. I'm not the most outgoing person in the world. It's hard to make friends as an adult. And I don't have family here. So what I appreciate most about Crossfit is the awesome people I work out with every day. I was going to single out a few, but then I thought of a few more, so you know who you are ;) I love my Crossfit friends!"


I posted that a year ago. At this time last year, I really didn't know what my life would look like in the upcoming weeks and months. While it's not perfect and Lord knows I have a lot to work on, I'm a lot happier than I thought I'd be.


This year, my CrossFit anniversary is about gratitude. I'm grateful for the friendships I've developed through this community. I'm grateful to work with people who are just discovering CrossFit, so it's always new to me. I'm grateful for the ability to make a lot of my living in this community (both through coaching and this year, through writing). I'm grateful for what CrossFit has done for me emotionally and physically. 


I'd love to post a picture of me lifting heavy shit to show how strong I am or doing pull-ups like a bad ass. Whatevs. This one reflects how CrossFit really makes me feel.