Do Better

It doesn’t get any easier.

You wouldn’t want it to either.

-Greg Glassman

Image stolen from the internets :)

I also wish I looked like this in my short shorts. I do not.

This weekend, I'm going to get my CrossFit Level One Certification in Portland. I've wanted to do this for a long time. When I saw it posted a couple months ago, I figured I'd never really be able to afford it anyway, so I might as well do it now. There's always an excuse not to, so I signed up. I like teaching. I teach writing and sometimes it's amazing. I love CrossFit, so I figure why not teach that, too? I'm also looking forward to spending a weekend immersed in it. I could use a refresher at this point.

I've not been the best CrossFitter lately. I show up; my attendance is spectacular! I do the workouts. But that's all. I don't think a 20 second PR on Helen is anything to get too excited about, especially when my pull-ups are horrible. Just horrible! I did PR on Fight Gone Bad last week, but I also had about 5 people yelling at me the whole time. I also set a PR on Grace, but I still haven't tried to RX it. 

It doesn't get easier. I really want to get stronger. I want to get faster. I also still want to have my wine and ice cream. So what has to give? I haven't had a period of gains in a long time - really since the spring. The cert is coming at a good time. I know how to reign in my eating. I've done that and I know I can do it if I want to. Even last night I could have picked up some take out after a late WOD, but I didn't. I made my own food. So what do I need to do to improve?

• Work on Mobility. Ugh! My shoulders are so tight lately. So tight. If they felt like real shoulders again, I might be able to kip better, or get under the bar better, or be more active overhead. We depend on our shoulders for so much!
• Hold on to the bar! My hands keep ripping when I do too many pull-ups. My grip is seriously limiting my workouts. I need to sand my hands and toughen up. And I need to practice my pull-ups. I can only seem to do 5 in a row at this point, and that really isn't going to get me anywhere.
• Clean heavier! I like to think I'm good at cleans, but I've been stuck on the same weight since April. I can finally lift 110, but once I knock it up to 115, my mind is out of it. I should be able to do 125. I can do do 125. It's all mental at this point. 

So that's enough to work on. Basically, I need to snap out of it. I'm stuck and I need to do better. That is all.

The Really Brutal Week

Fight Gone Bad - Yes! Now this is Crossfit! I was really looking forward to this one. I had no idea how I would do, but I wanted to do it. I ended up with a lot more reps than I thought, which made me wonder if I should have gone the next level up. At the end of the first round, the wall ball kind of hit me in the face coming down and during the second round, I was wondering if I was bleeding in my mouth. It certainly tasted like blood. I was surprised that I even did the third round because I thought I was going to pass out or throw up blood. But I didn't. I was still worried coming home that something was wrong, and that maybe my asthma that I've had in the past was kicking in again. I was still worried going to bed that night, because something just didn't feel right. But I think it was fine. I was OK the next day. I even made it back in the next day. The next day was another incredibly frustrating day. We did snatches, which I apparently can't do. In my first attempt, I fell backwards. I know it happens. I know. But it was still embarrassing. I practiced my back squats, which I could barely do. I just don't have the strength in my abs yet and I try to pull it all together and sometimes it just doesn't work. It's OK to have days like that because then where's the challenge. Your goat is something that is really difficult for you and that you need to work on. Sometimes I feel like I have a whole farm of goats. Wednesday marked the start of another ecrossfit challenge - Helen! Seriously? Right after Fight Gone Bad. Sure. Running, Kettlebell swings, and pull-ups. I totally would have rocked it out if my mental block would allow me to get through my pull-ups. Sometimes I just hang there, swearing, knowing that I have to finish it and that I can finish it. Those damn pull-ups! Thursday was a great night teaching. Really fun class. They're good people. Saturday morning we went to Hayward Field. I'm not good at trying new things, except food. I like trying new food. But I'm not good at trying new things like shot put. It was hard not to throw it like a baseball, because that's the only way I've thrown anything. Anyway, here it goes: Not so good at throwing things. Should try throwing goats. Maybe that would work. After throwing things, we went to the stands where we jumped up the bleachers and ran up them. Fun! Really! The jumping was like box jumps. Another total mental block. As much as I actually like box jumps, I was totally blocked. I made it about halfway up. A few days later I noticed a giant bruise on my left calf, which means I must have missed one of the bleachers. I was going to take a picture, but I'll spare you the gory details. After running and jumping up and down the stands, we did sprints. My shins were starting to trouble me again. Grr. Frustrating. It's all frustrating, but it's all good. It's all good. But all was rewarded when I went shopping for jeans on Saturday. The first pair that I tried on fit. I actually texted my sister and best friend from the dressing room. That's reason to celebrate.