5 Reasons We Probably Suck

First of all, I'd like to take a second before I get to the heart of this post to let you know how much I appreciate all of you.  The loss of my uncle was a blow to my family and words cannot express how much all of your kind words, thoughts, texts, phone calls and messages meant to me in the past week.  I couldn't ask to be surrounded by better people.  

Now.....onto it.

I was recently reading a blog I have grown to love and found a post written by a coach who talked about all of the things people do in his gym that piss him off.  It was pretty humorous and got me thinking....what do we do on a daily basis that probably drives Sam to drink?  There were some items in the list I was reading that I know I've done and I thought I'd take a moment to include them here.  Sam, let me know if I'm close....

Top 5 Reasons We Probably Suck

1. Asking how to perform an exercise before Sam has a chance to even explain the WOD.  Ummm...yeah I've done that.  Not often but I know I have and you know you have to.  Has Sam ever let us just go off and start a WOD without instruction on what to do? No...so we should probably quit asking.

2.  Interrupting another class.  Now I know that I have come into the gym for the 6pm class and observed the 5:00 warriors working through their WOD.  I try to do my best to not get in the way or do anything to interrupt but who knows...maybe I have.  I can imagine that it would be super annoying to Sam if someone came in and got in the way of the earlier class so that they could stretch or work on a skill or talk.  I know we're a community but for fucks sake......wait your turn.  The blog also talked about athletes who walked in during a class and asked their coach questions about the WOD.  I can't imagine anyone doing that and if you have....don't do it again! I think the penalty for this crime should be a C-punch. 

3.  Getting in the way.  This kinda goes with number two but I know I have been in the middle of a WOD and had people come in for the next class and start working on stuff right in my way. This has generally happened when I'm working out in the other room but it's happened (not naming names).  However, to be fair I also know that I've been an offender of the post-WOD stretch during the next class' warmup.  I don't know why I don't move to the other room.  The only thing that I can come up with is that I am so destroyed from the WOD that I forget where I am and temporarily lose my mind.  You'd think the stampeding sound of people running and squatting around me would bring me back to reality but sometimes I'm just an idiot.  I'm sorry Sam.  **Hangs my head in shame.**

4. Bumper plates. We love bumper plates.  I love them because I think I'm a badass when I can drop my heavy bar on the ground after a tough set.  The fact is, however, that we have a limited number of bumpers and we don't need to use them for everything.  I know.....it's crazy but true.  There is no strategic advantage to using bumpers.  We can't lift more weight with bumpers.  As much as I would like to believe it, there is no magic bumper fairy that helps us lift the bar.  I bet if they made a 2.5lb bumper plate, we'd think it was necessary to use it.  There are certain lifts that we absolutely need to use bumpers.  Cleans, snatches, jerks and push presses are where bumpers are necessary.  Deadlifts, squats and bench presses....not so much.  I sometimes forget that there are lots and lots of metal plates next door just itching to be strapped onto our bar.  And, when we deadlift with the metal I think we kinda look more badass because it makes loud noises.  Yup - I like loud noises.  So let's not freak out if we run out of 25 or 45 lb bumpers.  We need to use our noggins and grab the metal or else Sam may go postal on us.

5.  Freaking out over limited equipment.  I KNOW for a fact that many of us do this.  Because of the current size of our box, we don't have a ton of equipment.  When our WOD calls for ring work, I have heard people panic over the fact that we don't have enough to go around.  CrossFit is all about working with what you have and being inventive.  So there's 8 of us and 3 sets of rings?  Oh shit, I guess 5 of us will just have to go home since we don't have enough rings to go around.  Fuck you...see you later!  Uhhhh...no people.  Just think outside the box. We can stagger, start at different areas, or go in heats.  Why is this so hard for such badasses like us?  Do we panic so much over how much pain Sam is going to put us through that such elementary concepts leave our brain?  I think that must be the only explanation.

Don't get offended if you've done any of these things. As I've mentioned, I've done them too. I just wonder what Sam would think of this...yes Sam, I expect a response to this blog.  I heard Sam mention that he ran into one of the owners at 8th Day a few weeks ago and he mentioned that he had taught his first class in months.  Then I thought of our coach....Sam coaches us a minimum of 15 classes a week and that doesn't even include his other clients at his other gyms.  He gives a lot of his time to us and I think the least we can do is stop committing these horrible crimes of stupidity.  Remember - he alone holds the power to program WODs like Murph or, worse yet, workouts including wall balls and seated box jumps.  Let's not piss him off........I may not know from personal experience but I would guess that walls balls are worse than a C-punch any day.

Stop Being A Whiney Bitch

Saturday I went to CFGR for our bi-weekly group WOD.  These are generally pretty fun.  We team up (duh, "group" WOD) and tackle a workout which usually has us breaking a sweat but allows for some good ol' fashion teamwork mixed with a slight helping of competition.  I love Saturday WODS because, to me, it's generally an easier workout than we get during the week, focusing on basics like pushups and situps.  Sometimes, it's even followed by group breakfast.....except, well, lately.  Anyway, this Saturday's WOD was as follows:

100-80-60-40-20

Wall balls
Box jumps
Kettle Bell Swings

Now that's a fuckload of reps but when nine people showed up and I started mentally dividing us into groups of 3 and it didn't seem so bad.  Let's do this!

Except......Sam told us we weren't doing it in groups of 3.  Nope....we paired off.  Like, in two.  Now you may look at that workout and think it doesn't sound so bad in pairs.  Well fuck off....it was.  YOU try doing doing 300 reps of walls balls, box jumps, and kettle bell swings in groups of 2 without a break and then tell me how you feel.

Ok, so at this point you're likely wondering why I titled this blog "Stop Being A Whiney Bitch."  It's because I admit that sometimes I can be a whiney bitch.  I have a horrible little habit of telling Sam "I can't."  I can't do double unders.  I can't do ring dips. I can't I can't I can't.  The number one culprit?? Box jumps.

                                    I hate this unassuming motherfucking piece of wood

Ladies and gentleman...meet my nemesis.  Box jumps require the most basic of skill.  You stand. You jump. You land.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Except.......no.  It doesn't work like that for me.  I stand.  I look. I step backward. I look again. I tilt my head to the side as if the box is composed of some formula requiring the use of quantum physics and fucking unicorn dust to solve.  I step up again. I take a deep breath. I attempt to jump. I stop midway through. I hit the wall. I swear because my hand hurts.  I kick the box. I swear because my foot hurts. I try again.  I have another brain block. I look at Sam. He looks at me.  I attempt to walk out of the gym. He points to the pussy box.  I jump on it and get pissed that I have to modify such a stupid simple exercise.  And, voila, I become a whiney bitch.

For one year, I have whined because of that hunk of wood.  I can jump it, then I can't jump it.  I can jump it during warmup, then I can't during the WOD.  It's more frustrating than not being able to do a muscle up (what??? Muscle up??? Yeah I'll focus on those in like...three years).  It's frustrating because I know that I don't lack the technical ability or strength to do it.  It's all mental.  It's mind over matter, brain over body.  It's turning off your head and just doing it.  And I struggle. And I whine.  And that's just not an attractive trait. But I do it anyway. See what box jumps do to me???

As some of you may know, I'm stubborn as a mule.  I am harder on myself than any one of you could ever be.  I hate looking stupid or weak or unable to do something.  This is my biggest struggle with CrossFit.  I can't get over my inability to just accept my shortcomings. I want to be good at everything. I want to do the WOD the fastest, lift the most weight,  finish first.  When that doesn't happen, I get pissed and think that everyone is looking at me or judging me.  Sad fact - I need to get over myself because no one gives a fuck what I'm doing.  They are too busy worrying about what THEY are doing.  

Wait, what? I'm not????

So back to Saturday.  Box jumps.  Michele v. The Big Girl Box.  I started the WOD. I jumped. I landed. I jumped again. I landed.  I turned off my brain. I landed.  Rep after rep after rep. I jumped, I landed.  Once, during the 40 round, I missed.  I took a step back.  I looked at Amanda. I closed my eyes and I jumped again.  And I landed.  By the end of the WOD I did nearly 150 box jumps without once modifying or whining or saying "I can't."  I just did.  And I learned that every time you're a whiney bitch, you will inevitably have to eat your words because you will.  And then you just look like an ass.   This has happened with almost every exercise that I have told Sam I would never be able to do.  And I really hate when Sam is right.

So I'm going to stop being a whiney bitch because as long as I keep coming to class, I know that the things that I struggle with will always become easier.  And then Sam will be right and I will be wrong and frankly, that just should never happen, like, ever.

What's So Great About YOUR Box, Huh?

I've been thinking a lot about what makes someone choose a box.  Yes, a CrossFit gym is called a box and yes, you are a douche for thinking otherwise (and yes, I'm referring to the same douche who couldn't handle the conversation about the snatch in my previous post).  Anyhoo....so why does someone choose a particular box and what makes them stay?

A little research on the history of CrossFit will tell you that before we had commercials and Reebok sponsorships and nationally televised games, CrossFit was like the underground after-hours club of fitness.  It was done in garages and warehouses and basements.  Now, with CrossFit exploding from something like 500 boxes a few years ago to 4,000 boxes today (I guarantee you're chuckling right now, Sam.......grow up) people have more of a choice on where they want to work out and I can't help but wonder what makes someone choose one over another.

When I decided I wanted to start CrossFit, I did a quick Google search and CFGR was the first box I found.  I emailed them that evening, set up my beginners class, and never looked back.  Bing, bang, boom. Done and done. I don't fuck around.  Though CFGR was actually the first CrossFit affiliate in GR, it went into a small hiatus for a few years and had a grand re-opening last October. I started a week or so after it opened and back then, there were days when I was the only one in class. For awhile, I was the only girl and then slowly, one by one, people started showing up. Some came and went, and some have stuck around. Some come once or twice a week and some are there nearly everyday. Some I rarely see unless I sneak out of work for  a lunch class and some I will likely never see because I avoid the 6am classes if at all possible.

I'll admit - CFGR isn't the prettiest box. Ha....even I had to laugh at that one.  Anyway, it's not.  It's literally in a steel factory.  When we needed more room, we broke into a wall and expanded into the next door room which, no joke, has wood panels.  70's porn anyone????....bow chicka bow wow.  There are no showers and we share bathrooms with the factory workers.  They're scary.  Sometimes we have to modify our wods so that people start at different points if we have a big class and not enough equipment to go around.  As Whitney likes to say, some of our weights were dropped off from the factory and look like they were survivors of the Titanic.  We have one rower. We make our own wall balls and sleds.  So why do I still go here, you ask? Because why would I not?

CrossFit is not about cute colored kettle bells and fancy equipment.  Would that be nice? Hell yeah! I like pretty stuff.  I sometimes wish we had a little bit more but I never focus on that for long.  In the 10 months I have been at the gym, we are constantly bringing in new equipment.  We have new bumper plates, new pull up bars, new jump ropes .....and it keeps coming.  I'm sure eventually we may even have to move as we're slowly outgrowing our space but whether that happens in a week, a month, or a year makes no difference to me. We may never get another rower (actually, I hope we don't....Sam take that off the list) but I will never, EVER change boxes unless I absolutely have to.  You know why? My coach is at CFGR. My friends and team are at CFGR.   Those are my people and that is my home.  They know what I excel at and what I struggle with. They know how to push me when I don't feel like pushing myself. They know when to tell me to suck it up and put more weight on the bar and they know when to back off and help me add some bumpers to my little girl box when my legs just don't want to jump that day.  

                                                        She'd school me

I did my very first double under during a team wod with Skuke.  Actually, I did my first handstand with Skuke too.  Maybe he's good luck.  Whit knows how much it means when I nail my box jumps.  Sam can tell me exactly how much weight I can handle on my lifts, even when I don't want to believe him.  Lisa E. makes me laugh every single day and Lisa T. works with me in making sure Lisa E. works to her potential when she's being lazy.  Marc is convinced I can climb the rope and I love watching Katie say she can't do something two seconds before she does it flawlessly.  I will always expect Steve to make fun of himself for his "dip-ups", Angie to get excited about how strong her forearms are and Dan to be super encouraging, even when he's struggling. Marcia just impresses the hell out of me all the way around and I can't wait until JJ hits her first muscle-up. I stay because Amanda is the most energetic person during every single wod that she makes you remember that it's supposed to be fun.  I could go on and on and on about these people and everyone else that I have the pleasure of pushing my limits with every single day but this blog would never end.  

What's so great about my box?  The people inside it.   And they're worth more than any pink kettlebell or fancy locker room or cool-kid reputation.  I'd put my box up against yours any day, just as I'm sure you'd do for your own (ok, I had to get one more in there before I ended this post).  That's the beauty of this sport and I wouldn't change it for anything.

Now, I said I'd post recipes sometimes and since my dinner was super delicious tonight I thought I'd share. 

Chicken and Veggie "Pasta" with Fresh Pesto

Spaghetti Squash - Did you know you can cook this in a crockpot?  Pierce it a few times so it doesn't explode and throw it in with a few cups of water and let it go low all day or night and boom! 

Broccoli - Organic and local from the farmers market

Garlic - Organic and local from the farmers market

Shallots

Tomatoes - from Amanda's garden

Pesto - Homemade with fresh organic basil from, you got it, the farmer's market

Chicken from Creswick Farms - purchased at the co-op

Pesto is so easy to make.  Some basil, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and you have the base for a pesto.  It also calls for pine nuts but because I always have raw blanched almonds in my freezer, more times than not I add these. Plus they give a nice crunch.  Some people also add cheese to their pesto (parmesan for example) but I don't think it's necessary so I don't. Plus we're going for #paleo baby!  

Anyway, I threw the veggies in a pan with some good Italian olive oil (is there any other kind??) and the smallest smidge of butter.  It looked like this  -------------------->

While that was going, I sauteed some chicken breast that I pounded thin and cut into pieces (salt and pepper always people.....on everything).  When it was all done, I threw everything into the pan, mixed the pesto into the squash, topped it with the chicken and veggies and sent Whitney a text about how jealous she should be about my delicious dinner.

And THAT, my friends, is what can come out of a simple trip to the farmers market!  Until next time...........

Eat Real Food, Damnit!

Marcia said I wasn't swearing enough in my blog so I thought I'd start with one right off the bat.  I hope that works for you, Marcia.

Now, onto the real topic of this blog....food and nutrition.  I'm no expert (obviously) but I have spent the last few years really researching and learning about food and nutrition. I am passionate about the local food movement and consuming foods with little to no pesticides, hormones or antibiotics.  I am that girl that, during long road trips, listens to podcasts on fitness and American agriculture and farming instead of rocking out to tunes on my ipod.  Yes, I'll take a moment now while you all go to Facebook and de-friend me for being such a nerd.  Waiting...waiting.....ok done?  Let's move on, shall we?

If you've visited the CrossFit Grand Rapids (CFGR) Facebook page, you'll see me post comments and links about local/organic food and why I think it's so important.  If you haven't looked at our Facebook page, why not? Get your ass on there and do it - and come work out with us.  CrossFit will change your life. But that's yet another post for another day.  Today, I really want to stress why I care so much about the local and slow food movements.  Our food today is produced so much differently than it was thirty or forty years ago.  Our livestock is fed corn instead of grass, our supermarkets are filled with cheap food that is filled with high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, additives, dyes and trans fats, our crops are so heavily sprayed that our soil is void of nutrients and what we fail to acknowledge is that this all goes INTO OUR BODIES.  Is that extra dollar you save on conventional v. organic apples really worth it in the long run?

I lost my mother at the age of 19 to cancer.  Diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 46, she went into remission for a short time before it came back and spread into her bones.  Why did she get it? She had no family history and no indicators that showed she was susceptible until it was too late.  I lost one of my best friends a few years ago to cancer that rapidly consumed his body in less than a year.  He was 29 years old and one of the healthiest, most active people I knew.  Why is this happening?  I can't help but think there's a connection to the chemicals we consume through our food to this rapid increase of illness in what should otherwise be healthy Americans.

We spend so much time focusing on which "diet" we should follow - low-carb, high protein, paleo, primal, vegetarian, vegan.  I say this - whatever you eat, make sure it's real. Make sure it's whole.  Focus on organic. Focus on local.  The closer you are to your food source, the less preservatives are needed to get it from the ground to your plate.  Think about buying tomatoes in the summer from one of our many farmers instead of buying tomatoes from the grocery store in the dead of winter that have to be shipped from California.  It's such a simple concept.

Here in Grand Rapids we have so many avenues for someone to get connected with healthy, whole local foods.  The West Michigan Cooperative costs $35/year (with the first two months free).  Each month members can order meat, produce, whole meals, cheeses, breads, dairy, household cleaners/products, grains, flours, etc. from local farms and producers.  Though many of our farms haven't paid for the organic certification, most all of them humanely raise their animals without use of growth hormones, antibiotics, or feed.  They allow them to roam free and feed off the grass like animals should.  Does this chicken cost more than the $14 bags at Meijer? Yup.  Is it worth every single dollar? Abso-fucking-lutely.

Fulton Street Farmers Market was rated the #1 farmers market in the midwest by HGTV.  Seriously, check it out here.  From May-December the market is packed with producers who sell everything from beef to lamb, honey to apples, duck eggs to baked goods. With one trip a week, you can get most everything you need for your family to have healthy whole meals and snacks.  Yes, some of the producers spray their crops and while I try to buy strictly from organic or no-spray producers, not everyone has to.  Remember, the closer the food is to the plate, the less spray is necessary to preserve it in transport.  The best part? Our farmers are informative and ready to help.  You can ask them anything and they'll tell you - whether they spray, how much, what kind, etc.   Information is power.

During the winter months, I have started using a service called Doorganics.  For less than $30 a delivery, they deliver a bin of organic produce to your doorstep.  I chose the small bin and had bi-weekly deliveries and generally had enough in my bin to last me between deliveries (with the additional purchase of a few staples).

The point?  We are lucky enough to have amazing food right in our neighborhoods and it takes us minimal effort to get it in our refrigerators and in our pantries.  When you support local farmers, you support your community AND you fuel your body with the absolute best nutrients available.  Food is not supposed to be cheap.  Think about how much we pay for health insurance every year.  Think about our deductibles, hospital bills and prescriptions costs.  It makes the few extra bucks for organic, non-GMO food look a little more reasonable, doesn't it? Especially if it saves you from a future of doctor visits and drug consumption to keep your body operating in a way that it is naturally made to operate.  And in case you still aren't ready to buy into my argument for going 100% organic (pesticide-free), here's a few tips on specific foods that I've picked up over the years.

Soy - Soy is one of our most heavily sprayed crops.  If you're going to eat soy (soy milk, tofu, etc) it should be organic.  Soy is also an estrogen rich food which is why I avoid it. With a history of breast cancer in my family, I don't want additional estrogen in my diet or my body. If that's not an issue for you so be it but at least think about where you buy your soy.

Dairy - Our cows (and most livestock) are raised in the most disgusting ways that I don't even want to get into it. There's enough information out there in books, articles, and movies for you to find out for yourself. Let's just say it ain't good.  I stress this heavily - ALL DAIRY SHOULD BE ORGANIC. If you're not gonna go organic, you shouldn't be consuming dairy.  I'm not fucking around here.

Almonds - Almonds are another super heavily sprayed crop.  Almonds are amazingly good for you (think raw, non-salted and/or dry roasted) and almond milk is one of my favorite alternatives to dairy milk.  But go organic people.  Harvest Health carries mostly organic food products, almond milk being one of them.  I don't know about you, but I can never find organic almond milk in conventional grocery stores so take a trip to HH and get some.  Or try coconut milk (not the fatty canned stuff).  So Delicious is great (try the vanilla and sugar free vanilla...YUM) and the great thing about coconut milk is that it's naturally organic because coconuts are not a sprayed crop. Yay!

Dirty Dozen - Everyone knows (and dreads) the Filthy Fifty.  Thanks to Sam, we just did it a few weeks ago.  Now think about this in terms of food.  The Dirty Dozen is a list of the twelve foods that, when conventionally grown, were found to have the highest traces of toxins than any other produce.  Chemical cocktail, anyone??  Always go organic with these.

A final shopping FYI - when you're purchasing produce at a store, check out the stickers on it.  If the code has 4 numbers, it means it was conventionally grown.  If it has five numbers and starts with an 8, it means it is genetically modified (GMO = BAD).  If it has 5 numbers and starts with a 9 it's organic!  Check it out next time you're shopping.

Look, I'm not saying I eat perfectly. Far from it actually. This is definitely one of those cases of do as I say and not as I do.  Well, I take that back. It's not that extreme but frankly, I believe that if you're eating shitty food even once or twice a month, that's once or twice too much. So in that aspect, yeah..I need to do better.  When "chicken" nuggets cost $1, burgers $2 and pizza $5, something is wrong.  Food should not be that cheap and if it is...it's NOT FOOD.  Stop eating that shit. Stop it! Right now!  Think about the benefits that will come along with it.  They say refined sugar, starches, and bad fats are addicting but that it's an addiction that you can break.  With some time and withdrawal symptoms, your body will no longer crave that shit show you usually put on your plate and start wanting yummy things like fruit and veggies and other natural sugars.  Really...I'm not kidding.  Google it if you don't believe me.

So to end today's rant, I challenge everyone to spend one week eating whole local foods (no processed foods at all) and then let me know how it went.  I promise you'll feel great about it.

To finish up, today's WOD was as follows:

5 HSPU
30 Back squats (75 lb)
10 HSPU
20 Back Squats
15 HSPU
10 Back Squats
20 HSPU
5 Back Squats

It took me 12:47 to complete using the prescribed weight and a bball for the HSPU.  My wrists are a little sore but nothing too terrible.  Tomorrow we're taking a gym trip to the gymnastics center for a super sweet gymnastics WOD.  I hope there are some ball pits and lots of sweet trampolines!  More than anything, I hope I can capture a video of Sam doing cartwheels.  Classic, my friends...classic.

Superman and his Singlet

CFGR's resident Superman is turning thirty and last night we decided to surprise him with a little torture  party to celebrate.  It looked a little like this:

"Dirty Thirty"

400 m run

30 box jumps

30 pull ups

30 kb swings

30 jumping lunges

30 SDHP

30 good mornings

30 wall balls

30 burpees

30 double unders

400 m run

Easy right???  ::side eyes my coach::  Seriously though, Sam was a great sport and rocked it without complaint.

After he finished sizzling on the gym floor, we presented him with his new power suit.  And he put it on.  There are pictures of that but we'll just leave those out of here, mmmkay?

       Sam, we all know you're pretty but can you please never put this on in front of us again??  Ok, thanks!

A little happy birthday song, some PBRs and a few burpees from Sam's always entertaining twins and the party came to a close.  Thanks again to everyone at the gym who helped me put this together.  I will likely say this constantly in this blog - I love you guys.

So the weekend is upon us (Yay!) and as a close, I'll leave you with this which was posted this week by LuLuLemon.

Just because it's the weekend doesn't give us an open excuse to be lazy.  Since I started CrossFit, I have worked out less on the weekends then ever before.  I mean, if there's not a CF class, whatever will I do????  Um...how about go for a run, get your ass to yoga, or, I don't know, DO SOME MOBILITY WORK??????  So yeah, go workout. No excuses.

New beginnings....and a lot of bruises

Nearly one year ago, I was sitting in Kurt's living room in Traverse City. It was the weekend of my 30th birthday and I decided to spend it in Michigan wine country. That night, Kurt randomly turned to me and said "You should try CrossFit. I think you'll really like it." A few YouTube videos later (seriously, what did we do before YouTube???), and I was trying to find the closest box in GR.

In the last 365 days, I have found a new home inside a dirty steel factory in a part of town that you probably wouldn't drive to unless you needed to dump a body. In the past year, I have walked through the door of CFGR more days than I have not. I can deadlift, back squat, and clean and jerk more weight than I have been able to in the eight years of continuous post-college-welcome-to-the-real-world-where-you-need-a-gym-membership-in-order-to-get-some-activity-in-between-hours-behind-a-desk YMCA workout regime.

I know what a snatch is (don't be a douche, it's an Oly weight lifting move. YouTube it.....though maybe specify or you'll get porn). I can do a double under, and sometimes I can even do more than one in a row. I can (kinda) jump on a box. I'm no longer scared of kick-ups. I scoff at 35lb kettle bells. I love dropping a heavy bar on the ground after a tough set. I have learned that tortillas made from egg whites are.....well, they're gross. But they're paleo. And gross. However, paleo muffins are delicious and paleo eating makes me feel fantastic.

In the last 365 days I lost a job and ended some pretty important relationships. I also got a better job and gained some pretty amazing relationships with people who I can honestly say are now some of my best friends. I've yelled at, cried in front of, and laughed with my coach. I even said the P-word....he's so proud of me. I've bled, I've bruised, I've torn, I've dislocated my thumb and did some crazy thing to my knee. I've PR'd, I've underperformed, I've surprised myself, and I found my future husband (well, after he divorces his current wife and gets over the fact that I swear a lot).

Well hellooooooooo Rich Froning. Nice headband. Wanna get married? You know, after you divorce that other chick?

I still hate anything having to do with gymnastics rings.

But I'm here. I'm part of the group. I'll never turn back. I've spent a year learning about CrossFit and what it means to be part of such an elite community of athletes. As the clock moves forward and my 31st birthday looms dangerously close, my second year of CrossFit will be about learning what I can do inside of that box. What I can push myself to do if I put my mind to it. What kind of machine I can turn my body into with discipline, clean eating, and a lack of excuses. Ok, I'll still probably come up with excuses but that's where I expect my coach to call me out. I have no doubt he will. And I'll get angry and probably throw a few choice words at him and then I'll do what I'm supposed to do and I'll go home at night and know that I made the best possible choices for that day. And then I'll start all over again.

I'm ready to face 31. I'm ready to face CrossFit. Are you ready to tag along for the ride?