Back In The Saddle

Oh lordy it's been awhile since I posted.  If this was my job I would totally fire myself.  I'm sure going several weeks between posts is against some unofficial blog rule but what can you do?

Anyway, the past few weeks have been pretty busy.  I spent a long weekend in NYC and dropped in at  CrossFit Dynamix for a Saturday WOD with Justin.  It was really great to get out and meet other CrossFitters, especially since I got to participate in a team WOD.  It was interesting to take a class in a (much) larger city and see the range of athletes that do CrossFit.  It was definitely great to work out with people who were obviously better than me, and also people that were brand new.  I helped a girl with her handstand during the skill work and it felt good to just point out little tips and tricks from my training that she might have never heard of.

I also found my double-unders in NYC.  Yes, ever since the move to the new box my double-unders have gone to shit. I had not been able to string more than 2 or 3 together at a time and was walking out of the WODS with ridiculous welts on my body and an enormous amount of frustration.  Just when I was reaching my peak of "fuck this I'm never doing double-unders again" I went to New York and dropped in at CrossFit Dynamix.  And they just came back.  After nailing them in NYC I came back to CFGR and was able to pull out some pretty decent strings during a 100 double-under cash out the week after my trip.  I think this trip should be dubbed "How Michele got her double-unders back."  Yep...it's official.

                          It was kinda like this.  Except about CrossFit.  And, you know, me.

So I posted awhile ago about how I wanted to work on monthly goals for the next year in an attempt to get to competition level by next year's GR CrossFit Games.  Sam's been helping me (cuz I made him) and much to my chagrin he decided that October was to be running month.  There was a time in my life where I thought I loved to run.  Looking back, I realized I was completely full of shit.  Picture this....Sicily, 1935.  Just kidding, I had a Golden Girls moment there.  Anyway, picture this...Riverbank 2010.  I decided that since it fell on the anniversary of my mom's passing, I would run it in her honor.  So I started training for the 15.5 mile run and started telling myself I loved it. On May 8, I ran that entire race and pretended that I enjoyed every second of it.  In reality, I don't think I started loving it until about mile 15.35.  Internally, I knew I wasn't really having all that much fun.  Crossing the finish line at Riverbank was one of the greatest accomplishments I've had but after it was over, my running shoes sat in the corner collecting dust much more often than they were strapped onto my feet.  I just couldn't get back into it.  Finding CrossFit opened up a whole new world to me.  I fell in love with the short, high intensity workouts CrossFit is known for.  I love slinging weights and getting dirty and sweating it out with a small, intense group of people.  But alas....we run in CrossFit. And I tend to hate it.  And Sam knows it.  I'm pretty much convinced this is why he started off these monthly goals with running.  He's kinda a sadistic son of a bitch sometimes (you know you are, Sam) and I'm pretty sure he loves making me do things he knows that I hate.  So, for October, I've added extra running/rowing workouts into my week on top of my regular CrossFit WODs.  At the end of the month, the goal is to have stripped some time off my mile.  I'll let you know how it goes.  Can't wait to see what Sam comes up with for next month.

                                            Hahahahahaha!  I crack myself up....

So even though I admit this wasn't a very great post after so long, I'm gonna end it here because it's Sunday and I'm busy lazing around with my pup mourning the poor performances of both the Tigers and the Wolverines.  OMG how bad was THAT?  Ugh.  Anyway, on November 10 we're having an Open House/Charity WOD at the new box.  It's gonna be really great and a chance for everyone to check out the new space.  To get more information on the event and to RSVP, mosey on over to our Facebook.  Hope to see you there!

Our Destiny

Sometime we forget that WE are in control of our own destiny.  No one has the ability to make us feel inferior unless we allow them to.  We choose how we live, love and treat others.  We decide whether to work to our potential or let life (and opportunity) pass us by.  Who we are is not about how much money we make, who our friends are, what we look like or what our social status is.  Who we are is who we CHOOSE to be every single day.  When we have a positive attitude, when we put more weight on the bar, when we treat others with respect, when we hit a PR, when we push ourselves to do one more pull up despite our screaming hands, when we accept ourselves in every single moment despite our flaws, when we encourage our box-mates - that is when we are the truest reflection of our best selves.

No one, especially me, is perfect.  We all have our "things" - our faults, our flaws, our weaknesses, our walls.  Our reasons to want to run and hide instead of exposing ourselves and taking chances.  Life is about learning that it is in the most uncomfortable moments of exposure and risk that the best things happen to us.  Without risk there would be no reward.  Without acceptance there would be no love.

Without CrossFit there would be no outlet, no community, no home like the one we've made inside our box.

Go to your box.  Lift heavy and lighten your emotional burden.  Appreciate your callouses as well as your team.  Get sweaty. Accept your performance and always strive to be better.  Take it in and remember that this is one place where no one will ever judge you.