It's that time of year. The time when well meaning folks everywhere make radical claims about how they will change for the better! The energy of the New Year fuels people with a new conviction to be who they were always meant to be.
I think this energy is fantastic! The problem is...at the end of the day...January 1st was just another Tuesday, followed by an ordinary Wednesday, leading into a humdrum Thursday.
This year, I decided to set a different type of resolution. Something I think we could all benefit from.
I RESOLVE TO LEARN FROM 2012 AND TO CONTINUE TO APPLY WHAT I HAVE LEARNED TO DO BETTER, TO BE BETTER, IN 2013.
Had a shoulder thing from another dumb accident AFTER the car wreck. Gotta work with what you've got.
2012 was a TOUGH year for me. Hmm....that doesn't really do it justice...let me check the thesaurus for a new word.... got it. 2012 was a SEVERE year for me. Now, obviously I realize that even with everything I went through in 2012, my life is nowhere NEAR as difficult as what most of the human race is dealing with their entire lives. But for me, in my little world, shit got crazy.
For those of you new to this blog, or my story: Along with my regular crazy travel schedule with CrossFit (I worked 40 Level 1 and Coaches Prep Course Seminars last year) as well as competing and working with CrossFit Media....on June 30th of last year I was in a pretty gnarly car accident and broke my neck.
This post isn't about my broken neck or recovery though. That story is coming soon.
This is about being better. In fact, I will try to impart the lessons I have learned to apply to some of the most common New Years Resolutions maybe some of you have made.
#1. Get in Shape:
You will only get as fit, and stay as fit, as you can:
FIND AN ABSOLUTE LOVE FOR HARD WORK!
Love hard work, you ask?? Yes.
In 2012 I found this. Yes, I kind of had it before. I love CrossFit and it has been my thing for years now, but in 2012 I learned how important it is to HAVE FUN!! And, how much better the results will be when you are. I had turned training into a means to an end. It was something I had to do to reach my goal of competing in the Games. After a year of training with Jason, Neal and Garret at NorCal CrossFit, I can say with enthusiasm that I actually look forward to training days more than competition.
LEARN TO MAKE HARD WORK FUN!!
Which leads me to...
#2 Qualify for the Games (or Regionals or whatever it may be).
Obviously this is a goal specific to our community or someone actively involved in competing in some sort of sport.
In 2012 there were a few months where I didn't know if I was EVER going to be able to even DO everything required to compete, let alone do well!! I had to formulate a new goal if I was going to prevent myself from going into a black hole of depression.
Pic taken at 2012 NorCal Regionals in May
Just 2 months later.
NEW GOAL: GET AS FIT AS I CAN.
**(I don't mean as fit as I can with the little effort I am putting in. I mean FIND OUT how fit I can be with what I have. I will never know unless I do everything in my power to find out.)**
Simple. And guess what? You will NEVER qualify for or win the Games if you aren't as fit as you can be. Think about it.
#3 Save Money:
Um....I believe this is a good goal. I've got nothing for ya....sorry.
#4 Spend More Time with Friends and Family.
There is something about breaking your neck that really reminds you about what's important.
For years I have had a weird work schedule. I work on the weekends, doing what I believe to be one of the most important things I could imagine being a part of. CrossFit has changed my life for the better so much, and I get to spread the love all over the world!! The CrossFit community as a whole is my family. Every one of you lunatics are is a long lost brother or sister.
With that said....I have learned the importance of, and the happiness that comes from, actively cultivating and caring for relationships that get shoved to the wayside when one is really busy. At the end of the day, whether you hit a huge PR or sat on your couch eating brownies all day, you will only really have a few people who will always care. These are the people who also think you look cute in your neck brace.
#5 Eat better.
Can I be honest here??
Ok, thanks. In 2012 I actually learned to RELAX a little bit when it comes to this. Now, if you eat like total crap as it is...plug your ears (your eyes?? Don't read on). But, for you crazy CrossFitters....yes, learn the Zone and eat Real Food. Yes. Do that. Be diligent about it. But, as I have said at SO MANY Level 1 Seminars...DON'T BE PSYCHOTIC!!
Don't go crazy with my advice here...the above is still true.
I was psychotic. During the Open last year it was the worst! Until one day, I was sat down by one Neal Maddox and professional UFC fighter Jason MacDonald and they told me that I need to RELAX!! I was also scolded by Speal and basically got a pep talk from Khalipa about this same issue...(I only name drop so much because I am that cool...ha, I mean because these people obviously know what they are doing!! Give me a break!!)
I was training A LOT, and travelling A LOT. I was exhausted and cranky!! What all of these incredible athletes understood that I was missing was BALANCE. Eat as clean and neurotic as you need to eat to support performance and overall happiness!! Don't overdo it for crying out loud! If you are miserable...you won't be having fun...when you aren't having fun...you aren't performing your best. At that point...who cares what your abs look like?
This year is about building on what an incredible amount of clarity can come through disaster.
For years I have said that CrossFit has changed my life! I have said over and over again that it SAVED my life because of how it changed me as a person and brought such a passion back into my days.
Well, now I can say it LITERALLY...
CROSSFIT SAVED MY LIFE!!!
But, CrossFit is so dangerous right??? High rep olympic lifting! Muscle ups! Rope climbs!! You could hurt your back! What if you fall from the rope or the rings?!! You can't have perfect technique when you are moving that fast!! You might lose your positioning!!
What is dangerous?? You tell me.....
The few months preceding June 30th (2012)....were chalk full of all that crazy stuff!! I mean, I had been training with 2 of the most INTENSE athletes in all of CrossFit, Jason Khalipa and Neal Maddox (and the soon to be well known Garret Fisher). I would show up every day and just try to do what they do....including TONS of heavy oly lifting, 3-4 workouts a day, ring muscle up to handstand push ups (yep...I am a bad ass). I was more fit than ever and so excited about the progress I was making.
Me in danger....
Amanda with 105# June 22, 2012
And again...
60' Cargo Net June 28, 2012
So, how could training with these movements under such intensity actually SAVE someone's life?? My life??
On June 30th (2012), I was out and about doing something completely NOT dangerous....grabbing coffee for my co-workers from the Level 1 CrossFit Seminar team. In fact, THEY all stayed behind to work out!! Round trip it was about 2 miles...something you and I, all of us, do every day.
I was turning left on a pretty busy 6 lane road, but had an arrow.....and within an instant...found myself smashed across 3 lanes and on the sidewalk facing the opposite direction.
Immediately when the car stopped I was in severe pain, mostly in my neck. Both of my hands were on the dashboard and I was leaned toward the passengers side. Because my neck hurt so badly I just kept repeating to myself out loud "you're ok...don't move...it's ok...". All of the airbags were deployed and the entire passengers side where I was looking (trying not to move) was MANGLED. The door panel and glove box were almost unrecognizable. The windshield had shattered and I had glass, and coffee, ALL over me. I was bleeding but I didn't know from where. I was too scared to look...too scared and in too much pain to move.
Luckily, there was an ambulance that saw the whole thing go down. Pretty quickly I had someone talking to me. I realized my hand hurt...and shortly after learned why. The paramedic (I think....I couldn't turn to see any of these people) asked me to turn the car off. I couldn't. Because somehow I had managed to karate chop the keys during the accident and break the key of in the ignition.....with my hand.
I was pulled out of the car via spine board with my head strapped down. I honestly thought I was never going to be able to move again.
In the ER I was super excited to learn that my nurse was a CrossFitter, and also super embarrassed that she recognized me. I didn't have to wait too long before a Dr came by. They did some tests of my reflexes...if I could feel and move both of my hands and feet. Took me to x ray my hand. I think I probably asked 7 times if I was going to die or be paralyzed. I also kept telling the Dr. that my neck hurt much worse than my hand. I asked at least 3-4 times if I needed a neck X ray. Because of my concern he checked my neck out a little bit more...poked at it a bit...but still no X ray. I was SO happy and relieved when he told me it wasn't broken, just really bad whiplash.
What was really cool was that everyone...from the paramedic to the cop on scene to my coworkers who saw the accident to my ER Dr told me "If you weren't so strong....you would be in a LOT worse shape. We have seen people killed, necks snapped, from that exact same accident. Your muscle saved you."
And that was it. In the most pain I had ever experienced in my life, the nurse helped me sit up (the pain was so bad I literally almost blacked out). They gave me a prescription for some pain pills, told me to find an orthopedic surgeon to cast my hand when I got home, and I was out of there.
Moving at all was excruciating. Any little bump in the road, turning, getting in and out of the car...sitting, standing. I couldn't turn my head in any direction AT ALL. They gave me one of those little soft collars, but no real direction on if I needed it or for how long.
Although I was pretty scraped and bruised up, the last thing I wanted to do was sit in my hotel room by myself....mostly because I was worried to be alone. I've heard stories about people who have concussions and then die in their sleep that night...I watch Grey's Anatomy!! And also....I am stubborn. I decided I was FINE and I was going to prove it. So...I went to dinner with the crew from the seminar. Wore the neck brace in the car and then took it off!!
I had to prove that I was fine. Within 5 minutes of the actual collision, I remembered that the Games started in less than 2 weeks! In fact, we were set to head down to LA for Games WEEK in only 8 days!!! I had been prepping for my role with media for months. I wasn't about to let a broken hand and some whiplash ruin the biggest week of my year!!
With the help of my fellow trainers, I was able to get home the day after the accident. The pain in my neck made it impossible to do some of the most simple tasks. Knowing that I needed to regain mobility QUICKLY so I could interview the athletes at the Games I pushed myself by going for a hike 4 days after the accident, air squatting and trying to turn my head as much as I could....you know..."stretching". I actually read that all of that stuff, movement in general, was just what you should to for whiplash.
4 days after the wreck...trying to walk and move around to help with the whiplash.
After having a REALLY difficult time finding a Orthopedic doc to cast my hand (no shit it was next to impossible to get an appt), I was finally able to go up and meet Dr. Bhuva in San Jose. Dr. Bhuva noticed how painfully I was moving with my neck as he was casting my hand and asked if I had my neck x-rayed after the accident. When I told him that I hadn't, he was shocked! He told me that he wasn't the right type of Dr. to treat neck injuries, but would not feel comfortable letting me leave without checking it out. To be honest, I was somewhat relieved to have it looked at. They took the x-ray and said that it was probably nothing, but they would let me know.
My neck continued to "feel" better and better. So I continued to do more and more with it. I rode the airdyne bike, climbed stairs with a weight vest, and was starting to be able to turn it a LOT more. Whether or not I was going to be doing my job at the Games was still up in the air, but I was confident I would feel good in time.
Airdyne with the support of NorCal CrossFit Santa Clara
Games Week: Awesome.
I could write 10 pages alone on the fantastic time I had at the Games....and I surely will in a different post. But, I will try to keep it in the context of this story right now.
Games week for those who work for CrossFit is a combination of a family/high school reunion, hell week, finals week, attending the Super Bowl and the Oscars. It's incredible, and busy, and hard work. There is so much standing, walking....not a lot of sleep and A LOT of hugs.
I loved the hugs...but I remember a few that hurt my neck pretty bad....dang whiplash...RIGHT?!
The hotel that we were at for Games week had an AWESOME gym set up for us in one of the ballrooms. Rogue had set up a bunch of equipment for the athletes/judges/media to use while we were there! Moving seemed to help me feel better throughout the day so I made a commitment to work out Mon-Thurs. I went for a 5k run 2 of the mornings, did some rowing and 4 lb med ball cleans one day too. I was super stoked to do those med ball cleans because up til that point I hadn't been able to bend over at my waist enough to pick anything up off of the ground!
Just trying to get a little workout in during Games week! Stoked to be doing cleans!
During the day, I was doing what I could do OFF camera. I was still moving too weird to be put on camera UNTIL Wednesday! I was put at the desk for the Games Update show that day and I was SO happy!! After doing that, and looking ok there...I got the green light to do what I had come down to do in the first place, interview the most amazing athletes in the world.
Me and Annie T. My shirt was ridiculously huge...hence the weird pin job!
And lets not forget the after party!!
Fast forward to Tuesday, July 17th (2012).
My neck was feeling pretty good and didn't really notice it too much. I still wasn't ready for explosive movements like oly lifts or jumping. I could still feel some pain when I would sit up the first like 6 inches in bed or the last 6 inches laying down. There were some sticky spots where my head would get kinda "stuck" and I would have to really concentrate to get it to move.
After witnessing the glorious performances at the Games, I was excited to get back and train.
I headed down to San Jose that day for a follow up appt. for my hand to get a new cast and then to train at NorCal CrossFit! When I walked into the Dr's office and checked in EVERYONE, from the woman at the desk to the nurse to the assistant to the Dr said they were SO WORRIED about me! They said they had been trying to contact me all week!
Dr. Bhuva said that they had tried EVERYTHING....calling, sending a letter, and finally Facebook. That's where Dr. Bhuva said he realized why he couldn't get a hold of me. He ended up watching the Update Show and then the feed on ESPN 3. (Loved it by the way!)
Why?? There was something weird with my x-ray. Again, Dr. Bhuva is not a neuro-surgeon, but said that it looked like I might have a slipped facet joint. He explained to me that it could be kind of serious and that I needed to get a CT Scan and see a neuro surgeon. I explained that I was headed to Florida for a seminar on Friday. He explained that I wasn't going ANYWHERE until having this checked out.
He had 3 different people calling around trying to get me an appointment, first for the scan and then to meet with a neuro-surgeon to go over it with me. I thought they were acting crazy! My neck had continued to feel better all of the time. Besides, the Dr in the ER said I was fine!!
They found me an appt. to get the scan right away, which was going to make me miss my workout with some of the boys, but I decided I better play along. I was kind of pissed. The scan didn't take long, but then I had to wait 30 min after it was done to get the disk. While I was waiting I was thinking about what I could do for my workout that day....I decided that I would load up the yoke and pair it with something. Loading that doesn't require me to hold a barbell, bend at the waist, and isn't explosive was just what I needed.
After the medical goose chase, I was FINALLY at the gym getting ready to work out when my husband called. He was frantic. "Babe, you need to call this Dr. back. He keeps calling me. They said it's an emergency about your neck scan." he said. Being a total brat, I think my response was a sarcastic "Really?! Am I dead? Am I in heaven? Have I been dead for the past 2 weeks and I didn't know?!". He was not amused. I told him I would call.
I spoke with a Dr. Fox who had just read my scan. This is how it went.
Dr. Fox: Miranda, I was just handed your scans from this afternoon. I know you have an appt. with a neuro-surgeon in 2 days, but you need to go to an ER RIGHT NOW. You have a break in 2 places in your C2 vertebrae. I honestly can't believe you have been walking around like this for the past 2 weeks. You are in serious danger. Any little fall, or bump or wrong twist of the head and you could be a quadrapolegic for the rest of your life. Can you get to a hospital? Where are you?
Me: (in tears and shaking) Yes. I am in San Jose on Saratoga and Stevens Creek.
Dr. Fox: Ok, you need to go right now, don't drive yourself, to the nearest ER. It is O'Connor Hospital. Tell them you have a VERY unstable C2 fracture. Do you have any questions?
Me: Yes. Should I be as terrified as I am right now?
Dr. Fox: Yes. You are in serious danger walking around like that. If you were a member of my family I would have you in the car on the way to the ER right NOW. Tell the person driving to drive VERY carefully.
At this moment, I was the most scared I have ever been in my entire life. I was afraid to even move. I couldn't believe what I just heard and I was positive that at any moment I was going to be paralyzed. I was shaking, my heart was pounding as I went from excited to train to worried if I was going to be able to walk tomorrow.
Luckily I was with people I trust and who care about me. I asked one of my training "bros", Garret who now had a look on his face like "what the f@*k is going on?!" to drive me RIGHT NOW to the ER. I was lucky to not be alone in that moment.
The drive to the hospital seemed like it was very long, even though it was only like 2 miles away. The wait to see a doctor was the same. Finally in the hospital bed with the neurosurgeon and my husband there, I was shown the scans that caused such a panic. I couldn't believe my eyes!! My C2 was broken into 3 pieces!! There was no leaving the hospital for me that night. They were so concerned that they didn't even want me leaving the hospital bed!
I was told AGAIN, by the neurosurgeon now, that the strength of my neck saved me from having much more serious complications with the break...as well as that muscle acting as a legit neck brace for 2 1/2 weeks to keep that vertebrae stable. In the morning, I was given two options for treatment: surgery or 3 months in a halo. I consulted a few Drs who also understand CrossFit and my personal goals, and chose surgery.
Going into surgery that night was scary. I felt SO uncertain about what life was going to be like on the other side. I was SO MAD that I had been walking around so RELIEVED that nothing serious had happened in the accident! I prepared myself to be in pretty bad shape. I have a tendency to be dramatic in what I picture in my head...this was the ultimate opportunity for that.
But, I was wrong. That night, just hours after surgery, I GOT UP (even though the nurse was NOT happy about it) and walked myself to go pee!! The next day they had me walking down the halls and up and down stairs. They said I could "squat", and showed me some weird version of a squat...I showed them MY squat. They were all very surprised that I really wasn't that interested in a lot of pain meds and that I was wanting to be up and walking around as much as they would let me. I spent one more night in the hospital and was sent home the next morning.
So, that's the story up to that point...
I will continue to post about my recovery with details and video of me getting back into training.
I will also try to get my hands on my actual scans and x-rays so I can post those gnarly things!
But, again...the point is this...
WHAT IS DANGEROUS???
In the "What is CrossFit?" lecture that we deliver at the Level 1 Seminars we often talk about there being a hierarchy of danger. We say that, yes, you CAN hurt yourself doing CrossFit, but the LEAST safe thing we can do is to avoid the movements that we use in CrossFit altogether...the movements we use in life. Usually we say the reason for this is because these movements are the movements that we WILL end up using in real life. They are the movements life demands.
In this specific case, my ABILITY to perform heavy cleans and handstand push ups isn't what saved me. BUT the strength I had gained because I had been performing them regularly did.
And I am so lucky.....
*********
And if you are wondering what it sounds like when I rap while also on morphine....look no further...
THANK YOU to all of my wonderful friends who visited me in the hospital!!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Life feels weird right now.
For the past few days I haven't done too much at all. Of course, everyone takes a few days off of training after the Regionals. It's good for us.
I wasn't hit with a ton of bricks after the final workout at the Regionals. You know? When it was "official" that I didn't qualify. I knew after my TOTAL screw-up on Event #1 that it was going to be a fight to come back. And I DEFINITELY don't want this post to be a list of excuses for why Events 1 and 4 didn't go my way.....
To be honest, I am hoping this blog post will help me actually release the feelings that I have yet to really express (even to myself) since Sunday afternoon.
So, let's go through this.....
After Event 1, I was pretty upset. My time was a full minute slower than I had done the same workout just days before. I got amped up. I screwed myself by not staying calm...no reps followed. When I saw 21st place...I knew I was in trouble. I also knew I had a choice.
I needed to remember WHY I was there in the first place. Yes, it was to qualify....but WHY??
In the past I thought qualifying would make me more "likeable" or more "important" for some reason. I realized after last year's Regional that I didn't need to qualify for the Games for people to take me seriously in the CrossFit community.
This year, CrossFit competition has had a different meaning for me. It has been 100% for ME.
I told my husband just the day before Regionals started that, if nothing else, I wanted to have an experience that would change me as a person. I have worked SO HARD for SO LONG, and have sacrificed a lot in training for the Games. I wanted to experience something that would "show me what is possible if you put THIS MUCH WORK in". I wanted to have an experience I could share about dedication to my future children. I wanted a memory I could always go back to and lean on when I need to show the same commitment and drive during other times of my life.
I thought what that meant was....that I need to qualify....to prove to myself that I could do it. I was wrong.
After Event 1 I could choose to be sad...or to fight. I decided to FIGHT. Sure, I was fighting to hopefully still qualify for the Games. But, I decided to forget about the end of the weekend and just fight for each individual event. I decided not to worry too much about the leaderboard, but to treat each event like it was the only one that mattered.
I could have allowed myself to get defeated after my crappy first event, but I chose not to. What would I learn from that? Instead...I fought my way to 4 top 4 finishes. A time in the dumbbell workout that still shocks me to this moment. Hitting 150# on the snatch ladder, tying my all time PR. A split time on the first couplet on Event #6 of 4:35 matching Julie Foucher, and allowing me to finish 4th without even being in the Final heat!!
Since the competition has ended I have gone back and crunched #s...what would I have had to do to make it. What would I have had to get on Event #1...on Event #4???? What I found, I am SO GLAD I didn't know then.
Even if I had gotten the 4:25 Diane time that I got a few days before, I still would have had to finish 1st or 2nd in event #4 to go to the Games!! WHAT?! Event 4 was the one I was most nervous about going in and I was hoping to just be top 10!!!
Had I known that, I don't know that I could have, or would have, performed as well over the course of the other events. I would have put too much pressure on myself and would have been thinking ahead to other events. So, I guess the lesson learned here is.....
We only have control over this moment. In CrossFit that could be THIS workout, THIS REP!! It does us NO good to look back or to worry about looking forward. And, at the end of the day if we did EVERYTHING we could in each of those moments...the outcome will be spectacular.
In the end, I got what I came for. Because I didn't look forward or back...I was able to push myself to a place that I hadn't gone before. I never knew something could hurt as bad as where I took myself on the final event. But, I did it to prove to MYSELF that I am not a quitter. That's another lesson. Even if the desired outcome looks like it's not going to happen, don't give up the FIGHT! I was still able to show everyone, and MYSELF, what I was made of...what I had worked so hard for.
""When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, " I used everything you gave me."" -Erma Bombeck
Monday, May 14, 2012
NO EXCUSES.....
AND NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT....
I WANT THIS MORE THAN ANYTHING.
As I get ready to compete in the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games NorCal Regional this weekend all I can think about is how I am ready. There is NOTHING over the course of the past year that I could have done more, nothing I would change.
How I place and how I perform this weekend is 100% me. I have no excuses.
In 2009- I was injured and couldn't compete.
In 2010 - I was cocky....straight up...and got my butt kicked.
In 2011 - I was where I needed to be but didn't believe in myself. My travel schedule also made my recovery and my training volume suffer.
Now...this year....2012... I am ready.
I have been working with the BEST coach possible. Speal is my close friend who knows me...he has pushed me and made me do things I would have never done on my own. I will never be able to express the gratitude I have for him. Tack on the help I have gotten from Jason Khalipa and Neal Maddox over the past 3 months and you have a completely different athlete. I needed them to help me adjust my attitude and it has made a world of difference.
My travel schedule is under control. I have controlled some of the circumstances that limited me in the past. I have also figured out my nutrition and feel better than ever with what I have been doing.
I have no injuries. I feel fantastic.
Most importantly.....I believe. I know where I am at, and I believe that this year I can make it to the Home Depot Center. No workout or stacked region will intimidate me. I am ready.
All I can control is ME. I don't have control over how the other bad-ass girls in my region do this weekend. I can't control where MY best efforts put me at the end of the 6 events. But I believe if I do what I am capable of...the outcome will be what I have been working toward for 4 YEARS!!!
I have given and sacrificed A LOT for this, and I won't downplay that just to protect myself in case it doesn't go my way. That is cowardly.
I am NOT AFRAID. I am not afraid to say that I don't have ANY EXCUSES and that I WANT THIS MORE THAN ANYTHING. And I will do EVERYTHING I can to make it happen.
No matter what happens....NO REGRETS!!!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
GrandOPENing!!!!????
What? Tonight??!! I have to go through this AGAIN?! I am still paying for the therapy I needed LAST year during the OPEN!!
Wait, calm down....remember how we learned a lot about ourselves and online competition last year?! Everything is going to be ok.
The above is the conversation that has been replaying in my head the past few days! Sound familiar?
So, everybody stay calm...for the next five weeks we are going to do the workouts, we are going to submit our scores...and we will be ranked! That is for sure, whether we drive ourselves CRAZY or not is up to us!!
So....here are some things I need to remember when the sh*t hits the fan tonight at 5pm.
1. I have worked my A** off this year!! I am a better athlete than I was last year. What else is there to ask of myself??
2. With that said, how other people do doesn't say ANYTHING about the improvements that I have made.
3. It IS a competition, but it's not a Game with offense and defense (especially at this stage) the only performance you can control is YOUR OWN!
4. Online competitions are funny. Unless you WITNESSED another athletes score, you don't know what it looked like. Not saying you shouldn't believe it...most CrossFitters are LEGIT...BUT all you can do is move as LEGIT as you can in YOUR workout so when it comes to Regionals...you don't have to change anything.
5. Looking at the LEADERBOARD every 5 min will not change your score, your placing, or anyone else's. All it will do is literally make you a psychopath.
5. I was in 100 something place after the first 2 weeks last year. I finished the Open in 30th. I was 5th in Regionals.
6. BUT it IS a COMPETITION!! This is your FIRST chance this season to prove to YOURSELF how far you have come! DON'T HOLD BACK!!!
Here is a vid of me doing just that in WOD #3 from last year's Open with the world renowned Elyse Umeda. I knew this was my chance to get back in the Game!!
Ok, the look of this thing might change as I learn how to use the blogspot site....but here we go!
I am headed home today. After 2 WEEKS on the road....11 flights, 8 hotels, 4 rental cars, and 4 Level 1 seminars! Santa Cruz to Scottsdale....to Georgia to Boise.....to Georgia....HOME!!
Trainers with America's Favorite Trainer...and my new favorite CrossFitter, Bob Harper in Scottsdale!
I got an email on Facebook today asking if I had a blog. It's something I have been meaning to do for a LONG time! I always have funny stories about the awesome trainers I work with, and stuff I think could be helpful with nutrition on the road etc. I NEED to share it....or at least treat this like a little diary...RIGHT?!
So, for my first post.... TRAINING AND EATING on the road...in airports and hotels!
Luckily I have a job that allows me to workout at work. Usually we only have about 45 min total for warm up, work out, cool down, put stuff away....so it's TIGHT. Not nearly the hour and a half I take warming up and practicing skills when I am home. BUT, we make it happen! Since Games season is upon us, I took a little extra time in my hotel room....almost every night....to do some extra stuff that I didn't have time for....tricep work, hspu practice, mobility, stuff like that!
The eating has been especially fun this trip too.....
I travel with a lot of stuff, Progenex powder for workouts and protein in a pinch, almond butter, Tom Toms Turkey Snack Stix from Whole Foods (yum!) stuff like that...BUT 2 weeks is a long time.
I have had 4 flights that left at 7am after staying in a hotel. Optimally for all of them I would do what I did in Boise, go to the grocery store the night before and get a rotisserie chicken that I eat for dinner and breakfast before the flight....BUT a couple of times I was nowhere near a grocery store AND/OR didn't have a car.
So, like this morning, I stopped at Burger King in the airport and got 2 sausage, egg, and cheese Croissanwiches and just dumped the bread. Today I didn't have any carbs, but got even some more fat from about 2" of heavy cream in my americano.
Usually for lunch we will all go to the grocery store the night before the seminar and get some meat (chicken or deli meat) and fruit. The dinners were almost all at restaurants.
Dinners on the road:
Chipotle (AZ)-salad with double meat, double guac!
Me and Eric O with Chris Orcutt in Boise!
5 guys (AZ)- 2 patties with cheese protein style
Rotisserie Chicken from grocery store with fruit and almond butter
Chilis (Hinesville, GA)- fajitas double meat extra guac!
Waffle House- (yep) only thing close to hotel - 3 eggs and side of sausage
CHEAT NIGHT in Salt Lake City!! SALT CITY BURGER!
Bad Boy Burger (Boise)- 2 patties with cheese, no bun
Mexican Place- Fajitas extra meat, extra guac
Rotisserie Chicken from grocery store with fruit and almond butter
Rotisserie Chicken from grocery store with fruit and almond butter
Valentines Day (not with my Valentine) Ruby Tuesdays (Hinesville, GA) - Turkey burger and broccoli with a few sweet potato fries
Waffle House- 3 eggs and side of sausage almond butter I brought
I was thinking this morning about how LUCKY we are in the CrossFit community to have the education we do about nutrition especially! I have been on the road for 2 weeks eating at some just AWFUL fast food restaurants...not by choice....BUT I have the knowledge to make the best of it!
The "paleo police" can say what they will....but I am dealing in REALITY...and sometimes in REALITY Waffle House and Burger King are what you have available. Not great for long term, but you can ALWAYS make a smart choice, control your insulin levels and not GAIN weight or feel crappy on the road!
It is important for all of us to realize how blessed we are to know this stuff and to share it with as many people as we can!
.JPG)
