Yesterday, I did my second 5K of the season for a great cause –the Joe Cassella Foundation 5K. I didn’t know Joe, but have come to know his wife Gina and she is a very special woman. The gang from CFI Endurance all gathered to run together and it was so fun. It was a great way to bring everyone together to help one of our own. That’s what really matters at the end of the day. Helping one another out and being there for someone when it really matters. I came in 72nd overall in the women’s division and 13th in my age group. There were 272 women running –so top third isn’t too shabby. Again, not my best 5K time but it was better than the Chris4Life one and I did focus more on form than speed. I would never consider myself a runner, but I am sure improving and that’s what counts.

So – for the remainder of May, I am going to try a different approach to my fitness routine and get some different coaching at a different gym. Don’t panic – I think its important to see how other gyms in the area approach CrossFit and I am burnt out, so I am hoping having some different coaches will help me regain some of my mojo when it comes to lifting. I plan on returning to CFI in June — if all goes well, but for now I am attending a local CrossFit gym that just recently opened. Good guys — have a lot of strength training under their belts.

This morning we worked on a bit of strength and then did a mini metcon which was deceptively hard as usual.

warmup
200m jog
10 squats
4 sampson stretch
4 instep lunges
10 push ups
10 squats

5×5 Back Squats
Warmup to your 5RM back squat

WOD
EMOM for 12mins
4 Burpees
8 KB Swings
10 Sit ups
total rounds 11 hard, yucky rounds!

Embrace Change is a post from: Live Fit and Sore

Funny how things can pop out of nowhere that lead to great opportunities –or at least the possibility of great ones! I am meeting with an old friend this morning to catch up and discuss a possible opportunity for me to further expand and grow. I will share more when I know more! Just keep me in your good thoughts!

It’s been almost two weeks now since I took a break from CrossFit. Kinda odd how fast it has gone by –but I think I am ready to head back but of course it’s also time to mend some fences and start with a fresh perspective. I was thinking about how do you handle when you are ready to move on but the others may not be?

What to Do When You’ve Made Someone Angry

I keep thinking about what my big brother told me –who cares who is right or wrong. It’s not about that and no one is keeping score. He’s right of course. If it will make things progress and help move everyone past the issue, then I am happy to stand up and own the mistakes. It doesn’t really matter in the end anyway. Do I want to be right or do I want to be Happy?  For me, the answer is easy..happy, hands down.

Last night, I took the kiddos to football practice and while I was waiting for them, I went for a two mile run. I hear so many times about how busy parents are shuttling their kids back and forth to practice. Why not figure out a way to get your fitness in regardless of where, who, what  you have to do. It may not be ideal but as long as you are moving your body, breaking a sweat – it counts!

Right or Happy – Your Choice is a post from: Live Fit and Sore

Sometimes, the universe speaks to me so loudly, letting me know I am doing the right thing. I saw this today from coach Zach Even Esh, who I met briefly last summer:

Training Tip: If you train hard you must also rest “hard” – both are equally important

I am sure it’s no surprise to anyone who knows me, this laid back approach to training the past week and a half has been very odd and unnatural to me. Mentally, I feel so much better though. And I am definitely starting to feel happier and more organized. I think I was just so amazingly burnt out and overwhelmed and had no way of putting the breaks on it – so it started to seep out and affect some other areas of my life. Things you wouldn’t even connect with my fitness routine, but now that I am well rested and feeling better, those things are working their way out.

Last night, my amazing daughter Hannah was given a Ruritan citizenship award –one was given to one student from each of the local schools and Hannah was chosen by her principal and a group of teachers. I was so proud to see her up there, being recognized for how amazing, sweet and caring she is. From the day she was born, I knew she had a special sparkle. I am so lucky to be her Mom –

And to top it off, I sent her preschool/Kindergarten teachers a note about her winning this and one of her most favorite teachers came to surprise her and watch her get the award. I am not sure he knows how much that meant to her and us. He’s a very special guy –

Presenting the Ruritan Citizenship Award Recipient: My Daughter is a post from: Live Fit and Sore

We have had a woodpecker in our yard for years and every year, that darn thing uses our gutter as his piece of wood to make the loudest alarm clock in the world. I forget that he does that and boy do I get woken up from a deep sleep.

The dangers of Spring right?

Yesterday, I read Lisbeth’s post:

Using Your Discontent  It’s a sad truth of the world that the discontented achieve more. Frustration breeds progress. Pissedoffedness powers the world.

This summed up so much about me — I am never just ‘content’ with the status quo and as I said last week, it gets me in trouble. I have no patience for people who just want to get by or don’t want to make themselves and the situation they are in better. In my book, you should always be making progress in your life.

When was the last time you took some quiet moments and really thought about where you are in your life?

• What isn’t working?
• What is?
• What are some hobbies or dreams you had years ago, that you never went after?
• Are you happy?
• What is preventing you from going after them today?

I read on CrossFit Invoke’s site encouragement to work on something this week, skill wise, that you want to make progress in:

This week pick something and work on it. It can be something you’re bad at, or something you’d like to sharpen your edge on. Check with the coach before you start popping out muscle ups and be sure its ok for you to work on your CrossFit skills on the side of class or better yet during open gym!

Long ago in the early days of CrossFit, CrossFit Seattle came out with a hierarchy of skills. Some of the older WOD books have the skills listed. If you’re up for a challenge you could start checking where you’re at. You can view the skills at CrossFit Seattle’s site here (the links are on the upper right corner of the page)

And I thought, this is a great idea for everyone and not just CrossFit related.  It could be your wake up routine, or keeping your house organized, or being nicer to people you work with. Whatever it is, decide that for 7 solid days you are going to work on improving it!

Sharpening Your Edge is a post from: Live Fit and Sore

Working out really does help with SLEEP. I got my fitness in yesterday evening and I gotta tell you, I slept so so so much better. And just feel overall better this morning. It was a tough workout too!

Warmup

200m run
Squats
Push Ups
Instep Lunges
Squats

WOD
5 RM Backsquat 155#
Mini Rowing Helen

3RFT 
400m Rowing
21 KB Swings
12 Strict Pull Ups
time: 16:24

I have been doing some thinking around Taking responsibility for your actions. Why are you where you are today, whether that means you are in a good space or bad. We are the product of the choices we make — are we out of shape and overweight? are we unfulfilled in our careers?  There may be a myriad of reasons why things are the way they are but it does come down to making choices. We can always choose to change our status quo. It’s probably the harder route and scariest, but in the end it could be worth it. Why not decide to make one change today — big or small. Who knows, it could be the smaller ones that end up being the most fulfilling.

7 Timeless Thoughts on Taking Responsibility for Your Life

Not taking responsibility may be less demanding, less painful and mean less time spent in the unknown. It’s more comfortable. You can just take it easy and blame problems in your life on someone else. But there is always a price to pay. When you don’t take responsibility for your life you give away your personal power.

Take Responsibility For Where You Are is a post from: Live Fit and Sore

I had a really wonderful Mother’s Day – and totally did not follow my normal eating habits. I even had –ready for this??? Pizza!  And I enjoyed every single bit of the million slices I ate. When I got home – however, it was a different story. I had a Gluten Pregnant Belly. I looked in the mirror and seriously, my stomach looked bloated. I had read recently about this phenomena –and then saw a picture of it in action. I had never really thought about this although I know that my whole life I have had this stomach bloaty look even when I would eat so called healthy — whole wheat bread, cottage cheese…you know that drill. No matter what I did, I could not get rid of the belly. Until I got rid of gluten!

I didn’t workout all weekend — which is so odd to me. The oddest thing is that my shoulders and calves are sore.. The calves are from the run I did on Friday and the shoulders – that’s from the weeks and weeks and weeks of CrossFit. They haven’t had a good rest in a very long time. Scott also mentioned that the mycobacterial rash on my legs is looking better. Could it be that a good, solid rest is the ticket for it to heal completely? Who knows –but it’s been a very hard mental exercise for me too.

I’m going to go to a new gym tonight just to mix things up on my extended break from CFI. See what some of the other local gyms are doing, and how other trainers coach. I am thinking of it as a learning exercise to bring back when I return.

We are still going strong on the next 30 day challenge, but I have noticed that some of the athletes are losing steam. I posted this for them this morning. I hope it helps you all too!

50 Ways to Stay Motivated to Lose Weight

Oh No! I’ve been Glutened! is a post from: Live Fit and Sore

If you haven’t read some stuff by Lisbeth Darsh you are missing out. She works for CrossFit HQ and writes some of the best stuff about the mental aspect of life and other stuff…

Here’s a thought: If you’re freaking out about something, but nobody is bleeding, being harmed, or about to be seriously injured, consider that you might be overreacting. Maybe if you breathe, think, and gain perspective, life will improve. Give it a try. Let me know if it works for you.

All this week her writing seems to speak just to me –and it’s odd, scary, creepy and awesome at the same time. It all comes down, time and time again to perspective.

Perspective is Everything is a post from: Live Fit and Sore

I had trouble sleeping last night — I was all tight and uncomfortable and my mind was full of thoughts. 3A is a rough time to start thinking about all the things that are on your mind, like the topic of saying things you don’t mean because you are hurt or angry. Or saying things you know you shouldn’t –true or not true.

We all do it — revert back to our school days and say things out of spite or to hurt someone when if we stopped, calmed down and took a deep breath, we would not have said it.  Sometimes even though you don’t mean it, it can do some damage. There are consequences to saying things that you don’t mean. Good and/or bad ones. You can hurt people’s feelings, demotivate them, and make them downright angry.

What is the price you pay for lashing out and saying something hurtful? Short-term and long-term consequences and what it can do to ongoing relationships. It’s easier said than done of course –we are creatures of habit and learning a new way to communicate is hard.

I think one of the keys is to focus on the situation/issue and not the person. The second it becomes personal, you have the chance of hitting a nerve.

I came across this that seemed to explain this point well:

Always stay focused on the problem, not the person. By constantly returning to the core of the disagreement and staying focused on it, you can alleviate the all-too-easy tendency to start name-calling and picking on each other’s personal traits. Most of the time, who you each are and what you believe in is not at stake when you disagree––it’s an issue, and that issue is what needs to be refined and resolved, not the person! If you do find yourself inclined to name call or speak unkindly, consider the following:

and…

Always be prepared to do “time out” if you feel overwhelmed, angry or liable to physically threaten or harm the other person. Cooling down is a right and a responsibility, not an afterthought.

Hope that helps others out there – it certainly is something I am striving towards. Improving my communication delivery will help me personally and professionally and I know it needs work. I try to always keep in mind the person’s intentions as well. Most people out there don’t intentionally want to hurt someone’s feelings and are coming from a good place. If you start there, usually it helps to create an outcome that makes everyone happy.

To help with my tightness and extra energy, I went for a nice run this morning on the trail. I ended up doing about 4.5 miles – not all running but the point was to get outside and move my body. I got some sun, connected to nature, and got some exercise. Perfect combination.

Stay Focused on The Problem, Not The Person is a post from: Live Fit and Sore

The message in this article comes to me at the perfect time:

Time for a Break?

By no means am I suggesting that there always comes a time when it’s time to quit a sport or a training pursuit.  I am simply suggesting that you take time to reflect with honesty and courage on how this pursuit is working out for you.  Are you generally inspired and jazzed by your training, or are there more days than not when you feel drained, tired, defeated?  Motivation level is a critical indicator, not only of how well you are likely to do at a sport, but also of how positive the effects of your involvement are.  If you are feeling unmotivated, it can be a sign that your emotional, psychological, and physical needs are not being met by participation in your sport, and it can also be a result of excessive stress and not enough success to feed your system.  (see reference below:  James Loehr’s book on Toughness Training has a nice section on low motivation).  How about social indicators? Are your social connections being maintained in healthy ways, or are you finding that you are throwing yourself so heavily into your training that relationships outside of it have dwindled?  Physical signs are equally important.  Is your body responding in ways that show improvement, or are you constantly fighting injuries or pretending you don’t have pain when you walk?

This kind of self-reflection is critical for ongoing happiness, development, and health.  Of course there are some commitments that are non-negotiable.  Parenting is one of them.  You can’t decide a few years in that it’s just not working out for you because the effort outweighs the upsides.  But most of us give a lot of ourselves to some other endeavor, and I’m arguing that it’s worth assessing the results of this at any given time.  Given that we only go around once, figuring out when it might be time to step away from something—maybe forever and maybe just for a while—is probably a really smart thing to do.  Leaving something behind makes room for something new, which is awesome.  But let’s not jump right into that.  There is much to be learned from allowing ourselves the gift of time, space, and the capacity for more.  The next great thing will find its way in, and it just might be the very thing you had to leave behind in order to figure that out.

Break Time Wisdom is a post from: Live Fit and Sore

Day two of my self imposed disconnect and I woke up feeling good. I have been getting up at 515A for such a long time, its very odd but refreshing to get some solid sleep in. Although I did wake up in the middle of the night.

This is going to be a very interesting experiment for me actually –and it will take me out of my comfort zone. So it is very much in line with CrossFit philosophy. I am thinking of going for a run this evening and have plans to go over to my friend’s garage gym to get in a workout tomorrow AM.

Someone said to me yesterday –you can’t take a break, how will things happen if you aren’t there. While it’s nice to hear, it’s not really true. Life goes on with or without you. It’s the truth and wheels keep turning. Sometimes a break will highlight all you brought to the table or it highlights the fact that you were just indeed a cog in the wheel. Or it could even highlight how strong what you helped build is, it grows with or without you there. Anything worth your time, deserves some time to step back to assess and reassess what it is bringing into your life and what it is taking from it. It’s the only way to know whether you need to make adjustments.

Life Goes On is a post from: Live Fit and Sore