WHY!?

Since I posted my blog about the box jump along w/ many posts and photos on Facebook I've been getting some interesting.. and kind of surprising (to me) responses.

People are wondering / asking me why I am "doing this" to myself. In addition to the photos of the leg I posted one of the workouts I was walking into this a.m. I also posted a photo of the callouses that are forming on my hands. After just a week. I posted the callouses not because I was bummed about them or in pain. I was just surprised at how quickly they were forming. I'm actually kind of proud of them.

proof of the hard work I've been doing.

I had an unfortunate mishap. I wish I hadn't clobbered my leg on a box, but I did. Does that mean I quit? HELL NO! Does it mean Crossfit isn't for me!? NO!! It means I need to listen a bit more and think about my own personal abilities. I knew I was getting tired. I should have stopped trying to bounce right back up on that box. I should have rested at the bottom... tried again on the next round. Like today's workout where we did multiple sets of 20 push ups. (side note: pre-crossfit I have been doing push ups and usually maxed out at 12 'standard' push ups, but was asked to do 20 in this set... I did 20. Wouldn't have - HAVEN'T - pushed myself that hard on my own. THIS is one reason I do Crossfit!) I did 20 standard push ups on the first round. The second round I physically COULD NOT do 20 so I did as many as I could standard then dropped to my knees. Not until my arms would NOT lift my body. I knew my legs were tired and getting to the point where they couldn't rebound that fast and lift me to the top of that box... I should have "dropped to my knees" by stopping at the bottom to rest before jumping again. Now I know. You have to push beyond your limits, but KNOW when you have hit your max! Only YOU know!

I am doing Crossfit to push myself. To have break throughs. To share in the struggle and accomplishment with like minded individuals. To inspire others to push themselves beyond what they think they can do. To show that it CAN be done! To get stronger. To mix things up. To connect with people. To connect with myself. To fix problems I have created by doing the EXACT SAME movements over and over and over again thus creating imbalances and leading myself straight to multiple injuries. To mix things up. To be a BAD ASS!

Will I jump on a box again!? Hell YES! Maybe not today.. or tomorrow ... or the next week, but yes I will. Next time I'll be smarter and more cautious, but I'll get there. I got back on my bike after my wreck.

I'm really surprised that people are acting like they doubt my decision or dedication to seeing this through. 1. these people know me, 2. many of them are athletes as well.. that do extreme things themselves, 3. are we not to encourage each other to move through adversity?

Anyway. It matters not. I will continue. I will push. I will learn. I will get stronger. I will have fun. I will reach my goals. And it will be hard sometimes, fun others, but in the end it will all be worth it... except that there really is no end. It just evolves.

I hope to share this feeling with many others... particularly women who think "I could never do that" ... I'm here to tell you that that is 100% bullshit! You might not be able to do 'that' RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT, but if you dedicate yourself to it... open the door and focus... you can break through those barriers.

This type of work is largely physical, but there is a huge HUGE mental aspect. You walk up to that pull up bar thinking... "I can't... there is no way I can do THAT many pull ups even WITH that band thingy!"... then you climb up on that box.. you put your foot in that band... you grab that bar... and with a little help from your friends you dig deep.. you might grunt... you might scream... you WILL hurt, but YOU WILL get it done! And afterward.... afterward you will feel AMAZING!

What are your mental barriers!? What are you telling yourself you CAN NOT do!? Step up to that 'bar' grab hold of it... and push through! I BET YOU CAN!

Today's workout:
FIVE rounds for time
200 meter run
20 pullups
200 meter run
20 push ups
200 meter run
20 sit ups
200 meter run
20 air squats....

I'm not gonna lie. I thought I can't before this workout, but you better be damn sure I DID! And I'm proud!

Box Jump FAIL!

I got in a fight w/ a 20" wood box yesterday. I lost. Apparently it did not appreciate me jumping on it.  So it bit me!

See that dark red part on the right.. there is a hole and bone right under that blood. NICE!

Seriously. I was doing box jumps in a new way. Normally I would rest on the ground then jump up and spring back down. This time I was attempting to rest at the top jump down and spring back up. Yes, I was at Crossfit.... I knew I was getting tired. I was at about Rep 23 of 30 when I stumbled a bit. That was my tell. My body saying... "hey, Wanna be badass... you aren't there yet. You did your 22 reps the cool way now it's time to take it down a notch and be human." Did I listen, Um, no. You know that is not my way. I was told THIS was the way to do it. Damn it .... we are doing this. Well my legs did not agree. They got their way!

I hit that edge of the box with my full weight and split it right open. It was one of those things where you just know. I instinctively reached down and put pressure on it. I saw a bit of blood when I did this, but didn't take too much time to inspect the wound. I stood there a minute all bent over and thinking I was going to be okay and get back at it. You know how it goes though. When it's bad you stop a minute... the nausea sets in and the brain just KNOWS it ain't right chica. Have a seat ... you are done for the day.

I felt really bad for Lou and Austin... I could tell they were bummed for me... and concerned. As I hobbled over to a chair a woman named, Carole, came in and I said, "don't look at my leg... it's nasty." She said, "oh I used to be an EMT don't worry about it!" Oh really Carole.. in that case. PLEASE look at my leg and tell me what to do. I hadn't seen it yet. She looked at it and said I needed to have it looked at then graciously offered to drive my sorry butt to the ER. Thank you a million times over Carole! I truly appreciate your kindness for a complete stranger. She drove me over and Austin followed w/ my car. He went above and beyond and I appreciate it. Was a true lifesaver. If he hadn't done that I would have been stranded and would never have made it to Lily's field trip!

I got right into the ER .... sat for a bit, but got stitched up and out of there just in time to make it to Lily's field trip only a few minutes late!

7 stitches later

looks like a compression sleeve right? :D

Every time I think about the 'incident' I about want to hurl. Bone on wood is no bueno! I am actually pretty lucky... despite the bone exposing hole. I didn't damage any muscle. My leg is fully functional really w/ only a tiny bit of 'bruise' like pain. I finished the workout at the gym.... minus the box jumps and then taught spin. Everyone thought I was crazy, but really it was fine. I sat on the couch and iced for a bit... when I got up to go to bed... NOT fine. OMG that hurt. I took some advil and went to bed thinking it was going to be a long night. Wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be... and I might just have trained myself to sleep on my back again. Silver lining? When I got up this a.m... virtually no pain... did a modified workout this a.m. and taught spin again and it was fine. I'm shocked. Of course standing and moving around is better than sitting.

I'll be back at Crossfit tomorrow... but I probably won't be jumping on boxes again for a bit.... and when I do (bc I WILL) I will take my time and remind myself that I am just getting started w/ this and it's okay to NOT be able to do it EXACTLY right the first couple of times!

In comparison to the bike crash... in the moment and first couple of hours this was scarier and a bit more painful, but so far long term it seems a bit easier.

What's your worst injury... did you bounce right back or take some time off?

THIS GUY knocks my socks off! 30 x 140.6 in ONE year = WOW, REALLY?

James Lawrence (aka the ironcowboy at Tri And Give A Dam... aka the guy who set the world record in 70.3s in a year by completing 22 this year and is now looking to do 30 full (140.6) tris in 2012.) doesn't seem to believe in the word 'off season'... not this year anyway. Hmm.. maybe he'll take a bit of time off!

He is raising funds for Quiet Way (Ensuring sustainable access to clean water for children and families in Kenya.) while he trains his butt off ... I mean seriously... who does 30 triathlons in a year, period. Let alone 30 at 140.6 miles a pop! Did I mention dude has 5 kids. YEP! FIVE! I think I need to get Mr. Man on the horn for an interview as to how in the world you get all that done. Oh... he's got a day job too. Really? Raise your hand if you feel like a slacker! :)

Jenn Small of Miles Muscles and Mommyhood did a great interview with James already. And while you are over there you should check out HER story because she's pretty damn awesome too! :) All these awesome people in the world. Aren't we so lucky to have the internet and blogs so we can 'meet' all these cool interesting motivating people we might not otherwise have been able to 'know'.

Go LIKE him on Facebook!!! He's aiming for 15,000 likes and is just shy of 1,500 right now! Help a brotha out!

Here are the many ways you can track down Mr. Ironcowboy. Follow his progress, make a donation, give him some encouragement and SERIOUS props. I mean REALLY!? :D

http://www.facebook.com/#!/Ironcowboy
http://www.triandgiveadam.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/TriAndGiveADam

the OFF Season - Crossfit Danbury !

The off season is in FULL effect and I'm really enjoying it! Been hitting the weights, doing spin and running just whenever I feel like it. I found Crossfit Danbury back in the spring, but didn't want to start something new when I was entering into a big tri season so I waited .... and now tri season is OVER!

I went back to Crossfit Danbury today and signed my name on the dotted line. I'll now be going HERE

 three days a week!!! To basically get my ass handed to me! All in the pursuit of being able to call myself a certifiable bad ass! :) Okay.. it's fun in a masochistic kinda way. I really want to do this because I think it will round me out as an athlete (and I like to be a badass... but you knew that). I suffered a couple of lingering injuries this season and it seems to all stem from weak hips and glutes. Well you just can't have weak hips and glutes in crossfit! Ya just can't!

When I walked in the door one of the first things I saw was this sign and I love it! I want to make one for my house! :)

 Today's workout was humbling. I know this stuff is hard, but I consider myself to be in decent shape. Well I'm in a different kind of shape... and it's decent, but that's about it! :) Okay I'm not trying to down play myself or my abilities or the amount of work I have put in over the course of the tri season. I worked hard... it's just a different kind of work and a different kind of fit.

We started out warming up on the erg/run 400/erg/run 400. Have you ever used an erg (rowing machine)? If you haven't I dare you to hop on one at the gym and try to last 10 minutes! Seriously!

 Next we worked on the Clean. About half the class was working on getting the proper form and technique down while the other half was working toward their 1 Rep Max by slowing adding weight.. doing one, adding more weight, doing another. Two women topped out at 110 lbs. Two very tiny women... tiny, but mighty! It was so cool to watch them go through it and we all cheered for them when they reached their goal. AWESOMESAUCE!! Love the camaraderie and encouragement of the group!

I did not reach a max, but think my form was improving.

Here is what it's supposed to look like:


Looks simple, but it's tricky to get the technique.. Key: ENERGY TRANSFERRED TO BAR. You aren't to necessarily use your arms... you power through hips and glutes then get under it.

So we worked on this for about half the class then it was time for the actual workout:
AMRAP (As many reps as possible) in 10 mins:
200m run
15 wall balls
15 burpees w/ a target to jump to

Burpees w/ the goal to touch the bar.

Man my run form sucks!

Seems easy enough right. DAMN! It was hard. I used a 10lb ball (most others used 14). I got through 3 rounds plus an extra run before it was over. I wasn't sure I could keep going and was glad the timer finished as I came in!

It was hard, but it was great and I loved that everyone there knew each other, were fun and encouraging and are friends! It's going to be a wild ride. 110lb clean I'm coming after you... you and a few others that I won't mention right now... let's just get this party started first!

Revolution3 South Carolina - Working report!

First off.. I must learn to stop and take more photos!! This weekend was - once again - Epic! I can't even begin to describe to you how proud I am to be associated with Rev3. Not just because they put on a good race, but because they are just so damn AWESOME! I really mean that! I'm not just saying it. We show up and work our BUTTS off and manage to have a good time in the process. How is work fun? This is an entirely new concept to me!

Ashley - aka Rev3 EVERYTHING Girl

Chris and Ashley - separated at Birth. I mean ... who couldn't have fun with this group!?

Chris, Charles and Nick - some of the boys/muscle

I rolled into Anderson around 11:30am and jumped right into helping wherever I could with set up until after lunch when my volunteer partner in crime, Jefferson, and I went back to the hotel to 'dial for dollars'... um, basically calling people I don't know to ask them to come out and support us.. when they really weren't 100% sure what I was talking about. 1. I don't like the phone, 2. I particularly don't like to talk to people I don't know on the phone, 3. conquered a huge fear/hurdle and talked to A LOT of people I do not know. And GUESS WHAT! I am alive to tell the tale. It actually was kind of fun after I got rolling and people were fairly nice so that helped!

We rocked that Volunteer thing then returned to the expo for some more set up then off to Applebee's (everyone's favorite place) for dinner! :) I was so excited to catch up with the people I hadn't been able to talk to earlier in the day. After dinner we rolled to DOWNTOWN Anderson to check out the town and unwind...

Kat having a little fun!

The rest of set up is a blur between dialing for volunteers and helping with set up.. laughing uncontrollably and having a flat out BLAST!!! I can't even begin to describe how I feel working with Rev3. They are AMAZING!

Set up seemed to go smoothly and without incident.. well, there are always incidents, but it went really really well!

Race day was much the same! From my perspective it all went really well. I so enjoyed working with the team, the volunteers and the athletes.

One of the most touching moments of the weekend was when the final finisher came across the line. All of the spectators were gone - aside from his Team Z folks and the Multisport Ministry (they always provide a 'last place' finisher to take that 'last' spot) team.

When we all got word of the final finisher getting close we all congregated at the finish line that was STILL standing aside from the snow fencing. Team Z, the Rev3 staff, the 4 remaining Volunteers (that mind you were told they could go, but wanted to stay. I had a great video of them, but lost it.), Multisport Ministries, All3Sports and Recovery Pump all lined the finishers shoot and made a tunnel for him to come through. (I wish I could remember his name.) It was very touching and emotional. I congratulated him after the race and he was so thankful that we stuck around, shared his moment and captured his final words! He had tears in his eyes... as did the rest of us. He will remember that moment for the rest of his life and I'm so honored that I got to be there as part of the Rev3 crew to bring him home!

Getting our line ready waiting for the final finisher.

Getting the interview

My main girl LJ and I at the finish. We wore our pink compression socks for Breast Cancer Awareness month!

Rev3... Thank you! Thank you for inviting me to be a part of the AMAZING Trakkers team and THANK YOU for allowing me to be a part of the staff at TWO events. My life - SERIOUSLY - has been changed forever because of you. And I know I'm not the only one. Keep doing what you are doing and I'll see you in 2012. Wild horses couldn't keep me away!

And I can't close without a big HUGE thank you to Anderson, SC and Kathy Benson for welcoming us into there town and giving us a chance. I hope you were not disappointed... I know we were thrilled to be there. As I knew they would the southerns showed us their hospitality and we are forever thankful!

If you have not come out to a Rev3 race yet... you truly are missing out. I mean that from the bottom of my heard. Check them out. You WILL not be disappointed!

Super exciting Changes at Rev3 Cedar Point

This blog is like the REv3 show lately huh? Sorry. Life has been super busy lately... to include prepping to go and work at the Rev3 South Carolina race! Yes, I drink the Kool Aid!

Rev3 has made some really exciting changes at the Cedar Point race (that I know ALL of you will hope come to the other Rev3 races!!)

They are adding both a sprint and a kids tri!! How exciting is that!? Taking the 'family friendly' aspect to a whole new level! The Sprint Rev will be for athletes 14 and up. It will be a half mile swim, 14 mile bike, and a 3 mile run. The kids triathlon will be for kids 7-10 who will be doing a quarter of a mile swim, two mile bike, and a quarter of a mile run. Kids 11-14 will do a one hundred and fifty swim, four mile bike, and a mile and a half run

AND with that big announcement!!! REGISTRATION IS OPEN!! And they are offering EARLY BIRD PRICING!

Early Bird Prices for Cedar Point:

Full: $425 until November 1st
Full Aquabike: $410 until November 1st
Full Relay: $474 until November 1st

Half (prices will go up by $50 on October 8th):

Half: $210 until October 8th
Half Aquabike: $250 until October 8th
Half Relay: $260 until October 8th

Click right ====> HERE to register!

So GET ON IT! 2012 is going to be ROCKIN' at Cedar Point in September!!