then and now

Happy Thanksgiving...yesterday.
Not that I need Thanksgiving to remind me that I have much to be thankful for, but 'tis the season for it all to bubble to the surface!  Half our family was home, and the other half was a mere "facetime" away, so we all had a chance to hang out with each other.
Joy joy joy!

I headed into CrossFit Beacon to WOD yesterday and was so happy to see at least some of 'my' Beacon Peeps, my other family.  The community that has/continues to develop at Beacon constantly reminds me how grateful I am that I have been able to be a part of it all since Beacon opened in April '12.  We have an eclectic mix of ages and occupations, but the common denominator is that we are all people who have learned the value in becoming a Beacon member and in taking care of ourselves through physical activity, nutrition, and connection.
Physical activity: sweating together
Nutrition: clean eating...and beer mixed in with the Vita Coco in the gym's fridge
Connection: realizing the energizing quality of spending an hour a day in a class of crazy-ass people who laugh hard, work hard, then laugh hard all over again

I am extremely wowed by seeing the transformations people are making right in front of my eyes.  It's impossible not to be aware of it.  After a few short weeks, I notice these already wonderful people are creating a 'new normal' for themselves: standing straighter, getting firmer, laughing a little louder, getting bolder with their efforts, showing off their increased muscle definition, and talking about their new feats of strength (ie: the wife surprising the husband by rearranging the entire living room all by her dainty little self...BAM Susanna! :] )  It's impossible to take one's health and abilities for granted when you are surrounded by this type of energy daily!

Until recently, I kind of realized that while I do not take my own health and abilities for granted, I don't always appreciate my own gains because I have been living my current lifestyle for over two years now, so it's my *normal*.  I also happen to be lucky enough to have a family of my husband and all 8 of my children (my 4 daughters and their spouses/partner) who all live very healthy lifestyles as well. And my granddaughter will have no choice but to grow up thinking 'normal' translates to being physically fit and eating cleanly. :) Because of this, I just don't really dwell on where I used to be...that was a place of relative health, although being 35# heavier and feeling as though that would be where I was destined to be the rest of my life.

from May '10 to Aug '12

I began CrossFit in May 2010, connected with it immediately, started dialing in my nutrition within about a week of starting, and am forever thankful that the combination of both has changed me from the inside out.  Well, okay, I kind of like the changes from the outside in, too. ;) 

There was no way I could have imagined my own transformation.  To know my own, however, makes me totally appreciate the courage it takes for a person to walk through Beacon's doors and make the commitment to themselves to become healthier. Often they come in, as I did, knowing their former 'athlete' is inside of them somewhere and they want that person back. What they may not realize is how far their transformations can take their attitudes/outlooks in their lives in general.  The journey becomes a series of wide-eyed joy and discovery of one's true strength, both inside and out.

'Tis the season to be thankful, but as the days pass and holidays are behind us, never forget that it's just plain healthy to appreciate one's own transformation.  There's a "then and now" in all of us.  Some of it may be physical, some emotional, but it's there.  Enjoy the "now" by getting a little sweaty, enjoying a few laughs, and swigging a good beer in celebration of all your hard work!



 

OMG shoes...again

There has been an uptick of talk about CrossFit shoes lately.  I thought it appropriate to repost an entry I wrote back in January (see below), and as I was rereading it, I couldn't help laughing at how much has changed even in my world of shoes!

Back in January, I was the proud owner of my third pair of CrossFit shoes. Nike frees, then Vibrams, then NB Minimus.  The Minimus were what I thought I would stick with forever. 
Fast forward to: "I should get used to the Reebok Nanos since I might have to wear them at the Games."  LOVE them. They are comfortable and fit my duck feet even better than the Minimus, with a tad more sole (and here, I mean just sole...Minimus might still have a little more soul).

This is pretty much what I live in...when I can't be barefoot.  Even my slippers are flippers! And look at that, I've got so many now that I didn't even include my Minimus or Vibrams, both of which (along with those black Nikes) I use when I'm walking the dog or mucking around.  They don't get the CrossFit respect they used to, but I love to have comfortable shoes for those activities too! :)

So, in less than a year, I have gone from a minimalist when it comes to shoes to just another shoe hoarder.  I'll venture to say I'm not done.  :)







**OMG, shoes** 1/12

There is one unending discussion among CrossFitters...
...well, there are a few, but what I am talking about at the moment are SHOES!
We love our shoes. We look high and low for the perfect pair of shoes that will perform well for the highest box jump or the need for 'heels down' in a good overhead squat.

Brand loyalty is fleeting because companies are always coming up with new shoes to lure us CrossFitters out of our current brand and into theirs'. For tough mofos, we are kind of weak in that department!

Personally, I wish I could go barefoot all the time. That's not reasonable in the winters in Maine or on the streets for running (although I have been known to run the 400m warm up barefoot). It's also a little difficult to be shoeless for box jumps, double unders, and rowing. Consequently, I had to really search for the perfect shoe for my 'duck feet'. I have a pair that are wide enough to accommodate my quackers, no rise on the sole to simulate being barefoot, and because of both those features, they are as close to the feeling of being barefoot as I have found. Thank you, NB Minimus, with the Vibram sole...or is that soul. ;) That said, I doubt I am forever done poking around the pages of "shoes for the CrossFitter" because it's just kind of what we all do. We all like to think we are finding that edge that will help us go faster, jump higher, be steadier on a lift.

I hate to admit that the shoes really can do that. I am well aware that if we think they give us an edge, then of course they do! So, if I have to partake in the shoe world for CrossFit, then let me say to CrossFit:
I want to put on my my my my my
Boogie shoes, just to boogie with you....

gripping

grip: the act of grasping; a seizing and holding fast; to attach by a grip or clutch

A totally unexpected side effect of having to lay off strength/barbell work for just three weeks was the reduction of my grip strength when I started back in.  I have some numbness still in the fingers on my right hand, but that doesn't prevent me from being able to hang on to a barbell. I was shocked at how weak my fingers/overall grip/forearms were.  Shocked! 

I'm forever learning new things about the human body through my own experiences with CrossFit and through other's.  Add this to my reference file!

Grip strength is something we discuss in CF. We know how important it is and how fatigued our grips can become. However, I would venture to say that when a break from strength work is necessary, we mostly think about how it will effect our shoulders/bi and triceps.  Forearms and hands were certainly never thought about by me. 

There is so much we take for granted re: our body mechanics.  Of COURSE we don't sit around and analyze/visualize every *domino effect* movement our bodies go through when in motion. (Although I know a few people who might...) That's why it's so interesting when awareness pops up unexpectedly.  Who doesn't appreciate one more reason to love and want to keep our amazing machines in good working order? 

The beauty of CF is that since all the movements integrate one's entire body as a single functioning machine, we don't really have to think about its separate parts. Even with a bias toward a certain area, integration of all our parts allows us to get stronger all over. Isolate a body part to strengthen it? No need, and besides, that sounds pretty boring. 

Thank you, weakened grip, for yet again reminding me how beautiful CrossFit is as a way to keep this middle-aged body strong enough to keep playing and enjoying life without having to worry about every little movement it makes. 

listening from the inside out

Listening from the inside out is different than internal dialogue.

Internal dialogue is mental.  It can kill the mood or turn us into pompous asses at any given moment. U s u a l l y, internal dialogue is mean spirited.  Why do we allow it? I once read a great quote regarding that. It went:
"If we talked to our friends the way we talk to ourselves, we wouldn't have any friends."
So, decidedly, internal dialogue is a nasty beast much of the time and we definitely need to learn to tame it.

Listening from the inside out is physical.  This is something we don't always do because we get caught up in the moment and forget to pay attention to little changes internally in our movements.  This is always important, and moreso when you're holding a buttload of weight on the barbell, or performing high reps with a kettlebell, etc.

It's also a factor in your rest and recovery.  CrossFitters are told from the start how important R&R is to your general health and wellbeing.  But this is where it's important to be accountable.  Coaches can wag fingers at athletes who are WODding too much (and yes, I've been known to do this :/ ), but if you, as an athlete, WANT to WOD multiple days in a row, then listen to what your body is telling you and  just don't WOD at 100% every day.  That is extremely hard to do, but can be done.  Listen.  Feel the "tap tap tap" of messages your body is sending you.  Don't let it get to the point where the "tap" becomes a boulder crashing down on you. 
Conversely, if you feel the need to take a week off every now and then, just do it! 
We all respond differently to everything in life. Guidelines are important in that they can help us lay out our own outline. Ultimately, however, only you know what is actually going on from the inside out.

After the Games last summer, I took a week off.  I did that because I was listening to what people were saying I should do, when in fact, I felt great and wanted to WOD.  Big mistake!  I should have listened to myself and WODded because when I did go back after that week off, I felt like crap and it took a while before I regained any sort of CF rhythm.  If I had felt like crap after the Games, I would have gladly rested.  It didn't help hearing this arguementative internal dialogue all that week, and all because I wasn't listening to my own body.  Lesson learned.

We definitely need to hear both messages, but listening from the inside out will be far better for you physically than just relying on that pesky internal dialogue.

one CrossFitter...

All it takes is one person...
That's all it took for 14 of us from CrossFit Beacon to furiously sign up at the last minute to run in the 1st Annual Bug Light 5K. It was organized as a charity run for the city of South Portland's Historical Society and their Land Trust, which is improving their parks and walking trails system, some of which we ran on today.
Tyson, Beacon buddy/athlete/coach/instigator wanted to run, put it out there for interested others, and this morning we were light-blue tee shirts strong.

 



For a couple of Beacon Peeps, it was their first 5K.  For a few others, it proved a morning 5K PR.  And for all of us, it was a great time with the usual banter between us filled with equal parts smack and respect...yeah, that's the usual banter. :)

Some of this group are runners and CrossFitters, but most of us are just CrossFitters.  The beauty of CrossFitting is that you gain the confidence and the ability to *game* pretty much any activity you choose to try/do, including a 5K.  It's very cool!  It makes last minute sign ups for a 5K possible.

When I told Laurence that I was going to sign up for this just on Friday, he didn't even hesitate to also sign up.  This was his first 5K, and while he does not CrossFit, he hears enough about it to know that by figuring out how to *game* the race helped with his mental outlook toward it.  He did a great job sticking to his plan of not walking and going at an easy jog the whole way.  CrossFit attitude by osmosis! :)

One CrossFitter, CrossFit confidence, and the CrossFit propensity for participating in charitable activities all make for some amazing memories {and memorable smack talk :) }.  That's all it took for today was one CrossFitter putting out a suggestion for a day of fun doing something that we all love...challenging ourselves!

dear feet

Dear Feet,

Last night, Laurence grabbed one of you and gave it a loving squeeze as he walked by me. Talk about a surprise feel-good moment!! WOW

Feet, beautiful or ugly as you may be, you are a wondrous and forgotten part of people's bodies.  I apologize for all the abuse we humans put you through each day. Pass that along to all your other feet friends!

~We put you on the floor in the morning and expect you to go from zero to 60 with no warm up. 
~We use you to kick objects out of our way, open doors, use your tippytoes to reach up high, run to catch the bus, run for health, walk, skip, hop, dance....
~We stuff you into torture devices shoes. (Well, Feet, you know that I don't like to do that unless the snow is blowing...or I have to run, perform box jumps, or do some double unders on you.)
~We get frustrated when you feel less than stellar.
...better said, we don't really feel you at all, Feet, until you do feel less than stellar.
Talk about utter neglect!

It's always hard to hear when someone has something seriously wrong with a foot or worse, both of their feet.  It's also not surprising that it happens.  We ride rough on you guys. 
Let's let you heal. Love you up.  Be kind to you. 
Reflexology doesn't get nearly enough 'air time'.  That may be how I should be choosing to pamper you two more often...right to the source of AHHHH. :)

That squeeze Laurence gave you led to those glorious few minutes of him literally squeezing both of you. Do you remember how great that felt? 

I promise not to be so neglectful of you from now on.  You have been very good to me and I just want to thank you!

love,

your person and her daughter...feet buddies

annie, your person

go ahead, be sore

Newbies to CrossFit almost always get around to asking the question, "Will I always be sore?" 
I hate to break it to them, but I have to answer "yes".
(Enter, mobility and fluids!!)
What I also say, however is that we all adapt to our various levels of soreness.  As an athlete, you need to learn to read your body as to what feels sore and what is a little more nagging...perhaps a 'pain'.  Pay attention. Take an extra day off if you aren't sure.  The box will still be there, the coaches will still be there, your CF family will still be there.  Better to choose to take an extra day off than to have to take a month off. 

Speaking for myself, my levels of soreness ebb and flow depending on the week's WODs. Feeling at ease with how my body responds and knowing that what I'm feeling is *good* soreness leading to a stronger body and continued fitness takes the focus off of it.  It just is.

The first summer I was CrossFitting was also the first full summer I played golf.  Some days I didn't think I would be able to swing the club, and even when I did it wasn't always very pretty! (Okay, so it's still not always very pretty, but... :} )  I  couldn't help but focus on the soreness that summer.  Then after about three months, it just stopped being on my mind all the time.  That three month mark is kind of magical.  It's when true fitness gains are staring back at you from the mirror, whispering positive self-talk phrases to you, wrapping you with a new cloak of confidence.  It begins happening sooner, but at three months, it sticks!

So go ahead, be sore, and keep WODding.  Your life both inside and outside the box will thank you for it!