Failure

    The past two weeks have been filled with lots of positivity and excitment. Last week, on Thursday, I competed in the second Open WOD 13.2 and was shocked beyond belief when I did not do as well as I had hoped. For the women, 13.2 consisted of the following:

10 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)
- 5 push press (shoulder to overhead) at 75#
- 10 deadlifts at 75#
- 15 box jumps at 20 inches

  Going into the WOD I was confident that I would be able to get 6 plus rounds, but when I finished completeing only four, and dropping the bar during push presses so many times, I felt so defeated. After one of my coaches, and fellow WOD partners, Laura, got in touch with me, and gave me some advice about taking in the Open for all it is, to not worry so much about the numbers, and realize that I have accomplished a lot as new member to Crossfit, I woke up the next day ready to accept my four rounds, move on, and focus on the next obstacles.

“A bad day for your ego is a great day for your soul.”
― Jillian Michaels

I showed up to the box Saturday with the intention of doing the St. Patrick's Day Partner WOD and watching some other athletes compete, doing 13.2  afterwards. Once I got to the box I decided that I was going to stop being so fearful of the fact that I had failed myself miserably during 13.2 and redo it! What was I going to gain by being afraid of failing? What would I gain by being to afraid to try again? If I had let those two logics run my life, I would have quit a LONG, LONG time ago. I stepped up to the plate, went into the WOD with a game plan and I wound up finishing with 6 rounds total, and I only dropped the bar twice during my push presses. ACCOMPLISHED, is the only way to decribe the feeling right after those 10 minutes were up. Even though I failed the first time I did 13.2, I stood back up and did exactly what I set my mind out to do!

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end.”
― Denis Waitley

It was such an empowering, exhilerating experience, to be knocked down, stand back up, look failure right in the face and succeed! If I want something out of my life, I have to be willing to accept failure, and learn from it. Failing means I am trying, finding different ways that work for me. It's not about falling down, it's always about standing back up, in every single aspect of life.

After the WOD we all shared some St. Patrick's Day treats, hung around, talked, then went and grabbed some food and drinks at FireSide! It was great to go out and meet some new on rampers who have also sipped the Crossfit KoolAid and even took on 13.2 for the hell of it! It was so inspiring watching them push themselves past their limit and accomplish great things! There are so many great things happening at our box, and even better things in all of our futures! I am so excited for everyone :)


Today I am grateful to finally be on Spring Break! Although mine started two days earlier ( home sick with strep throat) it's nice to know I have a full week to recover, and rest! I will hopefully be feeling better in the next two days so I can get out of the house and do somethings while I am off. This break is going to be so nice, and absolutely necessary!!

What are you grateful for today?


Hope everyone had a great week!
-A

 Here's a picture of me 1 week apart, during the Paleo Challenge

It's crazy how much can change when you start eating clean!

 

 

 

 

Taking on 13.2 Push Presses

 

 

Shannon kicking ass during the St. Patrick's Day WOD

(Yes, that's beer!)

Part of the MCF family!

 



Open

" Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being OPEN to all the questions. " - Earl Gray Stevens

 

 

    Confidence is something I feel a lot of people struggle with, society is constantly sending us all mixed messages through the media about how we should feel about ourselves. Since I was a teenager, I feel into that trap of weighing my self confidence to other people's standards. I never felt good enough, smart enough, skinny enough...I was always selling myself short, always unhappy, viewing things so negativitly, especially when it came to my body. I never ever in my life felt comfortable in my own strength, and own skin. After this weekend, I am finally done measuring my confidence to other people's standards! My body is my machine, and what it can accomplish is an endless possiblity.

    On Wednesday I hung around after my WOD to watch some ridiculously AWESOME people take on 13.1 of the Crossfit Open. In all my years of playing a variety of different sports, even at the collegiate level, I have NEVER EVER experenced something like the Crossfit Open. The amount of positivity, support, and drive that happened that night was an intense, emotional experience. I watched miracles literally happen before my eyes as people PR'd their snatches, and pushed their bodies past a point they did not even know existed. I watched an entire group of people take time out of their lives to come support these amazing athletes.

   Later that night, one of my coaches called me out, and told me to sign up for the Open. I am going to be completely honest, I was really hesistant at first. I didn't know how I was going to compete against everyone else, or if I would be able to function with so many people watching me, I even told myself I wasn't GOOD enough yet. I had never competed in Crossfit before, and the thought of my first competition being the Open was a lot to wrap my head around. For a good hour, I ran every damn excuse I could through my head until I decided to face my fear, sign up, and enjoy the freaking ride!

   Yesterday I nervously showed up at the Box, and tried to physically and mentally prepare myself for what I was about to experience. Here is a run down of what 13.1 of the Open consisted of for females.

 

17 mins AMRAP

40 Burpees to a 6" target

30 Snatches 45#

30 Burpees

30 Snatches 75#

20 Burpees

30 Snatches 100#

10 Burpees

30 Snatches 120#

   

  In 17 minutes of awesome, physical and mental hell, I managed to PR my snatch by 22# for 13 reps and finished with a total of 113 reps on the workout! It was amazing to see the support of my teammates, and even people I had never met people. They cheered me on, and encouraged me that I could do this, and for once, I actually believed them! I was so inspired by all of my teammates who competed next to me, by working hard and being so determined, each one of them allow me to push myself that much further. My accomplishments yesterday would have never been possible with out my coach Rick, who one, called me out for not competeing, and two, stood by my side the entire 17 mins, and talked me through the work out. He allowed me to break when I needed, and pushed me even harder to reach beyond my comfort zone!

   What I learned this weekend was that being open to all the possibilites and opportunities in life is far more exciting then being scared or closed off from them. I would have never known what I was capable of, or how much support I do have if I had never been open to the idea of competeing. One simple choice of saying "NO" could have drastically changed the entire course of my life. Seeing where I rank amongst thousands of people all over the World makes me want to work harder, eat cleaner, and be better! The possibiltes are endless, it's time to get after it...

 

 

Today I am grateful for the all the awesome, inspirational, determined people at the box. In a little over a month I already feel like I am apart of something way bigger than myself. These are not just people I "work out" with, they have become family, friends, my inspiration! The amount of intensity, positivity, determination, and inspiration that each and every one of these people bring to the table is ridiculous, and has defnitely reinstilled my faith that there are still good people in this World.

 

What are you grateful for today?

 

 

Hope everyone has a great week!

 

 

xxx,

Hippie_Roots

 

This is a current picture of me, 2 weeks into the Paleo Challenge.

Here is a quick and easy Paleo breakfast receipe!

Bacon Egg Muffins

1.Fry Nitrate Free Bacon in grease

2. Pre-Heat oven to 350

3. Grease cupcake pan with Coconut Oil

4. Wrap cooked bacon on the inside of each tray cup

5. Crack a Cage Free/Omega3 egg into each cup (add other ingredients , mushrooms, onions, peppers, rosemary)

6. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, let cool and enjoy!

 

 

 

 



 

 

Balance

Balance is one of the biggest things I strive for in my life. I am a libra, so by nature I am constantly trying to balance my life, relationships, work, school, job etc. When things are out of balance, it usually throws me into a whirl of unsettled, restlessness. I start to eat poorly, not sleep, and my overall attitude about things is more negative.

I've really been pushed to my limit in the past two weeks. My mom having this surgery has put a huge weight on top of everyone's shoulders. I felt so shitty last week because I missed crossfit 3 days in a row. Crossfit has become my source of happiness, my hard work, my anger, my push and drive through daily life, so when I can't make it to the box, I get pissed off. What I concluded though was that getting angry was just another form of an excuse for me. I need to harden up, and if I can't go to crossfit after work, then I need to wake my ass up in the morning and go at 6.

Realistically life is always going to be hard, there will always be bills to pay, people who do not agree with me and things I have to do that I would rather not. Finding a balance between the hard things and the things I love in life has to be consistent. If crossfit is my passion, and drive, then I need to get there, no matter what the circumstances.


“Life is a balanced system of learning and evolution. Whether pleasure or pain; every situation in your life serves a purpose. It is up to us to recognize what that purpose could be.”
― Steve Maraboli

So far crossfit has taught me a very important life lesson , and that is ... Can I stand up when the weight of the world is literally on my shoulders? In life, just like in crossfit, getting pulled down by the weight is easy, it's standing back up that shows your strength! Do you have what it takes to stand the weight back up? Are you able to fail, and fail, and fail until you succeed? The stronger you get, the more weight life puts in your shoulders. It never gets easier, you just get better!

Coming to this conclusion, this perspective, this link between crossfit and my life has allowed me to face myself and fears and deal with life, instead of running from it. Step by step I am learning to balance my life, to love what I do and do what I love, and I have to tell you...it feels amazing!

What I am grateful for...

I am grateful I got to see my mom tonight! She is still in the hospital recovering but doing and looking A LOT better! It's been so different without having her home, and I really miss her! However, I am excited for her to come home, and this new journey of her life to take place!

Later on in the week I will be talking about the Paleo Challenge we started for crossfit and posting a before picture, so make sure you stop back and check it out!


xxx,
hippie_roots


This is me doing a 63# squatclean