I would love if this post could be deep and meaningful, but I’m powering down. Today’s workout was nice and easy. I rowed for 30 minutes and took an ice bath. I thought about working on some of the Regional movements, but honestly, I don’t think there is much more I can do at this point. A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t really say I was excited for the Regional, but now I’m definitely getting pretty excited. I’m looking forward to competing, but also just watching everyone else. I’m just so thankful that I get to be a part of it… and get a t-shirt
Tomorrow will be more resting. I head to Pomona in the afternoon to check in and get settled. My mama is coming up to watch too… she’s the best. I’ve had several people ask me what I eat on competition day. I don’t know what is better or worse, but I think the most important thing is to eat how you normally do. Competitions are no time to change your habits… especially food habits. Could turn out bad, if you know what I mean? So, I usually pack mashed sweet potatoes (I like them with a little butter, salt and cinnamon), a few packs of Columbus deli meat, avocados, larabars (Cashew is still my favorite), and berries. I also like to take protein powder and coconut water. I think that’s it. Yep.
The picture above is from the 2010 Regional… back when teams didn’t even have to qualify! I had to single arm snatch a 35# dumbbell for this workout… and it was hard! I’ve come a ways 70 pounder on Saturday… no big deal!
Last thing… I was reading Katie Hogan’s blog today and was reminded of this quote…
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” -Marianne Williamson
This video is good too (and not just because of Brad Pitt… but he doesn’t hurt ):
Sometimes when I have rest days… meaning I don’t workout (gasp!)… I wonder why I don’t do it more often! I used to make such a fuss about taking days off, but things are different. This week, it is definitely important that I take it easy so I’m ready to go on Friday. I practiced “self care” today, which included aimlessly cruising the isles of Target, getting a pedicure, and reading my book on a bench in the sunshine. I did other (more productive) things of course, but these were the highlights.
Like I mentioned in a former post, I have been reading more lately. I have to say it feels really good. I am feeling more aware and things seem to be jumping out at me, which I like. It makes me think. I am still working my way though Don Miller’s book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, but I have also been drawn back to one of my other favorite authors, Anne Lamott. I read this article of hers the other day, and loved it: How to Live a Life that Satisfies the Soul. She is honest and really funny, in my opinion. This was my favorite quote from the article:
“All I ever wanted since I arrived here on Earth were the things that turned out to be within reach, the same things I needed as a baby—to go from cold to warm, lonely to held, the vessel to the giver, empty to full. You can change the world with a hot bath, if you sink into it from a place of knowing that you are worth profound care, even when you’re dirty and rattled. Who knew?”
Beautiful words!
Speaking of beautiful, I re-watched this video today of Yosemite. It makes me feel so small, but in a good way, you know? … that there is something much bigger out there and it’s not all about me. Yes, who knew?
I think I am pretty easily inspired… by words, movies, people, sunsets… you name it. There were a couple of things today that really stuck out to me, so I’m gonna share them with you. The first is a video that Jeff actually found somewhere on the interwebs of a guy who was told he would no longer walk without assistance. He didn’t give up. Pretty awesome… (Warning: you may get inspired )
The second thing was CrossFit Lisbeth’s words on Chris Spealler and his incredible performance at the South West Regional this past weekend. Read it HERE. I am pretty excited to get to watch this guy in the Games again this year.
We are all so capable, even when it feels like we aren’t… or when everything seems against us. I love that quote that says, “Everything you need is already inside.” I was reminded of it today. I have no doubt that we are our own greatest enemies. Let yourself believe that you are worth it and that you can accomplish whatever it is that you want. Start small. Celebrate your accomplishments. Keep working hard. Breathe. Don’t give up. And for goodness sakes, have a little fun.
Today was a good day in the gym for me. As most of you know, this weekend is the SoCal Regional. I have to admit, when I first saw the workouts that I am to do, I laughed and thought… well, I’ll at least make it through the first one without getting cut. When I hang cleaned 135# several times last week, I was confident that I could at least make it through workout 2. The 70# DB snatch has seemed so out of reach though… humorous almost. I seriously laugh when I pick that thing up sometimes. Anyway, I’ve been working at it, and today I snatched it… at least 8 times (both arms!). Hope!! All this to reiterate my point… even the seemingly impossible can become possible.
Well, the Regional workouts have been continuing. Yesterday morning, Mikey and I did workout #3, where I almost almost snatched the 70# dumbbell… multiple times. I’m gonna get it. Maybe not 10 times, but at least once on each arm. I’ve got a good feeling! In the afternoon, we did workout #4 again (this is the squats, pull ups, and shoulder to overheads workout). I did better this time around… by over 20 reps and did not get the flu afterward, so all in all… a success! (Still awful though). Unfortunately, after my overhead squats, in complete exhaustion, I dropped the barbell on my feet. The left one is especially bruised and walking is pretty uncomfortable. I’ve iced and hopefully the rest this week will make ‘em better. Super lame sauce injury.
This morning, our first workout was a snatch ladder with double unders… however the first weight (105#) is more than my max, so I just worked on getting it… for a while. Sadly, I did not, but I’m close and confident that I can, should I even make it to day 3 I did hit my old max, without having lifted much in the last six weeks. I’m not disappointed at all. I was thinking how cool it is to be getting better at some things because I have to. I am trying stuff that I probably wouldn’t have tried had I not made it to the Regional. This is what can be so cool about competitions. It’s not about what anyone else can do, but about what I can do… where I have come from, and what I am capable of doing. Always.
Here are two videos of me almost snatching 105# today. As you can see, I get under the bar ok, but my shoulders round forward and my armpits are facing the ground when I catch, so I get pulled forward by the weight.
Our second workout this afternoon was the 6th and final Regional workout.
3 rounds:
7 Deadlifts (345/225#)
7 Muscle ups
3 rounds:
21 Wall balls (20/14#)
21 Toes to bar
then…
100ft Farmer carry (100/70#)
28 Burpee box jumps (24/20″)
100ft Farmer carry
3 Muscle ups
I made it to my second round of muscle ups, but only got 4. I was getting through alright, but was really struggling to get out of the dips. I had to rest a good amount between each one. I have to admit that I did get a little discouraged when I kept failing after my first rep of round 2. I finally told myself out loud “Alright Lindsay, quit F***ing around”, and I got my next two! Nathan was also very helpful at keeping me focused. Despite not getting very far, I can’t help but still be pretty stoked that I can do muscle ups. I know they’ll get better. They already have. Gotta keep on.
All day today it felt like Wednesday. I am just not used to doing workouts on Thursdays… it’s my recovery day after all! This morning Mike and I did the first regional workout, Diane. I forced myself to only do sets of 3 on my HSPU’s for as long as I could. I still ended up at singles on my final set of 9, but managed to shave over a minute off my time (just from Monday!). Of course I would still love to be faster. Pretty sure I heard that a girl did this workout last weekend in under 3 minutes! This is beyond me! I’m very impressed.
Our second workout was the 2k row, 50 pistols, 30 hang cleans one. For me to be able to move on to the 3rd regional workout next weekend, I have to complete at least 10 hang cleans at 135#. I got 10 today, with 7 seconds to spare. The problem for me is my low back gets so fatigued that getting out of the front squat is quite difficult and I round forward… elbows up! Also, my shoulders were super sweaty and slippery, which I’m sure didn’t help. Note to self: t-shirt over tank for this workout.
All in all, it was a good day in the gym and I am so grateful to friends who came to workout with us… Chelsie and her sis, Motorcycle Matt, and Ray and his friend Rory. Thank you guys! Tomorrow, we are gonna tackle day 2… which means I’m going to attempt to 1-arm snatch that 70# dumbbell for 10 minutes… can’t wait! That will be around 10, and second workout of the day will be at 3… the crazy squat/pull-up/shoulder to overhead one. I honestly can’t believe I’m going to subject myself to it again. Anyone who wants to join us is more than welcome (Elliott… stop making excuses. You’re coming!).
Lastly, what I wanted to share yesterday was this, from Katie Hogan’s blog:
“In the past year of training I have run into several roadblocks that have thrown me off track. Because they were not part of my initial plan, these unexpected setbacks started to get inside my head. I started to lose faith in myself and what I could accomplish. It felt like things were out of my control.
And they were. But what I’m still realizing is that just because I can’t plan and control everything in my life, doesn’t mean that I’m failing. These roadblocks felt like things I had to succumb to. It seemed that I needed to admit defeat and stop letting it bother me. “Why can’t you just get over it,” I kept asking myself. My coach stopped me and said “It’s not about getting over it. It’s about getting through it.” What he explained was that getting “over it” would mean that I didn’t care, that I didn’t want better for myself, that I was satisfied with anything other than what I had been working so hard for. So instead: get through it. Keep moving forward, learn, adapt, grow, repair, but don’t just lay down and take it.”
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I have been feeling this. I love the thought of not necessarily getting over difficulties and roadblocks, but getting through them… moving forward… and hopefully becoming a stronger and better athlete/person/whatever because of it.
…because today I rested (mostly), and that is quite dull. So, yesterday I was actually pretty tired and grumpy and didn’t feel at all like working out. I barely made it to the gym in time to get a workout in before coaching. Fortunately, Mikey is helping to keep me in line, and I practiced some heavy hang cleans (135#). I did 2 on the minute for 5 minutes. Then, I practiced my one-arm dumbbell snatch. I worked with the 50# for a while, then with the 70#. I’m working on split snatching, and got much closer than I did last time I tried, but still no luck. I’m pretty confident I can get the right arm, but not so sure about the left. At the Regional, I will have to do 5 on each arm in the time cap to advance to the next workout. Hoping! I ice bathed for 20 minutes following my workout… something I have really been slacking on lately
Like I said, today was light, and tomorrow Mikey and I will do day one of the Regional workouts, along with anyone who wants to join in with us. The first workout is “Diane” (21-15-9 Deadlifts and HSPU’s) at 9:30, and the second is a 2k row, 50 pistols, 30 hang cleans around 2ish, I think. Friday and Saturday, we will be doing day 2 and 3 of the Regional workouts. It may be the only time that I get to do the day 3 workouts, since I’m not too confident I will be advancing that far when the time comes. Not being negative, just realistic!
Ok, that’s all I’ve got for now. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll post some deeper thoughts on a blog post I read today.
“Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.” -Robert Collier
I’m up past my bedtime… again, but I’m celebrating that I don’t have to get up before 6am tomorrow morning. I feel like I have been pretty out of it the past week. I got the flu bug pretty bad last Tuesday night, which took me out for a couple of days, and then left for Mexico (near Cancun) for my cousin’s wedding. It was nice to get away for a bit and see my family and bag some rays, of course. I bagged a few too many on my back side, however. Note to self: avoid foam rolling a very sunburned back… ouch. Needless to say, I have had very little physical activity and more margaritas and tortilla chips than normal.
Today, I was back in the gym and had no real agenda… probably not the best thing, but I decided that I wanted to do “Diane” since it has been a few months and it is the first Regional workout. I would love to tell you that I crushed my old (and very impressive) time of 11:27, but instead I got exactly the same time. Exactly! At least I’m consistent I thought I might “pace” my handstand push-ups, but regardless they go to shit after the first set to 21 anyway… ones and twos. Disappointing. I went for an easy run later in the day just to clear my head and breathe.
On another note, I’ve decided I’m actually going to try to read more… books that is. I started reading one in the airport yesterday. ‘A Million Miles in a Thousand Years’ by Donald Miller. I’ve had it for a long time and got half way through it at some point, but then stopped (very typical). It’s non-fiction and mostly about how every life tells a story, and how we can choose to live a better story. Easier said than done, I know, but I’m enjoying it. Here are a few excerpts that I liked so far…
“If I have a hope, it’s that God sat over the dark nothing and wrote you and me, specifically, into the story, and put us in with the sunset and the rainstorm as though to say ‘Enjoy your place in my story. The beauty of it means you matter, and you can create within it even as I have created you.’” (p.59)
“And once you know what it takes to live a better story, you don’t have a choice. Not living a better story would be like deciding to die, deciding to walk around numb until you die, and it’s not natural to want to die.” (p.66)
“People love to have lived a great story, but few people like the work it takes to make it happen. But joy costs pain.” (p.100)
I especially like that last one. Anyway, it’s honest and thoughtful, and is just making me think about my life and the story it’s telling and the story I want it to tell. Lots of re-figuring things out! Perhaps I’ll talk more on it when I finish the book… something that is actually going to happen this time around! Ok, time for dreaming…
Well, today was not what I expected. I was just telling Jeff yesterday morning that I have a champion immune system, and then I got the flu. Totally sucks. We leave for Mexico tomorrow morning for my cousin’s wedding, so hopefully the worst of it is over. Traveling while sick is no bueno.
Anyway, Mike and I did day 2 of the Regional workouts yesterday. It looked like this:
10:30am-
Workout #3
10 1-arm DB snatches, alternating (100/70#)
sprint
4x
I worked on snatching the 70 pounder again, but still no luck, so instead I did 10 alternating deadlifts with the 70# (speed) and 10 alternating hang snatches with the 50#. It took me 11:56.
3pm-
Workout #4
This is one of the hardest workouts I’ve done in a long time. I don’t know if my flu bug was already hanging out and that’s why I felt so awful after or what. I felt fine during the workout. I mean, it was hard… really hard and I was having trouble catching my breath, but I definitely didn’t feel sick. The hardest parts for me were the 95# shoulder to overhead (as I expected) and the front squats… mostly because my shoulders were so fatigued. My last set of pull-ups was pretty slow as well… sets of 3 to 5. I got a little choked up after finishing this one because it was hard. Everything is hard. And a couple hours after that, I was clearly sick.
Today was a rest day, obviously, and I have slept most of the day. I will likely just lay around on the beach for the next few days, and hopefully be back at it on Monday.
Lastly, I posted this link to CrossFit Lisbeth’s blog on Facebook yesterday, but I just read it again, and thought I would re-share. This part especially stood out to me:
“Be prepared to serve. To let others come first. To set yourself on fire. To set your very soul on fire. To offer your heart plain and simple, live and beating, right there on the table, every day.
Expect to be attacked. Expect to be ridiculed. Expect to be ignored.
Breathe. Hurt. Suffer. Smile.
And maybe, one day, you’ll find yourself wondering how you got so lucky — and you’ll realize it wasn’t luck at all.”
I read the “Life Handbook 2010″ from the SEALFIT journal articles this morning. Jeff forwarded it to me probably 3 weeks ago, and it has just been sitting in my inbox waiting to be read. I really liked most of it and some parts definitely spoke to me more than others. I think they do a good job of keeping things pretty simple, although I’m pretty sure we all know that simple is not always easy…
LIFE HANDBOOK 2010
Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree…
Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
And, if you made it this far, here is my workout for today…
10:30am:
SMR, mobility, dynamic, pre-hab (which pretty much only consists of TGU’s, bulgarian split squats and disk squats these days).
400m jog, 2×8 wall squat, pull-up, HSPU, dip, glute-ham raise
Workout: Strength
3×2 Press @90% (70#) (2,2,2)
5×5 BOR @125#
5×5 Good Morning @80#
I’ve been taking my sweet ass time getting going in my workouts these days, and with coaching Onboarding at noon, I end up really having to rush through… maybe a good thing for me, but I didn’t get a good cooldown in and slacked on my core work, which I “like” to do (meaning, I’m always glad I did it). Later this afternoon, I worked on my one-arm DB snatch. I warmed up to the 50 pounder and got pretty comfy with it, but the jump from the 50 to the 70# is quite large, and I didn’t get it… yet! Three weeks til the Regional, so there is hope!
Reading… I can’t say I’ve done a ton of book reading lately (by lately, I mean the last couple/few years!). I do really enjoy reading blogs, however. The ones that I most enjoy are: Gypsy Ink, Donald Miller’s Blog, and CrossFit Lisbeth. I also love reading the Gym Jones knowledge articles, and subscribe to daily meditations by Henri Nouwen. These short little email devotions have given me moments of peace before starting my day. I’m pretty sure they were written for me on exactly the day I needed to read them. Here’s today’s, just as an example.
Contemplating… It feels like everything. Taking it one moment at a time… trying to anyway.
Watching… Game of Thrones and Friday Night Lights. Thrones is good. It has definitely grown on me, although lots of nudity and violence that I’m not sure I will ever fully get used to. I love the camaraderie of it though… getting together with friends to watch in anticipation what will happen next. Friday Night Lights just makes me feel good. It is everything I could want in a TV show.
Using… My Parrot bluetooth in my car. I love that I can now listen to music from my phone, and have hands free conversations while I drive. One ticket was enough! Really though, this thing is great. Also, Instagram… best app of all time!
Eating… Crunchy Almond Butter with Flaxseed… what else?!
Loving… Being outside. Running. Music.
Embracing… That life is messy. None of us are free from it, but some of us hide our messiness better than others. I’m trying to embrace God’s love… but oh, how I fight it sometimes.
Rejecting… The voices that tell me to quit because it’s hard… seems impossible even.
Praying… For help when I can’t do it on my own. For freedom. For grace. Both for me and for others that are dear to me.
I would love if this post could be deep and meaningful, but I’m powering down. Today’s workout was nice and easy. I rowed for 30 minutes and took an ice bath. I thought about working on some of the Regional movements, but honestly, I don’t think there is much more I can do at this point. A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t really say I was excited for the Regional, but now I’m definitely getting pretty excited. I’m looking forward to competing, but also just watching everyone else. I’m just so thankful that I get to be a part of it… and get a t-shirt 
):
