My First Crossfit Games is in the Books

I’ve been going to Sunflower Strength & Conditioning (SSC) off-and-on for more than a year now. I have to say “off-and-on” – not because my attendance has been irregular – but because I’ve had some extended leaves due to my knee injury and Tony’s work travel.

I love this gym, not just the workouts (which are ass-kickin’ and push you), but also the people. They’re my kind of people. They like the work hard. They’re fun. They’re supportive. They get me.

This year I decided to participate in their version of the Crossfit Games. While I’ve been working out for awhile, I’m not strong. Not even close. But I thought the Games would be a good challenge, so I enrolled in SSC’s local competition doing the scaled version of the official Crossfit Games 17 Workouts and competing against other women in my age bracket.

Overall I’ve been pretty happy with how I’ve competed. I definitely won’t be at the top of my age group, but I won’t be at the bottom either. Each week I’ve found myself pushing harder than I have before and accomplishing things I didn’t know I could.

Ultimately, the Games have made me hungry for more. I’ve decided I’m going to double-down and really work hard at trying to get stronger. I’ve set some fitness goals (doing legit, good pushups and at least one strict pull-up) that I’m hoping to accomplish by the end of the year, and I’m going to do everything I can to make them happen.

Reflections of 2012 and a Look at Things to Come

Wedding Day

Generally speaking, 2012 was crazy. But in a great way.

I ran a couple of races, and played (and won) a lot of softball and volleyball games. I planted and harvested my first garden (yum!). And I got my first taste of rock climbing and trail riding on a mountain bike during my adventure trip to Utah.

Tony & I got engaged at the Symphony in the Flint Hills, and we married a few months later. We bought a house and have started some minor renovation projects to really make it feel like home.

I’ve really enjoyed being a mom. Leo’s communication skills have improved significantly and we’ve been able to start having conversations (that I can understand). He’s a pretty funny kid. Watching him begin to understand the world around him and seeing him try things for the first time (t-ball, soccer, board games) has been fun and more rewarding than I had ever imagined.

Work has been great. I love that jhP continues to let me push our clients forward into the digital world, running online campaigns that perform amongst the best in their industries. I’m constantly challenged to stay ahead of the curve and figure out how things work.

Because of the crazy pace that things occurred in 2012, one of my overall goals for 2013 is to slow down a bit. I want to focus on quality experiences, being prepared and doing my best in everything I do – whether that’s being the best mom or shooting my highest score in a 3-D bow shoot.

1. Eat fresh. I’m planning to plant another garden this year, but this time it will be at our house in Carbondale. I’m still working on plans but have high hopes for another solid harvest which will hopefully result in lots of fresh veggies for the dinner table.

2. Get out and bike. If 2012 was the year I ran, 2013’s focus will be more on biking. Last year’s running was pretty harsh on my knees and started to work against my volleyball and softball performance. I’m hoping cycling will give me the cardiovascular benefits of running without the knee pain. Kansas has a lot of great trail systems that I’m hoping to explore in depth.

3. Make a trip to Wilson Lake. I’ve seen lots of photos but haven’t had the opportunity to  check out Wilson for myself. I think a weekend camping adventure with the bike and kayak would be pretty sweet. It would also give me a chance to try out my sleeping bag.

4. Nurture Leo’s interest in activities. Whether its baseball or soccer or balloon volleyball at my house or something new, I want to continue to get Leo involved in playing and help him develop his skills. An active kid is a happy kid, and I know how much influence these types of activities had on me growing up. I want to make sure he has the same opportunity.

5. Fill at least one of my hunting tags. I don’t have a preference which, but I’d really like to shoot a turkey and/or a deer in 2013. I’m going to be getting in a lot of practice with my bow the next couple of months shooting in our basement. Hopefully I’ll be able to put myself into some good situations in the coming hunting seasons where I will have an opportunity to bring home some meat.

2012 – The Year I Run

Running has never been something I’ve enjoyed. In fact, it’s probably fair to say that I loathe it. I mean, I really, really hate it.

In fact, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out why I’ve never been able to get into running. Because in theory, there’s a lot of things about it that would seem appealing to me. It’s:

  • Productive “me” time where I can sort out my thoughts.
  • An effective stress reliever.
  • A good excuse to listen to loud music.

In the end, I’ve come to the conclusion that throughout my years of sports practice (and years of running any time we got in trouble, didn’t do something right or lost in a competitive drill), I was always punished by having to run. And after all that running, at some point, I just started to associate running with being punished.

Well, the reality is, I’ve not been in a practice situation like that in more than a decade. So it’s time to get over it and finally embrace running. So 2012 is the year I run.

I’ve already signed up for a few 5k races this summer and am scouting a few others. And I’ve started training and tracking my progress with RunKeeper. I’m hoping the visualization and race commitments will help keep me motivated.

Wish me luck.