Cloudy, 73*, and summer coming to an end.....

This is my last week of summer. Super bummed about it - tan is going to fade, less time to play, sun, swim, and be breezy. I do look forward to hanging with my friends at work again though - always a good time. I have this week off of my extra programming from Coach Bijan (info@knighteliteperformance) - just doing mobility and WODs at CFA.

Today is cloudy. Not summer-hot. I did not sleep well last night. Perfect day for some mental toughness/confidence building activities. In college we did an exercise where you write your name on the center of a piece of paper, then you pass it around the circle. Each person writes a word or phrase about you (positive - duh). By the time it gets back to you there are 20+ awesome statements about you. Wonderful, glorious you. Don't worry - still have one of mine to share with you....your welcome.

circa 2004

My college lacrosse coach was the bomb.com. No way I'd be the athlete and person I am today without her. She was tough, caring, and the mom we all needed being away at school. Love that woman!

So Sam and I did this activity this morning. For me it's hard to write positive things about myself. I feel silly, or conceded......I am much better at building up others. That's my passion - making others feel great. BUT - I need to be able to do that for myself too. Right? So here's Sam's positives:

Positives that I wrote about Sam

What Sam wrote about himself - Beard???

Sam is very confident and mentally tough. He had no problem writing about his positives - which is what makes him such a great friend, coach, and husband. Here are mine:

What Sam wrote about me

What I wrote about myself

I cannot lie. I cried when I read what Sam wrote about me. Real tears. I am confident in some ways, but don't always see in me what my friends and husband do. Good thing I'm working on it, huh?!? When writing about myself I thought I would die. I hated writing "smart, funny, friendly" - just felt silly. I did feel better seeing that Sam wrote the same things about me. Baby steps.

Now, the gloomy, cloudy, end of summer day is going to go much better! How can you not smile and have a spring in your step when you have just read a list of positive things about yourself?

Think positive. Break a sweat. Smile big. Love the day!

19 months, 82 weeks, 578 days

My first day of Crossfit was Dec 9, 2012 at Crossfit Annandale. I was nervous, but Sam was with me and we were going to suffer together. My first WOD? Glad you asked:

5 rounds: 7 thrusters and 7 burpees. Took me 7 minutes.

That sounds horrible, even now. Thrusters and burpees are hell - so my first workout was killer and I still came back for more.

literally day 1

The epic picture of day 1. Workout had not started yet. We were being silly, meeting the owner of CFA, and hoping that we would not die. Look at us - a bunch of rookies. Running shoes, cotton shirts, big ol shorts....hahahaahhaha. No Crossfit gear yet ;)  So glad I'm growing my hair out now - man that was short!

Of course I took pictures, measurements, the whole deal. I was doing Crossfit to get in shape and loose weight. I didn't even know about the strong part....yet......the BEST part! I started with some serious inches everywhere (hips 44.6, waist 37.1.....). Thankfully everything has gone WAY down. My BMI stated at 33.2. I know. EEK! A few months ago it was checked again and I was down to 25.9! Progress Progress Progress. Thank you to CFA for taking measurements and having a cool machine that does BMI - it's never fun hearing all those high numbers at first, but you gotta start somewhere.

So we started Crossfit three days a week. The first week was rough, so hard to move. Everything hurt. Places hurt that had never hurt before. For whatever reason I NEEDED to keep going. I was hooked. Right from the beginning. I do have an athletic background - played sports my whole life - and I think that helped....sorta.....kinda....wishful thinking?

Field Hockey at Longwood

Lacrosse at Longwood

Then I did running and triathlons:

Burke Lake with my girls

Wine Country 1/2  marathon

Marine Corp Marathon

Reston Tri

I got to a point with running and tri's that I wasn't as motivated to train. I wasn't very fast and was getting frustrated with that. I needed something else. Crossfit fit the bill! So starting at three days a week I was very happy. I scaled EVERYTHING and loved it. As I started getting stronger, learning lifts, and becoming more confident I was able to do more and more. Which, really just means more soreness. I also made great friends at CFA - which helps keep you accountable and coming back. Who doesn't love to die workout with friends?

Then my first competition. It was last minute, I was helping out a friend with an injured partner. I was SUPER nervous - but was on a team with a VERY experienced crossfitter. I had a great time and have wanted to do every competition advertised since then. 

This picture makes me laugh. I look like I'm dying - maybe i was :)

I'm competitive. With myself. With others. I LOVE to compete. Doing crossfit competitions for me meant I needed to do extra work to place and perform how I wanted to. Insert my coach - Bijan (blkstrengthandconditioning@gmail.com). If you want to do competitions, if you want to kill those weaknesses I highly recommend contacting him. He is awesome. 

Superfit Delaware. 3rd place after the first workout. Mary, Me, Bijan, Phil

Doing competitions are fun for me, but I also have big goals for each one. I now have an unlimited Crossfit membership at CFA and I am in week 34 of extra programming with Bijan. I would probably make progress without working with a coach, but not as fast and not as focused on my weaknesses (and remember I'm an intense competitive nut), and certainly not to the level where I want to be. My typical week looks like this: 4 WODs at Crossfit Annandale, 3 WODs in my home gym from Bijan, a set of sprints, and 3-ish skills to work on (chin ups, farmer's carry, handstands, etc) - also from Bijan. I email him each week and give him the results of my work, we text, email, call, and do some workouts together. It's the push and guidance I need to reach my goals. 

Since working with Bijan I have made gainz (that's right.....it's serious with a Z) in all areas. Strength, mobility, form, nutrition - all have improved. Confidence is the biggest area for me. I go through ups and downs with it, but Bijan helps put it all in perspective (mandatory rest and "remember it's just a workout"). I can get very intense about sports and he pushes me at the right times and reins me in at the right times. I also share all my goals with him. All of them. Even the silly/stupid/embarrassing ones. He tells me which ones are do-able, works them into programming and also tells me which ones are not appropriate.

I participated in The CrossFit Open in 2013 (ranked 2020) and 2014 (ranked 1321). My goal for the 2014 Open was to place somewhere in the 1,000's. I was VERY happy with 1321! I have currently competed in 3 scaled competitions (Superfit DC 8th place, Superfit Delaware 15th place, capital throwdown 10th place) and 2 RX competitions (Cold War 3, Rehoboth beach battle). My goal is to get top five at Superfit DC in October with my awesome partner Holly!!!

Jake, Bijan, Me, Holly - my partner in crime

Crossfit can be anything you want. A place to sweat. A community of people that want to work out. A place to get stronger, faster, and more awesome. I have met so many great people, have changed my body image and improved on my nutrition. Whatever Crossfit is to you, as long as you are working towards improving that, I think you are doing great! If you are looking for a little more shoot Bijan an email at blkstrengthandconditioning@gmail.com and I'm sure he can help you reach your goals!

34 bottles of beer on the wall, 34 bottles of beer......

My birthday week is officially over. Back to reality......... It was a great week. Now I'm 34 (I know! I can't believe it either).

I had a great week of working out, hanging with friends, going on little dates, and SHOPPING!!!! My friend Carly at Thirtysomethingfashion helped me get ready for my Winery Party. She is great, if you haven't been to her site, you should. If you haven't tried her box service, you should. If you haven't seen her Pinterest page, you should. If you don't follow her in Instagram, you should (@carlywalko). I cannot say enough great things about her!

I contacted Carly to get some ideas for what to wear to the Winery. She has some great ideas and I ended up with this number:

Lucky Brand

I went shopping and hit some major sales. I love sales. LOVE them. It was also the tax free weekend - double sale! I hit up South Moon Under, Ann Taylor, and a consignment shop.

For my birthday we had friends join us at a Winery. It was perfect weather and all my favorites were there. I love a good birthday week!

Yummy winery snacks

Cheers! To getting older but staying cool

Mindset and do-overs

Truer words have NEVER been spoken. I experience this from time to time with sports/exercise/competition, but don't always have the time and ability for a do-over. What would a do-over help with? Showing me with no question that if I go into a workout with a negative mindset that I can't do it. If I go in prepared I have a much better chance. 

Prepared. What does that mean? For me it means 1. a GOOD warm up, 2. positive thinking, 3. focused but not too serious, 4. proper fuel and hydration. 

This slapped me in the face last week during this workout: 5-4-3-2-1 of Power Cleans (125#) and Rope Climbs (15 feet). I started with a "let's just do this and check it off the list" attitude. Not good. I did not warm up enough. I stretched, I did a few cleans. Everything felt heavy and I was not focusing on form. I kept thinking "it's only 5 max". Well, not if you don't warm up. I had fueled properly, but one check out of 4? Not gonna happen. I was not focused and was taking it all too seriously.  I also went into the workout thinking knowing "I can't climb ropes". Yes, I have done a few pulls. But I was SURE that I would do 5 power cleans and be done. Why? Negative mindset. 

The workout was horrible. I did two power cleans. They looked bad. They felt worse. I tried for #3. Nope. Tried again. Nope. My husband made me stop. He told me I went into it with a bad attitude. I didn't warm up enough. Which he informed me means I'm done. I will do this another day when I'm mentally prepared. I hate that. I cried. I didn't just want to check the workout off my list, but that's exactly how I went into it. I told my Coach and he said to move on with the day. Try again another time. He knows I can do this. End of story.

I got lucky. I got a do-over. I waited a few days and tried again. I started with a smile. Amazing what that can do. I also had a HUGE desire to accomplish this. I warmed up (not on my own). My husband ran me through some drills and made sure I was warm. Rope climbs? I was told to scale them. Don't even worry about them. I did 2:1 pulls. There. Now I'm ready. 

I completed the workout! I did all the power cleans no problem. I did the rope climb pulls, no problem. I finished with a cheer and a smile. It felt good. I instantly texted my coach and let him know. He KNEW I could do it. My husband KNEW I could do it. Why didn't I?

 I'm still learning all this mental toughness, positive mindset stuff. I'm getting better. I'm learning the things that MUST happen to aid in my toughness. Warm up, fuel, positive thinking, and focus. I've been reading some articles on it, like this one. Being aware of my weaknesses both physically and mentally is step one.

Hope everyone is smiling, getting their workouts done, and staying focused!

Sum Sum Summatime ramblings........

I know, I know. You have missed me. I've missed you too! Summertime always sounds relaxing (that's right, I have the summer OFF), but I'm here to tell you that I am SUPER busy. Busy? Busy with what? Let me fill you in.....

Fourth of July was in Richmond. Super awesome.

Then we went to NYC with the kiddos - so much fun. We walked and walked and walked and I carried one 48 pound kiddo on my shoulders for most of it. Active rest day, right?

Double Rainbow on our way home from NYC

Dylan's Candy Bar NYC

Dinner with Marilyn in NYC

Then there is the sweaty part of summer. Working out. Sam put together an amazing home gym for the times we can't get into Crossfit Annandale and so I can get my extra programming done (thanks to BLK Strength and Conditioning). No excuses to not workout. It's right there. Calling you. Making you get off the couch.

Hubs working out in our new home gym

Me working out in the home gym

Boys are at Scout Camp this week. Getting bulls eyes, shooting clay pigeons, and taking nature by storm.

I've been using this "down time" to work on mental toughness, letting things go (stopping a workout and doing it a different day/time is NOT quitting....right?), and not taking things too seriously. Easy, right? Nope. I don't like to let people down, I don't like to let myself down - but sometimes things are out of your control. There are days when 45# feels like 10#......and then there are days when your shorts are too tight, 10# feels like 100#, it's too hot, legs feel like lead.......... Those are the days that I need to read this gem:

I love to cheer-lead others. I LOVE it. Cheering and pumping up a friend to complete a workout, push harder, run faster, lift heavier.....I live for it. Weird how I have a hard time doing it for myself. Something I'm working on, but it's baby steps for sure.

I have big dreams. HUGE. I love what I do. Being a mom/wife, speech therapist, and crossfitter. I think I balance it all well most of the time. Every once in a while a slip up and need to readjust. That's life. Readjust. Shake it off. Keep moving forward. Nothing happens over night. No one is perfect. 

love this one

If you run into me this summer there is a HUGE chance I will be in IABM apparel. I got a big ol box of shirts from them today (thanks guys!!!!) and will be sporting their super soft shirts for DAYZ. Their shirts are also a great length - no belly bearing thrusters for this girl!

So excited to add these to my collection!

I have also been working on a #jackedandtanplan. I've pretty much nailed the tan. Next week at the beach will clench that. The jacked? I'm working on it. This week has been fairly clean eating, next week is the beach (rules are OFF), then when we get back Sam and I are hitting the #jacked hard! 

Hope everyone is having a great summer!!!!!

New Week. New Work.

Been a little bit since I posted....so what have I been up to? Getting some sun at the pool, lifting, crossfitting, and getting ready for summer break! Wahoooooo!!!!

I have also taken some baby steps towards one of my goals: RX competition. I want to be an RX athlete, but I'm not 100% ready. How do you get there? Pushing. Stepping out of your comfort zone. So I heard about a competition through Crossfit Rehoboth. The details: two online WODs, top 20 get invited to the event at their box (hehehe), and $15. Sold.

The first workout was released last week. It was a tough one. 7 minute AMRAP: 15 American kettle bell swings at 24kg (52.9 pounds) and 7 burpee pull ups. I did this workout twice as I just wasn't happy with my first attempt. I knew I could do better. I submitted my second attempt and so far I'm in last place. I'm ok with that. Why? I completed a true RX competition WOD. Period. That was the goal. To be able to participate. Did I think I was going to win? Nope. Did I think I was going to be in the mix as a contender? Not really. The second workout gets posted Wednesday. I am so nervous and excited to see what it is. 

One cool thing about this competition is that you can watch the other videos (after they are finalized). So I have watched a few and learned a few tricks and things I can do better. That's what it is all about, right? Getting better? You can't do that by doing the same thing day in and day out. You gotta get scared sometimes, step out of that comfort zone, and test yourself.

I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine and you are all making some plans to step out of your comfort zone!

Mental Toughness - Push Past the Suck

I work a lot on strength, cardio, mobility........something that I lack and need to work on daily is mental toughness. Doing research on this I found that I actually do some mental toughness activities (and didn't even KNOW it!) - but I do just as many things that tear that down. So here I am, researching mental toughness so I can be the most Bad Ass Ann I can be!

I read a few articles, but the one that spoke to me the most was "6 Elements of Mental Toughness". Obvi I'm going to relate it to me, but hopefully you can find helpful info in this too.

1. Flexibility: Now, we aren't talking about breaking out your awesome splits - believe me, they are awesome. Absorb the unexpected, don't get defensive, see the humor in it all, when the unexpected happens be able to find another solution. I suck at this. I am getting WAY better, but this is hard for me. My husband is a pro at being flexible. We took a test and he was labeled a "beach ball" for his ability to bounce around, be cool, and take it all in stride. Me? Clip board. A mother flippin clipboard. Pretty much if it's not written down, planned, or talked about (over analyzed) then I can't adapt. I'm not in the fetal position on the floor, but I'm close. Crossfit has helped this because there are so many unknowns. I don't know the workout until that day, competitions are not released until a few days before, you never know who is going to show up to a class and push you......Flexibility.

2. Responsiveness: The ability to remain engaged, alive, connected to the activity. This I do. I think I do this pretty well - of course I have shut down a time or two. I don't have many temper tantrums, but they happen - usually behind closed doors where there are not witnesses :)  I think I have always been pretty good at this because I'm doing something I love (Crossfit, Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Running, Triathlons) - I care too much to totally check out. And my mom taught me to NEVER quit.

3. Strength: Not He-Man strength, but that ability to dig deep. Push past the pain. Push past the suck. For this I have a few tricks - I have a ways to go with this one. People always say the mind quits before the body.....and it's so true. I am not going to give away all my secrets here - there are two people that know my buzz words for when I need to push past the suck. They also know what I respond to. I need to be "coached". I have spent my whole life on a field or on a team WITH a coach. If my brain hears someone tell me to do "one more", "go faster", "keep pushing" then it's on. I can do that. I can do one more, five more, whatever I need. I am now working on being able to push myself that way - telling myself to do one more.

4. Courage/Ethics: No brainer for me. Do the right thing, don't take short cuts, don't short yourself reps.....This one I just don't understand. I know it happens, I know at times it's a pure accident. The only person you short is yourself - skipping a few reps to beat the person next to you or your old time......it's dumb. It's immature. It's not courage. I get pretty heated about this one. You showed up. Do the work.

5. Resiliency: Being able to bounce back from disappointment, mistakes, or missed opportunities. This one I've got on lock down. I do not quit. Period. One fail, mistake, etc is not going to keep me from my goals and dreams. If you find that one slip up has you in a tail spin, maybe you need to look at what you are doing. Do you REALLY want it? Is it something that you are doing because you want to and you really want to achieve that goal? Nothing is going to stand in the way of my goals.

6. Sportsmanship: I own this one. Years of practice on different teams my whole life. I LOVE to cheer people on, even opponents. It helps me stay focused, I like to make others feel good, and it keeps the positive vibes flowing. I've been asked a million times if I was a cheerleader - NOPE. I can quote most of Bring It On though.

So I'm working on breaking through walls, my flexibility, and my strength and ability to dig deep. Positive self-talk is key too. Hope you get the chance to cheer someone on and DO ONE MORE REP!