I survived!!

Hi everyone!
What a week it has been! There is so much good stuff going on- it's amazing! But before I get to this week, let me tell you about Friday and Saturday last week! Friday, July 4th, RCFBC had a great time participating in the Hingham Fourth of July parade! It was so awesome! We had the Bare Cove pick up truck filled with workout equipment (slam balls, kettlebells, plates, etc.). When I signed up for this parade, I thought we would just be walking and waving like the rest of the floats in the parade...I was wrong. Of course, Mike had us do movements during the parade route- in the middle of the streets. It was awesome. There was sled pushes, squats, burpees, push-ups, slam balls, & even handstand walks! Although the weather wasn't ideal, we didn't let it rain on our parade...literally! It was a good time with even better people!

Parade! <3

The next day (Saturday) I hit a really big personal goal that I've been trying to get through for a while. Saturday's wod was the following:
Teams of 4 – 15 min. AMRAP – 3 working, 1 resting, rotate whenever
Push Press (75/55)
Box Jumps (24/20)
OH Walking Lunges with Plate (45/35)

My teammates were amazing- Shaun, Christy, & Bob! I told them right off the bat, we weren't going "win" this wod- I'm slow at all of these movements (except for the push press)! They were so cool, and are totally not competitive, so it made me feel better. We all know where I would run into problems- the box jumps or for me, the step ups. I made a promise to myself when I saw the wod, that I would at least try the 20in box (mostly because I have that competition coming up in August & they are part of  it) & because it's a big mental hurdle I've been dealing with! I didn't even setup a smaller box, because I knew I would give in to myself and go on it. I went the whole wod using the 20in box! I don't even know how many I got, because we rotated the whole time, but I was so incredibly proud of myself for not giving up. I can't say I'm completely over my fear, but this was a HUGE step! 

Now, on to Battle of the Sexes week 3. This was a crazy, fun one! It was a three part wod:

WOD 3 – Hamstring flexibility test – reach distance from end of feet
WOD 4 – Max time Bridge up- shoulders and bum must be off the ground
WOD 5 – Obstacle Course – each partner will get one run. Score is combined total of best times.

The hamstring flexibility test was reminiscent of the one that we used to do in school for the President's fitness test! We did pretty well on that part! On the max time bridge up, I had to take a zero- I can't get my shoulders off the ground, but I tried, and that's all that matters. The obstacle course was so much fun! I couldn't help but laugh the whole time, it took me 5 minutes to complete, and it took Colleen 2 minutes and change to finish. Not the best time, but we had fun! We are taking on Week 4 tomorrow- it should be interesting...10 rep max back squat, followed by a  10 min. AMRAP – 1 partner working at a time, switch when you want : 8 Ground to Overhead (115/75); 16 Box Jumps Overs (24/20). I can't wait to see how we do! 

Now on to this past weekend. Oh my gosh, was it crazy! Our box and Crossfit Craic in Dedham participated in 24 hour row challenge to benefit Swim Across America & Cancer research! How it worked was you chose a time slot, and just hopped on the erg as long as you wanted, and then tapped out to another teammate when you were ready to switch. It was so much fun. I don't know what I was thinking, but I decided to sign up for the whole night- like over night. After waking up at 4:30am and working a full day, I thought it would be a good idea to stay awake all night and row. Everyone who knows me- knows that I do not do well without sleep- I get angry. But for some reason, it wasn't that bad. Maybe it was the skinny margaritas from the Red Parrot (we were setup in the parking lot of the Red Parrot, and they graciously kept the building open all night, so we could use the restrooms! Thank you so much Bea and Richard!!). On paper, it looked like we would be rowing a lot during the wee hours of the morning, but a lot more people showed up and stayed the night! We were going against Crossfit Craic to see who could row the most meters in the 24 hours. There were so many laughs- it was great. I got to see the most beautiful sunrise and spend some quality time with some people who are incredibly awesome. One of those people was Sarah or Sadie. She's so amazing. She is a paramedic, mom, and all around great person. Her work ethic is in incredible. She had been at the even since noon and stayed until 7am the next day- and she did not skip a beat. Every time she got on that rower, she gave 100%- even though she had blisters on her heals and hands- it didn't matter- she had a task and she finished it with max effort. I was completely in awe of her- such a beautiful, and strong woman, giving it her all. That's who young women should be looking up to. 

I wish that I had kept track of how many meters I personally rowed, but that would've required math, and that's not my strong suit on a good day! Hahaha. All I know is that I left in the morning with sore legs, hips, blisters on my hands, incredibly frizzy hair, dark circles under my eyes & memories that I will never forget! In the end, our team ended up with over 300,000 meters rowed...that's a lot. I can't wait to see how we do next year! 

Beautiful sunrise & amazing people!

Something really cool happened during the row. There was a woman, Jen who I became friends on facebook with through a mutual friend, because she does crossfit. I never met her in real life & I wasn't even sure what box she went to. She happened to be at event supporting her friends who were there. She came up to me and introduced herself- and showed me a picture of herself from a few years ago. She looked completely different from the picture. She told me she had been following my story, and told me to never give up. I turned around and Sharon was there- she gave me a big hug and said to me "See- you never know who you're inspiring." It was such a great moment, I can't explain it. It was just great- it gave me all the fuel I needed to keep going through the night! 

My next goal is to get back on my nutrition grind. I'm going to be starting a cleanse soon (thanks to the AWESOME Janine!) & I'm really excited to get a kick start and get myself back on track! 

I'm so happy to have found such happiness lately. While I still have bad days, the good days are outweighing them. I'm grateful to have found crossfit and amazing Bare Cove family. I just wonder where my mental status and body would've been- had I not found crossfit. I'm just so glad I made the decision to do this for myself. The rewards have been amazing. 

<3 AA