Veteran's Day and other things

Hello! Hope you are well!
November has been good to me so far. I've still been trying to wrap my head around the fact that I actually climbed up the mountain. I still have a hard time believing it. I would NEVER have even entertained that thought if someone asked me last year! It's so awesome! I'm actually looking forward to next year!

 Anyway, Veteran's Day just passed, and I was so glad that I was able to participate in the Three Wise Men Tribute WOD. It was a pretty tough wod, but it was for a good cause: "The Three Wise Men Veterans Day Tribute launched a national movement to bring communities together on Veterans Day to honor those who survived their combat experience but have come home and are struggling."  The veterans are very near and dear to my heart. If you're friends with me on facebook, you've read a lot of my stories! I have a soft spot for all service men and women, and I think it's important to honor them. Just because they come home from overseas, doesn't mean they can suddenly go back to normal. They need help. Next time you see a veteran (they don't have to be old) just say thank you- just that little bit of kindness and appreciation will mean so much. Okay, now that I got through my sappy part, here's the wod that we did:

“Jeremy”
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 4 minutes of:
5 Hang Squat Snatch (Elite = 185/125 lbs, RX = 135/95 lbs, Scaled = 95/65 lbs)
10 Burpees Over the Barbell
Rest 2 minutes, and then…
“Ben”
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 4 minutes of:
10 Power Cleans (Elite = 185/125 lbs, RX = 135/95 lbs, Scaled = 95/65 lbs)
20 Pull-Ups
Rest 2 minutes, and then…
“Beau”
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 4 minutes of:
15 Box Jump-Overs (Elite & RX = 24”/20”; Scaled – 24”/20” Step-Overs Allowed)
30 Wall Ball Shots (Elite & RX = 20/14 lbs; Scaled – 14/8 lbs)

That's a lot of stuff. I am the WORST at squat snatches. I can't get the coordination down. So Ali (one of our fabulous coaches) said that we could do a power snatch, and then squat down with the bar overhead. You would think with all of this olympic lifting work that I'm doing, that I would be a little bit better at this! It will come with practice I hope! This WOD went by so quick! Before you knew it, it was over! I was so happy to have brought some awareness to a great cause! 

Then on Thursday- I was reminded of how amazing the CrossFit community is (again). The WOD seemed to be do-able....on paper. It was:
Wall Balls  30 – 25 – 20 – 15 – 10 – 5
C2B Pull Ups 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5
Example….30 wall balls, 10 C2B, 25 wall balls, 9 C2b, etc.

AFTER we did front squat and strict press supersets. Let's chat about those supersets. I don't know what was going on with me, but I couldn't even get through 2 sets of either movement. I stink at front squats anyway, but it was exceptionally tough that day. Which was awesome, since we had a boat load of wall-balls to do. Sometimes you have a rough day- just gotta work through it! 

Anyhow, we moved on to the met-con. Wall balls are just the worst. I get gassed so fast (hello, "Karen" sucks). And pull ups I can't do yet, so I did ring rows. I always my community was amazing, but I was reminded again during this wod. I was of course the last person still working. We had a 15 min time cap, and I thought I would just time out. NOPE. I was in the last few sets, and I was fading. My friend Kate came over and told me to keep going. After that, I basically had the whole class surrounding me (again!). I didn't cry...that was a first haha, but instead I was incredibly humbled. It's these moments that make me realize how special the community is. These people, some of which I barely knew, came over to cheer me on. You really will never get that at Planet Fitness....just saying. You just don't know how much that support means to a person. I literally get no support at home...actually, I get negativity! So the support that people give me at the box, means even more. So thanks for that! 

This week, I was also interviewed by my friend Christine who is doing a paper on something (I can't remember, sorry!!!!!).  But being interviewed by her brought back some very important moments that I can't forget from the beginning of my story. When I walked into the first day of onramp, I was so scared and felt so out of place. It didn't matter. I couldn't jump off the ground; I couldn't do a push up; I couldn't jump rope; I could barely walk- never-mind run. And with all of those road blocks, my coaches stuck with me & believed in me. I still can't do a lot of things, but the things that I can do are amazing, considering where I was when I started. The other thing the interview made me realize is that a significant amount of my good friends are from CrossFit. I was never a good people person, so this is amazing. These people have been with me through everything, and I can't imagine my life without them. 

There's something that I've been thinking about all week. I was talking with someone who happened to be in the waiting room at work. We were talking about how the waiting room was empty, and the guy proceeded to say "Well the big lady that went before me isn't here anymore" It really irked me. He could've just said "the lady" "the woman" but no, he chose the words big lady. It's not like we have an influx of female patients- it just made me so mad. Is it really the worst thing to be big or fat? He wasn't a toothpick either. There are way worse things that a person can be besides fat...hello- murderer? rapist? mean? I just needed to get that off of my chest!! 

I was cleaning out my closet and organizing my shoes, and I stumbled across my very first pair of Nanos. I thought about getting rid of them, but I just couldn't. I wore those shoes through so many firsts, so many tears, and so many triumphs. So they are now proudly displayed on my new shoe rack! I don't know if I can ever get rid of them!! 

While I still have a long way to go, I'm proud of where I am right now. My biggest thing is being able to feel comfortable in my own skin. I'm not quite there yet, but I know I'm getting closer everyday. 

So now,  my next goal is the upcoming Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving day! Last year was my first time participating. I walked the whole way, and this year I'm hoping to run (jog....slowly) at least part of the way. After the 02X Challenge, anything will be easier! haha. I'm hoping it's not as cold as it was last year! 

XOXO

-AA