Perhaps I'm not meant to be a blogger. Or at least not a very consistent one.
Part of the reason seems to be the need I feel for every post to be perfect, articulate, and somewhat amusing. That bar is just too high to surmount on a consistent basis, or it is if you're the one inside my head.
Another reason is that I write a lot at work, and by the time I'm home and have some time to myself, often words have left me.
But even another reason is that a little shy of two years ago, I found this thing called CrossFit, which not only became something that completely changed my fitness level and how I think about exercise, but unexpectedly provided a creative outlet for my mind, too.
And so over the past year or so, I've been using the right side of my brain to express some of the changes I've felt and thoughts I've had as I've watched my body and mind evolve through my experiences at the gym. And my gym, bless it, has been kind enough to share some of these musings on their website. Below is the first of these, which I would link to if I could still find it on Wildcat CrossFit's website, but it seems to have been lost in the ether during a recent website upgrade.
So here it is, this time with pictures ...
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| August 2010. Not fat, but not fit. |
One
Year Ago Today
10/11/2010
– 10/11/2011
One
year ago today, if you'd told me that I'd willingly join a gym and be
happy about it, I'd have laughed in your face. Absolutely no way.
I'm not a joiner. Never have been, never want to be.
One
year ago today, if you'd told me that I'd look forward to working out
so much that I'd actually get up to do it before work (and on
Saturdays!), I'd have told you you're crazy. Working out is boring.
I get enough exercise biking to work, plus I like to stay up late and
sleep in.
One
year ago today, if you'd told me – with the specter of age 40
darkening my doorstep – that I could be in the best shape of my
life (including my college rugby days), I'd have said “yeah, right,
what're you smokin'?” We get older, we gain weight, we lose
muscle. The way the universe intended.
One
year ago today, my life changed.
Today,
one year later, I can lift 100 lbs from the ground to overhead and
can jump onto something 34.5” high. (I'll get 36” yet!)
Today,
one year later, while I still weigh about the same, I've lost two
dress sizes. And have had to replace most of my wardrobe because of
it.
Today,
one year later, I practice push-ups with a 10-lb weight on my back
because I HATE PUSH-UPS. Which means I need to do more of them.
Today,
one year later, I'm throwing bags of citrus fertilizer into my truck
and thinking “hey, these 20-lb bags are feeling pretty light!”
And then I realize they're 40-lb bags.
Today,
one year later, my husband can't keep his hands off me. (To his
credit, he's always loved my body, even when it was 25 lbs heavier
and jiggly, but now he's telling me to keep doing what I'm doing
because “hon, you're hot!”)
Today,
one year later, my diet has changed (not perfect, but getting there),
my sleeping habits have changed (not perfect, but getting there),
and, holy crap, are those abs!?!
Today,
one year later, I'm fit. I have muscles. I can open my own jars
(mostly). And the daily activities of life are so much easier
because CrossFit has made me strong. There's no going back, because
I've experienced both sides of the fence and this is the side I want
to be on, where the grass is greener (for the cows, of course), the
people are stronger, the food is better. Because I'm in the best
shape of my life at age 40. Because I have calluses on my hands and
am damn proud of them. Because being strong is the new black. And,
since I had to replace my wardrobe anyway, I'm all about the latest
fashion.
So
thank you, Wildcat CrossFit, for the amazing community you've
generated. I'm humbled every day by all of you who sweat and yell
and push yourselves to be better, because you're pushing me to be
better at the same time. Thank you Noah, Eric, Jen, Erin, Mike, and
Kevin for the motivation you inspire though your thoughtful and
dedicated coaching. I'm constantly learning, constantly striving to
perfect my form and get stronger because of you. And thanks
especially to Jenny, who, in coaching me through my first WOD in your
backyard, with chickens pecking nearby and kids running around,
nearly made me puke but hooked me in that very moment. I think back
to where I was one year ago today, and can't believe how far I've
come since then. You've all changed my life, and I can't thank you
enough.
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| November 2011. A work in progress. |
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