There were 3 events that we competed in.

Event 1: Get It Done

2000 meter row
7 x 200 meter KB carry (single KB: 53, 35)
75 burpee box jumps, 20″
100 pullups

All team members will work at the same time to finish the above tasks.  Each team can split the movements and reps up as they see fit.

This was the event that I enjoyed the most. Our team strategized a ton beforehand, since we each wanted to work on the things we were best at. In the end, I ended up doing 15 pullups, 35 burpee box jumps, rowed 1500m, and did 1 KB carry.

I liked the row the most; one of the 6pm gals coached another 6pm-er and me. With her pushing, I was able to keep a decent pace the entire time. The KB carry was awful, and I was so happy that Ali and Brian ended up doing the other 6 of them. We ended up coming in close to last on this one, mostly because we had some technical difficulties with counting on the pullups. Ali took the brunt of the extra pullups on that – sorry girl!

Event 2: Barbell Ladder Up

10 minute up ladder of:
Athlete 1:  deadift
Athlete 2:  power clean
Athete 3:  ground to overhead

Each team will have one 75# barbell.  Athlete one will complete 1 DL, Athlete two will complete 1 PC and athlete three will complete 1 GTO.  The team will then repeat the same order, but will do 2 reps each, then 3 reps, and continue as high as possible in 10 minutes.  Once the team starts the bar is not allowed to rest on the ground till the wod is over (all reps are touch and go and you must pass the bar from athlete to athlete when transitioning).  If the bar rests on the ground there is a 2 burpee penalty for all team members.

Ali did our deadlifts, I did the power cleans, and Brian did the ground to overheads. As a team, we ended up getting up to 12 reps – Brian finished his 12th rep right at 10 minutes!

Ali and Brian were both so strong on this one; I really struggled with my grip, but never did set the bar down (it did rest in my lap several times…) In the end, we each did 78 reps of our movements. CRAZY!

Event 3: Relay Race

9 x 200 meter run

The start of the “Relay Race” is the end of the “Barbell Up Ladder” event (when the 10 minute mark of event 2 sounds, that is the “GO” for this wod).  One team member will run 200 meters and then tag the next team member.  Continue relay-style until all team members have run three 200 meter sprints.

Ouch. This one hurt. My first run was dreadful, and then the second and third got a little better. It’s funny though – on the second and third runs it was like 25-year-old muscle memory kicked in and I blew through the first 100m of the run, accelerating the entire way. And then I had to turn around, and just like 25 years ago, I decelerated on the second 100m… Once a sprinter who doesn’t like corners, always a sprinter who doesn’t like corners. Both Ali and Brian did a great job on these as well. All of us got faster each time. And all of us have the tight hamstrings today to prove it!

What a fun day!

• 3 sets of 5 deadlifts @ 165#
• Christine was 3 rounds of 500m row, 12 bodyweight deadlifts, 21 box jumps. Finished in 14:15 with #135 deadlifts. Compare to March 15 (15:48 using 120#).
• Ended the day with 39 birthday burpees (so only 14 more than I have been doing all month after WODs).

May 15

• Big JT Runs was 5 rounds for time of 9 HSPU, 200m run, 15 ring dips, 200m run, 21 pushups, 200m run. Finished in 48:53.
• Scaled HSPU 3 rounds to 25# plate, 1 round to 25# + 10# plate, 1 round to 25# plate + abmat. Scaled dips to GHD dips.
• Ended the day with 25 post-WOD burpees because I hate them and they make me angry.

May 17

• 3 sets of 5 back squats @ 130#
• 5 rounds for time of 10 chest-to-bar pullups and 10 front squats (95# Rx). Finished in 11:17 with kipping pullups and 75# front squats.
• Ended the day with 25 post-WOD burpees because I hate them and they make me angry.

The Crossfit elevator pitch:

“CrossFit is a fitness program designed around the things you do in the real world. Every day, you bend down and pick things up, you put things over your head, you squat down, you stand up, you run after your kids or jump over a puddle. CrossFit prepares you for all that and then some by performing those exact movements in our workouts. We borrow exercises from things like weightlifting, gymnastics, and track and field, and we mix it up a lot, so your body is always adapting, getting stronger, faster, better conditioned. And the key to the whole program is that you work really, really hard… so you get fit really, really fast.”

and from the comments, add this: “we try to get everyone from the level they’re at to the next higher level. If that means a grandmother regaining her confidence in picking up her grandchild, awesome. If it means a strong athlete becoming an elite athlete, fantastic. This is for everyone.”

The Paleo elevator pitch:

“I eat “real” food – fresh, natural food like meat, vegetables and fruit.  I choose foods that are nutrient dense, with lots of naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals, over foods that have more calories but less nutrition.  And food quality is important – I’m careful about where my meat comes from, and buy produce locally and organically as often as possible.

It’s not a low calorie “diet” – I eat as much as I need to maintain strength, energy and a healthy weight.  In fact, my diet is probably much higher in fat than you’d imagine.  Fat isn’t the enemy – it’s a great energy source when it comes from high quality foods like avocado, coconut and nuts. And I’m not trying to do a “low carb” thing, but since I’m eating vegetables and fruits instead of bread, cereal and pasta, it just happens to work out that way.

Eating like this is good for maintaining a healthy metabolism, and reducing inflammation within the body.  It’s been doing great things for my energy levels, body composition and performance in the gym.  It also helps to minimize my risk for a whole host of lifestyle diseases and conditions, like diabetes, heart attack and stroke.”

Brilliant, and so easy to remember. There’s a whole lot more in both of those posts, so you should definitely go read both of them. Thanks Melissa and Dallas!

The “eating well” in this case involves eating the following foods:

• lean meats
• fish
• eggs
• almost all vegetables
• fruits
• nuts and seeds
• good oils and fats

It does not involve eating these:

• grains
• legumes (peanuts and soy) and starchy veggies (potato: I’m looking at you)
• dairy
• processed crap
• beer (sigh) and most other alcohol

Fortunately for me, I had a doctor’s appointment right before this began and I had (among other things) my cholesterol level checked, so I’ll go back and get it checked in July to see if eating differently makes any difference. I know when people propose cutting grains out of their diet the initial comeback is “BUT YOUR CHOLESTEROL!” So. My cholesterol will be checked again at the end of these 4 months, and then and only then will I listen to that particular concern (if it’s even necessary).

As a start to our adventure, last weekend Amy and I a.) binged on all the processed crap we weren’t going to eat come March 1 and b.) cleaned out and re-arranged our kitchen cupboards. The binge probably wasn’t a great idea, but it did clear some space in the freezer (oh Trader Joe’s frozen pizzas, you are a thing of my past…) The cleaning out and re-arranging was incredibly helpful, though. Now when we open our main food cupboard, we see a variety of nuts and seeds (pecans, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, sunflower seeds, pepitas, pine nuts), almond butter, shredded unsweetened coconut, tuna, artichoke hearts, some prepared Trader Joe’s “Indian Fare” that adheres to the eating-well principles, Larabars, and a few cans of no-salt-added/no grains/all veggie soups. Gone are: crackers, chips, cereal, mac&cheese, pasta, rice, cookies, and other sweets. The fridge didn’t take much cleaning out or re-arranging – with the exception of eating down the cheese drawer and finishing off the last of the milk and cream. We have always been pretty big on keeping mostly fresh stuff in there.

You might be wondering how it’s going, now that we’re one week in. I have to say: for me so far, great! (I’ll let Amy chime in for herself in the comments.) I apparently don’t mind drinking my coffee black, which surprised me more than you can imagine. I’m loving trying out new ways of cooking eggs and new things to have with it in the mornings. So far my favorite was the big 87-veggie-scramble from Saturday morning, although a hard-boiled egg, a sliced apple, and a glob of almond butter works too. I found a use for all the frozen nearly-rotten bananas in the freezer too: smoothies! Frozen banana, various other fruit, dollop of almond butter or unsweetened coconut, blend, and enjoy…  I’m looking forward to trying to make almond-flour pancakes next weekend. My lunches haven’t changed dramatically – no longer do I bring string cheese, but that’s about the main change. Today’s lunch was what I think will be typical: romaine lettuce with 2 varieties of tomatoes and pecans covered in a homemade dressing of olive oil, lime juice, and red pepper flakes, a hard-boiled egg, and a blueberry/mango/grape salad.

Where this has been really fun so far, though, is with dinner.  Amy really does our menu planning and the bulk of the cooking, based on recipes I find in magazines and online. Last weekend she went through the pile of recipes and pulled out all the ones that fit the eating-well guidelines or could easily be adapted to fit them. And then we talked some and I compromised on some things (yes, I’ll eat more fish even though I piss and moan about it and claim not to like fish that isn’t served raw and on a piece of rice with soy sauce and wasabi next to it; yes, I’ll participate more in the kitchen endeavors) and we set off. Here are some of the things we’ve had so far:

• grilled steak salad with hearts of palm, orange sections, and a mustard dressing
• sauteed chicken with raw fennel and tangerines on a bed of spinach, avocado slices on the side
• steamed tilapia on a bed of lettuce smothered in diced mangoes and a honey-lime dressing
• hearty winter vegetable soup with diced chicken (adapted by substituting cauliflower for potatoes and chicken for chickpeas)

My first eating-out experiment went well too. I ordered a burger (okay, not super-lean, but as close as I could get at a pub to lean) with sauteed mushrooms on it. There was actually an option to get it sans bun, avec salad, so I ordered that. It came with a gigantic mixed green salad and a three-bean salad on the side. The beans are legumes, but I elected to eat them instead of fries and feel like it was a much better choice overall. I admit, cutting out beer will be next to impossible. I just like it too much. And yes, I had one when we went out this weekend. However, I will limit when I drink it – likely either after soccer on Fridays or some one time on the weekend. No more dinnertime beers for me, alas… whatever shall we do with the beer fridge in our basement?

So we’ll see how this all goes and I’ll report back periodically. And when July rolls around I’ll see if my doctor will recheck my cholesterol and I’ll report of that as well. My hope is that in July I’ll feel better physically and mentally, and I’ll lose a little weight and get faster and stronger in the gym and at hockey. Wish me/us luck!

Here’s the thing: lesbians tend to befriend other lesbians. There are in-jokes and there’s culture and obviously there needs to be a manual for those who are newly out so they aren’t quite so clueless when hanging out with lesbians who’ve been out longer than them.

Here’s the other thing: CrossFitters tend to befriend other CrossFitters. There are in-jokes and there’s culture and obviously there needs to be a manual for those who are new CrossFitters so they aren’t quite so clueless when hanging out with folks who’ve been CrossFitting longer than them.

You’d think there would be a subculture within either group that would encompass the other, wouldn’t you? Well, I can’t find it. And I’m frankly baffled.

Case in point in terms of not being able to find anything: the two threads on gay Crossfitters over on the Crossfit forums were closed, apparently because people kept fighting and arguing (mostly it was trolls who don’t “approve of” the “gay lifestyle” who came in and picked fights, and the LGBT folks and allies engaged.). Now sexuality – well, specifically non-heterosexuality – is lumped with religion and politics as verboten topics over there. Just lovely. I sooooo enjoy being a banned topic. Googling turned up very little, other than the fact that most Crossfit gyms don’t update their blog software enough (holy disgusting link spam in the comments…) and that the term “gay” is still used as a very common insult. Sigh.

So I put this out there: are they any other LGBT CrossFitters out there, other than the 3 I know at my affiliate?

If you guessed Lisa from CFNE, you’d be right. And if you also guessed me, you’d STILL be right. Yup, we both got our first pullups within about a minute of each other. Amazing what a little rest will do for a woman’s body…

• I went from being winded after running 200m and having to slow to a walk in a 400m to running an entire 1600m without walking!
• I am significantly more flexible, as evidenced by the “V-sit” stretch we do at the beginning of each workout.
• I can do a 1-abmat handstand pushup (if I want more than 1 rep, I use 2 abmats).
• Double-unders (jumping rope and having rope pass under your feet twice for each jump) have gone from 0 reps to 10-15 reps consistently.
• I get antsy if I don’t work out at least 4 times a week OTHER than playing hockey and soccer.
• I have dropped close to 8 pounds.
• I feel healthier.
• I look better.
• I sleep better.
• I talk about CrossFit waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than I used to and hockey a lot less. Although I still talk about hockey a lot.

On tap for this month:

• Drop some time off that 1600m (currently 9:02).
• Do a pullup.
• Double-unders up to 15-20 reps consistently.
• Wean myself off of doing pushups on my knees all the time.
• Rx a WOD.
• Lose a little more weight.
• Continue working out at least 4 times a week.
• Look better
• Feel better.
• Sleep better. Because goodness knows, the way this month looks, I’m going to need it.

I cannot say enough good about Crossfit. I listen to my body, but I push my body. I never knew what I had in me (I FREAKING RAN A MILE) and can’t wait to see what I can do next.

First things first: I have blisters and callouses on my hands! A lot of people might view this as a bad thing, something to be avoided. I view it as a return to a different time in my life, a time in my life when I played on monkey bars and jungle gyms, when I could climb trees and not feel it the next day. This, perhaps more than anything, tells me that what I’m doing is good.

Next: I have run a mile two times now. For those of you who know me in person, you will understand the significance of this. My motto for years has been: I will run when someone chases me. Well, the person who is chasing me happens to be (with apologies to Dickens) the Ghost of Megan Future and I’m gaining on her, slowly.

Also: I am close to being able to do a real pullup. My goal for the month is to be able to do one, although I’d be even happier if I could do 2 or 3 in a row. When I watch all the other folks at the gym doing pullups I get a little bit jealous, but that jealousy motivates me to keep on trying, keep on trying.

More: I had no idea I could push myself this hard. Turns out that despite what I believed for years about how I “do” fitness (i.e. solo, self-directed), I was wrong. The way I took to hockey should have clued me in, and if that didn’t, the fact that I started playing indoor soccer last winter should have. But apparently neither of those things registered, and the other day I had this moment of thinking, “Holy crap! I LIKE to work out in a group, to cheer for other people, and to have them cheer me on, push me, tell me I do just one more.” Go figure.

And: I couldn’t have done any of this in a non-CrossFit setting. I’ve worked out before and know that when I do, I get into certain routines. With a routine, it’s easy to remember what to do, to not have to think about it. Of course, routine is a real buzzkill and what’s more, it is boring (thus decreasing the likelihood that I’ll keep it up). What I like about CrossFit is that I don’t have to decide what my workout is. I show up, the workout is on the whiteboard. Some of them look killer (and are), while some look easy (lies and deception, every time I think that). But the fact is, it’s easy for me to remember what to do at CrossFit without a routine, simply because someone else is thinking about what we’re going to do each day on everyone else’s behalf. The prescribed workouts may seem limiting, but for me, they’re totally freeing.

Finally: CrossFit really is a supportive community. I’ve met a lot of new people, the sorts of people I don’t see in my everyday life. First off, there are a lot of guys who work out there. I don’t spend a lot of time with men, working at a women’s college with well over half the employees in my division being women. Second off, I suspect that a large number of the people who work out there don’t share my educational level, sexuality, political leanings, and/or worldview. And you know what? It doesn’t matter, because what we’re all doing there is getting stronger, faster, and fitter. That’s the thing that unites us. And in the meantime, I just might expand my horizons a bit.

So you may be wondering: Has Megan drunk the CrossFit Kool-Aid? Well, I have, but not all of it quite yet. I’m a skeptic by nature, and there are parts of the CF philosophy that I’m still struggling with, particularly those parts around fuel for the body. I feel a need to do more research, to find evidence and data that the way many CrossFitters eat is rational when some of it is counter to what I’ve learned in the past. And really, I can only make so many changes in my life at once. Adding in 4-5 trips to the gym each week (from ZERO) is a lot to get used to. Try me in another couple of months and maybe I’ll have found my evidence and data, changed some more things about my life. And maybe not. But in a couple of months, I can tell you, I will still be going to CFNE and loving the way I feel.

You might think that with all that hockey-playing, I’d be in good shape. You’d be only about 1/4 right. The parts of me that are strong and in shape include my skating muscles (mostly in my glutes, hams, and calves) and my stick-handling muscles (mostly my shoulders). But they are strong in very sport-specific ways. And you may notice that there is a lot more of my body that I didn’t list as being in shape (arms, abs, quads, chest, back, etc.) My cardio system is in hockey-shape, not necessarily in good shape. In other words, I can skate hard for an hour (with the usual breaks) and not be horribly winded, but that’s only with skates on. Take the skates off and it’s a different matter entirely.

I recently turned 38 (okay, several months ago – where the HELL did summer go?) and this has been weighing on my mind a lot since then (pun totally intended). Over the course of the past 6 weeks or so, I’ve been doing a bunch of research into ways to get myself into better shape. I finally hit on the thing I think will work – it’s called CrossFit. You can google it to find a bazillion web sites out there on it, but for me it wasn’t that kind of research that sold me. No, it was seeing 2 people I know change during the time they’ve been doing CrossFit. Karin, first and foremost, I’m looking at you. You started out as no slouch, but now? Wow. You look strong and healthy and ready to take on the universe. Brian, you too. I know you’ve been doing it for a year on your own, and I appreciate all the info you gave me on how to get started.  And honestly? You look better now than you did a year ago when I met you, stronger and healthier too. There’s also a social aspect to this, as well as a competition to it. Right up my alley!

I am going to give CrossFit a shot – a month on my own, and then into the local CF gym till the end of 2009 and beyond. I’m tired of only being in-shape for one thing (even though it is one thing that I LOOOOOOOOOOVE). It’s time, and I’m saying it out loud. My public commitment is this: I will be stronger when I hit age 40 than I was at age 20, starting yesterday. Bring on the next 21 months!