Reflections on the Crossfit Open and Becoming a Big Girl

Well hello! So here we are, finished with 3 weeks of the crossfit open. Last time we talked I was just getting ready for the first week. So here’s my thoughts on the open so far.
1) The open workouts are tough, probably more mentally than physically in a lot of ways
2) Cardio….The first two open workouts were very cardiovascular based and as I have been getting stronger I have also sadly been getting a it slower…
3) I still have so much work to do if I want to be one of the best, and I’m not fully sure that’s even what I want anymore
4) It’s definitely been a good learning experience but I’m kind of ready for it to be over…5 weeks is a long time to be in competition mode and I’m ready for some calm and stress free workouts!
So that’s kind of where I’m at with the open right now. Overall I’m doing okay, I’m 132 out of 5,239 in my region and in the world I’m 1,536 out of 65,893. So putting that into perspective I’m in the top 3% for my region and the top 2% in the world. So that’s pretty cool. Unfortunately to make it to regionals I want* to be top 43, or in the top .8 % so I’m not there yet!

On a positive note I got the chance to go up to Chicago and visit my good friend and training partner Paige, who’s going to law school there. Her Crossfit gym does a fun mock competition on Fridays during the open and she invited me to come participate. It was so much fun!!

I took the train to the city, and it was actually my first time riding a train, can you believe it?

I also ended up taking a taxi for the first time, so basically I became a “big girl” on this trip! We also walked to all the places we went in the city and that was a nice change of pace from my usual driving everywhere back home. It made me realize I may like living in a big city after all!

Not to mention this is a pretty nice view to wake up to!
When we were walking back from the gym, we came across this bar and I just had to get a picture!!

What do ya know, a bar just for me! Somehow we didn’t get ANY pictures of the two of us from this trip, which is a major fail. However, I had an awesome time and it was definitely a nice change of pace and a nice mini trip to finish off my spring break!

Now it’s back to the normal grind of work, teaching and studying!

Some serious grading going down there! I also had a second phone interview with a job I really like, so I’m hoping it went well and I hear back with good news soon! If not,I guess I’ll just keep applying and I know eventually something’s going to work out! Gotta stay positive!
I am happy to report I’ve managed to keep my eating pretty healthy during all this chaos, which is really important, even more so when your under a lot of stress!

I’m also happy to say running will be making a re-appearance in my life now that the weather is finally getting nicer! I can’t wait to get out there and pound out some good miles! I also think I’m going to try to run the U of I half marathon towards the end of April as my first race of the season. I won’t have a lot of time to train though so we’ll see how I’m feeling!

Hope you guys are having a great week!

Tell me about your first train ride! How old were you? Where were you going?

May the WODS be ever in your favor

You know what I don’t love? Mondays… I mean there’s really nothing great about them. They just signal the start of another week, and Friday seems so far away. Plus they tend to remind me of all the things I need to get done, but don’t really want to do. Mostly because I’d rather be watching Netflix, or reading blogs about crossfit. Or food. Or more crossfit. But the whole time I’m feeling guilty about how I should be studying. Or applying for big girl jobs. Ugh. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to finally finish school and get a “real” job, I just don’t like the process. Applications are dumb. And tedious. Like why do you need to know my boss’s aunt’s sister’s name and how I plan to accomplish world peace. Okay, so maybe they don’t ask things quite that crazy, but they do ask A LOT of questions, some that I don’t understand the purpose of. Then there’s the cover letters. Don’t even get me started on those.

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^^ Exactly how I was feeling yesterday….

So as you know I had a crossfit competition last weekend. It’s still kind of a sore subject so I don’t want to say much about it, but basically I didn’t get to finish the competition because I passed out after the second WOD, due to the Advocare Cleanse I was on….APPARENTLY it’s not a very good idea to go on a cleanse before a competition. It will cause your electrolytes and blood sugar to plummet and you will pass out. Hard. I’m mostly annoyed with myself because I should have known better. But I didn’t really think about it. Long story short I’m off the cleanse at least until after the open. Gotta get my priorities straight and right now training is #1. On the upside, I did get a 145lb snatch and tied for first on the snatch ladder WOD. That was also a PR, until I got 150 lb the next week!

This was also a big deal for me because up until this competition I could never get myself to squat snatch during the actual competition, my body would just refuse. But during this comp it finally clicked and it was awesome 🙂

In other news, Today is WEEK 1 of the CROSSFIT OPEN people!

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The first workout will be released at 5pm on Thursday evening. Get excited. Or if your me, get super nervous and feel like puking….This is my first open, since last year I injured my back before the open and couldn’t participate, so I’m a huge ball of nerves. Mostly I’m nervous about making sure I video my workouts correctly and all that jazz so I can submit them for regionals. Now obviously, I have to do well enough to make it, but I want to be prepared for if that happens, so I have to make sure all my workouts are video taped and all the standards are met, blah blah blah. I’m also worried I will either just be terrible and everyone will beat me, or I will fall short of making it to regionals by just a few spots. Ugh. I need to stop thinking these negative things. Positive thoughts only people! Either way, for the next five weeks this will be my life.

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I will keep you updated on my progress! Keep your fingers crossed for me and say a little prayer for my sanity…