Box Battles 2014 A Friendly Local Beach Competition

Last weekend I had the pleasure of competing at a smaller local team competition on the beach. As you can see we were having fun and smiling through most of the events.

I knew when Jimmy asked me to be on the team it would be for fun and I’m glad I did, because fun we had. My teammates are not particularly competitive CrossFitters past participation in the Open and local team events, but they all are dedicated members at Real Fitness, Naples. Jason on the far right is actually a Masters competitor and Elvia does quite well in local triathlons. The competition wasn’t as serious for us as some teams, but at 3.2.1.GO we still went all out on each event.

The entire event was held at the Marco Island Marriot Beach Resort. I’m not sure they could have picked a better venue. In between workouts we would hit the pool and I just felt like the whole weekend was one big vacation. Not kidding it was this pretty.

Because of the sandy venue we didn’t have your typical CrossFit events and no pull-up rig or gymnastics. It was more like a team strong man competition with some swimming, paddle boarding and burpees mixed in. Our main friends for the weekends were logs, stones, sand bags, sleds, and buckets full of water (actually the largest bucket was quite unfriendly!) as you can see.

This event wore my buddie Jimmy out! This is also something I don’t typically do at competitions to the other competitors, lol.

Also in between events there was time to visit with friends, hang out, and drink some Kill Cliff.

All of our judging volunteers were great all weekend even out in the heat event after event. One being my friend and roommate for the weekend Kaiea.

Here’s another friend Dan judging my stone to shoulder and taking note as I palm the ball back down to the ground to make it go faster. They were a whopping 35#!

Later in that event Jason and I had to front squat log 50 times. Now that was not as easy!

I think we can agree out shinning moment was the crab walk though. Not to toot my own horn but I may have been the fastest crab walker in Southwest Florida. It’s a hidden talent few know about…

After the competition I was able to get in a 1/2 hour ocean swim with Jeff Evans, who came down to watch people from his gym compete. The swim felt really good for not having swam that far since the Games.

Before I end with some more friend photos I’d like to congratulate the winners from the weekend and thank Fit Nation for hosting the event. It was a great time for everyone from the everyday CrossFit goer to Games competitor like myself. I also found it a great way for me to have a little fun during the off season and break the monotony of training so hard alone most days.

Without further ado more fun photos.

Turtles, dolphins, and eagles? Merica F yeah!

Post Games week

I spent the first part of the week after the Games in Albuquerque, NM with my Mom and my Aunt. I did zero working out. Didn’t even mobilize really. We took a hot air balloon ride (which was stunning), I watched them shop (ok I shopped a little too), and I ate plenty of Mexican food and drank Margaritas. Pictures tell a thousand words so…

My purchases

This is a big hunk of granite made into a wine aerator. Coolest thing ever! Well
close…

Eva had a good time being a tourist too…

2014 CrossFit Games Recap

My 3rd consecutive CrossFit Games have come to a close. In some ways it wasn’t what I had expected and in others it was much more. Rather than try to sum it all up I would like to make a list of the things I loved and am grateful for about this year’s Games.

1. The programming was so diverse and fun to watch this year. I’ve been to enough competitions to know it’s hard to pull off both. They really brought it all together and tested us in so many ways without a bias towards one facet of fitness. Plus it was probably the most fun to do (minus the obstacle course in 2012).

One awesome workout was the beach one. Fans could watch from the pier which was really cool because you could hear them cheering while you were swimming. Here’s me running awkwardly toward the finish as Brooks passed me like a freight train. Almost made me laugh at myself in the moment.

2. My travel buddies were awesome. Jeff Evans and Lauren Brooks definitely made the trip comical. I think with all the ADD we had, we made one U-turn for every other turn we made, but we managed to get around in good company.

3. Support from the crowd was so great this year throughout the events. Every time I ran through the crowd on the triples people were cheering me by name which made me smile. I’m also not sure I would’ve kept trying to get a weight for my OHS without them. Even though it wasn’t what I wanted going in, I truly felt accomplished by their support.

4. 2 words… Reebok swag! It gets better every year and I don’t say that just because they’re my sponsors either. They listen to athlete’s inputs every year and the gear keeps improving. The only difficulty is figuring out how to get it all home. Thank goodness for FedEx!

5. Watching two of my friends whom I watched at both of their first CrossFit competitions years ago shine on the big stage. Lauren Brooks and Noah Ohlsen have come so far it’s truly amazing. Especially getting to see Lauren win multiple events and Noah wear the white leader jersey for a few workouts. Just wow!

6. Mrs. Martin’s mango sticky rice! CJ Martin’s (as well as the Invictus gym’s) mom takes very good care of us all week and makes sure we’re well fed for every meal. While all of the food was good I won’t lie, one of my favorite parts of competing in CA is her mango sticky rice!

7. Really relishing the Games experience. In years past I have been so concerned with points and the leader board it kept me more serious and focused all weekend. This year I had the misfortune as well as the blessing of not having to worry about that. I knew it was pretty certain if there were any squatting events I would take close to if not last on them. That knowledge was also strangely freeing. I got to look up from my concerns over what I was doing and take in the crowd and all that was going on around me more. I noticed more this year how hard all of the volunteers work all week and what a great community we have. I smiled during and after each event, at everyone I saw and just had fun with it. I have a new appreciation for what the Games experience actually means and I realized that I want to be a part of it for years to come, Lord willing.

8. Getting to do the muscle-up biathlon. It intrigued me since I heard it announced. I love strategy wods and a lot of the reason I kept competing was so I could get to do it. My initial strategy was more conservative but after I wasn’t worried about my placings I decided to just go for it. I really surprised myself and almost got it done with one break per round. A fail on the final rep that cost me a top 3 finish will definitely be remembered during training this year!

Me going up the stairs of the soccer stadium and coming back down. I had visions of wiping out this year!

9. Getting to be a spectator for the final events of the CrossFit Games. I got to do it in 2011 and again this year and it’s so much fun. Rich showing his dominance, Annie closing out strong, Bridgers snatch balancing his last OHS “what”, and seeing everyone pour their hearts out into Grace. What a show and it made me hungry for next year!

While at first I was sad not to make the top 30, I was also glad I didn’t. It was so fun to watch from up high and there would’ve been no way I could’ve done those overhead squats. I’m glad I didn’t take someone else’s opportunity that could.

In the stands with my friends who came to support!

Also with family that made the trip out.

Even my college gymnastics coach came! Three of us Thunderbirds from Southern Utah University were competing (the other 2 on teams). They’re teasing him now that he’s a good CrossFit coach too!

10. Finally a few fun meme’s from the weekend for giggles…

Look Ma, we’re on a plane!

My friend sending me a photo of me making an ass of myself on the live feed. Thanks Jonas!

Jeff’s sense of humor after treading water and refusing to let the paddle boards take him in so he wouldn’t get disqualified for the weekend during the beach event.

Lauren pretending to be a fairy jumping barbells.

My “well crap that didn’t work face” while falling out of an ugly OHS.

Our reactions to the announcement of the muscle-up biathlon. Lauren: “he said we’re doing how many reps?”, Me: “all of them, everywhere I think!”

Yes Eva attended the whole event and made new friends too!

Lastly I feel the need as a health professional to add this bit of information. I saw a Dr. before the Games and was diagnosed with a vastus lateralis (lateral quad) strain at the tendonous insertion. He assured me that he had never even heard of one of those tearing or rupturing so while I might irritate it further, I wouldn’t do any permanent damage by competing to my pain tolerance. I don’t advise anyone with pain to grit it out without first seeking medical advice to know what they’re dealing with and wouldn’t advise it anyway during training as compensation could lead to other further injury. Man that just sounded like the end of a bad drug commercial didn’t it? Sorry… but seriously, listen to your bodies and take care of them. That’s what I intend to go home and do now!

RSP Nutrition

I’d like to introduce my newest sponsor RSP Nutrition. I have been using their aminos and pre-workout (called ReGen and FastFuel) since before they began sponsoring me, which is how I like it. They’re definitely one of the best tasting I’ve found.

I really like their pre-workout because of the full spectrum of ingredients it provides so that you don’t have to mix and match products and I don’t get the feeling like a spooked horse on it. See for yourself what’s in it and use RSP10off for a discount if you want to try some at http://wodsuperstore.com/collections/rsp-nutrition-supplements

CrossFit Transforms more than the Physical

Left 2002, Right 2012

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” – Brené Brown

Recently I read an article written by a woman whom has had her life changed by CrossFit. She went into great detail of her story. While reading it, it brought back memories of my own journey. I’m so immersed in CrossFit now I often forget where I came from and how I was different before. I’m not talking about the physical capabilities and my lifting numbers. I’m talking about my confidence, ability to stand up for myself, and my overall health and body image.

2001

I’ll start with eating issues. I got to be pretty skinny (128lbs) during college gymnastics because honestly at 5’7″ unless you’re super powerful it’s really hard to be good at that height. I watched what I ate like a hawk and didn’t have pizza or dessert for probably 3 years. That is unless I threw it up. My story just got real huh? Luckily that didn’t happen too often because I knew how bad I performed if I wasn’t keeping food down, but I’m being honest here when I say I was neurotic about what I ate. To give you an idea I still ate close to 2,000 calories a day (highly calculated) so I wasn’t malnourished but I was so lean a bod pod wouldn’t read me, 24lbs less than I am now, and mentally obsessed with food. It’s hard not to be when you’re hungry all the time, but afraid of the majority of foods in the world.

There was a period after college gymnastics of trying to regain a normal relationship with food while still exercising, which I loved to do. Sometimes I wished I was just an alcoholic instead so I could use my all or nothing approach, but everyone has to eat to live so that wouldn’t work. It was hard and while I improved I would say I was still your normal guilt ridden female after eating a brownie. I’d plan extra running in before having Mexican and margaritas, but at least I was able to have them and be ok with it. Ok, well… most of the time. Sometimes I still slipped up. Honestly the slip ups, guilt, and poor relationship with food never completely went away until I started CrossFit.

2008 Half Marathon

2009 Mini-Tri

Even then it was a gradual change. As I got more competitive and concerned with performance goals I started eating in align with achieving those goals. However one great thing in this sport was I didn’t have to be the lightest version of myself possible to be good. Quite the contrary, I wanted to put on some mass! The calories in my cottage cheese didn’t seem to matter. Actually just eating fruit and cottage cheese didn’t fuel my workouts enough anymore anyways so I can’t tell you the last time I ate it. Gradually I learned what did and it’s mostly whole foods (lots of meat, vegetables and starchy carbs), none of which are in the diet version although I still avoid sugar. The beauty in eating healthy and having more muscle to perform well is that I can actually feel my body using food and if I do decide to eat not so healthy my body burns right through it. If I decide to do it for a few meals in a row I also feel like crap and it becomes less and less rewarding.

2012

It didn’t hit me just how much I had changed until this year’s Regionals. They were so body weight based I knew dropping 2-3lbs would help. I eat so many calories now it wasn’t hard to do, but man was it a flash back. Something I don’t care to ever go back to!

2014

My next change was almost as big and is still evolving which is body image. About a year into CrossFit I really loved how I looked. I was strong, but slim, and not stared at in public, but still told I was attractive. As the sport has evolved so have the athletes and with 10 more lbs. of muscle I was probably more socially accepted as a class going CrossFitter, not a competitive one. Let’s just say if I go out in a tank top I get looks. I recently visited a friend who had a baby and used to be a gymnast with me. She is slim, but hasn’t worked out since she quit gymnastics 10 years ago so not muscular like before. She used to despise the muscular comments we got as gymnasts. She was pointing to the skin around her lats and referring to her “flabbiness”. All I saw was a place that muscle used to fill and suggested she try a little strength training since there really wasn’t fat there. She said she didn’t want to look like me or be all muscular, it was fine that I liked it but not for her. I suppose this comment from a friend may have bothered some women, but I’m so proud of what my muscles enable me to do I’d never trade it in for being socially accepted as feminine and worrying about my gasp… “arm flab”.

Another instance where I realized just how much CrossFit has changed my mindset on body image is jean shopping. Jeans fit me now that fit me 15-20lbs ago, which is sort of weird, except they are tight in the thighs and I like it. I even made a comment to a girl friend while shopping that maybe I’d get a pair that were slightly tight and see if I could squat enough to grow out of them! How backwards is that from society? Of course some of that may be due to the fact that I can’t grow my legs to save my life. Someone even commented on a picture of me doing a chest to bar pull-up during the 14.2 announcement, “Someone skipped leg day”. How dare he? Does he realize how often I squat to battle these long femurs? I was actually more hurt by that comment from a key board warrior than the one from my friend not wanting to look like me. Knowing how much pain eating and body issues caused me in the past I can’t help but rejoice at that.

The “somebody skipped leg day” pic. HA!

I swear I don’t skip leg day, see!

Last issue I’ll tackle here is self confidence. When I started CrossFit I was in a relationship that had plummeted my self esteem. There were comments like “why don’t you wear dresses”, “you’re not feminine”, or “sometimes being physically needy is attractive”. It played with my head so much, because I liked to be active and had always been an athlete but I wanted to please. When I started CrossFit I never talked about it because I knew he didn’t like it, but I knew I had found myself again. The rips on my hands and shaky limbs were pure nostalgia from my gymnastics days and it was so exhilarating I couldn’t wait to go every day after work. One of the last straws was when he refused to hold my hand because the blisters I had weren’t “sexy”. At that point I knew he didn’t have a clue who I really was and I was never going to be able to change myself enough to be what he was trying to get me to be. I know discovering CrossFit helped me to leave an unsupportive relationship, and has given me the self confidence to know I’ll never sacrifice being who I am to be with someone again. I’d also be lying if I said it doesn’t make me chuckle to wonder if he thinks I look “unfeminine” on ESPN.

Now that CrossFit, for the time being, has basically become my career, I am reminded of all that it has done for me without monetary value, that is priceless. I hope sharing some of this lets people know that the competitors at the top share similar journeys and struggles to others in the community. After all, I’ve made some of my best friends through CrossFit and I really don’t know any of their strength or benchmark numbers. I love to watch them succeed but their physical gains aren’t as important. Who they are as people is the most important aspect to me. Particularly for women, I feel CrossFit helps us grow into stronger, healthier, and more confident versions of ourselves. It certainly has done so for me.

2014 CrossFit Southeast Regionals

Knowing where to start these things is always the hardest. I feel like I grew as an athlete by making it through this Regionals and as a person by helping a friend make it through as well. Honestly both are so gratifying. I’ve never teared up to take the podium before, but I did when I watched Lauren get to.

When I saw the first days events announced I was pretty stoked. Then came the second and third day which left me a bit worried, mostly because as the picture above shows I’m as tall on the 2nd place spot as Emily is on the top. Even my coach CJ Martin whom I started working with in September will tell you I came to him and said my main weaknesses were front squats, ring dips, and strict HSPUs. We focused on these movement A LOT. I knew they were better, but how much? Well the Regionals were going to be a good test to figure that out. My friend Lauren Brooks also had been focusing on her gymnastics all year and while not thrilled, felt more up to the test than ever before.

Pretty much the exact face I made when I first saw workout 4.

We drove up on Tuesday I think because we were both so excited to get there and get settled. We talked about the events on the way up, did a lot of laughing, a little working out, and visited the beach.

Finally Friday came and the event I wanted to get over with the most, the hang snatch. I thought as long as I start this one out solid I’ll be good. Having only 3 tries on a lift reminds me more of the shaky ankle feeling I got doing a beam routine than anything I can think of. I practiced in the gym warming up fully, walking around for 10min. and then making everyone stop and watch me multiple times. I was ecstatic to hit all 3 lifts and make my PR from the hang at 180lbs. I almost went for 185lbs, but after Lauren hit 180lbs I knew it would be smarter to tie her. I did and we both got 2nd. If I can say one thing on this event, start at a weight that you know you will hit.

I look like a grumpy cat in the hole!

Onto the handstand walk I was basically chasing Emily Bridgers the whole time. After the event I wasn’t too tired, I had just run out of time on my hands and was thinking I should’ve pushed the pace and made her start sooner instead of pacing off of her. Walking 300ft. got me a tie for 2nd place. Only advice on this one is practice practice, although the cues that Lauren said helped her were squeeze your a** and grab with your fingers.

Final event on the first day was Nasty Girls. Again I found myself chasing Emily in 2nd for most of the workout. I almost caught her on the second round when we both broke our last set of muscle ups. I might have been able to do them unbroken and looking back should have tried. Still I kept a good pace over 150 pistols for a long femured girl and was happy with my 3rd – 2nd place. Can’t say I wasn’t consistent!

Day 2 started with the first event I was worried about. A total of 54 strict HSPUs, Front Squats at 125lbs, and burpees over the bar. This workout felt like my perfect storm when I first saw it. Being next to Sarabeth Phillips and Emily Bridgers for it I had to remind myself on the first 21 handstand push-ups to put on my blinders and go with my own game plan. I started out in sets of 3’s until about 15, then went to 2’s, and then to singles. Most of the rest of the workout was all singles on the HSPUs, but with very short rest and I just kept moving. Same with the Front Squats. I broke them into quicker manageable sets without a lot of rest and went at a comfortable pace on the burpees. My goal on this workout was to be in the top 10 and I got 9th. CJ pointed out to me there were 2 other girls with me right at the end I could have tried to pick off had I taken a chance on the last set of HSPUs and ran faster to the bar. Those 2 points didn’t matter this weekend but they will in July and it keeps resonating with me.

Gosh I make these look hard! HA

Why do I look so much more uncomfortable squatting than Lauren?!

Our other event day 2 was 1 legless rope climb for 10 rounds with a run in between each round. The Games workout with legless rope climbs was probably one of the most frustrating moments I’ve ever had competing. Sam Briggs and I started racing one another, stalled out on the same rope, and got to watch the rest of the field continue on. When rope climbs go… they’re gone! I tried to remember that on this workout and listen to my body better, but still push the pace. I really didn’t feel them going until number 8 or 9 and by then I was willing to risk it so I kept making Emily run faster than she wanted to. She told me later I had done that and I could kind of tell because she kept speeding up when I did. The other thing I remember about this workout was Lauren absolutely smashing it. I kept thinking, “holy sh**, she’s doing it!” It’s funny to be happy for your friend and trying to catch her at the same time!

All 3 of us hit the 10th rope climb at the same time which was pretty exciting. That is until I stalled out with one pull left at the top. The two others raced to finish and I hung there for what felt like an eternity with my weaker arm on top. The Games flashed before my eyes for a second, then I gathered myself and thought if I can just switch hands. I did one long kip to get my left hand back on top and one more kip to hit the beam with my right. That was all I had left in my forearms and I fell from 14ft. and rolled backwards. I heard the crowd go “ooohhh”, but before they were done I was running for the finish about 20 seconds behind Emily and Lauren. 20 seconds is a long time to be stuck at the top of a rope climb! A word of advice to those still to go, if you miss a rope climb do not try to go again right away. You will no rep for sure. Wait! An 11th one might have taken me a while, but I’m glad I finally took a risk this competition and pushed the pace. I like competing that way better because it reminds me of a PreFontaine quote:

On the ride home that day I told Lauren we needed to talk about the points. I’m more one to know what’s going on and she just likes to go out, do her thing and let things fall where they may. I told her she was so close at this point after what she had just done by winning the rope climb that she needed to be aware of what she needed to do tomorrow to make it. I also told her that in 24 hours I wanted us to be celebrating with medals on. She emotionally agreed and seemed focused to make it happen.

Lauren’s “Game” face. Gawsh this photo makes me laugh!

Sunday started with the nasty 50’s chipper. The first half actually wasn’t that bad. I paced it and was breathing hard by the time I got to the ring dips. Then there was an Ut Oh moment as my judge no repped my first 3 dips. She pointed to my shoulder and said to be below my elbow it needed to go below the level of the wood, not just touch it. I never do them that way because personally I think it’s not great for the AC joint, but I made the adjustment and continued on in smaller sets. I think I did at least 30 singles to get it done and fell behind a little.

The judge actually pointing at my shoulder.

The way back on this chipper is the painful part. I’m almost thankful it had a cap! After almost getting through the deadlifts I didn’t try a box jump after time was called, but I bet they were rough.

Everybody Jump!

Be free wall ball!… Dern thing kept coming back!

Going into the final event the top 3 were mostly set, barring a mess up, which we all know can and does happen. 64 pull-ups and 8 OHS. I had done this in practice breaking pull-ups once so that was my plan. I still wonder if the judge saw me take a piece of chalk out of my bra to save the time bending down after 44 pull-ups then keep going like it was normal. Yes, I did that! I absolutely love workouts where there is no need to worry about pacing because you can see the light at the end of the tunnel from the beginning. It’s all gas pedal. It was exciting to take my first win on the last event of the Regional.

My judge was not messing around on the depth of my squats!!

As soon as I was done I watched Emily celebrate crossing the line because she knew she was finally going to Carson after it eluding her the last two years. I remembered the sting of getting fourth, but she’d felt it twice and I was happy for her.

Then I waited for Lauren and when I realized she was going to cross the line with few enough points to qualify I performed my last lift of the Regionals!

Having been to the Games and knowing or rather unknowning? what to expect I’m super excited to train for it this year. I’m also excited because I’m healthier than the past 2 years and because of my amazing sponsors (WoD Super Store, Reebok, RSP Nutrition, Kill Cliff and 3Fu3l) I am able to take off working from now until after July and just focus on training. I’m also looking forward to being a part of the Invictus community in California. My coach’s parents and the Invictus gym’s parents came all the way to FL for this Regionals to make sure I and the other Invictus athletes were fed. Not having to worry about what you’re going to eat before, during, and after is huge. Finally, I’m excited to have my friend Lauren going out there with me. The Games is such an awesome experience, but it can also be stressful. Having people with you to lighten the mood and make you laugh is important.

14.2

Before I write about 14.2 I’d like to thank some people. Starting with this guy, my hot hunk Jeff for driving me to Miami and home again so I could rest in between working 8 hour days Wednesday and Friday. He had to work too mind you, but he is always there to support me.

Thank you to Camille for always being friendly, her husband Dave for keeping us laughing through lunch and dinner, & our coach CJ for making the trip out from San Diego to support us both! Dave looks like another species of large human breed in this photo no?

Next the crew from my gym, Real Fitness. On the left are Bridgett and Mark Chandley, owners of WoD SuperStore.com. Yes they actually go to my gym. Pretty organically cool! Then our coaches from left to right Dom, Joey, David & Alex who made the drive over as well.

Our friends CJ and Rich from Redline CrossFit in Naples. CJ swears she would’ve made it to the finals of the handstand competition had she not been drinking the lovely beer I Am Crossfit supplied.

And lastly, Alison and Anthony DiSarro, owners of Redline CrossFit in Naples. Hey guys, it’s not my fault you didn’t take a picture of yourselves at the event. I went with what I could find ok!

On to the actual event. Not gonna lie, I do get nervous for these events. Mostly because unlike the Games where the camera only watches you if you’re doing well, here they see the whole thing! Not to mention more people tune into this live feed than the Games live feed. That said, it’s such an amazing opportunity I would never let my nervousness keep me from participating and the crew of HQ people plus Cami definitely help to lighten the mood the whole time!

Us during rehearsal pretending the workout had V-ups and one arm push-ups.

Honestly it’s sort of weird trying to write about this workout because it was more of an exhibition than a competition. CrossFit competitions are never just one event, unless it’s one of those winner take all on the last event (which is dumb IMO). I’m really glad the crowd enjoyed it so much. I feel like it was a fun workout to do too (mostly cause I love intervals).

I also love strategy. I think this WoD was full of it and I had to almost take a step back after racing Cami through the first two rounds and ask myself, “what the hell are you doing? Break the pull-ups for gosh sake.” If I had really been thinking I would’ve brought my OHS grip in closer and put Rock Tape on my hands too, but there just wasn’t enough time to game all that. Thankfully I didn’t tear like all of the crab meat hands I saw posted on social media and I was happy enough with my score to make the possibility of tearing not worth a repeat. Not to mention my squat could definitely use the attention more!

Which reminds me of a quick tip by the way, I shave my hands! I know sexy right? I use a double edge, cheap-o Bic razor and have been doing it since I was like 10y.o. and in gymnastics. Works best if the hands are soft from a shower or bath and take it eassssy. Don’t be heavy handed and shave your whole callus off, just take off the top layer. More on this from the man who owned a gymnastics gym in Knoxville, TN I used to go to can be found here (small world). If your hands already did fall victim to 14.2, you can care for them with some of this before attempting to shave them once they’ve healed.

Now that I’ve successfully gotten off topic, I’ll bring this back to close my little Open wod post by saying thank you for reading. Also thank you for watching 14.2 and giving people like me with an exercise addiction an excuse to call it my “other” (cooler) job!

In all seriousness I will leave you with one thing I did relearn. Even if the man who said it lost a little integrity, it’s still true…

One Day, One WoD at a Time

2010 Sectionals

When I first started CrossFit 4 years ago it was the best part of my day. Every day was a learning experience and I had no bearings to compare my times or lifts to. With no idea of what constituted “good” there was no pressure. Every PR was new territory and not being able to pull a 200lb deadlift didn’t bother me one bit, except for the fact that Jody could do it. All I knew was I liked the new challenge, felt inspired by pushing my athletic abilities again, and loved the exhausted feeling after a WoD trying to sign the white board with shaking hands.


2010 Regionals

Some time after my first Regionals I had a feeling I could be good at the sport of exercise and decided to get more serious about recognizing my potential. I still didn’t have my sights set on the Games until I won the Open in the SE the following year. At that point, I realized I was close, and placing 4th at Regionals stung.

2011 Regionals

Hating my life and my hands after the 2011 Regionals!

Even after the sting, workouts were still fun (keeping in mind it doesn’t have to be fun to be fun) and with a full time job, lots of sweat, a bit of blood, and sometimes tears the PRs came often and I transformed myself that year. Things got a bit more stressful towards Regionals again because it was so much more of a big deal to me to make it that year. I did well and approached the Games with pure determination and expectations of myself, but no external pressure or expectations from others.

Me and Mom in the 2012 Regionals photo booth.

2012 CrossFit Games

After making the podium in 2012 I came home elated, and for a few months I was on air. Then after a coaching change going into 2013 and dealing with what I know now was adrenal fatigue, the pressure to do well got to me. I was working 30 hours a week and training hard, but it wasn’t as much fun anymore. Before the Games I even thought a few times if I win that will be nice because then I can quit. I guess you could say I was burned out. I stressed over bad workouts and always felt the weight of the Games in the back of my head. I also didn’t feel like myself in the gym. I know I was so burned out when the Games finally came around I didn’t put my whole heart into the middle days for sure. By the last day I didn’t care as much about the leader board any more because I felt like I was out of the running anyway. I just said screw it and went hard and wallah, a 3rd place, 2nd place, and 1st place. Realizing I was only 6 points from the podium again after it all played out made me regret my attitude the middle days.

Somehow this feeling 2 years in a row makes it all worth it!

I’m not sure when I had a paradigm shift this year, but at some point it just sort of hit me that although the podium is what we strive for, the journey is the true reward. By focusing so much on the outcome, I had robbed myself of the joy of training and forgotten that I was already really living my dream. A dream which I sort of always had, but never had a way to recognize before CrossFit came about. It almost sounded silly in my mid 20’s to tell people my dream job would be to be a professional athlete, but I always knew it was. I had just given up on it since I was almost 30 and obviously wasn’t going to the olympics in anything. If you had told me 4 years ago it would happen, I would have laughed. I know I only make a tiny fraction of what NFL players make, but it’s still enough for me to work part time, work out part time, and be comfortable. That’s pretty awesome! Working out is a part time job that I would do for free. Heck I would pay to do it and did just a couple years ago!

Working hard…

and still finding time to play!

With that in mind what sense does it make not for me to enjoy the hell out of every day of it? This realization has helped me to live in the now, be happier in the gym, and wouldn’t you know improve as an athlete again. I even had one friend tell me I’m like a totally different person this year. Happier, nicer, and she thinks it’s great. The nicer part actually made me sort of sad that I wasted a year being stressed and obviously not as nice to those around me.

Me and some of my favorite CrossFit babes of the Southeast, Liz Bland and Lauren Brooks.

A nice highlight starting out the 2014 season at the East Coast Championships.

I guess my point with all this is I know CrossFitters are super driven people who strive to attain their goals, but when progress towards those goals comes at the sacrifice of finding fulfillment in the journey itself you’ll never recognize your full potential anyways. You also won’t be enjoying what is supposed to be your passion and one of the best parts of who you are. Obviously goals are a great thing to have, and I’m not saying you shouldn’t put your heart and soul into them. I’m just saying don’t let your dreams rob you of the joy in your life and the reason why you started chasing them in the first place (because it was fun)!

Sounds easy to say, but hard to do, especially for worriers like myself. Here’s something that might help, make a list of things you’re grateful for. One of which should be the physical ability and opportunity to participate in CrossFit in the first place. Every day we get to go into the gym and move our bodies in virtuositous (yep new word) ways is a gift. Also, realize that the only way to achieve your full potential is by living in the moment of each workout. Ever tried to snatch while your mind was elsewhere? How did that go? Lastly, get outside yourself so you can see the awesome people surrounding you in the gym. CrossFitters are a unique breed, and while sometimes obsessive, they know how to live and can provide great entertainment and community. They’re the reason I could never work out in a garage gym for very long. They’re also one of the greatest reasons after no one wants to watch me exercise anymore I will still be doing it.

Top 10 Reasons to Register for the 2014 Opens!

 

 

http://wodsuperstore.com/blogs/news/12143573-talayna-fortunato-s-top-10-reasons-to-join-the-crossfit-open-in-2014

2014 Wodapalooza & The Kill Cliff East Coast Championships

So before I decided to do 3 competitions in a row to open up my 2014 season, I asked my coach CJ Martin what he thought about it like this, “Is it ridiculous to do all 3 of these. Actually forget I said that, I know it’s absolutely ridiculous, but will it hurt my Regionals or the Games this year.” He mulled it over and said as long as we got some essential strength work in mid-week between them he thought I could go for it. If I got too beat up I could always sit one out of course.

I’m happy Wodapalooza fell in the middle week. My legs were seriously sore after the OC Throwdown and I think they actually felt better by the 3rd day of Wodapalooza than they did the 1st. My friend and the following week teammate, Guido Trinidad really did an excellent job of pulling off an amazing competition at a beautiful venue another year in a row, including our first time doing an actual triathlon where we swam in the bay! It will probably always be my favorite off season competition because of the first year getting to compete with and almost beat the boys. Not sure anything will ever top that. Ok… Maybe one thing 😉 You can read about it here.

My goal for the 2 comps after the OC was to practice focusing on one event at a time and give full effort. The events can be found here. Instead of recapping all of Wodapalooza, I’ll put down my highlights, good and bad…

Starting with the low light first, just kidding, but seriously… this is our “elite” group of women running towards Biscayne Bay for the start of the triathlon. I dislike swimming, and open water swimming even more because I feel like I have no idea where I’m going except for trying to follow all the splashes passing me. After we swam approx. 300m we threw on our shoes and headed to the 2k row. Ever since rowing a 21k row last year, rowing just could always be, well… much worse! Knowing this I should probably go swim 5 miles, but I’m afraid I might drown! It finished off with a 2k run in which my legs and back were still so tight from the OC they just said NO. It was definitely my worst placing of the weekend, but hey I know what I gotta work on! The high here might be I didn’t have the bad luck of one female competitor who jumped into the water and landed on a manatee. Yep, that sh*t actually happened!

My next low was being weighed in for the 2nd week in a row, except this time for the strength event. Being an *ahem* “bigger” girl at 152# I had to out lift my little buddie Emily Friedman at 132# by 50# over 3 lifts just to tie. Ok done ranting, I tried to go big on the 2RM hang snatch. Hit 155 and then went for 170. Got the first rep easy and the 2nd I was forward on. While trying to save it I took a knee and time sort of slowed as I heard the announcer say will she still stand it up?! I thought for sure it was a no rep, but if they’re gonna count this ridiculousness I’ll try! I got from a lunge, back into the hole, and then above parallel before my arms eventually gave out and I dropped it forward, but the crowd was going pretty crazy. Shortly after the event I reflected on the tragedy from last week and thought how stupid that was. CrossFit should have better standards not allowing for press outs or scary saves to protect athletes under the influence of the competition zone from themselves like me. I do not endorse the sequence depicted below. It was in a word dumb!

My highs from Wodapalooza were the camaraderie of all the women this year and winning a couple of back to back workouts Saturday night and Sunday morning. They were both pretty close races and having the home FL crowd cheer is on was pretty elating. Here’s me hanging out on the bar to rest during Saturday night’s workout in between sets of bar muscle-ups. A pretty normal thing for a gymnast to do, but it freaked CrossFitters out, lol…

And at the end of the workout here…

Sunday’s deficit HSPU WoD

Podium finishers and my travel mates to Australia. Love both these ladies!

During the week in between these comps I got in a good workout Tuesday and felt pretty drained after and in need of rest Wednesday. I tried the ECC burpee box jump/back squat WoD that morning and probably got in my head about it, because I was so drained. From there it was pretty much supplemental work and active rest until go time again on Saturday.

In a word Boston was COLD! It also has a completely different feel culturally than Miami for obvious reasons. The field of athletes was about the size as the OC, but in a smaller layout. The ECC was also different than the last couple of weeks because the individual comp was Saturday only with the team event on Sunday only. My first high of the competition was I didn’t have to weigh in!!! It was a very well planned event with a lot fit into each day, but we were out early enough to shower for dinner. Here’s a link to the workouts.

I had a good feeling going into Saturday. Maybe it was the collective 20 hours of sleep I got the 2 nights prior, but I didn’t put pressure on myself and really tried to take this one, one workout at a time without focusing on the leader board. One high for me was doing as well as I did on the Burpee box jump and back squat WoD because those movements in combo are sometimes bad for me. Lucky chest to bar pull-ups completed that triplet though! It was the only one I was worried about so I was happy with 4th.

The 2nd to last workout lasted 3min. I love those where you can see the light at the end of the tunnel so soon, because I can just hit the gas and not second guess it! Axel bars are hard on your grip to snatch repeatedly by the way…

Going into the final I tried to ignore the leader board but knew I was in first. Everyone else seemed to be saying they liked us moving from one event to the next so fast because they never got cooled down. I somewhat liked that, but by the end my sugar and CNS were just crashing. I guess I was feeling the accumulation of the 2 weeks prior as I scavenged for dried fruit and sugary drinks during the 20min. between. I tried to pace the workout well enough on the 4 rounds of axel bar movements to do the 4 rounds of 5 muscle-ups unbroken each time.

It turned out to be just enough to hang onto the lead.

Popping bottles on the podium with Lindsey Valenzuela and Stacie Tovar.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I felt as drained as I did after Saturday. I’m certain it was the compound effect of the weeks prior. Nothing particular was beat up, I just had a glazed over haze where you have to consciously say “ok legs get up” to get out of a chair after dinner. Reebok treated us to an amazing dinner at Del Frisco’s Steakhouse that night though and indulge we did!

I believe the term for how I felt Sunday morning would be ‘hit by the WoD bus’. I second guessed my decision to do them both as I tried to get my body moving again, but with such an amazing team of Guido Trinidad, Noah Ohlsen, and Emily Friedman I was also looking forward to it.

We worked really well as a team and I think being friends prior really helped. Guido and Noah are from the same gym and like brothers and Emily and I have also gotten to be closer friends this year which I felt was an intangible compared to other teams I’ve been on when we met the same day.

We were in the lead all day until the final. It was a creative event with 20 HEAVY 245/165# shoulder to overhead, a buddy carry, handstand walk, more buddy carry, back to the S2O and ending with a partner walking front rack lunge. The women went through and then the men. Emily and I managed to put about a 40sec. lead on the field first.

Guido and Noah went next. It was quite a climatic finish. With the teams as close as they were going in whoever took this event won.

We were still ahead starting the last S2O. Our guys were splitting the reps a little more evenly but the dream team of Chris Spealler and Rich Froning was still gaining after Rich kept doing a stupid number of touch and go push jerks. They took the event and won overall, but we were still excited with 2nd. Afterwards I had a few joking comments like, “oh that’s weird, you mean Rich was good?”, lol.

After it all I’m honestly glad I did all 3. I think it helped me grow as an athlete and a competitor. Sometimes to get better at competing you just have to go and compete. Training doesn’t give you the same learning experience. I met some pretty amazing people that I won’t forget and also enjoyed competing again. I proved to myself I can handle the volume of a 3 week run and come out feeling good which makes the Games less daunting. I’m also more confident in my abilities as a competitor now and I know going into this competition season I will try to take the same approach of one workout at a time, full effort is full victory!