Time and time again!!

Two things for me in this meme.

1. Understand your struggles are perfectly and divinely timed for great things to materialize. 


2. Do not focus on your struggles...focus on what the meme below says.  :)

Yes, what have we built new lately?  If you cannot name anything, you are not paying attention OR you are not putting in the time.  

I had a great talk with Coach Benko.  It revolved around qualities of being a competitive athlete.  

We came up with desire, skill, potential.  And the one factor that ties these all together to make an elite athlete is TIME.  Skill will develop over time. Potential manifests over time.  Desire becomes deeply embedded over time. 

We talked about athletes who have been at Synergy since the beginning. There have been A LOT of hours of WODs invested.  A lot of sore muscles, torn hands, elated feelings from PR's and "What the hell just happened there?" questions on flubbed PR attempts and of course so many family memories of doing this together.  This all comes from time invested...invested when we didn't feel like it and when we didn't want it to end (not sure we felt this TOO often of Coach Benko's programming). 

As I review my invested years into this sport I love, I clearly recognize I haven't invested enough time into my potential & skill.  Desire is a gift I have been given. It greatly out shadows my skill & potential.  It is however, a big strong wave that will carry my lack of skill & potential.   I also recognize I spent mental energy thinking about all the things I can't do, fighting the old as it says. When one hopes a movement doesn't show up, one is clearly denying the need to build the new, build new skills and increase potential.  So that's enough of that.  Let's build the new. 

So what will I do to bring my potential and skill up to my sky-high desire?  I will put in time and time again.  First priority is gymnastics.  Anything that requires swinging from an above ground apparatus is getting targeted.  BACK to the BASICS. I need better mobility, I need to find my best balance of max strength and efficient bodyweight movements. That means dialling in nutrition even more...and that means more time tracking small changes and evaluating any benefit. AND trying again. It takes time. 

I know something else pretty important that I have to practice better.  For invested time to give it's highest ROI, I must bring attention to the table.  I can put in a lot of time practicing pull-ups but without my attention to detail on quality of movement, how my muscles feel when it's right, when it's wrong, noticing a little success and being grateful for that, and recognizing when I'm stuck in a rut and need help....without paying attention to all this, my time is lost.  I'm pretty sure I mentioned in another blog post that butterfly pull-ups would soon be in a video...a video of me doing them. It took some time for this all to sink in and recognize my lack of a focused plan.  Now that i'm clear on the plan,  the time and attention are next. Besides...Rich knows what every Crossfitter is doing all the time!

Does all of this sound daunting? Where does all that time come from?  A focused, attention driven 15 minutes is more useful than 30 minutes of something that doesn't have a purpose, that is not taking you down the road to your goal.  Pay attention, be consistent with carrying out your plan and it won't require hours and hours of time. But let's say I test it out and keep you updated, ok?

AND I'm ok if it ends up meaning I don't watch an episode of Suits because I'm doing mobility or meal prep or need to get to bed.  'Cause I believe this...  

And let's end this on a LOVE note...who doesn't love a good love story?  Jacob knew about putting in time and time again with attention to reach his goal...7 years in fact!  I am NOT putting in 7 years to get efficient pull-ups. I draw a line.  I'll get them for the 2015 Crossfit games.  Done deal. 

You, me the sub, and miracles

Miracle

noun

1.

an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.

2.

such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.

3.

a wonder; marvel.

4.

a wonderful or surpassing example of some quality:

I have to say thanks to Coach Chad for asking me to step in this summer as a sub ( the Summer Cover Girl) and trusting me with his most precious resource...my team mates... ALL OF YOU! Here's what I learned from you.

It started in Church today with a quote that I can't quote for you because I don't remember it exactly.  A friend of mine takes his phone to church and I thought that strange but today I needed my phone with me to take a picture of this quote.  The message of the quote was this; our life is not so much about having a special message to give to others but to be a witness to the special-ness, the uniqueness, the divinity in each other.  What jumped out at me immediately as I listened were the very special moments I experienced while subbing in the Group classes. This has made me recognize what a special role our coaches play in our development as an athlete...but more so in our life.  YES, they are there to keep us safe, teach us correct movement patterns...give us a message for sure.  But I discovered something bigger than "the message" I delivered in each class. It was being given the opportunity to witness all kinds of miracles during each class.  Yup...look at #4 above in the definition of MIRACLE.  I witnessed that in some form every time I subbed. There was that look on your face that said, "Holy cow! Look what I just did!" and the look on my face that said "WOW..nicely done!".  AND it was the feeling in the gut to see you rise above...rise above yourself.  That witnessing, the encouragement, the look of "keep going, there's more" is what changes lives.  When you feel it, when I feel it we walk out of the gym into the rest of our lives with more "I got this" attitude.  I would like to name you all and the exact time your miracle happened...but I'm old, remember?  Poor excuse. I hope if you read this you know what I'm talking about. 

So thanks to all the coaches who witness our miracles everyday in that gym. We are grateful and depend on you for our continued, wonderful examples of surpassing quality.  

I'm going to get back to the Crossfit Games because I am surrounded by miracles of success EVERYDAY within the walls of Synergy.  So...come up to me anytime (except during a max lift, or a really hard met con...i guess that leaves warm up or cool down..haha) and tell me of your miracle...because your's makes mine that much closer.  

The Lion of Judah

It's Sunday September 7th.  The end to the Bridge City Beat Down.  Last night, Saturday, after the first day of competition I was in 15th place.  3 places short of the top 12 who qualify to do the final WOD on Sunday.  What happened Saturday?  I PR'ed my Snatch by a few pounds at 115lb. However, that put me quite far down since some of this group of women finished the Snatch Ladder at 175lb! So a win for me? Definitely!  Olympic lifting is an event I need to minimize the damage to my placing and it's coming.  The rest of the WODs on Saturday were mediocre for me.  I kept up to this group of STRONG STRONG...and let me make sure you heard that...STRONG women.  I did have happen what one cannot afford to happen in a competition.  I completely bombed a WOD, the Farmer's Walk, and that's what placed me in 15th after all scores were tabulated.

This is where my picture comes in.  I was in bed, batting my day around in my head and the errors I made that cost me.  I know restful sleep is compromised by reading the computer screen right before bed but I had to check some things on FB.  AND this was the first thing I see.  My amazing friend Rick Gutman posted this, giving a brief explanation of it and what it meant to him.  Rick said this is a depiction of The Lion of Judah.  I jumped over to the trusty Wikipedia to look it up because I wasn't familiar with it. Here's what I found:

The Lion of Judah is the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah. Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, is said to be the tribe's founder. The association between Judah and the lion can first be found in the blessing given by Jacob to Judah in the Book of Genesis. Both King David and Jesus hail from the tribe of Judah. The Lion of Judah is also a phrase used in the Book of Revelation to represent Jesus, and as one of the titles of Emperor Haile Selassie it is associated with the Rastafari movement.

Here's what Rick said...and Rick is a very qualified authority on the Bible:

I see... Running with Lion of Judah (Jesus) into the battle. The blinders and the 'Sheild' speak of 'Faith' The sword speaks of His 'word'. So much more going on here than that with the inscription on the sheild and the fire...

Lying there before I saw this, I was conversing with God saying "I'm ok with the day.  Not what I wanted but tomorrow is another day. AND if You are willing God, could You make it a little better day?"  I also realized I had to let go of my ego.  If I am using my talents, that were a gift to me to honour the Giver, then there is no place for ego.  AND The Lion of Judah was perfect.  Charging forward, faith burning like fire that I was ready to give it my all and God would answer.  He would answer in the best way for me.  He's got a few answers He falls back on:  

My plan was clear.  I would go into Sunday on The Lion of Judah with calm and faith that if I showed up, good things would happen. I guess He had something better in mind for me on Sunday than completing that Farmer's Walk on Saturday.  On Sunday, I played until I got my 1st Bar MU and then 6 more...I agree that was better.  I fought my way back with good workouts on Sunday BUT ended up in 13th, one away from making the final WOD.  I  felt like this except the caption on the bottom would be, "BUT, darn I really want to do that last WOD!!" :

Well God wasn't finished with my day yet. 12th place felt her body was finished and she would not be able to do the final WOD.  She hunted me down to tell me I was in!  WAHOOO!!!  I think I still ended up in 12th after the final WOD but in my head, I WON.  It was a great competition and I was honoured to be going head to head with some really STRONG women...you heard that right? REALLY STRONG.  Here's one of them...Whitney Darchuk-Parenteau, who is a beautiful person and a Lion of Judah competitor.  Yes, she won our division. 

I've got to get to bed but have to say Chad Benko, Valarie Perry and all the amazing volunteers who make our weekend go SO smoothly, YOU ARE AWESOME, SMART, DEDICATED & LOVED.   AND to Claire for calling me out on the Thruster WOD.  She actually said over the mic, "Laurie, get on that bar." I really didn't think I was looking at it that long.  Valarie, look up.  Dave, flick the ponytail.  I will always remember those cues. 

Let's get some rest and then back to training!!

Too old to get better? RUBISH!!

Too old to start? Too old to stop? Too old to learn? Too old to teach? Too old to be loved? To old to love? To old to be forgiven? Too old to forgive? Too old to change? Too old to conform?  Too old to _____?  I'm sure you can come up with your own.  We all have them...limiting beliefs reflective of where we are on our life line.  Courtney Dunn, with her beautiful eyes and witty tongue, not unlike another beautiful woman I love, told me I could take as much time as I wanted on the lifting platform because I am old.  AND her eyes twinkle with "Got ya!" as she says it. I love being reminded of my age...I forget it all the time. (laughing to myself at my great jokes)

Do I think I'm old? What do I think?

 "As a man thinks, so is he." Proverbs 23:7
These days I think I'm a Crossfit Games competitor and therefore I AM.

The Bridge City Beat Down is upon us.  It's my first individual competition in years. My first proving ground for I AM.  Remember my post on winning?  Remind me of it when you see me.  My spirit and soul want to be on the podium, my heart tells me top 5 and my head says top 10.  I remember what I said about winning.  I stand by it.  I'm older and wiser now.

Much wiser and grounded. We did one of the BCBC workouts on Tuesday.  I was standing there face to face with my toughest competitor.  No, not you Matt Bathgate...ME.  Allow me to digress one short moment to point out, Matt, that ONCE during the workout I reached the cone before you did. (first round of HSPUs..downhill from there on remaining in 1st place. YOU ARE AWESOME!!)  But what I'm real excited about telling you all is that while being face to face with ME, I was calm.  I can even describe it as peaceful...and that's an accomplishment when this is standing right in from of you:

This is my point...we are never too old to learn new thinking patterns, adopt new brain patterns, add a belief to our heart that overtakes less useful, less effective ones.  I was never a complete mess before a competition WOD but I remember a racing heart, very dry mouth, tight muscles as stress was  constricting my veins and shutting off oxygen flow.  This was different...and it was good. It was anticipation, excitement...and TRUST.  BUT I've been preparing for it.  Just like I'm training for those freakin', easy-to-do Bar MU's,  I'm training my brain to be better too.  

"...make every effort to add to your faith, goodness: to your goodness, knowledge: to your knowledge, self-control: to your self-control perseverance: and to perseverance, godliness: and to godliness, mutual affection: and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive..." - 2 Peter 1: 5-9

WHAT?? Ineffective and unproductive? We don't want that...no sir.  Get rid of those two nasty qualities and Bar MU's will be a breeze. So yes, I've been practising to increase in measure these qualities.  If you note the last one is love...so go ahead, hug me. 

As well I take great calm & courage from Joshua, God's mighty warrior General. The book of Joshua is not much but war and carnage.  AND rarely in Joshua'a favour but he was never shaken in his faith & belief nor was he ever defeated :

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. " - Joshua 1:9

So as old as I am, I've re-wired my brain or started the process...it's a process not a destination.  AND look at Lynn!! She's an inspiration to be young and fit forever!! Lynn turned 70 years young awhile back.  She never worked out before joining our gym. 

So BOY am I excited to get older, Courtney and take MORE time on that lifting platform.  There is still so much I am capable of.

















AND have you seen this? I look forward to joining these athletes next year.  Ask them if they feel old.

Most of all...let's remember we are never too old to laugh.  To laugh especially at ourselves. I love that Crossfit keeps me humble.  It's made me cry too...cry like a baby. But I'm not too old for that either.   Here is a snatch attempt at a PR to end this with a smile. TEAM, we have to remember to keep the video running on moments like these to find Coach Benko and get his reaction on video.  It's short but packs a punch, this attempt.

Macronutrient mayhem

A major breakthrough is not something that happens randomly. It is a combination of hard work and lots of trial and error. It comes at the price of looking silly to those around you. To do great things you must welcome and embrace failure for it is the path to greatness. Without it you cannot succeed. Know that each setback brings you closer and closer to your goal. The faster you fail the faster you will reach your desired end.          - Aaron Parkinson - Genius & my friend http://aaronparkinson.com

Aaron also says he is running to success one failure at a time as fast as he can. 

ETG. Embrace the Grind. Daniel Cormier's motto. 
https://www.facebook.com/danielcormiermma

Embrace each failure because it's meant to be on the road to your success.  I'm happy to say after failing at chest-to-bar pull-ups for ...umm... all my cross fit years. Today I did 7.  They were programmed in a WOD with back squats.  Only one round.  I stepped up to the bar and knew I would get one but was determined to string some together on this day. I hit the bar so hard on the first one the Rogue rig shook and I continued on very surprised at how easy 4 came together.  I jumped off.  What just happened and why does my sternum hurt so much? I jumped back up and easily got another 3.  Hmph! I gave a little yelp and scared the lifters on the platform in front of me. God is good. 
"You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." - James 4

I've been asking lately in a different way and I am very thankful to give praise where praise is due. 

So thank you Lord for Bar MU's.  Yes they are banded but I'm patient. (not really but I'm learning) The bands are being removed one at a time.  

Let's talk fuelling and it's challenges...'cause there are challenges.  This is an area where I have tripped and stumbled, got back up to do it all again.  

This has been a long journey for me and I continue to walk it.  This is one of those roads that never ends.  We have to look at food as fuel that makes our engine perform.  One wouldn't put a Coke in the Porsche, would one?  Well I'm here to say I've put poor fuel choices in my Porsche and paid the price.  I've read some articles about "carb addiction" being a myth.  I believe it's different for each of us.  Why?  Because what I lived was an addiction. It was ugly and really tough on every dimension of me - psychological, physical, spiritual, emotional and relational.  My body has a strong physiological reaction to carbohydrates.  I would eat a loaf of bread in one evening, edge a cake until 2/3 of it was gone but I didn't have a piece.  I was a macronutrient mess!  AND today I still work at getting it right.  I've learned the importance of ALL macronutrients being in balance to negate cravings, hunger and improve performance.  Protein, carbs,  fats & fiber....get it right and you feel amazing AND you will perform VERY well - psychologically , physically, spiritually, emotionally and relationally.  I've discovered the various macronutrients that suit my body.  The ones that don't cause inflammation, gassy tummy, fatigue & trigger cravings. AND when you get it right, it's awesome...so get out there and find your macronutrient profile. It gets confusing for sure...but that's where you pay attention to YOUR body.  Pay attention to performance, to pain, to fatigue, to mood, to sexual prowess (indeed!), to your happiness level.   

So how do I handle eating enough to maintain muscle & performance but not too much to support fat?  I track. The tracking is crucial.  Oh, did you miss that? The tracking is CRUCIAL. There's a tall, handsome, very fit guy at Synergy who can vouch for what I say. If you have no how idea how many grams of protein you are getting, how much water you REALLY drink in a day, how many grams of carbs you are ACTUALLY eating in a day, you are likely in macronutrient shambles.  It takes extra time in the beginning but it WILL become part of your schedule like laundry.  AND feeling GOOD is addicting.  I get asked, "Don't you get bored with what you eat?" My answer is, "Do you mean do I get bored with feeling good? No I do not."  

This is serious...even the Good Book has something to say about tracking what you eat:

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
    observe carefully what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
    if you are given to appetite. - Psalm 23:2

SO just DO IT!!  Get into your macronutrients. Set an appointment with Dawn, Start eating to live, not living to eat!!  You'll thank me. 

Lifting PR or Scale PR

My friend Nicole said this to me the other day at the gym.  She thought it would be great to hear more conversations at the gym about PR numbers than scale numbers.  "How did your back squat go? Did you PR"? vs "You look like you lost weight." Nicole hit the bulls eye with that thought.  "Dieting down" takes us down a slippery slope of slowed metabolism, less muscle, and eventually a higher fat percentage on our new size 6 body.  This leads to less energy to get to the gym, subsequently decreased serotonin, possible depression and before we know it, size 16 or 18 is back. So what's the answer?  Let's focus on performance: better press, better back squat, better FRAN :) And forget about the scale. 

What the scale says really doesn't concern me.  Performance does. If I'm performing well, I'm lookin' fine. AND if I'm performing well, I MUST be eating well.  My body, your body cannot perform without proper fuelling.  Let me clarify the scale statement.  95% of the time I don't care what the number is.  There is 5 % of the time I think "How would I feel, look, perform if was 5 lbs leaner?"  I didn't say "lighter", I said "leaner".  That means less fat on my body and maybe more muscle.  My point being let's focus on being healthy, on learning what that means because then the number on the scale will be healthy. 

I like the following quote...it says so much:

Leanness is the natural side effect of excellent health. Excellent health is the natural side effect of good nutrition. Good nutrition is the natural side effect of choice & habit. Choice & habit are reflections of WHO WE ARE. 

And I really like this quote:

Everything is permissible for me - but not all is beneficial. Everything is permissible but I will not be mastered by anything.  Therefore honour God with your body.  
- 1 Corinthians 6:16

Coming from a past of over-eating & bingeing, files chock full of these habits are still present. They simply don't get opened because I have replaced them with other files that open sooner when choices about eating need to be made.  This didn't happen overnight..it took a long time. Is it worth it? To commit to change, to conscious action to create new files, new habits?  YES it is.  As long as you have a reason, a desire to change, the initial discomfort is worth it.  For me at first, it was wanting to be an honest role model for my children, and honest to myself.  Today my children are excellent role models for me.  AND my reason has become a little more personal.  I want to go back to the Crossfit Games. That WILL NOT happen by showing up at the gym and training hard ... WITHOUT eating for that training.  

Next post... more eating details.  Until then let's eat & train for PRs!   

Competition Week

Yes indeed.  It's competition week for me!

First one in 2-ish years...and I'm pretty darn excited.  Let me set the stage for you.

I'm in Maine, Topsham ME to be exact. The box is Crossfit 321.  http://www.crossfit321.com/

My crossfit coach daughter, Justine Chabot and her hubby, Dan Pelletier live here. And their English Bulldog, Stella.

I will be spending time with them for 7 days. Justine is personal training as I write this at Women's Fitness Studio & Spa, an all women's gym, where she shares her talents as a coach. So very easy for me to go to work with her and see her in action transforming lives. Dan works for the Federal Government in Veteran Affairs.  Not so easy for me to tag along with him. 

When I was booking this trip Justine mentioned that it covered the weekend of Crossfit 321's Summer Throwdown. Well that was settled.  Flight got booked, Justine found me a Master's partner and here I am.  My daughter is very talented, definitely in line to take over the world as she moves toward her potential.  Finding me a partner was very strategic on her part.  Where I lack, she made sure to fill the gap. She partnered me with an ex-gymnast, someone very springy and swingy.  Susan, my dearly loved partner who I haven't met yet, I love her for one reason I'll get to, has been in contact over FB with me.  She actually apologized for only being able to hit 105 on the announced bar complex. And quickly added she loves burpees and C2B pullups.  I'm thinking in my head, NO PROBLEM.  I'll cover the bar complex, you do C2B pullups.  I also know Susan competed at a Master's Track & Field competition and got 2nd.  She was disappointed because she wanted 1st. There it is...the reason I know we will get along.  When there is a 1st place up for grabs, there is nothing to do but go after it.

Yes, winning!! If you are uncomfortable with that word, you just haven't explored it, batted it around in your head, made peace with it.  I have...I think I have come to peace with winning...and loving winning. I say "I think" because it will get tested as I move into a competition year.

Let's use this all women's gym that I am at right now. It's definitely NOT crossfit...no snatches and clean & jerks, no shirtless men for sure :), no shirtless woman either!! There are no pull up bars, rings or boxes.  There are lots of cardio machines, hand weights and various other fitness paraphernalia.  What I am witnessing is lots of friendly chatter, people of all ages and sizes getting their bodies off the couch and moving...AND lots of smiles. This is winning...they are all winning.

For me winning includes a dimension that may be present in all these female fitness enthusiasts here this morning, I just wouldn't know unless I asked them.  That dimension for me is, each time I use my talents in the gym (we ALL have them), have I given 120%, did I do my BEST? Did I honor what God gave me with a matching dose of commitment and attitude? Did I do my BEST? That's my gage, my determining factor for winning.  Now of course the question begging to be asked...can I finish 2nd, 5th or 10th and say that? That's what will be tested this year as I compete again.  Coach Benko and I have stared eye to eye on this with a few words added in on many occasions. As I've grown older and wiser will I admit to him being right on some points? OK, yes! See? If you know me, I'm making progress!

Back to this weekend and the Summer Throwdown.  I am smiling right now as I type just thinking about all the sweaty bodies finding one more gear to get one more rep, go just a little faster as the clock ticks down, block out the lactic acid burning...and my partner Susan and I are part of it. What's on the line here? The same thing that's on the line as I walk into the gym every day.  Did I do my best? Did I learn something about myself? Did I push to fail 'cause if I don't fail how do I know where my line is? And if I don't know where that line is how do I know if I'm getting better? 

See? Winning is growing...and we are created to grow...grow old, grow wise, grow to be our BEST. My goal this year is to be as intense as I ever was while adding a big dose of love & gratitude for what I have been given & therefore, can accomplish. 

These pros say it very well.

"Winning isn't everything - but wanting to win is." - Vince Lombadi
"Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength." - Phil Jackson
"The glory is being happy. The glory is not winning here or winning there. The glory is enjoying practicing, enjoy every day, enjoy working hard, trying to be a better player than before."
- Rahael Nadal