The End of the Beginning

I have been Crossfitting for over three years now, so the beginning phase is over...by a long time. I have not posted in forever and it is time to wrap up. I now live in Phoenix, Arizona and am working out and WORKING (happy dance!) at Core Crossfit, downtown. Today is my last day of nannying and beginning of my career in health and wellness. I am so happy, deeply truly happy to have finished my last nanny gig with a good attitude and a smile on my face. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to do what I love and make something of myself. I take the GRE on June 1st and will be applying to ASU for entrance into their Exercise and Wellness masters program. I am late in the application cycle but hopefully they will have room for me in the fall class. The long range goal is to go to medical school and do my residency in Preventive Medicine. The happily ever after goal is to make a difference in the health of our nation and be source of encouragement and empowerment in the lives of individual I am blessed to know.  So there you have it, my update and sign off!

The Astoria Column WOD

During my marathon training Crossfit had to take the back seat for awhile. Since I am not really a professional athlete or remarkable as a physical specimen in any way, twice a day workouts were not prudent. Therefore, I lost some strength. Sad but true. After I recovered from the race (I had difficulty just moving for a few days, ouch!) I merrily resumed my love affair with the Crossfit-ing for a few days but then it was time for vacation. What to do? What to do? My husband and I drove down the Oregon Coast under beautiful sunny skies. Sun in the Pacific Northwest= Joy! Our first stop in Astoria provided WOD fodder.The Astoria Column in 164 spiral steps of torture for which you are rewarded with one of the most stunning 360 degree views I have ever seen. The first time up I thought, yuck that was hard, I don't want to do that again! Which of course reminded me of my love for Crossfit and the first vacation Workout of the Day was born. Five column ascends for time! It was really fun to experience that view again and again, plus we got to help out some kids by returning their little airplanes to them for multiple launches. High Intensity exercise and happy memories, check! My right calf muscle still has a major knot from this adventure which means it was a good one right?

The Run after the Run

This morning at seven am I had my first run since race day. Race day was June 25th, today is July 14th. That is 20 days of not running- at ALL. Why is running again after the big run so hard?

Back in October 2003 I ran the Boulder Back-roads half marathon in 2:15 minutes ish, after training with the intention to run the full marathon. That means that I completed a twenty plus mile training run. I did all of the heavy mileage alone then didn't run consistently or seriously until this spring...yep, this spring. Which puts the down time just shy of EIGHT YEARS!

What made the difference? Friends. I was able to get out of bed and make it over to the same old lake to run yet another lap because I knew someone would be there waiting for me.

Where I am at right Now...

I am at home, sitting in my red foam chair wearing my jam jams with a headache and what feels like a hangover but it actually what I am going to call "sugar sickness." For the past two and a half weeks I have gone way over board with the sweet things in life. Although fun for a little bit, I think the pendulum is about so swing back to the other side...the non sugared side. Last night was the Fourth of July, and one of my favorite holidays. Since my Husband was out of town for the last 5 months we decided to make a good day even better and celebrate our missed anniversary too. Each year I remake our wedding cake: chocolate layered with apricot preserves and marizpan then coated in chocolate ganche and topped with raspberries. It is beyond! It is so rich it is absolutely necessary for us to invite our friends to help us celebrate. We love our friends and had a great time enjoying the day with them. We got to spend time with our church friends in the afternoon then join our medical school friends for pie and fireworks at night...so great but so much sugar!

May-July Update

So I really should have posted previous to now, but late is better the never right? Plus the news is big enough I really can't move forward till I announce it.

I WON the Paleo Challenge! That means that I won the $865 dollar kitty and have paid for my CrossFit habit through December, Hooray! Such a blessing, really...At my lowest I got down to 123 pounds and approx 15% body-fat. It was a new low and high :).

Second big news item, I ran the Seattle Rock and Roll marathon in 1:57! Excellent, better than expected and fantastic are just the beginning of how I felt and feel about it. I am seriously impressed that I was able to do that. I feel very grateful for my training group and my running partner Dave. I know it would not have been possible without their help and support. I think the interval work I did with my super human friend also really improved my speed, and most importantly it would not have been fun without friends!

Third, I am seeing a pattern...I respond very well to challenges that involve other people and a bit of competition. And now it is time for a new goal or three.

Getting Ready: Follow Up to the Post About Jess

So after I had my meeting with Jess there were still several weeks until the SpringLEANing Challenge started. I had the idea to ease into it with some small changes. I started to eat more protein and veggies but also experienced an interesting phenomenon. I am curious if anyone else has had this happen...Just the thought of giving up bread, dairy and desserts made me cling to them so much more! I ate TONS of the "bad things," like almond croissants, ice cream, and raisin toast. But I did get myself organized and prepared a game plan, then a funny thing happened. When it was go time I really didn't have much of a problem with the changes. Surprise! I was really worried that I would be tried and grumpy all the time but it just didn't happen. I feel pretty much normal.

The first couple of days I didn't eat enough and was kinda spacey (I left some of my purchases in the cart at Costco!)but I think it was just my body transitioning to it's new fuel. Then I felt good and happily free from the constant need for snacks, snacks and more snacks. Another interesting sensation I experience now is that when I am really hunger I crave fat, not fatty foods, FAT! Like I could eat butter the way I used to eat sugar, hmmm....

The photo is a picture of my first Paleo lunch at work; seared salmon and roasted veggies and avocado. I now know that I need more fat in proportion to protein/carbohydrates to feel satisfied and have balanced energy till the next meal.

SpringLEANing at CrossFit Seattle

The Paleo Challenge at my gym started on March 12 and I have not written a single word about it, even though I have so much to say. So, in a very Annelisa-like fashion I will be attempting to address the last two and a half months in reverse semi-chronological order.

Today, after looking at my friends beautiful wedding photos, I started to wonder if I could still fit into my wedding dress. I got it out, slipped it over my head and zipped it most of the way up, then had to call my upstairs neighbor Debi to finish the job. It did fit! But in a whole new way, which got my thinking about my college jeans...the ones that I used to wear when I ran 40mile weeks and was 19/20 years old. I put them on and voile, they fit too...in a whole new way.

What is the whole new way? Well, in my opinion, my glutes/hams/quads are much larger and now tell the clothing what shape it should have, i.e. very round in the back. Also my arms and shoulder are bigger and more toned. Now, this is not what I had originally fantasied that CrossFit and paleo dieting would do for me. I had hoped to get smaller, as I think most women prefer but now I feel really great about it all. I am pleased because I look how I feel- healthy, happy, strong and vital. I am amazed by the things that my body can do now and feel much less concerned and critical of it's shape. I am confident that I am doing the best I can with what I am working with.

In numbers I have lost a few pounds and am around 128lbs depending on hydration, the moon, sleep time, etc. etc. I feel good about where I am at and plan to continue this style of healthful eating after the challenge is over. That being said I still have 15 days to cut weight and hopefully win the kitty. Things may get a little less holistic the next two weeks as I focus on the thousand or so dollar prize! I need that money to pay for the next 6 months of CrossFit!

Also a note on the photo, it is really hard to take a full length iphone self portrait :(