Using transparency stickers

These transparent stickers came in the new Studio Calico kit

and I loved them for this photo the minute I saw them.

However, the vision in my head didn't quite translate to the papers.

Ever have one of those moments?

Very annoying.

 For some reason I felt compelled to stitch through the ones on the side there.

and the green star has a 3D glue dot behind it. 

It doesn't look too goofy.

Anyway, this is Amelia flipping a tire.

In 6 years of Crossfiting I have never flipped a tire.

And flipping a tire really goes with the transparencies.

I have a tag tucked into a glassine bag behind all the layers

and it's just about us both being crossfitters and

that one day I hoped we could do a WOD together.

I can do hard things

Love that its on a card and that it landed

in my box of stuff.

This is my crossfit box and we had a competition

with another box during the CF Open.

Battle of the Boxes!

 It was much more fun than trying to beat the world.

Alas, we only loss by this much <>

 Anyway, it was a lot of fun and they have a Masters 60+

and I realized that I have a lot of work to do.

No breaks for the real adults. 

LOL

This page sat around awhile because I couldn't make up 

my mind. I know this shocks you.

And it changed designs 93471457049572457 times.

No joke.

So underneath everything is flooring boards that

I thought went well.

And then I stamped bricks on it. 

And then I tried to whitewash them.

I found I don't do small painting well. At all.

So I decided to whitewash everything.

And there you have it.

Studio Calico AND that TH Bottlecap.

(told you)

Background stamping

On Kraft - I love Kraft it can be whatever you want

and today I'm going for rugged.

Love my Creative Cafe stamps and I really use them a lot.

Especially for backgrounds.

You can't have too many stamps.

 I also had some lime green tissue paper laying around.

I mean how often can you use that color.

Shockingly I had embellishments in that color.

 And of course my "fireworks" "sunburst" punch.

Topped off with some arrows and a tag

with some thickers - Studio Calico.

My favorite eldest son competing in a crossfit competition 

a few  years ago

- I need elbows like that.

One of these days.

Gettin' in more scrappy time in again

I wanted to add some "routine" and hobby photos

in this album to show what we do on the road.

Contrary to popular belief, we do not party day and night. LOL.

So here's my darling sweet hubby with his "hobby" or passion I should say

in roasting coffee. His coffee is delish and sadly, I can't drink

it if its caffeinated. He bought some decaf green beans

on line and roasted some today.

Decaf-Guatemalan coffee.

It is sooooo delish.

 I also like to put some of our campgrounds in and

since we'll be staying here for a month,

and we have a great view with some livestock

swimming about, it helps if we want to return to said campground

in the near future.

 And of course my scrapping on the road, this is

my third time doing it.

I love having a completed book when I return

and then make bigger pages if the story calls for it.

Then my other "love" is crossfit.

I go everyday when I'm at home and it pays

in keeping the ole bod moving right along.

The trips we took in the past, either we didn't stop long

enough or I was too chicken to drop in a different box.

Well I finally found the guts and I'm so glad I did.

I feel great having my routine and keeping up.

Not exercising for a long period is really like starting over

and that's really tough. So now when I get home

I'll be right in the swing of things. 

Mostly.

It'll be a couple weeks which is better than 8 weeks.

I have and am a work in progress

I was going to tease and share and then changed my mind.

But just a hint - we're heading out for about

4-6 weeks on an RV trip and I'm making my journal/album

ahead of time so I can scrap our adventures along the way.

Not close to being done with it yet - the desk is a mess so until

it's done........

Therefore, I shall talk about my other work in progress.

Me.

This is toward the end of my battle of 16.5 open.

It was ugly and hard - ain't gonna lie.

If you aren't into Crossfit - they have games to see

who's the fittest in the world.

Five weeks of the worse combinations that can be

thought of are done by everyone in the crossfit world.

You can pay to play to see where you rank

and if your really really good - you get to go regionals

and compete and then to the world.

Or something like that and

then there's me over here in the box just caring to get through them all.

Without dying or crying

-both were close.

 So the workout was made of thrusters and burpees - just

two of anyone's favorite moves. NOT.

The reps for time was 21-18-15-12-9-6-3.

And didn't those numbers strike terror in everyone's heart.

There was a 30 minute time cap and I finished in 25:14.

Totally not bad.

Those two exercises somehow engage every single

solitary muscle, tendon and bones in the body.

I was the last man standing so to speak - but I didn't get smoked.

I finished and am stronger for it.

So just to recap - ANYONE CAN DO CROSSFIT- yes that means YOU

 - no matter what your age.

The hardest part is starting - find a great box, great coaches

and the rest will fall into place.

As soon as my album is done - there's a page coming on this.

How far I've come - A Crossfit update

And man didn't time just fly.

Of course I had a few months off which caused

some set backs

but all-in-all I it didn't take long to

get back into the swing of things.

I treat my crossfit workouts like an appointment

that can't be missed. I try to keep absences to a minimum

because one thing I learned is that I need to be consistent in

order to keep things in working order

and to improve.

You may remember that I signed up for crossfit

because I was not able to do everyday

movements - like walking, bending, stooping, even sitting and

getting back up - which is important.

These are everyday movements that I took for granted

and these movements slowly eroded

 over time until one day - 

I couldn't do them anymore.

I couldn't squat down and get back up, I couldn't bend my

knees to sit normally so I just flopped down and

rocked to arise from sitting.

And then one day - I was walking, sitting and bending

like a 90 year old woman. And decided 

enough is enough.

I am two years into Crossfit and heading into year three.

So let me tell you what I've gotten out of my two years.

 It didn't take long to get back into shape after my 2 month vacation.

I did run into knee issues by overdoing things right away.

And didn't I learn my lesson.

I did some extra runs after workouts 

that caused my knees to

be seriously unhappy and that's when I learned to row.

I found I like rowing. 

When my knees returned to normal

I started to run again - my numbers are down

presently but they will be getting better.

800M - 6:10

1 mile - 12:57

And THEN since

my knees snapped back to attention

I discovered that I CAN LUNGE.

Lunging is important.

Now when I lunge - MY KNEES TOUCH the ground

and I can arise and lunge again.

I have never been able to do that before - NOT EVEN CLOSE.
This helps with the whole bending down thing.
Weighted lunges are in the future - I have an equilibrium
thing that needs to be worked on I tend to roll around like a weeble.

And I'm not done yet.

I CAN JUMP OVER THE BAR - when its laying flat.

I know I know 

it totally doesn't sound like a big deal but trust me

IT IS.

For some reason - after my brain fired off the command to jump

it rode on down to the hips and then to the feet

where both appendages totally ignored said command.

No matter how hard I tried my little fat feet were glued to that floor.

Well not anymore.

I can jump.

Since all the commands are now being obeyed by the body

and because my hips are now in working order I can sort

of do burpees semi-normal.

Now its just a matter of trusting my arms to get me down

and back up in one swift move.

BUT MY HIPS 

OMG. 

I can throw my legs back

and bring them forward simultaneously- no more 

looking like a crab getting out of the bottom of a boat.

It also allows me to jump rope.

Working on double unders - it appears that

I lack rhythm. Shocking.
Box jumps are in the future now as well.

SQUATTING - 

I have been working on this move for-like-ever.

This is another big deal because its key to 

almost everything. Especially the olympic lifts.

In my head I remembered being able to squat down in heels

and arising like a graceful giselle.

Well the graceful giselle turned into a clumsy camel.

Just bending those knees were a pain. Literally.

WELL.

NOW I CAN SQUAT TO ALMOST PARALLEL AND THEN 

ON A REALLY GOOD DAY or after I've warmed up

I CAN

GET BELOW PARALLEL.
I'm working on consistency now.
So my lift numbers have lowered because I'm
working on being confident to squat down and get back up
and know my knees and legs will do the job.

Back & front squats 55-65#
Overhead squats  & Snatch - PVC, training bar and maybe 25# on a
good day - there's something about these moves
that confuses the back and hips. One day....
Power cleans 70#
Hang cleans 55#
Squat cleans - still tricky but oh so getting better
Deadlift 170#
Push Jerk 60#
Split Jerk - 45# (maybe) I have daffy duck
feet that doesn't bode well for stability

I have to tell you that I'm shocked each and everyday
after a workout - about all the things I can do.
Its not getting easier -  I've gotten better.
It also helps thatn the coaches and
the people are the best -
and no box is complete without them.

With all this improvement -  year three is gonna be so awesome.

On a scrappy note - new Studio Calico kit papers 

that were perfect for Crossfit and 

I added the pink accents to match my sneakers

being girly and all.

I loved those alphas and ended up frankensteining

just a few vowels. 

Looks like greek to me LOL.

Documenting everyday

Which I don't do often enough mostly

because its not exciting.

But this was.

It was a girls only day at the box

that totally needs to be documented

We had a such a blast.

And its been awhile since I did a crossfit update.

I have to admit it was tough

 after 2 months off but I'm back at it - 

I do admit I sort of over did at first 

forgetting

that I'm not a spring chicken anymore but alas I 

did spring back.

And rightly so.......

I had a blast putting together this page.

I hope to show the chaos and fun we have doing the WODs.

This day was snatches for strength training

and a mile run for conditioning.

 I broke out a couple of packs of stamps and used each

and every one of them.

Several times.

I like this look - and I blame it on Kittyscrapper.

If you haven't checked her out its a must - because she's 

a freakin' hoot and an amazing scrapper.

 Putting Basic Grey to good use along with

some Studio Calico and Paper Issues bits and bobs.

 These are my pals at the 9:30 a.m. class.

We rock.

I do protest the fact that they look fresh as daisies - 

I'm the one that looks like I was dragged through a keyhole backwards

several times.

The guys are not so much on the cardio portion

so they tend to skip these days.

Cherry pickers. LOL.

I love how it came together - and these ladies are the absolute best.

They are great to have by your side when sweating and grunting

-always cheering, always helping.

Its one of the best perks about the box-any box- the people 

are amazing.

NOW FOR THE UPDATE......

So the strength and conditioning pieces were reversed.

Normally the weights come first.

On this day - rain was threatening so.....

we ran first and I managed to do one mile in 12:52.

Not bad - I've done better but its been awhile 

therefore I shall roll with this and continue to improve

even though I'm really not a fan of running.

Snatches are not my best lift so I

alternated working on form with the PVC and training bar.

I'm okay with that because just doing the moves

conditions my body and learning them correctly will help

because one day I will add weight.

So today I ran 800m in 6:10 - and that means that

maybe my next mile will have a few minutes shaved off.

And today NO GUYS. 

Again.

We don't need no stinkin' boys.

Accomplishing even more at the box

Me and Tobie relaxing and encouraging others

after finishing 15.3 CF open at the box

of which I worked the Masters (55+) WOD.

Below is the RX left side- Scaled right side.

7 muscle ups - I did ring rows and dips

which mimics the same movements in muscle ups.

100 double unders (jump rope)

or 200 single unders

50 wallballs-10# I used.

My job was to do as many rounds as possible in 14 minutes.

It was a really LONG 14 minutes.

You'll have to read to the bottom to see how I did.

In the meantime an update on some gains I made physcially.

Notice the knee with the blue sleeve?

We're coming up on 2 years after surgery - and look at me sitting Indian style

On.the.floor - with my knee bent.

That wasn't even on the radar when I first started.

As a matter-of-fact, when I first started that puppy wouldn't bend

much less in that direction.

It was frozen in time.

So to speak.

Oh and the tank top says grandma in beastmode.

Bwahahahaha Love it.

AND

Here we are in action!
 Single unders, double unders. 

100 - 200

I do have a rope in my hand - however, back a year ago,

all I could do was bounce gently on my toes.

And you guessed it - I'm doing single unders. Double unders

take a certain amount of coordination that I haven't yet acquired.

I can whip that rope around now and knock out the jumps.

Which is why you can't see the rope I was

going so fast.

 And then the wallballs - 50 of them - were tough - because you 

need to squat down below parallel and heave

that (mine was #10 ball) wallball up to the thin red line.

Manly men need to fling it up to the big red line.

I'm still having trouble hitting that line everytime

but I can bend down and fling.

I'm thinking I just need to be taller.

It was alot of fun and totally exhausting.

I did 512 reps.

Next year it'll be even better because I'll be able to do even more.

Another All About Me page

Since I feel my everyday life is kinda boring

I  just can't seem to get excited about Project Life - there just

isn't enough going on - not even in a week.

However, I did decide to scrap my morning routine and call it a day.

Crossfit is not boring - let me just clear that right up.

What it is, is an important piece of my everyday and 

I want to document it.

 Since CF photos are few and far between

because everyone is busy working out and not worrying about photos

 every now and then......
some photos that come along.....

 And this is so great - especially when its all my peeps,
 and then some,
 all with whom I stretch, 

sweat, and burn in one photo.

Love that.

 And here's my homemade badge with the initials of my box.

Love that too.

Their names are noted on the back of the page because

there are a lot of peeps since there was only one class and it was
a mix of other that come at different times
and it was sooo cool to be able to meet others.
 This was the Christmas Eve WOD before we got all hot and sweaty.

I also have a New Years Eve WOD-after photo after we're all hot and sweaty..
This is my everyday, including holiday eves, and these are my everyday people.
Love them.

----------------------------------------

As you can see by now - I also have square QK cookie cutter dies

(along with circles and stars). 

I have more shapes where they came from.
Beware.....

Here's some old Studio Calico paper I had no idea what to do with

but find it works perfectly because it has all the months on it.

And I am there - every month - M-F.

Then after I burn, sweat and stretch I go home take a shower, 

drink a recovery shake

 and then take a nap - a really long nap.

Its the hot shower that does me in I'm thinking.
Yeah, let's blame it on the shower but it couldn't possibly be
that my entire body has a good ache going on.

#scrapbooking

Adding a quote to my page

When I first saw this quote in my Studio Calico kit

I wasn't quite sure what to do with it.

It's a serious quote and I thought a tough one to work in a page.

Silly me.

 Perfect for my crossfiting grandkids that are getting stronger everyday.

Not only physically - but mentally.

I should know - I'm experiencing the same crossfit phenomena.

 Bratlings and bullies have been a part of the world since Eden

so it never hurts to reinforce confidence
by exercising the body and mind.

This Studio Calico paper was so much fun.

I loved working with it.

And the letters - had to cut down the transparency part to get them on the page.

And then of course I glued everything down.

And it didn't quite work out the same from the initial design.

I know that surprises you.

However, I love the final version.

I'm actually working on those same strong moves.

Right now my arms and core need to be stronger.

It'll happen.

It's been a little over a year in my Crossfit adventures

And my butt doesn't jiggle!

Scoff if you will but(t) this is a really big deal.

No pun intended.

I have made amazing friends and WOD buddies.

I'm amazingly disciplined.

I'm getting amazing results.

I'm doing amazing things.

Every.single.day.

Monday - Friday.

Everyone needs rest days.

Just sayin'.........

This was the last WOD of 2014 and it wasn't pretty.

I can't explain why I look like I got hit by a train and everyone else looks as fresh as a daisy.

It just ain't right.

I love tanks - especially snarky ones and this one fits the bill and it's fitting for the last WOD of 2014, because I am becoming a badass.

I'm expecting great things for 2015 - because from 2013-2014 made me a Crossfit believer. A believer that if I could do it - anyone can. And not only do it - but do it well. And not only do it well - but I keep getting better.

Just a few stats I can be a tad brag-a-docious about:

1 mile run - 12:34

5K- 36:25 

Hang Clean - 60 lb.

Back Squat - 95 lb.

Deadlift - 140 lb.

Push Press - 60 lb.

Snatch - 40 lb.

Strict Press - 45 lb.

Squat Clean - 70 lb.

Not bad for 60 years young.

And wait until February when I'm 61 years young.

You will be amazed.

Just to recap- Whatever head games you got going on saying you can't - read this post again - and know that you can. All you have to do is start.

Crossfit - After the boot

Sporting my Keith Richards look I was all set to jump back in. However, jumping, squatting and running were taken off the list for 2 weeks. I also have to admit I was a bit  okay alot timid after the boot came off. I was afraid that any sudden move would break the stupid thing and I'd have to start all over again. I found that bones are stronger than my sudden moves.

SO no practicing squats like this one, casually done by one of the grands, and one that could only happen in my wildest dreams, I decided to not focus on what I couldn't do, but what I could.

Therefore, with the exuberance of a 3 year old who knows she's a super hero, I couldn't wait to go to OPEN GYM. woooooo weeeeeeeee! 

Open gym awesome moments.

• Its where the cool kids hang.
• Its also those same cool kids, who are sporting the most improvements, are the ones working after to class to master them. (I am seriously amazed at their energy & fortitude).
• The cool kids also make up WODs they missed.
• Cool kids are totally inspiring and I'm proud they let me hang with them.
• During open gym means you do your own thing. 
• It can also be chit chat time. That's fun too - getting to know everyone while breathing normal.
• I wanna be a cool kid.

I also found:

• that I set up my own WODs and so as not look wimpy I did everything that had nothing to do with running, jumping or squatting. 
• timed WODs didn't happen - mostly because I forgot to set my phone.
• and while I hung in there for 2 weeks, it just wasn't as fun as doing a class.There's alot to be said for having others around suffering the same fate as you.

It's lonely on your own.

After 8 weeks of no crossfitting, I was shocked at how much I had lost.

I forgot the warmup routine. 

How wrong is that.

And then once I did remember I had to omit a few things.

I couldn't do a sit up. They were totally pathetic.

Ring rows. So not pretty.

There was a aerodyne bike and after 3 minutes of riding

I sounded like an obscene phone call.

And I tossed wallballs while sitting on the floor.

 I have to admit the wallballs from the floor were kinda fun.

Shhh!!! Our little secret.

Threw some barbells around and found my arms were in quite the wimpy state 

I'm talking 10 lbs were doing me in and 

modified pushups made me feel like a humped back whale. 

All very disconcerting and discouraging however, I persevered.

And steadily improved each day.

Also true I found - Routine is the enemy.

I found myself doing a lot of the same things everyday mostly because I'm 

not that creative in thinking outside the box. (crossfit joke).

Snort.

And it was boring.

I did become braver going into the 2nd week, once I found that my foot could take it.

I added modified rope climps, leg lifts, and tricep work, along with some strict presses.

I'm glad I worked it this way, boredom and all, because my foot had extra time to get stronger.

And I became stronger faster than I thought. 

None of the above sucked wind after those 2 weeks.

 Although I was still somewhat pampering the ole piglet.

I was so glad to get back to the classes.

Having others around can really affect your WODs.

There's nothing better than rockin' a WOD with others.

http://crossfitmurdock.com/main1/

Trying to relax and heal....

And it ain't easy when 2 out of 3 tanks I ordered came in the mail.I love the thick2thin tanks as they give me a bit more maneuvering and tend to not show all my sins while trying to rid myself of them. 

I like the crossfit slogans however I'm sure I'm getting them wrong -

On break the wall - I immediately went to wallballs

and on Scaled it 

I immediately went to that most of my WOD's are scaled 

and hallelujah a tank slogan to make me proud,

(because it is all about me-LOL)

 however,

 rethinking it now that I have time to think,

 I'm pretty sure they mean something more inspirational and motivating.

In the meantime, I only worked in 2 WODs because insominia rose its ugly head and I was afraid of working out, making a mistake because I'm overly tired and adding more time on an already (in my mind) long jail term. 

BUT, 

it hasn't stopped me from working with some dumbells 

and laying on the floor doing situps and modified pushups

 and anything else I can think of that can be done without using my feet.

SUGGESTIONS WELCOME!!!

Also on the heels of healing and driving myself crazy wondering what's happening

at the box without me, we're heading out to see the grands for 

a couple of weeks. 

Redirecting my already lame attention span is a great idea

AND, make the healing less painful.

Its the waiting......and not doing.

First day back at Crossfit

And this is week 34, (like who's counting LOL). And there's my fancy footwear workout attire. The sneaker actually evens out with boot so I don't rock around like a weeble.

Since there is no running, no jumping, no weights. Dumb-bells didn't count and I worked them from the flloors - doing push presses and fliers (kinda like spreading the ole wings).

 It was tougher than it looked and another area to work on. 

Shocking.

Then I did what I normally do v-ups, leaning squats (staying off the bum foot) and more dumbbell work - push presses standing up. 10 each and I managed 5 rounds in 9 minutes. 

Came home and took a 2 hour nap - after relaxing in the pool - which felt good on the foot since it was 81 degrees and cool (for me). 

I'll be there with boot on tomorrow!

Boot Baby Steps

It took 3 days out of the week to get it all together since we decided to not go the emergency room route. I had extremely high hopes that it would be a temporary thing that would go away with ice and ibprofen so why waste an ER visit.

My extremely high hopes were dashed Monday morning.

Fortunately I have a great doctor that saves emergency spots and was able to work me in and get me a scrip for an xray. On day two I got a diagnosis of nondisplaced fracture and a referral to a podiatrist.

On day 3 I got my boot.

I get to wear the boot everyday along with using crutches for at least 3 weeks. Once the pain subsides I can go crutchless, and another xray to check progress.

On the 4th day I decided to check out the logistics of doing a crossfit WOD.
             
I located dumbells in the closet, dusted off the cobwebs and tried bicep curls. And then I remembered they could be substituted for one armed KB swings. Now the floor work. I decided on situps and modified push ups.
                               Thursday WOD - 3 rounds
                                 20 one armed KB swings with a dumbell                        (10 each arm)
                                 20 sit ups
                                 20 push ups

I was able to squat down and pick up the dumbell and stand. As long as I stayed on my heels which is where I supposed to be I didn't feel any pressure on my foot. Getting up and down on the floor has always been ackward for me because of the knees, all I needed to do was pay attention to the injured foot.

I did well but forgot to time the WOD because I wanted to concentrate on the logistics on moving.

Along came day 5 (Friday) and I wanted to WOD again. Because of limited space and the success I had the day before I kept the same WOD and this time remembered to time it.

9:32 - not too shabby with a gimpy boot. 

Can't wait until Monday - My plan is to check out the WOD ahead of time and check with the trainer. If its not something that can be modified well; I'll go to open gym.

Gotta keep babying the foot and keep going.

Got the boot!

And aren't I just the fashion diva.

And if you'll notice my nanos are close by.

I was diagnosed with a Jones fracture. 

Naturally, its one of the hardest ones to heal because

of its tricky location.

So the boot and the crutches will be my friend for 3 weeks.

Ackward.

After 3 weeks and the pain subsides I can just wear the boot.

Yay!

Until then I will be formulating a plan to keep whatever

progress I made in Crossfit going.

The dr. was aghast.

LOL.

Love that I that I can still shock people.

Just.Keep.Going.

I’m not happy. Well I am mostly, however, I wanted to do a before photo and here I come but I'm not done yet photo comparison because I've made some serious progress; however, thanks to my aversion of being in front of the camera and totally hating how I look, it took me awhile to finally find an old photo that basically shows about where I started out in my adventures in crossfitting. 

And here's a selfie of where I am. (Ignore the dirty mirror).

Can we say *happy dance* WOD.

Sadly and stupidly, I didn’t take measurements right out of the gate either. Total *head slap*. I however, have lost 3-4 inches from January (when I had the presence of mind to start) until now. My weight has gone up and down. Muscle and fat - have a duel going on - muscle is winning.

My first goal when I began this adventure was to get my knees functioning; I couldn't walk well (running was not even on the horizon nor could I bend down at the knees and arise - so I figured anything else such as weight loss and a great looking body would be a bonus. It wasn't until my knees started working, and working well, did I become aware of the other benefits; my arms weren't flabby anymore, my midriff was shrinking and I could actually toss around a 15 lb bag of potatoes without breaking a sweat.

And like anything worthwhile - its not easy. And I'm okay with that, I'm willing to do the work because I'm reaping benefits as you can see. If you've been following my crossfit adventure, (just click on the tab above) you'll know that I've had struggles; such as not being able to do a situp, not being able to run 50 feet without sounding like an obscene phone call, and squating - the absolute basic requirement in this program. It also takes me at least 2-3 hours after to recover.

Well, I can do those three things now and more. Oh I still sound like an obscene phone call when I run, but it doesn't start until further down the road. And a situp - I have photographic proof that someone doesn't need to hold my feet down to get them down. And squating. It ain't pretty but I get below parallel most of the time now.

It's also not about doing it alone. As I said before, the box's (gym) best weapon is their members. And there will be those WODs (workout of the day) that'll try and take you down. Sometimes they succeed, and there's no shame in that, especially if you've given all. 

My second goal is to be able to play with the big kids and do everything they do.

This week has been a WOD crescendo. The intensity increased exponentially and looking ahead sometimes provides an excuse not to go, try and do.  

Don't fall for that. 

I have a bad habit of peeking the night before and to see what's in store and it drives me crazy when I do and also when I don't. So later in the week for example, the girl’s WODS Fran and Annie were on the agenda. Girl named WOD's are scary, however, I worked through them and then came the sneak up and take you by surprise oh so innocent WOD the next day-Friday (and never has TGIF sounded so good). 

First off, there is nothing innocent about a WOD that has running and burpees in it, with a kettle bell swing or two just to keep it interesting. EVER.

5 ROUNDS FOR TIME: Scaled 4 Rounds

     200M run with a medicine ball

     20 kettlebell one arm swings

     20 burpees

The only thing I did different is I used a 10# dumbell - mostly because of coordination issues and the fear of knocking myself out with a kettlebell which would not be pretty and running with the 10# medicine ball. What could be more awkward that running around with a ball the size of emu tucked into your arm. Um....burpees.

And didn't the scaled WOD look tempting. Four rounds, Oh so very tempting. Especially after the first round - an omen of what the remaining 4 would be like. What it boiled down to for me to complete all five rounds, was to do one thing in the round at a time; one step/one run and not to let my head play games - omg everything really hurts and oh, you're going to be last, again. 

The last round, and its just me (I know you're surprised) - and here's when our box's (or any box) best weapon launched -  I picked up that stupid ball when I really REALLY didn't want to and started running. Five steps in, I hear "we're right behind you" (or something like that because my brain and body are now dead) and my WOD buddies (after their workout) ran with me. Oh what a gift, and not thinking about anything but matching their steps - I completed one thing. Someone, Helena, I think, picked up a dumbell and worked it through with me, setting a rythym - I completed one more thing. After came the dreaded burpees - Helena and Renee - did them with me-setting a pace that allowed me to work it through. The third and final thing completed. All 20 burpees. 

The rest shouted encouragement. Always, always a plus. And as further incentive, Renee promised that after the last burpee I could flop right down there on the floor and recover. I couldn't wait and I think I blasted through the last one.

Just.keep.going. and when you catch your breath - Bless those who kept you going. I can't thank each and every one of them enough, ever.

AND another thing - in case you're wondering if you're too old, too girly or just too whatever head games you got going on saying you can't do it, know this,  I started crossfit almost 8 months ago, when I was 59 years old. 

I am now 60 years young. 

Doing even more stuff BETTER!

I haven't done a crossfit update lately and I am extremely pleased at the progress I'm making.

Oh Yeah there are days and there always will be.

Because one thing I can say for sure - easy isn't a word used in crossfit.

EVER. Neither is can't. 

Remember those situps I talked about here-3rd paragraph. Well check it out - those are my pink nanos (blonde hair - Marvi is the other pink nanos) glued to the floor and I'm sitting up without anyone holding those babies down to the floor. 

And now I'm doing V-Ups to strengthenmy core in order to do pull ups, knees to elbows, toes to bar on the monkey bars (rig).

AND GUESS what - I'm bouncing instead of jumping rope - But I CAN jump rope now. Single unders - As soon as I can get that extra bounce out - double unders are on the radar.

Ball Slams - are without a doubt not fun. You start in the postion I'm in now and throw that ball down with your entire body, and while your bending down, scoop the ball up in one motion to slam it down again. I couldn't move for 2 days.

And I made it to the monkey bars.Woo hooo- jumping pull ups - to the chin. And I can do that-its sort of like bouncing with an attitude. 

Step ups on the boxes. And the boxes are getting taller. Hmm...my hands shouldn't be on my knees. Busted.

Deadlifts - 75 lbs. (I think) WHO KNEW! And in a WOD - Not just during a SWOD (strength workout of the day). I kinda like deadlifts.

This workout was a tough one. Deadlifts and stepups (or box jumps) Legs and arms. Arms and legs. And I can see my body changing. 

And this workout involved running. LOTS of running (you can read my thoughts on running here ) 

and modified rope climbs (one day I'll get to the top) are all I can remember about this WOD - 

I'm pretty sure many other things were involved which is why I'm on the floor at the end. 

Good thing I had my tunes - because I was there for awhile. 

And I wasn't the only one.