Sunday, January 25, 2009

Substance Abuse Problem



Evidence of my substance abuse problem - Chalk.
I guess as far as white powders go, this one is relatively harmless. The lesser or two evils, no doubt.

I'm also addicted to Jeannie. Love her. She's badass - totally cool person and fast and strong as hell... obviously... she's holding me. ;)

These pictures are all from the "Death By Pull-Ups" Workout - 10 rounds for time of: 3 weighted, 5 deadhangs, 7 kipping pull-ups - The shit nightmares are made of.





AFTERMATH





Training is going really well. I spent some time playing with Jeannie at her gym. I loved every second of it and look forward to training with her often. She makes me want to be a better athlete and makes me confident that I can be. It's such a blast to train with her at my side.

Working out with the right people in the right environment has such an impact on my training. The right atmosphere motivates me. There's no comparison between training alone in a globo gym and rockin' it with strong dudes in a CF Box. You know which one I prefer ;)

I've been hitting workouts at Blauers, too. Such a great crew there.

I'm just so happy to have places to train consistently. Being consistent and resting are crucial.

As soon as I finish a WOD... and after my "CrossFit Hangover" wears off... my mind goes immediately to what's in store for the next day. I'm always so excited to find out what the WOD will be. But when the time rolls around to DO the workout I start dreading it. But of course once I'm in it's all good again.

I love CrossFit. Can't get enough. Want to be better at it.

Bumps and bruises and scrapes and rips - All Worth It. I lovingly refer to them as my CrossFit Accessories. They go with everything, although they almost always require some explanation to non-CrossFitters. Always a great conversation starter.

I'm Training Hard and Having Fun and loving every minute of it. Hope You Are, Too!


If you fell off the wagon then Go Hit a WOD! That's an order!

Friday, January 23, 2009

With Great Risk, Comes Great Reward
























"Allison, you're always up to something new. How do you live so freely?"

This is one of those Frequently Asked Questions I've referred to in the past. The question has been presented in many variations. It's runner up only to the Muscle Up question. Now that we've got that mess cleared away, let's tackle this one. It's far more interesting, anyway.

I'll give all of you people out there with short attention spans the abbreviated version - I just do.

That's the basic concept. But putting it into action and understanding it is more complex and requires some extra thought. I don't know if I can give a specific answer. I don't know if there is one.

Lots of the e-mails I get asking that question are referring to CrossFit stuff. I've been to a lot of gyms, spent time with the most dynamic, intelligent, motivating CrossFit people, been to all the certs. I've traveled a lot. I've gotten myself into some shit.

I guess if the question is as superficial as, "How did you get invited to that cert" or "How did you end up in CrossFit videos", I could respond with a simple, boring answer. Let me know if that's what you really want.

I'm a CrossFitter to the core. Intensity doesn't just exist in my workouts, it penetrates every aspect of my life. That's my goal anyway.

My CrossFit life is just a portion and a reflection of what I've been doing since forever.

I wonder WHY they're really asking. Curiosity? Do they just want to know my take on things that have went down in public? Do they want to know how so they can do it, too? Or are they looking for something else?

Are they really just wondering.. Why ME?



All the coolest and most exciting things I've done have also been the scariest... the most nerve racking. Fear is part of the thrill. The unknown. Not being able to see around the corner or what's on the other side. Fear holds people back. But it's what drives me.

I take risks. When I'm presented with an opportunity to try something new, I seize it.. even if that means making a fool out of myself. That's how I end up all over the place. I accept invitations, I embrace opportunity, I go for it.

I haven't really been able to put my finger on why I've been extended so many interesting opportunities. I think life is just a series of events and each decision impacts our future. Maybe it's destiny or luck. Maybe it's my overwhelming charm that gets me things ;) Just kidding... sort of. Or maybe it's just being open and receptive to opportunities when they come around.

The universe works in strange ways. Things come our way when we need them to. We're exactly where we need to be when we're there. And there's enormous power in our thoughts.

When things get crazy in my life, and they often do, my Grandmother is always great at getting me centered again. She reminds me that I am where I am because I need to be.. as part of some sort of spiritual journey. Spirituality is only starting to creep into my life. I can now at the very least transcribe some of the messages presented into a language I can understand and accept.

I believe in human development. Human behavior is so complicated and interesting. We all have things we need to do, obstacles we need to overcome, people we need at certain times in our lives, to grow and evolve into some kind of "final product" when we die. I imagine at the end of my life, I'll look back on all the things I've done and went through to become that end product. Life is sort of like research for some big report that takes forever to write... and what for?

This may be one of the driving forces in how you live your life. Is someone grading your final report, or not? Who's rules are right and who's to judge your interpretation of how life should be lived? I'm not big on living based on guilt. I'm about living based on experience, love and growth.

Anyway, my Granny reminds me of the bigger picture. That always helps.


I accept consequences (they're almost always worth the value of the experience). I anticipate things not going exactly as planned.

It's okay to not always know what to do. It's okay to make mistakes. We make mistakes no matter how hard we try and no matter who's rules we aim to follow... and there are so many rules, aren't there?! It would be impossible to follow them all ... so we might as well do it up right with our own panache!

When I fall, I get up, I freak out and recover. And trust me, I fall often.


How do some people end up bold risk takers? Parenting, environmental factors? Do they just come out that way? I believe it's both. Nature and Nurture.

When I was younger I was constantly challenging authority. I got in trouble in school a lot. In NYC public schools it's fairly easy to get in trouble - Just ask one too many questions, disagree with what's being taught, challenge a teacher. Curiosity got me in trouble - be bold enough to ask a question not addressed in the teachers edition of a textbook and be labeled as pretentious or argumentative and be sent immediately to the principles office.

Free, critical thinking was discouraged. Memorization and regurgitation of information... now that's real education. Being vocal with my ideas and unafraid and determined to express them got me sent out of many classrooms. I can't count the number of times I've just picked up and walked out.

I've had dreams of classrooms where students desks were arranged facing each other. Where the teacher was more of a guide and moderator than a disseminator of facts. I wanted heated discussion and debate. I wanted to be challenged.

Instead, I sat in rows facing the board. Forced to be quite or be punished. Sometimes we were doomed to classrooms so crowded there weren't enough chairs and there was always a shortage of books. Those classes were like hell.

I had a few outstanding teachers over the years. I landed myself in six high schools and felt like I struck gold when I got a teacher who pumped life into their message. You know those teachers who make their subject interesting... because it is.. because it's interesting to them and they know it can be interesting to anyone if it's presented the right way. Their classrooms have energy. Students are excited and minds are awake and working. Those classrooms are pure heaven. I would go to school everyday for the rest of my life if I could find an environment like that. I'd hold on and never let go. My Dad told me that's what I'd find at Columbia. I think I'm ready. I'll hit that in my next entry.


Anyway, I didn't give a fuck. That's always kind of been my attitude. People put such limits on themselves.

I feel like a lot of us just end up falling in line and living how we're expected to live. Childhood and adolescence is spent being told to "Line Up!", "Don't talk out of turn", "Don't ask questions", "Don't read ahead", "Wait to use the bathroom", "Don't talk without raising your hand!". Most people don't grow out of that. It's like they Need rules and people telling them what to do rather than thinking for themselves. They're too scared. They don't know how. They weren't taught or prepared. Their educators failed them.

We're pressured to conform. I'm not concerned so much with how we dress and talk. People always think that if you dress "weird" you're different. No. You're just the same as all those other "different" people. I'd like to get into this one another time, too. Self expression and how we're perceived in society is some interesting shit.

But for now I want to zero in on how we're taught to live. It's our actions that are relevant. Society immediately starts putting boundaries around us. Our culture molds us with strategically placed barricade's to guide us through life like cattle. Some people are content with that or don't even see it. Others have this internal, primal drive to climb those fence's or hop right over those barriers like they don't even exist.


My Mom was one of those off beat people. She's the black sheep in a very traditional family - Mom and Dad married 50 years, one of four children who went off to marry happily and have children of their own. She didn't fall in line. Who knows why she was different. She probably makes a good case for Nature over Nurture.

My mother is kind, peaceful, selfless. She's also kooky, scatterbrained and animated. She's the artistic type, always doing some sort of project. Children love her for her playful and loving nature. It really is so genuine.

On the other hand I always thought my Mom was a little nuts. She embarrassed the hell out of me as a kid. I was always afraid of what my "Traditional" friends and their families would think of her and if they'd judge me based on her (they probably did).

She'd be playing with the neighborhood kids while I was hiding behind a mailbox, embarrassed and shy. She'd set up water balloon wars for my friends on the block and take us all to Jones Beach everyday in the summer.

We spent a lot of time in the doctors office because of my asthma... even that was fun with her. She'd entertain me by pulling the most random things out of her purse. It was like the Barney Bag.. we never knew what we'd find but we knew it would be hysterical. Every woman needs a spork, rocks and masking tape in their bag.. didn't you know that?! :D I'm laughing my ass off as I type this.

My Mom is weird. My brother, EthanBoo is a lucky little dude. He'll have a lot of fun with a Mom that enjoys digging for worms and playing with bugs.

I inherited my strong sense of humor from her. If you don't laugh at life sometimes, you'll go crazy. I had to laugh growing up with her...

I'm learning to appreciate her for all the wonderful things that she does. I've grown to admire her strength and her courage. I admire her independence and determination to live her life with passion. She has a fantastic sense of self and but never hesitates to show her vulnerability, her humanity. I realize that I've always been more like her than I thought. I did my own thing. I rebelled.. but maybe in a more thundering, vehement, abhorrent, sort of way.

I think as I've gotten older I see that I've learned something very important from watching her my whole life... I was learning it all along. I've been practicing, too. From her example, I've learned how to be myself.

She marches strongly and proudly to the beat of her own drummer. I respect her tenacity to ignore what "normal" people pressure her to do, directly and indirectly, and to find and fight for her own version of happiness.

That doesn't mean that there isn't any struggle in this way of life. There was for her and there is for me. I embrace it. When I look at my Mother I see someone who's taken the hard road sometimes but lives life honestly and passionately. She has war wounds that make her beautiful and interesting. I want to see those qualities reflecting back at me when I look in the mirror.

It's not always easy doing things the non traditional way, but it sure is fun.

My Mom always did things with grace and kindness. She's too easily manipulated for my taste. I know it's sort of contradictory to the qualities I've described so far, but it's true. She's put herself out there and has been taken advantage of in the process. It happens to the best of us. It's part of the game. But she's exceptionally easy on people. It's excessive and it pisses me off. This is where we start to differ.

I'm stubborn, hardheaded, insubordinate, contrary, disobedient, rebellious.

I'm riotous, impulsive and opinionated. I'm rarely compliant and I'm allergic to authority. I despise wimps who accede to every absurd law. I like to bend rules and karate chop them right in half if I really believe in what I'm doing.

I can easily identify where that comes from. My father was a bastard who didn't care for people telling him what to do. He's the most charming, wild, ferocious, brilliant, frightening, man roaming the Earth. Watch out for him.

When I'm in, I'm all in. All or Nothing. I can be reckless. It gets me into trouble and lands me in strange situations... I live for them.

Sometimes I hear myself wishing for an uncomplicated life. I know I've said even recently "Why can't everything just be easy and smiles. Why can't we just slide through life smoothly?". I wouldn't really want that. I like the bumps in the road - They're The Spice Of Life.

Life is about experiencing things isn't it? I want to soak it all up. With the good comes the bad.. Get High, Get Low. Soar above the clouds before crashing and burning. That's all good with me. Wouldn't have it any other way.


I've always stood up for what I believed in no matter the cost. I was always aware of consequences but never let the fear of them stop me. What terrifies me more is letting someone's (no matter how powerful or what their role or status) moral code or rules or ideas get in my way. When I put my head on my pillow every night, I need to feel like I lived my life and didn't hold back.

When I end a day with the feeling of "I wish I said that!" or "I wish I just would have went for it!", I feel tormented. The anguish of the "what if" is way worse than the consequences of any risk. "What ifs" cause me severe mental distress and I'm not willing to subject myself to that sort of misery.

I'm out there.. I've put myself out there and allowed other people to put me out there. One thing leads to another.

If we really do get just one life, one shot, I want to really live it. Live it hard. I want to feel alive and act like it. I want to Love Freely and without abandon. I want to make moves and do unexpected things. I don't want to know what's waiting around the corner but when I turn it I'll embrace whatever is there for me.

It's got to be the right blend of planning and impulsiveness. For example - I knew I wanted to give California a try. I had been dreaming of it for months but wasn't quite sure how to get from point A to B. One day I was offered a place to live out there... I was on the plane a couple of days later. That's what I mean. I don't just do things without total lack of consideration. I generally know exactly what I want. It's taking the right chances when they come along.

I live with a blatant disregard for things that other people would label as dangerous. This makes people angry sometimes. But it's not that I don't think about consequences. I just don't make my decisions based solely on the possibility of facing them.

THAT'S how I live freely. Freedom is a state of mind.

I go with the flow. I'm open and willing. I say "YES" and see where the world takes me. It's as simple as that.

Thrill comes in many forms. I don't seek it, but I embrace it when it comes my way.. it always does.

Chances.... Take Them.



I want to share a bit of an e-mail my Mama sent to me in response to one I sent her. I hope she doesn't mind.

Hi Allie,

Thank you for saying these kind things. I am glad that I can be a source of strength for you. It is hard to see a large picture standing in your own shoes sometimes, especially when you are experiencing difficulties, and it is good to have someone who can reaffirm truths.

Here is what I see when I look at you: An incredibly bright, beautiful young woman. A woman who has come to this Earth with gifts and knowledge that some people will never have. A person who is still learning to cope with the unfairness in this insane world. You are driven, talented, and funny, too. You have and will inspire many to be better by your example and by sharing your knowledge.

You have the courage to put yourself out there and have become a public figure. By doing this you have put yourself up for others to admire, judge, speculate about, and even ridicule. The only way to deal with this and have it work for you is to be firm in who you are that negativity about you is only laughable. Truths are eventually revealed when there are gossip and rumors, and people's allegiance's change with the wind. Take all of this with a grain salt and keep plugging along. It is your life, not theirs. If you make mistakes in public, people will love you for it because you show who you are as an imperfect human being, or they will use it to be a pain in the ass, or they will simply be entertained. You are so young, and just starting out in this fitness industry. Believe me, your rewards will come.

Be self reflective so you can gauge your progress. Know your strengths and strive to understand your weaknesses so you can work on improving. Identify your weaknesses. Create a plan for improvement.

Here are what I think are your weaknesses:

You don't like to talk about your weaknesses!!! This must change. You have learned to deal with the physical discomfort required to change your body in your Crossfit practice. Now you have to learn to deal with discomfort necessary to change your life in other areas.

Wanting instant gratification. You want what you want, and you want it now. While you are energetic at doing what you love to do, you are dead dog lazy about doing things you don't like, that are necessary for a balanced life.

Remember to be kind to yourself. Forgive yourself for any mistakes you have made. Chalk everything up to experience, and move on with verve! People are defined by how they respond to what is put in their path. And you do have a certain amount of control over what your path is. Victims are those who lay down and say they can't do because of what has happened to them. Survivors are those who tolerate what has happened to them. Hero's and winners rise above difficult circumstances and use all their experiences as stepping stones. You are a hero in many ways. And you are figuring out how to rise above other circumstances you are faced with. I have every bit of confidence you will rise to the top. You already have one foot there. Time to get even footing.

You are the best, Allie. I love you desperately, and unconditionally. I am so proud of you as you should be of yourself. I am your cheerleader. I hurt when you're down and want to spur you on. Go, Allie, go! I'm rooting for you. And always remember you have a place here in my heart and in this humble home of ours if you need to bail out.

Mama


How Lucky Am I?

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

So Far, So Sore... I Mean.. Good

3 CrossFit WODs down and still in the Zone.

The dizziness and general sick feeling is starting to subside. Thank God! I was beginning to feel like I would never feel back to normal and really doubting I could ever feel better than ever eating like a bird.

My first workout was tough. Deadlift 3.3.3.3.3. Usually I live for this stuff. Heavy lifting days are my thing.
I can Back Squat 205 x 5 so naturally I'd expect my 3 rep dead to be 205 and then some.

Well, it wasn't. The whole thing was a total disaster. I got up to 185# and my back started doing some horrendous rounding shit. Oy. So went to 175# for the rest of the sets. Not to mention that after every lift, as soon as I put the bar down, I felt like I was going to fall over and faint. It was an overwhelming and scary feeling.

I've done the Deadlift / Burpee WOD with 185#, too, with no problem. So I was buggin' when it felt tough.

But I sucked it up and tried to accept that initally with the Zone some decrease in performance should be expected. But that seemed like an outrageous drop. About 30-40# short of what I was looking for.

Anyway, the next day I still felt like shit. I felt like I was in a fog. I've been calling it a Zone hangover. But I still went to the gym and did the WOD. I was expecting the same pathetic results as the day before.

Warm up:
Row 1000m
5 MUs
10 HSPUs
Row 500m
21 Hip Extensions
21 Push-ups
Row 250m
5 MUs
10HSPUs

Hang Power Clean - 1.1.1.1.1.1.1

Started off pretty light to warm up - 93 x 7. Felt ok. Just Ok.

123, 123, 123, 128, 128, 123, 123

I should have jumped the weight up after 128 because I probably could have hit 133. But again, after every lift I was feeling really, really dizzy. Fuck. I wasn't feeling good at all.

BUT! I caught a little break. I was doing some butterfly pull-ups after the WOD. This guy Rob came over and said my chest was flying up to the bar every rep and asked if I ever tried a bar muscle up. I hadn't and was fairly certain there wasn't a shot in hell that I could do it.

I asked him to demo one for me - I'm a visual learner and usually if I see someone do something correctly I can get myself to do it, too.

I did a big kip and went up, uP, UP! Right over the bar. Bar Muscle Ups.... Check! It was awesome looking out over the whole gym on top of the bar. I did about 15 more singles that day but haven't tried to link them together yet. I need to give my hands a break - they're pretty beat up right now.

I also nailed a bunch of ring muscle ups too. Linking them together is getting much easier. Very exciting stuff.

I remember working sooo hard to get my first one. As soon as I got to the gym every day I would go straight to the rings. I did negative ring dips all the time because I still didn't have a ring dip yet. But I was convinced that all I needed was ONE to get out of the MU. I did all the pull-up WODs for about a month just with false grip ring pull-ups. My wrists were a freaking mess but I didn't care.

The day that I finally got one, I screamed at the top and jumped around like a maniac. I was so stoked. After only a few months of doing CrossFit, with no exercise or gymnastics background, I was the first girl in the gym to get one. That's what hard work and dedication gets you - what you want.

After I got that first one, I ran into some issues. They were seriously inconsistant. I was almost always able to get straight through the transition but failed on pushing out of the dip. It was so frustrating that it kept me up at night.

Then when I went to the Running Cert in January and I was working on them with Pat, I just had nothing left in me and couldn't even get through the transition! I was SO pissed and refused to give up. I knew that I could do it because I had done it a bunch of times before. But I didn't have any luck that day. Of course that happens when there are cameras around.

My lips were pursed and my brow was furrowed for a straight week after that damn video of me NOT getting a muscle up came out. To this day, one of the most frequent questions I'm asked is, "So, did you ever get that Muscle Up??". Rrggg. It's got to be about 100 e-mail that I've read asking me that darn question and it still frustrates me.

The answer is YES. I had it beofre that video and now I've done several. I want to update my goal of doing 5 in a row by the end of the year to at least 10.

This also brings me to overtraining. The day I couldn't get that MU at the cert was about day 95 on for me. I didn't know how to rest. I almost never ever took rest days. I was doing the main site WOD and on rest days I'd do my own workout. I was shot. People kept warning me that I was going to crash and burn..

The running thing was day 1 and 2 of a 9 day trip where I did 2 and 3 a day workouts. By the last day, I was SICK. I ended up with a terrible cough, fever and all kinds of problems. Reinforced what I was being told just days before. "Recovery is just as important as training"..

Yesterdays workout was not fun. I don't enjoy any WODs with running.... excpet "Nancy" - 5 rounds for time of 400m run, 15 OHS - because I can use the mens weight and still hit it unbroken. But anything else with running just sucks. I feel like it drains the life out of me and makes everything else in the workout so much tougher.

I've been trying to get better at running by going out for longer, slower runs. Someone suggested yesterday that I start incorperating sprints into my running practice. DUH! Why didn't I think of that? But, yuck. I really don't want to do any more sprinting than required by the WOD. But it might help me do better with the workouts. I'll have to think about this.

Anyway, yesterdays workout was -
4 rounds for time:
400m run
15 HSPUs
2 Rope Climbs

Took me 25 minutes. I felt like the last 10 minutes were dedicated to the last round of HSPUs. Those things just worked me. After all the pull-ups, MUs and cleans, my arms and shoulders were just done going in. My ROM was good the first 2. 5 rounds. Got kinda sketch the second half of the 3rd and the 4th just blew.

Subbed 20 bar pull-ups for the rope climbs.

Warmed up with a 1k row.


I am in desperate need of a rest day. My body hurts. My neck and back and shoulders are so sore that it's making it hard to sleep.

But still, I feel the urge to do SOMETHING. I'm trying to resist the temptation and stick with my goal of resting on rest days. I should use the day to get some stuff done and focus on eating right and at the right times.

I think the first day I missed a few blocks which made me feel even worse. The altered blocks has made it a little more confusing. Just when I got the 1:1:1 thing I changed it. Robb Wolf said it's imperitive that I eat all of my blocks. I knw he's right. I don't want to just waste away, be skinny and weak. I'm doing the Zone because I want to get FIT and see my performance improve. That's what I'm after.


How's everyone elses Zoneing and following the main site going??? Liking it or what???

Monday, January 5, 2009

The Not So Good Old Days




















































































The New York Mercantile Exchange. NYMEX. Or as I like to call it.... HELL.

I started working there when I was 17 and left when I turned 21.

It was a nightmare. I felt like I was selling my soul to the devil for money.

I'll talk more about my experiences later because unfortunately this place had more of an impact on my life than I would have liked.

But for now, I'm off to do some Hang Power Cleans!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

If At First You Don't Succeed....

... Move, Move, Again.

Today is the day. I'm leaving NYC and heading down to Virginia Beach.

When I left for California in May, I thought it was for good. I was completely sure that I was done with NY. I had been saying that I was over this city over and over for months before then. But it turned out San Diego wasn't what i was looking for either.

I accidentally ended up in Arizona after that.. thanks to my risk taking, go with the flow, see where the world takes me, way of living. But it wasn't a permanent move... it wasn't intended to be (but it was by far one of the most fun months of my life). I had no idea I would even be there for as long as I was. When I drove to AZ from SD I left all my things behind.. I thought I was going for the weekend and packed accordingly..

After the Games I came back to NYC instead of going back to SD. I landed at JFK and headed to Brooklyn. Now, Brooklyn is my favorite borough, but still, when I got there I was looking around and thinking "WTF? Why am I back where I started?".

The contrast between my dirty city and beautiful Arizona and Cali was so clear. I was haning out under trees and in the sun before I got on the plane.... and when I got off, I found myself under the BQE, trying to cross a 6 lane intersection, horns honking, cars driving over broken glass and I was STUNNED.

I didn't think I would kick back here for long. The plan was to chill out, enjoy a month or so running around Brooklyn in a bikini and spending some time with my family who I missed so much. I would re-evaluate my life and where I wanted to be and come up with a better plan. I didn't expect that it would take me 6 months to do it. But, things don't always go as we plan now do they???

I expected I would end up back in California. In fact, I was sure of it. But the last 6 months have been, well.. unexpected .... life is unpredictable. We never know what's waiting around the corner. And for someone like me, who's open to all new opportunities and is willing to take chances, one new thing can send life off in a whole new direction.

And that's what happened. I ended up traveling to Virginia Beach and figured out that it's a pretty cool place to be. And the kicker is, it's not NYC. There are great gyms, cool people and the difference between this move and the one to SD is I actually know what I'm getting myself into. I've been there a bunch of times already.

So, the day is here. I'm leaving my city behind again and I'm ready for new things. I'm looking forward to having great gyms and people to train with so I can follow my 3 on 1 off plan. I can't wait for the change of scenery and pace.

I like change. I've never liked being held down anywhere for long. Maybe it's because my Mom and I moved so much when I was growing up... we didn't stay too many plaes or more than two years because we just got bored! I don't like to feel trapped by anyone or anything. I like having freedom to live my life. I took it to extremes years ago but I'm finding some sort of middle ground. I'm growing up, I guess.

But it can't all be perfect. I have to say goodbye to my family again. I am going to miss my Mother so much, but I know that we'll call each other and probably talk more than we do when we're in the same place. That's sort of weird but it's just how it is. It's like when we're close to each other we take it for granted. But when we're far away we have to make an effort to connect and it makes for a more meaningful relationship. Not just one of those "hi, bye" kind of deals.

But my brother.... I don't know how I'm going to deal with it again. I love my little brother EthanBoo more than anything in this whole world. I love getting to see him every day and watching him grow up and do new things. He amazes me.

I cried for him almost everyday when I was in San Diego. It's hard leaving him because I don't know if he understands that I'm Moved and not just Gone. It's tough. I'm scared that when I see him again that he'll be mad at me for leaving.

I'm going to miss him.

I'll have to stay realy busy. I'm doing this largly because I want to be a happy, successful person that he can be proud of.

aNYway, I'm off in a few hours and still have some things to do and I want to spend some last minute quality time with my family.

Wish me luck and then next time I write, it will be from Virginia Beach!



Moves..... Make Them.

Friday, January 2, 2009

ZONE

One of my two goals this year is to get my diet dialed in (the other is to follow the CrossFit main site WOD and stay 3 on 1 off without exceptions). I asked Robb Wolf for some advice. Here's what he told me -

Stay at 10 blocks of Protein
Keep the 10 fat blocks and then add 3 extra blocks for each of the 5 carb blocks I took away (15) for a total of 25.
Cut my Carb Blocks in half (5) and have 3-4 of them post WOD.
Here's what my diet will look like:

Breakfast:
2 blocks Protein
5 blocks Fat
0 blocks Carb

Snack:
1 block Protein
5 blocks Fat
0 blocks Carb

Lunch:
2 blocks Protein
5 blocks Fat
0 blocks Carb

Dinner:
1 block Protein
10 blocks Fat
1 block Carb

Post Workout:
4 blocks Protein
0 blocks Fat
4 blocks Carbs