Winning All Around

But really, I’ve also been losing all around. Proof in number and in pictures below:

 

In 31 days, I’ve lost 3.4lbs and lost 4.5″ overall. I’ve also lost some cellulite, some bloating and some sluggishness.

In 31 days, I’ve gained 2 guns (I’ve been waiting 2 years to see my biceps bulge and today, they’re very visible and I couldn’t be happier!), there’s a faint sighting of abs beginning to show, my back fat has decreased a lot, my shoulders are more defined and my butt has also lifted (soon, it’ll be right by my neck!)

Whole30 has done some wonderful things for me: I sleep better, I don’t crave processed foods (most days), I’ve dropped under 2:00/500m on the erg (huge for me) and I’ve created bonds with Kathleen, Telsey and Tracey who have joined and supported me through this crazy idea of doing the Whole30. Other than the 1st week, it’s been awesome and I plan on keeping it strict until July 15. That was our little group’s official end date (I started early) and I will stick by my girls through the end. Afterwards, I plan on maybe adding 1-2 cheat meals/week, but no more than that. It will be hard as I’ll be vacationing in Cuba, but I’ll try to make healthy and smart decisions about my food choices.

For the first time in years (we’re talking almost a decade here) I feel comfortable in my body. I know some parts are sagging and not as toned as they could be, but I’ve also had 2 humans take over my body for 18.5 months and I’m pretty stoked with how I look today. I have this newfound confidence and I feel like nothing can stop me. It’s onwards and upwards from here!

Kathleen was gracious enough to invite me to her garage gym (aka Jim’s Gym) for a WOD in order to get extra fitness in. I was nice to be able to have the girls play alongside us while we were working out in the sun. Here’s what we did:

Here’s what Kath had planned for us!

 

This WOD was hard for me and I used a 25# plate for it. I now know another weakness of mine is lunges with added weight. My quads and glutes were burning after this one! I finished in 9:12 and Kath was done way before me!

Following the WOD, we took some rest (I needed it!) and then did some work on the erg. Gotta work on those weaknesses!

We did 3x200m on the erg with rest of 1:30 in-between. It was closer to 2:30 rest since we were alternating between the two of us on the erg. You can see I kept my splits all below 2:00/500m for all 3 attempts, so yesterday wasn’t just a fluke! Apparently, I really have improved my fitness! Kathleen destroyed this, just like she did the WOD before. That woman is seriously fit and an inspiration, I tell you! Once we were done, Rina hopped on the erg and was trying to row so hard. She had pretty decent technique for a 4-year-old. She was complaining that she “wasn’t making any wind”. Already has a competitive side to her… I wonder where she gets this from?!?

Mandatory post-WOD’s sweaty selfie of Kathleen and I with Jim’s Gym sign in the background!

So happy to have made new friends with whom I can share a passion with and the friendships are not drama-related! Tomorrow, Telsey and I have planned to get together so the kiddos can have a play-date while we mamas can hang out! Very thankful for having all those new people in my life! Couldn’t ask for a better day to have it, really!

Fight Gone Bad

After my massage on Thursday, all I wanted to do was sleep the day away. I set my alarm for 0500 with the best intentions of attending the 0600 WOD on Friday, however, I woke-up at 0445, turned my alarm off on my phone and slept in until 0630. Sometimes, a BabyMama just has to choose rest.

After all that extra sleep (!), I was ready to throw down in style. I reached out to Listen Linda and asked if we could possibly get together on Saturday at Crossfit Stasis (her box) and finally throw down together. I call her Listen Linda because of this little gem of a youtube video:

Surprisingly, we were able to arrange to get together for the 0900 WOD and Listen even offered to pick me up!

All thug-like, waiting for my ride (actually enjoying 30 secs of peace in the sun)

We arrived at the Box and Listen introduced me to EVERYONE in the joint. Everybody was very friendly and welcoming, but nobody outdid Coach Bruno. This dude is the happiest go-lucky person I’ve met in a long time and he is super friendly. I felt welcome and confident in getting the warm-up done and Coach Bruno did a good job of going through the notions of the WOD. Little did I know, I had walked into my very first attempt at Fight Gone Bad

For some reason, the board at Crossfit Stasis said the Rx weight for women was 45# and that’s what Listen and I ended up using. Had we known, I’m sure we would have done 55#. Listen kicked my squatting a** and I was in awe of her form during the SDHP. She looked so strong and confident! For my part, I managed ok for a 1st time attempt with a score of 173. The wallballs threw me off because the size of the ball at Stasis is different from the one I’m used to at VicCity. I had so much fun (ok, not really during the WOD, but after it was all done, I really did!) getting to be comfortable in a new environment. I had never done SDHP before, but with Coach Bruno’s instructions, I felt confident doing them (legs slightly wider than shoulder-width, keep the bar close to the body).

It really was a unique experience getting to share such a benchmark workout with this beautiful lady. We will definitely have to repeat this experience!

Listen drove me back home and the girls were pretty much ready for Ben and I to leave them with her (they love her THAT MUCH!), but we had other plans. I had a quick shower and then we headed out to the Juan de Fuca Trail and China Beach with the girls for a fun sunny day on the beach. I took a few pics, but I have now come to the conclusion that while Rina is truly at her happy place on the beach, she doesn’t stay still long enough for me to capture that happiness in a picture! Below are my favourites from today:

There is something so powerfully beautiful about a dad and his girls!

Béa is growing up so fast!

On the way back home, we (of course) stopped by Mom’s Café in Sooke for the traditional bowl of salmon corn chowder and some crazy big slices of pie. We came back home, everybody cleaned up and cuddled on the couch watching Beauty and the Beast before we put the girls to bed. I’m secretly hoping they will be tired from their day and drift off to sleep quietly. It’s rare that Ben and I get to enjoy a quiet evening together and if we could manage one tonight, it would top off this perfect day beautifully!

Hope your Saturday was just as awesome as mine! 🙂

Crossfit, Sparkling Toes and Hot Water Bottles With Friends = Perfect Day

I have been waiting for Saturday since I got off work on Thursday morning. Why you ask? Well, duh, Crossfit is why!

My lovely husband left for the cold Calgary on Thursday and that meant I couldn’t go to my beloved 0600 class on Friday as there was no way I would have gotten the girls ready in time for Crossfit and then manage the mayhem to get Rina in time for preschool. BUT! There’s a huge but (and I’m not talking about my back side here) in this story and my husband was caring enough to book the Nanny for this morning so I could go to Crossfit and get to my pedicure (paid for by the love of my life!) without having to drag the girls with me. 🙂

The class was huge (16 or 17 of us showed up) and I ran into Victoria and Bonnie! Here’s what we did:

Source

Skill: HSPU practice

We were to do 4-6 reps of progressive HSPU followed by 8-10 ring rows x 6 sets. I managed to get down to 2×5# plates + 1 yoga block on my 5th rep, but I could only muster 2 reps that low before I just crumbled down onto my shoulders. I tried again for the next set, but could only do 1 rep. I was done! I did 8 ring rows for each rounds.

WOD: DL

That was a quick powerful one. I paired up with Georgia (she must be all of 13 years old and kicked my butt royally, but in a good way!) and let her go in the first heat. She destroyed it, doing the FG2 in 4:07. She’s small, but mighty! I tried my best to imitate her, but my old and overweight body just couldn’t do it. I finished in 6:40 for the same category (DL @ 95# and full box jumps for all rounds). Not a bad feat if I do say so myself and I probably would have taken longer had I not been trying to keep up with this little powerhouse!

Then, I rushed home, showered and took off for my pedicure. That foot rub was heavenly and it’s always nice when I have sparkly purple toes! My husband truly knows the way to my heart!

Purple Perfection!

I came back home and had a lovely visit with Victoria! We were both sore and sat hot packs and hot water bottles like the sore Crossfitters we are while catching up and chatting. It was a nice visit and broke the monotony of just me with the girls! 🙂 Now, of course, Rina and Béatrice also want their toenails painted so I will oblige before we go play outside! 😉

 

 

Keep Your Chin Up

Today, I did something I’m not proud of. I walked out of the box after the WOD not establishing eye contact with anybody, head bowed and crying. That is NOT who I am and I will explain how I got there

Source

I started the Thrusters at 55#, but it was too heavy. I needed to warm-up to a lesser weight, so I scaled back at 45# and went from there. I managed to get up to 60# before failing on the 3rd rep at 65#. I tried for a second time for a set of 65#, but I couldn’t even get the bar over my shoulders, so I was done!

After those Thrusters, it was time for the WOD. My legs were already jelly and still sore from the lunges on Monday… 😦

I got my 26# KB ready and my 20″ box as well. As for the Walkover Push-ups, I had looked up the video link:

I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I knew I wanted to finish at least 2 rounds. After the 1st round, I was aiming for 3 rounds, even though I was struggling. In the middle of the 2nd round, I started fighting back tears. I’m not sure where it came from, but I had a big lump in my throat and I just felt like bursting out into tears. I took a couple of deep breaths and kept plotting along, all the while, swallowing the tears and the sobs. With 2 mins left, I managed to finish my 3rd round and I was aiming to at least complete 1 Box-jump. I didn’t make it there, by only a few seconds as I finished my round of Taters.

I crouched up on the ground and let the tears flow, trying not to sob uncontrollably. I gave Coach Caleb my sad score of 162 and walked out, head hung low and tears still flowing, more heavily now. I know exactly what happened. I wasn’t crying because of my score, I was just letting go of the accumulated stress of the past few weeks. Being alone with the girls, Ben being away, the whole “trying to find a suitable nanny” saga had taken their toll on me and I broke down. I had been pushing down my frustrations and the WOD just brought it right out to the raw surface.

I sat in my car and had a good cry, until another lady from the box noticed I was crying and sat with me in the car. I know her face, but I don’t even know her name, so I feel bad about that, but she listened to me and gave me a warm hug. She also said she would put out feelers for potential nannies amongst her acquaintances, which I thought was really nice. Then she told me something that really helped: “Chin up Mama, you got your good cry out, now it’s time to look on the positive side of things. You did good today and Crossfit helped you get out the bad stuff. Now, you can focus on the good stuff.” She was absolutely right. We hugged one more time, said goodbye and I drove home.

On the radio, the cheesy Katy Perry song was on and even though both Ben and I are sick of this song, I cranked up the volume because

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

P.S. Thanks again lady from the Box. You were a friend and a good ear to listen to my snotty blabber when I needed one. See you Friday! 😉