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Life, Crossfit and a Lesson on Patience

Hi everyone! I'm back. It's been way too long. I didn't realize how much I missed writing to you all here. Life, as it seems to do, has been throwing me curve after curve and finding the time to THINK let alone write just doesn't happen often.

 My old laptop was basically dead and I hate blogging from my phone, so I just pushed off keeping up with this old girl here. Good news! I recently bought a shiny new laptop and have no more excuses. If I can sit on my ass on the couch, I have time to share some thoughts here.

 So, what have you all been up to? I've been super busy at work, keeping up with my teenager, and spending time with the hubs. He had a setback earlier this year when his cancer returned, so his surgery and recovery really took over our lives for most of this year.  I'm not bringing that up for sympathy. Everyone has shit in their lives they're dealing with - and he's a fighter. He's doing ok now. I'm bringing this up because, while he was undergoing surgery and recovery, I put most of my life on hold and it wasn't healthy. I felt guilty for doing things when he wasn't able to do much himself, but he would have never held it against me. 

 So, a couple of months ago, I started to take more and more time for myself - something I think is important for us all to remember to do. While surfing used to take up basically all of my free time when the weather is good, it's not that way any longer. Want to know why? I discovered Crossfit. I was always intrigued by the culture, but I told myself it was too expensive and the workouts didn't make any sense. An old friend of mine (I met back in college in the 90s), owns a Crossfit gym with her husband. Shameless plug - JSA Crossfit in Manasquan, NJ, is the real deal. 

 The instruction we receive - whether a seasoned veteran of the box or a noob like me, is comprehensive. The warm-ups are dynamic and suited purposefully toward the day's WOD. The workouts are insanely difficult for the most part. 
245 lb deadlift out of nowhere. BAM!
More often than not, I can't even finish a scaled version in the allotted time. But you know what? That's OK. Learning this was a revelation for someone like me who can't stand unfinished checklists, incomplete work or anything that's halfway done. I have learned to enter the box, give it 100% and walk out with my head held high. I'm performing movements I've always wanted to learn. While I'm using the "training wheels" bar as I like to call it, I'm ok with working on technique with a light load. I can add weight later when my body knows what to do with it. 

 I've never been a patient person but, day by day, WOD by WOD, that's exactly what I am becoming.


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