Sink or Swim...

As some of you know, I'm currently training for my first Crossfit competition in April a/k/a the Capital Games. This competition is held at our gym & it's a 2 person team competition consisting of a male/male group, female/female group or male/female group. If you remember my previous post about the Alexandria Capital Games in November [here] you already have an idea of what I'm talking about. My teammate, Jenn, has been doing Crossfit for 5 years now & has competed in many team competitions as well as an individual competition earlier this year. I'm thankful that I have such an experienced teammate who's always encouraging me. I'm also thankful for the coaches that I get to see on an almost daily basis that push me, cheer me on & are always there when I'm in need of correction & my technique goes right out the window - without them this whole Crossfit obsession of mine wouldn't be possible.

After officially signing up for the Games, Jenn & I came up with a team name & are currently designing some tank tops to wear. For those of you on Facebook, you already know what our team name is, but for those of you that don't...drum roll please....we are the Kettlebell Bombshells. =)

Now some of you have shown interest in wanting to be a spectator/cheerleader at the Games in April; for location, start time & further details, click {here}. I have even heard rumors of t-shirts being made to show support - be still my heart. =)

Last but not least, I wanted to say thank you to my friends & family that have been having to hear about Crossfit since I started in October last year. I appreciate you putting up with my constant chatter about WODs, soreness, PRs, war wounds & new eating habits. My obsession has not only consumed my life, but has also spilled over into yours. You don't know how grateful I am to hear your encouraging words, receive your celebratory high-fives & even see your confused faces when I'm trying to explain certain WODs (Lue). Your support has meant so much to me.

Time to work...

Miracle Hand Cream

Several months ago Dan & I were at Bed Bath & Beyond picking up some things & while we were checking out we were asked by the cashier if we wanted to try a "miracle hand cream." When I saw it I immediately thought it would be good for Dan because it's "for working hands" & his are constantly cracking, splitting, blistering, etc. We decided to purchase one to see if it would work & I'm here to tell you that it absolutely does. O'Keeffe's Working Hands Cream:

After my workouts I put it on before I go to bed & it helps heal my blisters, scrapes & overall dryness in just a few days. The best part is that it doesn't burn like normal lotions when you rub it on an open wound; there's absolutely no stinging. The lotion also doesn't have a strong smell, or any smell for that matter. I highly recommend buying some & trying it out. If you don't have a Bed Bath & Beyond near you, you can purchase it on Amazon.

 

Florida in February

This past Valentine's Day Dan & I flew down to Sarasota, Florida with his Dad & Step-Mom for a long weekend golf trip. I was excited about getting a break from work, but wasn't too thrilled about the golfing. I don't hate golf, but I'm definitely not great at it. I do have my own clubs, I did take some lessons in college & I enjoy the driving range, but when it comes to playing 18 holes I don't jump for joy like Dan does. In fact, I had never played 18 holes of golf until I went on this trip - my max was always 9 holes.

I also don't consider myself a vacation person; growing up my family didn't really take alot of vacations or trips away. If we did, they were few & far inbetween. This was partly because of my basketball schedule, my Dad's coaching schedule & Ben's ability to travel. We mostly took trips to places that we could drive to for the day & come back in the evening. I must say that I prefer those kinds of trips. I'm also not a huge beach person. I never go in the ocean (fish fear trumps that) & the sand gets e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. I'm more of a pool person - give me a lounge chair, my headphones & a nice big pool & I'm good. =) Like I've told Dan before, my idea of a vacation is going on a ski trip or just taking a week off, staying at home & planning things to do around Virginia. My perfect vacation would be somewhere that Dan, Lexi & I could go together; I really hate leaving her when we go out of town. After all, she's part of the family too.

So when we got to Sarasota, the weather was pretty chilly. The week before we went it was in the upper 80's; the week we were there it was in the low to mid-60's; & the week after we left was back up in the 80's again. Needless to say we brought the crappy weather with us. On our first day of golf we played at The Preserve Golf Club which was a really nice course. I loved how they had the homes right on the course & the cart path drove right around them in order to get to the next hole; they were beautiful homes. Thankfully, I didn't hit any of them, but I came close a couple times. Below are a few photos I took on our first day:

 

One of the best things about golfing with Dan is that he hates driving the cart; I always get first dibs. =)

 

 

Dan's Dad (Don) & Step-Mom (Sue).

 

When we got back to the hotel, we were able to hang out on the beach for a few hours...enjoying the sun & finding seashells:

 

The water was freezing but we decided to stick our feet in anyway.

 

 

We had a really great time on the beach; it was definitely one of my favorite parts of our trip. =)

Our second day of golfing was at another course, but I can't remember the name of it. =/ It's actually my least favorite out of the 3 that we played on. I only stuck it out for 9 holes because my wrist/grip was starting to hurt me so I mostly was a spectator, cheerleader & chauffer that day. =)

Our third & final day was at Stoneybrook Golf Course & this was my favorite one. It was absolutely beautiful. The wildlife they had throughout was amazing. This was also the course that I got in my first golf cart fender bender; totally not my fault & there was no damage to the carts but it was a little scary. This day was also the coldest day that we had; thankfully Dan packed handwarmers just in case - I wouldn't have been able to feel my fingers at the end of the day if he hadn't packed those. As you can see below, I was quite cold:

 

Dan was playing in shorts, I don't know how he was doing that.

 

 

 Just a few of us. :)

Our trip was fun, but I was so excited to get home to Lexi. For some reason I really missed her during this trip; Dan thought I was crazy, he was happy to not have to worry about her. Kelly, my sister-in-law, was sweet enough to take her while we were gone; she also sent me photos each day so I could see her, including this one when we were flying back home:

 

 

 

The caption said: "She's waiting for you." =)

 





A Saturday at Capital

Saturdays at my gym are one of my favorite WOD days. Not only do we have a large crowd that shows up to do the posted WOD, but afterwards we hang out, talk about our results, munch on foods that we've all brought to share for a post-workout snack (i.e., fruit, breakfast muffins/bread, nuts, etc.) & then there are some of us that stay after to try & improve our skills. Two Saturdays ago, coach took some photos throughout the WOD & a few have been posted on their website. The photo below is a peek into how crammed it can get when everyone is working; there's also another section not shown to the left where more people were splayed out. You would think that transitioning from one station to the next would cause a traffic jam but we actually move well together - like a well oiled machine, no glitches. Now for the question of the day, where am I? I'll give you a little hint, I'm in a slightly compromising position. :P

 

The photo below shows the WOD that we did:

 

 

For those of us that were lucky enough to be hand picked by coach in order to do a more advanced movement during one or more stations above, those included "Box Ring Push Ups" which were done with your feet propped up on a 20" box to allow a deeper range of motion & less stability. We also did "GHD Sit Ups" instead of Abmat Sit Ups. =)

A Little Motivation...

  I will still be continuing the motivational posts; they also help motivate me. =)

Shoe of the Month Hiatus

To all of my shoe lovers & shoe followers out there, I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be taking a short break from posting the shoe of the month. Yes, I'm still a shoe-a-holic & completely obsessed with stilettos, boots, flats, pumps, wedges, kitten heels, etc. (although I haven't had much time to go shoe shopping lately). =/

I've been feeling like I have a lot on my plate, that I don't have time to put as much into the posts as I want to be; I believe that cutting a few things out for the time being will be a good thing. My plan is to come back after April. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this...