Spartan - in pictures

Friday night was spent with my dad and step-mother who I haven't seen since last year (they live in Edmonton) so was very happy to be able to celebrate a Father's Day *with* my Dad!

Saturday morning I was ready and waiting to go to Spartan.  My heat wasn't until 2pm, but we were told to get there 2 hours early and it was about an hour away.  I drove up with my two neighbours and one of their friends.

Beckett, stealing my foam roller after a quick roll before I get going.  I've caught Carson sleeping with my foam roller some nights!

Feeling icky about myself, so I took my picture and posted it on ETF (Eat The Food) group on facebook.

Don't mind the dirty background - our room tends to be where everyone gets dressed and undressed, so there are random items of clothing strewn about.  That's my 3 year old's blankie in the doorway :)

 Here we are, in line. I will say that the spartan race is fairly unorganized when it comes to signing up/getting waivers/registering the day of etc...

Here is before the race:

 This is the hill we are intended to run up... 3 times!  And really, the picture doesn't even do it justice.

 Here we are, after the race:

And youch - my only real injury (beside lots of bruises and scrapes)  I got rope burn on two of my fingers.  It hurt like a biatch, but was happy that was the worst of it.

Try shaving your legs after an obstacle course - tricky!

Today - finger is doing MUCH better.  I even got out to crossfit this morning.

Friday's thoughts

• My skinny jeans fit right out of the dryer this morning.  It's now almost lunch and they are super loose.  Must invest in a belt.
• This is AFTER I ate a big ass Dirienzo's sandwich (I can hear the GASP now) and it had DELI meat (mmm pscuitto, sopressata and capicollo and CHEESE) for lunch yesterday
• The scale would have probably been up, but the pants fit better than they have in a year.  #noscale #FTW
• At crossfit this morning I attempted to do double unders (where the skipping rope goes under your feet twice in one jump) and I failed big time.  Plus, I have the whip mark on my legs where the rope hit three times in a row, after each failed attempt.  
• There were three of us at crossfit, two guys and me.  We all finished within 10 seconds of each other, with me coming in last, but I thought I'd be done minutes after them!
• Tonight, with some of my family, I am doing the Relay for Life.  It's cold, it's rainy and it's windy.  I have to admit I'm not totally looking forward to it, but alas - we do what we can!  The kids will be with us for a bit (I do feel it's important to get them involved early in events/fundraising) but then Jeff will take them home.
• I just finished a salad with chicken, quinoa, lettuce and veggies - and am craving something sweet.
• I made a comment yesterday about GoodLife that came across snarky and I didn't really mean for it to be.  I truly believe that the best exercise for YOU is the one that you enjoy and will keep doing.  I'm sorry if I offended anyone
• It's Friday, I have 3 more hours of work until I'm freeeeee!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Just because I wanted to add a picture, had nothing else, wanted to add this in of my hilarious kid putting on my flip flops, hat and Carson's soccer shin guards (on his arms).

 

This morning

This tall, blonde, tanned, slim and very nicely built woman told me she was using me as motivation because yesterday when we were bench pressing, I was able to go up to a higher weight then she was.

She went on to say that she's been a chronic exerciser (of the GoodLife kind) for years (and she has the body to prove it) but since joining crossfit, she's been challenged to a degree she never has before.

And she said she even went to work and told her colleagues that she worked out with a girl who could bench press more than her - she said it was real motivation and told me how strong I was.

Someone using ME as motivation??  I would have never thought it.

I need to remember that everyone doesn't think what I assume they are thinking - that I am strong, and that I am pushing myself further and further every day.

I am not fishing for compliments here - I am not trying to be pompous - I am truly shocked that someone - who looks like her - would be using someone like ME as motivation.

June, already?

I was writing all the upcoming dates/events/appointments on my fridge calendar (no matter how many electronic calendars I use, I rely most heavily on my fridge one! why is that?)

The third date I wrote down was THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!  What? End of school already?

What happened to April? What happened to May?  WHAT? It's JUNE ALREADY?

I've booked 4 weeks off work this summer and I'm looking forward to my first week of mid-July.    The last three weeks will be taken at the end of August, just in time to get my baby ready to go into JK.

Time is flying my friends, flying.

And it scares the crap out of me.  I have so much I want to do - so much I want to accomplish, and I feel like the days - weeks - months and years are just passing me by while I go about doing my daily routine.

Where, how do people make time to do wonderful things?  I want to go to take my kids across Canada in an RV, I want to go to a yoga retreat, I want to spend more time with my kids, I want to take courses, I want to get a life coach (probably closer to a self-love coach), I want to take cooking classes, I want to continue becoming the best cross fitter I can be, I want to work part time, I want... I want.... I want.

I need to start doing some of these things now - before it's a year from today and I haven't done any of the above.

I suppose this is where the life coach comes in....

Not sure where I was going with this - I was just meaning to talk about the fact that it's JUNE already.

It's in you to give

Today marked my 15th donation to Canadian Blood Services.

For some reason I'm having issues searching my blog, but I'm sure most of you know about my sister, who got cancer, TWICE, and beat, it TWICE.  She's now almost 10 years in remission.

I spent many a days and nights by her bed praying to God that if he gave her the strength to fight and win, I would pay back every last drop of blood she used while in the hospital.

I think we decided that I've met that goal, but now I will continue to donate blood for as long as they will accept it. 

And I think you should to.

Plus, they give you COOKIES when you are done!!  Guilt free delicious cookies!

You know you love it when...

You are truly bummed when you miss this workout:

Don't worry crossfit, I will be back full time soon enough!

Start of my 38th year

I took the day off work yesterday.  I spent the day filled with all my favourite things.

• 6am crossfit
• Came home, got some presents, a crown, snuggles from my family, breakfast, got the kids ready and took them to school (which is a HUGE treat for me, I never get to do that!)
• 9:30am 75 minute hot yoga class
• home to shower, change, have a protein shake
• massage at brookstreet hotel where I had my back pounded and beat on for 60 minutes
• timothy's for a cinnamon roll and frozen choco chill (PSA: dont' ever get a frozen choco chill from Timothy's, it was gross, it got tossed out)
• pedicure
• pick up Beckett from daycare, a quick bath for him (he had sand in places a 3 year old shouldn't)
• dinner out with my Mom/Ricky, Sister and her kids, and my little family.  I had a delicious dish of penne with rosemary cream sauce, mushrooms and chicken) it was delicious, and I finished it off with a small bowl of chocolate tartufo for dessert (no leftover cake to be stressed about)

And that my friends - was perfection.

This morning it was once again a 4:30 wake up (which was actually 4am - really bad night's sleep) for Soldiers of Fitness.  I don't know if it was the massage, the yoga, the crossfit - but I honestly felt like I was on fire.  I could finish every set we were given, I kept my form and breathed through the pain/intensity.  I ran my fastest (except the last time I was carrying a water jug and my arms were dead from previous exercise so I walked the last 100-ish m).  I can feel myself getting stronger.  Getting faster. Getting fitter.

I've said a few times in the past that I assume people think because I'm fat that I'm also slow, weak, and not up to par.  (yes, that's what I *think*, not what I know to be true).  Today standing while waiting for instructions, a fellow bootcamper looked at me, asked if I was running this weekend in the national capital race weekend.  I said no, and he said "wow, I thought you would be all over it".  REALLY?  You think that's something I would do?  The first time someone, who I've never spoken to before, assumed that I would be doing something that I could actually do (I know that sentence didn't make much sense, but I've tried to reword it and can't!).

If this is what being 38 is all about - being strong, the fittest I have ever been (not the smallest, skinniest, but fittest ever), being confident, and seeing what other people see?

BRING IT!!!

OH - and starting June I'm going to be a full time crossfitter with the beautiful strong and I-couldn't-live-without Amy.  I can't wait!  I truly believe I owe my new-found strength to crossfit.