Baby, You're Makin' it Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger!

Several posts ago, I had included several short-term goals.  I will admit that while fiddling with that entry, I was hesitant to include them. I knew that once they were published, I would have no choice but to WOman up and tackle them.  It's one thing to manage self-disappointment, but it's an alltogether awful thing to manage others being disappointed in you. When I sat down to set those goals, I honestly thought they seemed lofty and distant, but nonetheless, I dedicated myself to meeting them.

I wish that I had a video of my first CrossFit workout to share. This is not to say that anything I'm doing now looks particularly pretty, but I struggled through every movement of that first WOD. It was a team workout, and Brandon had to finish a portion of my sit-ups because I maxed out at 30.  There were two 400 meter runs, and I had to walk for half of each.  I initially left wheezing, dejected, crippled, and on the verge of tears, but  thankfully, I quickly turned that negativity into determination. That was three months ago.  Never in my wildest Justin-Timberlake-filled-dreams, did I imagine that today, barely three weeks after setting my first goals, I would be writing this update to announce that - drumroll, please - I've met almost all of my original goals, and that I'm ready to set some new ones (queue "We are the Champions").

[allow me to step on my soapbox for just a moment before I get to the aforementioned goals]

For anyone who has been reading this blog and thinking that you will never be healthy or strong because it's too late to try and clean up your foolishness, I want you to stop what you're doing. I want you to tell that creepy little voice in your head, who has been feeding you this bullshit for longer than you can remember, to SHUT THE F*CK UP!  And when that voice comes back, and tries to dirty up your brain again (because it always does), rinse and repeat.  I don't claim to be an expert on much, but I am 100% sure that you are never going to get anywhere you want to be if you keep sabotaging yourself.  I was my own victim for too long.  The pity party is over folks! Now, I'm not telling everyone to go out and join a CrossFit gym, but I am telling everyone who is currently unhealthy to strongly consider doing something - ANYTHING about it. [end rant]

To keep me honest, here is a recap of progress against my original goals and documentation of my new goals...

Original Goals

1) Perform one well-executed girly push-up:  I met this goal over a week ago, and thanks to some arm-heavy programming, I've performed many since.  My once worm-like girly push-up is now stronger and plank-like.

2) Get faster on runs:  I'm still glowing about this one, being that it's the most recent of my accomplishments.  Upon joining CrossFit, I was averaging a 15+ minute mile.  If you are doing the calculation in your brain, you aren't going crazy, yes, my "run" was something more  closely related to an extremely slow shuffle.  A month ago, I clocked a mile at 10:58, which blew my mind.  Last night, driving to the gym, I told Brandon that I would shit a happy brick if I could make it back to the garage faster than that.  I don't know who looked more surprised when I rolled in at 9:18.  

3) Move from the rings to the band for pull-ups and chin-ups:  I've already updated y'all on this one, but I've now successfully completed three workouts on the band.

4) Incorporate cleaner food choices into my diet: This is going very well.  I've made significant cuts in the amount of gluten and refined sugar I'm eating, and have recently made friends with lean meats.  I'm feeling better already, but as always, I have to give you the truth, even if it isn't cute.  Like a crackhead looking for rock, I find myself in the candy bowl each and every night, unable to sleep without my daily fun-sized Almond Joy.

5) Complete a 30-Day Paleo challenge in October:  The foundation for this goal is currently being set - I just need to be sure I can avoid my Almond Joy dealer.

6) Stop whining about the things I can't do:  CHECK!  I'm currently too busy being happy about the things I can do to whine.

New Goals

1) Perform a well-executed push-up on my toes
2) Run an 8-minute mile
3) Move to the green band for pull-ups

Well, I'm off to celebrate my accomplishments by enjoying my rest day with a nice home-cooked paleo-ish meal and that tall drink of water I'm married to.  As always, thanks for all the blog love!