90 days gone but not forgotten!

Well the 90 days officially ended yesterday and everything has been submitted, now it is just a waiting game to find out the results and who has won! We all have worked hard over the 90 days, pushing ourselves past limits we didn’t know existed – well at least I did.

So much has changed over these 90 days. I have PR on every workout that I do, and some days scale down to keep myself on track. Even on my off week I still managed to show up to ACF and try the WOD’s. I think about all the workouts that I have been a part of before coming to CrossFit and I have never committed so much time and energy into a workout/health program in my life.

I was 2.8 lbs short of my 20 lbs goal but that is ok – I still killed it on all of my workouts and I was amazed at how much I had grown over the 90 days. When I started 90 days ago I was intimidated, shy and held back but now I am confident. My first run at the benchmark workouts I was just coming off the high of bootcamp but still very unfamiliar with some of the movements and my strength. Going into the second run at the benchmark I was getting through the workouts hitting huge PR’s!

Here are my results:

Workouts	Before	After
FRAN (35 lbs/ring rows)	7:47	5:14
10K Row	1:08:24	55:54
1RM Back Squat	75 lbs	130 lbs
1RM Snatch	45 lbs	55 lbs
7 Minutes Burpee’s	55	66

My first FRAN I did incorrectly and to my own fault since I was new and Andrew try to get me started but I might not have paid attention to what he was exactly saying! (see Andrew – Its not your fault!) After 12:00 minutes of not knowing what I was doing and being exhausted I quit the workout. The next day as I worked on my back squat and snatch I learned what I needed to do to correct it and came back to do it the correct way (although I would have had a HUGE PR if I hadn’t been honest J). Andrew was there and helped me through the whole workout and I was able to finish with 7:47 score! I was impressed and exhausted after the workout and wasn’t sure how much I would progress at the end since I really went all out that time. Then came the time in the class to do the workout and I decided to keep the weight the same since I wanted to know the time improvement – I was amazed at how fast I had improved my time and know that the next time I could at least go up in weight!

My first Row was difficult – again I was just off of bootcamp and had struggled when we would row 200m! As I went through each  1000 meters I was struggling to keep a consistent pace. My back was hurting, I stopped for water and I struggled to breathe through the whole thing. The second time I went during the scheduled time for the row and had Alex there to give us advice as we went through each 1000 meters. The best advice was to row hard every 500 meters for 5 pulls and then fall into your pace! I found that this helped me stay in a consistent pace and helped me dramatically improve my time!

7 minutes of hell I mean Burpee’s was the first workout I did at the start and the last at the end! The first time I was full of adrenalin since it was my first time after bootcamp that I was at ACF and I didn’t know anyone there. Thankfully I met some pretty awesome people – Carmen, Mary and Lynn who went through the torture with me! Carmen did a great job of motivating me through the burpee’s and although we weren’t using the 6” target I still got 55 burpee’s completed! Then since Carmen and I couldn’t get together to do it again I made Dave help me during one of our PT times. Dave had me do the 6” target this time and helped push me to get 66 burpee’s complete – 11 PR!

The back squat and snatch movements were weak in the beginning because I struggled with form. I had James there to walk me through the movements and I remember failing at 90lbs for my back squat and now I was able to get 130 failing at 140! The Snatch is problem the one movement I struggle the most with – I just can’t seem to get it! With James I struggled to get 45 and then when the first open workout was announced I panicked – 45lbs 30 times??? But I was able to do it! When I tried to improve the snatch I only PR’d by 10lbs but it was still a PR – my form needs to be worked on before I can start to do heavy movements!!

So with the 90 days past 17.2 lbs lighter, 12” gone and a much better attitude I am ready for my next challenge. I have about 90 days before I head to Aruba! I want so bad to be comfortable in summer clothes and know that I am at least half way there. Over the next 90 days I have set the following goals and benchmarks:

Goal: Lose 15 more lbs

Benchmark workouts:

1)      Run a 5k  (36:45)

2)      Pull-ups (0 – just started doing them with bands)

3)      Dead-lifts (150lbs)

4)      Clean and Jerk (90lbs)

5)      Karen – (87 in 12 mins with 14lbs ball; 8lbs ball – 12:02)

So stick with me for the next 90 days and see if I can continue making awesome progress –the prize – a killer body for Aruba!! Maybe I can convince my husband to let me buy all new clothes too if I (when I) improve!!! 

Until we meet again . . . .

This afternoon as I checked facebook I saw Kevin’s status that he was almost back Illinois, I was a little sad to see him finally gone but hopeful that this next chapter is even better than the last.

Kevin had a huge part in my success at crossfit and in life. Back in December when I was starting CrossFit and Bootcamp I was very intimidated by the whole thing. I had never been active and been able to do most of the movements that they had us doing. I remember the first class we did a workout at the end that was a row, squats, push ups and hollow raises. After the workout I truly felt like throwing up and was very shaky. Kevin had made a comment on how we would do this again at the end to see how we progress and then made a comment that we are not all going to be the best at the start, it takes time!

Every week that we went through bootcamp I was becoming a little more comfortable with the workouts and being at crossfit. All throughout bootcamp Kevin was there supporting and encouraging us throughout the workouts. The bootcamp classes would last over an hour and Kevin would always stay after to answer questions that we might have about Diet or movements. Kevin also hosted a nutrition seminar that I attended and really opened my eyes on how important nutrition was to my success with crossfit. By the end of bootcamp I was starting to see results from the workouts and I had improved my first workout by 3 minutes. I remember asking Kevin towards the end if I should sign up for the 90 day challenge and he said absolutely (really twisted my arm there).

This has lead me to where I am now. Before going to bootcamp I lacked confidence in myself and never followed through with working out. Now I am finishing the 90 day challenge and have built this confidence in myself that I never thought I would have again. This all has a lot to do with Kevin’s confidence in me. When I would check the website to see the WOD’s I would decided whether or not I could make it to one of Kevin’s classes. When it was something that I wasn’t familiar with or lacked confidence I knew I could always count on Kevin to walk us through the movement and be there to correct us. When the WOD’s were difficult like the 10 push-ups/10 deadlifts 10 times or when we did the WOW 12.4 Kevin was there pushing me to finish and push myself to the end. I remember how excited I was when I had finally lost 10lbs and Kevin was one of the first people I told because it was right after a tough workout that he pushed me through.

As the weeks have gone on I have started to step outside of box and attend classes with other coaches, but I always knew I have Kevin to fall back on when I needed it. Kevin is an amazing coach and I was sadden to see that he was leaving us but I do know that no matter what happens Kevin will make the best of it. This week I have seen so many people posting on facebook about how much they will miss Kevin and how important he is to so many people and I guess I needed to put my two cents in too!

So as Kevin is starting his next chapter we all will too. I will miss him tons but know that everything he has taught me over the past four months will stay with me!  On Easter Sunday I went out for a run with my dog. Before starting crossfit I couldn’t run a mile without needing to stop. Since joining crossfit I have been able to run for longer distances and faster than before. So on Sunday while I was out on my run I kept thinking of what Kevin has said during workouts and ran for 3.2 miles without stopping; something I had never done before.

So needless to say – Kevin thank you for all you have done for me! I would have to say this past four months have been the best I have had in a long time!! You are fortunate to work in a profession where you get to literally changes lives! I know that this isn’t goodbye forever and I wish you the best!!!