And then it was Fall.

It seems like one day I was complaining to Annie about how hot it was and then the next day I was pulling out my heated blanket. Hello fifty degree weather! Fall (winter?) seems especially fun this year in my awesome snatchlife sweater thanks to the beautiful Erika! I'm loving Saturday mornings at the Girls Gone Fit Haus as we run outside to see how cold it is (crops today or shorts?) and squeal back inside to grab more layers.

Tonight at Defiant we did:
1 full snatch from the hip, 1 from the ground, as it got heavier, just from the ground.
55/65/75/85
Turns out I don't know where my pubic bone is. Keith told me my hand should be bit wider and the 85# snatch felt like it just flew up. I remember when 75# snatches were a struggle and it's great to see the progress with oly lifting.

1 full clean from ground, 1 split jerk
75/85/95/105/115

3 rep back squat with the Sall-meister aka my Dream Team member
95/115/125/135/145/155
I haven't back squatted in a long time. I've been working a lot on front squats to improve getting out of the hole of the clean. I'll have to do crossfit Totals again soon to see where my numbers are.

What's coming up? I've got goals to hit 3 non-kipping HSPUs by January, 130# OHS, and I still want to learn how to do butterfly pull ups. Thankfully, I work out with the marvelous Jess K who has been giving me lessons. I can visual myself doing them but when I jump on the bar, my bod wants to kip normally. Circles, Lor, circles.

Guess who is excited to see the new Harry Potter movie??

Bad Day

I had a bad day today. I'm dealing with some stressful things at work, I had a tearful phone conversation with my Mom, I haven't seen my parents that I'm close with in seven months, I'm questioning my goals and I'm questioning the future which all piles on top of me. I don't have these days or even this attitude often but it's still there.

I haven't been to class at Sicfit Austin in three weeks due to schedule conflicts and I debated not even going today. As I walked down Burnet Road to the gym I debated why I do this. Why can't I be like any other "normal" athlete and run Town Lake for my workout? Why can't I just live and not think about goals or the ever elusive muscle up (muscle up handstand push up?!) or paleo/zone or competing or affording Lululemon? I didn't have an answer.

But then I got to class. And for that hour I felt alive. I PR'ed my power clean, did one armed thrusters, one armed floor presses and prowler pushes, all which I had never done before. I got to cheer on teammates as we went through a twelve minute wod, heaving snatch balances and power cleans. I got positive feedback from a great coach about what to work on in the future.

And that future that I was stressing about all day long? It's still there, elusive as ever. But I got to leave the gym with a lighter heart, which is my answer to why I do this. I can throw all the numbers out the window because they don't matter. I'll be doing this for as long as it makes me feel better about myself.

Happiness is decided ahead of time

Here's an email chain from Mom:


A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, shaved perfectly and with his hair fashionably combed, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

'I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

'Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.'

'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied...

'Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can; spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.

I am still depositing.'

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.