Reflections on 2009

The year’s not quite over yet, but while I’m still at home for the holidays, I thought I’d use this downtime to think about 2009.

I’ve heard from a lot of folks that 2009 sucked for them… I don’t know that I want to paint a whole year in a bad light.  I can certainly say that the last few weeks have tested more than just physical ability for me; they’ve tested emotions, caused stress, and forced me to take a hard look at what I’m doing with myself and my role in the various situations and scenarios that have played out in the latter part of this year.  More on that later.

For now, I want to focus on the positive, some highlights of 2009:

• In the athletic realm, I’ve gotten stronger and faster, posting PRs in several events around CrossFit, duathlon, triathlon, and running.  I really feel that the CrossFit prescription is something that allows an athlete to progress, have fun, and create something lasting.  I’m not bored, and even when I get burnt out, I miss the community and the fun.
• I’ve messed around with various diet techniques and found that eating well really isn’t that hard, and eating crap sucks a lot more than it used to.  I look better, feel better, and perform better than I ever have.  Just like the physical realm, I think this is something that can be sustained, and there’s nothing but good things that come of it.
• In my 9-5 (lol!) job, I’ve worked in a tough environment that’s not only affected by the poor economy, but also a few people who must also think that 2009 sucked, because they’ve created a negative place to be.  More on that later, too.  But I think my team at work has matured and is continuing to do so… we’re more efficient, more effective, we make better decisions and we’ve made huge improvements to our product.
• In my other jobs, I’ve grown leaps and bounds as a coach.  I got my CrossFit Endurance, Nutrition (from Robb Wolf, phew), and Level 1 certifications.  I wrapped up over 3 years of teaching cycling at 24 Hour Fitness and I’m taking on new roles at both CrossFit Central and Pure Austin.  Starting in the new year, I am teaching one track workout a week for CrossFit Central, and two PIT classes at Pure Austin! I’m grateful to Jeremy and Beto for their trust that I can work with our athletes.
• In my personal life, I’m really just trying to hold steady.  Some relationships came and went, and while I know I’ve got a hand in everything that happened, I also know that right now, I’m better by myself.  Although that kind of stuff can change at any moment

(more…)

Thanksgiving starts early…

There was no one at work yesterday.  Just no one at all.  So I’m going to join the crew and start my break a little early, by working from home in the morning, getting some much needed chores done, and getting a CF and CFE WOD in today.

I’ve also decided to stop twittering my food log.  I know, you’re stoked.  Sorry about that… that was dumb.  I have no idea where it’s going just yet, so I’ll just do it on here for now.

Daily log

7AM CrossFit @ RunTex: 10 swings @ 60lb (35+25db), 1 burpee; …; 10 swings, 10 burpees. 10:58. burpees are slow for me.

breakfast: 3 egg omelette with chicken, bruschetta, and pesto. mixed berries. black coffee. 9 fish pills.

Recognition

I won an award on Sunday… it was the first award I’ve won in a long time.  I wasn’t really expecting to win anything, which made it even better.  Combine that with my general Debbie Downer day, and it made everything better.

What was the award?  More on that later.

It’s funny… I have to admit that I felt a little “left out” when I wasn’t one of the people recognized during Client Recognition month at CrossFit.  But then I realized that I don’t really deserve a workout named after me, at least yet.  The people we’re recognizing have truly accomplished great things at our gym, over and beyond simply feeling, performing, and looking better.  They’ve transformed their lives in some way.  I’m still working on that, and I don’t need a workout named after me to know that.

That said, it feels damn good when someone notices what you do… which parlays right into the award.

My award was the “Superfly Rookie of the Year” award of the cycling instructors at Pure Austin.  It means a lot, because it shows that people really do appreciate the work I put into my classes… programming workouts and making them work with music is not easy.  Sometimes I question why I do this… between Pure, 24, IBM, and now CrossFit Central, I have like 4 jobs and it gets a little overwhelming.  But knowing that I’m providing a support structure that enables a transformation in my clients, just like I had (and continue to have) a support structure around mine, is rewarding.

Despite the fact that us CrossFitters tend to dismiss “Globo Gyms” as useless, Pure Austin really has a ton to offer even the most hardcore CrossFitter.  They’re constantly innovating (thanks for the Oly platforms!) and they’re always in a quest to make their members happy and successful.

Recognition is great… and it doesn’t have to be a cool award.  It can be as simple as some kind words from a complete stranger.  Have you recognized someone’s effort lately (in the gym, at work, at home… anywhere really)?  If not, do it!  Everyone needs some karma points.

I’m looking forward to some exciting stuff in the near future with Pure Austin and with CrossFit Central… more on that in another post.

Race recap: San Antonio 13.1

I ran the Rock n’ Roll San Antonio Half Marathon this weekend.  To say I ran it would be a joke… I made it through.  It was humid, hot, whatever… I’m not blaming this one on the weather, or the equipment.

I ran the same course last year in 1:45ish.

This year, 2:00.

What. The. Fuck.

Let’s recap the list of FAIL for this race:

• I started on a paleo challenge a week before the race.
• I did not eat breakfast race morning. I always eat breakfast race morning.
• I left my gel in the car.
• The start line had NO FOOD, and the bathrooms were ill-equipped, at best.

Lovely.

So I get to mile 4 and finally find a bathroom that has what I needed.  Great.  Back on the course.  I’m starving.  My body is starting to tell me that bad things are going down, and I know I need to figure something out.  I can taste salt in my mouth, and around mile 7,  I start getting that oxygen-deprived feeling in my ear like I get at the end of Fran.  Not cool.  There was not enough Cytomax and water and banana people to get me through this one.  And the Cytomax and water was giving me side stitches, which made running even more fun.

I needed real food, which I never got for the whole race, and I paid for it.

There are many lessons here… certainly some around preparedness and the need to establish a “race ritual” and follow it.  But I think the biggest lesson here is there’s a fine line that you need to draw between a strict paleo diet and the ability to fuel during a race.

I can’t very well pull out some deli meat, 9 almonds, and some berries at mile 7 for a snack.  So I can’t let myself get so far to the real food side of the world that a gel would hurt.  But I do need to find a more paleo-friendly gel, because my next 13.1 is going to not suck like this one did.

Thoughts?  Grok didn’t have a D-tag stuck to his shoe and he wasn’t timing himself in the hopes to run the 13.1 miles out to the river and back faster than he ever did before.  Eric did, and was.  And failed.

Everyone has a bad race or two.  This is my first, and I want to never have one again.

CrossFit Endurance and CrossFit work. Even after the swine flu.

Holy shit.  I haven’t posted in a long time.  My bad.  My renewed mental focus is clearly due to my first week of the The Label Says Paleo challenge.

I’m going to write the end of this post first, and then I’m going to come back up here and write my original post.

Ok, original post time.  There are so many things I want to say, so I think I’m going to limit this to one topic and make more posts (I swear) over the coming weeks.

About 6 weeks ago, I was supposed to start training for the Rock n’ Roll San Antonio 1/2 Marathon.  I only needed 6 weeks because, well, I CrossFit, and I know I can run 13.1 miles.  It was just a matter of how long it would take to do so, and whether I wanted to PR that race.  Then… life kicked in.  One bachelor party in Vegas.  One trip directly from Vegas to Uruguay.  ACL.  Swine flu (serisouly, I got fucking swine flu).  Recovering from swine flu brought me to 3 weeks out from the race.  Then I had a confluence of shitty scheduling on my part (see end of post).  Fast forward to 2 weeks out.  I decided that with 2 weeks left, it was time to start training.

• I went out on a Tuesday morning and did the CFE WOD.  10k, 85% effort for the first 5k, 95% effort for the second 5k.  47:something.  Not bad.
• Continued my regular CrossFit regimen.  3-on, 1-off.  Strength and metcon mixup (which I going to organize soon).
• I went out and ran a 10-mile race last Sunday.  1:17:something.  7:41 pace.  That puts me spot on for a 4-minute PR for the Rock n’ Roll.

3 weeks of training, folks.  3 weeks.  Why? Because I CrossFit.  Because I focus on strength and muscular endurance, 13.1 miles at a pretty decent clip isn’t so hard.  It just takes a while.  Combine this with some proper CrossFit Endurance protocol, and I know I’ll see huge PR’s in my future.  Maybe I can get that 25mph bike pace that I need to start placing in Duathlons.

Which brings me to my next point… CrossFit Central Endurance.

Tomorrow (and I know no one has read this in weeks, so I’m going to assume that no one will show up because of my blog, but if you do, holler!) we’re hosting a free community workout at the Austin High track.  We’ll show you some run efficiency skills and drills… breaking running into the “first principles” that Christopher McDougall so eloquently describes when he talks about his book.  Then we’re going to put you through a light CFE WOD, some 100s, hopefully using your newfound skills.

Here’s the kicker… are you ready for the kicker?

We’re going to continue these free track workouts.  Wednesday mornings (6am) and Thursday nights (6pm) in December, over at the O’Henry track.  I’m coaching the Thursday nights and one Wednesday morning… December 3, 10, and 16.  Show up.  Improve your running.  Add some quality to your miles, not trash miles.  No. more. garbage. miles.

See ya at the track!

–e

Now for the blur… quick recap since I last posted on my blog (sad, I know.  I shouldn’t have to do this)

• I participated in the LiveStrong Challenge 5k and 45-mile bike ride, raising over $300 for the LiveStrong Foundation. HUGE thanks to my supporters for donating to a great cause!
• I rode a Team Time Trial for the first time on November 2.  The Tour de Grune 27.3 miles is pretty tough — hilly, chip seal, some crosswinds.  Fun ride, but we didn’t keep the 22 mph pace I wanted.  Next year.  Moving on…
• I ran the Run for the Water 10-miler on November 8.  First distance longer than 10k since February, and it went well considering that I haven’t run.
• All kinds of cool shit is happening with CrossFit Central Endurance, Pure Austin, The Label Says Paleo… it just keeps coming.
• I’m a Nuun Ambassador.  Hell yes, Nuun!
• I’m starting to see the power of tribes and the communities that can be formed.  Mind boggling.