The Wall

Yesterday was one of the coolest days of my life. So far. I'm not even 35 just yet and these are the kind of Saturdays I'm having??? Lord have mercy! On my quest to make 2012 even better than 2011, I thought it would be a good idea to do some things I have never done before, so I decided to sign up for a female only Crossfit competition. Ah, excuse me, what was I thinking? I think I was crazy because this stuff is no joke. As the day approached I started to get incredibly nervous and by Wednesday a sore throat was coming on. (it's a full blown crusty cold complete with no voice today, Happy Sunday!) Fast forward to yesterday morning...I wake up, excuse me...my stomach wakes me up at 6am (30 min before the alarm). I lie in bed, then shower, get dressed in a fog, get coffee, and get to the event. The 2nd Annual Heraean Games at the Seminole Casino in Hollywood. Incredibly organized and intimidating from the get-go. And then I saw them...the WALLS.
8 feet to get over.
Oh the parallels and metaphors to draw from this moment...I immediately looked at it and thought, 'Nope, it's not your day to climb a wall Lauren.' Then I thought, 'You have no choice.' I tried it a handful of times before the competition and did not get over it. I even ran eight (significant # here) of my knuckles into the wall on one attempt because I misjudged my footing...dummy. Then I stopped trying and focused on jumping rope until it was time to for my first workout.
WOD#1 - 15 min. cap - 50 double unders, 40 calorie row, 30 box jumps, 20 dead lifts (135lbs), 10 power snatches (55lbs), 10 push ups release, and BOMP BOMP BOMP...the 8 FOOT WALL, sled pull to finish the heat! I just wanted to go already. My Mom and Dad were both there, my Coaches Juan and Stephanie were there, my friends April and Nicole were both competing with me side by side the whole way (until they passed me:) and my friend Teresa was there (kids and all!) along with a bunch of people from our gym. And then the countdown began.
3-2-1...GO!
I just went. 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 10 and then...BOMP, BOMP, BOMP...the WALL!
Attempt #1 - fail (no biggie, I'm exhausted right now, take a deep breath and try again)
Attempt #2 - fail (I don't think I'm getting over this wall)
Attempt #3 - fail (Just keep trying until they call time and make it look good at the very least)
And then it happened. I grabbed the top of the wall and I pulled myself up, and then I just kept pulling and I was finally able to get my right heel over the top of it and I was able to pull myself over it!! I couldn't believe it. I did it! I was so elated I almost started to cry. I basically started to cry until I realized I still had to pull the sled backwards to the end of the finish line.
My time was 14:27 and after 3 workouts I placed 8th out of a field of 18 women. That is better than 50% of the competition! I just couldn't believe I actually made it over that seemingly insurmountable wall. I really wasn't sure if I was going to make it over it when they yelled go, I just knew I couldn't give up trying to get over it. That's really how life is isn't it? It is full of eight foot walls that we can either decide to climb, or at least attempt to climb, or we can walk away saying to ourselves, 'I can't do it so why do I even try?' and give up on them. The key to getting over them is all HEART (thanks Juan). If you got it then you'll get over them. Then you stand on the other side realizing you had the strength all along to get over that wall.
I sit here now on Sunday night still amazed at the entire thing, the whole day...everything. I did something I have never done before in front of a crowd of a couple hundred people and I loved every single minute of it! I even had a personal best of 125 lbs for my overhead squat. All in all it was an amazing experience and I am better for having done it. I will never forget those moments in that day that stood out. It's all about making the most out of every regular day while planning for additional fun stuff for specific future special days (like this for example). I really need a massage right now and I am utterly exhausted, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I did not let the fear of the unknown get the better of me this time.

I wonder what wall (literal or figurative) I will have to scale next?

Decisions, decisions...

Are you happy with all the choices you are making in your life? Are you happy with most of them, some of them...or even worse (say it ain't so) NONE of them? Take for instance whatever you are eating right now (if you are). Do you LOVE it! Do you even like it a little bit? If not, then put it down and eat something you LOVE! (My personal suggestion is to stay away from Girl Scout cookies because most people, including yours truly, can't eat just one...and don't get me started on the fact that you get 2 sleeves of sugary minty chocolaty goodness in each Thin Mints box!)
I spent lots of time feeling sorry for myself because I wasn't living the life that I wanted to be living...the life I knew I always had the potential to live, the life I am living today. I am never going to get those years back. I had to MAKE THE DECISION to change my life. Then I did it and I changed it. I mean, who would have ever thought that life could be this great!! It IS possible to be fully lived. Granted, from every sky a little rain must fall and it's not ALL roses, but all in all it's aces baby. Everyone has a choice about every single thing in their life. Every. Single. Thing. Obviously there are things that are out of our control but I'm talking big picture here. What have you ALWAYS wanted to do??? You should totally take that trip that you have always wanted to take...now...before you have a kid. Oh what, you have kids? You should finally take that trip you have always wanted to take and bring the kids with you so they get to have the same memory FOREVER...with you. You should finally tell that person that you love them. What if they don't make it to tomorrow? You can call them right now and say what you need to say. Don't waste another second! You are CAPABLE of getting into those jeans again...just decide that you are going to do whatever it takes, take the cookie out of your mouth, and take a walk. Start with the first step (corny, yes...but also true) and take it from there. You should go out on a limb and finally paint that friggin' bathroom. I mean you walk in there every day and sit down/stand up and hate it more with each new time you have to look at it. You can get out of debt. You should go back to school. You should just do it already!!! Whatever it is that you want to do. Like Nike put it so eloquently...Just Do It! We get one ride on this roller coaster. Why not make the most out of every single day, while planning for additional fun stuff in the future? Life is TOO SHORT to make the wrong choices, or the choices that are not the best ones to make. If your choices include not using your blinker when driving on I-95 or Super Sizing it...those would be categorized as bad choices. Now get out and run that trail, pay those bills, and live your one and only life to the FULLEST!

How Seltzer Water changed my life...

Let's be honest, a girl doesn't get to a beefy 230 lbs. by drinking Diet Soda. Thankfully, I can't stand the aftertaste and sugary coating of regular sodas, so I won't blame that either. It had everything to do with what the Diet Coke was washing down that was most likely the culprit. However, one can take away lots of wonderful treasures from the bubbles that occupy each can...

The last diet soda I drank was on July 4, 2011 (Happy Birthday Motherland!) and when the last tepid backwashy gulp went down (isn't the last sip of every can of soda the same?! G.R.O.S.S.) I wasn't sure if it really would be my last soda. By that point in my 'transformative journey' (sounds soooo New Age and for that I apologize) I was looking to drop just a few more pounds and going 'Sugar Free' was my next experiment. Since cutting all the sugar (except whole fruit) out didn't seem like punishment enough (yes, I am a sugar addict and even if I don't eat sugar I am still addicted to it!) I decided to cut out the diet sodas too. Enter the Syfo difference! Syfo is a brand of seltzer water (0 calories, 0 Sodium, nothing I can't pronounce) that my Mom swears by. "It's got the most bubbles honey. It's the sparkliest. Trust me, I've tried them all." Thanks Mom. Done.

Can I just tell you that drinking bubbly water is EVEN BETTER than diet soda. Seriously. And they have flavors!! LaCroix Grapefruit is AMAZEBALLS and those come in cans (just like my Diet Dr. Pepper used to come!) so you can take them with you!!! See, not so bad...?!

I know that this time around the Crazy-Go-Round of weight loss my mindset has been different. I am doing this ALL for ME. Not a broken relationship, not the approval of my parents, sister, or friends, or...wait for it, some stupid guy who can't even see past his own ____. Because it's all for me, it's easier to make the next right decision. I take each day as it comes...and each day comes with at least 1-2 bottles of Syfo seltzer water now. It's like a treat for me when I get home from work each night. I get to upgrade from flat bottled room temperature water to bottled sparkling water with ICE CUBES...woo hoo! (Oh the things that get me going!) If I am feeling really mischievous, I will squeeze some lime in it. And when I am feeling downright naughty, I throw in a healthy shot (or 2) of vodka. I don't drink all the time, but a vodka soda with lime is about as healthy as you can get for alcohol. It also tastes really good, so watch it.

Getting healthy is about small changes that over time turn into a new healthier lifestyle. If I did all of it at one time, I would not be here, in this new package, with this new outlook. I would have given up. I would have convinced myself that it was A) too hard and I am B) not worth it.

Friend, YOU are MOST WORTHY of ALL of the BEST things life has to offer...If you ever want to grab a glass of the bubbles and talk about it...

2012 - The Game Changer

2011 was the year that changed my life...in 2011 and for 2011. It does not stop there. I have not 'arrived' by any stretch of the imagination. 2012 is going to change my life in brand new ways. I learned a great deal about myself (and others) last year. I was able to inspire a few other people along the way (my sister starts Crossfit in exactly 14 days, not that I am counting.) I wrote down my goals, set up a plan, and then went about meeting the goals.

2012 is the GAME-CHANGER.

It's all about CONTINUED and NEW SUCCESS. I will strive every day to surpass my old goals, running them over on my way to the next mountaintop. I want to be a champion every day. Go out and give it my best effort.
I want EVERY SINGLE DAY to be AMAZING, and I am the only person who controls that. Now, every day is not going to be AMAZING, but if I think long and hard enough I am sure to find one thing in each day that makes it amazing.
I will travel even more. To here, to there, to everywhere. The sky is the limit...to all the faraway places that I dream of going to. Life is what I make of it...
I will WRITE MORE (see?! it's already happening) and not be afraid to say what I REALLY want to say...like truthfully how you make me feel!
I will LOVE more and expect even less from others. I refuse to stop being exactly who I am; a little flaky, full of optimism, smiling through the good times and the bad times with my heart on my sleeve. I must try a little harder to protect my heart from all the cracks and breaking, but I refuse to hold back. I will continue to jump into every day feet first and with my eyes closed, hoping for the best.
I will be more purposeful with my love. I want to tell you what you mean to me TODAY, because tomorrow is not promised to anyone. I saw some funeral coverage for the 3 little girls (sisters, one 10 and 7-yr old twins) in N.Y. who died (along with their grandparents) in a house fire on Christmas Day and I just wept for their parents, and their family, and everyone who survived the fire. The sorrow of these complete strangers hit me so very hard. I had to immediately ask my sister for a hug and I tell her how much I LOVE HER. You just never know when you might be saying something to someone for the last time. What do you want to remember about that last conversation...a fight, a snippy remark, an argument? No thanks, I'll pass. I want you to remember how much you were loved by me. I want to GIVE and GET some LOVE. Some GOOD love. All LOVE. All the time. So with that I will say that if you have read all the way to this sentence...I SO LOVE YOU FOR THAT! (smile)
Love conquers ALL things!!! (That's some Bible truth for you!)
The moral of the story is this...I CHOOSE to change the game in 2012. Every day is only as good as I make it. No one can take my attitude away from me. Let it always be positive and encouraging and loving. I hope that when I look back on this in a year that I will be satisfied.