Purling Sprite

Awesome sounds!

I must live under a rock because today, it is the first day I heard of these guys, Dyland & Lenny and their song Pegate Mas. It is steamy HOOOTTT!!!

 

Goals Achieved

As you guys remember, I have been attending CrossFit classes and a lot of the movements in there are mostly technique. Once you have the technique down, it becomes a little bit less painful/grueling to do the workouts.

Being new to a box is filled with new challenges: box jumps, kettlebell swings, kipping pull ups, double unders, ring dips, handstand push ups, the list goes on and on.  The first thing I wanted to learn was kipping pull ups. It was amazing to see the gals in the box just wiping them out and me not even being able to swing the proper way. 

At the end of November , I decided that enough was enough and that I was going to learn to kip. I would stay after the workout and learn to swing on the bar, head through kick legs back, legs forward head back. Gosh, it was grueling not being able to get the rhythm down and once you had it down to keep it going. I worked on it for about 2 weeks continuously, then one day, up and over the bar my chin went. I had done it! I had completed one kipping pull up. It was the BEST feeling ever! I continued practicing on the following days, then one of my coaches saw me and told me that from that moment on, I would only do kipping pull ups for all my workouts, even if it took me an hour to complete it. A few days later, on Dec. 5th I completed and Rx-ed my very first workout with kipping pull ups (17 of them). My hands were tired and I had torn them up but my heart was swelling with pride. Since then, I have completed many workouts that include kipping pull ups and although I can only string about 4-5 in a row, I have completed over 120 in a single workout! Yay me!

Once kipping pull ups were conquered, next the bigger more painful beast came. Double Unders.  Double Unders--jump rope and make the rope go twice under your feet with one single jump. It may sound easy to a lot of you, including my 9 year old son, who can do about 100 with no trouble at all. But for me, just doing singles was a feat in itself. When I started crossfit, I was one of those jumpers who would need to jump twice to make the rope go once under her feet. I never played with a jump rope as a kid so this was all new territory for me.

I didn't care if I could only do 1 and then a bunch of singles in between. I worked and worked and after thousands of lashings around my legs, forearms and fingers, I conquered! I am now able to do a few double unders with singles in between. They are not consecutive double unders but I'll take it and keep working on them. It is one of my greatest achievements in crossfit. Yes, I am not smooth and I probably look like a chicken flappin' my wings but it is awesome to be able to Rx a workout when it has doubles.

Next on the agenda, handstand push ups....this one is going to take me at least two months to master. I don't like the feeling of being on my head, having my feet higher than my head. The blood rushes to my head and I hate the feeling. Not to mention, I can't even do a handstand, hahaha!

2011 Highlights

I am a little late but I wanted to write something down about 2011 and all the different things we did. The year was full of adventures, trials, and more work than I would have ever imagined.

2011 included a wonderful gift to me: Boston 2011. It was an amazing experience that I would never, ever forget. Hubby and I traveled there and although it was an adventure getting there with our Flight from NY to Boston getting canceled and having to rent a car to get to Boston, I would not change it at all. I loved it. I want to go back. I got into Boston 2012 and I am crossing my fingers that I can go once more.

2011 was a big year of races for me. I ran a total of 4 marathons: Boston, Ogden, TOU and St. George. I ran a couple of halves: TOU 1/2, Pink Series 1/2, and Halloween Half. I also raced a few 5K and 10Ks and 15K as well as participated in a couple of small triathlons. Even did Ragnar, although I wasn't planning on doing it in 2011. It was my first year placing: got 3rd in AG in a sprint triathlon, 4th in AG in a 15k, and 3rd in a 10K. It was a fabulous racing year. One of my strongest for sure. I don't know if I can replicate it due to the high amount of fitness classes I am teaching and the lack of time/energy left for training.

In 2011, my fitness classes took off. As a spin instructor, I have now 4 regular classes. They are super fun and I love the atmosphere of them. My Zumba classes have a life of their own! I love to teach this format, it is freeing to the soul. I have 7 Zumba classes weekly on my schedule. It gets to be a little too much when combined with the Spin classes but I sure do love it.

I had two little books published, one a tiny little booklet, Loom Knitting Made Easy, and Loom Knitting Scarves, Hats & More.

My lovely children have gotten so much bigger and they are so responsible. My son turned 9 and with that it seemed like he got the personality of a 12 year old. He has always been a responsible little one but now he is even more. He can cook rice, he can do dishes, he can vacuum and  clean the entire house if you let him. One day, it was his day off from school and I decided to sleep in. Both him and my daughter had cleaned the entire kitchen and living room. They are amazing little individuals

In all, it was a wonderful year. I was with my family and I love spending time with them. :)