This weekend, Memorial day weekend 2011, is my one year paleo/zone anniversary. I entered the zone on this holiday weekend a year ago, kicking and screaming and lusting after margaritas, chocolate and sushi. Two weeks prior to starting this experiment, I had done my Crossfit level 1 certification coarse. During the first day of the cert, we were given a 10 minute time cap to do Fran, 21-15-9 pull ups and thrusters at 65lbs. In those ten minutes, I got as far as 13 of 15 pull ups.....walked away from the pull up bars in total humiliation, angry and disgusted with myself.
Today, at Crossfit Dover, where I will be WODing for the next three months as I spend a large amount of time in the summer in Dover, I ran into Fran again. It had been a while, and I was taken by surprise. Had torn up hands and lats that were on fire from the WOD done 2 days prior that included 200 C2B pull ups, split among three of us, plus heavy shoulder presses done yesterday. With all that, I managed to finish Fran in 6:08, rx. For me, this was a big win and a great way to celebrate this one year anniversary.
Changing the way I eat has been a life altering experience for me on so many levels. The obvious changes are the weight I lost (25lbs) and the benefit of that weight loss, getting faster and stronger in the gym. It's also been so empowering for me to exercise the control necessary to make the right choices, it hasn't been easy, at times I fought daily battles with my willpower, but I won much more than I lost, and that feels terrific. At this point, nothing I can eat is worth losing the gains that I've made in terms of strength and power. Interestingly enough, my palate has dramatically changed, foods I never even liked are the foods I crave, like cashews!
This journey I embarked on three years ago when I stepped into Dover Crossfit for the first time, a journey in search of health, fitness, the 300 lb dead lift and the sub 3 minute Fran has tested my discipline as a person. It's been tough, at times discouraging, and at other time exhilarating. So far, I've done things I never thought I would be able to, like handstand push ups for reps in a WOD, run a 5k, or a 6:08 Fran, and as soon as I conquer something, the bar goes up. It took about 5 minutes after the WOD was over today for me to start thinking about what I REALLY wanted to be able to do..... a sub 5 minute Fran! And I will!
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