I am a creature of habit. As an elementary school teacher, my schedule is pretty rigid. My official work day is Monday – Friday, 8 am to 4 pm. Unofficially, I go in early for meetings 3 days a week. These schedules dictate my workout routines. Gym on Monday and Wednesday, which usually means a WOD and a bonus endurance block. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I workout at home using Street Parking as my guidebook.
I listen to Spotify for hours each day. Music during all my own workouts. Podcasts on my drive. Music at work. Podcasts and music on the weekends. Lots of different flavors and blends, depending on my activity and mood.
I was intrigued when I saw “Daylist” in my Spotify favorites. I clicked the link and to my surprise, it’s a customizable playlist based on my habits and the time of day. The list refreshes every few hours. So I get instrumental jazz during work hours. Low key yacht rock in my early morning workouts on my home days. Upbeat 80s and 90s when I do my long cardio rides on the bike at the gym. It’s kind of uncanny how well it predicted what I would want to hear. I grabbed a few songs I had forgotten about and put them on my official playlists. It made me reflect on my patterns and habits.
And it made me a giggle a few times. When it classified some of my favorite songs as being from the 1900s (?!?!?) I laughed. When it gave me a melancholic playlist for Sunday afternoon, I knew too well that the “Sunday Scaries” has a soundtrack. A couple of times I’ve been surprised by what Spotify served up. Country on Monday afternoon? Why? Still trying to figure that one out. But it’s fun to wonder about.
Does all this make me predictable? Maybe. It’s one less button for me to push or thing to look up when I need to get out the door in the wee hours. Just a little technology that makes me smile and adds a little amusement to my life.
Just two days out. Focusing on sleep and recovering to be ready to perform at my highest level. Consistent training was on the menu for the last 45 or so days. Lots of burpees, running and stretching to help with mobility challenges, in addition to cardio on the tennis courts.
Lots and lots of smack talking has gone on with the participants we are familiar with. A cheering team has been assembled. The bag is packed and the outfits are picked out. It will be go time soon. Four workouts. Competition. Friends. Spectators. The podium. And I suppose the podium is the focal point of the chatter. Who will rise to the occasion and who will fall short.
As adults we sometimes opt for choices that hinder peak performance. A cocktail. A fast food meal. A sleepless night. Any or all of these can impact performance. Some compete for fun and could care less about results. Some compete for competition and train. Some just want to prove they can complete the workouts and not die. It’s a mixed bag for sure but one thing is constant: the chatter of who will win which is hilarious in itself since nobody is eyeing a spot on the Olympics team or signing a big NIL contract.
Interview questions:
Which workout was the hardest? Workout 2 for sure. The run had my heart rate up. The transitions slowed us up a bit. All in all this was a bumpy one and the results showed it.
Were teams co-ed? Yes. Not all comps are co-ed but this was and it definitely created a unique competition dynamic.
Which workout was the easiest? Workout 3. We are both strong and performed at our best even under fatigue at the end of the day. We celebrated with personal bests in our lifts. Double win for us.
What was the funniest part of the day? The team names and the outfits are always a highlight. See below for a glimpse.
Who made the podium and was it expected? Our team made the podium and took third place in our division. We planned for it but it wasn’t an easy road. Others may have underestimated our efforts under pressure and over inflated their confidence. Strategy is always key along with consistent effort.
Would you do it again? Yes, of course.
What is your biggest takeaway from this event? The camraderie at these events is awesome. Strangers cheering for you. High fives from many. Kudos for hard work. Celebrating fitness, milestones, first time competitors. A great experience to watch or participate in.
The group above represents so many backgrounds. The librarian. The physical therapist. The realtor. The gym owner. The entrepreneur. The college student. The banker. The sales rep. The insurance guru. The mechanic. The office administrator. The construction guy. All brought together by a common bond of fitness. CrossFit. Some may never experience CrossFit but for those who do, they understand the benefits are far reaching. Friendship. Fitness. Community.
I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my day of fitness, competition edition. What a sweaty and fun day with many like-minded folks. Another fun fact: my team had the oldest combined age of 108 years old and we still managed to squeeze in third place on the podium. What a rush for us competing with kids in their 20’s and showing them what we could do!
I’m a first timer. A virgin of sorts. New skill. New form of fitness. New level of cold. New land to explore. New. New. New.
I guess I should let you in on the secret. I’m wearing an apparatus that I thought was going to resemble a tennis racquet on my feet as I trek through snow. To my surprise I had something more modern and practical. They call this snowshoeing and I’m paying for this form of torture just to say I did it! I must be a little nuts but I love completing unique excursions whenever possible.
I obviously love to share my stories in case one may want to try said activities. I also like to catalog my crazy adventures for the years ahead when I am not physically or mentally able to complete such crazy things. So here goes. Snow is on the forecast for today 1-3 inches. Cold temps and strong winds. That is just the start.
I’m layered up and ready to tackle the unknown. The initial climb is a few switch backs that get the heart rate going while you get used to your new footwear. I loved the bottom of mine. The claw-like bottom gives you so much traction in the snow. It was definitely an experience.
Hiking through the trees was my favorite part. Every corner was a little different. We traveled around a mine site and learned a little about the area history. We hiked near cliff hanger house that was being built with million dollar views. We got pretty close to an avalanche area and saw how the path changed.
I didn’t use poles for my hike but my pal did. I’m sure I could have benefited from them but I felt the traction from my snow shoes gave me the stability I wanted. I guess I opted for less baggage on my trek. A little more vigorous than hiking is what I would explain. If I lived somewhere cold I think I would definitely have a pair of these to kick around town in.
This view was amazing although the picture doesn’t do it justice. The skies were grey today due to the stormy weather but the climb yielded some amazing views of the city and the ski trails. If you are ever in this area, you should give snow shoes a try. Just because.
On the road again. And again. And for a third time because it’s a charm, right?
Northern tip of Florida is stop one from northern tip of Georgia. Just a couple of days for business trip #1. Off to coastal Georgia for a conference. A picturesque landscape but one you won’t enjoy as your schedule consists of inside time spread across a hotel campus for days. Stuffy dress up clothes. Limited outside time. Lack of normal routine. No time to get cozy. Time to head northwest to the land of orange, also known as Tennessee. Stop #3 for next set of business tasks not too far past the Honky Tonk of Nashville. But again not a fun trip just boring business to do’s.
Three states. Three different business obligations. Seven days on the road, again. I had settled back into my routine after my summer road show of travel. Now it’s time to hit some other spots even if all business and no pleasure. I suppose money makes the world go round; this girl is off to work to support herself.
First segment on the road was eventful. Major rain storms popped up at random limiting visibility. Minor to major accidents galore. So many cars turned the wrong way after crashes. Ambulances. Fire trucks. Police. I was complaining about delays at first then I realized the delays prevented me from being caught up in the multiple wrecks. How I came to realize I dodged some major bullets on that segment.
The drive was enough for my nerves until I was notified of a boil water advisory upon check in at the hotel. Bottled water only. I had never had this experience at a hotel. Many adjustments only to find all nearby establishments were closed for this reason. No coffee in the morning after a rough evening of travel was not on my agenda for the day. Gas station grapes and crackers for the win on this fine morning. The day didn’t get much better. Restaurants served soda from cans. No water for consumption. The frills we take for granted.
I should have made the water advisory it’s own post as there were so many situations that popped up that made for good stories. On this bright sunny morning, I am enjoying my coffee. Boiled water over 180 degrees according to the server. At this point I don’t care. I’m just happy to have my rocket fuel to start my day. The coast is calling my name at this point in time. Hoping the water is usable on stop two. Fingers crossed.
Highlight of trip two was a good meal On the coast. Snow country boil was the name. A combination of shrimp, sausage, corn, and snow crabs. A little twist on a favorite meal thanks to the add of the snow crabs. I was extra full that night but it was all delicious.
The highlight for trip three was really a lowlight. A rude awakening of sorts. A meltdown of my mind and spirit. Too much. Too fast. Too tired. All leads to emotional weakness. I caved at the end of the day on my drive. My broken spirit was obvious. That led to overall sadness. I attribute the negative emotions to the last meeting. A shit show in my mind. A train wreck from the get go.
As I rejuvenate my spirit and my mind, I am opting for some physical fitness to get my mind going. Tennis was the sport of choice. Then after a match some crumbl cookies were in order to signify my crumbling the day before. Symbolic in one way and a splurge in another. For today I have some peace as I move forward in a slightly different direction.
Thankfully a long weekend is backing up to this 3 state road trip. Eeek. There are events on the calendar. I guess it was a good thing I flipped my calendar to see what was ahead. Preparations are a must. Hoping to catch my breath on this long weekend before the fall chaos of more travel hits. A spa day would be the perfect match for that extra day off but at the same time doing nothing but watching Netflix in my pjs will probably win.
As I think about the hectic travel schedule I take a deep breath and remind my of my fortune of being able to travel. To see new places. To meet new people. These benefits far outweigh the stress involved in traveling and twisting to get everything done. Palm trees always seem to make you feel like you are on vacation and I saw lots of palm trees in stage one of this trip and two. Maybe that’s why stage three was a dud. No palm trees. Celebrate the small wins in life. Sunshine is never really far off and eat crumbl cookies when your life feels like it’s crumbling.
These days all seem busy but somehow we manage. Or maybe we aren’t managing at all. Maybe we are just surviving while others are thriving. As I wrote today, I’m sitting outside enjoying the cool breeze before a small storm sets in. The calm before the storm. As I’m reflecting I giggle a little knowing how many blogs I wrote this year about traveling adventures. Funny how life just fuels content most days.
Until next time, enjoy your day and thanks for keeping up with our blog.
Today I didn’t want to get up and workout. I looked at the planned workout for the day and it was a Debbie Downer. Just didn’t want to rip off the covers off to rise and grind on this day.
Enter the accountability system. The group check in text at the wee hours of the morning to see who is going to workout today. You see if there are enough of you in the group missing one won’t matter on most days. Unless it’s a summer day and one is on vacation. One is at a work meeting. One is on a scheduled day of rest and so on. If you are the one left you need to pull your shit together and get moving. Big sigh for me. It was my unlucky day.
It was me who was needed this day. I so didn’t want the accountability buddy job. I wanted to hit snooze 10 more times and have a big breakfast when I finally got up. Fate said otherwise. Off I went.
I was pissy on the way to the gym. Then I saw some familiar faces and I forgot I didn’t want to be there. It was pretty simple. Then the workout started and I was like blah, blah, blah. I don’t want to do that I’m not good at it. Boy did I whine a lot.
I did the motions. It wasn’t half as bad as thought. I pushed through and hit a big personal best. I was shocked. After having such a trying time with myself in the morning I had to pinch myself. I did it. I did it again. And again. I laughed but also beamed with pride.
Some days you don’t want to do things but you do them anyway. Life is tough. Many push through tough times. I don’t know what I was really pushing through that morning when I was half asleep but I pushed to my personal best without even flinching. Now the bar is set a bit higher. Thank goodness for accountability partners. If I wasn’t held accountable I would have just hit snooze.
2 Chicks and a blog 