Not the greatest of weeks.
Tony's diagnosis was a bit of a shock – two small cancerous tumours in his bladder. When I say it was a shock, we knew it was a strong possibility but the reality is quite different to the possibility! He'll be having surgery in the next few weeks, then convalescence for several weeks. I think we're both much more concerned about the convalescence … three weeks where he can't train is going to be quite a tough time for us both.
There are different conventions about how CrossFit boxes handle WODs – at Connect we don't spill the WOD, so it isn't posted in advance and nobody talks about it online till the last class has started, so people don't get to cherry pick WODs they're good at and avoid ones their bad at. For me that's all immaterial – I'm not good at any of them! We do occasionally get a warning if there's going to be a lot of running we're given advance notice to bring our running shoes if we train in non-running footwear, or if it's a Hero or a Girl we get told as those are always popular and people hate to miss them.
So when we got advance notice that the WOD on 25 June would be a 'testing' WOD and different to anything we'd done at the box before, it did make me shudder. I haven't been sleeping that well, and there's just stress around the stuff that Tony's facing that is making both of us feel under the weather and less than optimal, so I didn't expect to have a good time.
In fact it turned out to be a really good experience. It's weird to be wodding and not doing it in unison, so on this occasion where we took the elements in any order we wanted and as much rest time between them as we needed, it felt quite strange. I walked the run with two wonderful pregnant CrossFit women because my knee is still not right(just under 16 minutes), and I did the row last, simply because that was the only chance I had to get on the rower – we were a big group!
I was really glad to attempt this RX and happy with my results. If I'd done the row first I think I'd have got a better time, which I will remember when it comes round again and jump on a rower early! My press ups were strict, good form, hand release – I am a bit of a fan of hand release press ups, to be honest. Double unders and pull ups … well they're my goats and I think I'll be working on them for a good while yet before I'm satisfied.
Against the board I don't look so great. Amazing run and row times from some of our people and astonishing double under scores … and that's just the morning crew! Against what life has handed me, I'm really pleased with this set of results – whatever else is going on, I was able to attempt this and give it my full effort and full attention and I'm content with that.
Catching up. Tony has a date for his ultrasound scan – 19th June so then we'll know what the next stage is. He hasn't had any symptoms for a couple of weeks so we're starting to allow ourselves to believe it could turn out to be 'just one of those things' that is inexplicable and (with luck) will never recur.
This morning I picked up last year's WOD diary and discovered that this is my two year CrossFit anniversary! When I started this blog my only focus was to achieve an unassisted pull up, and I still haven't … but my back squat has gone from 35k to 57.5, my deadlift from 40k to 75, and while I can't do half the exercises I most desire, such as pistols and pull ups, my overall fitness has soared. Also, compared to the me of two years ago, I'm 3 kilos lighter and so much stronger that I just can't imagine how I was getting through my days back then.
Every time I've trained for the past month I've attempted double-unders. The most I can string together is two, but usually it's singles. I'm not depressed or embarrassed by this – a year ago I couldn't have imagined being able to tackle an exercise as demanding (to me) as double-unders, let alone occasionally stringing them together. As a brain injury victim, anything that happens in real time, like jumping a rope or catching a ball, gives me huge difficulty with coordination and feedback – double-unders were beyond my wildest dreams and today they're just something I'm not very good at. That is AMAZING!
I have my ups and downs with CrossFit, and the level of frustration I feel at not being able to achieve what I want often blinds me to my successes. Most of all though, today, I'm so grateful to be part of a community that is focused on optimal achievement for all its members. The past few weeks have really shown me, and Tony, how crucial a really top-rate CrossFit experience can be. Our coaches have supported us through a some scary weeks, our fellow CrossFitters have gone out of their way to encourage us to focus on the positive and offer us all kinds of help, and our training has given structure to a waiting period that could have been fear-filled and miserable. I genuinely believe I am lucky enough to be a part of the best CrossFit box in the UK.
The week I 'graduated' to WOD classes I thought I'd be lucky to get through a month. 24 months later, I cannot express how valuable CrossFit has been to me – thank you Reebok CrossFit Connect for the past two years of training, frustration, fun and focus – I wouldn't have believed I could stick it this long, learn what I have, or gain what you've given me … I'm so glad I kept coming back!
Isn't that cute? It's going on to the charm bracelet just as soon as the split ring arrives to attach it securely. Tony has his hospital appointment tomorrow … we're hoping to get some facts!
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged kettlebell. Bookmark the permalink.