Pili Grace

Moving...again.

2010-06-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

So, I've been using Google Blogger for the last few months as an experiment. However, since turning CFOZ into a physical affiliate, I am finding that it will be easier to keep all my blogs on the same platform. I have moved this blog back over to it's original place on Wordpress, and I have also started a new WOD/Food log there as well. Go check them out and tell me what you think. I will no longer be posting to Blogger.

Make the Time: Life, Family, CrossFit, Craft...Me

Crafting Grace: CrossFit WOD and Food Log

Survival...for all of us.

2010-06-18T04:06:00.000-07:00

Powerful and important.

So, where am I going with all this?

2010-06-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

CrossFit Central, Austin, TX

I have dreams. Big ones. This is the vision of what my future holds. When I went out to Central, I was inspired by the coaches and athletes of that affiliate.

I've been on a roller coaster of a ride the last few months. Every morning I wake up energized and ready to jump into the fray. My days are a balancing act of mom, wife, coach, athlete, and affiliate owner. I wouldn't have it any other way. In my eyes, my affiliate is already the heart of a strong community of athletes and families working and playing hard everyday. A community that will touch the lives of hundreds. That vision is firmly lodged in my mind. It permeates every action, every step, every breath.

It is my reality.

A Quiet Moment

2010-05-17T03:17:00.000-07:00

God, it feels like this is the first one I have had in so long. Two weeks into my new CrossFit affiliate's operation and I am up to seven clients. I am so grateful for this chance to be living my dream. Sitting in the stillness of 5 AM on a Sunday morning, feeling the quiet of the house and smelling the brewing of that first pot of beautiful dark joy that is coffee, I am just so GRATEFUL. So THANKFUL. So HAPPY. I feel like my skin fits me for the first time.

So much of people's lives are spent dreaming and hoping and wishing. Too few spend it living. This is not a criticism. I am guilty of spending decades in that SIN. I too have spent too much wasted energy living out the expectations of others, being "the good daughter," and trying to please those around me. Little by little, I have been able to strip away the facade of "success" to what my own dreams and goals are. Little by little, I have seen flashes of the path I WANT to be on and finally I feel like I am on it. Is it a yellow-brick road as Dorthy's was? No, but then she found out the Emerald City wasn't what she needed or wanted. It was always inside her. My path is a little chipped and worn and has plenty of discarded things strewn behind me. My path isn't necessarily rut-free. But, you know what? It's MY path, and "that has made all the difference."

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Flow

2010-05-04T03:23:00.000-07:00

Derek and Laurie

Flow is a feeling I get when everything is working right. When I feel grounded in the moment. I both know what is going to happen and treasure the feeling of the now unfolding before me.

It's a feeling that I felt camping out in Austin with the incredible group of women I met last week. There was an energy there...it's hard to describe. So many strong women with dreams and hopes, taking action to take their lives to the next level. I feel like I came away with more than just a trip and a much needed vacation. That feel has helped carry me through this last hectic week.

CrossFit O-Zone held our first class at the park on Saturday. Finally getting to say "3, 2, 1...GO!" and knowing it was for my own affiliate was a huge rush! The WOD went great and my old affiliate, CrossFit 10, came down to support it. I had four women come over to ask what we were doing, and two of them came and tried their first WOD on Monday.

Working Hard!

It just felt so good to finally be training again. I still have a lot to learn, despite over two years of coaching. I have been immersing myself in getting the business set up, but I love the way being a trainer makes you think and experiment and looks for resources to make you the best coach for your client. Well, at least that's how I see coaching.

I've been learning to channel anxiety and nervous energy into excitement and action. Doing this has been essential to keeping me present and focused. In the past I have let those types of feeling overwhelm me and freeze me into doing nothing. Anyone who knows me knows that I can worry at things like a dog does a bone. Finding my flow and keeping focus on that has made all this possible.

Blogging is definitely going to continue being sporadic. I am hunting for a location and that doesn't leave a lot of time for anything but work right now.

I am still flabbergasted and so, so grateful for the craziness of the last couple of months.

CrossFit O-Zone's first WOD class

Countdown to Austin!

2010-04-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

I absolutely cannot wait! Later this week I will be going to Austin, TX to meet up with my MMFC women's group. We are a group of women being lead by Carey Kepler in changing our lives. I am giddy, I tell 'ya!

This will mark the first time I have EVER been away from my children overnight. When I realized I was going to have to go alone I was a bit crest-fallen, but Doug and I know that this is an opportunity I cannot pass up. The rest of this week will be spent getting ready for the trip, finalizing the last details on CrossFit O-Zone and getting all the equipment set up for the Boot Camp. I miss coaching so much! Two more weeks until we are in business!

I've been to the library to check out some audio books so any time alone can be spent schooling my mind.

Dreams come true. Reach for them and you will achieve them. I'm reaching for mine.

Dreams are what you make of them.

2010-04-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in the last few weeks I don't even know where to start. I guess the beginning would be good.

Three years ago I found CrossFit through the workout blog of Jodi Bainbridge from CrossFit Fredrickton. At the time I was struggling to find a way to regain my strength after having spent back-to-back pregnancies on bed rest or limited activity. Granted, I have never been the most stellar athlete, even in my youth, but I was always active. Now I was at home, taking care of a nine month old and a two year old and I barely had the energy to get out of bed each morning. I tried the cardio/weights routine at the local YMCA, but that quickly got old. Not to mention the fact that I had no idea what I was doing.

CrossFit appealed to two of my major enjoyments as a kid: gymnastics and rowing. They also had all the programming done for me! I started out unable to do even the Brand X "Puppies" scaled WODs, but with some simple simple push-up, jumping pull-up, squat and sit-up combinations at my apartment's playground and a weekly visit to Mike G. and Dan Macdougald at CrossFit Atlanta, I was able to slowly gain control of my health. Having been a restaurant manager before having kids, I devoured everything I could get my hands on about nutrition. The Zone, Paleo, Primal, you name it and I read it. Slowly, I started getting stronger. My body changed though I have actually gained ten pounds since starting, but those ten pounds are all muscle! Within four months I got my first pull-up, something I had never done, even as a gymnast!

Now, my little on-line affiliate, which has been operating as a Friends of CrossFit affiliate for the last two years, is becoming a touch-it-taste-it-feel-it-live-it reality!!!!!!!

That's right folks, CrossFit O-Zone is growing up. This has been a dream since before I started working at CrossFit 10. I want to start posting more on this site to give anyone who wants to learn a little taste of what it's like to get an affiliate off the ground. Our first class will be a Baseline Boot Camp in a local Lawrenceville, GA park. I'm shooting for May 1.

In the meantime, I am deep in the process of getting insured and licensed and equipment purchases. I'm also going out to Austin, TX to meet with my MMFC women's group lead by the incomparable Carey Kepler, co-owner of CrossFit Central and the 3rd Fittest Woman in the World! You'll definitely see some blog posts about that!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig

2010-03-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

St. Patric's Breastplate. Beautiful.

Announcements coming soon!

2010-03-08T03:13:00.000-08:00

I've been quiet around here due to necessity, but that is about to change!

Stay tuned for something HUGE!

I am embarking on a wild ride, and I can't wait to start. Y'all are invited to come with me.

Farm Fresh

2010-02-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

Connor loves going to pick up or bi-weekly order. The boy has never met a vegetable he didn't like!

Carey Kepler's post today prompted me to tell you all about a great new resource in the Gwinnett area. Rancho Allegre is the site of the year round Dacula Farmer's Market. They are also the initiators of a Buyers Club for local organic produce. Now, most people have heard of a Food Co-op, but a buyer's club differs in that it's management is handled by the host, not the members. So far we have bought two boxes from Rancho Allegre, and have had the pleasure of also getting un-homogenized, low-pasteurized milk for the kids and free range, local eggs. The wealth of information from the vendors is great, and I always learn something new when I go.

Personal Prayer

2010-02-03T04:45:00.000-08:00

So, I am a cradle Catholic, who spent the better part of my adulthood away from the Church. When I say "away" I mean really fallen away. In fact I spent my entire twenties denying God and looking for Him in self-help books and new age "spirituality." Oh, the hubris!

When my daughter was born, my husband and I decided to have her baptized in the Catholic Church more out of keeping with tradition than belief. After all, I come from a huge Catholic family, and my parents are very traditional in their beliefs. Then with the birth of my son, I had a series of very honest conversations with myself about what I considered truth to be. It was this that lead me back to Truth and our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The journey had not been easy, but it has been exhilarating. It is definitely a journey I have only just begun. Much of the start has been over the last three years in reading and researching on-line. One of the things that I am doing new during Lent is learning to pray. I always feel so awkward just winging it, so I am starting as a child would by saying a daily rosary.

Of course I started well before Ash Wednesday, but already I can see that Lent gives the prayer a different feeling.

2010 Goals

2010-02-02T10:21:00.000-08:00

So, quite a bit of the month of January (well, all of it really) was spent pondering my goals and envisioning what I want for my life this year. This is what I have come up with. I'll be revisiting this list often in the coming month to see how things are stacking up and making adjustments. Some of this stuff is quite ambitious, some is quite basic. Let me know what you think.

Family - Wife and Mother

Budget our income with the end goal of spending our money mindfully. (There are several individual goals tied into this, but we want to be sure that our money is going to those things that matter to us and not to feeding the corporatism juggernaut.)
Get the whole family living the Primal/Paleo way.
Plant an herb and vegetable garden to give my family wholesome food.
Get this house done!
Get rid of the TV completely (right now we watch movies in the family room, but I want it gone!)
Hand-make all the Christmas gifts.

Note: This list is quite a bit more extensive than what you see here, but not for public consumption. These are the few that I thought general enough for this format. The others I may talk about eventually, or maybe not.

Athlete - Crossfitter

Log my food intake and workouts daily.
Drink a minimum of 96 - 128 ounces of water daily (This is a hard one for me!)
Use this year to prepare for the 2011 CrossFit Sectionals
300 Fight Gone Bad
5 Muscle-ups
40 Kipping Pull-ups
Sub 5:00 Fran
12% Body fat
100 % Paleo nutrition (and this one extends to my whole family!)
Get in bed by 9:00 PM each night
Practice virtuosity

Coach - Trainer and Businesswoman

Complete my prerequisites for entering the M.S. program for Exercise Science
Continue to educate myself in all aspects of business excellence and personal development that will help me make my business and training better.
Begin using this blog to write about crossfit, health, nutrition, fitness, etc.
Harness digital media.
Get out there and network with the rest of the CrossFit community! Atlanta is a great city for CF!

Christian - The most important one!

Pray daily
Say the Rosary daily
Bible study on Sundays (yes, Catholics do read the Bible)
Study Catholic doctrine and learn what it really means to be a Roman Catholic, and why.
Become more active in my parish.
Define my vocation as a mother and wife
Learn to integrate my faith into everything that I do.
Put God at the forefront of my life in all, and offer Him my best with all my actions.

I did want to add that I know it is strange that I am posting the goals for the new year at the end of January, but I have always found it difficult to set goals in December with the holidays raging around me. I also find it difficult to implement those goals if there is a lag period. Change comes easier if I can just jump into it and not over think the approach. I suffer from a tendency to live in the future instead of the present. That's another thing I am working on this year.

Weekly Review:

2010-01-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

Doug doing a 100 foot handstand walk during Monday's WOD

Monday - 3 Rounds of bear crawl 100 ft., 2 min. handstand hold, 15 HSPU (green band) - 12:42
Tuesday - 3 rounds of 1 min. squat, pull-up, squat, push-up - 50/10/40/20/38/14/32/19/30/10/27/17
Friday - "Cindy" 20 min. AMRAP of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats - 10 + 8 push-ups Rx
Saturday - Partner WOD: 10! Cleans @ 75# with partner alternating on 30 sit-ups, 200m run, 15 ring dips (purple band) - partnered with Laurie ~18:53 (clock got stopped so we are not sure of the actual time.)

Right now I am sore and looking to be much sorer tomorrow. I am not exactly happy with my performance the first half of the week. I allowed myself to hunt for excuses to not work out and then I would feel bad. I am taking some advice and scheduling my WODs for a specific time from now on until I get back the good habit I used to have. I always feel better after my WODs (so you think I'd always do them in the morning, right?), but invariably I let myself forget that feeling and only remember the dread of those pre-WOD moments. It doesn't help that working out makes me feel like a loser since I am behind in my fitness. I am de-conditioned and it SUCKS!

I can't afford to do that, if I am giving my work to God. If I want to realize my goals of making it to Regionals next year and do well, I must give God my best. That means being in the gym six days a week. It means sleeping eight to nine hours each night ,and eating the food that keeps me strong and healthy. Half efforts and excuses are not what He wants to hear and they are definitely not what I need to hear or say.

Is my eating good? It's getting there, could be better
Am I working out enough? No.
Am I putting everything I have out there? No

Paleo pot roast

Pili, DIG DEEP! That is what I must do. If I am to realize my goals, with God's grace, then I must put my all into my training.

Prayer

2010-01-21T06:18:00.000-08:00

The Prayer of Thomas Merton:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following You will, does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please You does - in fact - please You. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this, You will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, will I trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.

I was recently introduced to this prayer, and I thought it appropriate for this period of change I am entering into in my life. I am slowly and thoroughly working on my goals for my life (not just this year!) They do include many short term goals for the weeks, months and year ahead, but without God's help, I am realizing they will not be permanent change. By putting myself in God's hands I will do the work set before me. Mother, wife, athlete, coach, crossfitter, you name it and I do need His help. I am only recently realizing this. I hope He has the same plans for my life that I am feeling pulled to do, but regardless, I will do His will.

Higher Orders of Thinking

2010-01-16T17:29:00.000-08:00

This is part one of one of the lectures given by James "OPT" Fitzgerald at the Black Box Summit. Um, there is a bit of cursing, so view at your discretion.

Have you checked out SICFIT? Have you heard of SICFIT? Go check it out. SICFIT is the brainchild of Jeremy Thiel from CrossFit Central and the labor of love of Webster Smith from CrossFit Chronicles (psst...he's also married to the fifth fittest woman in the world, Lindsey Smith!)

Visit sicfit.com for more Videos

Soup, Paleo style.

2010-01-08T05:56:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 red onion
2 lb. ground, organic turkey

sea salt

garlic powder

dried oregano

dried basil
Baby portobello mushrooms
1 jar, roasted red pepper
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
4 carrots
4 cups organic chicken broth
1 Tbs. organic tomato paste
1 tsp. organic sugar (optional)

With the olive oil, saute the onion until it starts turning clear. Then add the meat and brown. Season with sea salt and spices. Add the mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, squash and carrots, and mix in. Add the broth, tomatoe past and sugar if you wish (it cuts down the acidity of the tomato, especially if you have kids.) Cover and let simmer until the vegetables are tender.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

And welcome 2010!

This year is going to be so exciting. So much is happening in my life, both personally and for the gym. I'll share some more of the personal ones later. The big one kicking off the year is the addition of an Elements Class to the roster of offerings at CrossFit 10. Elements classes are meant to teach the basics of CrossFit movements and prepare new athletes for the intensity of the group WODs. Basically I get to do my favorite part of my job, which is training new people! This is the opportunity for someone new to CrossFit to come and see what it is all about! The class sizes are limited, so each person will get the attention they need to stay safe.

If you are interested call me at 678-773-6327. They will be held at the Lawrenceville location.

Kale con Pollo

2009-12-15T07:22:00.000-08:00

I posted this on FaceBook, so I wanted to re-post it here:

Brown boneless, skinless thighs cut into strips, set aside
In the same pan, saute diced red onion, roasted red pepper, minced garlic, and pickled mushrooms (or use sliced baby bellas) in a good amount of olive oil (I use lots).
Add Kale and cook it down. Season with an Arroz con Pollo seasoning packet (make sure it does not contain MSG), garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the chicken back in and cover. Cook for a few more minutes. Done.

My four year old loved it! The other one is sick and not eating much anyway.

Team Tabata Fun

2009-12-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

Today I went up to Laurie's house to do the Saturday WOD. I just want to give a shout out to Kim for being my partner. Kim is one of our newest members and she had a great attitude the whole workout!

We did this:

Alternating team members, one person working at a time:

20 seconds:20 seconds (one person is resting one person is working during each 20 sec interval)

16 sets per exercise

*inverted push ups

*kettle bell swings

*Wall ball (inside, shorter height, heavier ball for girls)

*SDLHP 75/55#

Our final score was 361. Admittedly a lot of my focus was making this a great experience for Kim, but I can tell that the strength bias stuff I've been working on is, well, working! I used a 16# ball on the wall ball and It felt no different than the fourteen. Usually I feel a big difference. Mostly, I just enjoyed the camaraderie and community we have at CrossFit 10.

Wow, been a while...

2009-12-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

So, right now I am engrossed with training new clients, preparing for Christmas and setting my goals for the new year. These are all things I love to do, but they don't give me a lot of time to blog!

The Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year holiday season is my favorite time of year. The air is crisp and I get to cook great Paleo stews and soups. I hand-make Christmas gifts and start making lists of what projects I will be working on in the new year. My favorite part is getting to set goals. I am a list person. I love making lists and making new goals gives me a whole new set of things to work on.

One of the things I am working on is developing a new CrossFit On-Ramp for CrossFit 10. I am still in the planning stages, but it will be for January and is the perfect opportunity for anyone who wants to start CrossFit in a safe, effective manner. Stay tuned for details!

WOD 2009/11/17

2009-11-18T13:00:00.000-08:00

These are the bars in our garage gym

"Angie"

100 Pull-ups (kips)
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups (unanchored Abmat)
100 Squats

Time: 28:05 Rx

This is the first time I've ever done this Rx. My hands are a little sore, but I use some pull-up grips to keep from getting too bloody on the bar. I don't really know how to feel about this since I've never done it un-scaled, but at least it gives me something to beat.

WOD 2009/11/16

2009-11-16T19:25:00.000-08:00

WARM-UP:
400 m Run
40 Lunges
200 Single-unders
100 Jumping Jacks
10 Lunges

WOD:
500 m Row
40 Squats
30 Abmat sit-ups
20 Push-ups
10 Pull-ups

Scores will be grouped into a category below:

Spartan M=4:29 or less W=5:34 or less (no mods allowed)

Warrior M=4:30-5:14 W=5:35-6:29 (no mods allowed)

Fighter M 5:15-6:14 W=6:30-7:29 (mods allowed)

Scrapper: M=6:15+ W= 7:30+ (mods allowed)

My time: 5:09 Rx

I was shaking for about twenty minutes after this. My row was 1:56, which is more than I normally do for a 500, but considering I've been inconsistent in my WODs for a while now I think I did OK.

I'm getting a post together about the Nutrition Cert., so look for that soon!

Getting ready for tomorrow.

2009-11-14T18:18:00.000-08:00

I have had a last week of mega binge before the CrossFit Nutrition Certification with Robb Wolf tomorrow. I am using the whole "too tired/busy to cook excuse," but I admit it's an excuse. I am so excited! Nutrition is what started me on the path to fitness and eventually CrossFit.