Nathan

Yesterday my friend Nathan passed away. After a year and a half of fighting leukemia and then subsequent complications and side effects, his body finally had enough. He was going to turn 26 years old tomorrow.

This isn't going to be a terribly emotional post. For one, I am not naturally that way. And for two, Nathan wouldn't have wanted it that way either, which is the most important reason.

We had an interesting friendship. We lived in the same dorm in college. We took existential philosophy together. We skipped an entire week of our sophomore year along with another friend to embark on a road trip to New Mexico. We pierced our eyebrows at the same time. It is those things that I will most remember.

I told him I was going to drag him to CrossFit when he was better, because anyone that could kick cancer in the face was a prime candidate to fight through a WOD.

If you would send thoughts and prayers to his wife and my good friend, Renee, it would be awesome.

Cherish life, peeps. And I'll see you later, Nathan.

You win some, you lose some.

I believe this is Kristin A's phrase. If I kept a tally this week, I think I've lost more than I've won. This is why I don't keep count.

Exhibit A: CrossFit. I owned some double unders on Tuesday. Wednesday, I failed at Fran.* Thursday, I push jerked 115lb for a 3 rep max. I'm scared to go today.

But things have been frustrating so far. I was set to tape my assessment video for RPM, one of the classes I teach at Ozark Fitness. My plan was to tape my 10:15 class this morning. Well...that was thwarted as cooperation between myself and the DVD recorder blew up in a huge fail of a project.

Am I surprised? Hell to the no. It's just frustrating is all. But it is what it is.

I think I am mostly saddest about the celebration I was going to throw myself after I dropped the vid in the mail. It was going to either involve Lululemon or moon pies. Or both. Yowza.

*If a 2:30 add-on to a previous PR doesn't qualify as a Fran fail, I don't know what does.

Eat or get eaten.

This weekend while friends were doing things such as getting Level 1 CrossFit Certified or training for BODYATTACK, I took on a much more daunting challenge. One that involved a true battle of perseverance and grit. Blood, sweat, and tears. A mental challenge of epic proportions. The 50 McNugget Challenge.

I'm pretty sure it started off as a joke a long time ago, but after trading jabs back and forth, my competition and I decided to throw it down this past Saturday night.

Ground Rules:

1. Both participants purchase 50 McNuggets.

2. Winner is the eater who puts them away the fastest.

3. Loser reimburses winner for their McNuggets.

4. Once a winner has been determined, if the loser still has remaining nuggets and voluntarily quits before finishing, there is a $30 penalty.

Are you thoroughly disgusted yet?

I'll spare the details, but I did walk away victorious. 32:15. Rx, if you will. It was a hard battle, and I am not proud of what I did to my body, but it was well worth the victory. And my competition? He did put up a good fight.

In other news, Lo Bosworth was in STL last night for a book signing. Where was I? Oh yes. In Springfield with my face in a textbook. This grad school thing is starting to get boring. I do realize that my last post was chock-full of PMA, but today I'm just crabby. The amount of reading I've been assigned is so huge that 3 hours of careful concentration barely makes a dent. Screw that. I'd rather be watching reruns of The Hills.

What can I talk about that is positive? I am going to take the online Jeopardy quiz on February 8th. This is positive, but also anxiety-invoking. If I don't move onto the next round, my lifelong dream of becoming a Jeopardy champion will be thwarted, and I'll have to find a new dream. Golly. That is depressing.

Wait. My Lulu shipment is being delivered today. Positivity abounds.

In life, I choose Lulu.

I've been using the Crest 3D white toothpaste. Really I like the design of the tube, and I am a sucker for sleek marketing. And I like the commercials with the girl who is about to date a dentist. Sold. As a plus, I think it really is giving me whiter teeth. So there.

Another week down in the books of graduate school. I complain a lot, but I really can't believe it's going so quickly. This is terrifying for a few reasons, but the biggest is that I fear I'll graduate with a fancy degree and have not the first clue on what I actually studied. This is a legitimate fear. In a year, I'll be job hunting. Eff.

Anyway, today I interviewed the Greene County Budget Officer for my Financial Management class. Riveting. No, in all actuality it was neat, and I do find the budgetary process fascinating. You want money? No way, Jose. YOU want money? Okay. I'm sure there is slightly more to that, but I like the general idea. They are looking for someone to do sales tax analysis. Since I have to be a lowly intern somewhere this summer, I may as well do something I think is neat.

Yes, I just said sales tax analysis is neat.

You know what else is neat? Indentations on your forearms leftover from Turkish get ups and one-arm snatches. 21-15-9 of those plus KB swings and goblet squats leave you with plenty o' bruises. But I don't mind.

I also took myself off Lulu probation last night and purchased some things. I saved a ton of money by returning my textbooks to the MSU "Screw You" Bookstore and buying them on Amazon. So I don't feel guilty at all. I can give the school my monies, or I can wear it in the form of awesome workout swag. I choose Lulu.

In life, I choose Lulu.

I just realized that I got excited while watching an AIDS documentary for my Epidemiology class today. Two positive thoughts regarding grad school in one day. Look out, world.

Bye.

Big-headed trombone players

I seem to have recovered from my horrible first week of school. Seriously. Last week was one for the record books. But it is what it is. And now I'm moving forward.

I had a pretty good weekend. I took some time to regroup and focus on the upcoming semester. Now that I have a good grasp on all my academic obligations, I can just start attacking them. With gusto even. And I also took time out to hit up Maria's on Saturday with some CrossFit girls. That was a good time. Really I should know by now that it is always a good time. But it never fails that a few good friends have to almost drag me there. Good thing they are so strong. I did make a fun new friend, Ellen, who is featured in the photo to the left. We have lots of things in common. For one, we both have large heads. And we used to play the trombone. That was good enough on Saturday. Oh, and we both are funny. And we are CrossFitters. And we are veterinarians. Oh wait. That must just be Ellen.

I did today's WOD at the grand old time of 4p. It sort of blows my mind that there are now EIGHT scheduled group WODs on MWF, not counting row class or advanced WOD. Bizarre. Anyway, it was a good one that actually combined movements that I happen to love.

With a 30 minute time limit, perform 21-15-9 of:

Power snatch 95/65

OHS 95/65

Run 400m

Then establish a 1RM deadlift.

I finished the conditioning WOD in 17:28 rx and was pretty darn happy with that. My back wasn't feeling that great post-workout, but I took time to catch my breath as I loaded up my bar. I then picked up 155. Why? I have no idea. Then 185. Then 205, which matched my previous PR. Then I decided to go for 215. It was ugly. Really ugly. But it was a legit rep. So a 10lb PR for Amber. Holla!

I'm just trying to hang with the beasts at CFS. It is a hard job.

The Case of the Missing Keys

As if there were any doubt (I certainly didn't have any), my first day back in the saddle was a rousing success. I managed to

• Freak out and shut down re: Spring 2011
• Lock my keys in my car
• Miss my beloved CrossFit WOD

I suppose I should be thankful here that I'm not completely accident prone. I haven't locked my keys in my car for at least a year. And I rarely get so overwhelmed that I just shut down. I'll react, compose myself, and then put together a plan of attack. I am the epitome of a Type A personality. That said, I rarely miss scheduled workouts. But it didn't really happen like that yesterday. I think just the combination of all these things worked together like an effing domino effect and pushed me down on the ground.

And then stepped on me with dirty snow boots.

But I'm happy to announce that today I woke up on the right side of the bed. Despite the disgusting snow. Despite the ridiculous frigid temps. Despite the fact that this deathly semester still looms ahead.

Doy. I'm still me. Last night's sleep did not produce a miracle.

I think I need to take myself off Lulu probation and go shopping.

I said never again. But here we are.

I thought I bought the winning lottery ticket yesterday, but it turns out I was wrong. Oh well. Lots of people don't win the lottery the first few thousand times they play.

Tomorrow's CFS wod looks pretty rockin'. Clean and jerks and KB swings. Loads of your choice. I always feel those are a cruel gift given by J Man to the unsuspecting, but I think I've got a pretty good game plan in mind. Clean and jerks are my current fave lift. This changes weekly and is determined by how awesomely/crappily I performed at said lift during a previously given workout. Since I've successfully been busting out heavy c&j's lately, it is safe to say I love 'em.

Ask me again tomorrow.

School also starts tomorrow. Gross. I mean, YES. Bring it, grad school gods.

Game On

I'd like to dedicate this post to two workouts that have killed me the past two days. The first was yesterday's CrossFit Springfield WOD:

**Perform as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

10 KB swings 55/35lb

20 steps walking OH lunges, 45/25lb

**At the top of minutes 0-9, perform 3 snatches 115/75lb

**At the top of minutes 10-19, perform 5 burpee deadlifts

I used a 65lb bar and was having a grand old time (read: wanted to curl up and die) until minute 16 when I dropped the weight on my shin. Holy mother of all, it hurt. I'm pretty sure the bar just rolled down my shinbone, because I now have a 5-inch streak running down the tibia. I tried to finish the last 4 minutes of the WOD, but I couldn't even move my leg. So I hobbled over to the freezer and got ice and laid on the couch.

A DNF on my first WOD of the year. Pretty much that's how I roll.

Today I decided to prep for the OFC launches by riding RPM 49, which we will unleash at the end of the month. Physically demanding does not even begin to describe that 45-minute sweat fest. I felt sick.

Actually I still feel sick. Huh.

Being healthy is a lot of work. I enjoy it 95.6% of the time. But sometimes I just want the cake. Then I remember why I do it. How it makes me feel awesome and rejuvenated. And sometimes I still eat the cake.

That is also how I roll.

I've been thinking about some CrossFit goals for the new year. In 2010, I mastered ring dips, handstand push ups, chest-to-bar pull ups, and consecutive double unders. For Twenty Eleven, I'm thinking overall mental strength...aaaand muscle ups. There I said it. Muscle ups.

So those are the CF goals. The other stuff I'll have to keep thinking on. So stay tuned, peeps. I'm out.