Gobble gobble.

Turkey Day 2010 has come and gone. I love the holidays in general, but I had an especially awesome 5 days this time around. My brother and his fiance came over to my parents and we all ate delicious food. Yum! Then on Friday I had a movie date with my mom and we watched Toy Story 3 and Christmas with the Kranks. CwtK is an old reliable. We break out that puppy every year. Because it's awesome. And we threw in Toy Story 3 just for good measure. Although, I have to say, that movie is the saddest thing ever. They expect children to enjoy it? I was bawling like a baby. Something about growing up and leaving your beloved toy friends is just too much for my brain. Good grief.

Saturday I finished up LOST season 6 with my pops. We had watched 14 episodes in one day earlier this fall, and we needed to finish up. Then yesterday my mom and I traveled to see one of her friends direct some good old-fashioned community theatre. Then I watched Jewel Staite in a Hallmark holiday movie. Some Christmas ham is a-okay in my book.

See why I had such a good break? Note also the non-existent mention of grad school. Or homework. Cue the hallelujah chorus.

I'm pretty much on the downhill slope from here on out. I have 3 finals and a stats research project standing between me and my first completed semester of grad school. Boy, oh boy.

So that's what's been going on. Oh, and I caught up on all my television I missed. Whew. That was stressing me out more than anything combined.

And that's how Sue C's it.

Grit

What a weekend. The Heart of America CrossFit Affiliate Challenge came and went. I knew going into it that it would be memorable, exhausting, and amazing. But I think I underestimated how rejuvenated and inspired I would walk away from it all. Yes, it was physically some of the hardest stuff I've ever had to do. But more than that, I saw pure grit and determination from not only my teammates and myself, but from every single athlete out there competing, especially my comrades from CrossFit Springfield. It is that drive, that will to finish what you came out to do, and to lay it all on the line that is the very essence of CrossFit. That is so much of what I love. I have done things that I never thought possible, that I would never have dreamed I could do. And I have met so many amazing life-changing people because of it. It isn't about how much weight you lift or how fast you move, but it is about channeling what is deep inside a person that is so admirable and amazing to me. I strive every day to be half as inspiring as some of the people I saw this weekend.

That would be totally sappy if I weren't talking about some of the most bad-a people around. Seriously. How many people can push and pull a prowler sled, load up a crap ton of weight in a wheelbarrow and push it, and then do a buddy carry? Buddy carry. I kid you not. But it's all over. And now we look to next year.

Until then, I'll be chewing Advil and bathing in Biofreeze.

Hiatus apparently.

You know how they say that you really can't do it all? That something's gotta give? I suppose for me, it's my commitment to blogging that gets pushed aside. But here I am, sparing a few hurried minutes to update the masses. Or rather, the 2 peeps that read my ramblings.

I survived RPM training this past weekend. What an experience. My second Les Mills program...it still blows my mind if I stop and think about how drastically my life has changed in the past year. To summarize: I had an awesome time. I have lofty new goals to get where I want and need to be. The Race of Truth nearly killed me. Sitting on a bike all weekend makes for one very sore rear. And I owe my life to my 2:1:1 recovery drink.

It was nice to throw grad school to the wayside for the weekend, but now I'm back in it. Fully immersed. I managed to throw together my lit review before I left for the training. So now this week is devoted to my research paper for my public personnel management class. Let me tell you how excited I am about this paper.

That much. Zero.

Anyway, since I have the Heart of America competition in 5 days, I'll be hitting good ol' I-44 for the second weekend in a row. What does this mean? No sleep. Good golly, Miss Molly. I've already given up TV. That alone is killing me. I have a list a mile long of every episode I need to catch up on. It's awful. That is the only word for it. Awful.

If I live to see Thanksgiving, I will have this semester in the bag. For the love of turkey, please let me survive.

She Runs She Walks She Rides She Rocks

I found that saying on a shirt while picking up my race packet yesterday. I loved it. And I now own the shirt. I suppose I'll really have to become a cyclist and get my rear on a bike outdoors to be legit. Soon, grasshopper. Maybe I will count my pennies and see if they equal up to the monies I need to make the purchase. (I'm pretty sure they don't.)

So I ran the Bass Pro half marathon this morning. I just registered for it earlier this week. I was supposed to run 12 miles anyway in preparation for Houston marathon training, so it worked out well. I had a great time! I love that race. The course was different this year, and we ran downtown and through the Missouri State campus, and then a little on the Greenways. Since it was a training run, I didn't care so much about giving it everything I had. Finishing the distance was the goal. But I did run at a surprisingly good clip for a training run, and I finished in about 2:02 unofficially. After today, I'm really excited about Houston. The distance running community is so awesome. It sounds weird, I know, but it's true. I teared up watching coverage of the NYC marathon today. So awesome to watch. And Shalane Flanagan? She's my new(est) hero. Yay runners!

As for my legs, they feel great. I chugged my miracle-working recovery drink post-race, followed by some chocolate chip pancakes, and I feel good as new. Holla!

Bye for now.

I'm chill(y).

Brrr. What's with the freeze out, Mother Nature? Generally, I am a huge fan of a brisk morning, but not when my vehicle dashboard starts telling me that ice is possible. There's been no ice that I've seen, but I feel it coming. I am a human barometer.

Barometers measure atmospheric pressure, correct? I have no idea if that is in any way relevant to ice. I should ask Al Roker.

Obviously it's 7p on a Friday evening, so obviously I am blogging. Which obviously means I'm supposed to be doing something else but I don't want to. Obviously.

After I put in my time at the GA office this morning, I got to have some mother-daughter time. It was nice. We went to Orange Leaf so I could indulge in some pumpkin pie yogurt heaven. Then we went shopping for office supplies. We Ennises live it up. But it really was nice. I'm glad that my parents are close to me. Even if I don't see them for two weeks, I know they're there. And I guess they're finally laying down some roots in good ol' southwest MO, because they just bought a house a few miles north of town. So that'll be nice. I'm happy.

Other items that are making me happy as of late: tamari-roasted pumpkin seeds, fleece pants, and my scuba hoodie

Over and out.

I love a bargain.

This past Sunday my mom brought over a magazine she bought solely because it advertised $70 worth of coupons. The magazine cost $3, so it's a deal pretty much any way you look at it. Anyway, I took some of the coupons and last night I went and took advantage of it all. I only bought the stuff I'd use anyway, else it kind of defeats the purpose of saving money. But GEEZ, I had so much fun. I saved $11, and I still have some more I didn't get to use. It was delightful. I love saving money, because then I don't feel [that] bad for dropping a small fortune on a Lululemon collection. Totally different post right there.

Yesterday I proctored an exam and as a result, I'm home with a stack of blue books to the ceiling and a much higher propensity to blog, cut coupons, and drink my weight in coffee. So, I'm still stressed in case you were wondering.

I went to CrossFit last night, and for some reason, it just wasn't my day. We had 30 minutes to reach a 5 rep max on both front squat and push press. I got 105 on front squat and 85 on push press, both of which I've gotten more on before. It's totally a mental game, and when you show up not ready to play, you're screwed. Afterward, we did a shorter thruster workout, a sort of "pick your poison."

100 thrusters 30lb

or

85 thrusters 45lb

or

70 thrusters 65lb

or

55 thrusters 75lb

or

40 thrusters 85lb

I chose 55 @ 75lb. 6:58. Not great, not awful. Again, it is what it is. Tomorrow is a new day.

Back to grading. See you in a year.

I'm not funny anymore.

I'm alive. I survived Halloween. Gross. The worst holiday ever. I don't know why I hate it so much. Maybe because it still scares the crap out of me, even at the ripe old age of 25. I'm shuddering. You can't see it, but I am.

I'm a blur. From school to the gym to home I go. I'm a car, fueled by delicious coffee. Maybe I am a hybrid. Probably not. I'm not trendy enough to pull that off. School is still burying me alive. However, the big Ozark Fitness launch is over. Thank the Lord. It was a huge success and a lot of fun, but good grief, I was wrecked. Especially after reading and writing papers like a madwoman last week. I actually pulled an all-nighter. Somehow those were a lot more doable in undergrad when I was 18. I have 2 more papers to write, two presentations to give, a stack of blue books to grade, and a myriad of side readings to do before I see Thanksgiving. Oh, and run a half marathon, get trained in RPM, and go compete for Team BAMF at the Heart of America CrossFit challenge. Ambitious, much?

I just realized I didn't eat one piece of Halloween candy this year. Seriously? Oh well. I had a giant bowl of Orange Leaf yesterday. One of my secret life goals is to see how much Orange Leaf I can fit in one bowl. And then eat it.

I wore my purple bandana last Friday to a team wod. I guess you could say I dressed up as Miranda Oldroyd for Halloween. It kind of helped. I finished the wod. And was subsequently sore to the touch for 3 days afterward. Recap: Sandy is heavy. 95lb is heavy. I suck at pistol squats.

I think there was a day I used to be funny. Unfortunately, that day is gone.