Sunday, July 13, 2008

Toronto World kb meet

The World meet was postponed until sometime next year. I'm disappointed as I heard rumor that probably the best overall woman kb lifter in the world might be on the platform.  Most likely I will never be able to afford overseas travel to see her, so the chance that she might be so close to home was a treat. Sort of like watching Ed Koan lift when he was competing - both of these folks are so outlandishly good at what they did/do that you can't help but be inspired and amazed. I will butcher her name too badly to post it now, but if I can find her name and the video/pictures of her I will post them. 

Anyway, I will continue snatching with the 20k bell, although at a much more relaxed pace than I have been. No more pushing for 10 minutes, just technique work and maintaining the pace. I'll probably continue six  minute sets at a 15 rpm pace until it doesn't stress my hands so much and I will try to move into doing them everyday rather than every other day. When I fatigue I miss that "index catch" and grab the bell with my whole hand. As soon as that happens my set will fail early due to hand/grip issues. 

No left hand jerks until my shoulder feels OK again and the forearm bone bruising doesn't cause me so much agony.  Jerking the bell isn't the problem; it's bringing it back down. I don't know what is going wrong, but the bruising and skin tears where the delt and bicep meet are making me believe  I'm not dropping the bell properly. The right side always has a red mark from the bell when finished but the left is bruised, scraped and occasionally bloody. I've taken video but still have no idea what is happening differently.  That makes now now a good time to take a break, review and heal. 

It's all or nothing

If the Medflight dispatch position is offered to me I will turn it down.  No safety net or waffling allowed.  I do my best and stress the least when I have a clear path in front of me.  Just grab that brass ring and hang on tight!

Too many times I have held back due to the fear of change. Too many regrets and "What would have happened ifs?" in my life. What if I had pursued my dream of owning a gym? Or focused on my art? Or become a tattoo artist or the motorcycle mechanic I fancied? Or what if I could have put aside my pride and anger so I could have spent time with my father before he died? This decision is not going to be another "non-decision" as in my past.  This is a dream job come true - here is my chance to live it!


Sunday, July 6, 2008

The first blog post July 6, 2008

This blog will be a reflection of whatever is going on in my life at the time. No common theme in mind - it could be about a workout, my feline friends, my artwork, whatever.

The big thing in my life right now is my impending job change. I've been employed as a police/911 dispatcher for six months shy of 20 years. The job is stressful, unappreciated, dead end and very underpaid but it is stable work. Police and emergency services will always be needed. Now I'm planning to give my two weeks notice this week to pursue a fulltime position in the fitness industry. It certainly doesn't have the same feeling of stability that the 911 position has but it is exciting, makes use of my talents, and has the potential for very good pay and my pay will reflect my level of effort. So I'm excited, scared and chomping at the bit to be free and give it go.

There is still the part of me that wants some stability, so I interviewed for a half time job as a Medflight dispatcher with the UW Hospital. The interview went very well; I believe a stand a good chance of being offered the job. It's two 12 hour shifts per week with rotating hours and days off and fulltime health benefits. Not bad as the fitness job allows me to set my own hours so it will not matter what days or shifts I work. (I'm used to working weekends, holidays and rotating shifts now so this is old hat for me).

On a slightly different front, Mom suffered a ministroke last week in her sleep. She went to bed with good vision in one eye and half vision in the other and woke up nearly blind the next morning. I've driven her to several specialists and the diagnosis is that the new blindness is permanent. There is damage to the optic nerve of her good eye and a laser surgery performed years ago had already removed most of the vision from the other eye. This is another reason I am so compelled to work from home and being able to create my own hours. Mom now needs someone to assist her with errands and daily things. It's a good thing I live right across the street from her. My brother is moving to Colorado and will not be able to help.

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Today's CrossFit WOD was 30 squat cleans and jerks with 100# for women. I am both embarrassed and slightly pleased with my performance - 11:57. I'm so bad at the O-lifts that 100# C&J is almost my single rep max. I had to treat this WOD as a series of singles and did all of them ass to ankles depth on the catch and with honest jerks (not push presses) held fully overhead. I'm pleased that I was able to finish the WOD in under 15 minutes.

I will find an Olympic lifting coach after the World KB competition in Toronto to help me fix this problem.