Saturday, March 21, 2015

Better Coaching, Burned Burgers, Comfy Couches, And an Adventure

Tonight is pretty simple. I'm propping my feet up (a new habit of mine whenever I get a chance) and lamenting my terrible burger making skills...From the skillet to the microwave and still not done right. Adding this to the list of things I need My Sailor home for. (Sigh) Ah well, at last I have "Finding Neverland" (a remarkable movie... which has since been turned into a musical... which is kind of odd since it's about the writing for Peter Pan, the play, to begin with...) on Netflix to keep me company. Movies about writers always make me think big thoughts.

I hear that kids change your life - and I'm not writing with any attempt to dispute that. Of course, in my opinion, just about everything changes your life in one way or another. From the weather to the passing of time, everything changes life. So big changes of course influence our perspective more than others. And there have been a lot of good, big changes at our house (growing belly aside). From the hard-won success of Earn Awesome Training, to my personal competition goals, to My Sailor looking into Shore Duty and College, 2015 is a HUGE year for us. But one thing pregnancy (as a medical condition) has undeniably done, is changed my perspective on competition. Instead of the once-borderline-destructive-self-imposed ideas I had about competition, I've learned to embrace the 'fun' of it all. I hear lots of unhealthy views on the Crossfit Open... and here I sit, eagerly awaiting the sale of regionals tickets so I can go watch the elite athletes do their thing. As for the Open itself? Maybe that will be my 'come back' next year. For now, I am saddened to hear how it's being treated. The Crossfit community is usually amazing, but the Open brings out the best in athletic performance, and the worst in attitude in some folks. Honestly, my lesson in this really started sinking in last summer during Strongman... but it's really carried over and became part of my life once The Bean has made me learn to stop and smell the roses, and spend a good deal more time with my feet up.
400lb tire flip over the finish line, August 2014
Having amazing clients helps drive it home to. Everyone really pushes and reaches. Whether they are learning a new skill, fine tuning a known one, reaching for PRs, destroying some body fat, or preventing injuries, they are constantly remind me that it's the big picture that matters. When I get impatient that the weight isn't going up quite the way I'd hoped, it seems that same day, I get a new client who is wondering how this whole Strength Training thing I do works... and I get to break out these...




Progress photos March 2013, May 2013, and April 2014
And I'm reminded of the big picture. I'm reminded of where I started - and how much fun I've had along the way. Even though I still push myself (with a well measured shove), I wish I'd had figured out this perspective a little bit earlier in life. No doubt it would have served me well in the theater world as well. But that's the past. I'm grateful for the lessons learned. Time is an excellent teacher - and continues to make me a better coach with every new experience, bit of research, client/athlete I come into contact with. I considered a lot  of the possibilities when I learned I was pregnant. None of them included making me a better Coach... but oddly enough, I think it has.
Disneyland, Jan 2013, Waiting on our Adoption...
And even though My Sailor has missed a few competitions here and there, he's still my biggest fan. Though getting married again after having been divorced was probably the scariest thing I'd ever done, it isn't a decision I've regretting for a minute.  We're not perfect. We have our gripes about each other here and there, but when it all comes down to it, he's seen the good, the bad, and the ugly for the last 15+ years. Granted, a good chunk of that was from a distance, but all along, he's really seen me for who (and what) I am - and that's a rare quality in a person.  He makes it easier to be me. Even from 20,000 Leagues under the Sea - I get a message like. "I am so proud of you for keeping up with everything and not using your pregnancy as a crutch.  This is why you are such an amazing woman and partly why I married you.  Because you don't let life hold you back."

From my comfy perch on the couch, with my feet on the table, and 2 dogs snoring to a degree that would make any old man proud, I'm still living the great adventure. It may not be an adventure I planned on going on, but often times -  those are the best ones.




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