shhh... don't tell.

This photo is O-L-D. I can't remember when this was taken. Maybe sometime in 2006? Anyway, I just wanted to say hello to James, who has been kind enough to, on occasion, allow me to sneak it in the KravFit folks. Also pictured here is the Amazing Caroline Barnes (ACB). I miss this lady so much! She's such a kick ass kind of gal and sometimes you just need that in your life:) She needs to move out of Dublin and back to Fremont so she can train with us again.

Warm-up
Stretching
Row 500 meters

CrossFit One World WOD
Back Squat

1/1/1/1/1/1/1

63/83/103/123/133/143/163 (fail)/163

Joanne's Final Time - N/A

Notes (to myself) about this workout: Oh Olympic weightlifting class, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... Seriously. So in looking back in the archives, the most I've ever lifted on a back squat is 135#. I remember that day. It was a total struggle. Going in to class today, I thought my max was somewhere in the 80# range. I thought, "If I can top 100#, I'm good!"

Well, I'm happy to announce that I did 163# in today's class. Yeah. You heard that right. I basically back squatted the last guy I dated. (Okay. That sounded wrong. Please remove all dirty references that happen to be floating in your head. Thanks.) I want to give special thanks to Cheryl T. and Jason K. for guiding me through the lift. I also want to thank John for helping get the bar back on the rack! As someone who doesn't mind going a little light on the weights, it's great to have coaches who have a better sense of what you can do. That way, they can let you know when you're being a wuss. (Yeah Jason K. You. I'm talkin' to YOU!)

Here are a few things Jason K. was doing... First off, he told me to stop using the 10# and 15# plates because I could lift way more than that. From there, he cleared my bar and then loaded my 33# bar with 2-55#plates (so we're talkin' 143#). Jason K's point was that I needed to load in larger increments and that I needed to see the larger bumpers on my bar to give me a better sense of how much I could (and should) lift. 143# was a little tough, but instead of adding ten pounds to the next lift, I opted for 20#. I failed my first attempt at 163# because I got into my head. (Truth: Cheryl T. scared me because she's so kick ass. I didn't want to f--k up in front of her and I did. Bad Joanne!) I waited a few minutes and did 163#. Not wanting to leave on a bad note, I stopped there. (By the way, I LOVE squats. I LOVE them as much as I love kettlebells. Seriously. Those are two of my favorite CrossFit moves.)

Shh... Don't tell. I will say that I agree with Cheryl T. when she told me that I had way more in me (Um. I'm going to have to give the weightlifting shoes some thought.). When I left this morning, I realized that she's right. I think Jason K. would also agree. I just kept it on the conservative side because... I don't know. CrossFit is a process and I'm slowly, s-l-o-w-l-y learning that when you can't see what you're made of, you have to trust the company of others who let you know that you've got more in you. That isn't just a CrossFit thing for me. It's a life thing - especially with the dissertation writing. I've been afraid to let go and just write because I'm afraid of fucking up. Even more so, I'm afraid to find out what I'm really made of. It sounds stupid. But it is what it is.

On a less serious note, do you know what the best thing is about Jason's class?! Watching Will B. doing the "white boy dance" complete with overbite and sprinkler action. Now you want to go to class, don't you?!