First Day

August 28, 2012

If you couldn’t tell by the oodles of pictures of children being forced to stand against the wall or at the bus stop to take pictures, or the massive amounts of traffic and yellow buses carting children all over the town… today is the first day of school for many kids is MA and NH. I can remember the back to school ritual my mom had with us kids growing up. Every year she would take us to Bradlees for back to school shopping. We were able to pick out a few outfits and some new shoes… all of which was put on lay-a-way until the week that school started. First day of school usually meant first week of dance too so after school shopping we would hit up Pattersons in Burlington for some new tap shoes, new jazz shoes (character shoes too if I needed them) and a few new pairs of tights. My brother would get some new sneakers for basketball… and we were all set for our school year to begin.

Something about the first day of school is so exciting. The crisp new white sneakers and the smell of brand new clothes that you just clipped the tags off of. Not that I realized it than, but thinking of it now, its like a whole new beginning. You could really think about the start of the new school year as “New Years Day” in many instances. You can put the last year of school behind you, you can saddle up and study hard (not that I knew what that was all about) and you could go out for a sports team that you have always wanted to try and never did. Sure, most of the kids are the same each year, but hey… if you celebrate NYE with that same mentality you usually have the same people in your lives on January 1. Its easy to think now how much I should have embraced each year as a fresh start, but there is no going back only moving forward.

Really, the first of “anything” is pretty exciting. Its all in the way you want to go at it that determines the outcome. The first day of school as a kindergartener (which of course is much scarier for the parent than it is for the child), the first day at a new school, or at college… Your first ride on a bike with no training wheels, your first rollercoaster or ride in an airplane to go on vacation… Even your first day at a new job, your first night in your new home, the first day you spend as a wife or husband... all times in your life that you get that flip upside-down stomach feeling that you are excited, scared, happy, nervous… all at the same time. In most cases it almost feels like the slate is wiped clean and you can look at things from a new angle.

There have been lots of “noobs” (this is what we call new people at my work) at CFW lately. It is so exciting to watch them come into the gym and start their CrossFit chapter. The excitement when someone tries something for the first time and accomplishes it, or just the pure joy of finishing a workout that they thought they would “never get through.” I have totally been there. I WAS totally there. Before I reached the “I know I can do it” phase I spent many of moments thinking… “oh god, how will I make it thought this workout!” I remember that day, and have talked about it recently, where Hubs and I stood next to K as she demoed the first WOD for us, like it was yesterday. We had our trusty sneakers (not new but “old sneakers” don’t make for a very good story), new water bottles, a positive open attitude and we were ready to go. We made the decision that day to enter into CrossFit with a mindset that we weren’t going to give up. This wasn’t just another weight training routine or phase we were going through… this was it.

It was the first day… it was the first day of our new life.

Take it for what its worth. Embrace the challenge. Make the sacrifices that you need to make. If you want to accomplish something… if you start something new… the next time you have a “first day…”  stick to it. Make the commitment and you will be a much happier person. You owe it to yourself to have a new beginning any time you want. Make some choices, make some changes. You never know, the choice you make may change your life forever. 

Todays WOD was so much fun! Loved having a team WOD during the week and loved all the new faces at the 5:30am class! Keep working hard everyone!! 

WARMUP:

2 Minutes of Double Unders

3 Rounds

- 10 Lunges

- 5 Burpees

- 10 Inchworms

- 5 Med Ball Cleans

- 10 Shoulder Dislocates

Group: Push Jerk & KB Swing Review

WOD: Moving Day

Relay with a team of 3 (Me, JM and KP)

(2nd team member couldnt start until the one in front of them started the row)

- 10 Push Jerks (95lbs)

- 15 KB Swings (1pd)

- 20 Cal Row

(19:33 Rx)

SKILL/STRENGTH:

I worked on some HSPU... 

Got 3 in a row from 1 abmat... getting there! 

Challenge Day 9

Post WOD: Shake

Breakfast: 1oz Pumpkin Seeds, 2 Egg Muffins, 2 Sweet Potato Muffins, 12 oz Green Tea
Snack 1: 2oz Boars Head Nitrate Free Ham, 1/2 Avocado, 1 Tomato, 12 oz Green Tea
Lunch: 3 oz Chicken and Brussel Sprouts and 1/3 cup of Coconut Milk
Break: 12 oz Green Tea
Dinner: 3 oz Ground Beef and Butternut Squash, 1 Sweet Potato Muffin
Snack 2: 1 Sweet Potato Muffin

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