I'm still here!  It's been ages since I have checked in here.  And both nothing, and everything, has changed! 

I'm still fighting the battle. I'm still improving.  I'll try to recap.

I've been at Crossfit Post Falls for coming up on three years already.  I just hit a new one rep max on several lifts, I've improved my deadlift, and I've been hitting PR's on some of the WOD's.  I'm still frustrated at not being able to do pull ups, but I also haven't really been working hard on them.  I'm able to consistently do 6 double unders in a row, and have set a goal of being able to do 20 in a row before the end of the year. 

I am battling a shoulder "injury".  I'm not at all sure what I've done, and I actually believe it stems from sleeping on it somehow.  It seems to be improved with some mobility exercises and plenty of fish oil, but it's stubbornly persistent.  At the time it's keeping me from some of the things I want to improve.  Snatch's are difficult with shoulder pain, as well as pull ups, and oddly enough double unders really bother it!  Even overhead squats were too much to handle recently, and those are my favorite.

I've signed up for a Wellness Program through Crossfit Post Falls.  I'm getting some very specific help for my goals.  And daily meal planning.  The meal planning is worth signing up.  It is saving me from trying to figure out what I need and I'm supported.  The meal plans are changing and evolving depending on what seems to be working.  But meal planning isn't all there is to the Wellness Program.  The other part I love is added accessory work.  I'm given specific things to work on before or after class.  These are not random things that are chosen for everyone, these are accessory work that is designed to help me reach my goals.  For awhile we were just working on shoulder mobility, but it has evolved into other things.  Last week, I was introduced to rowing intervals.  And I *love* them.  They totally burn me out, but it feels like it goes so fast and gives me a mini goal for each interval.  This week, I'm adding in a run.  Just a little 400 meter run.  But it's a run that I have been unable to make myself do without walking.  At this point, I believe that to be all in my head. I'm sure I can run that far and this week, I'll prove it to myself.

I signed up for the Crossfit Open again.  I had hoped to do at least on of the WOD's Rx, but I did end up scaling all of them.  There wasn't a single one that had all moves or weights that I could do without scaling.  I could have done parts of most of them Rx, but that wouldn't have helped my team.  Our gym divided into teams for some fun intramural competitions.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to help my team a lot with the points for placing, but I was able to provide team Spirit, and our team took first place, partly because of the spirit points.  I do have some baselines in Open WOD's now and will only improve.

In May, I did a Spartan Sprint.  It was both the hardest thing I've ever done in my life and the most rewarding.  I really should do a full post on that race.  My oldest son joined my team and really pulled me through it.  I couldn't have finished without my team, and Nathan specifically.  He was simply amazing.  And he showed me some of my own potential.  I won't be signing up for another one of those until I'm able to do more of the obstacles without the help of my teammates.  But I will eventually do another one.  Perhaps I'll even aim for the trifecta and get all three of the Spartan races in one season.  But not quite yet.

This weekend I did a 5k mud run, called the Dirty Dash.  I had signed up in January with a friend.  That friend wasn't able to attend it after all, so I spent the last week and a half talking myself into doing it alone.  I did end up talking a gym friend (and Spartan teammate) into joining me, so I wasn't alone.  I ran quite a lot of that race.  I even surprised myself with how much running I was able to do.  (which makes me think the 400 meters is totally doable).  There was a big water slide at the 2 mile mark.  The pumps had stopped working, so we had to stand and wait.  The weather was chilly, it never hit 70 that morning.  Standing and waiting for the pumps to work, then sliding down in the cold water put an end to my running.  I got cold and it really affected my endurance.  It was pretty fun to reach the finish line on this course as well.  I was able to do all the obstacles (except the walls) all by myself with little fear.  I'm excited to do this one with the boys next year.

I'm feeling confident again.  I'm in a great place in my training and my eating.  I'm excited about all that this life has to offer. 
Make it a good one!!