So, it's been over two months since I last blogged. As the Bastards know, I missed my fourth qualifying attempt by about a minute. A lot has happened in these last two months, I'll dedicate a separate post to GORUCK a truly memorable event, but first a final catch-up and I'll be back to blogging weekly.
Last stop, July 10th... 32% body fat and super slow, but finally sugar free. Since I didn't know what was causing the problem, I chatted with friends and opted to keep doing what I was doing and see where I stood the next month. I had my body fat tested on August 8th by the same friend who had been testing it for the last two months and to both of our dismay, there had been ZERO movement... it was still 32%. That meant everything I thought I was doing right was still wrong and I needed to take a serious look at exactly what I was doing to cause such chronic self-sabotage in my results. When I mentioned the latest update to Eric, he kindly kept his opinion to himself, but later that day I was tagged in a Facebook post of one of his associates. It was enough to send me completely over the top and I highly recommend each and every one of you reading my blog, take the time to follow this link (https://www.facebook.com/PSandC) and read the AUGUST 8th post on their Facebook page. Who knows, you too may also find yourself rethinking your relationship with your coach.
After lots of prayer and meditation it finally became clear. Olympic athletes do NOT create their own training, they do NOT create their own nutrition plans, sleep plans, or ANYTHING else that will have an impact on their performance and achievement of the goal... Olympic Gold. Instead, they bring in expert coaches and give them 100% full control... then they do EXACTLY as they are told. They don't argue, debate or second guess their coaches. They just say yes and trust the experts to get them the results they need. Need an example closer to home? I did. Look at Donna Walters, our 2013 CrossFit Games SILVER Medalist. I can guarantee she didn't do ANYTHING that Eric did not tell her to do, instead always doing EXACTLY what he did tell her to do.
The more I thought about these examples the clearer it became that as soon as I became an owner at Team CrossFit Academy, I stopped giving my Coach complete control over my training, and in short order I stopped making gains in my performance. Now, don't get me wrong, in hindsight, I couldn't have done anything different because Eric and I absolutely had to develop a new relationship based on an equal partnership, not just coach/client. Given that we're both just slightly stubborn and opinionated, it took us a few years to fully achieve that critical balance, and it was at the price of our coach/client relationship. It wasn't that he wasn't willing to still be my coach, he has ALWAYS been willing. It was me who pulled back and changed, and it was also me who had to come a full circle before I could again allow the relationship to change.
On August 10th, in an enormous amount of mental anguish I finally gained full clarity and knew I not only needed my coach's help to get back on track, but that my relationship with my business partner was stable and solid enough to allow for the existence of both relationships. So, over I rolled belly up, and asked him to please get me back on the Bastards in October. He asked for 100% commitment and I guaranteed him that I would do exactly as he directed, without argument, debate or second guessing.
Wow. What a difference a few small weeks can make. The first thing he did was start me weighing and measuring my food... It seems I had been eating all the right stuff since June, I just wasn't eating nearly enough of it. When I pulled out all the fruit, I didn't replace the nearly empty calories with healthy proteins and fats, instead I just replaced them with lots of leafy veggies which is not the same thing at all. So, for the last two months I've been basically starving myself. Damn! Nutrition is sticky business my friends, because I was always eating until I was full and was POSITIVE I was eating properly. Since I had been photo tracking my food since June, just for fun I went back and estimated my calorie consumption, it was at least 300-600 short every single day... and on the double AB days, it was closer to 900. NO WONDER I was failing!
Fast forward to last week right before GORUCK. It appears at least so far that everything is on a solid upswing: Body fat is down to 30.67, barbell weights are finally going up, body weight moves are finally achieving standard and as for the running, well I'm not fast yet, but I am already seeing substantial gains in my endurance, which is an excellent start. As for the GORUCK... triple wow, but that's a story for the next blog post...
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