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Monday, March 31, 2014

Updates

I recently returned to Germany after spending 16 days back in The States. I was a little apprehensive about being back in the U S of A for the first time in nearly a year, but I was also excited to spend time with my friends and family.

When planning my trip home, I tried to keep as much of my time un-scheduled as possible; in the past I have ended up rushing around every minute of every day and find myself exhausted and over-extended. This trip I just wanted to spend time with my family and fit in friend-time when possible.

One of the big plans of the trip was to help my mom move out of my childhood home, officially. She hasn't lived there for quite a while, but mine, hers, and my sister's belongings have been living there without us. For lack of a better description, there was just a ton of crap that needed going through. It was actually interesting to explore through our past belongings and it felt good to throw, or give, away items that I no longer have any use for. It felt good to take some responsibility for my past home, the place that will always be considered "home", and to help my mom do some cleaning, packing, painting, tossing, etc. Hopefully, she is able to find a renter or buyer in the near future!

I got a chance to spend some quality time with tons of family members and with a great group of friends. It is easy to forget how fulfilling it is to spend time with old friends when we are all so busy going about our day-to-day lives. I was absolutely astonished with how many of my friends from high school and college I got to share time with while back in Cincinnati, and I couldn't have felt more loved and complete than when we all got to catch up. There is nothing like a good, old friend. Nothing.


Another large part of my visit home was to continue competing in The Crossfit Games Open and to keep working out as much as possible to stay fresh. I ended up at the YMCA on most days, following whatever workout my Crossfit community in Germany was doing. I must say that it feels odd to workout in a "normal" gym, especially one dominated by older folks... I sure got a lot of looks and comments during my workouts, and many compliments! I don't think most of them had ever seen anything like a kettlebell jerk or even a woman doing pullups. It was flattering, but also kind of hilarious; I am far from impressive in a Crossfit box!

The Open this year has been such a wonderful experience, and I am so glad that I signed up and took the time to continue the workouts, despite being away from my home gym for 14.3 and 14.4. (Thanks to Crossfit Conjugate in Cincinnati for welcoming me with open arms and coaching/judging me for two Saturdays in a row!)

Unfortunately, I had to quit the games because the flu hit me last week. This weekend was the fifth and final weekend of the open, and I was faced with a workout which required completion (the other workouts have had time limits, so as long as one rep was acheieved before the time limit, the athlete could submit a score and stay ranked). After spending 4 days struggling with a fever, and several more with congestion, fatigue, coughing, etc. it became apparent to my coach and I that attempting 14.5 would be detrimental to my health. It is a hard pill to swallow. I hate that I worked so hard on the previous four workouts, only to quit at the very end. I know that I am making the smartest decision, but it doesn't make it the easiest. Hopefully, once I feel more myself, I will be able to do the workout as a way to make myself feel better about dropping out.

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