The Dakota Games recap AND a whooooollllle lotta catching up
This one is gonna be a long post folks. I've been gone a while and have a lotta stuff to catch you up on!!! Consider yourself warned.
First and foremost ... The Dakota Games! The CrossFit competition I've been yammering on about for months? Yeah, it happened, and it was AWESOME!
I ended the weekend tied for 16th place in the Intermediate Women division. And I am still shocked!
The weekend altogether was absolutely amazing. From the road trip there and back to the event itself, judges, staff and the people I met, I couldn't have asked for a better experience, really. The event itself was SO well ran (and I've been to some doozies), everyone was so friendly and helpful. I also had a really awesome judge almost the whole weekend, so that helped.
We arrived late Friday evening, got our athlete packets, checked into our hotels and went to eat! Obviously there was an early bed time in there as well seeing as we needed to be there to learn at 7 am, I had to get my ass out there and work at 9 am!
Day One - absolutely amazing. I was in a heat of all ridiculously fun ladies. We all were first timers, feared the same things and loved talking. I lucked out! It was a whirlwind going through the day from 2nd place to 6th place to 8th place and ending the day at 10th place. I NEVER thought I would even be near top 10. Still cannot believe it.
Y'all remember the "mystery event"?? Yeah, that was hilarious. It was ...
8 min time cap - 15 deadlifts 115# (for me), 6 burped wall climbs. Yep, wall climbs. Lets just say i got a little bruised up. But I love a deadlift so was able to hold my own pretty well.
After Day one was over - we all showered and ate. Then went to bed. REAL exciting I know. Remember though, the day started at my 6 am alarm and ended about 8 pm. It was worth it though.
Day Two, also amazing, but more stressful. I had the one big event staring at me I knew could potentially eat me alive. And? After I got there, checked in and briefed, I found out I was moved into another heat due to my standing. Yay for being high in the standings to be moved up but Boo for losing my girls. The next group unfortunately wasn't as nice, I won't lie, I hate being in the group. They were all very cocky and didn't like to talk, looked at me like I was insane. I realized women are vicious competitors - y'all need to get off ya damn high horse.
The lowest moment of my entire weekend came in the below photo. No, I am not practicing. I am legitimately the last person on the flow (aside from blue pants who is just about to run to the finish).
This was the event I was scared of and knew could ruin me. Long story short, I got stuck on the Knees2Elbows/Toes2Bar (40 reps), ended up getting NO REPPED about 87 times. This was THE LONGEST moments of my life. The whole event was 12 min capped, I think I was on that bar for no less than 10 minutes. I am not ashamed to say, I walked off and hid. And I cried a little. I know though I will only grow from it.
And now my friends. This is where I leave you. I need to put my feet up and relax, binge watch some more of The League (60 days until NFL kick off - EEK!). As mentioned, this week starts my new training (5/3/1 by Jim Wendler) and I am also taking my CrossFit L1 Certification next weekend (thats right, Imma be a coach!) so stay tuned, Ill be back with lots of fun.
Also? I have been getting some attention for my food prepping too ... maybe its time to share some secrets ...
First and foremost ... The Dakota Games! The CrossFit competition I've been yammering on about for months? Yeah, it happened, and it was AWESOME!
I ended the weekend tied for 16th place in the Intermediate Women division. And I am still shocked!
The weekend altogether was absolutely amazing. From the road trip there and back to the event itself, judges, staff and the people I met, I couldn't have asked for a better experience, really. The event itself was SO well ran (and I've been to some doozies), everyone was so friendly and helpful. I also had a really awesome judge almost the whole weekend, so that helped.
We arrived late Friday evening, got our athlete packets, checked into our hotels and went to eat! Obviously there was an early bed time in there as well seeing as we needed to be there to learn at 7 am, I had to get my ass out there and work at 9 am!
Here I am with my "gym husband" Shane arriving in Fargo!
Day One - absolutely amazing. I was in a heat of all ridiculously fun ladies. We all were first timers, feared the same things and loved talking. I lucked out! It was a whirlwind going through the day from 2nd place to 6th place to 8th place and ending the day at 10th place. I NEVER thought I would even be near top 10. Still cannot believe it.
Y'all remember the "mystery event"?? Yeah, that was hilarious. It was ...
8 min time cap - 15 deadlifts 115# (for me), 6 burped wall climbs. Yep, wall climbs. Lets just say i got a little bruised up. But I love a deadlift so was able to hold my own pretty well.
The OG Heat 1 (or some of us)
Me and who became my favorite judge Becky before Event 1
The perils of Event 4 - wall burn
After Day one was over - we all showered and ate. Then went to bed. REAL exciting I know. Remember though, the day started at my 6 am alarm and ended about 8 pm. It was worth it though.
Day Two, also amazing, but more stressful. I had the one big event staring at me I knew could potentially eat me alive. And? After I got there, checked in and briefed, I found out I was moved into another heat due to my standing. Yay for being high in the standings to be moved up but Boo for losing my girls. The next group unfortunately wasn't as nice, I won't lie, I hate being in the group. They were all very cocky and didn't like to talk, looked at me like I was insane. I realized women are vicious competitors - y'all need to get off ya damn high horse.
The lowest moment of my entire weekend came in the below photo. No, I am not practicing. I am legitimately the last person on the flow (aside from blue pants who is just about to run to the finish).
This was the event I was scared of and knew could ruin me. Long story short, I got stuck on the Knees2Elbows/Toes2Bar (40 reps), ended up getting NO REPPED about 87 times. This was THE LONGEST moments of my life. The whole event was 12 min capped, I think I was on that bar for no less than 10 minutes. I am not ashamed to say, I walked off and hid. And I cried a little. I know though I will only grow from it.
Have to pose with the floor!
The TwinTown CrossFit crew!
All in all, I really truly am shocked and humbled that I tied for 16th place. I prepped and have been prepping really for 1.5 years learning all of this stuff since starting CrossFit but I really surprised myself. Know what else? I was never once sore. It was weird.
Could I have worked harder? Probably on some things.
Could I have placed better if I did? Possibly.
Did I work my ass off? Absolutely.
What surprised me the most? My lack of fear or nervousness on Day 1. I walked into that arena ready to party.
On the flip side? My severe nervousness that hit me on Day 2. I walked in scared shitless. I have no idea why other than I was fearing that Event 6 that did inevitably eat me alive.
One thing I DO know for sure? The community of CrossFit is absolutely amazing. I was "adopted" by the girls in my heat, even earning a spot on their PR board the next week :)
I grew much closer to my own gym mates through training and the whole weekend. And most of all? I know exactly who is there for me through thick and thin. The three people who saw me walk out with my head down knew I needed help, those three guys from my gym I had come back and give me hugs and tell me (lovingly) to get my shit together, I will forever be in their debt.
Where does this leave me? Damn good question. I don't know.
Having so much fun and doing so well at this event now has me thinking about what is next for me. Keep CrossFitting or focus more on Powerlifting (like I was sort of starting to do). I (think) have decided to keep my goals in tact for the year, to keep exploring CrossFit, Powerlifting and Weghtlifting and see where I find myself come December 31st.
One other good piece of news that came out of the weekend? Shane and I signed up for year 2 for Freeze Fest Team Challenge! January 17th, 2015 baby!
NOW ... what else have I been up to?
Aside from an extended celebration that of course consisted of pizza, burgers, beer and more food, I got injured playing softball. (don't ask)
So I had to take some extra time off and ease back in. This week though (ended today actually) I maxed my lifts to get started training for my next powerlifting meet! Its in about 5 weeks - more to come on that, no time in this post folks!
MORE EXCITEMENT????
I finally got my ass back in the kitchen this weekend. I literally have been doing the laziest cooking on the face of the planet for about the past month. Making barely any new recipes. SHAME ON ME.
I changed that this weekend and made a TON OF STUFF. Below are links to recipes I borrowed ...
I DID NOT use pine nuts. For the meatballs, I used ground port, broccoli, red onion and mushrooms.
THIS was amazing. It came out a little like a stew.
I used ground chorizo (1/2 lb about) from my local meat dudes, subbed rotel for one can of plain diced tomatoes and one can of diced green chiles. I also skipped the adobo sauce things and added a can of fire roasted tomatoes instead. DELISH. And hilarious I made this because it was almost 90 degrees on the day I did. LOL
I made 6 total - used large muffin tins. I haven't tried one of these yet but they SMELL amazing. And you can never go wrong with a recipe from PaleOMG, fact. I intend on eating these for breakfast with a side of meat ... clever huh?
I couldn't wait for the avocados to get SUPER ripe so I had this today for lunch. Even though the mashed up part was a little chunky, it was YUMTASTIC. I ate todays on a bed of mixed spring greens, tomorrow I am trying spinach per the recipe.
Know what ELSE is exciting about cooking recently?! I successfully made TWO recipes on my own. I adopted ideas for one but in the end, it finally happened, I made a whole (non ghetto ground meat n broccoli pile) recipe up MYSELF! WOO!
Because you deserve it, here they are (sorry for the lack of measuring).
Breakfast Meatballs
Idea adopted from - PaleOMG Recipe
1 lb breakfast sausage (I used zesty pork from my local meat guys)
Approx 1-1.5 tbsp pure maple syrup
Approx 1 cup mushrooms, diced
Mix everything together by hand in a medium bowl.
Roll into meatballs (any size you choose).
Place in glass 8x8 (or larger if needed) baking dish.
Cook at 350 for 35 minutes (or until golden brown / done)
Crock Pot Chicekn and Rice Pile
(because why does everything have to have a cool name?)
1.5 lb of organic chicken breast, diced (keep it raw)
1.5 c of rice (any kind you choose, I used black rice mix from Trader Joes)
3 cups of organic chicken stock
1 bag of frozen brussel sprouts (got mine at Trader Joes)
Put everything together (yes even the raw chicken) in the crockpot.
I added all but about 1c of chicken stock, then poured the last cup over the top so that was moistened.
Turn it on high, let 'er rip for 3-4 hours. I eyeballed it, right around 3 hours I checked it, 3.5 hours, I shredded the chicken while still cooking with forks, then let it cook more.
Main thing - watch for the chicken to be cooked through (duh) and that the rice gets fluffy (around 2.5 hrs it hadn't puffed yet and I got worried, I promise it will puff!).
Then that's it! Spoon the oil into a bowl and EAT! Add salt, pepper, whatever you desire too for fun and flare.
And now my friends. This is where I leave you. I need to put my feet up and relax, binge watch some more of The League (60 days until NFL kick off - EEK!). As mentioned, this week starts my new training (5/3/1 by Jim Wendler) and I am also taking my CrossFit L1 Certification next weekend (thats right, Imma be a coach!) so stay tuned, Ill be back with lots of fun.
Also? I have been getting some attention for my food prepping too ... maybe its time to share some secrets ...
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