Category Archives: Events

CrossFit Open 2017 Finished – RXed Every Work Out!

Events, WODs, ,

Something I never imagined doing was RXing all the WODs in the Open, but I did! Naturally there were some movements that when we got to them, I couldn’t get past them, but that’s besides the point..

It also helps that they completely overhauled the Open in my opinion, to be more accessible to the masses, and not geared towards the elite few.

BUT. One gripe with the Open this year.. The scaled workouts were like, complete sissy workouts. It’s almost as if they just came up with things to keep people busy for the last 5 weeks, like. “Oh hey guys, the scaled people are here… yeah let’s just send them over to the corner where the toys are.. they’ll keep themselves busy til we’re done!”

But maybe not, but yeah that’s how I felt, and how lots of the scaled people who I knew felt, as well.

Anyway. Using this cool site that my friend shared, I was able to see that I ranked in the

Top 28% overall IN THE WORLD.
Top 27.3% in the SouthEast Region.
Top 25.8% in Florida and
Top 26.1% in my own gym.

My CrossFit Open 2017 Results
My CrossFit Open 2017 Results

 

So while I’m not winning anything, I’m pretty proud of my results. 🙂

Me after 17.4. I was so proud of myself!
Me after 17.4. I was so proud of myself!

CrossFit Level 2 – Earned! – February 25th & 26th, 2017

Events, Life, , , ,

So, I posted earlier that I had signed up for my CF L2 in Salt Lake City at Ute CrossFit Downtown. I was nervous as all hell, didn’t know what to expect, what to do, if I would get through it, and all that nonsense. I finally got some peace of mind from Russ, and he told me to basically just enjoy it. There was no test, just go and learn some great things and have a good time. That was all well and good, til I started freaking out again the day before we were supposed to leave. Then my awesome friend Angela texted me and in short, said, get your shit together. Suck it up, it’s going to be awesome. So that’s what I did.

We had a lot of lecture time, but also a lot of group time, as well. We spent hours going over properly teaching and coaching methods, hands on training, principles, movements, scaling, writing WODs, programming in general, setting up classes. I loved it. I was completely nervous teaching my own group, where I chose to teach both Push Jerk and Push Press (separately), but in the end, I was able to smooth it out and talk through and demonstrate the transitions and steps of the movements.

I had 4 great trainers to guide me through the weekend. Eric O’Connor and Doug Zakaras, from CrossFit Park City, (fun fact, this gym was the first CF box in Utah, and is owned by Chris Spealler! Michele Mootz, one of the original CFers from CrossFit Aptos (she’s been doing CrossFit for 13 years!!) and Adrian Conway, a CF Games athlete who is interning to become a Level 2 Trainer.

All in all, a great weekend. I’m so glad I did it! Will I go on to be a trainer? Maybe someday. I do enjoy helping others. I would love to coach, and I’d love to be able to impact so many people’s lives who have already taken that first big step into the gym. Showing up is half the battle!

Anyway. Time for some photos. What a great experience!

My new soul sister. We got to bench together!!
My new soul sister. We got to bench together!!
Our awesome L2 Group!
Our awesome L2 Group!
My L2 Trainers and me!
My L2 Trainers and me!
It's so pretty!! My CrossFit Level 2 Certificate
It’s so pretty!! My CrossFit Level 2 Certificate

I am signed up for my CrossFit Level 2

Events, , , ,

I am a bit nervous. I don’t know what to expect. I’m worried I won’t be good enough, but it’s too late now to change my mind.

I am registered for the Level 2 course in Salt Lake City, at UTE CrossFit. We’ll be going out there Feb 24th, my course will be the 25th and 26th, and then the 27th, we’ll head to Park City, UT for some snowboarding!!!!!

I am excited about the snowboarding! I’ll be excited about my L2 when I pass the test. Singer Island Atlantic Ocean

Video Interview at Buzz Magazine – 10/13/16

Events, Life, , , ,

So I never really imagined that my little website here would gain any sort of publicity or audience. Which is why I’ve been okay with discussing things of a more personal nature; up until now. I suppose I’ll have to own up to my faults and imperfections now. Which, really, I just had these thoughts this morning. We spend so much time making sure everything looks perfect, or perfectly messy, or simple and easy, but nothing is any of those things. It came up in my mind because I was stressing over how I’d look on camera, and people’s perceptions of me on camera vs in my pretty and perfect pictures that I post online, and I said fuck it. It is what it is. This is me. I am strong and capable, and knowledgeable, and this is who I am. This is what the world gets! (this sounds so horribly cheeseball…) I could use some improvements, but we’re not perfect, and if you read anything about anything on here, you’ll know about my flaws, and faults, and good days and bad. I strive to be better, but perfection is never in the cards. I strive to be happy, healthy, and content. (and really strong)

Backing up a bit…. Last week, before the storm, I was contacted by a local news publication that is known for its weekly coverage on local events, features, and everything Jacksonville. They do articles, reviews, best ofs, and so on. They are the publication I pick up every time I go to certain restaurants so I can catch up on what’s going on here in Jax. When they contacted me, I assumed it was for advertising, or some sort of scammy thing, and I was completely skeptical.

Message: Hi Alicia, I am the Health Editor for Jacksonville Buzz and we would love to feature you as a local Health Blogger on an upcoming video segment on our YouTube Channel. You would be our featured guest for the 5-minute health segment on Fitness/Health. Showtimes are usually Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday @ 8:30am. We do have an opening this Thursday (10/6) at 11:45am. Would that work for you? I look forward to hearing back from you to arrange a date. Taping is done at the BUZZ studio in our parent company CFM building at 1611 San Marco Blvd. A little about us…Buzz Magazine and Media was started more than 10 years ago to be a positive resource for the community. It has grown throughout the years to a readership of more than 100,000 with over 1,100 distribution points throughout Northeast Florida. BUZZ readers are looking for fun, interesting stories about what’s happening on the First Coast, from local entrepreneurs and nonprofits to kids’ picks and sports games to health and wellness. BUZZ is integrated with iwantaBUZZ.com and BUZZ YouTube Channel. Best Regards, Angie Green Health Editor, BUZZ Magazine iwantaBUZZ.com 1611 San Marco Blvd. Jacksonville, FL 32207

I responded, got some more info, panicked, and of course agreed. How cool! I didn’t think that my blog would get any sort of traction anywhere, but it was mentioned that I’m one of the very few maintained health and fitness blogs locally, and that’s an honor! I know I have great weeks and bad months, in regards to posting and keeping everything updated. This has definitely been a wake up call to keeping my posts up to date. We’ll see how long that lasts. 😉

Also, complete coincidence! My longtime Facebook friend (and reader of my blog, what’s up Stacey!!) Actually works for the parent company of Buzz, Client Focused Media. When I found this out, I thought, ohhhhh so this is how they found me! Great, thanks Stacey.. exactly what I wanted to do… a video feature.. But no, she says she had nothing to do with setting it up, that it was total coincidence, so I’ll take it! Love this girl.

CrossFit Sister Stacey!
CrossFit Sister Stacey!

 

Behind the Scenes at Buzz Magazine Jax
Behind the Scenes at Buzz Magazine Jax

The video is below. I believe you have to click on it to view, as it can’t be embedded in a website.

https://vimeo.com/187202752

Jesus, I forgot how to post here – 3/24/16

Events, Life, WODs, , , , , ,

So with this crazy turn of events at the office (two long-term employees left suddenly and within a few weeks of each other) I had to really prioritize the activities in my life. Obviously maintaining our business is important, and obviously my health/fitness is important, but there are only so many hours in a day/week/month and boom. Time has flown by.

I have eliminated, ignored and pushed away the things that simply don’t matter to me. I have adjusted my entire schedule to ensure that three things happen. a) I go to CrossFit b) every email and phone call is answered, every file is set up, and every order is produced, and c) I Sleep.

I eat when I can, whether from meal prep or simply by going out to eat. I try really fucking hard to go to bed before 11p. I get up at 5a to work out, and then I work my ass off the rest of the day, sometimes into the night. Gotta get shit done and I can only ask so much of my amazing boys who have stood by my side through all this chaos. Everyone has busted their butts to make this work, and we’re killing it. Sales are insane, business is insane. I’m learning a million things and proud as punch of what I’m capable of doing now, and beaming with pride at my efficiency. I love that my boys are right there with me, learning along the way, and we’re all doing whatever it takes to make it all happen.

What has suffered? Lots of things. Friendships, free time, shopping (boo hoo), wandering around Publix or Target to kill time, blogging, reading, my tan, my dogs (probably the worst part of all this…), my phone time.

I haven’t blogged consistently in months. I quit WAG (it sucks, you can keep your high carbs and nutty macro counting, I’ll keep my high fat, low carb diet). I don’t keep my phone near me in production anymore. I simply don’t have the time or energy to focus on meaningless texts. If it’s important, email me or call the office. If it’s not important, I’ll get to it later. I have quit making plans with friends, and I have quit attending most social functions and gatherings unless they are something I really want to be a part of. I have learned to say NO. Nope, I can’t. Nope, I’m fucking busy. Nope, I don’t have the time. Sorry. Sorry, not sorry. I have shit to do and if I put it off, I’ll just have even more shit to do.

We did manage to plan a few great weekends over the last month or so. We got to go to South Florida at the end of February for Dave’s grandfather’s birthday (96!) in which almost the entire family was in attendance! The next weekend, I was able to go down and visit with April and Preston! (Dave’s sister in law and new nephew!) and his mom even made it too. It was a fantastic way to spend time with them! And then this past weekend, we somehow pulled off the trip of a lifetime, and took all of our employees and their girlfriends to Miami for Ultra Music Festival. We booked a big condo in North Miami (Aventura) and made a vacation out of it. Friday through Monday, we danced, laughed, ate, hung out, talked, shared a bunch of amazing stories and created some awesome memories. I answered the Dali phone (forwarded to my cell!) all the way down on Friday, and then shut it down when we arrived. We got right back to it Tuesday morning and everything just fell back into place.

I will make a conscious effort to blog more. I have been keeping up on my workouts, going consistently to the gym and shooting for 3-5 times a week right now. Once I get used to the 6a classes, it’s not an issue, but once I miss a couple, it’s so easy to turn off my alarm and say fuck it, I’ll go later. (That’s what I did today!) The down side is, if I say I’ll go later, I can easily just be like whoops, ran out of time, oh well. I forced myself to go tonight and I was so glad I did.

 

So here we go: CF Day Whatever – Small Class – 3/24/16

16.5 was announced in the middle of our WOD, but whatever, we kept going!

1000m row Buy In

4RFT

15 KB swings (55/35) I did 55lb

10 pistols (I used a band, best pistols I’ve ever done, probably)

5 Burpees

Finished in 14:24 Oh yes.

Quad City, Bitches.

Yoga, Health and Wellness Day! Part 2 – 8/29/15

Events

Taking a step back from my Part 1, which can be found here: I want to take a minute and thank Chelsea from The Beaches Leader for doing a write up on our event!

We’re FAMOUS!!!!!

So by the time 10a rolled around, we had droves of people just pouring through the gates. Dave at one point was like, I need you to stand up here, I don’t know any of these people and you know everyone! So, I stood up front where our Raffle table was and greeted everyone, offered raffle tickets for sale (with Ivan’s and Dave’s help!) and directed everyone to where they were supposed to go.

I couldn’t believe how many people I knew and recognized, first of all. That was pretty sick. Not just crossfitters, but yoga people, too! It made me feel so good to see all these people coming in and supporting this, spending their morning with us and being a part of our Wellness Day!

Finally, around 10:15a or so, I ran inside the gym to get started with yoga! Dave had gotten Dan all set up on the mic and I heard him talking. It was go time! I even got called aside for a picture from some strangers who knew who I was. 😀 This wonderful girl below is Mandi, and Audra had been staying with her! (Poor Audra was so sick!!)

This is Mandi! We’re friends now. 🙂

Dan started in with yoga, and it ended up being a great class, even for the crossfitters who weren’t experienced! I had given him a head’s up earlier, and I think he really took it to heart and tried to plan the class as best he could for inexperienced people. It was still challenging, but it was perfect. I was so pleased to look around and see everyone trying so hard! AND there were so many people! Thank God we have such a big gym. 😀

Everyone in forward fold. Just getting started!

Totally cool. To be a part of something this big that we planned, and have it turn into a successful event, is such an incredible feeling. I love being a part of bigger things. Feeling like I am with a hundred other people who are feeling the same feelings as me, who are experiencing what I’m experiencing, who are hearing and reacting and responding to the same music, the same sounds. It’s very surreal. It always always always makes me feel like I’ve found what it is I was meant to do. I was put on this earth to facilitate change, to be a part of something bigger.

I was meant to be a part of something bigger…

 And just like that. Typing that out. Made me realize that very simple, awesome fact about myself.  Seriously impactful.
Final resting pose, Savasana
Dan went on to speak about his story. Shared some very personal info and accounts and, quite honestly, I was worried people would lose interest, but one of the comments many would make to me later was how moving his story was. How important his message was, and how they were brought to tears and felt so many emotions while listening to what he had been through. My heart was so full! To have complete strangers coming up to me and thanking me for making this experience possible was the biggest reward I could’ve ever asked for.
Me, Dan and Bre after yoga!
I am looking forward to another event in the future. I hope we’ll be able to make it as awesome as this one, and have an equally fun and amazing experience. Thank you Dan, and to all of our incredible sponsors, warriors, vendors, friends, guests, and supporters who came from near and far to make this event possible. You guys are all so amazing!
Dan and Carla from Soap for Athletes practing Crow; CrossFit-Style!

Hey Let’s Go Snowboarding in New Hampshire! March 25th-29th, 2015

Events, Life

I was on a whirlwind trip around the country after Pete and Katie left! First my e-bff and I decided it would be fun to go snowboarding in New Hampshire. I had never been up there and she hadn’t ridden in forever, so our thoughts were.. fuck it. Why not?! So we did.

Typically how the two of us are, I am learning.

So.. I drove to West Palm Wednesday night (the 25th of March) and early the next morning, we flew to Boston, rented a sweet car (sweet talked the guys at the rental car company into upgrading us to a TAHOE YES PLEASE), and thank god, because so many things happened where our sweet Tahoe came in quite handy. And.. being girls, who were SNOWBOARDING, we way overpacked and had way too much shit. Totally no big deal with a Tahoe though.

Us in our sweet Tahoe, on a mission to find food. We settled on Chipotle as our Welcome to Boston meal.

After delicious Chipotle, we set north for Attitash Mountain! A few hours north into New Hampshire. Apparently we also took some back roads that we didn’t have to take, but whatevs, we didn’t know that. We made it, loved the location of our sweet little mountain chalet apartment. Equipped with groceries, our snowboards, and everything else, we decided to do a few practice runs before we called it a night.

Her giggles and my giggles pretty much set the stage for our trip. We laughed and talked shit and daydreamed and laughed some more, and it was amazing! We cooked almost every meal, sat and watched lots of TV and we went snowboarding!! It was awesome.

Snow check with our coffee!

 

Ready! Where’s the lift??

 

WE FOUND THE LIFT!

 

Out exploring!

Love this girl so much! And.. to think that it was CrossFit that brought us together, too!! Friendships like this are so hard to come by. To have someone out there who will just.. up and plan a trip with me for no reason (JUST BECAUSE OKAY!?) is so awesome. E-BFF FOREVS

My trip to the Pacific Northwest – 1/8 thru 1/13/15

Events, Life

I had gone to Portland, OR area for my first ever trip to the Pacific Northwest. It was just as amazing as I had expected! My friend Josh lives out there now, and we’ve been friends for almost 10 years! We taught high school together back in 2005 (holy young kids..) and it was wonderful to get to spend time with him and his kids. We went hiking, too!

Standing on a fallen log over the river!

 

Standing on a fallen log over the river!

 

Handstands on the hike! What you can’t see is the crazy drop behind us!

 

Handstands on the hike! What you can’t see is the crazy drop behind us!

 

Awesome old tracks

 

At the Gorge!

 

Visiting the waterfalls!

 

With Josh’s kiddos! Rain and Revan.

 

Again with the babies

 

A must. Starbucks!

And that about sums it up. Oh yeah, and Josh bought a house! So proud. It was a great time, and I’m already looking forward to going again. I happened to get a killer airfare out there, so I jumped on the opportunity. I’ve always wanted to go, and this is the year of “making things happen”. AWESOME.