“It really is the end of an era,” I heard myself say as a favorite water bottle shattered under the weight of my dropped barbell. Oops. Hadn't seen it so close there. The loud music continued as the EMOM carried on in the box. I scurried around picking up pieces of shattered plastic, mopping up the water and electrolytes now spreading onto the mats around me. The coach came over to help, laughing along with me. I missed my round of 15 wallballs in the 24-min EMOM–a happy event, really–but I was saddened to have caused the bottle's demise.
I received the water bottle maybe 6-7 years ago from my 8 a.m. OG-CrossFit box friend, Attiga, whose business put her in the position of personalizing water bottles for each of us who often showed up for that WOD. We were a particular crowd, with a complicated mix of personalities dancing while we worked out in whatever fashion was programmed for the day. 8 a.m. had an energy of mothering about it, constituted by mothers and nourishing-caring-types attentive to others often before themselves. The guy who often coached it had a quiet humor about him that held good space for the more flamboyant or unexpected-complicating emotional bits. For me, it was a perfect environment to re-mother my physical-athlete self, releasing decades of ingested shames imposed onto my woman’s body. My bottle matched that message too:
"Every girl is a Superhero Sometimes." I both miss and don't miss the 8 a.m. offerings, however. It was a good space for me then AND I eventually outgrew it, wanting/needing the freedoms I know today in choosing my athletic-energies outlet each day.
I'm really happy in these rhythms now, blessedly. November involved a return to some lower-back discomforts, reason unknown. It just tightened up one Tuesday morning, which sent me into a variety of mobility, yoga, and stretching 'classes' on the Peloton app I enjoy. I decided it was an anniversary-reminder for me, given I'd done a really foolish deadlift almost exactly a year before. Happy Anniversary, then. I was frustrated at the unknown-reason obstacles to my 'usual' activity-choices AND I am tickled now to know so many options for better longevity-care as I age. There are countless options for stretching, mobility, etc. on the Peloton app I'd used mostly for cycling downstairs! All this pushed me toward a Shoulder, Neck, Upper Back yoga workshop too, which now gives me a regular regimen for counteracting all the 'hunch-over-my-computer' hours I spend. I'm breathing better with a more open heart-space and I feel optimistic about improving my own shoulder mobility over time.
Enjoying a bit more caution, then, I've returned to my CrossFit 3-4 times a week rhythm, interspersed with Peloton cycling and mobility. I've kept at the 'sprints interval training' there with Christine d'Ercole about once a week, 45 min version, though I've lost the more regular weight-lifting sessions while my back resets. I will tend to that with more purpose these next weeks, whether at my box or in my garage (brrrr....). I've taken to doing a Peloton core-workout a couple times a week, figuring that was my issue in November. It's fun to be back at the yoga studio once a week or so, for a particularly inviting "Stretch, Balance, and Flow" class with a popular instructor. The class clientele is older and the movement is perfect as a complement for my more active CrossFit/Cycling choices.
I continue to fast on Wednesdays, from noon through the end of the day, breaking the fast before whatever activity I've chosen for Thursday. My body seems much happier to fuel whatever activity I've chosen instead of working out in a fasted state. Stacy Sims makes a physiological argument for that with cortisol levels, I think, but I don't remember the science of it.
My WHOOP band specs are steady-to-improving, with higher HRV numbers than I've had in a long while. I don't know why it seems to matter, but these numbers seem to stay consistent with a new artisanal gin I've enjoyed of late in Brian's and my sipping-hours a couple times a week. I usually see a hit to my numbers with alcohol intake, but not with this gin, for some reason. Not sure whether that's good or bad, so probably good thing I noticed a raising of 'resting heart rate' with it. All things in moderation remains the wise course, it would seem.
I'm actually looking forward to the socializing-busy holiday season coming up, given these rhythms are back into play. I'll make rosemary shortbread for the church's Cookie Walk this Sunday, sure to enjoy at least a bite or two of those. And I have 2.5 days away with Brian in the Hocking Hills before 5-6 days travel to Oregon to see my folks and my Mountain sisters in Eugene, Oregon.
The holidays are about to begin in earnest, with a smile. I still lament that I now carry a plain purple water bottle, no less functional but...lacking a little panache all the same.
Comments
Post a Comment