Spartan Satellite

One of the really annoying aspects of responsible adulthood is being able to admit when you've bitten off more than you can chew, and spitting it out into your worldly napkin while everyone stares at you. All while smiling and apologizing quietly.

The Spartan Challenge registration was that moment for me on Monday. I realized a few hours after my registration that there was no way on God's plastic earth I could afford that right now or at all for the next 8 weeks. Ok. Breathe. It's ok. I did the I AM CROSSFIT and proved to myself that with the right dedication and discipline I can do anything. So....

I'm going to be a Spartan Satellite. I have my boyfriend's curl bar that I can load up to 70lbs. I'll drag that thing down to Austin High and create a little station. I can do this. I know how to make this all happen. It won't be elite weight, but it will be enough. They have pull up bars and a 20" box to jump on. I have a 20# kettlebell of my own. See how this works? I've been telling people for months that Crossfit can be done anywhere, no class necessary... well let's put it to practice.

Anyway, this afternoon I created a fairly brutal WOD for myself. I figured it would be a quick workout when I penciled it down at 2pm, totally unprepared for how exhausted I would actually be at 5pm....

21-15-9
burpees
renegade row 15#'s
squats w/20# KB
mountain climbers

That burpee+renegade row combo was painful to say the least. I got it done and finished the evening with sausage (no casing), collard greens, bell peppers, chives and garbanzo beans. So freakin' delicious.

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I have to gush about my mom for a minute. This Sunday she thought she was having a heart attack and spent until Monday afternoon in the hospital undergoing tests. My family's genetics are iron clad and this was more proof for the pudding... Mom has smoked for decades. She, like me, is also a stress junkie; powers through the muck until, whoops, too late... or so we think.

Monday morning I went to Crossfit and powered through Angie, all the while reminding myself that my mother is at the hospital by herself with a potential heart problem. I'm surprised I was able to pull it off actually...

After hours passed, we find out....her ticker is golden. It's perfect. *AND* Instead of continuing her lifestyle with the idea of "well, I'm still ok..." she sees the opportunity. She's going to quit smoking and that is a great thing. Quitting smoking is not a thing that happens in a month. Or year, or decade.... I will be quitting smoking for the rest of my life. This is something that requires your entire body and mind to be present and willing. Sometimes it takes a few months or years to get them in agreement...but when it happens, it's magical. I can tell that she feels the pinch, and it won't be immediate, cold turkey quitting. There is reckoning that needs to happen...and that will come. I am so proud of her for taking that first real step.

Because, in all honesty, this weekend revealed to me that while I will accept and deal with whatever the universe chucks my direction....I am not ready or willing to surrender my mom to the other side.

It'll have to fight me for her first.