From There to Here (Part 1)

To tell the story of how I got to the point of chronicling my crossfit journey, we need to go back a bit. Back to 2012.  Not December 21, 2012 (glad those Mayans were wrong!), but to late August and early September.  I had just come off the crazy experience of a week long survival course.  We spent time in south central Utah hiking, navigating, sleeping under the stars, building shelters, and generally learning how to survive with minimal gear. All the while eating very very little, hiking very very much, at about 7-8k above sea level (not optimal for a flat-lander). Going into this experience I was in solid shape around 170lbs.  I was walked 9-12 miles 4-5 days a week, eating well and feeling good. I felt prepared for this trip.  I lost over 9 lbs on the trip and came back at 160 lbs.  I also came back with giardia.  Not pleasant for the next two weeks, but wow, that place was beautiful....

*Note - If that type of thing is your gig, check out the 1 week Field Course at Boss-inc.com

From that fall through spring of 2014 the exercising was sporadic and lacked focus or determination. Then, after a move from Stillwater, Oklahoma to Saint Joseph, Missouri, I renewed my efforts and made solid progress. The method was a boxing gym and after about a year of membership and six months of solid 3+ trips a week I was down to about 175 lbs again.  Boxing is good and really does work the cardio, but it just wasn't for me.  I became bored, busy, was bowling more, and generally started to dread going.  Finally in late fall of 2014 I canceled my membership.

The picture below is about as good as my physique got. It was taken over Labor Day weekend with a couple friends of mine on an awesome four day--three city baseball trip.  Hat tip to Chris Laws and Delton Gordon! Unfortunately that trip marked my highest level for fitness for the next 18 months.

The following year really just encompassed a lot of weak effort, floundering motivation, and way too much late night food and craft beer.  For the first time, in the fall of 2015, I had hit the 200lb mark.  And it wasn't a good 200lbs.  This put me a full 75lbs above my playing weight from high school.  Dissatisfaction with how I felt, my energy level, and the ole mirror test really set the stage for "the bet".


Next up, the Crossfit journey begins.
N

A Good Bet

Rarely does anything positive come from drinking.  If you are lucky maybe you make a few funny memories and you don't lose your wallet or phone.  But in September of 2015, drunken bragging between two friends started both off on a fitness journey.  As intoxicated folks often do, friendly banter and reminiscing turned to bragging, which turned to betting.  The bet was to see who could get back in shape the fastest through Crossfit, an exercise phenomenon that my lovely wife Annie had been engaged in for over a year (with good results).

So off I went to the newly opened gym in town to join and start this journey.  Now I'm no stranger to fitness.  Basketball, baseball, cross country, and track in high school and USTA tennis after graduating from college.  Lifting weights 80s style after reading the latest Muscle & Fitness was something dad and I did for most of my formative years.  So I've been in tip top shape much of my early life.  But as I've aged, encountered injury (stories for another post) and led a sedentary work life (death by office chair) I've mostly fought the fitness battle like most folks.

I'm 42 years old and love ice cream (custard!) and craft beer.  None of those three facts lead to top physical conditioning so I knew this was an uphill battle.  The specifics of the bet had both of us join crossfit gyms and on June 1st 2016 see who had become the most fit.  That part really didn't happen but what has happened is both of us have become dedicated crossfitters.  That is also a story for another part of the blog.

In this blog I've decided to chronicle my journey back to a fit and athletic individual.  While I have already taken some solid steps, I have a long way to go and I hope the documentation helps me keep on track.  And if you happen upon this blog and are curious about this method of fitness then I hope it gives you the knowledge and encouragement to try it out.  Over the next several weeks I'll document as best I remember the challenges and progress from September 2015 to the present then use the blog as a regular documentation of my progress.  I honestly don't know exactly what my goals are other than feeling fit, strong, athletic, and comfortable in snug fitting clothes.  Anything beyond that is a bonus!  More to come soon.
N

Flashlight Porn

I've always loved flashlights.  From the first moment I got one of those crappy D cell $3 plastic incandescent jobs you get waiting in the checkout line right down to the uber high tech tactical LED.  I have had them all.  MagLite has been my favorite but they are behind the curve.  Why the heck can't they make the monster 6 D cell into an LED so bright it could cut Luke Skywalkers hand off?  Why!

Anyway, I had to move on from the police issue MagLite to the companies who sit on the cutting edge year after year.  Move over Surefire, Streamlight, Pelican, Fenix, and all the other great new flashlights you can cut through the night like a knife in hot butter.  I stumbled upon the Nitecore T26 today. The TM stands for Tiny Monster, and whoa, is it.

That is four individual Cree XM-L2 LEDs.  Four!  What is better than one bulb?  FOUR!  This puppy kicks out 3800 lumens.  For perspective the new MagLite 2D Pro throws an excellent beam with 274 lumens and can pretty much keep your dog in sight from the front door to the end of the yard with ease. This bad boy is reportedly 13X brighter than the 2D Pro.  I...I just can't even comprehend....

Better yet, it runs on four good and solid rechargeable batteries (you can charge them in the flashlight) or 8 of the popular (and much easier to find lately) CR 123 lithiums.  Not convinced?  It also runs in five different brightness modes or three flasher modes (SOS, beacon, and seizure induction).  And for those of us who live in constant paranoia that the batteries are going dead?  Yep, it has an LCD readout that tells you exactly how much time you have in each mode.  Worried you might be stuck in that cave for a while?  No problem!  Low mode (150 lumens) has you covered for 48 hours.  Not long enough? Maybe you're riding out the zombie apocalypse?  How about 1000 hours at three lumens (about as much as a keychain light) in lower mode?

Still need convincing?  It's fairly durable and water resistant.  Check out this "ruggedness test". Seriously, you should watch it.  With the lights off.   It has some kick butt dramatic music.

I don't know if I'll get the Tiny Monster T26, but dang, it's just what the little boy in me always dreamed of.  I mean surely the bank won't mind if you skip the car payment this month to pay $390 for a flashlight right?  Did I mention its rechargeable?