Living a Life of Fun and Excitement

How are you living?

I found out today that my last post may have been a fluke.  I actually may have been living out of standards and ideals that I placed on myself by what I think others expect or decide what my life should look like.  Funny how none of you told me how to live.  Yet,  I took it upon myself to assume that you did and then, I made up in my mind what you then thought I should do, and what you thought my life should look like.

I do not recall any comments on this blog telling me how I should live my life.  And if you did,  I actually would laugh at the ignorance of the idea and perhaps the action.

However; I instead, decided that fun and excitement was not aloud for my life(right now).  And it(the physical exhaustion, pain, and mental ache) turned up today as a big harry monster!  I was so scared of the monster that I cried, panicked, and almost ran.  Then my big Brother, he is bigger then me, reminded me why I do what I do.

Because,  it is fun and exciting every single day.  And if it wasn't,  I would not do it!   That is just the way I am.  I am passionate about people being passionate about what they do everyday of their life.  And I expect nothing less for my life.

Sometimes you(I) get caught up in ideals and standards that are set by others and you (I) forget about my values and principals that I set and chose for my life.  Then I lose myself and it makes me sad, more so angry, angry that I would let a false assumption destroy my well being.  Sometimes you ( I ) cannot get past the quicksand, the minutia,  of what we are sitting in until someone else points it out to you (me).  The true healing happens when you acknowledge, complete, and move on. 

The truth is you declare what your life will look like and you decide what your values will be for your life.  Not anyone else.  If there is suffering in your life play is missing, fun and excitement!

Check and see, is there play, fun and excitement in your life?

I know for me.. today there will be fun and excitement in everything that I do!
WORD!

Excitement!

We are gearing up for the excitement of the games.  Interviews, 5 workouts a day, ART, ice, you name it.... we are doing it.   Here I am with 3 of the 44 athletes + me that will be at the 2010 CrossFit Games!

Very exciting!  This pic is just an example of how Savannah gets when she gets chocolate.  My daughter may turn out a little like me!

WOW, what a weekend.

The South Central Regional was amazing.  I did not have to compete due to my performance last year at the games where I earned 3rd place.  This past weekend I was the CrossFit Central Affiliate Team Coach as well as a coach to some of the CrossFit Central individuals.  My stomach was in  a knot most of the weekend.  Between watching my husband compete, my brother, Jeremy, and then Lisa, Jen, Jessica, Karen, Chardonnay P, Andy, Big Mike, Michael W, Travis H, and observing the other women competitors that I would also be competing against in July, my head was in a spin.  And of course our team, Web & Lindsay Smith, Crystal N, Alex J, Richard W, and Jonathan W - who made up the CC team, yes, they took FIRST...domination!

I was able to run around and see almost every competitor.  I was either in coach mode or competitor mode and sometimes both.  I got emotional several times as some of our athletes surprised themselves.  I am continually amazed of what we are capable of and do not even realize.  I too must understand that the mental game is just as important as the physical.

We now know which individuals will be going to the games this year.  I am one of them.  Honored and determined.

Once again, time to turn it up another notch.

Congratulations to Jen Cardella and Jessica Sharratt, I could not be more proud to compete with you train with you and dominate with you at the games this year!

Can you RUN?

WOD I
Well maybe.  I am bound and determined to get my fitness back if even if it kills me.


For those of you familiar with Mesa hill, well it is .8 miles up with a few areas of relief for a moment...


the goal, not to stop.  the time, 6:40.  I will have this under 6minutes in two weeks, mark my words.




WOD II
Front squat 5 X 5
@ 145#
Muscle ups - practice turn out/ successful


WOD III
Nate Turner, Sports Speed Coach
Vipor cords - take off + broad jump


someone tame the tiger!

I'm about to smoke Zachy!

7'2" with Vipor Cord Resistance

it is GAMES time

I am going to the games.  If you would like to keep up with my training please check out my blog.  it will be the house for what I am doing for the next month and a half.

HOW DOES ONE BUILD A CHAMPION?

WOD
21 - 15 - 9
95 # overhead squat
chest to bar pull ups
15:00:00

I know I know, I am working on it.
DOMINATION.

FOOD:
B - squash,ground beef
S - broccoli, asparagus, sardines, spark
pre workout supplements
post workout recovery shake, scoop of perfect foods, scoop of protein
S - sardines and rest of broccoli
D - squash, beef(always grass fed) farm fresh sausage, lots of olive oil on top

I Can Be, Do, Have, anything that I want.

I have spoken to several people this last week that have expressed the feeling of not being 100% on board with what it is they are doing in their lives right now.  That kinda makes me sad.

I am the type of person that will only tolerate a short period of uncomfortableness. (is that a word?)  I don't have time to let it consume my life, let a lone let it take over my precious days that I have on this earth.

I recently came out of a slump.  When I review what it was that kept me there, I learned, it was as simple as making a choice.  I had to make a decision.  I was on the fence.  That is not place to be.  After I made the decision to step up I immediately took action.  That consisted of writing down my goals, then writing them again, then looking in the mirror and confirming that I was strong, bold, and powerful and that I can absolutely do and be anything I want.  I took that action a step further and marked it all over my bathroom mirror.  I am forced to read it everyday, several times a day, and soon it will be oozing out of my body.


Crystal Nelson  posted a little girl taking on an exercise that I firmly believe is the key to ones success!  Can you look in the mirror and proclaim how great your life is and then continue to breath success on you own life?  You wanna talk about powerful!  Try it!

If you are not in a place that you are 100% excited about.  Review what it is you are doing, make some goals, set some dates to those goals, and get freak'en busy!
Check out this TED video.

Life is too short.

Fear, do you walk towards yours or tend to run away?

Interesting enough to ponder such a question.  The human tenancy is to run, and fast, from what we fear the most.  Where does that get you?  Closer or further from your goals?  I spoke to a client about this topic recently.   This client was ready to throw in the towel.  After a discussion of why this was a terrible idea and why was this the thought process, we discovered that they were actually running away from themselves.  Amazing enough, in case you did not know. you cannot run out of your skin, I do not care how fast you are....not gonna happen.
So what do you do. 
You get comfortable with being uncomfortable.  Now, that is interesting statement.  Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.  This is basically walking right into what it is you hate to do, or what you fear. 

My challenge to you is to do one thing today that makes you uncomfortable.  What is that for you? 

Is it a phone call you have been avoiding, a workout you hate, a task at work that seems overwhelming that you need to get to and finish?
For me...I will let you know how it goes.

Have a great hump day!

Impressions

Who are you trying to impress?
Is it someone?  Is it you?
What impresses you?

I use to think that I was impressed by what people owned. And then when I looked deeper into their lives I learned that they were unbalanced.  Perhaps they worked a ton to have what they had and where unable to spend time with their family.  That did not impress me.

I use to think that people in relationships where they were able to go out all the time and hang out with their friends impressed me.  Then when I got to know the couple a little bit more they were not happy together unless others were around.  That did not impress me.

I use to think that a family that made it to church every Sunday was impressive.  I mean how could they pull it together and get up every time and go. Then I learned that they had a hateful home life, without morals and principals that were long lasting.  That did not impress me.

What impresses you?

In this day and age we are all so busy that I think we sometimes forget about what we really want for our lives,  what we think we want and what we really want.   Sometimes this is not discovered until life get so unbalanced and overwhelming that we realize we are not impressed with our own lives.  We need to redefine who we are and what we are trying to achieve.

When I meet a person that has a balanced life (personal, career, health, spiritual) I am impressed.
Do you know anyone with a balanced life?
Study them.
Do they impress you? 

Need something to do?

Hello Super Stellar friends:)

Lululemon Austin is planning a HUGE yoga event early next month, Yoga After Dark.  Some of you may remember this event from last year - late night yoga class with glow sticks & live music from the famous DJ Manny:)  This is going to be a fun eclectic night of booty thumping flow taught by alumni ambassadors ZOE and Matt Borer - disco style.  All levels welcome!  Love to see you all there to support, last year there was 80 people that attended and almost stopped traffic on 6th street.  So much fun, you wont want to miss it!

YOGA AFTER DARK

Date: Thursday May 6th

Time: 8-8:30pm sushi and socialization ~~ 8:30-9:45pm YOGA CLASS

Location:  lululemon athletica 6th & Lamar side parking lot.

Hope to see you all there.

Finding a moment.

For the first time in a long time I came home after coaching a couple of early morning classes.  Kris had a dental appointment that he had to get to; therefore,  I have parental duties.  The kids are still asleep from a long hard Sunday, my home is quiet.  This is rare.  I am sitting with a cup of coffee, at my house, no noise, and I almost do not know what to do.  In fact, I don't know whether to scramble and get as much done as I possible before the house turns to normalcy or sit in the quiet and reflect.

I choose to blog, which can be a reflection, if you are in my current situation, silence.  I would prefer to blog more for you.  I will see if my husband can go to the dentist ever Monday, run the kids ragged on Sunday, and see what I can get!  Ha!

Able to spend a moment in Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho I leave you with this:
The Warrior of the Light come times behaves like water, flowing around the obstacles he encounters.

Occasionally, resistance might mean destruction, and so he adapts to the circumstances.  He accepts, without complaint, that the stones in his path hinder his way through the mountains.

Therein lies the strength of water: It cannot be touched by a hammer or ripped to shreds by a knife.  The strongest sword in the world cannot scar its surface.

The river adapts itself to whatever route proves possible, but the river never forgets its one objective: the sea.  So fragile at its source, it gradually gathers the strength of the other rivers it encounters .

And, after a certain point, its power is absolute.

Be Powerful today.

Getting back in action!

I was away on a trip and had grand plans to work on my goals, address some books, plan my future, and the truth was I seriously needed a break.  Why?  Why do we need breaks.  Why can't we just keep going like the energizer bunny?  I am a little disappointed when I find out that I need a break.

I had these plans and what ended up happening was after I arrived and turned it off a few hours after arrival I totally turned it off.  I even tried to get into work mode or goal setting mode and there was just no go!  I thought for sure I would be able to get some of the "fun" stuff done... nope.  I seriously needed the entire time to veg. 

The out come was a massive amount of work to do when I got home but a refreshed and renewed mind when I finally got back into the swing of things.  And it took 34 hours to get back into things.  All things, work, child rearing, eating, working out, motivation, what ever it was I had to re- adjust.  So my thought is, is this a good thing?  Now I feel behind, now I feel over whelmed... at first.  Then, like I said, once you get into the swing of things again you just go.  you start to turn it on a little bit at a time and get moving.

SO, note to self, take a break once in awhile and when you have to return to the work of daily life, know that it will take a few hrs to get going again as well as be okay with both sides, the break and the slow integration back to reality.  I am not saying it has completely joyful but I am not going to fight it and make it totally stressful either!

A week of growing.

Eleven days ago I sprained my ankle.  The first thing that went through my mind was, "f**k, i just was getting started to train for the games, f**k, this is going to set me back a bit."  I was on the Airrosti table the next day.  Dr. Ellspermann had me walking out of his office and latter that day I was hopping.  Very pleased with my progress I thought to myself,  "his is just the on ramp I need to start my training, get started, but not to fast."  When I want to get into shape I want to do it fast.  This can bring on that little evil attitude of Frustration. 

Have you ever been frustrated?  There are some frustrations that you can just let go of immediately and others it takes a bit more time.  The ankle thing got me frustrated but I know if was just one of many that I had been battling the last few weeks.  I blame it on one thing but it was if it was the tip of iceberg that was going to get me to slow down and figure out what had been going on with me. 

My solution a good cry.  I was triggered on Thursday morning in a meeting.  And then it was on... the tears just kept of flowing.  I was pulling myself together all day and,  I soaked in the emotion for the entire day.  I was amazed at how long I let myself hold onto all the frustration.  And the thing is I am not sure I have worked through all of it.  I still have to go back an review my frustration, find a solution, change my action, take action, and then keep pushing through.  

A prayer that I pray,

Search me Oh God, and know me,
know my inner thoughts,
know my actions,
let them be in favor for you.

Cleanse my soul, so that I may be a vessel for you.
Let it be your words that are spoken, your actions that are taken,
may your will be done.

Amen


Today I am a little lighter.


PS. Jesus WOD - 59:29
I am right where I am suppose to be. : )

Easter, What does that mean to you?

Jeremy came up with this one:

Jesus WOD (The way of the Cross)

14 Rounds for time

95lbs Barbell
10 Deadlifts
10 Squat cleans
10 Push Press

50 ft of Walking Lunges with barbell on back.  Walk back to start
point. At no point does the barbell touch the ground until rounds 3, 7
and 9.

Round Three, Seven, and Nine, 7 Turkish Get Up 1.5 Pood (seven is the
number of completion)

The WOD represents 14 stations of the Cross with the three time Jesus
fell to the ground. The WOD should be done at three O clock for the
time Jesus passed on the Cross.





Please join me.  All are welcome.

Saturday

Today was a beautiful day.  Not just because the weather was amazing but because I was able to spend time with my family.  I started out, along with a handful of other coaches, supporting and encouraging eight teams in a Relentless Boot Camp Challenge that took place at town lake. Teams of three competed against one another and themselves to win not only today but a competition that has been going on for the last seven weeks.  Men and Woman changed their lives to reach weight loss goals, fitness goals, and even some personal goals during this 8 week time.  The results were amazing! 


My team alone lost over 6 % body fat, 15 + total inches and the before and after pics are even more amazing.  (They will be posted soon)   Then to the house for breakfast with the family and off to support my husband Kris and many other CrossFit athletes at a clean and tire flipping contest at the Hyde Park Gym.  I was signed up but an ankle sprain from earlier in the week kept me out of the competition...arrgh!  Nonetheless everyone did a great job, Kris had a four pound personal record and was able to get a 630 pound tire flipped eight times in one minute!  

Nice job to all the competitors.  I had also signed up for the Rogue trail race on Sunday but had to pass that off to Kris as well due to the ankle.


The kids and I spent a few hours in the yard.  I sprayed them down with the hose, read a little in a book, and even got a little yard work in.  Then a quick workout on our home's porch, to make sure that I haven't lost anything.


3 rounds of:
10 hang clean (45# bb)
25 back squat (45#bb)
25 push ups
25 ab mat sit ups
10 pull ups
15 shoulder press(45 #bb)


Just enough to get a sweat, cuss at the push ups, and take myself one closer step towards getting in shape for the Games. Then I had a date with Jen Cardella at the Swoop House to honor Lisa Munoz in achieving an amazing accomplishment, second in all of Austin Real estate agents for most homes sold in 2009!  Nice job Lisa.  She attends the "O Dark Thirty Class" M/W/F.  (5:30am) 


What a day!  I was surrounded by people that give 100% of themselves by creating and achieving the life that they designed.  What is better is that my children are always around these folks.  With this sort of positive influence around them, my children will see possibility and achieve their dreams...whatever they may be.

Spring is here and I am HAPPY!

For those that know me... know how cold I get, my fingers go numb, my toes go numb, my lips turn purple, and I chill at the bone; therefore the SUN makes me happy.

SUN IS GOOD!
It is well known that the sun's rays are a good source of vitamin D, which is essential in building strong bones and teeth. In addition, research suggests that low vitamin D levels may increase the risk of type I diabetes, muscle and bone pain, and again, certain types of cancers. It may also help normalize your blood pressure. In addition, the sun raises your levels of serotonin, which elevates your mood. Some people who suffer from depression or mood swings can benefit from exposure to UV light. So get out in the SUN!

It is know in my house that if the Sun is out then we are naked, well, almost, in the back yard getting our sun on!!!

I arise today
Through the Strength of Heaven:
Light of Sun,
Radiance of Moon,
Splendor of Fire,
Speed of Lightning,
Swiftness of Wind,
Depth of Sea,
Stability or Earth,
Firmness of Rock,
I arise today.



It's the simple things that keep me happy!

Relentless Boot Camp Coach

Who'd a thought?

Coaching completely outside 2x's a week is a great change for the CrossFitter! We use everything around us and then the tools that so conveniently fit into the back bed of my truck! I Have a great group of Women out every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:15am.

If you are ready to shake it up come out for FREE this next week to the North SIDE boot camp on Steck and Mesa at Anderson High School! We will be doing some mad met cons!

What's going on at CC HQ at 2pm a couple days a week?

WE are working on keeping great systems for you! We meet to keep our skills high and are service great! We discuss how to make our program better, give you more, and keep elevating our game! Let us know what we can do for you. If you have any suggestions, comments, or complaints, let us know. We want improve and unless you let us know how we are doing, the good and the bad, we won't know!

Feel free to leave your comments here as well as an email to myself or CC HQ!

Get your kids to eat RIGHT!

Next generation is our job. We can do whatever we want and we are the influence of the next generation. How's it looking for us?

My kids eat like I eat. Why? Because I SAID SO!

How do your kids eat? Like you? Why or why not?

Savannah is dipping her asparagus in organic ranch... is that bad? NO. she is also eating apple and fresh farmers market pork. YUM!

40 Days

From An Ungoverned God by Max Lucado:

“God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”
I John 3:20

You and I are governed. The weather determines what we wear. The terrain tells us how to travel . . .

God—our Shepherd—doesn’t check the weather; He makes it. He doesn’t defy gravity; He created it.

God is what He is. What He has always been. God is Yahweh—an unchanging God, an uncaused God, and an ungoverned God.

Lent is upon us. Take this time to reflect. Breathe. Heal. Become.

More MMFC Info

I just want to put out a few more details about the Women's Master Mind Fight Club to clarify what will be involved in participating and to answer some of the questions I've gotten.

The time commitment will be roughly 3-5 hrs/week including meetings, workouts, assignments, and reading.

The kick-off will be Tuesday, March 2nd from 7:00-8:30pm. Out-of-towners will get a kick-off email that night.

The retreat will begin at 8:00am on Saturday, May 1st. We will meet at CrossFit Central and carpool to a ranch in Bertram, TX, returning to Austin at 12:00pm on Sunday, May 2nd.

The sign-up process is this: please send me a brief essay (1 page or less!) explaining why you want to do this program. If you would like to be considered for a scholarship please mention that in your essay. I am holding spots for those who have already commented on the blog or contacted me to express their commitment. So far I have 9 women in Austin and 3 women from out of town. That leaves 3 open spots (1 for an Austinite, 2 for out-of-towners), which will be filled on a first come basis so act fast if you want in!

Please wait to pay until you hear from me confirming that you have gotten one of the 15 spots. You can pay via check or cash at the kick-off meeting or you can pay with a credit card via PayPal to carey.kepler@gmail.com. Out-of-towners can mail checks to me at CrossFit Central's address--please make your check out to "Carey Kepler" and put "MMFC" in the memo field. You can either pay in full to receive the discount, or if you are paying monthly, payment will be due by the 1st of each month for that month.

You will receive additional details, including the plan for each week from March-November, when we kick-off. Any more questions? Please leave them in the comments!