find your thrill

Well, that was fun.  Five days and a bottle of Vicodin later and I feel almost human.  I think I may actually be able to work out tomorrow for the first time in several days.

When I can't exercise I get cranky.  Really, it's a mood enhancer for me.  Which is why I'm such an addict. I wrote here about how it started, my bodybuilding past.  

I did bodybuilding style workouts for 16 years, even when I was no longer a bodybuilder.  I think there are huge benefits to lifting weights.  After bodybuilding I ran (all distances from 5k to marathon), rode and raced bikes (road and mountain),  and did triathlons (up to olympic distance).  I threw myself into each sport with fervor and dedication.  I ran 70 mile weeks when I ran, rode 250 mile weeks when I was a cyclist and trained for 12-15 hours per week as a triathlete.  I don't understand moderate.  Sometimes I wish I was one of those people that can go for a meandering 10 mile bike ride along the bay on the weekend.  But unless there is some sort of way to compete with someone, or conquer a weight, distance or speed I haven't done before; I'm not too interested.

I've thought a lot about that, my competitiveness. And I think it's ok to be competitive. It's important to channel it to those places where it's appropriate.  I always have an outlet  in my life where I can compete in a healthy way.

The point is; I don't throw myself in halfway.  When I started running my first training run was a 5k and I immediately started running 6 miles a day with stadium stairs thrown in once a week.  When I bought my first road bike in college (days after I had finished a marathon and could no longer stomach even the sight of my running shoes), my first ride was 70 miles with a hill they called cardiac hill.

I'm still trying to make my point which is not that I'm a badass, but that I never got hurt.  Nope.  No knee problems or overuse injuries no matter what crazy shit I threw at my body.  Why?  I believe it is because I had such a strong foundation from lifting.  

A few years ago (during my triathlon phase) I stopped lifting. I had just burnt out on the bodybuilding style workout...lift a weight you can manage for 8-10 reps, rest repeat...on and on for each body part.  I was bored.  I was bored with the workouts and bored with the gym.  So I stopped.  I did yoga instead.

I started getting hurt.  Tendonitis in a knee that made cycling excruciating.  Then a torn hamstring that impaired my running for a year (including the several months that I employed my usual treatment: ignore it and hope it goes away).  It sucked.

So I started looking for a more interesting way to lift weights. I also was burning out on the hardcore endurance activity.  During my triathlon training I discovered my body responded pretty well to interval training and i started doing more of that than the traditional "go lots of miles at a steady pace."  Also, my own theories of weightlifting had evolved, I only wanted to do movements that gave me a lot of bang for my buck.  Think pull ups instead of bicep curls, the benefit of pull ups is you don't only work your arms but your entire back.

As I got older, I found that shorter workouts of extremely high intensity were what I wanted to do. By accident I found Crossfit.

I love Crossfit.  I love the intensity, I love the fact that there is skill work, I love the lifting, I love the competition.  Crossfit introduced me to Olympic Lifting.  So now I run, do crossfit and Olympic Lifting.  I usually only run up to a 5k distance, once a week I run sprints.  I am always going for intensity.  I love the community I have at my gym.  I am sure that if I ever get tired of it, there will be something new to get fanatical about.

Sometimes I run into people I haven't seen for years.  When they ask me what I'm up to and I tell them about my latest thing they say, "You're so disciplined."  Well no.  I am actually doing the things I love.  I loved getting close to nature on my long runs and bike rides, loved getting to places I wouldn't otherwise see.  I love seeing a new city by running through it; nothing can compare.  I love lifting a scary ass barbell above my head and encouraging my friends to do the same.  I love doing all of those things with my son.  

For me, this is just living.

Comments

[Liz]

Leigh,
Wow, you are right! We do indeed seem to have the background. I feel the same way: all injuries I've sustained from endurance overuse have been GREATLY reduced if not eliminated by focusing on strength. And I also agree: This (endurance sports, crossfitting ,lifting, etc) is...just my life. Without it I would feel incomplete. The majority of my close friends I me through my tri club, and while we socialize like "normal" people, we also socialize on our bikes, in the gym, at the pool. A different type of happy hour, but an awesome one.

Anyway, glad to have found your blog (through Kristen and back to me :) ). Looking forward to reading more!

[Natalie]

I get this...I really do.

I am relatively new to Crossfit...and have also just recently re-discovered fitness and feeling strong and well...after a few too many unfocused years.

And funnily enough...my son is also a huge factor. At this point, he is but a wily 2 year old hurricane...but it is a hurricane that I want to spend my next 20 years chasing... I am exciting skiing, sailing, hiking and biking with my sidekick; am already planning future vacations!