I PR'd on the thruster ladder at 123#. That's a 10# PR from last year's member throwdown. And I am really proud of Top Guns: Part Deux for placing 5th overall. We didn't expect that! Thank you Lene, Travis, and Justin for putting the event together and emphasizing that it should be about fun. I had a great time and loved working with my teammates, new and old.

Does bowling count? I had only been bowling a handful of times during my childhood until my friend Amy got me to sign up for a 7-week league through XOSO this February and March. It was definitely humbling - during my first two games I didn't break 100. As I was leaving that first night, I saw a man in a different league bowing with no arms. I don't know if he was born that way or was a double-amputee, but he had two hook protheses and bowled with his feet! He did well, too! On our last night of the league, we saw a serious bowler in the lane next to us almost bowl a perfect game, which was completely suspenseful to watch as a spectator. To answer my own question at the beginning of this post, yes, I think bowling can count. It may not be an incredibly active sport, but it requires a degree of coordination to be good at it. Competitors in the sport tend to have superstitious rituals, as do athletes in other sports. Glassman's conclusion is right on, but for some of us in the gym, crossfit may be the new sport we are trying, and that's okay too. There are many things that still feel new to me - ahem, handstand ANYTHING - and that's what makes crossfit so much fun. I do it with the intention of gaining capacity to apply to other things, but I also stick with it because there is always a new capacity I need to work on within the sport itself.

My biggest growth moment was finishing all 5 workouts in the Open this year. Last year I got sick the week of 12.5, and when I saw what the work out was, I thought, "Just as well - don't have C2B anyway." That attitude infected my programming for most of 2012. I got sick a bunch of times during the fall and I would look at the blog on some days and decide that I couldn't do the movements even if I were well, so why try? Essentially, I gave myself permission to stay sick and weak! So even though this Open had some downs for me - I did worse on 13.3 than I did on 12.4 last year - I'm really proud that I finished it. I still didn't have C2B going in to yesterday, but I was prepared to get through my first 15 thrusters as fast as possible and struggle for ANY C2Bs in the remaining time. The community of this place works wonders. Thanks to Alice, for getting me there week after week on the pretense that I would be her "lucky" counter. You're amazing to watch, and it was so fun to share a small part of your success each week. Thanks to Leah, who counted for me a few times and is always humble enough to help a non-competitor athlete. And thanks to Sabrina, my coach in my first Member Throwdown, who continues to coach me, and got me to do 13 C2B yesterday. In conclusion, you compete against yourself in this sport more than you compete against others. So get to the box, even when you're sure you can't do something. You could surprise yourself, or be surprised by all the people willing to help you.

Did I miss the Evite?

Just woke up. Was doing wall balls in my dreams.

Congrats, Hollis!

Yes! Will there be skits?

We are meeting at Lene's house tomorrow morning. Check the blog for directions and arrange carpools if possible; not a lot of street parking. You can show up as early as 7 AM for pre-race fuel (e.g., mimosas) and team photo ops. I advise we set off for the starting line around 8:30 AM. We will be a sight to see at 45 members strong! Thank you again for turning out for the RTFH. It has been a tradition of mine for years and it has been fun integrating it into the fabric of CFES. Anne, thank you again for making the printing of the shirts happen, and Lene, thank you for offering up your digs for the pre-race rendezvous. Justin, thanks for connecting me to all the right people in this effort!

Thanks to the crew at Hipfit for getting the RTFH jerseys printed for us! Couldn't have done it without Anne!

Run to Feed the Hungry shirts and race bibs will be available for pick-up at the box today. I did my best to group shirts and bibs for families in the same bag, but I may not know all the family connections, so make sure you have your complete order when you pick up. Looking forward to seeing everybody at Lene's on Thursday morning! That's where your extra shirts and bibs will be if you haven't picked up by race day. Thank you the enthusiastic turnout for this year's event!

John, shoot me an email if it doesn't work for you today: ansantill@yahoo.com or ari.santillanes@sanjuan.edu.

This is a reminder that November 7th is a deadline to sign up for the CFES Run to Feed the Hungry Team if you want to receive the team technical half-zip shirt. I had several people ask me if they could get them last year after the fact and unfortunately this is not possible. The Sacramento Food Bank provides the half-zips to us in mid-November, so make sure you are signed up by Wednesday! Add it to your checklist of things to do Tuesday: 1) Vote and 2) Sign up for CFES Run to Feed the Hungry. :)

He's beautiful! Congrats, Brooke!

Just wanted to say that I checked out the FlexNastics class this week - what a freakin' workout. I never knew how hardcore a Frisbee could be until today. Thanks, Amber.

Shone is just the past tense of shine. I think all our athletes shone yesterday!

Thank you for allowing some not-so-newbies to participate in yesterday's throwdown. Though the workouts were different, it was encouraging to note growth from this time last year. During the Newbie Throwdown chipper last year, I thought 55# thrusters were going to kill me. Yesterday, I got a thruster PR at 113#. Last year I needed a partner to flip a BFT during WODs, and yesterday I flipped it twice unassisted. Last year at Moxie Madness, John Michelmore and John Carey boosted me and Donna Shioya over a 6-ft. wall because we couldn't do it ourselves. Yesterday, I got myself up and over that wall 4 times. Thank you for creating an environment and community where we are constantly facing new challenges and supporting one another through them. Thank you Chris, Travis, and Loren for everything you did yesterday - you were troopers as much as we were! Blake, good luck in Solana Beach! And Justin, get well soon!

Yay, John! I hope the powers that be let you join!

Now that's a badass picture of the birthday boy! Great job yesterday, John - way to give back on your birthday (he raised $834 dollars for Hope) and not take a free pass from the pain. You rock!

No skit? Boo. I was hoping to reprise "WOD You!" I'm in either way, of course.

Good luck, CFES! Rooting for you from home-base. Literally. Playing co-ed softball this weekend. Looking forward to seeing how bad-ass I might be now that CF is part of the routine. :)

Rule #1 for the zombie apocalypse is Cardio. Not lifting heavy shit. Although Sister Cynthia Knickerbocker must have had some training with lifting heavy shit to get her Zombie Kill of the Week. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWe3s31AKOc

Congrats, Sara! Always impressed when I see you at the box. Memory of you deadlifting at 8.5 months preggo is inspiring and impossible to forget!

Friday's the 27th.

You rock, Bro Mike. Mama Chupacabra, of course I want you! Let's do this!

That is so frustrating that the first medical advice they got was to amputate. My mom had a similar experience, and amputation is not an appealing or "convenient" option to the potential amputee. I think this family is amazing for banding together like this for their daughter. I'm interested in doing one or two on Saturday, and really I'm only interested in doing two if the second one is Annie.