Half Way

Well, I have had quite a week. I have been running from baseball tryouts, to baseball practice (different team) to crossfit. I am surprised at my energy, but it is good. The crossfit has gotten more complicated, I am struggling with the techniques and with the exhaustion, but I don't mind it, in fact I am enjoying it. As hard as it seems, as much as it hurts, and far as it frustrates, it is all good. My group is great. My teacher is great. I hope I am progressing, but of course with crossfit, the further you get, the further you have to go physically.
We are repeating drills, but it seems that our pace has gotten harder, or quicker or both.

Wednesday had me on edge and Thursday had me burning, literally, it felt like my quads were gonna rip at my knee snap, and roll up like an elastic bands. But crossfit is a bout getting past the burn that turns into pain that turns in accomplishment, juts getting through it, becomes the challenge.

I am halfway through the 12 session On Ramp class, and I am reading and trying some Paleo diet stuff. This crossfit may be habit forming.

It's Friday and I had a double dose of baseball, but my legs are good.

J25

Fifth session completed

Okay, so I made it through five days. Each session seems harder. But I am still anxious to get there and workout, it is a place that I find comfortable.

Yesterday, I completed my first full week of Monday, Wednesday and Thursday sessions. Monday Crossfit was good, (Sundays are my most physical days each weeks, with last Sunday I had 4 1/2 hours of baseball workouts in two towns, so I had pushed myself). Monday at New Haven CrossFit we began progressing onto harder things, repeating techniques and I was holding my own. Tuesday, I had my last "core" training session with Erica Pac at the baseball program in Milford, and she pushed the envelope of my entire body, especially my legs, I tell you this because by Wednesday I was still a bit sore from Tuesday's workout when I arrived at New Haven CrossFit, man did Adam turn up the pain threshold.

Wednesday my first feelings of frustration began to creep in. Some of the moves and positions seemed darned impossible to do, yet the others in my class eventually did them. The harder I tried, the weaker I felt. It was my first doubting thought and Oh My God moment. This CrossFit is all about testing your limits, I was kind of mad I had hit some wall already. I try to remind myself that I am the youngest one there, but I don't like excuses and I still feel I should be getting this done. The coach and the people in my group are helpful and encouraging in helping me push myself. The Wednesday's workout was really pumping, really powerful and I struggled with the some parts and some of the arm lifts, especially upper arms.

The pain threshold had been found and Wednesday had left me battered, Thursday left me bruised. After Wednesday, the next day I was a bit sore and I had another full day with baseball tryouts until 4 pm, followed by baseball practice in the rain until 6 :15, then CrossFit New Haven at 6:30. I jumped right in and felt good. Pretty quickly, the workout took a turn for th worst, my legs wobbled, and I struggled a bit, then we did medicine ball drills, and I regained my balance, but with each progressing squad, the fire in my legs was roaring, I made it through, medicine ball wall toss, that was fine, then the dreaded Burpees came and kicked my butt, bad!

By the time we got to head-standing arm push up, my entire body was howling. I again felt frustration as I could not get the drill done the way we were being taught, and again, it seemed everyone else eventually getting it, except me. Although frustrated and kind of mad, I did some shortened version, while promising myself I will be doing that drill the right way before this On Ramp program is done.

When CrossFit  uses words like fear, pain and disbelief, all of those are available at CrossFit New Haven, I found them all Thursday. But all of those are outweighed by the feelings of accomplishment when you do get something right after struggling and the overwhelming determination you get in fighting frustration. I can honestly say, if I was allowed to swear, I would use a few words here to describe how wobbly I was when I got home Thursday night from having expended every ounce of energy I had. And yet, I am proud I made it through, it hurt, but it was good, sleep was easy, real easy.

This training is grueling, but I am liking it. I am frustrated that I am not strong enough to do some of the things we are doing, but some of these drills are INSANE! I am determined to get the parts I didn't get done finished and will be doing side work just to reach those goals. I am also gonna try out some of the Paleo meals this week, I am burning a lot of energy and I am told it will help me. You gotta believe, you gotta have faith.

It's Friday, it's a now a FREE day, light baseball Saturday, long day of baseball Sunday, and back and ready to go at hard at CrossFit Monday!

25 Out.  

Day Two

Jakob: My first trip to start my on ramp was interesting, I didn't know what to expect, what the people would be like, how hard it would be, all that stuff, it was all really good. After my first Crossfit Session, when I left the building, I was anxious to get right back, that first workout was fun and I felt pumped by it. Yesterday, the day after, I woke up feeling sore, when I went to the batting cages, I WAS sore! But it was what I call a good soreness, I could really feel the Crossfit workout, especially in my torso. Finally, 6:30 rolled around and I was at Crossfit New Haven for my second workout. My team of workout people were friendly and energetic, and I was into doing this again. A few new things were added, the hardest was practicing the technique for the dead-lift. We did reps without any weight, just the bar, but you can really feel it, and I can imagine what the weight will bring to the lifts. We ran more, and did a lot of reps with new techniques that I am not familiar with. I am happy I decided to try this, it seems like something that will be a positive for me. Overall, the first two sessions have left me excited about this program. The Crossfit New Haven is a really neat looking place, and the people here are nice, I feel very comfortable here already. I look forward to a full three times full week next week.

At the suggestion of "Crazy Cousin - Crossfit Draper - Cody" I am going to research this whole "Paleo" diet that the Crossfit World encourages, so I will have an entry over the weekend, that tells you what I have found. I have a real ketchup fear, as in losing ketchup which is an important part of my diet! Crossfit Carla tells me I can get around this with organic ketchup, so there is hope. Plus I have not committed to this Paleo/Caveman food chain thing just yet.

JRLC25

In the beginning...

Well, everything has a beginning, this is Jakob's. This is an attempt to utilize the platforms of social media,  blogging, tweeting and Facebook, to create a space in which we can follow, learn and watch my oldest son, Jakob on a journey. Jakob began to train at the Cross Fit New Haven facility last night. He is enrolled in what the CrossFit world refers to as their "On Ramp" program, which as the name implies, is designed to bring an individual up to speed and therefore, able to train in this (CrossFit World) particular or peculiar way. The intent here is to be able to follow Jakob as he progresses through the process that began last night, and perhaps convey, what my extraordinary son sees, finds and feels as he embarks into the Cross Fit world at the age of 14.

Jakob's baseline.  Jakob currently does some "core" training with Erin Pac, an Olympic medalist (Vancover 2008), within the off season baseball program he attends at the NBS Community facility in Milford. The workouts Erin Pac puts them through on Tuesday nights are athletically subtle, but strenuous. The work leaves all the participants not winded, but exhausted. The strength and endurance she has been training into the legs, hips and body is clearly evident when you watch the progression of the kids drill seven weeks out.

Jakob's Cross Fit New Haven start.  Jakob has a cousin in Utah who, somewhere along the line, became a devotee of this new Cross Fit training world. Almost like an alien abduction, Cousin Cody began Cross Fit Training and has been a disciple and an  unabashed advocate of all things related to Cross Fit ever since. So, it was from the far reaches of Cross Fit Draper, Utah, that Jakob and I began to try to figure out what the hell had gotten into Cody. As I said, Jakob was already familiar with the intensity and concepts within Core Training, and he and I poked around the web and the State of Connecticut to see what was up with Cross Fit. We settled upon the Cross Fit New Haven franchise, located in the old Robby Len factory on State Street in New Haven, as our Cross Fit Petri Dish. This will be our story, Jakob as the trainee, the rest of us as observers. We hope we all learn something along the way.