Totally Committed

I did it! Nine months of the commitment crew!

As of yesterday, I completed my twentieth class of December, which means I've done at least 20 classes per month for nine months.

I've been feeling a lot stronger this year. Even though there were two months where I hardly got any classes (April and August), and there were whole weeks at a time that I didn't do a single class, overall, I did a lot of work. I got a lot of work done. I made new personal records in a lot of lifts this year.

I'm getting closer and closer to my goal of ten linked kipping pull ups. I've discovered a trick that I really wish I'd figured out sooner. There are two bars at the gym that are thinner than the other ones. I think I've noticed that before, but it's only recently that I realized that using those thin bars actually works a lot better for my hands.

My hands are small. When I use the larger bar for toes to bar, I tend to rip my hands up really quickly, and I have a hard time hanging on for more than six or so reps. On the skinny bar, I did thirty in sets of ten and another ten broken into smaller sets. And I did not tear my hands at all. On the skinny bar, I did 48 kipping pull ups (small sets) one day and 42 the next. No tears! No bleeding, no blisters. With the skinny bar, I just might be able to get that set of ten before the end of the year.

The Backpacking Drive

For me, backpacking isn't primarily about pain. Seeing beautiful scenery, watching wildlife, spending time outdoors with my husband, testing myself, yes. But pain? It's not a goal.

But, with the way we backpack, it is a reliable by-product.

I'm sure there's a way to backpack that would be pain free. It probably involves hiring other people to carry your gear and traveling no more than 5 miles in a day. Does it count as backpacking if you yourself are being hauled in a backpack? I wouldn't count it.

So I'm prepared for the inevitable pain that comes along with backpacking. My feet will swell. My toes might knock against my boots and blister. My knees will complain. My muscles will ache. My shoulders will require longer and longer periods of adjustment each morning before they submit to their fate.

Most days, I will reach a point where I don't feel like I can go on. That usually means it's time for lunch or a substantial snack. Food won't cure the pain, but it will allow me to push past it. A nice half hour boots-off break gives me a morale boost, even if putting the boots back on makes me want to cry.

Even a short hike with a light pack can cause the pain to rise. Training hikes up to Lucky Peak are no walk in the park. I don't see how someone could gain over 3000 feet in elevation over the course of about 5 miles and not feel pain. Such pain free people must be better athletes than I.

I'm not the best athlete, but I'm a good backpacker. I know how to push past the pain. I know how to get my body to do more than I thought it could. I am, perhaps, a little crazy, and definitely, driven to succeed in my chosen sport.

Getting Committed

Last year, my crossfit gym instituted something called Commitment Crew. Basically, it's an incentive program to encourage athletes to attend at least 20 classes per month. For the first few months, there were rewards like an extra class, but then it tapered off. Still, there are supposedly going to be rewards at the end of the year for folks who have made the crew for 6, 9 or 12 months.

If I am able to continue as planned, December will be my 9th month for the year. I missed April because I had a weird bout of back pain. I missed July (by 2 classes!) because I sprained my ankle (I really should have taken a rest day that Saturday). I missed August recovering from my sprained ankle. I might have been able to make August if I had gone to a doctor about my sprain, because then I would have had the confidence to go and do an adapted workout, but I was paranoid. I took a lot of rest that month so as not to take any risks before the backpacking trip over the eclipse.

I was sick and resting for five days early this month already, but I'm on track to get at least 20 for December, barring additional sick days and/or accidents.

The reward at the end, unknown though it is, does excite me. But the real win for me in the program is to have a goal and attain that goal. I have tried to get as many months as I could on the crew this year, and that means I attended a lot more classes than I have in previous years. I've been more consistent and more thoughtful in how I attend classes and how I rest (except in July).

When you make the crew, your name goes up on a board for the month, and when I make it, it encourages me to see my name up there. When I don't make it, it spurs me on to keep on track so I can get it next month.

It doesn't really matter what the reward is, because I can see a difference in my performance. Even though I've been ill, I've been able to get a good number of personal records this year. My capacity to lift has increased, and even though my weight has gone up, my pants still fit.

Yes, yes, I'm saying making the crew is its own reward. It may be cliched or trite, but it's true. I started my crossfit journey by doing 30 days, mostly in a row. Not entirely in a row, because there were no classes offered on Christmas Day that year, but I went every day there was a class in the month that I signed up for. After that, I saved up so I could start buying 10 class passes. With those, I went once or twice a week. When I finally had the budget to pay for unlimited classes, I tried to go three to four times a week, and even that seemed hard at the time. With the incentive of Commitment Crew, I've been going five to six times a week, and it makes a big difference.

Because of the backpacking season, I don't anticipate ever making the crew 12 months out of a year, but I'm aiming to set my bar at 9 of 12 and not fall below that now that I know I can.

Planning for 2018

With winter in full swing, my husband and I are planning next year's backpacking trips. We've got several Idaho trips in the works, including my next solo that will connect the segments of the Idaho Centennial Trail that I've hiked so far. We're also planning another trip to Washington's coast.

This time, my husband is determined not to cut the trip short. He wants to make it to Shi Shi and back from Rialto beach. I think that we'll be able to do it, now that we have an idea of what we'll need to be doing to get that done. But the biggest factor for that trip is going to be preparation. We both have to be physically ready to make the journey, and that means Ambrose is working on his walking speed.

I have no doubts that I could make that trip, because I managed a couple of 25 mile days this past spring. He needs to work on conditioning until he can do packless walks close to 3 miles per hour, and pack on walks at a nice consistent 2 mph. He's working on it, and it's my job to see that he sticks with it.

I've got to get him running, too, but first we need to get him some new running shoes. His birthday's coming up, so maybe we'll get them then. I hope so, because he needs the speed.