The Athena Diaries

Dear Diary,

I've spent the last week in a Crossfit gym on the edge of the desert with no air-conditioning, learning Olympic weight-lifting.

Yes, Dear Diary, I who hates the smell of rubber, hates to sweat, hates hard work, has been learning how to do cleans, snatches, and doing squats with a barbell until my ass is so broken that I can barely sit on it, much less get out of a chair.  And, I've loved every single minute of it.  Even now, as I write this, my legs sore and shaky, I'm finally enthusiastic about something again.

This is the new training regimen that Sweet Baboo has us on.  Tuesdays and Thursdays, we

do the weight-lifting thing.  Mondays and Fridays, if I can nut up and brave the still chilly air for an outdoor swim, I swim.  We swim.  All week long, I'm running, the Hanson marathon method training program for beginners.  Wednesdays, we sloth.

Crossfit is always something I've been kind of interested in, sort of peered at sideways, both fascinated by its simplicity and yet somehow, repelled by some of the spokespeople who remind me somewhat of late night car salesmen hopped up on cocaine.  I'm not going full crossfit right now, just experimenting with the weightlifting.  I can appreciate the power that it builds.  I've been wanting to get into weight--lifting but somehow was bored by the machines at the gym...the dusty, basic garage-turned-gym that we do our weight-lifting classes in, for some reason, is much more appealing.

Sweet Baboo has always been my best coach, as long as I follow his plan.  I've just been so discouraged, and felt so heavy and slow, that I haven't been doing anything.  I think the weightlifting is encouraging because it doesn't depend on being lighting fast.

Even more encouraging, the coach/teacher guy says I'm a "natural".  Maybe he's just being encouraging, but if he is, it's working.  In the present moment, the answer to my ever-present question, I wonder what else I can do? is this.

Now if you'll excuse me, my body is screaming for protein. I really want a steak.  For now, I'll settle for some Greek light yogurt (90 calories, 16 g. of protein  BUya.)

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