Joyce’s Workout: 29 August 2016

Today’s Workout @ The Tasty Page

Monday’s WOD for time:

40 Kettlebell Swings (35#)

Run 400m

30 Box Jumps (20”)

Run 400m

20 Front Squats (from ground 75#)

Run 400m

30 Box Jumps

Run 400m

40 Kettlebell Swings

Run 400m

I may have mentioned that I’m not the best dancer. The same can be said of my running. Seriously, I hate it. But I still do it for the following reasons:

1. My favorite John F. Kennedy quote is “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone and one we intend to win.” That’s what I think of running – and anything I have to do that’s a hard: I do it because it’s a challenge and in the end will make me a better, stronger person. I’m not quite there when it comes to running, but like anything still very much a work in progress.

2. Running could one day save my life. Hopefully, I’ll never need to run to survive. But just in case I have to, like if the original “Independence Day” (the sequel was pretty awful) becomes an actual reality, I’m going to have to outrun those aliens. I don’t want any of that alien goop on me. Wait, is that even the same movie?

3. I pretty much always feel defeated when I run. My mental game is always challenged. Doubt and the phrase, “You’re a slow-ass loser” visit me and I just want to tap out (I never do though) and I’m working on outrunning those thoughts. (Do you like what I did there?)

There are probably more reasons, but those are the top three.

Not gonna lie, this workout was tough. And it was more tough mentally than physically. The kettlebell swings and front squats were fine and compared to the rest of the workout, they felt more like the rest portion of the whole thing.

Box jumps. I have a love/hate – but mostly love – thing about box jumps. The first time I did one it was a little scary, but good, and I didn’t want to stop. Then I tore my ACL and meniscus (unrelated to box jumps) and under doctor’s orders I wasn’t allowed to jump on the box. Surgery fixed me up a bit and eventually I got the OK to box jump again. Except I couldn’t – more like, wouldn’t. My mind got in the way. My fear of hurting myself again – though the box jumps didn’t cause it – got in the way and literally anchored me from getting back on the box. With a lot of work and encouragement I eventually got back to jumping and shook off my fear. Though, I’ll be honest, the fear creeps its way back every once in a while, but I tell myself to get over it and just get back up.

I don’t know why I get scared. It’s not like I’ve ever had an accident with the box and banged myself up. That is, until this workout.

Halfway through my first set of 30 box jumps, I didn’t jump high enough and tripped over the box, banged my shin really hard, and fell to the side of box and onto the ground. My first thought was, “Ouch” and my second thought was, “Ugh. I hope no one saw that.”

It hurt, I was bleeding, and I so wanted to tap out. But it didn’t hurt that much and I wasn’t losing pints of blood, so I knew I could go on. I’ll admit, it took me a while to shake it off (I think I wasted a good five minutes), but eventually I jumped back on the box and finished the remainder of my set.

And then I had to run.

This was one of those workouts where the pain I was feeling wasn’t that bad. I was just tired. But I knew I could do it and finish and I just had to tell myself, “Just shut up and move!”

I eventually finished the entire workout, but it wasn’t easy. I had so much doubt about finishing and was giving myself so many outs to stop. But I didn’t give in…because it wasn’t easy, it was hard, and it was a challenge I was willing to accept. (p.s. I still think running sucks. But I’ll still do it anyway.)

One more thing about me falling off the box and being embarrassed if someone saw me: No one ever really looks pretty when they fall. But everyone looks beautiful when they get back up. Hopefully, I won’t have any more box jump mishaps, but I do trip over nothing on a daily basis and I’ll keep that in mind.

So if you ever fall in life, just remember that you’re beautiful when you get back up.  So keep getting back up!