Its been a busy couple of weeks here at Evil lab central, so lets get right into it.
First, I wanted to catch you up on my racing, which includes last week's Newton's 8 hours of Triathlon. Yes, the race is exactly the way it sounds - 8 non-stop hours of racing. I was fortunate enough to race with 2 lovely ladies, so I was part of a team, a nice change of pace from the normal race routine. My teammates, Krissy Smiley and Allison Gill are not only phenomenal athletes, they happen to be some pretty amazing people to boot, so we had a blast. The format consisted of a course that was a .24 mile swim, 11.2 mile bike, and a 2.6 mile run. The goal for teams or individuals, complete as many loops as possible in 8 hours. Luckily for me, both ladies are outstanding swimmers, so I didn't need to go in the water.
That did not stop me from getting wet however, as we were greeted with storms after the race was only an hour old. I agreed to do the heavy lifting on the bike and run, especially considering the conditions. But the girls were out there too, facing the nasty elements, facing their fears head on, racing UNSCARED. I was and am truly proud of how well they did. Our efforts paid off, nabbing us first place in the Co-Ed division, only one run away from the World Record. That news did give us a reason to go back next year, and armed with better fitness and a better game plan, we are poised to break that record.
While we were racing, the Fittest Games on Earth were taking place in Carson, CA, from last Wednesday to Sunday. As a fan and follower of Crossfit, this year's games were by far, the best I've ever seen. I challenge any skeptic who doubts the true athleticism, determination and level of professionalism of the sport and its athletes to find a reason to no longer call the Crossfit Games "a real sport". 12 events tested the top 40 men and women, in ways that I truly think would crack any other professional athlete, starting with a half marathon row, that's right 13.1 miles on a C2 row machine, and ending with a nasty event on Sunday called the "Cinco". Viewers were treated to amazing feats of strength, speed, agility, endurance, etc, and at the end, the Men's Champion remained Rich Froning, perhaps the most complete athlete that has competed in sports in years, and a new women's champ - Sam Briggs, a tough, hard working and tenacious athlete out of England, who rose to the occasion when it mattered most.
The beauty of the Games was its timing- as we are in the midst of MLB's huge drug scandal, involving would be heroes like A-Rod, and Ryan Braun, plus the Aaron Hernandez case of murder, and the Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper's ignorance, bigotry and idiocy tarnishing his career as well as his team, and of course, Johnny Football Manziel, who is poised to ruin his pro career before it even gets started, finding himself in trouble weekly; the Games were a beacon of true sport and showcased athletes worthy of hero status. No drama, no drug scandals, just a community of athletes who compete against each other, yet cheer one another on, showing the true spirit of sport. Check your ESPN schedule, it will be replayed this Sunday at 1 pm, Central time.
Now, in keeping with sharing stories of those who have experienced change, for the better, I give you, in her words, the story of Krissy Smiley. Not only is she an award winning Physical education teacher, she's a great athlete, and most important, a truly amazing person. Her smile is a gift, her heart open to all, she is the light for so many kids who are lost, or are seeking an adult figure to guide them. Although its not part of her job description, she welcomes the opportunity to mentor kids by her actions, showing them daily how to live a healthy and good life. Here is her story -
Let me start my story with the first and most important thing that I have learned over the last three and a half years. Training more is not the most efficient way to get stronger or faster. I used to think that I had to do anhour of cardiovascular exercise to see any changes or gains in my body. This thinking had been instilled from a young girl. Growing up I was a competitive swimmer. My coaches would always say that the more distance we swam at practice, the better and stronger we would be at meets. After my swimming career ended, I kept that way of thinking in my head. That is until about three and a half years ago. I finally got it out of my head that I had to put that hour of cardio in everyday.
I always liked to stay in shape. I am a physical education teacher, coach, and massage therapist and I love being active and learning about what the body is capable of doing. I got the itch in 2009 to compete in a sprint triathlon. I had not been swimming or biking in years. The thought of getting into a pool for a workout alone made me cringe. I had no excuse though, I mean Midtown Athletic Club had a pool and it wasn’t like I didn’t know how to swim. Heck I was teaching a laps and drills class there. Ok, time to put on big girl pants: or in this case bathing suit and swim. I got in for my first workout which was based on swimming a mile. I got through with it and right away I remembered why I quit swimming competively. I was bored out of my mind.
It was around this time that I noticed this super fit man swimming at Midtown. I would see him in the pool and he was always doing something different. We started talking and he told me he was Guy Petruzzelli and he was a professional triathlete. The more we talked the more I really wanted to train the right way for the triathlon that I wanted to do. He told me a little bit about the way he trained and introduced me to the awesome world of Crossfit. I told him what I was doing and he offered to help me train and coach me.
The first thing that he changed was the amount of cardio I was doing. He incorporated strength work too, which I had not been doing much of. With Guys help, I got back into the pool again. He had me doing drills I had never heard of. He helped me make my stroke more efficient and I have to say that I LOVE swimming again. It was amazing how things just started to come together with this new way of training. I was doing less cardio, more Crossfit workouts and getting stronger. I was hooked.
I have now participated in over 10 triathlons and have done better at each one. I got a huge confident boost last year when I actually won the Midwest Classic Indoor Triathlon Series. I know that I would not have been able to do that without the coaching, and support that Guy gives to me. I am convinced that by doing Crossfit I will continue to get stronger and not injured. Never again will I go back to doing the elliptical machine for an hour. It took years but thanks to a great coaching and support, I now know there is a more efficient way to get stronger and faster.
Krissy
Stay Strong,
Guy
