Reconnecting with Family

Lots of people are pissed about the privacy stuff going on around Facebook these days. I say "take the time to reset/check your settings, be careful what you post about yourself, pick your friends carefully, and use the place wisely". Because right now I believe the benefits outway the risks.

I haven't seen my half-sister in over 10 years. We didn't grow up together and her life has had lots of ups & downs (most of which I heard about third hand from our father). Recently we "found" eachother on Facebook. And this week, while in San Diego for a conference, we gathered together for a short visit. Our dad and his wife drove down from the LA area, and my mom joined us for dinner.



Jackie & I still don't have much in common (except some facial features and half of Dad's genes, including the one that doesn't show our true age) but as we all grow older we learn to value the benefit of family ties. I hope it's not 10 more years before we see each other again.

CrossFit in San Diego CA

With the growing popularity of CrossFit, it's becoming easier to find a box in most major cities. When traveling I look up affiliates and with this trip to San Diego was fortunate to find that CrossFit Invictus was only 4 short blocks away from my hotel.











They were very welcoming (if you're already an affiliate member, you can drop in for any group coaching class). Monday evening we worked on Push Jerk (I'm not a natural at the split but managed 5 reps at 105# x 2 sets - just need to work on widening my feet on the landing) then pushed my thrusters up to 65# for 20 reps in the WOD (previously been doing 55#). Monday was also Sage Burgener's birthday. She dressed appropriately.

On Tuesday morning was a fun set up Deadlifts, Box Jumps and Sprints...worked on continuously improving my time for each set. And pushed a couple of people who were lifting/jumping near me so they got better times (which makes me work harder).



That lesson/habit is one of the things I love about my affiliate, CrossFit Las Vegas - we are encouraged to push each other. You're not done with the WOD until the last person in the class is done. I love the support I get from the better athletes, and I enjoy working side-by-side with newer folks as they finish their sets.

This past week marked the one year anniversary of my first CrossFit WOD (in Balad, Iraq). When I started it was just a means to help lose weight. But it quickly became a lot more. I firmly believe I'm now more fit and healthy than 20 years ago when I was teaching aerobics, jogging, and even when doing short distance triathlons when I lived in San Diego. And I look forward to staying "young" with a healthy lifestyle for as long as my genetics allow it.

Wednesday is a rest day. Looking forward to future WODs and learning new things about what my body can do.

Catching Up With An Old Friend

Some time in the late 1980's I was doing temp work as a receptionist in family planning at a San Diego cemetery. One day a dozen roses were sent to me. Had to do a little detective work to find out they came from a young man from a Hillcrest mortuary. Later that week we went out, stayed up all night talking, and started a 5 year friendship.

In 1992 I left San Diego for my dietetic internship in Salt Lake City and our paths never passed again.

Until this past December when he looked me up on Facebook. Six months later we finally reconnected in person, and I could introduce him to my husband (and vice versa).

Gregg, me & Ray

Yay for renewed friendships!

Still Doing CrossFit

Next month it will be one year since I attended my first CrossFit workout.

What is CrossFit?

CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist.

The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs.

While in Balad it started as a way to augment my weight loss. Then it became a personal challenge to do a pull-up (which I did on 28 June). After coming home I tried to do it myself at the regular gym (following the daily workout on CrossFit.com) but sometimes there wasn't the right equipment, or no way to time it properly.

A month later I found CrossFitLasVegas with trainers that helped me learn proper lifting technique and scaled workouts for success, safety and effectiveness. I also found a supportive community.

All of our workouts can be tracked on BeyondTheWhiteboard so progress can be measured. Every week I find myself doing something a little faster, a little stronger, or even just a little easier. The first time I did "Murph" it took 1 hour 23 minutes (using a treadmill for the running and a blue band for the pull-ups). A couple of weeks ago we did this WOD at CFLV. New time to beat: 51:59 (pull-ups with the red band, running outside. Pushups were not regulation but they will be the next time).



While in Balad my max effort on Deadlift was 155#. In January this year I lifted 180# and last week I did 2 sets of 5 lifts at 135# with 1 set at 145#.

Oh, and the original goal of weight loss? Definately seeing the difference. I hadn't felt comfortable in a bikini in YEARS.

Welcome to the 301st Fighter Wing and Medical Squadron

Introduced to the mission of the unit. Then to my squadron. The largest medical reserve unit in the USAF - providing support to the entire base and maintaining readiness to deploy anywhere in the world.

Many folks from here were in Balad with me last year! So great to see so many familiar faces. Some of them are going back this fall.

Here is my team:


We're building the Nutritional Medicine Element almost from scratch, I'm the first dietitian they've had in the unit. I volunteered to be alternate unit fitness monitor as well (there were a few folks impressed with my push-ups). Next time I'll talk with the squadron vice commander about additional duties in the administrative side (next time I deploy I want to be in the command hallway, not the kitchen - and transfering to a unit is how I can get the experience to do this).

First UTA Weekend at the 301st

Flew into Dallas-Ft Worth tonight.
Billeting put me up at the Sheraton downtown Ft Worth.
Tomorrow morning I figure out how to get to the base and find the newcomer's briefing. And learn all about Unit Reserve life.

My First Helicopter Ride Was Amazing

So many good sights. Lots of pictures & a few videos (start HERE on the flickr).

Early morning (0730) showed us the dawn over the Big Island mountains. We headed towards the sun across the middle of the island to reach Volcanoes National Park. Steam vents everywhere and perfect overcast conditions to find some hot lava.



From there we go up the East coast through Hilo and into Waipi'o Valley. So many waterfalls all over this side of the island.

A great overview of the island. Funny & informative pilot (Koji) and great customer service (Paradise Helicopters).