Going back to Cali: 25 lessons learned.

1. There are some things that are more important than CrossFit... and their names are Marco, Naomi, Taryn, Hannah, Sherry, and Marco.

2. Eating an incredible breakfast every single day of your life is a certain to induce happiness.

3. There are people in the world who wake up at 7am almost every morning... slip on a skin tight wet-suit, walk about 50 ft. with a board covered in a substance called "sex wax" and "surf" or literally ride the waves of the ocean. What???

4. I like shopping. I like shopping with Rachel Greengas more.

5. CrossFit is officially official (see the CrossFit Games).

6. When I leave CFCC people miss me. Whew. <3

7. When I leave CFCC Greg will not hesitate to call me at 7am anyway about somesuchthingoranotherthanksgreg.

8. A bad flight can make you completely forget how good a vacation is.

9. 3 layovers is not worth $100. Got it.

10. You think you're going to need 9 shirts, 4 shorts, 3 pairs of pants, 19 pairs of undergarments, 6 dresses, 4 pairs of shoes, and countless other amenities when in California but what you really need is 5 good swimsuits, 3 dresses, a nightgown, some sunscreen, some aloe, a tube of toothpaste, a tube of shampoo, one pair of shoes, and a pair of sunglasses.

11. Biking still makes more than just my butt hurt. That said, I suppose I can now say that spin classes are good for something.

12. While reading "Committed" by Elizabeth Gilbert : "In the end, it seems to me that forgiveness may be the only realistic antidote we are offered in love, the combat the inescapable disappointments of intimacy." It's not depressing if you know what it means... it means you can get forgiven...

13. I have a lot of faults. I wrote them all down. I'm telling you... I have a LOT of faults.

14. At Sharkee's... when you get one of this you are really getting two. Just saying.

15. Apparently all is still fair in love and war.

16. Some day I would really love to buy a beach house for somebody.

17. I have decided to start writing and actively pursuing music again... this means... I can afford the aforementioned beach house.

18. If you're looking for a great place to stay and do almost nothing for a weekend... Manhattan Beach is your ticket. I will be back. To very resolutely do more nothing.

19. On some Midwest flights they give you two chocolate chip cookies. On others... one.

20. Ejote is corn covered in mayo, dressed with sharp cheese, and chile powder. Napkins required.

21. Shrimp ceviche and mahi mahi is what I want for dinner.

22. Whole Foods is so sad here. So very, very sad.

23. No matter how long you've known them... people will still surprise you.

24. You also get MONEY when you win the CrossFit Games... I forgot!

25. “Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

And now... a post about an animal.

One of my favorite books when I was younger than I am now.

The world's largest animal, the funniest-looking-but-still-somehow-graceful ears.

A memorable moment in Disney elephant history (there are a lot of elephants in Disney World).

Elephant anatomy is also pretty freaking cool. I feel like Marcy Rose must know a thing or two about this.

And lastly, for serious... elephants have the largest brains on the planet... though they have poor eyesight they've been known to recognize themselves in mirrors (a somewhat weirdly-Narcissus-like sign of intelligence in the animal kingdom...), grieve, hold grudges, and play.

Sticks and stones.

Such a great piece of history, from a man who I think dealt with it so well. The whole speech is awesome... but the bit that I love is here:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

-Theodore Roosevelt.

There's a lot to do in the coming months, the coming year... A LOT. And lately, in conversations with so many and through reading around... I wonder sometimes why I am where I am and how I got here. Why am I doing CrossFit? How has this whole thing become pretty much my whole life? Are there other phases? There are lot of other ways to train, ways to be fit, things to do... When do they happen?

I'm not entirely sure I have a full answer. I know that today I was exhausted from 5 hours of sleep (I kind of have no choice right now) and very busy running back and forth between a bunch of appointments... but I could not have been happier while coaching. I love this place. I love these people. And I am so proud of all of them.

That's more than worth it for now.

You know what I need?

I need to remember a little.

Some people know the Tribe of this era. It has grown into a wonderful place full of some stellar athletes and some incredible drive to perform well.

I feel like lately I'm remembering this era.

Before there was a dream about going to the CrossFit Games, before there was CrossFit Center City, before there was a whiteboard - there was a truck full of sandbags and small tires, a swinging pull-up bar, a very small schedule, years of Workouts of the Day, and a small group of very normal people.

What they say about most bad parenting in most cases is that it's really just confusion or miscommunication. You bring a child into the world and you are solely responsible for making sure that child learns the basics and is protected. The older they get however, and usually just at the time where they have the ability to take the most risks, the more you find that the child needs you less - and that you have become reliant upon being needed.

It is hard to let go. It is hard to acknowledge when a season is done.

What helps me - what has helped me - is thinking about it - remembering what it used to be like - and telling myself... it's so different now, I don't even recognize it... and I don't mind. How it is now is how it was always going to be.

If something is going to be really good - it is going to grow into it's own thing. You can't control it. You can't hold it back. It is growing because it is good.

I'm pretty sure Tribe has grown like that. It is the people that make it amazing, infectious, and a place where a normal person can begin to feel very special. It's a phenomenon of CrossFit - most of the time it's only the truly surprising people that put in the time.

I feel like a small part of me doesn't miss old Sunday Open Gyms... even though I thought I would. I don't miss when people would wonder over to Rt. 70 hungover and somehow ready to work out. I don't really mind that it's not my camera recording every moment - and it's not my fingers every Sunday typing out a long slew of PRs and things perfected on to the world wide web.

I'd hoped at the time that someone was watching our little Tribe of 15 or so people. I'd hoped that someone else would come in and join us. I dreamed really big dreams for such a small place - for so many beginners.

Every new person was like a world of their own - bringing a different dynamic to the week, challenging everyone in new ways, and causing everyone to hope for the Tribe that would eventually be.

So things change - they become what they are - and all of us have become better. It would be a mistake to think that hanging on to the past could somehow be a good thing.

Change, though frightening for whatever primal reason, is a good thing. It is how we get better. It is how we learn.

I have a lot of love for all of those days. I could go on forever about each and every person I can remember walking through the door. But remembering will only get you so far.

It's no less true today than it was then:

You’ll find, as I did, that excellence boils down to a simple truth: you’ve got to reject where you are before you can get where you’re going. You've got to be better than you were yesterday.

-Jon Gilson

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89). Poems. 1918.

2. Heaven—Haven

A nun takes the veil

I HAVE desired to go
Where springs not fail,
To fields where flies no sharp and sided hail
And a few lilies blow.

And I have asked to be
Where no storms come,
Where the green swell is in the havens dumb,
And out of the swing of the sea.

John Wooden is the man.

I need to read books by him.

This incredible coach just passed away ... but while alive effected so many for the better and said the following:

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Tis the season to... EAT YOUR VEGGIES!

So I have this awesome friend that is following a very simple nutritional program that I've laid out for her and she mentioned that I should pass along any veggie recipes I knew.

The truth is... I LOVE VEGETABLES. Here's how I answered her:

As far as veggie recipe ideas go...

I know you love Elana as much as I do but FOR SERIOUS... the list of things she makes is EXHAUSTIVE and so dependably good! http://www.elanaspantry.com/recipes/ I like the savory stuff and the veggies! :) If you stick exactly to some of the salad recipes too you're not getting a ton of fat at ALL with the dressings. If you're fretting about that anyway you can always stick with super lean meats to go with your salads... simple boiled chicken breast or pre-sliced turkey and chicken or pre-poached salmon from Trader Joe's. The great thing about most of her veggie recipes too is that there IS some fruit flavoring (like raisins in the kale, oranges in the salads...). This is ok! All I would do is just take out the fruit you might have in the morning and exchange it for the fruit in the salad later in the day.

A word on salads:

They can be great and really filling because of all the bulk from the leaves. I'm sure you could figure out a way to do a cobb salad... I often eat my salads without dressing and find that I'm totally cool with that as long as I can drizzle a little of the fat from the pan of whatever I cooked over my salad - or do a little lemon/lime/orange squeezing... OR - do mustard. Mustard's a pretty sweet thing to use when trying to get lean because it does provide good flavoring - but it's pretty much not very calorie dense at all. Mustard chicken could be easy to make and fun to eat. You could also do a thai tasting salad pretty easily too by adding a tiny pit of almond butter to a chicken marinade (marinating stuff is WHERE IT'S AT by the way). OR make it simple and buy a marinade that's real and a little low in fat... use it sparingly (don't drench your meat) and you should be safe!

Here are some of the veggie recipes that I think would be great to try:

http://www.elanaspantry.com/raw-kale-salad/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/asian-slaw/ - do this one without the stevia, sesame seeds, and instead of buying a JAR of almond butter that you will then have around - just buy a packet or a small tin of almond butter. Peanut butter if you have to.

http://www.elanaspantry.com/coleslaw/ - no agave nectar! You're probably safe trying this recipe without the sweetener altogether but what I would do is just throw in a little raw honey. It's tough to eat a lot of that stuff so having it around probably won't be that bad. Feel free to just use packets of honey if you don't want to risk it. A few is fine. As far as the mayonnaise part goes - just get the omega-3 mayo wegmans has and only do like anywhere from 1/2 to 1/4 of a cup. Pretty basic.

http://www.elanaspantry.com/cucumber-mango-salad/ - super simple, super refreshing. What I would do as far as the mango goes is do a LOT more cucumber than mango and again take out the fruit in the am. PS... ume plum vinegar is GREAT for you... the Japanese use it to cure hangovers.

http://www.elanaspantry.com/no-potato-salad/ - this is an EXCELLENT idea and would go REALLY well with burgers for a week. I think you could easily get away with making this just as is.

http://www.elanaspantry.com/sunflower-sprout-salad/ - SUPER SIMPLE! And as easy as it gets. Grab greens, grab tomatoes, grab some sprouts (good for you!), grab a teeny bit of olive oil and lemon juice, maybe some cracked pepper and you're golden! Serve with fish, I think! Or maybe some shrimp!

http://www.elanaspantry.com/zucchini-attack-summer-squash-salad/ - sounds good to me, I'd do one tbs. of olive oil and skip the almonds. Summer means SO MUCH SQUASH AROUND... should be pretty simple. DO NOT skip the FRESH BASIL. Fresh herbs make food incredible.

http://www.elanaspantry.com/roasted-asparagus/ - so simple... asparagus is CHOCK full of B vitamins (some of the best for your brain and nerve tissue regeneration (makes you stronger!)... it's also got folic acid in it which makes you smell. ha!

http://www.elanaspantry.com/squash-pie/ - I've made this before... it's AWESOME as a breakfast takeaway thing! I'd eat it with a hardboiled egg on the side since it already has eggs in it... but you can make it as is because it makes a LOT of food so the fat gets distributed well. It's great too because there's no fruit in it but it still tastes just slightly sweet!

http://www.elanaspantry.com/bbq-sauce/ - lucky you... this barbecue sauce is SAFE to make! The orange juice will be giving it a little bit of sugar... but you can just take the fruit out of your day for days when you eat this too (especially given the tomatoes)! :) I'd make a big vat of it if you really like it and just dress all your chicken in it. Eat it with some collard greens and plain sweet potato and you've got a bangin' meal.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/carrots - so many ways to make CAAAARRRROOOOTSS!!!!!!!!! Go light on the butter with the first recipe and you should be fine (you probably won't need more than a pat of it to give it some depth).

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/baked-mushrooms - these are fine too! Lay off anything but a LITTLE bit of hard cheese. Just the baked mushroom itself is AWESOME. You know you want to eat these when someone ELSE makes them for you! :)

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/braised-greens - this is definitely a good way to make greens. Pretty much a staple. You can mess around with flavor. Ginger and garlic with bok choy. Nutmeg with spinach. Stuff like that.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/easy-peas - Peas and mint. It's genius. Don't be afraid to like peas! Obviously use less butter.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/good-old-french-bean-salad - You thought you would never have a reason to use chervil. Now you do. This is another recipe that shows you how AWESOME mustard is.

http://www.molliekatzen.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipe=mashed_parsnips - you should know what a parsnip is. It's the Beatrix Potter amazingness you need to seriously LOVE.

http://www.molliekatzen.com/archives.php#vegetables - in general, mollie katzen is awesome...

That's about it! I have a lot more - like do you even know what daikon is? And we didn't talk about pickles! - but I'll hold off for now.

Love,

me