CrossFit and Paleo

Well, I have officially joined a crossfit gym in Chicago! (crossfitdefined.com).  So far I love everything about it.  The coaches are great, the atmosphere is great, and the peer support is great.  I really look forward to becoming a part of the community.

Now, before I talk about why I started doing crossfit, I want to talk about why I started Paleo.  Well, there are many reasons, such as, not really ever feeling 100%, being tired, not being healthy, etc... but, the biggest reason is I am not happy with my body, nor have I ever been.  I know I'm not overweight, actually, I am exactly the right weight for my height, however, I am still not happy with that.  I want to be lean and fit and running was not cutting it.  I've spent 3 years marathon training and still not gotten the body I wanted.  I would attribute that mostly to diet.  I'm pretty used to eating whatever I want whenever I want and that simply doesn't cut it.  So about 2 months ago I started eating paleo.  I cut all grain out of my diet and most dairy.  I only eat good quality foods, but don't watch quantity, which is awesome!  I don't need to count calories at all.  By doing this, in 2 short months I have already started to see results (and that's with virtually no exercise).  If there's one thing I've learned by doing this, it's that you absolutely cannot out-exercise diet.

Now, a bit as to why I started crossfit.  Well...again....I am not happy with my body, but also I am very one sided as an athlete.  Running was awesome at getting me into running shape, but that didn't make me very well rounded.  I really want to become a more rounded athlete, with not just leg strength, but upper body strength, and core strength as well.  I also want to see how far I can push myself fitness wise.  Since I ran my first marathon at age 19, I often find myself thinking "well, now what", so I need something a little different to work towards.  The really awesome thing about the gym I joined, is they also have endurance classes, which incorporate long distance training with crossfit training.  So I am still able to do my running with crossfit.

I am really looking forward to this new kind of training, and I am optimistic that this time I will get the results I'm looking for.  One of my goals is to compete in the CrossFit Games this upcoming season.  I may not get very far, but at the very least I am going to compete in the Open bracket.  A longer term goal of mine is to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  This is something I've wanted ever since I started running, unfortunately though, I have always been slow, so I never really saw it as a realistic goal, just a dream.  Now, with this new kind of training, it is looking more and more possible for my dream to become a reality.