Coach Kirstin

One of my favorite snacks is nuts, its portable and doesn’t go bad.  And generally they are salted, which is the requirement for any snack of mine.  I kind of think its why I have taken to eating avocados.  Which I forgot to pack in my lunch today and was acting like a crazy person on my way to the office trying to find one. Back to the nuts.  My favorite is pistachios. They are perfect and pretty much like crack.  I get this bag at Trader Joe’s of pieces.  They do all the work.  I can just eat without all the hassle of the shells.  And before I know it the whole 8 oz is gone.  These things should probably be a controlled substance around me and be on a timed released dispenser, like the morphine drip when you’re in the hospital.  No matter how many times you hit the button you don’t get any more morphine.  I on the other hand, should only be allowed so many pistachios in a day.   

So despite forgetting my badge, I acquired a temporary badge. Good thing I already knew my boss or this wouldn't have been my best first impression. Fortunately I had my old CAC card which was sufficient for my second form of id and I was able to in-process with the customer. But when I got back to my desk my phone wasnt working despite having full signal. Several troubleshooting attempts later I vaguely remember a phone call from AT&T about my credit card expiring. Log in and sure enough my bill is about 2 months and 300 past due. Payment and phone call later back in business. The rest of the afternoon was uneventful but took me until 4 to get sharepoint access and get started on anything. Though it ended on a high note with a visit from our PM. And then my boss called to make sure I made it out of the garage, clearly he had an idea of how my day was going. Work done and off to train, realizing I forgot shoes for crossfit and my gi...is it bed time yet?

I hate first days. I suck it up and deal with it but excitement is not something I have about it. I hate the starting over, having to prove that I am capable. And it breaks my routine. My lunch box is stuffed becaue I'm not sure what to be prepared for. And then there are first days like today. I'm on about 3 hours of sleep and am functioning like a high level handicap kid. I forgot my badge. I only brought one id and none that have my social. But I brought my lunch...so today is going to be ok

I protect my rest day like most moms protect their kids, as any of you who have tried to get me to do something on a Sunday know all to well. It's my day. And with it I like to do nothing. I say nothing but I get a lot done on Sundays. The usual laundry, groceries, weekly cooking, etc. But what nothing really means is I like to do Sunday on my own schedule and be accountable to no one. It's the day I catch up on my sleep. Like this past Sunday I slept 9 hours and then took a nap after lunch. The thing I try to avoid on Sundays is training. I love my training more than anything but I still need one day away from it. But my rest day always has this problem: I can't fall asleep. I'm well rested and I didn't train. Factors that cause me to be up at 1:20 am trying all of my usual ways to fall asleep. Or most. Because a drink or a sleep aid is not going to help me at 6:15 when the alarm goes off. So tonight I'm writing, which is what I do when my mind is full of thoug...

Last week, one of my coaches told me “you just need to believe you can pull it off.”  He was talking about a double leg but it applies to everything.  I’m my own biggest critic and probably harder on myself than anyone ever has been, but that’s not an invitation to test that.  I meter myself in situations I probably don’t need to because I’m not sure I can pull it off. Leap back 5 years ago, as my marriage was falling apart and I had just finished my MBA.  I was absorbed in the only thing that mattered to me, getting ahead at work.  My mentor and dear friend told me a story over our usual weekly coffee date about when she realized work wasn’t everything.  I knew what she was trying to impart on me.  She must have seen it written all over.  But that’s one of those lessons you just have live through. I did.  And changed a lot about my life.  I left the company I was working for. Found a ...

I was going through the freezer earlier this week and found 4 different containers of Salmon.  Explains where all the tupperware is at.  I have this habit of cooking in bulk and then tossing it in the freezer to pull out at a later when I’m short on time or lazy (things I learned from my dad).  Except I apparently had been skipping over the salmon.  Probably because I had been preparing it the same boring way I always do.  Having the family habit of being unable to waste anything, I began goggling ways to use leftover salmon.  The best options I found were a “cake” kind of like a crab cake or a “salad” like you put on a sandwich.  The second option seemed like less work and I figured with enough ingredients it would stand on its own without the bread.  So in went the flaked salmon, cucumbers, avocado, kalmata olives, capers and goat cheese.  It actually looked pretty until we tossed in the roasted tomatoes a...

So at 9:30 am I looked at my to-do list for today and I could actually check everything off.  I remembered to bring all the stuff I needed at the office, I returned stuff to Home Depot and made it to the bank.  This may seem like an everyday occurrence, and maybe for you it is but for me it’s like winning the lottery, it just doesn’t happen.  Many reasons.  Mostly I put too much into every day.  What I can I say, there are a lot things that I want to do.  But chief among them is not running errands.  But like every adult, there are just things you have to do that you don’t really want to.  I’d rather spend my time training, being with friends or sleeping and why not, it’s a whole lot more fun than returning something to Home Depot.    But in my attempts to be realistic with myself and keep myself healthy, I’m also trying to manage my to-do list.  So instead of 14 things to do on Saturday and ...

I have had a cold pretty much since I came back from Vegas.  I thought I had turned the corner but this weekend it got worse.  I spent most of the weekend coughing and because of that not sleeping so much.  I always find it ironic that the thing you need most when you are sick is the hardest thing to do.  Being a little more than fed up with this, I went to the dr this morning.  Sinus infection.  And a chest x-ray just for fun because Im now a sinus infection regular.  So wanting something a little easy and warm today, I decided to make my first soup...how hard can it be right.  I love soups with veggies but every soup has corn in it.  And I have a mild allergy to corn.  Trying not to agitate my sore (sore really doesn't describe, its more like raw) throat anymore I wanted to make my own soup.  So into the crockpot went chicken broth, 2 cans of diced tomatoes and 3 chicken breasts.  I found potatoes, a red pepper and broccoli i...

So as a whole, I'd say I'm pretty comfortable with my body.  I'd be lying if I said there were things I didn't want to improve upon.  But these days, its from a functional standpoint.  I'd like a stronger core so I had the confidence to nail a double leg and do all the pushups in class.  There have been many times in my life that I wanted to change from a superficial standpoint.  Mostly because its a pain the ass to find pants that fit my proportions.  And by that I mean, when you have Murphey thighs, jeans makers believe you must also have a waist about 2x the size of mine.  But you adapt.  And I have found a few jeans that I adore.  But there are also days that I love my thighs, yesterday being one of them.  Low round kicks, absorbing.  Officially my favorite day I have Murphey thighs.

So I have thought about this for a while.  Do I actually write this post?  Do I put my dirty laundry out there for everyone? Or the handful that read my blog.  And if I do, what do I say? Do I slam those involved?  Do I take the high road?  When is a “good” time to put it out there?  A few days under my belt and there is probably no better time. So no secret, my ex-boyfriend was my coach.  That worked out mildly well while we were together but add a breakup and somehow it just doesn’t work out as smoothly.  Add a few of the worst things a person could do to another in there and disaster doesn’t even begin to describe.  But I have this eternal belief that I can make any situation work.  That I can fix things.  It’s what makes me good at my job.  I’m an eternal optimist. But it’s what causes me to not be so good at my personal life.  Even when things are clearly not good, I still think I can fix it and make it right...

Good news, my body fat is 19.6%. Bad news, just low enough for me to lose my bet. I'm not even going to admit what I was dumb enough to put on the line because I have already been told there will be pictures everywhere of this. I made the threat of never losing again, which really just means to more betting for me. When asked if I learned my lesson, my response "yeah throw the bet".

So to say I have textures issues is putting it mildly.  There is nothing that activates my gag reflex quicker.  A soggy spot on bread.  Fattiness in meat.  I try to spit it out as politely as possible before I yak.  And for this reason, I don’t eat avocado’s.  I know how wonderful they are but scooping them out to make guacamole is already pretty close to me gagging, the idea of eating them in their whole state is out of the question.  I buy them on occasion with the intention of trying to eat them.  And then I chicken out and it goes bad. Until last week.  I pick up my friend, who he and his girlfriend are doing a paleo challenge at their CrossFit gym.  And he tells me how he’s been craving avocado’s…and bacon.  Bacon, check. Avocados…not so much.  He says he just loves to put some salt on an avocado and eat it.  I’m thinking he’s a little off his rocker and should just...

So I like to think I take very calculated risks. That may sound like the dumbest thing I've ever said (though I can guarantee I've said worse) considering my extracurricular activities. But that's still a calculated risk, given the right training it isn't too crazy. So over lunch on Sunday I got into a disagreement over my body fat and what weight I could cut to. I believe at my current weight of 147 that my body fat is over 20%, he disagreed. So naturally this devolved into a friendly bet since I'm doing a Bod Pod test on Thursday. The looser had to wash the others motorcycle.  Not really fair since I think I’m right and mine is brand new.  But then a real wager was put down and there was no backing down, especially because I still think I'm right. Until I told my roommate and her response “there is no way and that’s going all over facebook when it happens.” So in a slight moment of panic, I considered “throwing” the bet but we’...

Yesterday I was having a conversation about New Year’s resolutions and I said I don’t really make them because I see each day as a new opportunity to improve myself.  Mostly because if I waited a full year to set a new goal, I would never get anything done.  Every Sunday I say “this is the week I’m going to get in bed by 11:30 every night and get up without hitting the snooze button.”  This has only been going on for about the last 3 years and snooze button part probably longer.  Imagine if I waited a year to get that one right, I’d die before that ever became a reality.  Sometimes I extend those goals to a week. Like cutting out the sugar, which is purely a function of the sleep factor.  The less sleep I get over the week, the more sugar I eat.  So I wait until the weekend to catch up on my sleep and start out Monday with this same goal of less sugar….clearly that’s going as well as the sleep thing....

Yesterday someone in class asked me why I bothered painting my toes. I had no good response. I have to repaint my toes almost every night to not have some rub spots from rolling. I guess I'm still holding onto that part of me that wears cute heels with pretty painted toes peeking out. That has blisters from wearing unrealistic shoes. Instead the reality is me that generally has one broken toe. Scars all over my feet and mostly on my toe knuckles from being drug across the mat. The eternal blood blister under my big toe. The addition this week is my "ring" toes keep bleeding where the toe nail has separated from the nail bed. So I paint my toes to hold on to part of me and tuck my feet into a rockin pair of boots....with no heel.

So Monday I was talking to my boss who is also a good friend about a decision I made and he said the sweetest/ nice thing to me.  Basically to stop second guessing myself because I have no reason to and if I have people in my life that are doing that, get rid of them.  But it brought tears to my eyes.  The good tears.  That make you realize how wonderful the people in your life are.  And that they are so very right.  When I told him he made me cry in a good way, I got the following response.  It was so wonderful and so profound that I had to share it:   You need to surround yourself with people who will make you cry and laugh in a good way and not waste your time on the others. Life is too short and unpredictable to waste not being happy. Live like there is no tomorrow. That way when you are old you can look back and not feel like you wish you had done it different and regret. Hell when people talk to me I don't wish I had done it over. I ju...

So I was a little unprepared for our eating plan this week.  Kind of unusual for me, I generally uber prepared as evidenced by the random collection of stuff in my car.  So I was sent on a mission by the roomie to pick up salmon and so I wandered the store looking for some other ideas for the week.  And I happened upon stir fry beef.  I felt adventurous and grabbed.  Adventurous because stir fry beef has yet to go well for me.  But I always like a good challenge.  So I grabbed it and tonight the adventure began.  Jen had green beans from the the green grocer box so I grabbed some baby bella mushrooms at the store and the fun began.  I started with the green beans, adding in peanut oil, soy sauce, garlic and salt.  Before the meat ever got added the beans were tasty.  The best part was cooking and chatting with Jen, laughing about her request that I buy hot men at Costco.  Meat and the the mushrooms were added next.  Jen ro...

So today was a game changer.  I made a decision, actually it was made for me but I decided my fate today. It was tough.  I talked it over with my dad.  With my roomie.  With my mentor.  And to celebrate the new chapter the roomie cooked me dinner.  And got me flowers to sooth it over.  I got the  shrimp and cocktail sauce.  She cooked a salmon with Chalmers family secret marinade.  To go along with it was quinoa (which Siri says really funny) topped with roasted tomatoes.  Also a salad of romaine and spinach with cucumbers, sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese.  It was all fantastic and tasty.  But more than anything it was pretty so  I had to take a picture.

It's always a good time to be had. And it hurts you all the same. 4 nights is too many, I know that, but did it anyway. But hey, I still haven't yaked in Vegas. Though that blue drink that tasted like an otter pop and milkshake combo, came really close to ending that. An accomplishment considering I can do that at home with little to no incentive. My body hurts in ways I didn't know possible or even why. Things I learned on this trip: Eve, Jason (her hubby) and Chris (his friend) and I are like a dysfunctional family but we vacation well together. This is our third trip together. I laughed my way through the entire trip, even in the mornings when my head hurt. Anything is fun with good people. The more I drink, the more I think I'm a superstar. As I fade it goes to rock star and then I'm just good. I can fall asleep almost anywhere, especially after a cocktail. Every morning I woke up way too damn early on too little sleep, damn east coast internal clock, and fel...

Breaking news, I'm an intense person. I put everything I have into everything I do. And I don't really know how to back off. The result of that is the occasional injury. While you may take a break in training, I don't understand this concept. This is why I see my physical therapist  Jessica every week for things like putting ribs back in place, realigning knee caps, unlocking ankles, the usual. But she also introduced me to the most amazing Dr I have ever worked with, Dr Ibrahim . First, he deals with athletes. So he has never told me to stop doing which ever thing I am doing to hurt myself and take up golf. He probably knows I just wouldn't listen but also knows that won't work for an athlete. And so he fixes me. But he's a sports medicine doctor, so he has many non surgical methods that are amazingly effective. I have received prolotherapy to my knee which improved the grinding and pain tenfold. I had a torn everything in my shoulder and he used different inj...

This new year has started with my stomach in knots over a decision I have to make. It's something that I've needed to do for a while but gave myself time away to clear my head and make it. Maybe I should have chosen somewhere other than Vegas to clear my head, I think I'm foggier than ever. I have talked to just about everyone I know for input but ultimately it's one I have to make. One I have to live with. I've made a fatal mistake when it comes to the coach and student relationship, and now I have consequences to live with. Each path has a huge positive and a huge negative, both working towards two different personal goals that I never thought would conflict. I always thought one would enable the other. I have to decide which is goal is more important and what I'm willing to sacrifice to make the other work. But that's what life is about, sacrifice to get all things we want. In the words of Coughlin from The Town "Well, if it were easy kid, everybo...