Strength.

I needed to read this today! Needed this push to do better! Be stronger! Work harder! Need a little more inspiration....here ya go....

Women Of The 2010 CrossFit Games from Boomer Alred on Vimeo.

A Good Week!

So last week I ran the loop at Memorial Park..for the first time since the "tear". As Katie and I pulled up I told her my heart was slamming and I was afraid. I have never been a runner. And although I have come to really enjoy it in the past two years, I knew taking five months off was going to have an impact. BUT...it felt GREAT. We ran it in under 27 minutes! I think that is better then when I stopped. And I was pumped! The next day proved to have another challenge for me..EVA!! Ahh..something I have managed to avoid for two years. For those of you who do not know Eva...5 rounds, 800m run, 30 KB Swings @53#, 30 Pullups!! It is nasty! No two ways around it. But I figured it was the week for new things! So I did it...it took me 61 minutes and some change! Honestly I can not remember the last time I worked out that long! My calf cramped up, 53#s never felt so heavy and oh lets not forget my hands....
Like that!?!?!
On to the next day...again another good run with Katie! And Friday another named WOD..Kelly..with more running and my two least fav things wall balls and box jumps. But I powered through, even if I did want to quit on the third round.
It felt good to tackle these things this week. I tried new things, conquered some fears and started getting back in the swing of things! I was able to do a lot of my workouts with Katie and that has just been AMAZING!! She is a great coach, an awesome workout buddy and a fantastic whip cracker/motivator! SO thanks Katie! Lets kick some butt this week and get you ready for your half this weekened!!!

Bad Blogger!

Okay so I have not been so great about updating. I will get on that.

This weekend was a busy and eventful weekend! Vic competed this weekend in Austin for CrossFit Centrals Fittest Games Competition! He got 4th overall!!! WAY TO GO VIC!! And Kristian and Charlie were out there showing their support!Unfortunately, Katie and I were not able to go and show our support! (But we were cheering him on in spirit!!) We both attended the Landmark Forum this weekend. This is a personal developement course. And it was an interesting weekend. Now I am not going to lie, sitting for 13 hours a day for a whole weekend is not my ideal situation. BUT...while I did not get everything that this course was offering, it did open my eyes to a few things. And it was fun hanging out with Katie all weekend. We seemed to get a little silly and goofy by the end of the day!
It did help me come to appreciate my parents and how they raised me a WHOLE lot more! I truly have had a blessed life and am forever thankful to my parents for the wonderful life they have given me! Thanks Mom and Dad!
(This is an old shot of us...we need to take some pics together!)
How was your weekend?

Where does the time go?

2011! 2011! Wow! Where did last year go? It was by far the best year to date! (with a few low points..ahem..achilles!) But what an amazing year. I found my passion in the past two years and then I got the opportunity to do it for a living! I have found AMAZING friends, and an AMAZING community to be part of!

Here are a few things that happened for me last year:

1) I was blessed with the opportunity to become a coach for Bayou City CrossFit! It has been such an experience. Not only have had the opportunity to change and help others, but they have helped me become a better person as well.

2) I lived on my own for the first time...while this may not seem like a big thing to some, it was for me. Found out I would much rather have a room mate!)

3) Became and Aunt in 2009 and through out 2010 got a chance to spend some time with an truly fantastic little person, my niece Ilsa ( or Bird as we call her) By getting to spend time with her I also got to know my sister in law Leah a lot better. I am blessed with an amazing new sister!

4) My family! Enough said! They have stood behind me this past year as I made this huge step into a job that was a relative unknown. And they were there during some really hard times to.

5) My torn Achilles heel...WHAT!?!? you ask...while the tear itself was a huge set back for me personally, it taught me a WHOLE LOT! I learned more about myself in those three months then I have in 31 years..so I would say that is a good thing. It put a lot of things in perspective for me.

6) My new family and friends of Bayou City CrossFit. Each of you have impacted me in a unique way. And I am very lucky to have all of you in my life.

What about you? What are some things that you feel where big for you last year? What experiences can you take and learn from? Did you GROW in the past year? What are you going to do different for this next year? How are you going to continue to make great things happen for you?

I am looking forward to 2011! It starts off with a bang for me. Two of my best friends will be getting married this year. I will continue to coach and grow as a coach. There are a few business opportunities on the horizon that I am completely stoked about. Over all I am going to try and become a better person through and through. I am ready! I have not looked forward to a year with so much excitement and enthusiasm for change in a long time. Probably since high school graduation!

SO BRING IT 2011! I am ready! Are you?

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU BCCF!

To Bayou City CrossFit Community:

I don’t even know how to express what I feel right now for everyone that is in this community! You have all shown me such tremendous support and love! There is no way I would have been able to get through the past three months without each and everyone one you.

As you know back in August I tore my Achilles. This was my first major injury. So this was a big deal for me. I had a lot of dreams and plans for this up coming year and in one little jump it felt like they had all disappeared. The emotions that I had to deal with were probably more painful and difficult for me then the actual tear! In that first week the emails, calls and facebook messages really helped me deal with some of what I was going through. After the surgery, many of you stopped by, bringing books, movies ( I did not have cable) and treats…mostly healthy! I can not tell you how loved I felt. It was amazing.

When I was finally able to get out of bed and start up my boot camp classes, it was just what I needed. It really helped being around all of you. I know there were days when I was not at my best and Thank You all for putting up with me! There were tough times in there. The mood swings were hard on everyone to deal with and I am so grateful that you all put up with me.

On November 21, BCCF held a benefit for me. Some of you may not know but I did not have health insurance, so the surgery and following medical bills were all out of pocket for me and my parents. We came up with the idea of having you buy Burpees for the coaches! Which was a really good idea…and a really horrible one too! It was a huge success! Although I ended up with the most burpees..yuck! We ended up raising around $2,500!!! This absolutely blew me away! I have never felt that kind of love from a group of people. It just goes to show what an AMAZING community that we have! For all of you to come together and help someone, it just really shows who you all are as people! I have to say, I don’t think there are a whole lot of people out there like you! You are a very special group.

To all those who donated, THANK YOU! It really went a long way in helping with the bills! And I felt so loved, and blessed and LUCKY to be apart of you!

I do need to say a special thanks to Craig Brenan and Marti Castillo. You two did soooo much for me! They helped in so many ways. From the MRI to my Physical therapy! You really eased some of my burden. THANK YOU!

To all the Coaches at BCCF! I LOVE you all so much! You put up with me day in and day out! I know there were some really bad moments in there. But I think you all handled them wonderfully. Never making me feel like it was too much or I was a burden.

Kristian thank you for taking on my classes! You made this time on everyone so much easier because you stepped up to the plate. I know there were some really long days in there for you between my early classes, Lulu and your night classes.

If yall did not know already, we have an amazing team here at BCCF. Let me tell you there were some dark times for me, and because of that it directly affected them. I would get very depressed and very negative. And it showed! But they just kept right on encouraging me and pushing me. And listening to me cry! And that is tough on everyone. I tried my hardest to be a happy positive person, but it did not always work every day! When I would start to feel sorry for myself they were quick to let me know that it would be over soon and encourage me to look at the positive side.

Vic and Katie, I love you both. I have learned so much from both of you. You are amazing coaches, and great examples of what a person should be like. I have truly been blessed to have you both in my life. Thank you for listening to the pity parties, and dealing with the tears! I don’t know how else to express myself other then to say THANK YOU! I am truly lucky to be able to work and learn from you both.

Charlie, you are the best friend a girl could ask for. You stepped up in a way that was over and beyond what any friend would do. I know it was hard on you! I know there were some really horrible times in there for you, but you stuck by me and helped me SOOOO much! Just so you all know he carted me around that first month when I could not drive. He cooked my meals for me, came and visited every night, he even swept my floors once I think! Most of all he dealt with my mood swings. He came up with workouts for me to do and would not let me sink to low in my own self pity! You are a wonderful person! Thank you for EVERY thing! (The good and the bad!) And I have learned a lot from you. Love you!

Okay this got really long! Sorry. Also a special thanks to my parents, Dennis and Cindy. They have helped me financially so much in the past three months. With both the medical bills and every day bills. I love you both! And you are the best parents! And my sister! Whit, you are wonderful. She came and took care of me on several different weekends, and was always there to listen when I just wanted to whine! I have the best family.

So again a BIG HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE AT BAYOU CITY CROSSFIT. You are the reason I got out of bed every day! The best medicine that I got was being with you! I love our family here and am so grateful for each and every one of you!! You are wonderful!

Shelby Frakes

(and yes I cried when I wrote this…)

It works! It really works!

I got this message from one of my Boot Campers the other day! And it really made me happy! I know that what we do here works, I know the way we tell people to eat works. I have lived it for the past year and a half and seen what it can do. But I LOVE to see it happen to others to and share in their joy! Dawn is one of my original Boot Campers! She started back at the beginning of the year and was the only one in her class for a LONG time. When she first started she had recently quit smoking and had lost 50 pounds on her own! Then she started with me, and I pushed her through these works outs three times a week! One time she even tried to call and say she was not coming! (She ended up coming and getting her butt kicked) Dawn has had heart issues in the past and was recommend to go on medication to help. She decided that she wanted to try and get better with diet and exercise. She came to me. We started working out three times a week and I got hold of her diet and changed a few things. She went to the doctor the other day...and well let me let Dawn tell it.....

She wrote:

"Thanks for being proud of us and thanks for encouraging us to participate in the event. We both really enjoyed it and were glad we did it. All your pushing has gotten me to do things I would NEVER have dreamed of doing on my own. While I'm not where I think I can be, I'm certainly not where I use to be and that's REALLY important when it comes to my health.

I often wonder if you realize want kind of an impact you have on the lives of the people you coach. For me, it's been huge. There is nothing on this earth more important than our health and you have certainly made an impact on mine.

On my last trip to the cardiologist, he said my heart was beating like a finely tuned watch...better than he's seen in any of his patience in a long time. That's really a big thing for me as I was having some real issues with that for a while.

Also, I had a complete blood count done and EVERYTHING is perfectly normal. Before I started bootcamp, one of my doctors wanted to put me on meds for a couple of different things because some of my levels where out of whack I never took any of the meds, just told them I would work harder on the diet and exercise. Now after six months of boot camp they said all is well with my various counts. So, all this hard work is really paying off. My intent is to live a nice long healthy life and die from natural causes when I get really OLD. Now, if I get killed by a car or hit by a bus before then.....I'm REALLY going to be pissed! lol

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for pushing me and encouraging me....I need it. Thanks to our good partnership, I'm medication FREE!


Dawn"


All I have to say is WOW! And that this woman has worked so HARD to be where she is today. I could not be prouder!!!

WAY TO GO DAWN! Keep up the hard work! Oh and that is her participating in Barbells for Boobs! She went from barely being able to swing a 15 pound kettle bell when she started, to doing "Grace" 30 clean and jerks @45 pounds in 2:29!! Hot Momma!

BCCF's Paleo Jump Challenge!!!

Today is the beginning of a two month challenge here at Bayou City CrossFit! The Paleo Jump Challenge. Some of the coaches and clients are on teams of seven and we are working together to lose those inches, increase our times, and getting healthy! I am really excited about this. I have been eating Paleo for almost a year now, of course not super strict all the time, but really trying for 80% of the time. And let me tell you this has really helped me in all aspects of my life. Most of you know what it has done for me. So it is exciting to get others on the band wagon too.


We don't have a team name yet...it is in the works...but I have a great team! Kimberly, Carrie, Charlee, Laura, Lizzy, Hubert and Will are my team! And we are ready to kick some ass. They will be doing a few extra workouts a week and logging food journals for me! Last week they started to clean out their fridges and do some grocery shopping. Kimberly was nice enough to download some tasty recipes for everyone to try. And I am encouraging others to share their recipes or finds too.

Along with my team, some of my boot campers have decided to do this challenge also. So I have set them up the same way as my team! And let me tell you they are FIERCE! I am excited to see the results from them too.

So here goes EVERYTHING!! I will keep updating this site with how both teams are doing, share recipes and post pictures! This is going to be fantastic and just in time for that dreaded holiday season where we all seem to pack on a few extra pounds. We will start good habits now, and hopefully not fall into that trap this year.

Good Luck to everyone! Here's to eating like CAVEMEN!