All Gains Are Not Lost

Whew, I thought for sure I had lost all my CrossFit gains by not working out for two straight months.

Today, I realized that wasn't so. The muscles are still there. They've just been hiding under the extra pounds of fat that have accumulated since I stopped smoking over four months ago. By the way, If you ever want to quit smoking, just join CrossFit. You'll become so addicted to CrossFit that smoking just won't matter anymore. Besides you need really strong lungs.

So how did I figure this out? I did a 4.1 mile hill workout run today. It's one of my favorites because I can leave right straight from my house and within 4 minutes I'm on the fire trails. Shannon wanted to join me, so we went together. Along the way, my nose was running and I was coughing up more yucky stuff, but overall, the run felt pretty good.

It was so nice out too. Sunshine, beautiful sunshine. For me it was a wonderful change from the sucky rains we've been having. The trail was a bit muddy in places, but not bad enough to worry about slipping.

Shannon has become a really strong runner in the last couple of months and could definitely beat me, but for the most part we stuck together. Actually her running a slight bit faster forced me to keep my pace faster than I would have gone if I were on my own. Running with someone definitely has benefits. It's like a non-verbal self-discipline boost that keeps the negative internal voices at bay.

Time for the 4.1 mile hill-workout run was 41:44, my first hill workout since I got back from Florida and a personal record for me. So yeah, I was stoked. All was not lost.