BrainSoup

Olympic Lifting Progress, Why You So Slow?

2011-09-30T17:44:00.001-04:00

One of the girls from the gym told me I need to blog again. She's right. I do. I mean, what's the point in me having a blog if I don't blog.

I thought I'd write a bit about my Olympic lifting progress. I'm quite frustrated with myself actually. I was hoping I'd make some bigger gains the past couple of weeks since my Olympic lifting meet. My biggest clean to date is 180 lbs, and my biggest jerk is 175 lbs. However, I got both of those last spring. The 175 lb jerk is what I consider to be a "Crossfit jerk", meaning I'm certain I had a huge press-out underneath the bar. I would never consider it a legit jerk in the oly world, so I'm actually only considering 158 lbs to be my legit oly lifting jerk since I hit that in my last meet without a press-out.

I've really been concentrating on form which I know will benefit me in the long-run, but in doing so I'm not hitting any big lifts. I had a horrible attempt at a new snatch PR last Saturday. I know with the bottom of my heart that I'm much stronger than what I'm actually snatching. Same with my clean. The heaviest I have cleaned so far is 165 lbs.

So frustrating.

It's sucks playing catch-up. I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but if any of you know me, or at least have read my pasts posts on my former blog, that's just how I roll. I'm extremely hard on myself and I always expect myself to be the best at what I do. I see posts from some of the other oly lifting girls and all I think about is where I used to be in relationship to them, and how used to hit bigger numbers than them.

I am trying to use my frustration for good. I know I can be a stronger, better lifter. I know I can out-lift a lot of these girls. I just want to do it. I don't just want to be the best lifter in my weight class. I want to be the best lifter overall, dang it!! I was hoping to come out and destroy my next meet on November 19th. I still have almost another four weeks until then, and I know a lot can happen in that amount of time. I'm praying for my confidence to come back. It's hiding somewhere right now.

Stupid mental games. Stupid brain getting in the way. Why you so annoying brain? Why you do this to me?

I'm trying to concentrate on the progress I've made since I began focusing strictly on my oly lifts a few months ago. I have definitely made some progress. Baby step progress, but at least I know things are improving. I've hit a few PR's in some of my other lifts such as my back squat and front squat which insures I'm doing something correct. I just thought I would be back to my old numbers in my oly lifts by now. False expectations I suppose.

False expectations suck.

Anyway, that's my cheerful update. Yay. Joy. Woo. Boo. :(

Tomorrow I'm going with my gym BFF Mike K. to CrossFit Downtown Winston to work with Peter Haas on our Olympic lifts. Pete is a crazy good oly coach. I've worked with him in the past and he's helped me immensely. I'm looking forward to having him rip me to shreds just to put me back together again. That's what he does. It's awesome. I'll report back if anything mind blowing happens to me tomorrow. If not, I'll try to blog again sometime sooner than later.

Kisses and all of that stuff.

- ATD

First Olympic Lifting Meet

2011-09-11T16:38:00.002-04:00

As I told you a few days ago, I was preparing for my first Olympic weight lifting meet that was to be held at CrossFit Downtown Winston. The meet took place yesterday and Peter Hass did a great job organizing the event. I had such a great time. I am definitely hooked!

I ended up winning my weight class which was way cool seeing that it was my first meet. I was conservative with my lifts, but not as conservative as I had initially intended. Cody Wilkes from Wilkes Weightlifting/CrossFit Chesapeake took me under his wing and did all of my thinking for me. He made me sit down with my head against a wall and I wasn't allowed to move until he said I could. Haha. It was awesome because I was a crazy ball of raw energy. I basically left all of the decision making up to him - including how much weight I should attempt for each of my lifts. I was so happy he was there to help me because I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Cody is the best. There is definitely a science to this, and I still have no clue what it is!

I uploaded the videos of my lifts, and as always, I'd appreciate any feedback that anyone would like to provide. You may either respond in the comments section below or email me at ashley@crossfitdurham.com

Snatch attempt # 1 at 50 kg (110 lbs) - Good lift. I was planning on this being my closing lift until I hit 50 kg in my warm-up. Coach Wilkes (Cody's dad) jokingly laughed at me for doing that because apparently that's a pretty big rookie mistake. From that point on Cody took over and very specifically told me what to warm-up with and when to do it. :)

Snatch attempt #2 at 54 kg (118.8 lbs) - Missed lift. The reason this lift didn't count is because of the bend in my elbows. Other than that the lift felt very smooth and light. Cody asked me if I wanted to go up to 56 kg (123.2 lbs). I contemplated on doing so since the lift felt so good, but decided to stay conservative and not to go for it. Even though this lift was a missed lift, I felt good about it because I had not attempted anything that heavy since last winter. This lift definitely boosted my confidence. After getting underneath it with such ease I know I can go heavier.

Snatch attempt #3 at 54 kg - Missed lift. I'm not sure what happened here other than I don't think I gave myself enough time between lifts. I was also crazy nervous after missing attempt #2. However, I knew it was a missed lift from the second I pulled it off the ground. It just felt off from the very beginning. It actually looks better on film in comparison to how it felt in real life. It felt like it was about 3 feet away from me.

Clean and jerk attempt #1 at 65 kg (143 lbs) - Good lift. Again, this was higher than what I originally planned on using for an opening weight. Cody did a great job in helping me determine what I should open with.

Clean and jerk attempt #3 at 68 kg (149.6 lbs) - Good lift.

Clean and jerk attempt # 3 at 72 kg (158.4 lbs) - Good lift. Ended up finishing a few pounds heavier that what I had originally planned which I was happy about. Cody said I could have gone heavier, which I agree, but I was still happy about the lift. It was the heaviest I had cleaned and jerked since either last December or January.

I feel as though a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders now that this first meet is finally in the bag. I'm planning on meeting up with some Olympic lifting coaches in the area within the next couple of months before my next meet. I plan on entering a meet in November in Charlotte which will be hosted by Ultimate CrossFit. I'm anxious to get back to lifting and I'm ready to see what I can do! I'm going to try and rally a group together to make the drive to Charlotte. It would be so much fun to have a little cheer section there!

-ATD

It's 5:00 Somewhere

2011-09-09T15:29:00.008-04:00

Need help in wasting your last couple of hours at work on this gorgeous Friday? No worries, I'm here. I'm very good at helping people do things that they want to do, but really shouldn't be doing. Like I've said to a couple of people before, it's kinda like my calling.

Watch these time-laps and slow motion videos from one of my most favorite sites on the web, Tecca. You'll definitely kill some of your time, and hopefully be entertained during the process as well.

Compressed 02 from Kim Pimmel on Vimeo.

Tempest Milky Way from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

The Aurora from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

Yay! You're now that much closer to starting your weekend! Happy Friday! :)

-ATD

HI. Remember me?

2011-09-07T14:08:00.008-04:00

Wow. It's been forever since I've been on this here blog blah blah! Part of the reason is I haven't been inspired to blog about anything, and the other part is because mah iPhotoz have become a pretty satisfying creative outlet for me. And honestly, I think my picture blog is so much more fun. No words or too much talky talky. Just pretty things to cast my eyes upon. :)

Soooo, onto why I'm finally blogging again...

Ima be entering my first ever Olympic weightlifting meet this weekend. I'm pretty stoked about it. Kinda nervous... okay, way nervous. I haven't done a CrossFit WOD in weeks, many weeks, like at least 6 or 7, maybe even 8. I don't really miss it either. I've decided I want to give oly lifting a serious run and I'd like to put all of my effort into it and not be distracted or tempted with CrossFit. (Or allow myself to injure myself by doing 74 HSPUs in one day. Yes. I am that stupid.)

My plan this weekend is to be conservative and hit all 6 of my lifts. My opening weights for the snatch and C&J are very light, both of which I could power snatch/clean if I wanted. Actually, all of my lifts are going to be fairly light. I don't plan on going after any new PR's this weekend. I think it's important to build confidence in my first meet. I'm learning that the mindset of an oly lifter is different than that of a Crossfitter. I'm having to reign back my competitiveness in order to become a better lifter. It's actually a very nice change.

I've been working hard on technique the last 6 weeks or so. Building some strength, but mostly focusing on making my technique purrty. I did get a new 3 rep max in my front squat which was exciting. I haven't PR'd that lift in over a year.

Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps. :)

I'll try to get back on here sometime this weekend to fill you in on how the meet went. Wish me luck, friends!

MUAH!
xoxo

Oh, one last thing. The picture below is a very close representation of what I look like in a singlet. HAWT.

- ATD

New Photo Blog

2011-07-17T21:51:00.000-04:00

Hey friends. I have a new photo blog where I'll be posting some of my favorite iPhone pics. I updated 2.5 pages worth tonight which may seem like a lot to some of you, but I have taken over 300 pictures, so I had a lot to update. :) I may phase this blog out as I learn more about Tumblr, but for the time being I'll keep the two separate. (The time being may last only a few days.... We all know how I roll.)

Here's my new blog, Ashley's iPhoneography. I hope you enjoy it. :) I wish I knew how to take pictures with a real camera, but I don't. Photography classes and a nice camera might be a good Christmas gift though. Hint. Hint. ;)

I'll leave you with a video that was played at church today. I've heard the song quite a bit on K-Love, but the video made it all that much better.

Have a great night, friends!

-ATD

Yam Patties!!!

2011-07-14T11:20:00.001-04:00

I uploaded the above picture to my Facebook page and tagged my husband in it because we both like sweet potatoes, but I hate cutting them because I've sliced my finger really bad before I'm now afraid it's going to happen every time. Cutting your finger and then looking down to see the knife and part of your fingernail wedged in the sweet potato can really mess with ya.

My friend Amy S posted on my wall that "yam patties" was going to be her new explicit, and that got me thinking of other substitute explicit words and phrases. Now, as most you know know, I really don't cuss. (I used to have a horrible mouth. The F word rolled off my tongue fluently and colorfully, but I prayed hard for the Lord to clean up my mouth because it wasn't happening on my own, and He did.) I do like saying made-up bad words though. Not because I'm trying to fill a void, but because I like to laugh and I think they're funny.

Common pretend bad words or phrases that I know are:
Yam patties - Thank you Amy.
Mother trucker
Shut the front door
Son of a biscuit
Crap monger
Poop scoop

I think that might be about all that I know. Ha. "Crap monger" and "poop scoop" are mine. I especially like "poop scoop" because it rhymes. :)

Let me know what you guys like to say. I know there have to be some good ones out there. I'm kinda bummed that I can only think of 5. I'm kinda lame like that.

- ATD

Over-Training

2011-07-12T13:33:00.008-04:00

*Disclaimer: This post is based mostly upon my own experiences. Remember, my degree is in Business, I have a hard time adding up my weights in the gym, and I purposefully wear mismatched socks. In no way am I claiming this to be science, The Way, or anything remotely insightful.

Is there such a thing as being over-trained? Some people say over-training does exist and it should be avoided at all costs. They state that nothing beneficial comes from over-training. Other people say there is no such thing as over-training. Their point of view is that one person cannot tell someone else what over-training is, or what it looks like, because each person's threshold is completely different. They also tend to argue that since there is no such thing as over-training there is no need for rest days.

What I believe...

I believe it is possible to be over-trained, but that getting to that point is highly individualized. With that said, I also think over-training is something we should all experience from time to time because there are some rare benefits associated with over-training. I don't think it is good for someone to be over-trained often. I also don't agree with the mindset of no rest days.

Why I believe over-training exists...

Everyone in their quest for fitness, strength, or whatever they do to physically try and surpass their current limitations has to over-train at some point. If you never over-train then you aren't working hard enough. Your progress will be slow and minimal if you're never feeling fatigued, hitting walls, or feeling "too beat-up to workout". (All of which are signs of being over-trained.) You must reach a level of fatigue and then keep pushing through it to some degree. However, at some point the level of being over-trained should decrease. Your body should adapt. Once the new stimulus is no longer new, your body will recognize that it has "been there, done that" and the recovery process will begin to quicken.

I think of how bad I hurt when I first started CrossFit. I could hardly walk to my car just 10 minutes after my first workout. Stairs definitely weren't happening. I thought I had rhabdo from doing 10 GHD sit-ups in my warm-up. My first workout was on a Tuesday and two days later I almost called in sick to work because it hurt *that* bad to raise my arms to brush my teeth. In a sense, I had experienced over-training. What did my coach tell me to do when I told him how bad I hurt? Do you think he told me to stay home and lay on the couch? Of course not. He told me to ice where it hurt and get my butt back into the gym. My body quickly adapted and I saw progress... much, much progress.

The highly individualized part...

My 63 year old dad, a Vietnam Vet who receives disability benefits, and who has recently undergone knee replacement surgery, thinks a typical day of me busting my butt in CrossFit is too much work for him to handle. (Hey, I didn't say it. He did.) What I would consider over-training would be anything that Michael Phelps does when he hits a swimming pool. Over-training is subjective. It depends on the person, their physical condition, how hard their body is used to working, and most importantly, how quickly they are able to recover.

Why we should all over-train at some point...

Over-training mentally strengthens you while it breaks you. Last spring as I trained for competition I had a day where I crawled off the rower in a middle of a WOD in tears. Shortly after was another day where I threw myself down on the huge tire I was dragging across the floor, and called it quits. I was over-trained. I was too tired, too hurt, too sick, and too mad to want to move another inch. I was extremely disappointed in myself both of those days, but I learned so much about who I was. Before experiencing that I never really considered what it was like to have a breaking point. What I learned is I didn't like how I handled my breaking point... I was a quitter. Had I not reached that vulnerable state from what I consider to be an effect of over-training, then to this day I'd still be unaware of what I'm capable of becoming in my weakest moments. Discovering that about myself has made me mentally stronger and as a result pushes me harder. I. Do. Not. Quit.

Why I disagree with the concept of no rest days ...

For the majority of us, training is something we enjoy. We're not paid athletes who do our sport for a living. But say we were, say we got paid to do our sport. If I was paid to do CrossFit, I'd still want a rest day. I have a real job where I get a paycheck and I have rest days from that job. If I never had a day off I'd probably be sick to death of my job. Our rest days in the gym should be looked at the same way. We need them for our physical and mental health. We need to be rejuvenated. We need to keep it fresh and fun. Not only that, but our muscles repair themselves and grow when we're resting. If we're never resting, they will never fully recover. This comes back full circle to the individualized part. You may require less rest than me, but we still need rest. Even in cycles of being over-trained, we need rest. When I competed last year I listened to my body. I took rest my days, but was still over-trained. I did not recover from over-training until after Regionals when I completely removed myself from CrossFit for a few weeks.

Let's make sure not to confuse being tired with being over-trained. One day of rest isn't enough when you're over-trained. Days, maybe weeks, possibly even a couple of months of rest (or active rest) may be needed to allow your body to fully recover. That's the reason most sports have off-seasons. Again, every single body is different. It took me weeks to recover from Regionals last year when it probably took Chris Spealler only a couple of hours to recover from his performance at the Games.

There is not a right or a wrong way to handle over-training, recovery, rest days, etc. I'll take that back. I believe the only wrong is to take another person's word as gold and apply it directly to your life without paying attention to how your body responds. We're each our own science experiments and we each have to figure out what works best for ourselves.

Now, go lift something heavy.

- ATD

Top 10

2011-07-10T20:49:00.000-04:00

I've been spending some time here lately thinking of my 10 favorite songs of all time. I finally came up with my list, so I thought I'd share it with you. These are in no particular order, but "Hey Soul Sister" might actually be my #1. It's such a happy, feel good song. :) :)

Good Riddance - Green Day

Green Day - Time Of Your Life (Music Video) by timkeung2

Pardon Me - Incubus

Love is on the Way - Saigon Kick
Totally creepy video.

Saigon Kick - Love Is On The Way by Myvenz31

Beautiful Day - U2

Possum Kingdom - The Toadies

Slide - Goo Goo Dolls

Goo Goo Dolls - Slide
- Watch more Music Videos at Vodpod.

Mother Mother - Tracy Bonham

Hey Soul Sister - Train

Electric Feel - MGMT

What I Got - Sublime

I hope you have enjoyed my list! I had fun coming up with it. What are some of your favorite songs? Share them with me in my comments section!

- ATD

Big Fat CFHQ Fail

2011-07-04T21:47:00.006-04:00

This past weekend was my 2nd internship at CrossFit Hampton Roads. Joe A. was the Flow Master and his suggestion was for me to work another 4-6 months on the progressions and seeing/correcting them before I proceed with my 3rd internship. He told me that I need more time developing my skills, but he said he likes me, knows I'm a hard worker, and believes I'm capable of the task. It wasn't the news I wanted to hear, but it was definitely better than being told I wasn't cut out to make the seminar staff and my internship had come to an end.

The weekend was a great learning experience. I need to know the progressions like the back of my hand. They need to become as natural as breathing. I did the best I could for the weekend, but I definitely wasn't prepared. This is the big leagues and I need to step it up.

Nicole G. and Chris R. were on staff as well. Both of them are such sweet people. They were absolutely wonderful and made me feel so welcome. Chris is being deployed very soon, so I'm grateful I had the opportunity to work with him. I plan on staying in contact with Nicole because not only do I look up to her and admire her as a mentor, but I also think of her as a friend. Man, I'm telling ya, Crossfitters are some of the best people I know. They'll give you the shirt off of their back and not think twice about it.

With that said I'm leaving you with a song that came out when my husband and I began dating. It's full of sweet lyrics that are sure to leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Happy 4th everyone! My bro-in-law and one of my good friends are currently overseas serving our country. I'm sure many of you have family or friends who are serving as well. Keep them in your prayers and don't forget that our freedom isn't free!

- ATD

The Assignment

2011-06-26T17:03:00.015-04:00

This entry was inspired by a post that my friend Nelly wrote a few days ago about 11 personal goals that she would like to attain. About half of her goals regarded things she physically wants to be able to do, while the other half had to do with physical changes she would like to make to her body. To be honest, I was a tiny bit sad as I read through her list because I think Nelly is dang awesome, but I also thought about how often I do the same thing to myself. I don't think I'm ever really satisfied with my body or things that I am capable of doing, so I decided to try and list 10 things I like about myself physically. Since I know how difficult this is for me, and the majority of females, I decided to ask some of the other CFD blog blah blah girls if they would like to join in on the challenge. They all said yes which I'm way pumped about! So, after you read my list I encourage you to hop over to the blogs of Nelly, Bea, LindsAy, Amy, Melinda, and Colleen to read their awesome, "I'm awesome because I say so" lists too! :)

The rules are simple. We have to list 10 physical things that we like about ourselves regarding our looks or things that we can do. Characteristic traits aren't allowed because they're too easy of an out.

So, without further ado, here is my, "Suck it up and be happy with yourself" list...

#1. I like my eyes. They're brown, deep set, and I can give a pretty mean stink eye when I want, but what I like the most is I get them from my dad.

#2. I also like my dimples. One day they'll be big wrinkles, but until then they're pretty cool. Plus, my mom, dad, and sister have big dimples too. We're the dimple family. :)

#3. I think I'd do well on the Amazing Race.

#4. I'm good at wall climbs. Last spring when I was in hard core training mode I did over 100 of these in one minute.

#5. If you need something heavy to be picked up, I'm your girl.

#6. I give pretty awesome low fives.

#7. I can still do a standing back tuck. I 100% attribute that to CrossFit and the Olympic lifts.

(No. This isn't me. I have no idea who this person is.)

#8. I hope I can say this without it sounding too arrogant, but *whispers* I kinda think I have a nice bum. I at least like it in proportion to the rest of me.

#9. I like to throw a football around, annnnnd I'm good at it! I can throw pretty far too, but only with the NCAA football. The NFL size is way too big for me.

#10. I'm a scrapper. You'd definitely want me on your side in a street fight.

I hope after that reading my list you'll take time to appreciate some qualities about yourself too. I don't think any of us do that nearly enough. And don't forget to check out the blogs of the girls I mentioned earlier. They may not be updated yet, but keep checking back. I'll mention them again below to save you time from scrolling allllll the way back to the top of the page to click on their names. I'm so nice like that. ;)

Nelly - The awesomely sweet chick who inspired this post. She has very pretty oly lifts and has great body awareness. GREAT hip flexibility too.
Colleen - One of the funniest people I know. OMG, she makes me laugh so hard I want to throw up. She's crazy fast like the wind.
Amy - This girl has many talents. She can write, hula hoop, dance, roller skate, and sail. She also has a very pretty Clean and looks dang cute in pig tails.
LindsAy - The cutest and most stylish person at the gym EVER. She's also strong and works really hard. She never, ever gives up.
Bea - Very talented photographer and is someone else who I think has a great work ethic. She has great body awareness and catches on to things very quickly.
Melinda - Funny, sweet, and caring. Melinda has a very strong will to push herself and make herself do things I'd never be capable of doing.

Pretty much, all of those girls are beyond fantastic. They're all sweet, awesome, and I consider them all to be dear friends. I heart them all.

xoxo

- ATD

We're Doing a What?

2011-06-25T15:57:00.006-04:00

This morning I joined the endurance gang at CFD for the endurance WOD. Even though I program track days for myself, I seldom run with other people. This was my first real CFD endurance WOD in about 6 months. In case you don't know this about me, I'm not what someone would call "endurance-y", so I don't especially look forward to running.

Paul programed a 20 minute fartlek for this morning's endurance WOD. Wikipedia describes a fartlek as speed play interval training. I have done a couple of fartleks before, and I honestly somewhat enjoy them. The starting and ending points are chosen as you run. During the interval you run as fast as you can through the ending point. Once you cross the ending point then the recovery process begins. The great thing about the recovery process is walking is acceptable. The bad thing about the recovery process is it is relatively short. BOO.

There were 5 of us doing endurance - Matt, Mike, Jayme, Jay and myself. While we ran, Paul ran along side of us and offered feedback regarding our form and technique. By the way, Paul is a very accomplished endurance athlete and he also specializes in the Pose Method. Paul knows me as an athlete and he knows that I am not a "runner", especially not an endurance runner. During our second interval, which was decently short, Paul looked at me and smiled and said, "You were a sprinter, weren't you?" I nodded my head and told him that I ran sprints and hurdles in high school. I'm still not sure if I should take that as a compliment, but it made me feel a little bit better about myself. At least I felt like he could tell that not every aspect of running was completely foreign to me.

The fartleck hurt, but in a good way. I learned that I kick back and take entirely way too long of strides when I run. I wonder if my days of stretching out for hurdles has anything to do with that? In the 100m hurdles I would try to take only three steps between each hurdle so I could reach each hurdle with my dominate leg. (Zero is the foot landing from the hurdle, so the pattern went like this - zero, one, two, three, zero, one, two, three...) I feel like my longer strides might pay off in short distances races, but I definitely see how a longer stride could waste energy and be inefficient in a longer run. I want to become a better runner, so I am going to work hard at improving my technique. It's a little bit discouraging though because I have so many things I need to correct when it comes to running. :S Too bad I'm not an X-Men. My power would be to not suck. :)

- ATD

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

2011-06-24T22:15:00.003-04:00

Sup homies. Jonathan and I have had some cool conversations with some folks over the past 12 or so months about our relationship with Jesus Christ, who He is, and what the Bible says. What we've come to find out is that many people don't really know anything about our faith. They have assumptions, but very little true knowledge. It's kinda like what I know about cars. I know what a car is. I know it what a car does. I know it needs gas and oil, buuuuuut that's about it. My knowledge about cars is very limited, and mostly based on what other non-mechanics have told me.

Jonathan and I were wondering if anyone would be interested in truly learning about the Bible. Don't worry, this is not going to be a time of us trying to "convert" anyone. It's also not going to be a time for anyone to try to disprove the Bible or Jesus Christ. It's simply going to be us presenting accurate Biblical information to you and hopefully answering any questions you may have.

What we would like to do is a study rather than open Q&A meetings. We don't want to get stuck chasing things down a rabbit hole and not make much progress. It's actually easy to do that with open Q&A's about Christ and the Bible. Typical studies range anywhere from 4-10 weeks. We would try to find a short study and meet once a week. Probably our home, but we are open to meeting somewhere else in the downtown Durham area as well.

What do you guys think? Would anyone be interested in something like this? If you don't feel comfortable responding to this post you can send me a FB message or an email at ajdenton77@gmail.com

- ATD

It's Friday, Friday! The day after Thursday right before Saturday! FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN!

2011-06-24T16:22:00.014-04:00

Ima ready for this lady to drop another single...

Missy Elliott - by Warner-Music

This is totally random, but have any of you ever looked up your name on Urban Dictionary? I was that bored a few minutes ago. The first definition in particular used a lot of cuss words for my name. Urban Dictionary said my name means, "a bad beep mother beeper who won't take no beep of of nobody." Haha. The beeps were added in by moi because Urban Dictionary has a dirty mouth problem. It needs some Orbit gum. :) However, I do like how it used my name in the following sentence: "That girl is about to get the Ashley knocked out of her."

Niiiiice.

- ATD

The Real Problem

2011-06-23T14:21:00.021-04:00

There was an interesting conversation that took place on Facebook last night. The conversation originally began on one of my status updates (Peach milkshakes seemed so innocent at the time!), but transitioned over to my friend's page which is where the meat of the conversation took place.

The conversation kinda went like this...

My status update: Peach milkshake from Chick-Fil-A good!
Friend 1: YUM!
Friend 2: Chick-Fil-A baaad!
> conversation transfers to Friend 1's wall <
Friend 2: Here is why I don't like Chick-Fil-A. *posts article* They don't like gays.
Friend 1: Ohhhh, snap. I didn't know that.
Friend 3: BOO.
Me: I don't agree. They didn't said they dislike gays.
Friend 3: Disagree, they did too.
Me: I disagree with you, Friend 3. I'll defend Chick-Fil-A.
Me: more words
Me: defends Biblical marriage
My husband: lovingly defends me and the Bible
Friend 3: more words
Friend 2: It's okay not to agree, lets stay friends!
Friend 1: Good conversation... I'm hungry.
Friend 3: Chick-Fil-A may not be so bad after all *posts a new article*
Me: No more want to argue. :)

This conversation has been weighing on my heart since last night. Friend 2 is a dear friend of mine, and he is gay. I defended my beliefs and the Bible last night because I'm a Christian, and that's just what I do. At the same time I wanted to make sure I did not come across as an unloving, close minded, "gay-bashing" person. I was worried Friend 2 would dislike me, but then I thought, "Friend 2 knows how much I love him. Surely this won't tarnish how he thinks I feel about him or about his husband." I still worried though because this is such a sensitive subject. My husband had to deal with this about 5 years ago when he was a corporate pilot in Dallas. His captain, who was also his boss, was gay and had a much bigger issue with Jonathan being a Christian than Jonathan ever did with him being gay.

Initially I was a little upset thinking that it wasn't fair for Christians to be instantly thought of as anti-gay for supporting the Biblical views of marriage. I mean, how close minded can people get? I was going to write a post about that today, but then I thought about the real problem. The real problem isn't other people. The real problem begins with the Christians.

Christians are to love as Christ loved. We are His family and are called to be his hands, feet, eyes, and voice while here on Earth. Obviously something has gone wrong when the first thing that comes to someone's mind after I tell them I am a Christian is an image of hate instead of an image of love. Christ walked with the prostitutes, he ate with the tax collectors, he took care of the homeless, the widowed, and the orphaned. He washed the feet of sinners and even died on a cross for them. (Which if you have zero clue, means he died for you too.) How could that ever promote an image of hate?

The reason why is because we (Christians) have flaws. We are imperfect. We say things and do things sometimes that don't represent Christ. We should be here to serve and love. Not condemn and hate. That doesn't mean we can't have a backbone. That doesn't mean we can't stand up and defend our faith, but when we do, we do it out of LOVE. We are on this Earth to bring people to Christ and to live in a way that glorifies Him. We have to battle hate with love. We have to teach the Truth and share the Gospel. Showing someone what a relationship with Christ looks like, and eventually leading them to Christ is the ultimate display of love.

It's our own fault when Christianity is looked upon with hate. We are the ones to blame.

- ATD

Newton's First Law

2011-06-23T08:11:00.001-04:00

"Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that motion unless an external force is applied to it."

Newton's First Law from CrossFit Conway on Vimeo.

Now, go do some work!

- ATD

BLaRRRgggggh

2011-06-22T16:59:00.004-04:00

I have a secret, and it makes me want to throw up a little when I think about it.

The secret is I have an open sore on my arm and I saw a baby fly craw out of it.

BLaRRRgggggh!!! Way gross, right!? I mean, I pretty much want to cut of my arm.

I joke, I joke. That's not the secret. Could you imagine if that was really true? VOMIT. I would take that one to the grave with me fosho!

The real secret is I'm taking a pretty big step right now and I'm doing something I've wanted to for years. I'm currently in the process of interning for CrossFit HQ to become one of their coaches at the L1 seminars.

I wasn't planning on telling many people because there is a pretty significant chance this won't work out the way I hope, but I decided to tell you because you're my friends and I would like to share this fun journey with you. If things are successful then you can share the excitement with me! Yippeeeee! :) And if it's unsuccessful... well, hopefully you'll understand why I'm not my usual cheerful self at the gym for a few days.

The way this process works is I will have anywhere from 1-4 internships. I'll be debriefed after each weekend and either asked back for another or sent home. I really hope it's not the latter. However, the journey has already begun. A few weeks ago I had my first internship in VA. I didn't do much at that "interview" since it was my first. I basically observed the weekend by shadowing the Flow Master and then on the second day I led one small group of athletes through the push jerk. Thankfully, I was asked back for my second internship which is scheduled for July 2nd-3rd.

Gulp, gulp, gulp. I'm a nervous wreck. I've been working hard, so hopefully my hard work will be beneficial. No matter what happens I'm going to be thankful for the opportunity the Lord has given me. I'm both thrilled and a hot mess right now, but I'm loving every second of it! :)

- ATD

Ahem...

2011-06-21T23:19:00.000-04:00

Guess who's back, back again
Ashley's back, tell a friend
Guess who's back, guess who's back,
Guess who's back
Guess who's back...

I'll write more later. Now I must sleep.

- ATD