As I start this post, Madeline is rolling around on her playmat.

She’s kind of irritated.  She’s not moving as fast as she wants to or where she wants to.  And she’s upset.

But after fussing for a couple of minutes, she rolls again.  And again.  Constantly practicing.  Constantly moving.

She’ll be crawling before you know it.

Challenges.  We all face them.  It’s how we deal with them that determines whether we make progress or not.

Madeline’s constant quest for movement reminds me of my own quest to get strong and fast.  The WODs suck.  They irritate me.  They take me out of my comfort zone.  But I get a little stronger or a little faster every time.

One of the most irritating WODs is Fran.  I don’t hate it, but I certainly don’t love it.  And it can be very grueling.

“Fran”
21-15-9
Thrusters (M 95# / W 65#)
Pull ups

I wasn’t in the right mindset to take on this WOD Tuesday morning.  I walked into class thinking, “I’m resting this week” rather than “I’m ready to do this!”

Big mistake.  Anytime I do that, I’m already setting myself up to suffer.  But at least I didn’t wuss out too much on the weight.

Time: 11:41 @ 60# (blue band)

I started off slow.  I rested too much.  I struggled.  I certainly didn’t feel strong.

But you know what?  The last time I did this WOD I was pregnant and used just the bar.  And the time before that?  Just the bar and the green band.  And before that?  The 35# bar! Look how far I’ve come!

Jeff told us we would revisit Fran again in 6 weeks, so I’ve set a goal for myself: I will do Fran at the RX weight of 65# and use either a purple band or no band.  If I don’t finish, so be it.  But I’m going to make the attempt.

Challenges make us stronger.  You gotta keep pushing yourself to get where you want to go.

My kiddos remind me of that every day.