“macaroons are actually a Christian food. According to mirabilis.ca, “macaroons originated in an Italian monastery around 1792. The name comes from the Italian word for paste, maccarone, which refers to almond paste. Macaroni means flour paste.”
I cannot believe 2012 All Cities Open (ACO) has come and gone! 2012 is on its way out and 2013 is on its way in! This years ACO was a lot of fun! Having competed a bunch this year, I have gotten to know the “regulars” who show up to theses meets, we have actually all become friends which makes the workouts that much better. On top of my “new friends” I had a TON of Central athletes compete which was REALLY like working out with my friends!
I traveled to Dallas on Friday afternoon for packet pick up at 6:30pm that evening. After we got our packets at Dallas Central (including our KICK A$$ Warpath jacket) and chatted, we (Jess and myself) headed to Amanda’s where we crashed on her couch in her super cute new condo (Thanks Amanda). We were in bed by 9:30pm…which was FANTASTIC! We slept soundly till the alarms went off at 5am, out the door by 6pm, Starbucks by 6:10am.
We got to the high school in Rockwall, TX checked in and claimed a spot for all athletes to Recover/meet in between WODs. During the first Athlete briefing, I looked up and saw my parents and The Duke walking down to the stadium! Not having seen Duke in 2 weeks, I left the briefing to greet him. Geeze I missed that dog! Then Duker and I went back to the athlete briefing. It made me feel good that my fellow teammates greeted Duke as well.
After the briefing we had to line up for WOD 1. I was in heat 7 so I had some time. WOD 1 was:
Event 1A: Bench Press + Power Clean Ladder
10 Bars ranging from 185/95# up to 325/185#
– Athletes will have 45″ to complete both Bench and Power Clean at the designated weight at each station with a 15″ transition between stations. If the athletes fails at one of the lifts and makes the other he/she may move onto the next station and attempt that lift that they made previously.
Dang here we go bench press again. Do I see a pattern? Anyways this was an odd combo which made it interesting. I had a FANTASTIC judge (Heather Reed quality of judge) for this event which made it more fun. I made it to 155# Bench which matches my PR for bench and then I made it to the 185# power clean. I want to say that is my max power clean. If they would have let me regular clean it I could have done it twice LOL!
I had the BEST judge for this! (Like Heather Reed good!) She was very motivating and encouraging not just during this event but through out the competition as well.
Event 1B: 40 yard Dash
– Athletes will have one shot and one shot only to sprint 40 yards.
After the ladder it was 40yd dash time…good thing I brought my cleats from The Games. I did a few warm up sprints, got some tips from other athletes because sprinting is NOT my thing. I competed my 40 in 5.5…I was just happy I didn’t pull a hamstring. BUT it needs to be faster.
Event #2: Stadium Parkour
TIME CAP: 10 minutes
FOR TIME:
400m Run
5 Hurdle Hops + 5 forward roll over 50 yards
Scale the Stadium Grand Stands up and down
5 Hurdle Hops + 5 forward roll over 50 yards
400m Run
After having practice this I thought…when did I get so old that forward rolls make me dizzy. This means I only practiced that part a few times. I did practice scaling the walls, more so of the fact so I wouldn’t slip on the bleachers. Again heat 7 which meant the end for the females. I watch my fellow teammates, Jess and Ingrid as well as some of my other friends just DOMINATE this…so I couldn’t let them down. We met our judge and lined up on our mat to go. I took off on my 400m but quickly realized I was going to burn out so I backed it down and maintained a decent pace. I made it through all 5 hurdles and forward rolls without throwing up, scaled the first wall, up the first set of bleachers, scaled the next wall, scaled the 9ft wall and BAM my legs got heavy. I pretty much walked up the last set of bleachers, then hustled down the stairs, back down the 9ft wall, over the the wall to the 1st set of bleachers, over the final wall, 5 hurdles w/ forward rolls and off on the 400m. MY LEGS WERE BURNING!! I finished to have a judge (not my judge…because my judge had his back to me eating links when I finished) call time at 5:21. Done and Done…but that was actually ALOT of fun and I really enjoyed it.
Event #3: Sled/Snatch
TIME CAP: 6 minutes AMRAP in 6 min:
50 yard sled pull forward with 90/50#
50 yard sled pull backward with 90/50#
10 Snatches at 135/95#
My legs were STILL on fire when we started this event. I did a few warm up snatches but everything in the warm up area was in kgs so I’m not really sure how much I warmed up with but I got warm (especially since Jess, who had already gone advised me to). Fellow athletes were doing about 2 rounds, so my goal was at least 2 rounds. Best so far was one lady made it back on sled during her 3rd. The trick was in the transition time because we had to move our plates AND clips from the sled to the bar, then back to the sled. I pulled my sled alllll the way to my bar so I didn’t have to carry them as far. My first set of snatches was unbroken, the last set was 6-2-2 (I think, needless to say I got them done). I loaded my sled and took off. I made it ALMOST all the way back before they call time. My hamstrings just quit and to the ground I went LOL!
After those 4 WODs we waited to see who was going to qualify for the final WOD swimming madness!! They took the top:
– 16 Standard Men
– 16 Standard Women
– 6 Masters Men
– 6 Masters Women
This meant us 3 CC girls were going swimming!
They carried us into this BEAUTIFUL on campus aquatics facility (I forget the fancy name for it). It had a few pools and some diving boards. My high school didn’t have that type of facility. They did a master’s heat as well as 2 heats of standard women and the same for men. At 4:30pm after all athletes changed into our swim attire. They told us the WOD/Madness.
We had 4mins to perform 20 dumbell thrusters (30#) then swim 50m. The faster you went the more rest you got. I was 1st in the water post thrusters but 4th out of the water. Clearly know where my weakness is. After 4 mins was up we had to jump off the platform and swim under it 5 times then swim 50ms. This was kinda “panicy”. Trying to figure out when to come up and then ascending was different in the water (without scuba gear). I just moved as fast as I could because I wanted it to be over faster. I got all kinds of bruises from that. After that was a final 50m sprint. We got to do it “olympics style” too…off the blocks…touching the pad stopped the time. It was neat to see that in a local competition. All I have to say about that is, I need to swim more.
I finished 2012 ACO taking the 3rd place and stood on the podium next to 2 wonderful women Ingrid (1st) and Chelsea (2nd). I’m SUPER blessed for all the love and support I had during this competition. I have a zillion new friends that I look forward to competing alongside of. I cannot thank my parents enough for their love and support during ACO. Thanks to everyone who made this event happen. Another great one in the books!
“Did you ever stop to think that a dog is the only animal that doesn’t have to work for a living? A hen has to lay eggs, a cow has to give milk, and a canary has to sing. But a dog makes his living by giving you nothing but love.” (p.53)
“You can make more friends in two months by becoming genuinely interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.
“It is the individual who is not interested in his fellow men who has the greatest difficulties in life and provides the greatest injury to others. It is from among such individuals that all human failures springs.” (p.55)
“If we want to make friends, lets put ourselves out to do things for other people – things that require time, energy, unselfishness and thoughtfulness.” (p.60)
“If we want to make friends, let’s greet people with animation and enthusiasm.” (p.61)
“A show of interest, as with every other principle of human relations, must be sincere. It must pay off not only for the person showing the interest, but for the person receiving the attention. It is a two way street – both parties benefit.” (p.64)
“That is why dogs make such a hit. They are so glad to see us and they almost jump out of their skins. So, naturally, we are glad to see them.” (p.66)
“We should be aware of the magic contained in a name and realize that this single item is wholly and completely owned by the person with whom we are dealing…and nobody else.” (p.83)
“That kid of listening is one of the highest compliments we can pay anyone.” (p.85)
“Listening is just as important in one’s home life as in the world of business.” (p.87)
“Many people fail to make a favorable impression because they don’t listen attentively.” (p.91)
“Very important people have told me that they prefer good listeners to good talkers, but the ability to listen seems rarer than almost any other good trait.” (.91)
“He had wanted merely a friendly, sympathetic listener wo wome he could unburden himself. “(p.92)
“People who talk only of themselves think only of themselves.” (p.93)
“If you aspire to be good conversationalist, be an attentive listener.” (p.93)
“The people you are talking to are a hundred times more interested in themselves and their wants and problems than they are in you and your problems.” (p.93)
“The royal road to a person’s heart is to talk about the things he or she treasures most.” (p.94)
“If we are so contemptibly selfish that we can’t radiate a little happiness and pass on a bit of honest appreciation without trying to get something out of the other person in return – if our souls are no bigger than sour crab apples, we shall meet with the failure we so richly deserve.” (p.100)
“Always make the other person feel important.” (p.100)
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (p.101)
“Talk to people about themselves and they will listen for hours.” (p.111)
Discussion:
Principle 1: Become genuinely interested in other people.
Are you discipline enough in your day to make this happen?
Can you slow down for a sec to have a genuine conversation with someone regarding THEIR life?
Make sure you are there mentally 100%!
Principle 2: Smile.
What do you think it looks like when you frown?
How approachable are you to strangers…to your kids?
Principle 3: Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
ALWAYS say that person’s name.
Take the time to figure out strangers names even if you are “suppose to already know”.
Principle 4: Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
What if you had to put a dollar in a jar every time you talked about yourself versus asking about the other person.
Principle 5: Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
When you have conversations do you talk only of your interest?
Yes you and your friends share a lot of common interest but do you try to find out something new about them?
Principle 6: Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.
This will only work if you do it sincerely. You will only get the positive/warm happy feeling if you do it sincerely!
Application:
Principle 1: Become genuinely interested in other people.
I have the perfect career for this! I get 1 on 1 time with a person for an hour. I have NO excuses in applying this to my life.
Principle 2: Smile.
I am going to make sure I am smiling when I say hello. Even when you are on the phone the person on the other end can tell if you are smiling or frowning, I promise!
Principle 3: Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
I use a lot of “Hey Girl/Lady” and “Y’all” in conversation/emails. I’m going to try to start applying a person’s name.
I’m also going to try to see stranger’s in shops/restaurants and start using it versus Mam.
Principle 4: Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
I tend to speak of myself a lot in conversation in order to show a connection or that I can relate. I’m going to start really understanding and finding out about my friends/athletes so I have a bottomless pit to talk to them about that includes stuff going on in their lives!
Principle 5: Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
I’m going to try to find out 1 new interest in all my friends. Something I didn’t know about them.
Principle 6: Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.
The return feeling on this is unimaginative. Why would I pass up on this opportunity?
“macaroons are actually a Christian food. According to mirabilis.ca, “macaroons originated in an Italian monastery around 1792. The name comes from the Italian word for paste, maccarone, which refers to almond paste. Macaroni means flour paste.”
lined baking sheet, one rounded tablespoonful at a time
