Category — People and Community

Annadel 2010 is a two day festival the weekend of September 11-12, and features a 12-mile Race (running), a 24-mile Mountain Bike Race, an Equestrian “Poker Ride”, and an Outdoor Treasure Hunt, great for families. Finishers of the races get a medal, an event t-shirt, and a catered post-race meal that includes a nice, cold Lagunitas beer. Who’s in?

The whole event supports state and regional parks, and is a collaborative effort between the Sonoma County Agriculture Preservation and Open Space District, California State Parks, Sonoma County Regional Parks, Bike Monkey LLC, Fleet Feet of Santa Rosa, REI Store of Santa Rosa and the Sonoma County Horse Council.

This sounds like great fun for a good cause. To learn more about Annadel 2010, or register for any of the events, check out the event website. If several CFSR folks go, let’s meet up. Post to comments if you’re interested.

She’s pretty easy to spot, you’ve just gotta find the right picture. Emily completed CrossFit’s Level 1 certification this weekend! Plan on seeing her shadowing, assisting, and student-teaching private sessions, On Ramp, and regular classes in the future. Congratulations Emily!

I wrote an email to a number of CFSR members, asking them about why they chose to follow a paleo/primal diet, what their goals were in doing so, what paleo and/or primal eating means to them, and what impact it’s had on their lives. This response comes from Brianna, who continues to get stronger and faster each week:

The goals that I have for myself in joining CrossFit led me to paleo/primal eating. I wanted to lose weight (of course) but I also wanted to feel strong, be healthy and be fit. When Joanna recommended it, it was difficult. I mean, I once lived off ravioli with homemade pesto sauce so how could I possibly think I could give up my love of pasta?!

I made it through the first two weeks and I noticed a huge increase in my performance ability. I felt better, had more energy, and was definitely getting stronger. I will allow myself the occasional treat – a great piece of cake at my wedding, some of the homemade pizza my Dad makes – but my digestive tract definitely feels the effects of those choices. As does my ability to perform!

Paleo/primal eating has been the right choice for me in understanding how my body works and what works best for my body. I want the best results so I choose to put the best possible fuel in my body. And I’ve been nothing but impressed with the results so far.

wants all of you to understand why stretching is so important. It’s because you need to eliminate the fuzz! This video was posted on the San Francisco CrossFit blog. Watch it:

Got something to say? Speak up! Post to comments.

I wrote an email to a number of CFSR members, asking them about why they chose to follow a paleo/primal diet, what their goals were in doing so, what paleo and/or primal eating means to them, and what impact it’s had on their lives. Here’s the first in a brief series of responses I’ll be posting on the blog. This one comes from Dr. Josh.

The next generation! Josh and Jeneane's son Ryan.

“I chose to begin eating this way upon the recommendations of the fearless leader of CrossFit Santa Rosa. Plus, read Sisson’s book cover-to-cover and made sense. My goals were pretty simple: feel better, lose weight, improve health and lifestyle.

I’m a dairy-inclusive primal eater, though it’s limited to cream in my coffee and raw milk (though not very often) and good cheese. My grain exposure is limited to beer, though on my occasional 20% days have included pizza and cookies. Those, however, are few and far between; beer is less and less.

My journey began with a personal trial of eating primal. At the end of December, I worked 3 overnight shifts in a row in the ER. Ate in the normal way: sandwiches, couple of cookies, chips and salsa, maybe some candy. Anything to keep the motor “running” through the dark hours. Results: felt like crap, mood swings, hunger pangs, didn’t sleep well during the day. Basically, carb hangovers to the extreme. A week later, I had another set of 3 overnights, but had gone primal. The difference was amazing: no hunger pangs, no mood swings, no energy crashes, slept well during the day, felt refreshed and energetic during my shift AND when I was off. My sleep was restful and refreshing. Even my co-workers noticed the difference!

I’ve even managed to turn my parents on to eating primal. My mom, a recovering smoker and arthritis sufferer, has had no hand pain and minimal joint pain. My stepdad has lost 15 pounds and has more energy than my mom can handle!

My difficulties are the usual: “You don’t eat rice/bread/pasta/cookies?” “Your heart is going to explode with all that bacon and eggs.” “Where are the burger buns?”

My answer is: I’ve never felt better. Never been thinner. Totally tell the difference when I “cheat” and eat grains and simple carbs (can you say carb hangover???).

It’s easy to eat, easy to do, just takes some getting used to. Once you go Primal, you’ll never look back; the alternative just makes ya feel too crappy.”

Josh recently had shoulder surgery and is rehabbing, but we’re looking forward to his return!

Thomas and Emily both took first place in their weight classes at this weekend’s Redwood Empire Championships in Olympic-style weightlifting!

Emily lifted 29k in the Snatch and made a PR of 44k in the Clean and Jerk. In the process, she earned herself a new nickname – the “Mighty Ant” – after the event announcer noted that she had Clean and Jerked her bodyweight. Yes, folks, Emily weighs a whopping 97 pounds. Now every time a woman tells me she doesn’t want to lift weights because she’ll “get big” I’m going to point to this little woman. Here’s her third snatch yesterday:

Thomas made the heaviest Snatch of anyone in his session at 85k, then followed that with a 102k Clean and Jerk. Thomas’s training over the last six months has shifted to almost entirely Olympic-style weightlifting, and he’s put on quite a bit of muscle mass over that time (as anyone who knew him a year ago has noticed). He’s been working hard to produce this kind of performance, and it really paid off. Congratulations Thomas, hope it felt darn good! Here’s his second snatch of the day:

Congratulations to Thomas and Emily for their discipline and hard work! We’re proud of you two, and hope to see you on the competition platform again in the future!

Brianna is the first in a string of CFSR brides-to-be to tie the knot. I heard that she exchanged her dress for this strapless beauty just one week before the big day. (I like to think she wanted to show off her new-found muscles.) Congratulations Brianna and Brandon!

SRPD Officer Travis Dunn originally came to CrossFit Santa Rosa to prepare for the grueling 8 hour physical test required to get on the Santa Rosa SWAT team. The physical test included rappelling from a six story building, sprinting in full gear and dragging a dummy for time, weighted pull ups, chemical gas exposure, a long distance chase in full gear, and shooting with an elevated heart rate, amongst other tests! With a combination of our regular classes and private training designed just for him, Travis not only passed the physical test, but passed with flying colors and was offered one of the two spots available on the team out of twelve applicants. Congratulations to Officer Dunn, who is now a member of Santa Rosa SWAT. We are proud to have him as member here at CrossFit Santa Rosa too!