And The Gym Hits Back...

I am blessed to have a CrossFit box only 15 minutes from my house. It takes time away from my family to go there after work but my husband and I agree that it is the best option at this point. And, let's face it, I really do love CrossFit more than I ever did personal training.

I went back for my first WOD in forever last night. After getting another text message from my ex-trainer I really needed the stress relief. I was hoping for slam balls but the workout my coach selected was almost as good. Five rounds of 400m run, 7 x deadlift, 15 wall balls (10 pounds), and 30 single unders (jump rope). I finished in 25:10 which I think is pretty good for my first time back!

Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to fit in my runs without going to the gym on my lunch breaks. I planned to get up an hour early today and do my 4 miles but when the alarm went off I was way too exhausted, probably from the WOD last night. So instead I have my clothes, shoes, and Garmin in my bag and I will stop in the park on the way home. Tomorrow I will have no choice but to get up at OMG-early and put in my 8 miles. But in the end, I just have to focus on what matters. A PR at Baltimore in October and hopefully a PR at Baker 50M. At the very least I need to get my second piece of the medal.

I am blessed to be surrounded by family, friends, and readers who really care. I value every bit of input you all have given me over the years whether I agreed with it or not. The honesty and straight-to-the-point advice is often just what this stubborn runner needs. So thank you all very much!

Have you tried CrossFit? Do you regularly WOD? What's your take on it, whether or not you actually attend a box?

Hitting the Gym

If I haven't mentioned it lately, I LOVE my LA Fitness membership. I go to the gym on my lunch breaks and work up a sweat without taking time away from my family and other commitments. I get to relieve stress, blow off steam and feel like I'm doing something for ME for that 30 or 60 minutes.

I also work out with a personal trainer one day a week. He makes sure I incorporate strength training and some HIIT ala-CrossFit rather than just running. I really enjoy my sessions and always wake up with a good case of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) the next day. So I thought it was really cool that my trainer offered to add an additional session per week at no additional cost.

Now I think he had another motive other than my typical badass, work-myself-to-death-and-love-it attitude. During my last session my Ink N Burn camisole flipped up during burpees showing my tramp stamp lower back tattoo.

A very old pic showing all my ink.

I got this tattoo on my 18th birthday and I don't regret it but I don't show it off either. My trainer has lots of tattoos so I wasn't worried about it. He made some small talk about our tattoos and future plans for more ink but I didn't think much of it. At some point he used the word 'cute' in what I thought was in reference to my tattoo.

Apparently I was wrong. This morning I was on my way to the office and I got a text from my trainer. It's not that odd for him to let me know he has an open session or has to cancel by text so I checked it when I arrived at my desk. The ensuing conversation went like this:

Trainer: Hey I didn't offend you with the cute comment did I?

Me: No. Not at all!

Trainer: Ok good! Cuz you are very cute. 

*insert the theatrical music here.... dun, dun, dun....*

Me: Uh, thanks. LOL.

Trainer: LOL. You're welcome. Are you shy?

Me: No, not really but I am happily married.

End conversation.

Now I'm worried and upset and lots of other weird feelings. I never looked at my trainer as anything but a guy with a lot of muscle who knows a lot about workouts. I am not attracted to him and I would never betray my husband like that.

In essence, I'm worried that my gym, my sanctuary, has now become a place of stress. That it will be awkward to work out with him in the future. That, if I were to switch trainers, I might not get one as knowledgeable and well trained. That I might need to just cancel my membership and lose out on those lunch breaks altogether. And that, if I tell the gym why I do any of these things, he will lose his job. I don't like any of the solutions and I don't like being in this situation.

I wear my wedding ring to the gym, I talk about racing with my husband, I talk about our children and I can't think of a single time when I've ever given any hint that I'm not happy or would ever want to change my current status. I feel guilty, like I must have given the wrong impression at some point. I feel angry that my trainer would think it's appropriate to use his work to pick up married women. I feel confused about what to do and, most of all, I feel sickened and disgusted that this is happening at all.

So tell me, has this ever happened to you? If so what was the outcome, what did you choose to do, and why? What do you think that I should do and how should I handle it?