I started doing CrossFit because I wanted to be able to throw around a barbell like the people I saw doing the WODs at my gym. There was something about it that I just couldn’t tear myself away from.

Confession:

The most terrifying part of starting CrossFit was learning the olympic lifts.

But they’re also what brought me back each time.

It took me a full year for the movements to feel natural, and by then I couldn’t get enough. There isn’t a feeling in the world like tossing your body weight over your head like it’s no big deal. Or listening to the sound of a heavy barbell hitting the ground after a solid lift. Or clawing your way out of a heavy clean. Or not being able to walk the day after heavy squats.

It's so nice to be back with the barbell crew @inrc_ @zeroatlas @sarammarston

A photo posted by Mandy Ferreira (@treading_lightly) on Jan 1, 2015 at 9:00pm PST

I decided it was time to really get into the grit of lifting. I hadn’t done any particular strength programs or followed any cycles on my own in the past, but I signed up for the barbell club at my gym. For a month I worked on technique and improved every single lift we worked on. By the end of the month the PRs were rolling in.

I was addicted.

I'm sad Barbell Club is over, but I'm super happy to finally be past where I was pre-injury. Thanks @inrc_ and @zeroatlas for a great month! #crossfit #crossfitgirls #likeagirl #BadDecisions #StopStealingMyWheights

A photo posted by Mandy Ferreira (@treading_lightly) on Nov 11, 2014 at 8:25am PST

I got my own lifting shoes. I researched strength progressions to do on my own outside of lifting with the group. I religiously listened to Barbell Shrugged and loaded my Instagram with amazing lifters.

Even better – I went back to CrossFit stronger and way more confident with my lifts. Weights that had felt really heavy seemed to fly off the floor a little easier.

These just might be my favorite shoes – not because they look great with every outfit (we all know they do), but because of how I feel in them. Powerful. Badass. In control. Happy. Unstoppable.

This Christmas my family decided that instead of giving each other gifts we were going to put the money we would have spent toward our family vacation in August.

I know what you are thinking, ‘Wait, no presents under the tree?!?’ but before you completely freak out, it’s not as scary as you think.

It was quite liberating to not have to worry about getting the right thing or fitting new items into our already full lives and to enjoy a minimalist Christmas. (I am still abiding by my ‘one in one out’ rule, so the thought of new things made me slightly anxious of what exactly would get the boot.)

And Christmas didn’t feel any less joyous. We filled each other’s stockings with fun magazines, a cookbook for the whole family to enjoy, and of course, chocolate. We made cookies and laughed about the sad state of our seen-better-days artificial tree.

In years past we had wrapped our gifts in repurposed or reusable materials, requested things we really needed, and gave each other delicious treats. And while all of those years were great, there was something special about this year. I can’t wait to have a blast together this summer.

A couple of months ago I stumbled across The Minimalists and quickly became obsessed. While this isn’t my first brush with minimalism, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

For the past few years I’ve been trying to cut down on the amount of stuff I have. (It turns out moving frequently is a great way to jump-start an obsession with minimalism.) I’ve been slowly pairing down my possessions, but I still feel like I have too much.

I dove into Everything That Remains: A Memoir by the Minimalists looking for an answer to my endless itch to get rid of everything. I got so much more out of it than just a list of things I could donate or sell.

My biggest takeaway from the book was not that I need to cut down to a certain number of things, but rather that everything that I do and have need to add value to my life and lives of the people around me. It made me realize that minimalism isn’t just about stuff, it’s about how we spend our time and interact with the world around us.

While I was reading Everything That Remains, I wrote down a few quotes that really stood out for me (don’t worry, I won’t bore you with them all):

“We tend to hang on to things – jobs, relationships, material possessions – in an effort to feel secure. But many of the things we cling to in search of security actually drain the satisfaction from our lives, leaving us discontented and overwhelmed.”

“We stay in shitty relationships because we think there’s security in not being alone”

“Minimalism helped me realize that if I relinquish my need for expendable income, and adjust my lifestyle to revolve around experiences instead of material possessions, then I need much less money to live a fulfilled live.”

“My phone will be a tool, not an appendage.”

“Imagine creating more than you can consume.”

I’m still going to keep trying to get rid of the material items filling my space, but I’m also going to put a heavier focus on simplifying my life and on the things that truly add value to my life. I’m going to seek out more experiences and build deeper relationships. I’m going to make my creativity and my passions more important. I’m going to put a heavier focus on my writing and doing things that bring me happiness. And most importantly, I’m going to do my best to stay in the current moment and stop worrying about the past or the future.

There’s something about running in the rain that makes me incredibly happy. It’s a weird combination of letting your inner child jump in puddles and being a total badass for having a complete disregard for the weather.

I’ve always loved the rain. As much as I love to sit inside with a cup of tea and watch it fall outside, there’s nothing like putting on my running shoes, ditching the music and the watch, and going out to play.

While people panicked like the armageddon was approaching with this recent storm, I had a blast.

Here’s my official PSA: Californians, it’s just a little water. You’ll be okay.

I have a glaring track record with injuries. They all start the same way. I feel amazing. Unstoppable! And then I push too hard and I am completely stopped by an intense, slow-healing form of tendonitis. I’ve done it again and again, and yet I clearly haven’t learned.

The week after the Nike Women’s Half I felt great. My legs felt strong and I was flying high on a great race. I wanted to run further, faster, more often. I started planning how I would up my mileage this winter and all of the great speed workouts I would do. I was so ready to go.

Except that I wasn’t. I forgot the most important part of training – rest. I pushed too hard, too soon after my race and I aggravated the injury I spent four months battling this year already.

Now every step is a reminder of how big of an idiot I am. Instead of doing all of the amazing running I had imagined in my mind, I’m back to doing what feels like endless PT exercises and wanting to cry every time I see someone else running (how dare they run when I have to rest. I want to run!).

Every step is a very real, painful reminder that I need to rest and take care of myself. I don’t have time for denial or trying to push through. (I wish I would have realized that before I played Ultimate Frisbee with my coworkers for an hour. Ouch.) I am going to do all of my exercises. I will rest and treat my ankles and feet with care. I will do contrast baths and hours of mobility work to break up all of the tight, irritated tissue in my calves, ankles, and feet.

But most importantly, I will stop doing this to myself. I will learn to hold back when I want to push 12 times as hard. I will get my legs strong and ready for all of the running I am desperately dreaming about. I will accept where I’m at when I finally get to run again, and I will ease back into everything when my body is ready.

My my library card and Kindle have been getting a lot of use lately. I’ve been reading like all of the books on Earth on going to disappear, and it’s been amazing. There is something incredibly satisfying about crawling in bed with a great book when it starts to get colder and darker outside.

Here are some of my fall favorites:

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield

After reading Packing for Mars I’ve had a bit of an obsession with space. I started following Chris Hadfield’s Twitter when he was onboard the ISS, and his book was just as cool as seeing the Northern Lights from space. A must read for anyone who dreams about space (or has had nightmares since Gravity).

Divergent series by Veronica Roth

My best friend recommended this book to me with a warning that it would completely suck me in. It most definitely did. I rapidly devoured books one and two, but I quickly became exhausted and got a little hung up on book three. Between Hunger Games and Game of Thrones I was a little burned out on death, war, and sadness. Overall though, I’m really glad I read the entire series.

My Heart is an Idiot by Davy Rothbart

I didn’t really know what to expect when I requested this from the library, but I was pleasantly surprised. Rothbart has lived an odd, entertaining life so far, and I enjoyed the laughs.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

I’m totally late to the game on this one. I started reading it on the plane to Vancouver, and I was completely engrossed. The story is compelling and easy to read (even with small children crying on your flight). The characters are all complete messes, which makes them kind of endearing and really easy to relate to.

My coworker and I have a bet. Whoever breaks and eats Halloween candy first owes the other person coffee (we know, we know, one vice for another).

The whole thing started a few weeks ago when the candy bowl appeared in the hallway at work. Out of nowhere. Just BAM, sugar-filled temptation. We turned avoiding the bowl into a competition out of mutual understanding of how enticing the candy could be (and the desire to win. always.).

While we have joked around (someone put candy on my desk to get me to crack first), it’s been easy this year. When I’ve tried to avoid Halloween candy in the past, it’s been a constant struggle for me. This time around I don’t have any candy lurking around my house, and I know I can make it through the whole month – I did it last year. Every day I don’t eat a piece I get more power to say no and the candy seems less enticing.

I’ve spent the past two years or so consciously limiting my sugar intake. I read Year of No Sugar and watched Fed Up. I’m acutely aware of what sugar does to the body and how it messes with the brain. And most powerfully, I know how I feel after I overload on sugar.

I won’t give in this year. Not tonight. Not for the rest of 2014.

This is a candy free zone.

I spent the entire year thinking about running the Nike Women’s SF Half again after running it for my first half last year. I knew it would be my goal race for 2014. When I couldn’t run while I was injured I flip flopped between stressing over not being able to run at all and imagining myself finishing it. I spent months focusing on this one race and making it across the finish line.

After getting extremely dehydrated at my last half in August (and being fairly convinced I was dying), I was nervous I would make a complete mess of this race too. I was fairly conservative with my pacing on the way out and I approached every hill carefully to make sure I didn’t burn myself out by trying to charge up them.

Mentally it’s easier for me to not know when a hill is coming or how long it will last.I honestly didn’t spend too much time looking at the course map before the race. I didn’t realize that this year’s new course had a lot of hills. On Friday one of my coworkers told me he was going to be cheering with November Project SF at the brutal hill at mile 10. (Wait, what hill!?! How long?!?) Throughout the race (and even in the corral before it started) I heard people whining about how hard the hill at mile 10 was going to be, but I couldn’t wait. I knew there would be a huge crew, and I was 100 percent confident that their cheers and my sheer determination would get me up the hill. I actually motivated myself during the race by thinking about how great seeing them all would be.

When I finally made up most what I’m now calling The Hill From Hell, I gave Josh the sweatiest, most disgusting hug, and instead of telling me I was gross, he ran to the top with me. By the time he left me at the top of the hill (with another very moist hug, sorry Josh!), I was feeling recharged and ready to put the last three miles behind me. I let gravity do the hard work and did my best to fly downhill without fighting it.

At this point I was pretty sure I was going to finish feeling better than last time. I still felt strong, my legs were still working, and I didn’t feel like I was going to vomit or collapse at any moment. The course started to be filled with more people cheering, and I tried to focus on all their energy instead of how tired my legs were. (Big thank you to everyone who came out and cheered, especially the people who called me out by name and gave me some much needed energy on the last mile.)

I don’t think I have ever felt so good crossing the finish line. I had an actual finishing kick that made me feel like I was flying (even though I’m pretty sure I looked like I wasn’t even moving to everyone else). I felt strong and proud of how I had raced. I was exhausted, but not sick (a huge accomplishment if you ask me).

Throughout most the race I had a huge smile on my face. I laughed multiple times per mile, and I never once regretted being out there. The spectators were amazing, the volunteers were irreplaceable, and the other runners were pure motivation for me. I love how positive the entire race is. It’s an amazing feeling to be running with so many other women who are out there to challenge themselves and have fun. I’m happy with how I ran SF.