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Home Archive for April 2017

Rome 2016

Rome was the third stop on our European honeymoon. My last visit to Rome was 25-26 years ago. I was around four and do not remember much. My return to Rome was with my wife and I couldn't have asked for a better travel partner. Main points of interest on this trip was the Vatican, the Colosseum and the Pantheon.

Cell Phones

We picked up a new set of SIM cards from TIM. It came with a few gigs of data and costs about $30.00. The coverage was great and data speeds were fast. We would switch to wifi once we got home which made the data last about five days.

Transportation

From the airport, we used an airport shuttle that was offered at the airport. It was about €10.00 per person. We used the same service to transport us back to the airport for our flight to Amsterdamn. The subway system in Rome is small compared to Paris and London. It contains only two lines that run near the center of the city. The bus system is your go to for public transportation. We picked up the three day pass and a two day pass from a local convenience store. They also sell passes at kiosks around Termini station.

Accommodations

We stayed in an AirBnB on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Aside from the awesome name (my first name is Emmanuel), it's within walking distance of many tourists spots. We walked to the Vatican, Pantheon and Trevi fountain. Unlike Paris, we booked a room but it had a bathroom which was a plus. The person checking us in was very helpful and gave us directions to laundromats, popular eatery's and tourist spots.

The Fun Stuff

The Colosseum

The Colosseum is an iconic Roman structure. It's featured in most if not all films that portray ancient Rome. It's also the setting for one of my favorite films depicting ancient Rome, Gladiator. The structure is large but not as large as I imagined. If naval battles were fought in the arena, the ships would have to be really small. We walked around the ancient arena and then headed towards the Forum.

Roman Forum

The Forum was a short walk from the Colosseum. The Forum contained ruins, churches and other buildings. Some of the churches were old temples that were converted when Christianity became the national religion of the empire.

The Vatican

My wife and I are both Catholic and the Vatican was at the top of our must visit places. We visited St. Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican museum. Like Paris, we were able to attend mass in St. Peters. While there Pope Francis give his weekly address in St. Peters square. We were able to view great works of art such as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel as well as the Pieta. Some of the papal tombs were open and we were able to walk through them. Unfortunately we were not able to see the tomb of John Paul II, but we were able to view St. Peters tomb.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon is one of the more famous churches in Rome. It was a former temple that was converted into a church. Two famous tombs can be found in the Pantheon. The tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II (pictured above) and the tomb of the famous artist Raphael.

CrossFit Villa Albani

A trip to Rome wouldn't be complete without visiting a CrossFit gym. Simonetta, the owner, was very welcoming and asked us to sign her wall in the lobby. We picked up a few shirts after taking a tour. We didn't get to workout but hopefully we will the next time we visit Rome.

Our trip to Rome was amazing and we were sad to leave. We had a great time wandering streets and eating amazing Italian food. I'm going to miss the pizza and I'm sure my wife will miss the gelato. This will not be our last trip to Rome.

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The 2017 CrossFit Open: #OpenReflections

The last few weeks were a blast. The workouts were fun and challenging making this years Open memorable. We used a new piece of equipment (dumbbells) and a new movement (burpee box jump overs). I set out to achieve a goal this Open and unfortunately, I didn't reach it. After a few days of self reflection, I'm more motivated to workout this year.

My goal for this Open was to place in the 30's on Guam. Last year, I finished the Open in the 46th spot but this year I placed in the 51st spot. I've come up with two reasons why I placed a lot lower this year and didn't reach my goal.

Pay the Man

"Success isn't owned. It's leased, and rent is due everyday" - J.J Watt

Sorry J.J, I'm a few months behind on rent. This sentiment sums up my year since the 2016 Open. Early last year I focused on Oly programming and stopped doing metcons. The Oly programming was long and heavy on most days leaving me with no energy to do a class WOD. I also got married and did not workout or eat healthy for about two months. It adds up. My lack of conditioning showed in 17.4 with me finishing short of my score from last year. I did not put in the work this year.

Everyone is More Fit

I hit PR's on workouts and increased my fitness but it wasn't enough. The guys I used to beat in workouts are now beating me. This past year, the guys put in the work. It was a lot more than me and it showed in the workouts and the leaderboard.

Goals for 2018

"You don't need harder workouts. You need to go harder in your workouts." - Tommy Hackenbruck

I did not put in the work this year so I'm not surprised I didn't hit my goal. I'm now more motivated. I want to at least make it into the 30's on the leaderboard next year. I want to work on Oly lifts but I also want to work on conditioning. It's going to be a balance but I'm sure I'll manage. I also want to work on my gymnastics skills, especially muscle ups. It's going to take a lot of hard work and I'm looking forward to it.

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