my introduction to Crossfit ...

"Once upon a time, there was a girl who was know for being strong. And tough. When she was in high school, she could bench press her own body weight, which is impressive, considering she weighed 220 pounds. For fun, her track coach had her push his truck around the parking lot. She was a beast and everyone knew it. After college, she switched gears. Heavy weights and insane workouts were replaced with 15 pound bicep curls and long distance running. She lost 70 pounds and never looked back. Until a friend convinced her to buy a LivingSocial deal for Crossfit ..."

That's how I ended up where I am today. I caved to peer pressure and bought that LivingSocial deal back in June. It took me until last week to build up the courage to go.

I was convinced I was going to be completely out of my league. I knew I was going to make a total fool of myself. And I was sure that I was going to leave bruised and battered (spoiler alert: I kind of did.)

On Saturday morning, I headed to my first class, which upon arrival, I found out would be a one-on-one experience. Apparently, no one else was interested in the free sufferfest that lay before me.

Class began with a light warm-up that instantly made me regret running eight miles earlier that morning. After a quick overview of how workouts are structured and a briefing on all that Crossfit terminology, we got started.

We started with the Push Press, which despite 10 years away from the weight room, I actually remembered how to do. First was a set of five with just the bar, then another five reps at 65 pounds.

OK, I can handle this.

Then came pull ups. I was told to try a set of five. Instead, I laughed. Who in the world can just pop out five pull ups on day one? Not this girl.

I ended up trying and completed one dead-hang pull up. Go me! I jumped down and was given a band for assistance. Wrapped around the bar and my foot, this band "assisted" my pull-ups by "eliminating" 60 pounds of resistance, leaving me with 100 pounds to pull up. I love that band. It made the first set of five a piece of cake.

Finally, we moved to the rowing machine. I was shown proper form and tested it out. Once I was done, the real work began - the WOD.

10 reps of Push Press @ 65#
5 pull ups
250m rowing
AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) in 12 minutes

I was hoping it was a joke. I was already feeling it from our practice reps. And I was no fool, I knew that even though it sounded short, 12 minutes was going to feel like an eternity.

I got set up and the timer started.

First set of Push Press - Unbroken
First set of Pull ups - Unbroken
First round of rowing - On overdrive

It took me 2:30 to finish the first round. And as soon as he called out the time, I knew I was screwed. I totally failed to pace myself. My go big or go home mentality had me blazing at the start and struggling to catch my breath by the end of the first round.

Second set of Push Press - 8, then a break. Then 2 more
Second set of Pull ups - 3, then a break. Then 2 more
Second round of rowing - Not nearly as fast

It was yelled out that I could still finish a third round. I felt spent and really thought that I didn't have enough strength to not drop the bar on my head. But, I knew I wasn't going to stop.

Third set of Push Press - 5, then a break. 3, then a break. Then 2 more
Third set of Pull ups - 2, then a break. 1, then a break. 1, then a break. A failed attempt. Then the last one.

When I finished the pull ups, I was told I had 35 seconds left. So, I rowed like there was no tomorrow.

Third round of rowing - 150m

I have never been so happy to have 12 minutes be over in my entire life. But at the same time, I felt like a total bada**.

Then I flipped over my hand and saw this ...

And honestly, I didn't even care. I loved the workout and I can not wait to go back.