This week I have been reflecting on what caused me to make
this change and jump into CrossFit. A little less than four years ago my life
changed forever. I was preparing to marry my best friend and was moving onto
the next chapter of my life when another life changing event happened, I lost
my mother four days before my wedding. To this day it was hardest week I have
ever faced in my entire life.
As I struggled to understand the reason why I lost my mom
and what happened I started to forget to take care of myself. My mother was the
best at taking care of others, but never took care of herself. She hadn’t been
to a doctor for a checkup since I was born, dentist – forget about it. Everything
I knew about her side of the family’s health was through my aunts. My mother
had lost her father at a young age due to heart disease and we always struggled
to convince her to see a doctor. When
she unexpectedly passed away it was due to heart disease. That week was the
longest week for me; we had a wake, funeral and a wedding all within days of
each other. I was so thankful to have such an amazing family and friends that
helped us get through all of it.
I was angry that my mom had made such bad health choices and
her life was taken so early because of it. I had thought I was good at going to
the doctor, going to my yearly exams, seeing a dentist regularly and going to
the doctors when I knew something wasn’t right. As the years have gone by I have
worked through my feelings of losing my mom but didn’t realize how unhealthy I
was getting. My eating habits and weight was getting to a point I was no longer
comfortable. None of my clothes were fitting and the number on the scale kept
creeping higher and higher. Around October I went to see a Medium (don’t judge)
it was an amazing experience and although some of the things didn’t seem to
make sense the stuff about my mom was right on point. I felt validated about my
feelings around my mother’s death and knew that she was always with me. It
seemed to finally coming to the acceptance stage of grief!
This is when I knew I needed to make a change. I no longer
wanted to accept my weight for what it was and needed to make a change. A few
weeks later I heard about CrossFit from a good friend, I had heard about it
before but never thought it was something I could do. I finally got the guts to
call and set up an appointment to learn more about Albany CrossFit. After
playing phone tag with Murph for a day or two we finally made an appointment
for me to come in. I was nervous walking in, not sure where to go, who Murph
was or what I was expecting to see. As we talked it seemed as though CrossFit
was going to be new but just like everything else I had tried in the past – going
to commit to the boot camp but not follow through at the end.
Fortunately I met some really amazing people who kept me
motivated throughout bootcamp and welcomed me into the WOD world when I
transitioned. Throughout bootcamp I didn’t make a ton of progress with my
weight but I learned a lot about CrossFit and how capable I was on continuing
on. I now truly know what it means to be healthy. It is not just going to a
doctor regularly but taking care of myself through exercise and eating healthy
too. I finally feel good and don’t want to lose that momentum. I have been
going to around 4 WOD’s a week and following Paleo/Primal eating habits. There
are a few things I haven’t been able to let go of but the few changes I have
made are really working!
I can’t even begin to
express my gratitude towards everyone who has influenced me at CrossFit:
Kevin – Thanks
for being such a great coach, every WOD you are always pushing me to finish and
put my best foot forward. You truly are a great person and always help me get
through the butterflies of trying a new workout!
Gannon, Renee, Kyle
and Dani – Thanks for being awesome friends! I am so thankful to have gone
through boot-camp with you guys and still staying in touch. I think the group
text has definitely helped keep me on track and I love having (at least) one of
you there doing the WOD!
Dave – For always
letting me get my whining out and then pushing me past what I thought was my
limit. Seeing the progress that I have made so far is what is holding me
accountable to work harder in the WODs and you reminded me of that Monday.
James – Thanks
for working with me one-on-one for the snatch and the back squat. I lack
confidence in certain moves and you are great at helping to build that up!
Mary, Lynn and Carmen
– Thanks for welcoming me into the CrossFit community! I felt so welcomed
by all of you and Carmen I can’t begin to thank you enough for pushing me
through those Burpee’s!!!
(I might need you again day 90 to get me through them
again!)
Albany CrossFit –
Thank you for being such a great place. You really have made a huge difference
in my attitude toward being healthy and making better choices. Your coaches are
the best and I don’t think that I have met anyone there that hasn’t been
welcoming and supportive! (Even Andrew who had me do FRAN wrong the first time
and coached me through it the second time!)
