what i love about crossfit...

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt 

taken last summer 

hand tears are common after  tough pull up workouts

wall balls are my nemesis 

crossfit has become a giant piece of my life puzzle. i love it for a thousand reasons but to keep it simple, i love that it challenges me. yes, physically but mentally too. it forces me to face my own worst critic (ME)--the voice that points out how i stumbled or could have done better.it offers a venue for me to sort through repressed emotions. crossfit can be cathartic in many ways. it's not unusual to find tears running down the faces of our members. yes, there is pain from the actual workout, but it is nothing compared to the pain we are often masking or holding on to--crossfit has helped me let go... we see happy tears,too--on those days when someone sets a new PR or accomplishes something that had once seemed impossible. those moments, as a coach, fill my heart with joy and i am sooo proud. as a participant myself, those moments are like blue ribbons at the fair, i am overwhelmed with YES I CAN...and it becomes inertia-like... carrying over into our every day lives.
crossfit is an outlet for my often endless and random energy--it can help to quiet my mind, if even for a moment. 

lastly, having lived away from my family now for almost 8 years, i sometimes long for that unique bond--the bond that comes from knowing someone through the good and the bad, the ugly and the pretty. we all have seen each other in some incredibly vulnerable moments and you can't help but feel closer because of it. not to mention all the kick ass moments where we get to celebrate achievements and milestones that seem to happen often!i feel blessed to have some amazing friends because of crossfit--friends who truly have hearts of gold. 
crossfit is more like my home away from home.