In October 2009, a friend and I enrolled in On Ramp and stayed committed to the morning CrossFit group for about six months until an unrelated injury and a new role at work ‘got in the way’. As much as we can pretend to understand the need for balance in our lives, finding it is sometimes easier said than done and it took me until January 2012 to once again make myself a priority and find my way back to Catalyst and the 7AM group.
One year later, I am working on getting faster and stronger in all areas. More importantly, I am working on getting Chris Hicks (my husband) to walk through these doors and learn to love CrossFit as much as I do. I will sign up for the Open because Coop says that I “will be doing the workouts anyway”. One of the many things I have learned at Catalyst is that there is no point arguing with him (he just reframes things to fool you into thinking you are winning) and he and the other coaches are people you just don’t want to disappoint…even when they use the words ‘seventy’ and ‘burpees’ in the same sentence!
My favourite CrossFit memories come from the personalities and qualities of those I share my morning blood, sweat, tears and snow angels with: Neil’s quick wit and the gun-show t-shirt his children gave him; Ann’s courage and ever-changing ‘tats’; Bridgie’s perseverance and the look on her face when she accomplishes something new; Jess’ contagious smile and mismatched socks which she says make her stronger; Linda’s ‘recuperation’ from injury which translates into ‘coming back soon to kick your butt daily’ and; Fran’s commitment, precision, attention to detail and ability, without knowing it, to push me to do my absolute best. I feel so privileged to be a part of something truly awesome-there really is no better way to start the day!