I've always been active. Throughout my youth I competed in swimming and dabbled in gymnastics and dance. During high school I lettered four years each in swimming and track and continued swimming for the first two years of college at the United States Air Force Academy. During the 30+ years since graduating from college I've been active but not focused on any single form of fitness. I've run a few marathons, many halfs, and too many 5 and 10ks to count. Swimming has always come in and out of my life but apart from the friendships, I don't get too excited about doing a swim workout for the sake of fitness. I have however had a love/hate relationship with triathlons and across the span of more than 25 years I've done triathlons from the sprint to half Ironman distances. Though not a great runner, the multitude of running events and my years in Colorado inspired me to complete the Pikes Peak half and full marathons. My inspiration to Crossfit is a look back at a year I spent bodybuilding that ended with me competing on two episodes of American Gladiators in 1990. My focus on fitness went on hiatus when my husband was seriously injured in a car accident in 1996 and for the next 16 years I worked to maintain some level of fitness, raise our daughters, head our household (my husband has a TBI and is severely disabled) and continue my military and then civilian career. In late 2011 I bought 3 discount deals (groupon-like) to boxes in Colorado Springs and "tested" the concept at each of the locations. I was interested but not committed. After at least a full year of "trying" it out, I more or less made the plunge. The Lurong Living Paleo Challenge of 2012 was the clincher...I dropped weight I'd been carrying for over 15 years and regained a competitive spirit I'd long let lapse. Shane Rosselle and Colorado Springs Crossfit, with some side work with Tamara Gray at Pandora's Box provided the foundation. Shane proved just the right mix of instructor, coach, and motivator for me to find my "crossfit legs". In 2015 I moved from Colorado to Maryland and spent a little time finding the right box for me. Glen Burnie Crossfit and Bob Gillingham gave me a new home in May 2015. I've added the Granite Games to my resume finishing 2nd in the over 50 in 2015. In 2014 I made the 2016 Games my goal. Kind of scary, and exciting, when a goal is attained. Completed well with a torn rotator cuff but following ruptured my plantar fascia and in Oct 2019 had spinal fusion after 18 months attempting to avoid surgery. Not 100% but happy to train and follow crossfit and functional fitness as I age like an athlete.
United States