October 25 of this year is also significant because it is the one-year anniversary of the first CrossFit WOD of my life. I will never, ever, forget it. I lunged, wall-balled, and did sit-ups for the longest AMRAP of my life. I didn't know it was possible to hurt in as many places as I did after that first WOD. Still, I went back two days later, and signed up on the 28th. This is also Matt's one-year anniversary mark, as he attended the kids' class that same day.
So much has changed since then. Two days ago I was running around outside with my son, throwing a football, and nothing was hurting. I asked him if he remembered this time a year ago, how I would never have been able to do that without real pain, and I probably wouldn't have wanted to do it because I lacked energy. He said simply, "No." He doesn't remember, or chooses not to think about it.
I have brought friends into CrossFit and made new ones. I have forged relationships with people that I would never have considered before. I have found a community that truly cares about fitness and health and works incredibly hard at achieving them. I have been entertained watching some of the most fit, elite athletes compete against each other in the CrossFit Games, and supported friends from our box as they tried to make it into that group of the "Fittest on Earth."
Most significantly, however, I have changed, not just on the outside, but on the inside. I could post my before and after photos, but there is so much more than just how I look. Yes, I have changed physically--I have lost inches and gained pounds of muscle. I look better and feel better about my appearance, and have a new level of confidence in how I present myself (so my husband says). But today as I was getting dressed, I looked in the mirror and thought "strong, fit, and functional." I eat clean, I work out hard, I play more and am far more active than I was before. My doctor has informed me that I am "extremely healthy." I have stopped worrying about missing out on life because of ill health, and have started living it to the max.
A couple of months before I found CrossFit, I had prayed sincerely that God would help to break and heal the cycle of my sedentary, tired, achy life. I know that he heard me and answered my prayer. I knew that it was nothing that a lightning bolt from heaven would fix, but that I would have to be actively involved in the process of getting better. I just didn't know where to turn or how to start. I have thanked my coaches and friends for their help along the way many times, but my greatest thanks goes to God for hearing me and showing me this path.
That said, in honor of St. Crispin's Day and our one-year mark, I want give a shout out to my "band of brothers" who have sweat with me, suffered with me, encouraged and cheered me along this journey so far. We have signed up to do a 4-week challenge called CFW Classics: Helen, Fran, Elizabeth and Isabelle. We go tonight to do battle against the cold, our nerves, and our weaknesses. Enjoy this clip from Shakespeare's Henry V, which does a beautiful job of expressing this sentiment. Listen for these incredible lines:
"He that hath no stomach for this fight, let him depart..."
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers
For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother"
"Then he will strip his sleeves and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'"
"All things be ready if our minds be so!"
So see? It IS signifcant that it is St. Crispin's day...and my one-year CF anniversary...and the beginning of the Classics. Good luck, people. We're going to crush Helen and put her name to rest.
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