from ugly duckling to Crossfit Swan: Dinner with my daughter

DINNER CONVERSATION
Last week my daughter were having dinner together after dropping my son off at his art class. She looked at me and said "mom, i don't like when i cant do things in crossfit class when everyone else can, ya know i am really competitive" I chuckled and said "welcome to crossfit honey, your going to have to re-adjust your thinking. Know there are movements your not going to be good at but put that competitiveness to work for you, by working hard on conquering your weaknesses." With a serious face my daughter said "Ma, i really don't know how you showed up every day and stuck with it when you couldn't do anything, I am an athlete and Crossfit is hard."

IGNORANCE IS BLISS

A year ago i was having a hard time staying committed to exercise. I really didn't understand why, i was a former certified personal trainer..i helped people get into shape and succeed at their weight goals. I knew how to "diet", and exercise why was this so hard for me now? I had 3 different Doctor's tell me my weight gain and difficulty losing weight was because of working night shift. Their recommendation was to change my shift..but that's what works for my kids so right now i can't...i kept thinking there has to be a way! I kept getting sick with bronchitis, my blood pressure was elevated, my blood work was thank GOD good, no high cholesterol or diabetes but as an RN i knew my future would be grim if i didn't lose weight. I went in search of group classes which i thought might keep me more motivated and accountable to show up. When i typed into google search engine "group exercise classes" , Crossfit came up. I found Crossfit web site online, watched the"What is Crossfit" video, and i was inspired! I put my zip code in the affiliate finder and 5 boxes (Crossfit Gyms) were close to me. I sent emails or left messages about my interest in crossfit. PortCrossfit was the first to call me back and i set up an initial assessment with them.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

I knew from past experience the first couple of weeks would be painful going from coach potato to exercising BUT i really had no clue! My first 9 weeks of Crossfit were so difficult not only physically but mentally as well! I had so much muscle soreness EVERYWHERE....truthfully i think only my eyeballs didn't hurt. I was so nervous before each class that i would be nauseous. I didn't know the crossfit "lingo" and felt lost looking at PortCrossfit website..i mean what the hell was a WOD, AMRAP, EMOM, SNATCH LIFT, A CLEAN? Majority of the class including the Coaches were in their 20's and fit. Seriously, How am i going to keep up? What the hell did i get myself into? My former Personal Trainer experience didn't help me one bit in Crossfit, everything i had learned about fitness was totally different in Crossfit. Can i really do this? Do i really want to do this? Well after my first week of only 3 Crossfit classes i sign up for unlimited classes...hahaha, WHY?

COACHES

Walking into PortCrossfit from the very beginning I felt like "NORM" from the show CHEERS..The Coaches knew my name and always made me feel welcomed. When the Coaches would explain the WOD to the class , panic would set in and i would raise my hand and say "but i can't do that?" They eased my fears by always finding a way to modify the exercises to my level of fitness or ability. I was always much slower, less fit than everyone else but my coaches always pointed out what i did right. I will never forget one day in class we were doing a snatch balance, i watched the video the night before and Nailed the movement in class, I seriously don't know who was more excited that i did this movement right, Me or My Coach..he turned around to a couple of other members who were hanging around "did you see that, did you see what she did?" One day during a run and felt like i was hitting a wall...i asked my Coach..."how can i not get soooo winded when running?" He answered "your going to be winded," then he paused, "Elisa are you controlling your breathing as you run?" The light bulb went on in my head of course, i used to run , how could i forget to control my breathing? I truly appreciated the Coach understood what i was trying to say and took my question seriously. I also remember one day we had a run for a warm up and i came in with the whole class...my coach said "Elisa, you came in with the pack, i am going to call you "FLASH" from now on!" I was never able to run fast enough to come in with the pack. I didn't even realize what i had done but my Coach did. Every step of the way these men had faith that i could do Crossfit and their belief in me, gave me the support i needed to get me to show up , try every class, and want to succeed. They would send me emails to let me know that i was making great progress and they that all noticed the tremendous strides i was making...of course i cried. When i entered my first competition the coaches came down to support and encourage the group of us competing on their day off. After that competition Coach Mike said to me "i am so proud of you, i didn't think you were going to make it past the on-ramp class and look at you now!" Coach Kyle recently revealed "I nearly died on the floor when after your first week you signed up for unlimited classes....you couldn't move" we both laughed...i said "i told you i had goals!" I am grateful that my Coaches are knowledgeable, positive, funny, encouraging, and passionate about their job as Coach, because they truly make Crossfit FUN! THANK YOU RYAN, KYLE, TYLER AND MIKE for an AMAZING year!!!!!

COMMUNITY

The Crossfit community is really like none i have ever experienced. Although we compete against each other we truly support, and encourage each other to be the best you can be. I wouldn't have made it during those first difficult months without those voices cheering me on!! One night we had to do a mile run for time, as usual i was out there all by myself because i was so slow, i felt so discouraged. As i ran thru the parking lot and rounded the corner to the rear entrance the entire class and my coach was standing there cheering me on as if i was winning the NYC marathon ...wow, i couldn't believe they waited for me, i figured they would have gone home!! Every step of the way they have all encouraged me to keep going when i thought i couldn't or reassured me i was capable of doing something new. When i have competed these same people took time out of their day to cheer me on!! Thank you PortCrossfitter's past (Chas, Morgan, Ryan, Gus, Vanessa, Riccardo, Alesha) and present for you never ending support, encouragement, and laughter...i truly wouldn't have made it this far without all of you...big, big HUG!!

MY RESULTS
One year ago i couldn't squat down to pick anything up off the floor, i had to bend over at my waist, i had severe difficulty going up and down stairs, i had to hold on to the rail for dear life, i had to pull myself up out of my car with my arms, i couldn't lunge without falling over, i couldn't run or jump on a 12" box, i was sick and my blood pressure was too high. I have competed in 1 in house Crossfit/Paleo challenge (i was female champ), 1 national Crossfit/Paleo Challenge (Placed 1990 out of 7500 competitors across the US), Festivus Competition (placed 16th out of 50) Hunger for More Garage Games (placed 18th out of 25 teams) in my first year of Crossfit. My daughter said to me "Mom, i forgot you had knee surgery 2 years ago and how weak that left you, i even forget how old you are because when we WOD together i am trying to compete against you!" I smiled...out of the mouth of babes!

Jan 17, 2012
weight 190lbs
size 16
shoe size 8.5