A few weeks ago, I was out of town for five days for a conference which bumped up into a family obligation. My usual 4-6 days of Crossfit turned into one day before I had to leave town. Determined to get my WOD on anyway, I packed up my gym clothes and scoped out the fitness center in the hotel. I sent the info to Sam and he sent me a WOD that I could do on my own. I was seriously planning on getting it done. I even intended for it to be the subject of this specific blog - how I fit it in even while away. But then a really long day of the conference happened, followed by whiskey at the reception. Whiskey turned into an opportunity to have dinner with other local attorneys and judges at an amazing Italian joint, which turned into a nightcap at the hotel bar. My plan to get up early to work out before the second day of the conference was trumped by sleeping in in the most comfy hotel bed I have ever slept in, followed by a large coffee and, yes, even a bagel. Then came lunch and shopping after the conference was done for the day, followed by a triple skinny gingerbread latte from Starbucks (and regardless of the name "skinny" I don't even want to KNOW how many calories were in that thing), topped off with the traditional after-conference dinner with my college friend Bridget at one of our favorite restaurants in downtown Detroit, Roast. The following week found me backed up with several trials before we broke for the Thanksgiving holiday. Luckily, I got in one trip to CrossFit GR before I left town AGAIN but that was all I could make happen before I got back to town on Saturday. Frankly, ladies and gentleman, it has been a busy and somewhat gluttonous few weeks and, regrettably, I have failed to capture any spare moment possible to get my CrossFit on.
So the question becomes, what do you do? In the past, I'd probably feel bad about it...guilty for not fulfilling some arbitrary obligation that I set for myself and punish myself repeatedly for choosing wine over weights, pasta and porter ice cream (so amazingly delicious by the way) over push-ups. But the last year of CrossFit has taught me so much more than how to do a snatch (that was for you, Sam....we haven't made a snatch joke in awhile)...it's taught me how to appreciate and celebrate me. It's taught me that I'm stronger than I ever thought I could be. I can rise to challenges I never thought I had a chance at completing. I see now that CrossFit, like life, is a never-ending journey filled with both ups and downs, no reps and PRs, achievements and failures. Some weeks our sweat hits that mat every single day and some weeks the floor forgets what the imprint of our sweat angel looks like. More than anything though, CrossFit has taught me that you keep going, no matter what.
So what about me? Well, I did keep going. Instead of extending my Thanksgiving holiday away for a few extra days, I came back on Friday afternoon specifically so I could get to CrossFit on Saturday. Does that seem extreme to some people? Maybe...but that's how I chose to fit it all in. Let me tell you, even being gone for just a week from that place made walking in so, so sweet. As I climbed those stairs and heard that heavy door shut behind me, a sense of calm poured over my soul. I watched MY people - my friends, my team, my coach - walk in and I couldn't help but smile. I missed them, even after a few days. I missed this. And even though I did NOT miss the eleventy-billion wall balls we had to do (which my legs are still screaming about), I missed encouraging and being encouraged by the people around me. I missed how amazing it feels to get a PR (longest double under string to date, y'all), and watching a teammate kick ass and NEVER give up (way to go on those 14lb wall balls Bekki!). This is what CrossFit is about...and it's the one thing you will never lose even when your schedule keeps you away for a little while.
Holidays are a crazy time. It's filled with family and friends and parties and shopping and wrapping and eating and drinking and traveling and merriment and indulgence all crammed into a six week period of time. So what do we do? Do we get down on ourselves or do we find a way to fit it all in whenever and however we can? In the scheme of things, we have the other 46 weeks in the year to hit it as hard as possible so that we can celebrate and honor that we are doing the best we can during the 6 weeks of the crazy holiday schedule. Instead of worrying about fitting in CrossFit with our holidays, maybe we should look at it like fitting holidays in with our CrossFit. If you think about it, CrossFit is our norm. It's part of our lives every single day. The rest is just a brief opportunity to celebrate and know that when it's over, we have a place to go to sweat out that piece of apple pie we allowed ourselves to have. CrossFit is our everyday. It's our recovery. It's our home.
Happy Holidays to all my fellow CrossFitters (and non-CrossFitters) out there. I'm thankful for being part of this community.
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