February 2014

I was literally peer pressured and dragged into CrossFit last year by my husband and friend. I was NOT an athlete and had never been on a team sport or worked out consistently. But at 5’3 and 159lbs and over 33% body fat, it seemed that I needed something extreme and right away. 

My first week I found a love/hate relationship with the WODs, the trainers and everyone around me. Who were these crazy people that sweated together, did whatever the trainers told them to do, people that cheered each other on even as they lay on the floor completely exhausted, and then came back for more the next day? Well, these ended up being the BEST people in the world and the reason I stuck it out! I questioned myself every day. “Why am I here, am I really progressing, am I ever going to be able to do that, is this really worth it and and WHY am I here?” I realized CrossFit was not only a physical workout, but a mental one as well. On the outside over the past year I had gone from a size 12 to a size 2 and at one point dropping my weight from 159lbs to 118lbs. I knew my clothes fit better, I knew I was lifting more weight and my non-Crossfit friends were always commenting on my new toned arms, but I still couldn’t get it through my thick head that I might actually be becoming a “Athlete.”

I remember breaking down in tears in class because my mind said,  “you can kill this workout” and my arms were completely failing me. It was then I knew, I needed to kick my own ass and stop being so hard on myself. Christine and Mike taught me that even though there will be fail days, those small baby steps are always a reason to celebrate and NO PR is too small. I really had come a long way and couldn’t wait to do more!!!

This month, I competed in my second competition ever, something I never thought I would do. A couple of things stood out to me that weekend:

•    My husband Jason (the one who gets me out of bed every morning at 5:15am to go to class) was by my side competing and pushing through the grueling workouts with me as my teammate, something that has strengthened our marriage, friendship, partnership and a reminder that we can do anything together. 
•    I had found a great team mate and new friend in Andrea who again made me realize, your strengths are your own and everyone is great at something different. I would highly recommend EVERYONE to compete at least once in a team comp so you can use your strengths and your team mate can use theirs and you can hit your goals together!
•    My 3rd team mate Rich’s voice now sounds in my head each time I get to the point of my WOD where I want to just quit and drop the weight. He told me, “I want to see you get that look in your eye like I did this weekend, where I can tell you just want to stop and then you dig deep and make your body go 2 more reps farther and you kill it!”
•    Mike Ford standing on the sidelines must have seen that same look as he shouted out, “two more reps, one more rep…drop!” Deep breath, now get back on it!” Because of that I am not afraid to just go for it, take a breath and push farther.     

I am so determined mentally and physically now to take huge leaps this year. I’m turning the big 40 this year and I may not be the youngest, the fastest or the strongest but I CAN beat the girl I was the year before if I put my mind to it and just go for it.

Looking forward to taking baby and big steps, killing it everyday and never turning back. 
Thank you BCF!! 
-Kari 

Congrats to Kari for making “Athlete of the Month”. Kari has been at it for a little over a year and has come leaps and bounds in that time. We have watched as her confidence has grown, size has shrunk, and just become an all around better athlete. I do believe Kari can ovecome any challenge we put in front of her. Kari has shown great improvement in her lifts, strength gains, and conditioning.

Kari usually comes in at 5:45am and gets her work done before the day starts, not an easy thing to do but she is dedicated. You may sometimes catch her husband Jason with her as well. He is the shy guy that likes to keep to himself and not say too much. Kari has to drag him into class and conversations….NOT! They both bring energy into the early am class and anything they do and we love having them. We look forward to lots of training and hanging with Kari in the near future and to continue to see her progress in this thing called CrossFit….great work KARI!!

-Mike