-SB Parido
I’ve been a member of our Crossfit Strode Station community for 2 years now. I thought it would be easier by now… but it’s not. It’s not supposed to be. Over the last two years, I’ve grown stronger physically and mentally. I’ve found myself attempting things in the gym and in my everyday life that I wouldn’t have done before. I’ve also gotten frustrated and discouraged at my limitations and my weaknesses. I am inspired by the everyone who comes to our gym. Our gym has created community, a wayward family for some, a place to train for competition for others, a place to push yourself.
Over our family vacation, we took a hike. Let me first of all just say that before Crossfit, I wouldn’t have said hike and vacation in the same sentence. But on our vacation we took a hike… it was a hike we first took as a family just after starting CFSS. Kevin and I have 3 growing boys… they are ACTIVE… but my life was becoming more and more passive. As we took this hike a second time, I remembered the challenge of it. It’s a beautiful 1.5 miles downhill to a waterfall… which means it’s a 1.5 mile hike uphill to get back to the trailhead. This hike was no easier the second time. I got frustrated at one point, I kept thinking- I am healthier than before, this shouldn’t be so hard. But it should have been harder. First of all, we were hiking this trail at a more challenging time of year -the first time, we hiked in October- we were hiking now in the July heat. Secondly, this portion of the trail had been burned in a forest fire. Where before there was a lush canopy overhead, we were now on an exposed, barren mountainside. And third, though it wounds me a little to say it, I am two years older than I was the first time. So yes, I am healthier than I was- but this was a challenging trail, and it SHOULD have challenged us.
The whole climb back to the trailhead I kept thinking — I am so thankful that I go to Crossfit! We could have missed these adventures. I watched my children play in a waterfall, I watched them climb up the side of a rock just to see how high they could get. I saw beautiful mountain sides that would have remained hidden to me if my life had stayed passive. I may never have known what I was missing- but now that I’ve seen it- I want to see more with them.
I will still grumble when I see burpees or running in the WOD. I just will. I will still be frustrated when I hit my limitations and when my weaknesses are exposed, but my frustration will lead me to a place of remembering why I show up in the first place. I show up because I want to keep showing up with my boys, with my husband and for myself.
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