The Crossfit Games were an intensely exciting, peak experience for me, filled with hard work, wonderful people, so much fun and an amazing reward at the end – a gold medal in the new 40-44 year old category; and Australia’s first CrossFit Games medal!
I loved every minute of the Games, from the moment that first workout (Nancy) began, until I left the USA 10 days later in the afterglow of the glorious Games!
As I reflect on the past two and a half years of my CrossFit journey, I am amazed and fascinated by my personal growth, physical improvements and my body’s capacity for both unrelentingly hard work and extraordinarily rapid recovery.
After many years as a professional triathlete I thought I knew the limits of my mind and body. The fact is, I had no idea of the depth and breadth, the resilience and willingness of my physical, mental and emotional faculties! What a rare privilege it is to discover the unwavering depths of your own character! CrossFit unrelentingly demands to know who I am and what I’m made each time I step up for another round! I. Love. That!
I had never picked up a barbell or done any form of gymnastics until my 40th year of living! That was life before CrossFit. The day I walked into CrossFit Adelaide is the day my life began to come together and make sense! That is the day my passion for fitness, health, self-discovery and self-expression came together. Standing at a barbell, swinging from the rings, covered in sweat and chalk, filled with glee, my life with CrossFit just makes perfect sense!
Winning the Masters category (40-44 year old) at the Games feels like a glorious gift and a big full-stop between what has been and what is yet to become! It’s time to pause and reflect before committing to my goals for 2014!
What I see as I look back over the past two and a half years is persistent hard work, commitment, discipline and an unwavering passion for the tasks at hand. This has also been coupled with wonderful support from near and far: the incredibly positive CrossFit community, my dear friends who have reminded me that ‘everything’s going to be alright’ when I have faltered from time to time, my dog Pepper who loves every WOD no matter what, my Mum who comes to watch her 43 year old daughter’s every event, my amazing sponsors who have wholeheartedly and enthusiastically supported me and shared in my victories – they feel like my extended family – SMAI, JAW, PROFESSIONAL WHEY, WOD GEAR, INOV8, CLIMB-ON, THE FLOAT ROOM, and my coach Ben Norman for keeping me utterly engaged on my CrossFit journey and guiding me to two Games so far!
I think I work very hard for everything I have, but I also know that I am immensely lucky to have and enjoy all that I do!
I choose to make sacrifices to honour my passion, reach for my goals and live in keeping with my priorities. But, honesty, these ‘sacrifices’ aren’t sacrifices to me! It is an absolute privilege and a pleasure to know who you are and what you’re passionate about, and to actively pursue that passion with every breath and fibre of your being.
I want to train 3-4 hours per day, I want to be in bed by 9pm every night, I want to stay home on a Friday and Saturday night, I want to be up at 5AM or 6AM every morning, I want to eat the cleanest, leanest most super superfoods available, I want to spend my limited income on my recovery therapies, Physio and Naturopath, I want to take the best supplements available to support my performance, health and recovery, I want to spend my time with like minded individuals, I want to talk about health, wellbeing, CrossFit and the things that inspire me, I want to feel the thrill of overcoming my fears everyday, I don’t want to eat cheat meals and things that lower my energy and make me feel average or worse, I don’t want to drink alcohol or eat sugar and wheat, I dont want to watch TV and keep up with the news, I don’t mind if I don’t fit in with most people’s ideas of what a 43 year-old woman should be, I want to inspire others to think that perhaps they can – that perhaps they’re not too old, I want to passionately persue my dreams until my last breath! I want to return to the Games over and over and over again!
Winning a medal at the CrossFit Games was incredible! I’m absolutely certain that my medal was shared with more people than any other medal in the history of CrossFit Games! It has been much loved and much shared by many – and that was a truly joyful experience – a very high highlight of my Games experience!
If you we’re one of those people who shared my medal with me, THANKYOU for making my 2013 experience so happy and so rewarding!
Time to put together the plan for 2014!!! EXCITED!
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