START HERE...

And...Where is this? 

Welcome into a virtual ‘lounge’ at the intersection of CrossFit, midlife, bodysoul learning, and fitness “for the duration.”

Who am I? 

...a woman who suffers delightfully from ‘late onset athletics’ and a writer’s yearning to process, think/feel (a lot), name and invite others to think/feel (a little)… So pull up a chair, get a seltzer (without added sweeteners), and join me, from time to time…as way opens and curiosity leads you here.

My journey into CrossFit began in August 2018, officially, consistently. I had visited a different gym—‘box,’ as we say—maybe 2-3 years earlier, on the other side of town where I live. I enjoyed the workout. I was sore for 3-4 days. It was in the opposite direction for my work and communal life, in Trotwood and Kettering. When I was finally ready to dive in with intention, I did a Google-search by location, found the one closest to my work office, figured it would be convenient to workout after a day of meetings, what-have-you.

I did find ‘my people,’ regardless of ‘classtime.’ I learned a better rhythm for myself with the 8 o’clock class—community, close coaching, scaled options, seriousness but also light-heartedness about it all. Snacktime, from time to time! Perfect. Coffee-talk on the couch with Matt, when he coaches. I have a friend who lives close by, so some days, I stop off at her house after the WKO to shower before heading to my campus job. It all works out, and I workout regularly with people and in a space that have held accountability, encouragement, challenge, and re-education in good measure.

I sometimes call myself a ‘recovering academic,’ by which I mean I am a professor in higher education who feels deeply, thinks creatively, is fierce for awakening into abundance, and tries to do all this with a bit of hammy charm. CrossFit has balanced my life of overwork and underplay. And I’m so often in my head, I find myself thinking about things other CrossFitters might consider odd, unnecessary, over-thinking, and more. And they’d be right, except it’s what I do, the gift that I bring into the world for those who do find themselves curious.

So whether you’re curious—even anxious—about CrossFit, a longtime CrossFitter, someone in-between, I invite you into this space of listening and reflection. I’m about an expressive delight, after all, and enjoy sharing that with anyone willing to enter in. Welcome.