Crossfit

Truth be told, I have always been athletic.

I love sports. For a while after college I ran. 5Ks to marathons and everything in between. But the colitis made consistent training difficult.

About 5 years ago a friend of mine opened a gym, a Crossfit gym, and I immediately fell in love.

The workouts were short and intense, compared to the hours I would spend running every day. It gave me the feeling of being part of a team. It fed into my competitive nature.

And the best part....

I was never more than 200 meters from a bathroom.

I Crossfitted 5 to 6 times per week, even in the days leading up to the surgeries.

Although I would watch my performances go down the tubes - not being able to lift the type of weight I usually would, being much slower, feeling gassed just a few minutes into the workout - I knew it was important to continue to Crossfit despite personal frustrations.

It made me stronger and helped me recover quickly from the surgeries. It also provided me a much needed emotional outlet.

I was even in the gym, working out, 6 weeks after the first surgery, bag and all. My doctor encouraged it. Even though I don't think rope climbs may have been the best idea I ever had, it was important that I take back my life.

I also received an overwhelming amount of support from my Crossfit family. Cards, flowers, gifts, meals, visits. Their positive spirit helped me through the toughest experience of my life.

I have been easing back into my workout routine over the last four weeks and the support is indescribable.

Even though I am now the last person to finish the workout, even though I can not lift as much as I used to, even though I can not perform dead-hang pull ups, ring dips, handstand push-ups, and a plethora of other movements the way I used to, my friends still cheer me on and assure me that I am amazing and will get my groove back.

Truth be told, they are the amazing ones.