WHO ARE THE 2016 SOUTH REGIONAL CHAMPS?

#TEAMDENSITY

If you have been following my journey for a bit, whether for exercise, nutrition, or any other reason – you know that I am now a Crossfit Regional Champion.  You may also know that this took me quite a few years, quite a few states, and quite a few failures before it was able to be accomplished.  I was unable to do this alone.  In mid November, I found my way to Spring, Texas to join a hard-working, no-nonsense group of individuals at Crossfit Overtake, who have grown into some of my best friends.  On Sunday, as we all huddled together, heads touching, arms interlocked, we cried together, like babies, on the finish mat of the final event.  The overwhelming feeling of knowing we had dominated the weekend, won, and were headed to the Crossfit Games was unreal.  I was about as thankful for seven people as I ever had been in my life.

To say this means a lot to me is an understatement.  That may all seem really cliche.  However, almost no one knows where I was mentally a year ago.  After regionals in 2015 (I competed in the Atlantic region as an individual), I pretty much wanted nothing to do with competitive exercise.  I was tired of training alone daily.  Most days I just walked through the motions, hating training, being constantly miserable that I felt trapped in a sport that I no longer loved.  I knew something needed to change as more days than not I found myself leaving a training session unfinished – in tears.  This was not how it was suppose to be.  I have always loved sports, competing, and fitness in general.  But, I have always loved team sports.  The camaraderie, the accountability, the “its not just about you” basis of all team sports is what keeps me motivated, hungry, and inspired daily.  I talked about this a bit only with some of my closest friends – Marco Coppola being one of them.  His flat out response was “Well, move to Texas as soon as possible.”.  We didn’t speak about the Games initially, but we both knew the possibility if I made the move.  With the support of many people in my life – I was able to do it 3 months later.  Crossfit Overtake was my new home.

Training here was very, very different from what I was use to.  I was training with Marco and Alex daily, and things no longer revolved around only me and my training.  It was a bit of an awakening at first, however I grew to love it really quick.  It made “practice” and “the grind” fun again.  On the weekends, the whole team would train together, and Saturdays easily became my favorite training day (in the past they had been my least favorite!)  Everyday wasn’t easy.  In the past 7 months I have caught an attitude, been upset, frustrated, anxious, concerned, and every other form of crazy female athlete expression – however I knew I had a team with me.  A team that was relying on me to do what I do and contribute my gifts to our ultimate goal when the time came.  I started to realize there was very little time for anything that wasn’t working toward our goal.  Training became enjoyable and exciting again.  As the days passed in Texas I became more and more comfortable with our system and the way we, #TeamDensity, do things.  By February, I couldn’t even remember training any other way and I was having the time of my life for the first time ever in Crossfit.  I found where I belonged.  I found seven people and a system who made me love what I was doing again.

When I think back to this story and how I ended up on top of the podium at Crossfit Regionals, it is truly amazing.  Sometimes you really do need to take a leap of faith, trust the right people, get uncomfortable, buy into a system every single day, work hard, and be dedicated to one goal.  Every time I look down at my medal (which I had plenty of time to do because I wore it for about two days straight), I see the girl who a year ago wanted out from competition.  I see the big move.  I see all the help and support and love I got from my parents.  I see the hard work and constant effort from all of us.  I see all the trust and belief I have in my coach and my team.  I see the seven people who have been by my side the last 7 months.  The seven amazing people who have grinded, suffered, worked, sweat, laughed, and cried (even at the expense of 100 burpees) by my side day in and day out.  In case you aren’t familiar with them yet, allow me to introduce my teammates.

Alex is our sparkplug. She is Marco’s niece, has been with #TeamDensity since its inception, and knows CrossFit no other way. Although only 21, she is a veteran to Team CF, making her third appearance at regionals this year.  You know EXACTLY what you will get from her in each workout, and that factor of consistency is invaluable on a team.  Alex recovered from a knee injury last year that still leaves her in pain, swollen, and uncomfortable more days than not. However, this is never used as an excuse, hindrance, or explanation as to why something went wrong.  I train with Alex daily, as we have similar schedules. I have never had a consistent female training partner before like this and I am so thankful for her everyday.  We race hard in training, and it is often a constant back and forth thing because we both have very opposite strengths and weaknesses. On days I get lazy, or don’t give full effort, Alex hands me my a**. Because of this, those days have started to happen less and less. Alex brought back my love for the daily grind, she put the fun back in the sport even on the most grueling days, and she doesn’t let me get complacent.  She is young, she is our energy, she is our sparkplug. You are going to want to keep an eye on her.

Carson in July.