You know those pivotal moments when you look back in time… the ones that you can pinpoint and say THAT was the decision that changed everything. The one domino that was tapped, weeble wobbled, fell and then caused a cascade of greatness. 

Mine was April 2019. I had been fitnessing in the CrossFit space for 7 years and coaching for just as long. Trust me, I was all up in the kool-aid as much as the next person. I had my fair share of aches and pains associated with over-training/under-recovering (to be read as synonyms). I needed a change. I wasn’t excited anymore and hadn’t been for a longer than just a rut. Lack of progress, tired of hurting, chasing a carrot I wasn’t really sure existed, loss of why.

Enter… the leading domino. I decided to get out of the environment I felt was suffocating me. If you talk to anyone who believes in spiritual healing, they’ll eventually lead you to nature. So, I lead this horse (myself) to water (nature) and drank (soul-searched).  I packed up, went to Austin, stayed in a super cool airbnb TIPI, went hiking, and became one with nature.

And there it was. The answer. In the middle of a flowing creek. Slapped across the big rock wall people were climbing. Somewhere along the 45465 steps I had to climb up, to let gravity pull me back down. Be selfish. (Okay, maybe not those exact words, but you’ll see.) I needed to make a decision that was best for me. Everything that was making me unhappy, I needed to explore the opposite. If fitness and training is my outlet, it shouldn’t be the one thing stressing me out.  I needed to workout on my own time, do my own thing, whenever and wherever I wanted. I needed my me-time back and I owed it to myself… and my sanity… but let’s be honest- everyone around me benefited from my attitude change.

The search continued in Houston. Until, the beloved day I walked into Facet Seven in EaDo. This gym had everything I wanted and didn’t know I needed. From cardio equipment, to basically a fully outfitted CF box, to bro-sesh stuffs, it was all there and under one roof. Of course I’ll join, take my money!! I was back in my routine, same programming, same run-down state but just happier. In fact, I was training for close to 3 hours every day– a coach even asked “How much are you going to do?!” to which I replied (in my head) “as much as I need to”… but I didn’t know for what exactly. It wasn’t long before I re-assessed my fitness, including plan/programming, goals, long-term appeal, etc. My body and mind had become well-adapted to CrossFit’s functional style programming/workouts. I needed a challenge, both physically and mentally.

ENDURANCE. The word itself encompasses my weakness. Nothing about endurance based sports was in my wheelhouse. Voluntarily, part of my CF programming actually included Chris Hinshaw’s aerobic capacity running work, because I was so terrible at it. I ran a couple of half marathons, with just CF alone, sure I could try to be faster… but every race course is different. My AHA! moment… TRIATHLON. Great, totally out of my element aaaaand I have no one to ask how the heck to start. Or did I?

I just happened to be walking into the gym, and I saw a cool bike– you know, the kind a serious athlete would ride? Next to the wall mount with said bike, were medals and pictures of a man who had completed an Ironman of some sort. I asked the front desk dude “Who is he and where can I find him?”. I would later message Layn on IG (thank heavens for social media, right?!) about triathlon training… how do I get started, what do I do, what do I need, HELP! Ironically enough, he was starting up a triathlon group and had a handful of people who were racing in late September. In the following weeks, we had our first meeting, our first team swim, our first group bike ride.

These teammates became family, accountability buddies, and talk-me-off-of-the-ledge-because-I’m-freaking-out friends, because we were all in it together. (Yeah yeah, it sounds mushy and sappy, but find you a support system who won’t let you fail and you’ve already succeeded.)

Talk about fate… universal alignment… right place, right time… luck… coincidence, or maybe All of the above.