In February of 2013, I ran my first half marathon. I had been woefully out of shape and was looking for something that would get me motivated. It worked. I trained for months, I ran miles upon miles, and I conquered my goal. And then I took a few weeks off to recover…and by a few weeks, I mean 6 months. I didn’t have the motivation to continue training after the race ended.
Later that year I joined Old City CrossFit, and when I started in September I was forced to reckon with my inactivity. After my first workout, I could not lift my arms for days. I am not exaggerating when I say that taking off my shirt required assistance. The coaches and other members are very encouraging and helpful. They make Old City a safe space for an entry-level CrossFitter with the sole goal of doing a single pull-up. Now it’s been almost two years now and I’ve changed a lot; my technique has improved dramatically, I’ve made a lot of progress towards getting that pull up, and I see myself going from someone who lagged behind in class to someone who (occasionally) leads it!
This Spring I ran another half marathon. I did not specifically train for it, I just did CrossFit. In fact, I did not run once sans what was required for a CrossFit warm-up or workout. My performance was more ungraceful ostrich than supple leopard (I still need to improve my running technique), but I finished! The best part of CrossFit is that I finished the half marathon, but I’m no where close to stopping like I did before. I’m back in the gym working on that pull up.”