GRATITUDE

What an awesome first Saturday workout!

As a 40-year-old mother of two, it was never my intention or desire to open a gym. If you had told me last year at this time that I would be living in a new town and would be the owner of a CrossFit affiliate with Chris Harris, I would have laughed. I bet he would have laughed too! It is funny how some times things happen unexpectedly, but yet those things end up being so right.

As we end our first week at ALL IN CrossFit, there are so many things I am thankful for that I feel compelled to share:

• I am thankful for my coach at World Camp CrossFit, Kris Morrill, who introduced me to the CrossFit lifestyle and who years ago believed in my ability to coach others. Without him, I would not have found my passion in life- to help make people better.
• I am thankful for all my friends at World Camp CrossFit who are like another family to me. All of their support through messages, Facebook comments, texts, and even visits  to Auburn have meant the world to me- and made me think that I was not insane for doing this. You will never find more supportive people than those within a CrossFit gym.
• I am thankful for my parents, Larry and Katie, who instilled the values I live my life by today. They taught me that discipline and hard work pay off, and the very important, “If you are going to do it, do it right.” I only hope I can teach my boys the same thing. I am also thankful for their help in getting the gym ready- laying rubber floors, cleaning windows, hanging stuff on the walls, giving me a big PR bell and an even bigger American flag. They are the best parents anyone could ever ask for.
• I am thankful for the Garage Girls who were willing to come to some stranger’s garage and learn a new way of working out. These girls made my transition to Auburn so easy, and their faith in me is what inevitably led to the opening of ALL IN. GGs for life!
• I am thankful for Jana Jager without whom the Garage would have never existed. Jana was pivotal in finding the first girls, Mandy and Jaime, to join the Garage. She is my #1 Fan and #1 Promotor. Who needs advertising when you have Jana on your side?! She has always been there for me whether it is being my workout buddy or mopping ALL IN’s floors. I am a lucky girl to have her on my side.
• I am thankful for my partner, Chris Harris, who took a giant leap of faith and moved to a strange town to follow his own dream of owning a gym. He is a master at technique and has such a great way with people. He keeps things fun around the gym, and he swears he is going to make me love squatting in 2013! I would have never opened ALL IN without him and could not have asked for a better person to have as a partner.
• I am thankful for my husband, Nathan, who has been nothing but supportive of me as I have followed my CrossFit obsession. Whether it is taking care of the kids while I go off to the CrossFit Games or painting the green stripe on the wall at the gym, I can honestly say he is ALL IN! He just started CrossFit this week, and I can’t wait for the day when we compete together on a team at a local competition. He is truly a great man, father, and husband, and I am blessed he is mine.
• Finally, I am thankful for the athletes who have already graced the doors of ALL IN. I have been so inspired by the things that I have seen there- an athlete who daily battles the effects of MS but is determined to get stronger; an athlete who suffered a brain aneurysm last year and is reclaiming her body; an athlete who is 4 months pregnant and shows no signs of slowing down; former collegiate athletes who are rediscovering their inner-athlete again; athletes who have not exercised in years but have finally decided to make a change. YOU are the ones who make my job a blessing. And YOU are the ones that will hopefully inspire others who say “I can’t” to take the first step to improving their own lives. Thank you so much for trusting me and Chris to take you to places you have never been and to show you that the impossible is possible.

It has only been four days, but the ALL IN community is already starting to take shape. I can’t imagine what it will be like one year from now. We invite anyone interested in ALL IN CrossFit to come visit us. You are always welcome to try a class, and on Saturdays we have a free workout open to the public at 9:00 a.m. It won’t be the easiest thing you have ever done, but I promise you it will be worth it!