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Excuse the Breakfast Club reference in the title, I'm in a John Hughes kind of mood. Today I have a very special post. I mentioned last week that my very good friend Kristie was coming to visit me. She did and we had an amazing time catching up. She has been a really great friend to me for a really long time. (PS: I'm the jock, she's the beauty)
The very first time I ever met Kristie
Football Season 2008
Football season 2008.
Granada, Spain, 2009
Because Kristie is an awesome friend, she wrote a guest blog for Eat.Pray.WOD. Without further ado… ***********************************************************
As I rode around with Aislinn in her car the other day, I
suddenly blurted out, “I want to write a guest blog post!”
She told me to
figure out what I wanted to write about.
Ugh,
I have to have a topic? Can’t I just ramble?
But I guess if I wanted to do
that, I could start a blog called Kristie Talks About Crap That Is Occasionally
Relevant.
And that name is just too long.
But today, after attending a graduation ceremony with damn
good commencement addresses (School of the Arts people are pretty creative, it
turns out), I realized I did, in fact, have something specific to say. So here
goes…
Aislinn is one of my best friends. This has been the case
for a few years now. And one of the things that makes our friendship is so
strong is that we support each other’s healthy decisions and voice honest
concerns about the unhealthy ones.
No judgment.
But not all of the friendships
we’ve had have been so supportive.
Jealousy is real, and it is ugly.
Some
people just aren’t good at being supportive of others’ success. But here’s the
thing…
Someone else’s
success is not your failure.
Aislinn and I were discussing the ways in which CrossFit has
changed her social life. Chances are, she’s not going to go out drinking late
on a Friday night anymore. The reasons for this are twofold: one, she’s a grown
ass woman. Two, she’s trying to make sure she’ll be able to give her all in the
box the next day.
Who the hell wants to show up to a workout hungover?
No one.
Well, some people, but not us. A
And who would rather be hungover than get up and get high on exercise
endorphins?
Well, some people, but not us.
And a lot of other people can’t, or
won’t, understand this change in priorities. It’s tough to watch a friend
revamp their lifestyle. For many of us, it makes us call our own choices into
question. Am I lazy because I don’t wake up early and work out? Am I being
judged for eating this pizza? What the hell is cleaning if not something one
does with a duster and vacuum? If we are that person, we have 3 options. The
first: we can try to bring our friend back into their former lifestyle that
fits more comfortably with ours. The second: we can support our friend’s change
in priorities and find new ways to spend time together. The third: we can be
supportive AND use their dedication as motivation to start pursuing our own
long-neglected goals.
I’ve chosen the third option. I was dubious when Aislinn
began CrossFit. She got so involved so quickly that I was pretty certain it was
an exercise cult that would slowly suck out her brain and mix it into her
protein shakes.
For real.
But then I saw the changes in her. She was so
passionate about CrossFit that it affected all aspects of her life. She changed
her diet, she changed her sleep habits, she started a kick-ass blog that should
have paid sponsors, like, yesterday. And, seeing how Aislinn has started moving
full-throttle towards becoming her best self, I’ve been motivated to get my own
ass in gear. I did a CrossFit intro WOD, and it reminded me how competitive I
am. And it made me start doing my LEAST FAVORITE exercise: running. Running is
an asshole, and I hate it. Except now, I crave it. I compete with myself daily.
I started off running one mile. I’m up to three. In under 30 minutes. For me,
that’s BEASTING. I feel incredible inside and out. I want to run further,
faster. I want to strength train to add muscle to my new, sleeker frame. I want
to do yoga to increase my flexibility and keep variety in my workouts. I want
to be my healthiest self. Aislinn’s success is turning into my success, too.