Guilford Crossfit

ALS slowly and methodically strips away everything from you. The hardest part is having those things that you love to do taken from you. While ALS manifests itself differently in people, the first thing that it robbed me of was my ability to exercise at Guilford Crossfit. While I didn't realize it while it was happening, my back injuries were the first signs of ALS. I, admittedly, did not handle my second injury well. I was in a lot of pain (2-3 dilaudid a day) and I lashed out at what I thought was the reason for my injury. While it is certainly not an excuse, and I certainly do not forgive myself, I truly regret the things I said about crossfit.

Put simply, I loved going to Guilford CF. The coaches and members foster an awesome atmosphere of enouragement and support. While it seems nuts now, I looked forward to getting up every day at 4:40 am for the 5 am class. I would refresh the GCF page the night before, hoping to see the WOD for the next morning. I loved challenging myself to compete with the stronger/faster members almost as much as I enjoyed cheering on people who were struggling to finish a WOD. I especially enjoyed competing with Kati, who always managed to get me to do one more rep. The picture above is of Team Schmoops at its strongest.

Clint and Erin Zeidenberg are incredible people. They reached out to me when I was hurt, and for them to host a competition for me is truly incredible. Alot of people talk about a group of a gym being a family, but Clint and Erin actually deliver on it. The coaches they have do a great job of pushing you to be your best, but not so far that you hurt yourself. While I am no longer able to compete, I am really looking forward to being back at GCF on Saturday for the competition. Its going to be a great time and I'll be back at a place that I considered my second home.