The House That Built Me

Brickhouse Garage Games 2012
This is actually right after Amanda told me I couldn't do burpees from the bench anymore - a scary, awesome moment!

This week my friends at home are saying their good-byes to a place that we've all called our second home in recent months and years. Some have been there since day one, others maybe only a week or two, some, like me, have moved to other corners of the world and have new box homes, but I'm sure they've all felt the same magic inside the four brick walls located on 310 Salem Avenue that I did when I was there. At the end of this week Brickhouse CrossFit will be moving into a magnificently humongous and beautiful new space and I couldn't be more excited and proud of Amanda and Jay for making this dream come true for them and all of the Brickhouse athletes.

I had to say my official good-bye after my last WOD at 310 over my Thanksgiving break, but seeing all the progress updates on the new space has made me think back on my time at Brickhouse again. Though the move is going to be amazing and I'm excited to get to visit the new digs too, a part of me is a little sad to know that someone else is going to be occupying our home at 310 from now on. It feels a little like moving out of the house you grew up in, or having your parents move while you were away at college. I've already moved on to my third home at District CrossFit, but Brickhouse will always hold a special place for me because it's where I got my start.

First Month at Brickhouse

Since the first day that I walked through the doors at 310 and Adam took the time to calm my fears and knocked down every excuse I had to not join, my life has been different. I have been different. That is why I think of Brickhouse as the house that I grew up in. Where I grew (or shrunk) into the new me. It's the place I took my first steps toward changing my life. It's where I learned how to be strong, confident, and powerful. Since CrossFit was new to me, almost every day brought a first - first deadlift, first kettle bell swing, first wall ball, first (and likely last) 5:30AM WOD. More than being just the place where I learned the basics, Brickhouse is the place where many of my important milestones happened. My first burpee on the floor, my first RX'd benchmark WOD, first handstand, first box jump. I learned to run again on the corner of Salem Avenue and 3rd Street. I competed in my first CrossFit competition at 310. I've had some of my most triumphant moments there, and also had some nights were I felt completely beaten down. Saturdays were always special to me - getting to train with Amanda and Jay, doing Hero WODs, and getting to meet and work out with people from different classes.

After My Last Saturday WOD at 310 Salem Avenue

I have so many great memories inside those walls and coming back to visit after I moved really felt like coming home. I always feel comfortable and at ease there, like I do in my own home. Whether it was sweltering or freezing inside, it always felt good. Shouts of joy and frustration echo off the walls - especially when it's quiet and nearly empty. When it was full and the music was thumping, the energy was electric and I almost felt like I could tap into that power source and take on the world. As gross as it may sound, the mats are literally imbued with the blood, sweat, and tears of the many of athletes that have called Brickhouse home. If the walls could talk they would tell you stories of great moments everyone saw and tiny victories that may have gone unseen by most. I know that the new building will be just as magical and electric, because it's the people inside that make it that way.

I realize that memories don't live in a building, and buildings don't make a home, but all the same I'm overly sentimental (obviously) and this change is bittersweet. Just like I had to move on to new challenges and new real estate to make new memories and have new firsts, so too is it time for the next chapter for everyone at Brickhouse. Many great days are in store for all of you and I can't wait to see what amazing things you will all do in your new home! I'm dying to visit and check out all the hard work that the coaches and ambassadors have been doing over the last weeks to get 521 Salem Avenue ready. It's definitely an exciting time.