Home(s) Away From Home

I haven't written in quite a while, but life has been pretty busy in the last few weeks. I turned 31, moved out of my apartment in DC (back home to Roanoke), worked a week of 14 hour days, and I've been in Kansas City for work for the last week. I still have another week out here, but so far everything has gone well (knock on wood) and I'm actually not feeling stressed out for the first time in weeks.

The cool part of my job is that I get to travel for work occasionally. Not so much that I ever feel like I'm perpetually living out of a suitcase, but enough so that it keeps life exciting. In the last three years I've been to Atlanta, Cincinnati, Ft. Lauderdale (twice), Charleston, Richmond, Dallas, Cary (NC), and now Kansas City. It's likely that I'll continue to travel between 2-4 times/year if I stay in this position and while that means time away from my home gym, it won't always mean time away from CrossFit. The CrossFit community is vast and welcoming and you can usually find at least one box to visit in most major cities. 

This week (and last) my box home has been CrossFit Northland.

I was really excited when my Google search - the first thing i did when learned the training location - turned up with a box less than a mile away, literally right across the highway from my hotel. I was even more excited that they agreed to work out a pro-rated membership deal with me so I could train with them for the two weeks I would be in town. Hotels these days have nice enough gyms, but if you want more than a treadmill and dumbells, it's nice to have a box close by.

I'd previously spent time at CrossFit RVA in Richmond and CrossFit Deep Ellum in Dallas while on travel and had great experiences at both. In addition to joining District CrossFit I've dropped in at a few other DC area boxes so I've gotten used to being the new girl in a "strange" box. Even coming back home to Brickhouse there are always those first few minutes of awkwardness and uncertainty - Where do I put my stuff? Where can I mobilize? Where's the bathroom? Are the girl bars 22s, 33s, or 35s...and where are they? Do you use clips for strength work? For the most part you can observe the locals and pick up on the customs, but I've also found that at least one person, usually more, will recognize the new face in the room who looks a little bewildered and out of place, introduce themselves, and take you under their wing for the hour. If you've never been that person to a drop-in at your box, you should be.

I also enjoy visiting new boxes because even though CrossFit is pretty standard and universal, every box has a little bit different approach. Every coach you encounter has a different style and explains things in their own way. Just like with any kind of learning environment, when you expose yourself to different methodologies you increase your chances of deepening your understanding of the subject. One cue or drill that you haven't gotten or done before could cause something you've struggled with for months to finally click. 

CFN recently started an Olympic Weightlifting class that I attended the last two Tuesdays. Since the class is new it was really a back-to-basics experience and relearning some of those initial basics really helped to strengthen my lifts. Just changing my set-up and focusing on a few specific things got me really close to a PR snatch last night and made all my preceding attempts feel much more solid and consistent. I honestly haven't felt that good about my lifts in a long time. 

Bottom line, if you get the chance when you travel, make it a point to visit a local box. Sure, in those first few moments I may feel a little "first day in a new school" tentativeness, but I know that these people are my brothers and sisters and that we've all struggled through Fran and that the same hate-fire for burpees burns equally hot in their hearts as it does in mine. I've been lucky to find places away from home that feel as comfortable as my own box and I believe that any opportunity you get to make new friends, learn new things, and test your courage in a new situation is a worthwhile endeavor, in my humble opinion. 

Shout-out to the coaches and athletes at CrossFit Northland. Thanks for being awesome and friendly and letting me crash the last two weeks. Definitely check them out if you're ever boxless in Kansas City. www.crossfitnorthland.com