Thanksgiving

I can't believe its almost Christmas - where did 2011 go?

I have so much to be thankful this year, yet at times I still feel somewhat discontent - why is that?  Here's my 2011 recap with some reflection on what happened...

I have been at Crossfit Invictus coaching for over 2 years now - before I started on this journey it seems like I couldn't hold down a job for any sort of length of time.  I have also been coaching for Crossfit Endurance for about the same amount of time which has allowed me to travel extensively throughout the United States as well as internationally.

This past year along I had the opportunity to go to Australia twice and New Zealand - both trips were absolutely amazing and it really made me appreciate the impact that Crossfit has had on a global level which was really driven home when I competed at the world games in July.

In 2008 I decided to go back to school to get my teaching credential since I wanted to work with kids to have the opportunity to positively impact their lives and futures.  About a year into the program I started coaching too and in 2009 decided to pursue this road that I have been on ever since.  This year I have had the chance to start working with kids too as I have a group that meets every week from Monarch School.  I really like coaching the kids once a week, I have the 7th & 8th graders for about 40 minutes every week and its been amazing to watch their progress and their outlook on health and fitness.

This year I also made a commitment to pay off my debts and have been making a lot of progress in that department - I have paid off close to 10,000 in credit card and old debts that I have slowly been working towards.

I have competed in 2 triathlons this year as well - I did SuperSeal  in March as I was preparing to do an Ironman a few weeks later.  I trained for about 5 months or so to get ready for IM St. George and about 5 weeks prior my body broke down.  I remember someone saying 'training for an IM will age you' and i can now look back and agree - I am not in my 20s anymore and my body does that a little longer to recover and the training for it coupled with training for the CF Games was a bit much.

I risked blowing out my achilles which I aggravated it in my 2 prep races in March - looking back it was one of the best things that could have happened, it forced me to slow down and remember that I am not invincible.  All of it came crashing at once, I got super sick right before my trip out to Australia at the end of March and decided to pull out of the race then to focus on getting and staying healthy so that I could compete at the CF Games.

I am so thankful for my teammate Invictus s on the team - without them we couldn't have done what we did.  We won regionals convincingly, it was an absolute blast, we had the support of our community at the event taking great care of us, superb coaching and we went out and executed flawlessly.  Being at the CF Games in July was absolutely mind-blowing. Getting to compete on the big stage for the 3rd year in a row was such a privilege that I can't even describe it.  I feel super lucky to have had the opportunity to do so and can't thank everyone enough that helped along the process.

Professionally I feel super lucky, aside from being at a great coaching facility I have some fantastic clients that have seen some transformational changes along the way that really make me appreciate what I do and make it all the more rewarding :)  I also had the chance to take the CF kids course in February and a couple of the OPT courses where I learned a ton.

I also started doing more things socially this year too- i joined a flag football league and met some fun people and even started dating this year which has really been huge progress in my life :)

I'm also coming up on another year sober - 4 years at the end of December and I have to honestly say that my life wouldn't be what it is now if it weren't so.  I feel super lucky to have gone through what happened because its paved the road for where I am at now.   It's not all roses though, this year I have also had to start the process of dealing with the implications of my run in with the law in 2005 which could potentially have me deported.  I have an immigration attorney and am hopeful everything will turn out ok, but at times doubt still creeps in.  All in all, I know this is just part of the process and everything will turn out exactly how its supposed to, if it means I have to leave the US, so be it, although I am hoping it isn't so.

With another month in 2011, I look back and can say that this year has been SUPER.  There have been some tough times, but many more great times looking back.  One of the things I always look forward to is attending Hot N Dry - a sober event in September and I got to go back for the 4th year in a row this year.  I get to make my own schedule with work/clients which I feel super lucky to do so, I have gotten to work with kids, I have an endurance team that meets regularly and have trained several athletes that have qualified for Boston Marathon (pinnacle for endurance events)

One thing I started doing earlier this year is writing in my journal on a nightly basis a simple gratitude list - 5 things most of the days that I am thankful for.  If I went back and looked I think what would show up the most is my health - getting the opportunity to work out and train people for a living.  Cooking - I love food and I cook a majority of my own meals which allows me to be creative and put what serves me best into my system.   Friends often shows up on my gratitude list, I feel super lucky to be surrounded by some great individuals.  At times when I have been down, they have picked me up, when I needed someone to talk to they've been there :)

Thank you for being part of my journey - its been a great year so far and looking forward to a great month of December to wrap up 2011....