Tell us about yourself:
I am a mom to 3 grown kids who I am incredibly proud of. Give me a chance and I will brag about them to you all day long! I grew up in Ventura and lived in Texas as well as the Bay Area before returning here. I think growing up near the beach and open spaces gave me an appreciation for having fun outside. I love pretty much any outdoor activity, especially if it involves the ocean.
What do you do for a job?
I have been a nurse for many many years, 32 to be exact. I work for UCLA as an oncology nurse here in Ventura-no more LA commute-YAY!
Tell us something people might not know about you:
I have mad pizza dough tossing skills.
What brought you to CrossFit in the first place?
I was struggling with some significant neck/shoulder injuries which were sidelining me from many of the activities I love to do-surfing and outrigger paddling, not to mention things like working in my yard. A close family member had been encouraging me to try CrossFit and I was impressed by the transformation it had had on her. After a quick google search, I found myself sitting in Nathan’s office. I remember telling him I was really only interested in CrossFit as a rehab tool instead of the boring PT sessions I was doing. I think I may have offended him a little when I told him I had no interest in “those CrossFit Games” I just wanted to get stronger so I
could get back on the water. Well, I guess the joke’s on me since here we are in the open and I’m all in!
What was your first impression? How has that changed?
My first impression was that I couldn’t believe how the coaches paid attention to each athlete. From the first workout, whatever class I was taking, the coach knew my name and didn’t forget it. They also knew what I was working on as well as my limitations. Since I was starting out injured, I was pretty terrified of making things worse, but the coaches always seemed to have a scaled option for me before I even had to ask.
How has that changed?
It hasn’t. I continue to get great feedback from everyone here.
What was your first ” Bright Spot”?
There have been many bright spots, but I think the most significant for me was when my son Jared started going to CrossFit. I brought him as my Swolemate. He signed up on the spot and continues on a very impressive fitness journey of his own. It’s a good feeling when your kids think what you’re doing is cool.
What are you working on now?
I continue to work on my shoulder mobility. When I first started at BeachSide, I could barely hang from the bar, I used an empty 25# barbell for anything overhead and kipping was out of the question. I ditched the light barbell a long time ago and have added kipping pull ups to my bag of tricks! I never thought I would ever be able to do them so I’m pretty stoked about that!
What’s your favorite Beachside CrossFit memory?
My favorite beachside memory was early on. After lifting 175# during a DL session and running out of time, Kristin looked at me and said, “you’re definitely in the 200 club”. I was like “What?! There’s some kind of secret club? That’s a thing?” Well, you better believe I did everything I could to join that club!
