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Athlete of the Month: March 2017

Helen Richmond

Member since: October 2014

Windy City: Helen joined Windy City a little over 3 years ago. I think she would be the first person to admit that the Helen we all see today is not the same Helen who walked through our doors back then. It's been amazing to watch Helen develop from a shy, unsure member into a confident, social, risk taking athlete. Helen has tackled physical challenges from Murph to marathons and she is always up for participating or volunteering her help at any Windy City event. She's a prime example of what can happen when you develop a consistent routine, work hard and use the coaching staff's support to help you keep on your path. Congrats, Helen! 

“The only people who never fail are those who never try.” - Ilka Chase 

Helen: Shortly after I moved to Chicago, I found myself joining a "big box" gym in order to stay active. I grew up playing softball and then lacrosse so I couldn't really fathom living and working in the city without some kind of active outlet.

When I joined the gym I had all of these great intentions of working out before or after work, taking different classes and taking advantage of the pool. Of course, the gym I had joined was almost exactly halfway between my office and my apartment and the last thing I wanted to do before or after work was go to a busy gym and hop on a treadmill, fight for space in a class or make up some kind of weight lifting circuit for myself.

I was also incredibly lazy and if going to the gym was a "hassle," well then I just wasn't going. I spent about a year making excuses for not making it to the gym and getting more and more frustrated at myself and for not sucking it up and making time to work out. I was also walking past Windy City every day on my way to catch a train to work.

Finally, I had had enough and although I didn't know what kind of a gym Windy City was, I decided that I was going to join. I looked it up, found out that it was a CrossFit gym, made an appointment to visit and joined shortly after. My thinking was that I wouldn't have any excuses to not go to a gym that was basically a block away from my apartment. I never expected Windy City to have the impact on my life that it has, but I can honestly say that joining Windy City was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my adult life.

Although I joined not knowing anything about CrossFit, it was easy to get acclimated during the first 10 foundation classes. After I graduated from foundations to the main WOD classes I basically settled into a groove of going 3-4 times a week at 6:30pm. Last year I was talked into doing the Open and it ended up being a great experience (everyone should sign up and do it!!!). Having so many people cheer you on while you fight to finish a workout made the whole experience that much better.

It was Murph training though that was a game changer for me at the gym. Showing up at the gym at 6am for several consecutive Saturdays for a crazy bootcamp style workout really has a way of bringing people together. These workouts and the brunches that followed laid the foundation for some really great friendships and it has been awesome getting to know everyone better at the gym.

Recent Adventures

Last fall I checked a huge goal off my bucket list when I completed my first half-marathon and I certainly would not have been able to get there had it not been for Windy City. I am most certainly not a runner, but working out at Windy City has given me the confidence to live big and to go after my goals.

Future Adventures

I have a 10 mile race coming up in May and I signed up for the Chicago Half-Marathon again in the fall. I'm hoping to improve my time considerably. I am also interested in training for a triathlon sometime in the near future.

Travel wise, I'm looking forward to a few work trips in Europe and tacking on a few extra days to tour around and take in the sites. I'm also recently scuba certified and am looking to plan a trip my first scuba trip somewhere in the near future. 

Personal Goals

Fitness: I still have so much I want to accomplish. My current goals still include getting a pull up, finally getting a T2B and get myself upside down so I can start thinking about trying to get a handstand push-up. I also want to work on doing more of the WODs Rx. 

Words to Live By

Embrace the suck. It is something I find myself telling myself over and over again while working through a WOD that is especially draining or difficult. It might suck right now, but there really isn't anything like the feeling you get when you complete a particularly grueling workout. I used to pick and choose the days I would go to Windy City based on the WOD, but now I find myself going even when I know the workout is going to be challenging or is a movement that I just don't like. I want to continue to challenge myself and constantly work towards improving.

Comments

  1. Lori! posted at 9:04am on Mar. 1, 2017

    Yaaaaaay Helen!!! High five!!!

  2. Brenda Brown

    Brenda Brown posted at 9:28am on Mar. 1, 2017

    Yeah girl!  WOOT

  3. Tom Collins posted at 5:26pm on Mar. 1, 2017

    Wooooooo!  Congrats Helen!

  4. Will Pareja

    Will Pareja posted at 5:50pm on Mar. 1, 2017

    Good job, Helen! Thank you for inspiring us!

  5. Michael Mancini

    Dingo posted at 4:40pm on Mar. 3, 2017

    Congratulations Helen.

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