Drop Ins

Drop ins are my favorite part of traveling for work. I have been so fortunate to meet so many wonderful people across the country because of CrossFit.

I've sat at similar desks in so many hotel rooms over the past 5 years. I have my routines and my hotel loyalties (Hilton Garden Inns are by far my favorite), but sometimes being alone in a hotel room sucks. It's lonely. I was traveling for work for 2 years before I started CrossFit. I used to spend a lot of time in hotel bars.

I don't dread business trips as much. I don't drink as much while on the road. I feel better about the career I have chosen. Traveling for work isn't as glamorous as I once thought it was, but it pays my bills and lets me work from home with my dogs every other day of the year.

Drop ins are an opportunity to see the magic of CrossFit all over again. You walk through a door in an office park or a strip mall or a converted warehouse and it's a little nerve-wracking. You introduce yourself, fill out a waiver, tell the coach your injuries, and look around to see how that box compares to yours. I always get nervous about being late. I like to get the lay of the land and observe the community before the class starts. 

For an hour, you are welcomed into someone else's family and made to feel at home. They share their things with you, they cheer for you. They tell you the good places to grab dinner or the best route back to the highway. If you want to feel special, go be the new kid for a day at a box. Sometimes I get sick of being just another person in an airport or a rental car or a hotel, and it feels really good to be treated as one of the pack but also as someone a little special because I'm only here for the day or the week.