5 Year CrossFit Anniversary Post 3

In honor of my 5 year CrossFit anniversary, this week I am sharing five things that have changed since I started. The third is how I spend my evenings.

When I started CrossFit in 2013, I spent a lot of time in bars. I was going out 5 or 6 nights a week. It wasn't unusual for me to work all day, go to happy hour at 7, go back to the office until 10:30 and then go straight to a bar on the UES. I was maintaining "regular status" at four different establishments. It's safe to say that I drank a lot.

I lived alone, I was in my twenties, and I was in New York. I wasn't the only person in those bars every night. CrossFit gave me something to look forward to in the afternoon and evenings. But I was definitely still going to happy hour either before or after class.

I moved to Georgia in May 2014 and I had no friends. The only people I knew in Atlanta were one girl with whom I went to college who seemed to like when I visited her but shut me out as soon as I moved down here, and my then-boyfriend's family. I was dating my boyfriend long distance. I had no social life. Suddenly I had a lot of time on my hands.

I was at the gym a lot. Since I worked from home, it was the only human interaction I had all day. I went to sleep pretty early because it's not like I had anyone keeping me up, matching me drink for drink. I've never been good at CrossFit, but during this 10 month period, I improved like crazy. I got my first handstand. All my lifts went up. I squatted 200#. It was a magical time.

In the fall of 2014, Eric and Brandon bought CrossFit Identity and brought over a lot of members from CrossFit Decatur. The majority of CFID's original membership were married with kids. A lot of the new members were single and into going out. I think the community has a nice blend of people in all stages of their lives, but I remember being pretty excited about the new demographic. On a side note, being a member at CFID has shown me that you can be happily married with three kids and still be the coolest couple ever, so my fears about marriage and children are largely unfounded.

My boyfriend and I broke up the following summer and I decided to make up for every single night I stayed in while we were together. I became a regular at some Atlanta bars. (You can see my smiling face on the back TV at Moe's and Joe's.) I made friends with the people at my apartment complex. I was back to going out regularly. I definitely woke up with a lot of hangovers, but my dogs kept me in check. And bars close a lot earlier in Atlanta than they do in New York.

Somewhere over the past year, I found more of a balance. I do enjoy going out and I am so thankful to have so many friends here in Atlanta, but I stay in most school nights. I rarely drink at all during the week. Having wine with dinner on a Tuesday just isn't my thing. I train at 5:30 AM two days a week and I need to get to bed early to be able to perform at that ungodly hour. I'm singlehandedly keeping the rosé industry operating Friday and Saturday, but I box it in.

CrossFit has given me an opportunity to socialize daily without alcohol. It has also given me the greatest group of friends to drink with. CrossFit can be contradictory.