November Athlete of the Month – Monica Greenhalgh
Join us in congratulating Monica Greenhalgh for being our November Athlete of the Month. When Monica first walked through our doors we asked her what her goals were…
Her sons recently committed to a 78-mile hike and want for her to do it with them, with tears in her eyes, she said her number one goal was to be able to keep up and do it right alongside her boys. – 3x a week CF classes + 1x a week PT and one year later, that’s exactly what she did!
Once she conquered her goal here is what she wrote about the experience.
“Back from Philmont. 10 nights on trail. ~78 miles. 1 9k summit, 1 11k summit, and 1 12.4k summit. 1 bear in camp at 5am when I returned from the “red roof inn” aka outdoor bathroom. A few wrong turns and a lot of low impact camps, which means cat holes, sleeping on slopes, water from streams, and no trails to follow – just head NE till you cross a stream 😂. Rain for a few days. Lots of laughs, watching boys become men, and celebrating a sweet 16.”
We think that journey has so many wins in it. Check out Monica’s responses to a few questions we asked her about her CrossFit journey.
1) What is your biggest motivation?
I joined CFRR back in August 2018 because I had been sedentary for about 15 years and my 2 older sons had asked me to join them on a 60+ mile camping/hiking trip in Northern New Mexico at a Boy Scout Camp called Philmont. I knew that I was not in any shape to make that hike and especially with altitude, and I really did not want to disappoint my sons. I randomly chose this box because it was close to my house, and I knew that I preferred non-Globo gym experiences so maybe this would work. All things happen for a reason and little did I know that not only did I pick the absolute right place for me, I also got lucky with my absolute best coach for me, Kali. Fast forward 10 months and I conquered Philmont (ended up doing 93 miles). So, I would say, my biggest motivation is being active and healthy so that I can do many more hikes and camping with my sons for many, many more years.
2) Your favorite quote or words to live by?
Do your best – which to me means put in the effort, you might fail, but you never know until you try with the best you can bring.
3) What are your current training goals/PRs?
My current training goals are to continually improve my overall strength and conditioning. Keep improving my skills. Heck, I never thought I would be able to half the things I am currently doing in CrossFit, it is all about breaking it down into smaller goals. I am also just very happy to know that if I want to go on another 90-mile hike tomorrow, I can do it, I don’t need another year to train for it. So, just keeping that overall level of functional fitness in my life always.
4) Take us back to your first day of CrossFit… How did you feel? How do you compare it to workouts today?
After being released from the “safety” of Kali into the class setting, I think for me, I was very intimidated. I saw all these strong men and women killing the WODs and I swear it felt like everyone was speaking a new language with all the skills and workout names and acronyms – I mean what the heck does EMOM even stand for. I really had to readjust my thinking and realize that this would be a journey and not a quick fix. My 6am buddies were very supportive and helped keep me motivated to keep coming back. Now, I feel more confident about each WOD, I know that scaling isn’t failing, and really it is a tool to improve my workout and my future performance. I still get sore and I still get exhausted, but I love the challenges physically, and mentally of each WOD.
5) What advice do you have for new athletes just starting out in CrossFit?
Your fitness and health are a journey, a marathon, each day matters but don’t get frustrated if you cannot do the RX for every move in every WOD. Pick your battles, and soon you will show the progress you are looking for. Get to know your community, go to the extra events if you can. Your community keeps you motivated and helps you to be accountable to your goals if you need that extra help. And most of all, do your PT. I cannot tell you how much those monthly and now weekly sessions helped me achieve my goals. My coach Kali is a renaissance woman, she’s a coach, a mentor, a psychologist, a motivator and she has really helped me overcome my fears and achieve my goals.
6) Tell us about a moment you felt most proud of yourself during a workout?
Recently, we have been working on skills for the handstand. This is a tough movement for me for many reasons including shoulder mobility and fear, so when I saw the progressions, I was like “well looks like a lot of box pike handstands for me” – I got it into my head that I could not progress. But I decided to at least try the wall facing handstand by walking into it. I asked Cindy to spot me and I decided to go for it, and I did it! Cindy and I were so excited – I was shocked, but it goes to show that small progress towards a longer goal really does work. Maybe next week I’ll try the bench assisted….
7) What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit?
I am very active with my 3 sons with hiking, camping, and recently sailing. I love training my dog and being outdoors. I am also an avid reader.
8) What’s your favorite part of CrossFit Round Rock?
CFRR has not just changed my fitness and nutrition. It has changed my family. My oldest son saw how hard I was working and the results I was getting, and he asked for some PT. He learned how to improve his strength and mobility and saw results with his swimming and then his younger brothers saw what he was doing and wanted to do the same. Best of all, they saw me meal prepping, and they asked for meals as well because they felt the school only offered junk food. Now I get to meal prep for 4 people – thank you very much
9) If you could create a WOD and name it for yourself, what would it be?
Every Minute Matters…cause it would be an EMOM.
10) How has your diet changed since starting CrossFit (if it has), and what foods do you rely on most?
I finally learned how to meal plan and measure my food. I grew up where you had to finish your plate and food provided me comfort when I was feeling down, or happy, or really any emotion at all. As part of my training to get to Philmont, there was a weight requirement, and I was 10lbs over. So, I decided to sign up for the Detox Challenge. I ended up losing 14lbs and I only completed 6 weeks of the challenge. But going through that process introduced me to another way to think about and prepare food. I am not perfect, because life is not perfect, but I definitely have started to look at food differently since I started at CFRR, and trying to detach it from my emotional state. I really love vegetables and rice, so I find myself making a lot of both of those plus a protein. My challenge will always be getting away from emotional eating and making sure to always have homecooked meals available in a time crunch versus running to fast food. I am getting there slowly but surely.