I am a firm believer that everything you do is better with a team - the right team. I've been really lucky thus far to have the right people cross my path in my fitness journey, making it easy to choose. When I started lifting back in 2014, my Tiger's Den Barbell Club weightlifting team became like family. Over time, some of those original teammates have drifted away geographically, but even when I don't get to see them as often as I'd like, they're still on my team. I hold on to them because I chose them. And they chose me.
Matthew moved to Colorado. He handled me at my first state meet and made sure I had everything I needed. He loaded for me. He counted for me. He made sure I had my lucky blanket keeping me warm between lifts. He created an environment that would let me succeed.
Phil moved to Albuquerque. He's back now, but he's training elsewhere. I loved watching lift. He is so strong. It was a lot of fun watching him learn to harness his power, to improve, and to grow His constant, level headed advice was even better. He's never been exactly relaxed over his lifting, but when I was having a bad day, he'd know the one thing to tell me to work on to make it better. And he would make it simple.
Kristin moved to Albuquerque, too. She's also back, but her work schedule is a bit crazy, and she'd be training with Phil anyway. She was my constant reminder to keep first things first - we weren't in it for the competition. We were in it for the fitness and the fun.
But today, I'm bidding a bittersweet farewell to another teammate who is now moving on to amazing things. Erinn is about to move to Germany. She just earned her PhD, and is going to do post-doc research in neuroscience. I am so unbelievably proud of her!
Erinn is hard to put into words. She's brilliant. She's funny. She's incredibly honest while also being incredibly kind. She's one of those women who has a firm grasp on whose opinions of her matter - her own. And just hanging out with her helps give you that same confidence. She's the type of person you never knew you wanted to be until you meet her. She makes you better.
Each of these people have blessed my life. I continue to learn from them and grow with them. And more than anything else, I pray their lives are blessed with great people, awesome adventures, and easy paths to the successes they are searching for.
Hold on to your team. You chose them for a reason. Keep them close no matter how many miles separate you.