Let me introduce myself...

I'm Steph, a 26 year-old middle school teacher from Crystal Lake, IL. I've been an athlete all my life playing, soccer, softball, basketball, and volleyball through high school. I even continued to play volleyball at the collegiate level. I also have been coaching volleyball and boys’ basketball the last 4 years. Needless to say, I love sports and have always wanted to be a great athlete. 

Me in Hawaii Dec. 2008

After graduating college I struggled with staying active because I was no longer participating in organized sports. I quickly packed on some weight and in 2008 I weighed in at a whopping 210lbs! A friend of mine and I who were tired of being overweight and inactive decided in 2009 our New Year's resolution would be to run the Chicago Marathon. This was a pretty absurd idea seeing as though I hated to run, and was extremely over weight. However, on January 1st I registered for the marathon and I began to train. I started out slowly a mile at a time, and was on one of those "fat free" diets. The pounds began to quickly slip off. However, after 5 months I hit a plateau at 180lbs and couldn't seem to lose any more weight. I continued to train and eat fat-free.

Zach & I in California July 2010

In September of 2009 I met Zach. We talked a great deal and ended up going out on a few dates. Fitness had come up a lot in our conversations, especially because I was training and running so much. He had told me he worked out and coached at this incredible gym called CrossFit Fire, in McHenry. He told me it was unlike anything I have seen. And every time he talked about it, I had such a difficult time picturing the types of workouts they were doing and how their "classes" were set up. I had only ever been exposed to globo-gyms and the weight room at school, so the idea of these WODs (workout of the day) seemed strange. 

Our relationship started to blossom and he decided in October it was time for me to partake in the free intro class at CFF. Since that first day, I have been hooked. I immediately joined the next ramp up class at CFF and have been CrossFitting since. I celebrated my one year anniversary at CrossFit Fire in December, and was able to reflect on how far I've come as an athlete. I would have never thought I could be moving such heavy weight, or doing unassisted pull-ups - but thanks to CrossFit, now I can! 

I plan to continue posting about my progress at the fort (CFF) and my nutrition. Hopefully this blog will help me gain some insight in my evolution and possibly entertain some of you along the way!