Who I am

Team Mom

I am a mom. First. Always. About 8 years now.......Some days I'm the best mom I know. Some days I need to wear sunglasses so they don't see my tears/fear/cluelessness. It's all about being consistent, keeping them safe, keeping them happy, keeping them healthy. Half the time I feel like I'm the same age as them and I'm pretty sure they can sniff those moments out. How do I get through the days? Sam. Friends. Family. I have a group of girlfriends that I bounce ideas off of, tell me I'm doing the right thing, laugh with me, cry with me, drink with me. I'm getting pretty good at this mom thing......some days.

I die.

Team Hardman

I am a wife. Going on 11 years. We have been together 15 years. You would think that we know all there is to know about each other. Nope. I know Sam better than I know myself, but there are moments that still surprise us both. Sam is my best friend, my cheerleader, my biggest supporter. He is blown away when I doubt myself - he always believes. Always. My world is better with him. It's not all perfect. He snores. I hate change. He lives to be spontaneous. He doesn't multitask as well as me (duh). He loves to party and socialize. I tend to like a small dinner party. It works. Why? Because we work at it. Together. Daily. We are Team Hardman.

In public of course

Mom date. Dad date.

Team Speech

I am a speech therapist. Not the most exciting thing in the world. No pics of my clients. That's illegal! :) HIPPA and all. Trust me. I work with kids. I have been a speech therapist for 11 years. I've worked with 18 month olds up to 18 year olds. Right now I'm in a middle school. I typically have a large range on my caseload. Autism, Downs Syndrome, Language disorders, Apraxia, Selective Mutism, deaf and hard of hearing, and articulation disorders. It's fun. I love working with kids. I love the people I work with. I therapize my kids at home (working on an /r/ right now!). I've done public school and private practice. Public school is where it's at for me now. Snow days. Summer break. Done deal.

Team Crossfit Annandale

I am an athlete. Yep. I am. Going on my whole life. I don't always feel that way, but I am. My sport has changed. I started in dance, then gymnastics (short lived), and softball. When high school sports were approaching it felt like all the girls were signing up for Field Hockey and Lacrosse. I saw the uniforms. Kilts. Cute. I'm in. So in high school I played field hockey and lacrosse. College came around and I didn't know what to do without a team. I worked hard and played both in college (2 years of hockey.....I was better at lacrosse). Graduated. I was lost. No team. No practice. No real goals. Went right into Grad school. That became my team. I did adult league lacrosse for a while. It was fun, but just games. Packed on the weight. A few years later I got into road races, triathlons, and then fell on Crossfit. That's where I am an athlete now. I have goals. I have made progress. Crossfit Annandale is my team. They push me. They notice when I'm not there. They make me smile. 

That's who I am. I feel pretty good about it.

The People's Athlete. You can.

I love sports. I really really love them. I don't like every sport - sorry baseball - but I am very competitive so watching a game is right up my alley. My mom enjoys sports a lot. My dad once brought a book and his lap top to a game - he's more of a chess guy.

I played field hockey and lacrosse in high-school. I did a brief stint on the indoor track circuit. Did.Not.Go.Well. Turns out I didn't like to just run.

Never. Ever. 

I went to college on a lacrosse scholarship. I was constantly surrounded by people that were competitive on another level. I loved it. I miss it almost daily. Crossfit has replaced some of that feeling for me. I'm surrounded by a group of people that are competitive - yes, there are people that just want to sweat, just want a good workout, etc. You can find me chatting with any one of them. I love em all!

Next week is my 2 year Crossfit Anniversary. In that time I have competed in Superfit DC twice, Superfit Delaware, Cold War 3, and the Capital Throwdown. Coming up I have Superfit Rubicon (my first individual) and Cold War 4. I love to compete. The adrenaline and excitement sends me to the bathroom about a million times - but I love it. 

Delaware was so fun!

Team America sitting in 3rd after workout #1

All this makes me an athlete. True. I Googled it:

Athlete: a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength

Synonyms: competitor, jock, player, challenger, contender

See? That's me. I love being an athlete. I identify with that right after Mom and Wife. I live for the feeling I get when I workout, when I PR, when I win, when I just show up, when I inspire others, when I get to cheer on my friends.........it's all awesome. 

A Google image search for Athlete

What they have in common is heart and desire - and that black outfit

My stats: Snatch: 105#, Deadlift 285#, Back Squat 245#

I am an athlete because I love it, not because I lift the most or run the fastest. It makes me happy. I show up day after day to get better and to cheer on my fellow athletes. 

The People's Athlete. That's me. I'm here to cheer for you. I'm here to show you it can be done. You can make the time. You can be strong. You can be fast. You can be bad ass. We cannot all be these chicks:

wow

Inspiring? Yes. Awesome to watch? Yes. Absolutely. Will this be you? Probably not. Their full time job is working out. Most of them have some pretty legit athletic backgrounds (think division 1 gymnasts). That's ok. We need the pro's to inspire us.

That's where I step in. I am here to show you that the average woman can be an athlete. You can. Whether it's for the first time in your life or you are getting back into it. You can.  

Yep. Pull ups at 34 years old

I kinda gave myself the title. It's ok. People do that.

You know who loves The People's Athlete? Afrobrutality. Syn rocks. I wrote him my goal is to inspire the average athlete. Show them it can be done. It's not too late. You don't have to spend 9 hours a day in the gym to make progress and be bad ass. Obviously he loved it.

My favorite brutality tank

Always feel bad ass in this tank

Check out Afrobrutality. They have cool shit, great coffee, and are located in New York. What more do you want?

Go out there and be bad ass!

• star

A week in the life....

 A full time working mother of two (sometimes 3 - sorry Sam). I have a small amount of time to get shit done:

Sunday: 8 mile run, Easter Egg hunt in neighborhood, Sam takes boys bowling. Then this happened:

Mason dropped a 15 pound bowling ball on his toe. He said he will never bowl again. :( Good thing I got so much done already. Spent the rest of the day snuggling my poor guy.


Monday: Full day of work and meetings with Mason at my side. Come home to give 2 hours of private therapy. Run 2.5 miles and do 30 minutes of yoga. Sam biked while I played with kids. Sam cooked this for dinner:

It was delicious. I'm pretty lucky that he is such a good cook.

Tuesday:  Work a full day. Pick up Sammy's Kindergarten packet. Come home and bike while the boys play outside. Sam cooked this for dinner:

Wednesday: Work a full day. Do a quick jog. Pick up the boys and find that Mason's toe is leaking. Neighbor cleaned it for me. Called the Dr's office to make an appointment at 4:15. They had a 4:30 opening! I picked up Mason and flew to the car. We were x-rayed, seen by the Dr. and out the door by 4:50. It was great! No break, no infection. Just keep an eye on it. Went to in-laws for dinner.

Thursday: Busy day at work. Spring Break starts tomorrow afternoon - crazy buzz at school when that happens. I'm thinking tons about our race on Sunday. Cherry Blossom 10 miler. I have the boys sleeping at Grandma's for the race and packet pickup will be Saturday morning.

Friday: I cannot predict the future (Sam thinks he can) but I do know what my day will look like tomorrow. Why? I'm a clipboard. That's what we do. I'll work. Give 2 hours of therapy. Play with the boys. Head out to a jewelry party.

Something great that happened today? My picture is featured on one of my favorite blogs!

Happy almost Spring Break! I'll be back with a Cherry Blossom report Monday.

Double thumbs up

Double "thumbs" up