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I come home for a day and then leave again for Spokane. I was invited to be a special guest at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games by my buddy and close friend Carl Washington. Carl was a trainer with me back in 2002 when I worked at the 24 Hour Fitness in Spokane. He was a Marine and I was an officer in the Air Force so we had the military and fitness in common. He has watched me blossom all these years in fitness, but our bond has always been tight. He served as chairman of this committee and thought of me when they were pondering guests to invite. I mention this because I value EVERYONE that has been a part of my life, past or present. I don’t care what I achieve or where I go, I never forget the people who supported me along the way. Carl is a great example. It was great to be in Spokane because this is where my life in the NPC began back in 2001 when I started competing in the NPC. I used to do the Fitness America circuit when I was stationed in Texas, but there was only NPC when I got to WA. So I started competing in every show (almost) with the intent of winning. I remember thinking that I had to beat everyone in order to earn the right to go to nationals. It just didn’t make any sense to go to nationals and expect to win if I couldn’t beat everyone in the NW! Where has that attitude gone? Don’t get me started… J I’ll let that be another blog….called contest progression.

Anyway, Brad and Elaine were awesome enough to encourage me to take my butt to nationals. To my surprise, I ended up winning the whole thing and from that day forward, my life was going to change. I mention this to express that I am VERY grateful for people like Carl Washington, and Brad and Elaine Craig who served me with ENCOURAGEMENT. There are times that we don’t always believe in ourselves, or  times where we are just suffering from extreme humility, lol…. But the act of encouragement from someone else can literally give birth to a DREAM!!! I must say that I am so blessed as a COACH to be able to give this gift as I have seen dreams come true (maybe not right away) over and over again!

Ok, back to my Spokane trip. So they put me up in the Davenport Hotel!!! WOW!!! The Davenport is a classic older hotel with all the ambiance of a castle. I was so spoiled. That is another perk to traveling and being a guest. I get a day away from my condo with all its reminders of all the stuff I still need to do, lol, and escape in a beautiful hotel by simply experiencing its beauty. Life is good.

Carl and I head to the Wheelchair games where I was announced as the special guest…Fitness Pro and American Gladiator and Air Force Veteran.  I don’t even get to sit down because before I can blink, there is a line of athletes waiting to get my autograph and take pictures with me. I was so flattered. I got to talk with each of them, and as I became more comfortable I began to ask about how each of them got injured. One particular story was a woman who was enlisted in the Army and got injured in combat, not once but TWICE!!! Her name is Lucritia. I can’t tell you how I felt to hear all these stories and yet witness the attitude of abundance that was prevalent in these games. These folks, in wheelchairs, were playing basketball, rugby, weight lifting, etc. And they were having a blast. When I got back to Seattle and went on my next run….I dedicated my run to the men and women I met. It was easy to run because I just kept imagining how much each of them would LOVE to use my legs to feel the burn that I was feeling! It was such a n inspiring and humbling experience. THANK YOU JESUS for all that you show me! Praise God for giving me eyes to see his beauty and his gifts….. THANK YOU!

Ok, yes, I will be praying mid-blog whenever inspired. J Just a warning.  So, I also had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with a wonderful woman named Laurie who was helping Carl with my stay and other errands with the event. She is a great mom, has passion for the sport and went on to win her class at the WA State the following weekend! Go Laurie! And thank you so much for your hospitality!

During my stay, I found out that another buddy of mine, Dan Staton, that I used to work with at 24 Hour Fitness in Spokane had recently opened up his own CrossFit studios. (Btw, I have been doing cross fit for 2 months now….blogs on that are coming J ) I am so excited about this and decide to go train with him in the morning before I fly back. Well, I showed up all fired up and bushy tailed and Dan proceeded to put me through the longest CrossFit workout I’ve ever done! It took me 50 min to finish the workout. Most workouts are 20 min or so. Cross Fit is very high intensity so don’t judge it til you try it. Check out his site http://www.fasttracperformance.com/crossfitftp/. If you’re curious about CrossFit, come train with me at www.kingcrossfit.com These guys rock! I had an amazing workout, in fact, I got carpet burn on my tail bone from the 250 sit ups I had to do on his astro turf! That’s crossfit for ya! LOL!

So, after I get beat up, I rush back to my beautiful hotel, shower and get back on a plane to Seattle. When I got back, I rested a bit and I think I took the “crazy” pill that day and proceeded to head over to King CrossFit for my 2^nd crossfit workout for the day. Yeah, wont be doing a lot! LOL! I just happened to be extra motivated that day…..

Some ask, where do you get all this energy to have days like this. My answer….

You have to LOVE what you do. LOVE the challenge, LOVE the competition, LOVE the pain, and EMBRACE Fear… These are just a few reasons that work for me!

Ok, bed time for me. I go for a 4 mile run in 7 hours! XOXO

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