Congratulations to Mary Ford for being selected as the August 2017 Athlete of the Month! Mary brings a smile, great conversation, and a killer work ethic to the gym every day. Mission has yet to hear a complaint from this calm and collected WOD assassin. Although Mary has a rigorous work schedule she makes the gym a priority and she comes to a variety of class times. Its always a pleasure and a bit of a surprise to have her in class. She’s just a conversation away from friendship, so what’s the wait? For those reasons and many more, she is definitely deserving of the title for Athlete of the Month.
Started CrossFit: August 2012
Favorite WOD: the longer the better – preferably involving deadlifts, cleans and/or rowing! (I loved 16.4/17.4 – despite the fact that I didn’t get my first handstand pushup until the week AFTER 17.4)
Least Favorite WOD: Isabel
Favorite Lift: Deadlift!
Least Favorite Lift: Snatch
Story: First – thank you so much for this honor!! I started CrossFit back in August of 2012 with the main purpose of getting back into shape after joining the Army. I had taken an exercise hiatus of sorts since college (bad idea), and having grown up an athlete I was not comfortable with my low level of fitness. I had done some CrossFit workouts by myself at home (after much prodding from both my older brothers to give it a shot), but had never stepped foot into a CrossFit gym. Fellow Mission member Alex Ortiz and I joined CrossFit Bethesda together at the start of med school and I swear for the first six months I probably only showed up to classes because I had told her I would go! But that period of accountability got me hooked and now I cannot imagine my life without CrossFit.
When I moved to San Antonio during the summer of 2016 Alex, Adam and I had plans to try out several different gyms – however we only made it to two, because after coming to Mission we knew there was no gym that was going to top our experience there. Over the last year Mission has played such an important role in my life – I can’t imagine life in Texas without this amazing community. I also never would have thought that I could finish the first year of residency in significantly better shape than I was at the start – but I have Mission to thank for that! I am so grateful for the great friendships, coaching, and FUN that I experience every time I walk in the door. I truly mean it when I say that very often the best part of my day is getting crushed (as so often occurs) by a workout at Mission. So again, a HUGE and heartfelt thank you to all of you amazing coaches who push all of us to be the best possible versions of ourselves daily – I couldn’t live this life without you all!
