October Athlete of the Month – Andrea Petrie

When you meet Andrea, you probably notice that she looks familiar. It can be hard to place, but you know you’ve seen her before. Then you hear Andrea’s robust laugh and you know exactly where you’ve seen her beautiful face. Yep, she’s the girl on the news you watched while drinking your coffee this morning. You are then shocked by how nice she is in person because you may have expected something different…..then she zooms past you and kicks your butt in a WOD, while barely breaking a sweat.

Andrea has a motor the size of a Mack Truck (that’s a compliment in the CrossFit World). When she puts it in gear, she doesn’t stop until she’s done. It’s been amazing to watch Andrea find CrossFit and really excel at it over the last year. She recently swept 1st Place in all three Scaled “Locals Only” Events and took home the gold medal for the females. (Coincidentally, her hubby took 1st Place for the males in the RX division. Their kids are going to be extremely good-looking CrossFitters, aren’t they?)

When you get to know Andrea, you quickly see that her job on TV is not what makes her special. She is genuinely one of the nicest, kindest, most humble people we know. In our Facebook group, she is the first to give a compliment or acknowledge a PR. She is the first to help with any fundraiser we have and she tirelessly gives back to the community. She and her husband coordinate Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University at Incendia and their commitment to helping others become debt free is remarkable. She can even make a mean NorCal (not that I know!).

Congrats, Andrea! You truly deserve to be October’s “Athlete of the Month!” We are so proud of you:)

When did you start CrossFit:

It was December 2012, 6 weeks after having our second baby, Caylee

Why did you start CrossFit:

Initially it was to get back in shape after having Caylee. When Brian and Lisa opened the gym, my husband got back into it, soon after I came along when cleared to workout again. I’ll never forget my first WOD, Death by Burpees…I almost died but I still had a pulse after and decided to come back for more! Haha!

What kept you coming back/motivated:

The people! Best part of Incendia are their members. Seriously. I have never been surrounded by more uplifting, positive, encouraging people. No matter the class, they yell, scream and push you to your max, a max I never thought existed in my “non-athlete” self 🙂

What is the best thing you have gotten out of doing CrossFit?

I think one of the things I am most grateful for is the opportunity to do it with my husband. Who would have thought I would actually enjoy this as much as him. I love the days when we get to do a class together or spend a Saturday morning with friends…sweating through some crazy WOD that one of the awesome coaches dreamed up. I also have met some incredibly wonderful people through this community, I feel very blessed to call many of them my friends. They are true gems.

What is the one thing you have done here that you never thought you could do?

I never ever ever would have thought I could get through half of the WODs we do. Lifting, rowing, pull ups, all things outside of my comfort zone. I remember when I moved up to CrossFit, I was scared beyond belief. “How would I ever hang with these cool kids, the strong ones, the fast ones?” I learned it doesn’t matter, so long as I try to my absolute best. So my PR’s maybe the starting weight for some but for me its huge. My goals in my head are the only ones that matter. I remind myself that every.single.day.

What is one goal you have reached? And one goal you still hope to reach?

Getting over my fear of lifting. I am still a bundle of nerves ever time we do it but the coaching is unbelievable. They have taught me so much. Never in my dreams would I think that this working 31 year old mom could snatch, power clean and dead lift. Each day is a new day to do better and lift more, a new day to feel strong. As far as a goal I hope to reach… I still haven’t lost hope on my double unders, haha! If you have seen me doing them in a wWOD, you know what I am talking about. It’s the only time 4 letter words slip, oops! It’s bad but one day I’ll get them.

How has your diet changed since starting CrossFit?

I have always been a healthy eater but after having my second baby I needed to fine tune my diet in order to try and get back to what I was before. Shortly after I started CrossFit, I started eating Paleo. It really is the easiest way to eat, it has never felt like a diet. For years I counted calories, planned out my meals etc…and realize now that is hard and unrealistic. Now its more about how I feel and what I am doing to my body from the inside out, it makes sense to me.

Additional comments/anything you’d like to add?

I have never been classified as an “athlete” in my life. I still remember trying out for the volleyball team in junior high…major fail, the embarrassment still haunts me!  I was a cheerleader and dancer. I didn’t commit myself to working out consistently until after I graduated college. There are a lot of personal things that have challenged me in my life, exercise over the years became a bit of therapy for me. This last year has been a turning point in my life. I really stepped out of my comfort zone. What doesn’t scare you or challenge you doesn’t change you and CrossFit scares me and challenges me. My husband is my biggest cheerleader in life, the days I feel like I can’t, he says “YOU CAN and YOU WILL.” I don’t know how I’d do “life” without him. My kids are my biggest motivator. I lost my mom when I was 24 years old. She was my best friend and I know she still pushes while watching from Heaven. I want to see my kids graduate college, get married and have kids, and be the change this world needs. I want to be 80 years old and still kicking. I know by staying committed to taking care of my body, God willing, I can hopefully meet that goal. The Incendia community is a blessing in my life. I am eternally grateful to all of you, you all rock my world! Thank you so very much.