Ashlyn Harris never expected to find the love of her life on the other side of the continent. Better yet, she never expected it to be another professional athlete. Her relationship with Brooke will test her personal and professional boundaries as sh...
Just then the clock beeps. "Lets go!" I yell, and everyone starts their bar over burpees. In the middle of the set I hear Alex grunt and say "Uhh, I've always hated burpees!" I look over and laugh. "Less talking, more burpees! See! Michael is already on the snatches!" I say pointing to a tall dark-haired guy in the back working on his set of snatches. Alex looks at me in a sad manner and says "but I hate burpees Brooke!" "No complaining missy! You have to finish!" Just then she finishes her set of burpees and is onto the snatches, which she is really quick at.
The workout flys by, as AMRAPs usually do. The the end of the 8 minutes, pretty much everyone who did the workout is on the floor panting and sweating. "How do you do this everyday?" asks Alex as she dumps a bottle of water over her head while leaning over a trash can. "I don't know" I reply. I honestly don't know how and why I do this for a living. I guess I just like to work hard and be in pain?
"So soccer champ, how was it? Not too hard I hope." I ask as everyone filters out, so it's just me Jay and Alex left in the middle of the floor. "I guess it wasn't that bad. I just wasn't expecting it to be that intense!" She says, chuckling. "Yeah, you run up and down a soccer pitch for 90 minutes. I do high intensity workouts!" I say and we both laugh. "I guess be both have very different fitness expectations..."
"Alex, do you mind staying for a bit while I lock up?" I ask Alex, who is now sitting by the front desk. "No problem! Then we can grab a coffee maybe?" I nod and see her smile out of the corner of my eye. Five minutes later, we head to my car after saying goodbye to my coach in the parking lot of the gym.
"So, how has going pro been treating you" Alex asks as we get in my car. "Honestly, it's not much different. I just get to hang out at Nike more often, and I get free stuff from companies. The work is pretty much the same." I reply as we pull out of the empty lot and head to the nearest coffee shop. "How has the move been?" I ask. "Orlando is nice. The team is great and the city is beautiful! But I miss hanging out with Tobin and Allie all the time. I guess I need to get used to living without two crazy roommates!" I laugh with Alex as we wait for a stoplight to turn green. "How are they? I haven't heard from them in a while." Alex introduced me to both of them when I visited her in Portland almost 2 years ago. "They are alright, Tobin's recovering from yet another ankle injury. But apart from that, all is well with both of them." Alex replies.
As we head into my favorite nearby coffee shop, Alex and I are talking all about how her new life in Orlando is. She seems really happy and is constantly talking about how good the team is. As soon as we get our coffee, we head to a table near a window and continue talking about our lives in the past year. "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you! There's this National Team thing happening in two weeks for the start of the international season. Do you want to come as my plus one? I could introduce you to everyone." Alex asks. Of course I say yes, when would I pass up an opportunity to meet my best friend's teammates?
"Awesome! I'll text you the details. It's semi-formal, and it's always really fun." I smile and we continue talking for the next half hour. As soon as we realize how long we've been at the coffee shop, Alex and I laugh and decide to leave.
We say our goodbyes and I head back to the gym for the beginning of my training. As I park my car, I remember I'm meeting Sam Briggs today. She is one of the best CrossFit athletes in the world, and she one the 2013 CrossFit Games. She texted me a couple of weeks ago saying she was visiting some friends up in Northern California, and that we should train together for a couple of days. She was one of the first people to take me under her wing when I first went pro, and she has been the best training partner and mentor I could ever hope for.
Sam greets me at the door and we head inside, the very familiar scent of sweat and gym chalk filling our noses. An hour and a half later, our training session is finished and we both head to my apartment to clean up and head out for a night on the town. As athletes, we don't get to do stuff like this a lot when we are in season. This was a special occasion. Naturally, I had to take a couple of pictures and post them on instagram!
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@brookesheens: ready for a night out on the town with @bicepslikebriggs
Liked by 11,782 and @alexmorgan13 @brookeence @bicepslikebriggs
@alexmorgan13: what about me? 😶
@jaymalbougrough: hope you don't get too drunk! You have training tomorrow :)
