You Really Gotta Meet... Erika

I'm lolling on the beach in Playa del Carmen (where "lolling" equals starting each day with a run or CrossFit workout, then swimming, reading, and having adventures with Dave). But I couldn't leave you stranded, so...

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I'm fortunate to know some pretty amazing people. Thanks to CrossFit, Weight Watchers, Roller Derby, and other wacky/fun/scary/silly adventures, I'm able to surround myself with best-quality people to humor me when I want to do The Murph and comfort me when my frexcitement gets the best of me. Good things are even better when they're shared, so you really gotta meet...

Erika Jeanne Hagler
Age: 28
Dayjob: Marketing Coordinator for an Internet Advertising Agency

Erika is, like, the prototype for "cool chick."

Here's an example of what I mean... When I asked her to send me photos of herself for this blog post, she sent me a scan of her fake I.D. from when she was 19 years old. See?

I find that amusing because Erika is gorgeous and looks like this:

See? Anyone who's got a sense of humor like that about themselves defines cool chick for me.

Also cool: Last year her thyroid went all wonky-donk. So she did a shit-load of research on her condition and took charge of her health. She radically changed her diet, and she fought through the total bummer of having her body f*ck her over by dedicating herself to training at CrossFit Central and taking care of herself. (You should read her blog; it's good stuff.)

Now, about a year later, her health is boomin', her bod is rockin', and she's crushing previous PRs every time she steps in the gym. She also always – without fail and often while still huffing and puffing herself – takes the time to give props and high fives and words of encouragement to the other members of our CrossFit Women class.

Cool. Chick.

What's your favorite athletic activity right now?
Bells! Kettlebells, barbells and mastering my pull up form! The snatch is one of my most beloved moves.

What's your fitness/athletic background?
I was not athletic in the least until last year. I rode bikes, and hiked, but would have much preferred to sit around with cigarettes and wine. I was a pack and a half of cigarettes plus a half bottle of wine (sometimes the whole bottle) per day kind of gal. Seriously. Working out has turned my life around in more positive ways than I think I'm even aware of yet. It has strengthened every little corner of my life, and I'm thankful for my continued courage to be healthy every day.

What's your favorite workout song and why?
Toss up: AC/DC "What Do You Do For Money Honey" and the entire TOOL Undertow record.

What's the song you love for working out but are embarrassed to admit?
Hmm...the "Praise You" song by Fat Boy Slim. I like to speculate on how many wedding receptions this song has been played at while huffing and puffing away during my workout.

What's your favorite healthy meal/snack?
Shredded cabbage, cucumbers, smoked salmon, and bell pepper, placed in little nori sheets and then dipped in soy/wasabi sauce... oh... don't forget the avocado! YUM.

What's your favorite food indulgence?
Tortilla chips. Tortilla Chips. TORTILLA CHIPS.

[Erika and Aziza reflect on the relative merit of tortilla chips.]

Running skirts: yes or no. Why?
Never tried, but it's hard enough for me to rock a skirt in my day to day existence, let alone while running, so I'm going to stick with shorts. However, if a lady feels good running in a skirt, by all means, please go for it.

If you could workout with anyone -- living or dead, fictional or real – who would it be? What would you do? Why?
Mine are all slightly fictional, more so because I have never had an athlete crush before (other than the CFC coaches, of course).



Mr. T. Weightlifting. Heavy.

Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) replicant from Blade Runner, assuming of course he wouldn't kill me. Super fast kettlebell workout with push ups, jumps, and sprints. He'd be a great parkour participant.

Sydney from Alias, but only if we can dress up in costumes and do a CrossFit workout guerilla style in the streets and then run away. Pull ups would be a no brainer.

OK! You've just had the workout/race/competition of your life. Congratulations! How do you celebrate?
Curried Mussels from Clay Pit with as much naan and korma as I can handle, followed by some cake (anything) from Russells Bakery here in Austin... a very long and delicious nap.

Pretend you're creating your dream team of people you like to train with. What's your team name? What are your team colors? Any specifics on what your uniforms look like?
Wings. We'd all have to wear wings of some sort. Fairy, bee, insect, bird... whatever.

What's your trick for getting motivated when you're just not feelin' it?
Turkish Get Ups or Burpees. If I have a planned workout to do at home that isn't really getting me excited, I'll switch over to those, and I can turn my mood around. I also remind myself that 20 minutes is nothing to whine about and stop being a baby.

Do you have any advice/tricks for people who are thinking about working out but need a kick-in-the-pants to start?
Don't do it by yourself. Find a friend (or friends) with similar goals and plan little workout sessions during the week or on the weekends. It's easy to flake on yourself, but much more difficult to flake on someone else. Plus, having people around that are going through similar challenges keeps you on-track and motivated.

Got a favorite quote?
"You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?" – Rumi

Workout, schmerkout. What do you like to do that doesn't require a) punching a time clock and b) counting reps?
Cooking, art making, sewing... I really enjoy pressing the "random article" button on Wikipedia over and over again, or searching through YouTube and watching science shows. My dog is extra cool and paired with my boyfriend, we make a really nice little family. I've switched my guilty pleasures around to include "being lazy" and that translates to watching Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes curled up on the couch with the dog and the boy.