Sayonara, Sister!

It is with tears in my eyes that I write this blog.  Christen McCool, the amazing instructor (she is certified to teach Attack, Step, Pump, CXWORX, Flow, and RPM!), is leaving us.  After three and a half years here, her family is off to Okinawa, Japan, where her Marine husband, Sean, will be stationed.  Although they don't actually hit the road until August 1 (they're driving cross country back to their hometown in Washington state before they hop a plane across the ocean), Christen's last official class on the schedule is Pump tomorrow night (Thursday, 7/25) at 5:30 pm (she'll probably team teach a couple other classes before she actually leaves, but this is her last solo gig).  Let's pack the house to say goodbye to her!

I wish I could take credit for this little collage, but it was a friend of hers in
Kalamazoo Area runners who posted it.  I think this about sums it up!

I can't say enough good things about Christen.  As an instructor, she has inspired me so much.  She always seems to say exactly what I need to hear, whether it's about form, technique, or just finding the motivation to complete another rep.  Sometimes she sings along to the music while she teaches, and although she denies it, she has an awesome voice that I love to hear (and, by the way, I'm a choir teacher - so I'm right and she's wrong!).  She remains positive and "in the essence" of each class.  She is flawless in knowing her choreography, and her overall abilities as a teacher are amazing.

As an athlete, she is just as inspiring as she is as an instructor.  Running is her first love, I think, and she is an amazing racer.  The first time she did a marathon (the inaugural Kalamazoo one in 2011), she was the 6th female overall!  She always places in the top in shorter races, and although she must be working incredibly hard, she runs lightly on her toes and with a smile on her face (earning her the nickname "Twinkle Toes").  She also got into doing triathlons while she was here, and she managed to place in those, too!

As a friend, what can I say... we click!  She's a kindred spirit, a sister from another mister.  We are both teachers, we have many common interests, we have similar parenting styles, and we share a lot of the same opinions (even on tough stuff, like religion and politics!).  Our husbands and children are friends (in fact, her kids are at my house as I write this, and I'm going to miss the noisy chaos that comes when they're all together!).  Over our whole friendship, she has inspired me to be better, as an athlete, in my eating, in the way I interact with others, and, most importantly, in the way I view myself.  I know I wouldn't be this sad about her leaving if we weren't such great friends, so in that, I am lucky.  

Christen, thanks for all you have done for our SWAT community.  When it's time for Sean to be transferred again in a few years, put in a request to come back here, okay?