Featured CFE Athlete Angie Kallmbah

Hi! My name is Angie Kallmbah. I live in Nixa with my daughter Blake and work at Vision Enhancement Clinic in Springfield. My CrossFit experience started a little over 2 ½ years ago. A friend and I were attending a class 3 x weekly with a trainer. She suggested we try the “newbie” class held on Sat at CrossFit Springfield. Jeremy ran us through “Fran” with only the dowel rod. I felt that workout until the following Tuesday! Well, to say the least, I was hooked.

How would I describe my past running experience? 2 words…. “none” & “ negative”. When I started CrossFit I could not run to the stop sign & back (on Lark) without stopping. One day during a “rugby style” warm up with Jessi I could not keep up with the group and had to fall back, Jessi fell back with me and what she said to me has  stuck with me to this day when I run,  “It’s just you out here, it’s all you”. CrossFit has made me stronger in general so my running has improved somewhat over time.  I have run 5k’s before and didn’t have trouble finishing but I have never had the endurance to not walk frequently during the race.  I dabbled with CrossFit Endurance a little back in Nov/Dec. A Friend asked me if I would do a 1/2 Marathon this spring so I committed to the new 12 week CFE cycle that started January 2012.  I attend the 5pm Monday & Thursday CFE class. I don’t think I have a “favorite” CFE workout but I do tend to like the long distance intervals we do on Thursdays. I was introduced to “Tosh” last week and I have to say it has been my least favorite so far. I have seen my running endurance improve weekly. I had previously only run 1 mile without stopping and that was a struggle. I think I only got through it because Mel ran with me.  My newest benchmark for distance without stopping is 8k (just under 5 miles) a few weeks ago!

We are so fortunate to have access to coaches at CFS who invest in our success. I am especially grateful for the CFE coaching staff. Their knowledge and encouragement have been crucial to my success with the CFE program.

How do I feel about running now? I still cringe when I hear one of our CFS coaches yell “Stop Sign and back” before a warm up, but now I really look forward to the longer runs. I have learned that my body & mind “fights” me for about the first mile and I just have to “gut” that out. Training with CFE has given me the tools to help push through both the mental and physical obstacles I come up against when running.