01/17/2026
2016 FLASHBACK
The year the fire š„ got lit ā and the year I let myself believe in goals that sounded ridiculous out loud.
⢠8 months into Olympic weightlifting, still learning the basics⦠first Masters international meet in Puerto Rico and broke multiple world records. That moment changed me.
⢠Built out my tiny garage gym so I could train whenever the girls were asleep or playing. I still have videos of them loading the bar, doing accessories with me ā their little hands on big dreams.
⢠Training in my front lawn, jumping over suitcases because everything was packed. My husband had already moved to Idaho, and I was solo with the girls in California for six months ā packing, painting, getting the house ready to sell, holding everything together. I specifically remember coach asking me when I was training that day. Me: not sure my bodies bearā. And him saying well why not now and 15 min. Later at my house, setting up suit cases for plyos. A distinct moment in my career of NO EXCUSES. FIND A WAY!
⢠Driving over an hour to train at gym because that environment lit me up. PRs I never thought Iād touch happened on those platforms. I started 2016 with a 100kg clean & jerk 1RM⦠ended the year hitting 100kg for 3+1!
⢠Went to my first ever USAW Nationals and saw the giant posters about Olympic dreams. Something clicked ā that spark of, why not me? Delusional? Maybe. But that delusion is exactly what pushed me to align my life around the goal.
⢠Then came the Idaho move. One year into the sport, no coach, no training plan, and remote coaching wasnāt really a thing yet. It couldāve been the end⦠but it wasnāt.
⢠I was committed now. I saw crazy as possible. So I set out to find a coach who would coach me remotely. (It wasnāt much of a thing in 2016!).
2016 taught me this:
Believing in āimpossibleā goals forces you to build a life that matches them.
And that belief ā even if it feels delusional ā is what keeps the fire alive. š„