In most cases I have something to say in the introduction to The Feminine Fire blog posts. For once I believe my featured female has conveyed her life journey entirely from her heart that I don’t want to keep you any longer from reading.
A warm and gratifying welcome to one of my dearest, treasured friends and potentially long lost cousin. A powerful lady with the confidence to amplify her voice to the world.
Meet Summer Elsayed, 25.
My brother was the captain of the basketball team, my sister captain of the lacrosse team and me… I was just Summer. I wasn't always an athlete growing up. I was shy and reserved yet rebellious and stubborn — always marching to the beat of my own drum. Sophomore year of high school our boys football team became undefeated champions. They were untouchable and highly respected, as most athletes are. Junior year of high school I decided to start our school's female flag football team. After months of building momentum and support, the team was finally created but I didn’t make the cut.
Fast forward to today I’m an endurance athlete who not only plays one sport, but three. So what changed?
My perspective on life did. Losing my boyfriend in a motorcycle accident in 2017 not only made me question my beliefs and values but it made me question how I wanted to spend the rest of my time here. I became more assertive, adventurous, and courageous and the people I chose to spend my time with were a reflection of that.
A year after his death I started looking for “healthy” distractions so I signed up for races ranging from 5k's to a full Ironman Triathlon — 140.6 miles. I thought that maybe if I spent all my time training I’d be too busy to sit with my overwhelming heartache… and that’s what led me to signing up for the most difficult endurance race in the world: The Ironman Triathlon. I remember watching the “Ironman: Anything is Possible” video with my mom, tearing up, and telling her I was going to do that one day, and then it hit me… just sign up. So I did. I signed up before I learned how to swim then dedicated the next year of my life to training.
I’ve Decided
I would wake up early and run track before I started teaching, teach from 8-3pm, stay until 5 in case my students needed a place to do their homework or someone to talk to, then cycle or swim, eat, lesson plan and sleep. Having a full-time job and training 6 days a week, I made sure I had no time to sit and think. That was my everyday life for 9 months until an unexpected injury put my life at a halt. 7 weeks before my ironman triathlon I went from training 4-6 hours a day to not being able to walk.
I was no longer distracted. What did that look like? For me it manifested as depression. Everything I distracted myself from compounded over time and every emotion I tried to suppress showed up 10 times more powerfully, most of those emotions were negative. I was no longer able to move without being in pain and I was experiencing what I now know as an athletic identity crisis. I went from being active, to not being able to move, to not wanting to because of my depression. And that's when Beyond Fitness was created.
I’ve Decided
Beyond Fitness began as an idea after having my first panic attack on my bike. I was overwhelmed and trying to figure out how to be disciplined with depression so I posted an instagram story asking if athletes would be interested in having a mental health conversation — I got a ton of responses. 3 months went by without any updates or progress on my end but people did not forget about it. They continued to reach out to me to ask when and where this conversation would take place and how they could be part of it. I hosted my first in person meet-up with the support of my community and it’s been growing tremendously ever since.
Beyond Fitness is both a safe space for athletes to express themselves through community as well as an educational platform of Mental Health & Wellness professionals. I believe it’s our responsibility to advocate for the things that are no longer working, including the way we view our overall health in the fitness community. I see this as an invitation for others in the community to have these conversations that go beyond fitness as well as providing the proper resources needed for our athletes. I look forward to watching this project intentionally mold itself by co-creating more sustainable solutions than just pushing through pain.
Training saved my life more than once and Beyond Fitness is a constant reminder of that. Mental Health for athletes is a conversation we have to have but don’t know how to. Being an athlete can be one of the most mentally unstable things we can do yet we never talk about it. It’s just not a conversation we have in the fitness community. Working with FloraMind and teaching Mental Health literacy to youth I now have the tools and resources to help myself and others which now makes it my responsibility to do so. A lot of times when we want to create something we don’t know where to start or have a difficult time being consistent but because I'm a triathlete I’m very disciplined. It’s a matter of taking that same discipline I have with training and using it to constantly show up and be of service, especially on the days when I don't want to. I love being an athlete and I love holding space for others, Beyond Fitness allows me to bridge the two.
If these past few years have taught me anything it's that there are no two words more powerful than “I’ve decided” and that all things are possible with decision and discipline.
So... what are you deciding?
