Winter Happenings

The last few months have kept me on my toes…here is a look as what I've been up to as your Miss Moorhead!

I finished my third semester at Minnesota State University Moorhead with flying colors! Though my final projects for my mass communications classes were lengthy and took some in depth work I was able to complete some great final products, I am especially proud of my growing photography portfolio. 

As a much needed break from my finals, I headed to the Twin Cities to see the Minnesota Vikings take on the Philadelphia Eagles! As a huge football fan this was an amazing game to see, the Vikings destroyed the Eagles 48-30, adding a win to their less than impressive regular season record. It was also the second to last game played in the Metrodome, making the experience even better!

I returned home to Brainerd on the 19th of December for my winter break and on the 21st I traveled to the Detroit Lakes area to Salvation Army bell ring with Miss Northwest, Chantal Wilson. Though the weather was cold I had such a great day witnessing the generosity of the community of Detroit Lakes; Miss Northwest and I were completely humbled by the large sum donations that we saw being dropped into our kettle. I have to give a huge thank you to Northwest Director Cindy Moore and Chantal for inviting me to their town to participate in this service event! It was a pleasure meeting Chantal, her kind heart and great personality make me even more excited to spend Miss Minnesota week with the other great girls in the class of 2014!

My winter break went by very quickly, they say time flies when your having fun, but in my world time flies when you work hard and have your nose to the grindstone. During the holiday season I was able to resist the temptation of moms christmas cookies, and completely redefine my idea of a healthy lifestyle, I began eating clean and participating in CrossFit training again! I am proud to say that I am the most physically fit that I have ever been in my entire life, and it is completely due to my own dedication and drive towards an athletic body and lifestyle. My break was also filled with voice lessons, talent practice, and wardrobe prep. I feel so happy with where I am at with my state preparations, and have I been able to keep my stress level low. I am loving life!

After returning to MSUM on January 13th, Ive been busy getting back into the swing of school. I am enjoying all of my new courses, specifically my Public Relations intro course and my creative writing course. For my entire life I have enjoyed writing, reading and storytelling, this is in part a large reason why I chose children's literacy as my platform. Just like reading, writing has always been a creative outlet for me and a way to express myself! 

Aside from school I have become a member of a second CrossFit gym here in Fargo; CrossFit 701! 701 is the largest box in North Dakota, and I absolutely love the positive community atmosphere at this gym. I completed my foundations training on the weekend of January 18th and 19th, and am now an active member…Ive also been making progress, I completed my first rope climb and am now able to do consecutive double unders with the jumprope.

On January 21st I participated in Dine to Donate for the Children's Miracle Network and Sanford Children's. This was the third year that participating Fargo-Moorhead restaurants donated 20 percent of dinner proceeds to Sanford and CMN. I met with other local Minnesota and North Dakota Queens for a delicious meal at Usher's House and Pub in Moorhead! It was so great to meet Miss Fargo, Miss West Fargo, Miss Empire, Miss Carrington and Miss Tioga Farm Festival, and as always I love spending time with my good friend Miss Southern Valley, Savannah! Meagan, Faye, Alyssa, Miranda and Hannah are some very kind and intelligent young women and I look forward to spending some more time with these lovely North Dakota girls during my year as Miss Moorhead. 

Look for me at the Cares for Kids Radiothon, the Miss Chain of Lakes Pageant and the Fargo Polar Plunge for Special Olympics!

So long for now,

Maren Goff,

Miss Moorhead 2013

My CrossFit Journey

Contrary to popular belief, titleholders and competitors in the Miss America Organization are much more than a pretty face with a crown, or a smile and a wave in a parade. We pour our hearts and souls into what we do, whether that be service to our communities, personal platform advocation, or preparation for the next step in our competition journey. As I count down the months until the Miss Minnesota pageant, I have been busy preparing myself to take on the job and responsibilities of being your state titleholder, both mentally and physically. 

With trainer Todd at CrossFit Grow in Brainerd, Minnesota. 

In July of last year I discovered a CrossFit gym not far from my home, and I became instantly curious. At this time I was in a transition in life; I had just returned home from my first year on a college campus and had dealt with the stress that comes with dorm living, dining hall eating, and a "crunched-for-time" schedule. I needed a change from my typical lackluster treadmill workouts that were clearly getting me nowhere, so one day I decided to stroll into the gym to find out just what CrossFit was all about. 

It was then that I met Todd the owner and coach at CrossFit Grow, he immediately signed me for a trial session the next morning at 5am! The next day I was up and at em bright and early, and ready to do my workout in spite of being nearly half asleep; I had no idea the wake up call I was in store for. After a warm up that seemed like my typical workout, we moved to the strength portion, I did so many squats that I thought my legs would fall off, then it was time for the WOD/Metcon. In CrossFit lingo WOD stands for workout of the day and Metcon is short for metabolic conditioning; these workouts are designed to train stamina, strength, endurance and conditioning for overall fitness. All I remember of my first WOD is questioning wether or not I could get through it in one piece; I did so many burpees, squats, and sit-ups that I thought I would need to be scraped of the gym floor. But nonetheless I finished the workout and was able to leave in one piece. The next day when I woke up I was as sore as I had ever been in entire life, but I also had a tremendous feeling of pride for accomplishing what had been the most grueling workout of my life; I wanted more and knew that I had to make room for CrossFit in my life. 

CrossFit I learned is a fitness program designed to strengthen and condition the body, using elements of the weightlifting, gymnastics and track. One key to the program is that it doesn't specialize; CrossFit focuses on functional life movements i.e. pushing, pulling, jumping, sprinting, squatting. 

That summer I completed my on-ramp CrossFit training, and found myself working out and getting stronger every morning at the box (CrossFit lingo for gym). Each day I was being pushed to my limits and could feel myself growing stronger after each session. I was very fortunate to have the support of my fellow CrossFitters and our coach Todd as I learned how to do each exercise and olympic lift. Safety was never a concern as Todd is meticulous about form and was there at all times to give complete personal training. After charging through these tough workouts each day and always digging deep to find the strength for just one more rep, I truly learned that CrossFit is a community, because everyone always leaves with a smile on their face. CrossFit is the only program I've found where the loudest cheers are for those last person to finish! 

My summer CrossFit experience built strength and muscle, while toning and transforming my body just in time for the Miss Moorhead Scholarship pageant; for the first time in a longtime I felt confident in a swimsuit, and was able to take home the crown, all thanks to my time at CrossFit Grow. After a hiatus of a few months I began to crave CrossFit again, and now It feels so good to be back to my training. It has been just short of one month since I started up again, and Im back in the swing of things with no plan of stopping. I've already registered to train at a box in the Fargo-Moorhead area when I return to school, and I plan on training with Todd, Matt, and the gang at CrossFit Grow whenever I'm home in the Brainerd Lakes Area.  

CrossFit is allowing me to live my life strong, and Im totally convinced that If I can make it through each days WOD that I can make it through and accomplish anything…even the title of Miss Minnesota 2014, lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit here I come! 

A big thank you to Todd and everyone at CrossFit Grow,

Maren Goff

Miss Moorhead 2013

For more info please visit www.crossfitgrow.com