A Brand-New Start!: Murph & my first ever competition!

Hey everyone!

This week has been so crazy! I'm amazed that I'm still walking! It seemed like so long ago, but Memorial Day was an awesome experience at RCFBC. We celebrated Memorial day by completing a "hero" Wod. Hero wods are named after fallen soldiers, firefighters, or police officers- they tend to be more mentally & physically tough. They make you push your limits. I've done some research, and on Memorial day most crossfit boxes complete the hero wod "Murph." This wod is named in honor of Operation Red Wings hero Lieutenant (SEAL) Michael Patrick Murphy, and consists of the following:

Run 1 mile

100 Pullups

200 Push Ups

300 Squats

Run 1 mile

Wow. It was so tough. It was hot out, and I hate running. But, if you know me, you know that I'm all about our service men & women, so if they can serve overseas, then I can complete this workout. Since I'm still wearing the brace & am not back at full wrist capacity, I had to do some scaling. Instead of the pullups, I used my fancy pulley system that Mike made for me. For the pushups, I used an 18lb KB & did strict presses- and then the squats. There was a 60 minute time cap. One hour- it seemed like a long time to be doing work- but once we got going, it was fine. We started out the day with the National Anthem out in the parking lot with the American flag hanging proudly from the Froio's car! It was awesome. Once that was done- we were off. 8 laps around the building. 8 laps. Around lap 2 I felt like I was going to die. I just kept thinking that this was just the beginning. I still had all that other stuff to do once I finished the 8 laps. I couldn't get overwhelmed. People were passing me left and right, and I did start power walking after lap 2, but I finished that mile. I knew how I was going to break up the rest of the work- by 20's. As soon as I finished 20 reps of any movement, I crossed it off my white board. The movements that got me were my strict presses and the squats. An 18lb KB gets heavy real fast. I also wasn't getting below parallel with my squats- Mike caught me a few times, but at that rate, I would be glad to just get through the entire 300! While I was on the last of my squats, one of my friend's from CF, Alex came over to motivate me and keep me going. This guy is so intense. He is the most hilarious person I have ever met, and one of the best motivators as well. He helped me get through those last few squats, and then said he was running the last mile with me. Mind you, he already finished his workout- the whole thing- and he was going to run one more mile with me. He's crazy. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wasn't having it. When I wanted to give up- he wouldn't let me. When we got around to the second lap, we picked up a few more shirtless and very handsome male runners who were joining me for the last mile. My wolf pack of hot men. They stayed with me the whole time- ran when I could run- walked when I had to- made me laugh- and kept my head in the game. I cannot thank those guys enough- I wouldn't have finished, if it wasn't for them. I ended up completing the entire workout out in 60 minutes, 40 seconds. Once I was done- I gave a few high fives & immediately went to throw up. While in the stall, I could hear that someone else was having the same Murph reaction that I was having. We came out at the same time- it was Al. She's freakin' awesome. I lover her. She makes me laugh every class & I see a lot of myself in her. We just stood at the sink casually rinsing our mouths with listerine. This is a moment I'll forever remember. We did- we finished. And this was only Monday!!!! I'm so proud of everyone who did this workout, and I am proud of myself for actually showing up and completing this also.

I'll save you the box jump drama from the middle of the week for another time- but it was not good- I'm still deathly afraid of that box, but I'll get back on it soon.

Yesterday (Saturday) I competed in our gym's first ever internal competition- The BareCove Box Battle. It was absolutely AMAZING. I loved every moment of yesterday. I wish our gym had that competitive feel more often. This competition was legit. We had judges & a leaderboard- it was awesome. I can't believe the amount of planning and organization that went into this battle. I am in awe at the amount of work Mike put into this- while still conducting normal box activity for the week. He is a superstar. So for the battle- athlete check-in was at 8am. Of course I was running late- story of my life, but I got there on time! We did some warming up & you could just feel this nervous energy in the air- it was awesome. My partner for the competition was Chris. He's the other owner of the gym. He's absolutely hysterical. I couldn't have asked for a better teammate. He yelled at me just enough to keep me motivated, but not scared of him. haha. He did most of the work for our team during one wod in particular, and I can't thank him enough. We worked as a team- we communicated as a team- and he even wore my Batman headband when I asked him to! We completed a total of 8 workouts yesterday. To say I'm sore is an understatement. But I've never had so much fun in my life. It's weird that my idea of fun has now shifted to crossfit related activities. I saw so many people do things they didn't think they could do, people battle through injuries, & at the end everyone was still smiling. That's the true spirit of crossfit- get through the toughest workouts- cheer your peers on, and celebrate at the end. And boy did we celebrate! The beer & wine were flowing! Paleo life went out the window yesterday- we definitely earned it. I could go on and on about the actual wods that we did, but it was just too many. Our team- The Justice League came in 9th overall out of 24 teams. I can't believe it- Top 10. I am still in shock. Everything about yesterday was so awesome. My parents even came to watch part of it- which really surprised me. My dad isn't the kind of guy to go to these things. I asked him what he thought when I got home, and all he said was "that's pretty intense-those movements that you do." He was so impressed with the ladies being able to clean any weight. It meant so much for both of them to stop by & actually take an interest in what I'm doing. I hope that Mike makes this an annual competition. That would be awesome. I'm hoping for the next competition, my wrist will be in full effect. It's getting there!

I just want to stop and give a huge thank you to Mike, Lauren, Chris, Sharon, Harrison, & everyone at RCFBC for planning this event. Mostly to Mike- you are amazing- I'm convinced you don't sleep & constantly have crossfit on your brain. I don't know how you planned all of this & still kept our regular classes going without a hitch. I just don't know how you do it. Lauren, Sharon, Harrison, & Chris- your motivation and smiling faces during the competition kept me going. You guys are so awesome.

I am so blessed and proud to call Reebok Crossfit Bare Cove my home box. The love and respect I have for the staff and athletes a like is completely immeasurable. I love each and everyone of you more than you'll ever know. My life is forever changed & it's because of my box and the wonderful people in it. The box battle was the first of many competitions I hope to be a part of. I can't wait for the next one. It's so weird to hear myself say things like that- I can't believe I'm looking forward to another fitness competition! Crazy!

So for now- I'll wait for the advil to kick in, and get after it tomorrow.

Love you all more than you'll ever know!

-A