{honoring those fallen}

What an amazing day at the gym!!!  Yesterday I skipped the gym & I finally gave into my 4-weeks of a cold and went to have it checked out.  Come to find out I have a sinus infection & broncitis. Yippee!  So hello Z-Pac and hopefully hello to feeling better soon.  I had decided to take most of the week off from the gym until my hubby came home and said we were doing “Amanda” Tuesday morning. Before he finished his sentence I knew I would not be resting and I would be working out in the a.m.

“Amanda”~ Muscle Ups ~ Squat Snatch 135/95 ~ 9-7-5

At CrossFit we have two different kinds of benchmark workouts.  We have “The Girls”, tough workouts named after girls like hurricanes used to be named.  Then we  have our Hero WODs, TOUGH workouts named after fallen soldiers, highway patrolmen and firefighters.  Hero WODs are a time to push yourself harder than usual in honor of these men that have died protecting us.  These WODs come around randomly and are a great way to measure your progress over time.  So today was “Amanda”, a “girl” workout on the girl board, not the hero board.  But, knowing the story behind “Amanda” it is hard not to treat this workout as a hero.

Read about Amanda Miller in this tribute  to an amazing CrossFit athlete.  A little over a month before Amanda Miller passed away of recurring melanoma cancer that spread to her lymph nodes she wrote on her blog, “I just competed in the CF Games less than a year ago and now I’m dying.” – Amanda Miller, March 9, 2010.  This is the first WOD dedicated to a fallen CrossFit athlete.  I read somewhere to the effect that her doctors criticized her for continuing to CrossFit while undergoing treatment for her cancer saying it was to hard and wearing on her body. She refused to listen to them knowing she had to keep her body strong and it was something she loved.  I admire her fight and strength all the way until the end of her too short life. 

So today with “Amanda” on our whiteboard I sucked it up even though I didn’t feel well and tried to do as much of the workout Rx’d as I could no matter how long it took me.  I tried the Rx’d weight of 95# several times with no success.  I wasn’t able to get under the bar fast enough.  My only excuse is I have always been slow at this point of the snatch and I was running from the pain I was afraid I would feel in my pelvis and shoulder.  Coach B told me to do 65# so I did 75# :-) and I did as many muscle ups as I could eek out and finished the remainder with our scaled version for the day, two chest to bar pullups + two ring dips/muscle up.  I was able to do four the first round, one the second and all five in the final round.  Everytime I got on the rings the last round I told myself to do it for Amanda.  I did 10 of the 21 muscle ups in the workout.  I am happy with that.  I think this was the most enjoyable WOD I have done in a long time and it was a great way to honor a strong, amazing woman. 

We should all push ourselves physically a little further than we think we can.  I think we are all capable of doing more than we think we can.  We hold ourselves back mentally, when physically we can reach a new level.  You have to believe in yourself.  Know your body can do it, know your body is capable, commit to reaching that next level.  Remember there are people out there pushing themselves to new limits when physically and/or mentally you would expect they couldn’t.   These people believe there is nothing that can hold them back.  Don’t let anything hold you back. Make the most of your life. Reach that new level.