This was a "Hero WOD" - one that is named after a soldier who died defending our country. This one was for Jason "Mick" McCluskey of Oklahoma who sadly died at the age of 26 in Afghanistan. I think of where I was at 26...I hadn't even met my wife yet...so much of my life hadn't started yet. At 38 I have a lot to be thankful for, so I was happy to lay it all on the table for Mr. McCluskey one time.
The scaling for this one was pretty cool. Sara had us grab a pair of 35-lb dumbbells. For muscle ups we did a pushup while holding the dumbbells, then at the top of the pushup we did a dumbbell row with each arm. For burpee pullups I did a burpee then jumped up on a box and did a jumping pullup. The regular pullups I did with 1.3 thick bands (the .5 was being used so I sucked it up and used a smaller one for my second one)
When you look at this WOD it's pretty crushing. I love the 21-15-9 rep scheme, and it's very cool how they reverse it here...but adding the run is sadism at its finest. Being the massochist that I am this one had my name all over it.
3...2...1...Go! I got a solid pace going and purposely didn't go to failure on the first round of pullups. I broke it up into 6-5-5-5 and it went pretty smoothly. The huge surprise came during the first run. I ran out to 6th Ave, kept a steady pace, and by the time I rounded 24th St I realized that I didn't need to stop and walk...I just kept running...and running...until holy shit I rounded back onto 26th and finished the first run UNBROKEN. How sick is that? I've never run more than a block at a time in my entire life! I was sizzling on adrenaline and cruised through the second round, that is until the pullups. By the second half of the set I was doing 1-2 at a time, but I got it done and out I went for run #2. BOOM! Unbroken again...what the hell was happening? What an incredible feeling to run this consistently for this long...I sailed back in after the run and kept plugging away. I could tell this one was running long, but if the firebreathers were putting up times of 25+ minutes I knew I was going to clock in at about an hour, which was fine with me...as long as I finished. Somehow I got through the pullups again and I raced toward the door. Then a pretty crazy thing happened...
...Wayne is the coolest of the cool. An elder gentleman who started Crossfitting a couple months back. We've had some pleasant exchanges about the challenge of Crossfit and we've seen each other at the Black Box many times, as we both come several times a week. Anyway Wayne had finished the WOD already, but as I passed him to head down the stairs he said "I think I'll come along for this round." I couldn't believe it. He was DONE. Something about my taking forever on these WODs possesses people to do extra rounds. I don't know who is more demented...but obviously I was flattered that Wayne gave THAT much of a shit about me to join me for the final run. As it turned out my pace was so rocking that he easily walked beside me as I ran, but hey I RAN, and once again...UNBROKEN!
WOD Time - 54:21
The encouragement, feedback, and general comaraderie at the gym has been humbling to say the least. I'm having a blast with Crossfit...and there's no doubt a lot of the above has to do as much with my progress as any physical gains I've had. This is turning out to be quite the life experience.
I don't know how well I honored McCluskey's memory, but I'm satisfied that if I had the chance to meet him I'd be honest when I say I gave this one absolutely everything, and it gave me back even more.
