When Last is First

I work in a school, so this time of year, things are a bit busy as we come to the end of another school year.  I know I promised my first giveaway in my last post, and it is coming, but something happened to me today that preempted my first CspinHealthy giveaway.

If you follow the blog, you know that my main source of exercise is Crossfit.  So I stroll into Crossfit Carmel for the hopper workout this morning and I'm the first there.  That means, I get to pick one random workout from a deck of cards.  No matter what I pick, we do it.  No pressure there.  I pick the mother of all workouts.  The granddaddy of them all.  The creme de le creme; the mack daddy; the marathon mind bender of all Crossfit workouts............

MURPH!  If you are not familiar with Crossfit, hero workouts are named for fallen soldiers who have served our country.  Very fitting for the Memorial Day weekend.

This workout is the following:

1 mile run

100 pull ups

200 push ups

300 air squats

1 mile run

If you just keeled over and passed out, you are not alone.  Now.....I've been at this Crossfit stuff coming up on one year this summer.  I've radically changed the way I approach my fitness and my dietary habits.  I've made the best gains I've ever made with any combination of exercise and eating ever.  That being said, MURPH, just the idea of MURPH, put this image in my head....

I've not quit much in my life, but I must share with you the following:  I have literally been S.C.A.R.E.D. of this workout for months.  I used to tell myself that if it were ever posted ahead of time, I wouldn't go, and if it were pulled from the hopper deck, I'd find a way to leave the gym.  It gave me anxiety mainly b/c of the pull ups let alone the high volume of other stuff.  In plain words, it's a crazy workout.  That was almost a year ago.  

But today, on this Memorial Day Weekend, this WOD (Workout of the Day) just seemed fitting.  

My goal alongside guys and gals half my size, some training for a full Ironman?  

Finish!  

And be proud.

My strategy?  

Pace myself

Breath

Piece things together in smaller reps

Think positive thoughts

Visualize how good it will feel to just......finish.

I've learned a lot over the past year about my health, fitness, and my ego.  It's not about what the person next to me is doing.  It's not about what that guy over there looks like.  It's my body.  My life.  My health.  It's about me.  And so........

69 minutes and  49 seconds later, over half an hour AFTER the first two guys finished, 13 minutes after the second to last person finished, I was the last one done, but.....I did it.

And I was proud.  

Sometimes, last can feel like first.  
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!