In 15 Minutes:
1 Mile AirDyne
200m Sled Pull 4/3 Plates
Max Rounds in remaining time:
7 Wall Balls 14/8
7 Box Jump 20″
A Test for Mental and Physical Strength – Kristy Day
There are days when I’m hot, sweaty and tired. Thoughts start to creep in. I can’t do this, I just want to quit. I may not be PRx, but in addition to taking 40 lbs. off my body, my 23 months in CrossFit has taught me that no matter how miserable I might be, if I just keep moving and don’t quit along the way I will suddenly discover that I have made it to the end, and end up stronger for the process. With the exception of the hot part, this was my experience while backpacking the Lost Coast Trail. Well, the miserable part of it anyway.
My best friend Barb is a competitive CrossFitter who now lives in Baltimore. Together we set off with about 50 lbs. each on our back (heavy by expert standards) and a sense of excitement and anticipation. Immediately I was taken aback by the contrast of thunderous ocean and majestic mountains, the pure beauty of the unspoiled land, and enchanting rainbow that greeted us. Of nearly equal magnificence was the prospect of several days without a single diaper to change. Both concepts served a useful purpose, distracting us from the treacherous hike ahead.
Nature seemed to be taking up the challenge, standing in as a substitute coach, almost scheming to give us a really tough WOD. For warm-ups we needed to combine strength, cardio and balance as we shouldered our load and marched against the prevailing northwest winds through sinking sand, cobbles and rocks. Like any good coach, there was one more little twist we needed to do it for time. The rising tide meant that we needed to hustle to the next trailhead or risk being stranded until the tide went out, with the added incentive of potentially being dragged out to sea by the rolling waves should we get caught in the middle.
Bone crushing waves were no match for our CrossFit trained bodies and spirits. Hugging the face of the cliff, we scaled across jagged rocks while running in between waves. With little time to spare we made it to the trailhead which offered a welcomed rest, mountain stream and spectacular view of the ocean… and incoming storm.
Fed and rested, the warm up was over, now it was WOD time! We began our ascent on one of the steepest grades of northern California trails. Slowly and steadily we chipped away at the climb, 3,300 feet in elevation gain over only 3.6 miles of trail. Just to make sure that we got the most from our little jaunt, Coach Nature decided that this was the perfect time for the storm to arrive and add yet another level of difficulty, misery… and potentially glory at the end. Like any time that your coach pushes you to a new PR, it didn’t feel like much fun as the temperature dropped and pulses of heavy rain and fierce wind made our slog even more difficult.
Tired, cold and now sopping wet, we ignored the coach and tried stopping for a bit on the ascent. Coach Nature, ever vigilant, soon let us know that she disapproved of this whole stopping idea by reminding us of just how cold we could get if we stopped. Remembering all the times I had wanted to stop in the middle of some tough WOD in the past but did not, I got back to just putting one foot in front of another. A combination of aversion to the cold and muscle memory of “just keeping on” trumped our exhaustion, and we kept moving. At last we finished the longest and most miserable 3.6 miles of our lives and faced another 5.2 (more level) miles to our camp. Finally, after backpacking nearly 15 miles we made it to camp cold, wet and physically and mentally drained.
We didn’t get much rest through the stormy night, but thankfully the morning greeted us with only light rain. After some sprints, switch backs and sunshine, we reached the beach and our next camp. The warm sun and ocean breeze gave our gear an opportunity to dry, and us an opportunity to relax. The next day we woke refreshed for our six mile beach hike back to real food, warm showers and dry beds!!
Lessons learned:
1. Don’t quit
2. When you feel like you need to quit, refer to Rule 1
3. Cold sucks
4. Yeah, it really IS worth it in the end
These aren’t the best side by sides to highlight Kristy’s 40# weight-loss, but here is a pic of Kristy when she started CrossFit in November 2011 and one with an early arm pull on a clean from last week. HARD WORK PAYS OFF!!!
(we are going to fix that early arm pull here very soon. But look at those guns! If your arms were that stong you’d want to pull the bar up too.)
