Apologies to my readers. I've been on a business trip for the past week and haven't had a chance to get into a gym which means I don't have any gym pics to post here. But I did get to wear an EOD bomb suit the other day which reminded me of how I got hooked on CrossFit. Join me for a stroll down memory lane while I explain:
I'd been doing CrossFit off and on for about 5 years out of my house but never really committed myself to it. One day, I had the good fortune to meet two studs from Navy EOD while in Florida. I overheard these guys talking about CrossFit and I, thrilled to find some workout partners, mentioned I did it too. They invited me to join them the next morning for a PT session and I eagerly accepted, completely unprepared for what would follow.
The next morning I boarded the Jon & Ace Pain Train. We met at a gym on post and Jon, a Level I certified CrossFitter, started us out doing some basic Olympic lifts. I was a little nervous, but not nearly as nervous as I should have been: I failed utterly and completely. Never having touched an Olympic bar before, I had no idea what I was doing. Every time I tried to lift the 45 lb bar, I would lose my balance, the bar would go clattering to the floor, and every guy in the gym would turn to glare at me. It was humiliating.
They could have rolled their eyes at each other. They could have cut the WOD short and sent me home so that I didn't waste any more of their time. I mean, they were looking for a serious workout and I was a female civilian who grossly over-estimated her abilities. But instead of blowing me off, they helped me through it, patiently showing me what to do, and deftly catching the bar when the inevitable would happen and I would fall over backwards like a turtle. They didn't give up on me and so neither did I, even though my ego was crushed.
Every morning I met them at 0-dark-thirty to join in their WODs, and every morning they smoked my ass..... and never made me feel bad about it. They cheered me on, encouraged me when I faltered, and gave me high-fives when I finished. Thank God I was too naive to be intimidated by them when we first met; if I had known better, I wouldn't have even tried to keep up with them, and I would never have gotten hooked on CrossFit. After spending a week with those guys, I went home a changed athlete. My body was sore beyond belief- I couldn't sit, I couldn't walk, and I couldn't straighten my arms all the way. But I now knew how CrossFit was meant to be done, and I've been hooked ever since.
This past week, I got to try on an EOD suit for the first time (ok, it was an Army EOD suit, but it's not like I could tell the difference.) All told, it weighed about 110 lbs, almost as much as me. It was hot, heavy, stiff, and uncomfortable. And I was reminded that it's the business suit of choice that my two friends willingly don for their country all the time. I thought they were great guys when I met them, and now that I've had a chance to see the world from inside that suit, I have even greater respect for them.
Guys... wherever you are, know that the Pain Train continues. Wish you could see me now- that 45 lb bar is nothing! Keep fighting the good fight and I'll keep you both in my thoughts.
"EOD. It's a blast."
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