My Wild Workout Wednesday post this week is about my WOD from Sunday…
This past Sunday was Memorial Day.
Each year, CrossFit gyms around the country celebrate Memorial Day by inviting our members + the community to participate in ‘The Murph’ workout. It’s a way to recognize the hardships faced by the men + women that serve our country and to remember those that have fallen.
The ’MURPH’ was named in memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan on June 28th, 2005. This workout was one of Mike’s favorites. Mike was a focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is.
My mind was focused as I drove downtown Sunday morning. I was thinking of all those fallen soldiers. I was thinking how lucky we are to live in the relative peace that we have here in America. How lucky I am to be alive, and able to go attempt a kick-butt workout like The Murph. There’s never a moment that I take my physical abilities for granted but I was especially aware on Sunday.
Jamie Toland wrote an awesome article that better shares my feelings:
There has never been a time when I was pushing myself to finish and thinking for a second about quitting that I did not think about both my grandfathers and what they went through as soldiers during World War II. I think about the military training and time my own father spent serving our country as a United States Marine. I think about my friends who have served and many who still serve and the sacrifices they have made with time away from their families and some even more substantial. But also I think about Lt. Michael Murphy and what he did for his country and his fellow brothers in arms.
As I look around our box and see the faces of the other members and they dig very deep both mentally and physically to finish this capacity of work, I’m proud to be a part of my affiliate and also the CrossFit community that takes time to acknowledge service men and women. I know that doing a difficult workout in a safe environment is in NO way comparable to what our soldiers go through on a daily basis nor is it even remotely in the realm of what war would be like. But for these people to give up their time and physical energy to at least acknowledge and remember the efforts and sacrifices of others is still a very special thing to me.
I was part of the 8:30am crew at Urban Life. My regular gym peeps were there, and a few of my other favorites. We all geared up and headed out for the run at 8:30.
The 1st mile felt good.
It was the first time I completed Murph with Rx pull-ups (no bands, no jumping)
It was the first time I completed Murph without a single push-up on my knees (all were hand-release push-ups)
As I ran for the door after my squats, my legs felt like heavy jello. I was gasping for air as I went down the stairs. And as I started to jog out the door, my entire body screamed at me….”WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” But I pushed.
How many people would do Murph everyday to bring a loved solider back? Pushed.
How many people would do anything to be able to get out and run? Pushed.
My legs finally felt better/less terrible at the 1/2 mile mark. Pushed harder.
Back up the stairs to the 4th floor of Urban Life for a time of 53 minutes.
Memorial Day is one of my favorite days. Not because it’s a day off, or because of the BBQs or the start of the summer season. I love it because of The Murph WOD. I love doing this workout – paying respects to our heroes, and doing it with a heart full of appreciation, and a mind full of remembering. It might not seem like much, but it’s a big deal to me.
Running Sugarfree 