I have always wanted to try a little CrossFit, but leaving the safe haven of my basement to train anywhere other than Wendler's or a powerlifting gym has seemed like sacrilege. That said I am a big supporter of the Catch A Lift Fund which supports post 9/11 combat wounded veterans all over the U.S. to recover and rehabilitate both physically and mentally through physical fitness, motivation, and support. Well, they had an event close by and it was time to put up or shut up.
The event was called the Coffland Hero Challenge. Christopher Coffland was an athlete who was known to have demolished the U.S. Army Physical Fitness Test, which features push-ups, sit-ups, and a 2-mile run. Coffland was killed in action on November 13, 2009. So the workout in his honor is a hang from a pull-up bar for a cumulative total of 6 minutes. Each time you drop from the bar, perform 800-m run and then 30 push-ups.
Of course, I figured if I could just hang on to the bar for 6 minutes I'd be all set. When I began the hang I closed my eyes and tried to get comfortable. After what seemed like an eternity I opened my eyes to see that I was at about the minute mark. At that point, a number of people had already dropped which took a lot of pressure off of me. At one-thirty the pain in my hands was getting pretty intense. Meanwhile, I looked at my wife Jessica hanging next to me without a care in the world. I was 50% happy and 50% jealous. I dropped at 1:45 and Jess made it to 2:00. Damn my girl is tough. Oh by the way, I found out Jess and I were hanging from a thicker bar which is more difficult to hang from than the smaller bars that were there. Just sayin'.
I waited the extra time as Jess was out hanging me (insert joke here) so we could make the 800 meter run together. As luck would have it I jacked up my calf at about the 300 meter mark. This has nagged me on and off for a while now, but I wasn't about to quit. Fortunately, I was able to adjust my gait to where it didn't get any worse so I could carry on. Then finally I got to something I enjoy, some pushups. I blasted out my 30 easily and then it was back to the hang. All in all, I had to hang 5 times to hit the 6 minute total which caused me to run 2 miles total and complete 120 pushups.
So here are my thoughts on the day. First, the people at Rough House Crossfit in Bridgeport CT were super cool. The atmosphere was very supportive. As people were passing each other on the run there were high fives and words of encouragement. Now because a number of people could not do the workout as prescribed they were able to modify it. Therefore, a number of people were finished earlier. I think that's cool, this way everyone who wants to participate can. Also, everyone stuck around and supported those still working. Keep in mind this was an open event for Catch A Lift so it wasn't just gym regulars there. The camaraderie within the community as a whole was very apparent.
As far as the workout, I was soaked and exhausted. I was kind of curious about how I'd feel the next day. To my surprise, I really felt fine other than my calf. A credit to my conditioning. Will I start doing CrossFit regularly, I think not. Will I show up on occasion for a good workout, I think so. To me as long as I'm not attempting technical lifts or moves that I'm not accustomed to doing, a WOD (workout of the day) as they are called is not much different than some of the conditioning challenges I have thrown out for myself. Just a change of environment and a new challenge.
I do want to leave with this, please donate to and support Catch A Lift Fund. There were two veterans at the event who shared their struggles and they were gut wrenching. However, it was amazing to see them come out on the other side with the help of Catch A Lift. The sad reality is that it's somewhere around an 18 month waiting list to get help from Catch A Lift. It's about funding. The more donations they get, the shorter we can make that wait. Our veterans can use our help, so please donate and spread the word. Thanks.
