I'm not an imposing figure. I'm built like a cyclist, and for a while, I was a very good one. People still called me crazy back then, because I stopped to buy cigarettes during a century ride or fashioned homemade, studded snow tires and rode all over Crestline and Lake Arrowhead during winter. Come to think of it, that was pretty crazy.
Almost two years ago, I'd taken my son to his karate class and happened upon some guys practicing Krav Maga in the next room. Not since I was in the Coast Guard had I been taught some Krav Maga, but recognized the points of reference immediately. I signed up that evening on a one year contract.
I'm a terrible fighter. I over think everything, and as a result suffer greatly from Hick's law which has translated to a few drops of my blood on the mat. Nothing serious, yet; but I'm reminded that I still suck.
I began working out on my off days from Krav because I was gassing in class. Fighting is a very anaerobic activity, and I quickly found my nearly bottomless aerobic capacity was useless if I was on my back. I worked out 3 times a week and studied Krav twice, keeping two rest days.
Another year later and I added Karate to the mix. A 1st degree black belt is a "before you're 40" goal, but it complicates my regimen so it's worth mentioning. But the point is that after a year of serious training, I was still occasionally gassing in class and constantly exhausted.
I grew up with the Kinnick boys, and was there the day the lone Kinnick girl was born. They're family even if we don't share blood. Sometime after I'd moved to Texas, my mother was telling me I should try CrossFit like she does at the Kinnick's gym. I Google'd CrossFit, saw how much equipment was required, and that was the end of that. With the family's tuition at karate, the cost of supplements and Bowflex payments, the last thing I could afford was equipping a box in my garage that was going to sap even more of my energy. Plus, my mom was doing it at the time! My mom! (even though she does hold a black belt in Tae Kwon Do)
Last August, I returned to California to bury my Grandfather and stopped by to see the CrossFit Kinnick Affiliate in Upland. Jeremy Kinnick was always a big kid, now he's a beast with a gentle smile. I'd been following his progress and participation in the CrossFit community on Facebook for a while, but still felt I didn't have the time, money or energy to commit to integrating CrossFit into my routine.
This St. Patrick's Day, I snapped and decided that I was going to try my first WOD. A WOD (pronounced 'wäd) is the CrossFit Workout Of the Day. WOD's have names like Cindy, Helen and Fran. Some are named after heroes, like Lt. Michael Murphy who was killed in Afghanistan in 2005. Murph consists of a 1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats and another 1 mile run for time. A proper Murph is done wearing a 20# weight vest or full body armor because that's how Lt. Murphy liked to do it. I thought, this is it! I have everything I need to do this WOD and it's just push-ups and stuff like that. I even had a 20# vest.
I announced on Facebook that my first WOD was going to be Murph. A few minutes later, Jeremy Kinnick asked, "Your first WOD is going to be MURPH???? R u CRAZY!!!!"
I failed miserably and only completed a quarter of the push-ups, pull-ups and squats, but I'd experienced CrossFit and now I'm screwed. The next workout was Cindy, then Tabata Something Else and Cindy Meets Barbara. I got an account on beyondthewhiteboard.com, our Bowflex is on Craigslist, Sara and I have been eating Paleo for almost 2 months straight, I'm meeting Barbara this evening and I hear, "are you crazy?" at least once a week now.
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