TEAM PHOENIX!!!

Oh dear, what a day.

At 6am the alarm went off, that's when the benign innocence of a Saturday morning disappeared. My feet hit the floor and the anxiety immediately set in. I put the sweet potatoes for my team in the oven to bake, started the coffee, started the oatmeal, started to pace....

What is it about the anticipation that is the killer? The questions are relentless: What if I get hurt? What if I can't finish? What if..What if..blah blah blah blah.

By 7:30am I was much more prepared and the anxiety had turned into excitement.

It was raining, pouring intermittently, and the first workout was this lovely monster:

2 mile run includes:
*1st Check In Point @ the start line: As a team 150 burpees - each member is responsible for a minimum of 25 reps

*2nd Check In Point: As a team 200 kettle bell swings- each member of team is responsible for a minimum of 25 reps (2 people can swing at the same time)

Reach turn around point - each member must get marked

*3rd Check Point: As a team 200 med ball passes AND answer nutrition questions

*Must return questions to envelope and hand to designated volunteer before returning to run

Yikes. The run was beautiful. It winded through a gorgeous section of the Shoal Creek Trail and included passing next to a rock wall. Very pretty. Holy shit was that hard. The burpees covered us in mud. The kettlebells covered us in mud. The med balls covered us in mud. I'm fairly certain I haven't been that dirty in my adult life, and it was so much damn fun. My fancy new running shoes will never be pretty again.

When the run was finished, we were halfway through. At 11am we embarked to conquer this pretty little thing:

*75 barbell power snatch (45#)
*200 box jumps
*175 ab mat sit ups
*100 pull ups
*125 duo dead lifts @ 95#s
*150 jumping ring dips
*100 duo shoulder press (55#)
*Run 400

Jesus. Yes, we finished. However, I loaded the bar heavier than it needed to be by 10lbs. Fail. Catherine, Anna and myself busted ass through the entire thing and I couldn't be more proud of my team. Anna just started Crossfit last month and really dedicated herself to stellar eating and pushing through the workouts. She's in Dallas now installing an entire photography show. Total rock star. Catherine has had a hell of a year recovering from a very severe case of tendinitis in her wrist and her upper body strength (which was impressive) took a hit. You never would have guessed that was the case watching her throw that 16kg kettlebell over her head.

The best part of this entire experience is that in spite of how horrendous the workout looked, each and every one of those women finished. Our ages ranged widely, from the teenager to the mom with multiple kids. Each with different backgrounds and battles behind them, who all made a commitment at some point to better themselves and their quality of life. There was a time when each of those women would have looked up on that whiteboard and said the workout was impossible; that they would not be capable of completing such a challenging request. In my opinion, one of the greatest things about Crossfit is it can literally turn people into fierce athletes. No longer is athleticism solely about genetics, or aptitude. Just because you never have, doesn't mean that you never will. The human body is an amazing piece of machinery and it will do whatever you ask it to do. All you have to do is ask and show it how to behave.

I'm so very proud of each and every one of those women today. You are all inspirational beyond words and I hope you get some delicious rest. I can't wait to see the pretty pictures of our terribly contorted faces.