Last weekend CrossFit Cd’A hosted the “31 Heroes” WOD to benefit the families of the soldiers who were lost on August 6th, 2011 in Afghanistan. For those of you unfamiliar with the tragedy, here is a link with further info: Chinook shot down; many lives lost.
Derek and I are extremely proud of that the CFCd’A community came together to support this great cause on such short notice- each of the athletes pictured above not only donated cash to the families affected by the events of August 6th, but truly gave a bit of themselves as well.
If you are interested in donating to the cause, you can still do so by going here. Again, 100% of the proceeds will go to the families of the Servicemen who lost their lives in the events of August 6, 2011.
Thank you to all who gave both time and money in support!
"pretty sure we are somewhere near the green part..."
We awoke at 5:15am, snarfed some mancakes (see below), and did one last gear check before our heading out the door for the Flaming Chicken 12 hour Adventure Race. Everything looked good: bikes, packs, and food were dialed. Packing in the truck, we popped some tunes, got out the race directions, and proceeded to get lost on the way to the starting line. Not the most auspicious start, granted. We blame shoddy directions.
the "mancake": 5 eggs, pre-fried the night before into a patty of manly deliciousness
Eventually, we happened upon the race HQ, and having passed our pre-test (clever race director, testing our iron will before the gun went off), got our gear set up. The day was to unfold as follows: three separate stages, with six control points throughout each stage. Each team was required to hit at least one control per stage, with the goal being all 18 controls in the 12 hour time limit. We were allowed a compass, and were given a USGS map stripped of all marks save some roads and elevation markers (it was an old map, we were warned that the roads marked “may not be accurate”). Start with a mountain bike through the Deschutes NF, then a paddle on the Deschutes River, and finally a trek back through the forest.
Why we brought Derek
As the 30-second countdown to the start commenced, teams began to clip into their bikes, and push towards the line. Most teams. We were still running a bit late… …Derek was still trying to sort out which direction we should go, and I was still getting the fear out (you know what I mean), John suggested that we do the smart thing and follow the people who look like they know what they are doing. Always a sound tactic.
I, for one, applaude the short-shorts
Eventually we got moving, and proceeded to start knocking off control points pretty quickly. Having a Recon Marine on your team can be helpful in orienteering situations, though he insisted on wearing short shorts and his Marine-issue t-shirt (“Gotta go with what you know!”). Over the next 35-40 miles we snagged all six bike controls, and headed to transition for the switch to the canoe.
As a three-man team, I figured a 3 man boat would be much faster than 3 one-man kayaks. I was wrong. In fact, a 3-man canoe is no match for a 14 year-old girl paddling a rented open-top kayak (seriously, she smoked us). Regardless, we kept a stiff upper lip and slogged to all 6 controls on the paddle portion. Not a ton of map reading here, teams just had to be willing to put 7 miles in, half of which were upstream (the last half). On a personal note, having spent the better part of a decade rowing boats, I can say with a fair bit of certainty that canoes are tippy, slow, and frustrating. I much prefer rowing shells, were are tippy, fast, and frustrating. Lewis and Clark were animals.
Bet you didn't know Sasquatch rocks knee-highs and a red backpack.
Getting back to the transition, we found we had gone from the tip of the pack the caboose. This was expected, as EVERYONE PASSED US on the water. Ah well. Chin up, eh? We crushed some calories, re-upped the water/Nuun mixes, and hit the trek. As we left the transition area, we checked the clock: 5 hours until “drop-dead time”.
This is where our fitness really helped, and we had a blast poking around the forest looking for little orange and white boxes. Derek did the route finding again, while teaching us how to set bear traps with only a pocket knife and 3 twigs. All of the points were well off the beaten path, requiring legit bushwacking and orienteering skills. Over 4 hours, we racked up five of the six points, and had to make a decision: go for it, and risk going over time, or play it safe? Mustering my best Al Pacino-in-”Any Given Sunday” voice I ended the debate by screaming “I WANT THAT POINT!!”. John and Derek, lacking any rebuttal, simply looked at each other and shrugged. I think I startled a few squirrels, as they started chittering at that point as well. We knew it would be tight, and set a “turn around time” at which we would stop searching and hurry back (we were 2-3 miles from the finish at this point). Heading off into the brush, we decided to spread out a bit to maximize the search area, agreeing to stay in vocal range and meet up at the turn around time. Come turn around time, I completely ignored reason and kept searching (shocking, I know), but to no avail. The last point would reamin a mystery.
even a blind squirrel can find a nut every once in a while. Point 93 here took some lookin'
We ended up crossing the line about 20 minutes under the wire, with 17 of 18 controls and HUGE grins on our faces. The race organizers had set out a wicked spread of brats, burgers, and beers, and we took full advantage. A quick dip in the river (cold, by the way), and we were informed that we had managed a 3rd place with our efforts, which we are still very pleased about. Admittedly, we were a bit jealous of the guy who brought his own map (he told us “well, yeah, it has road and trail numbers, but other than that it is really the same as the one you guys have”), and everyone else’s kayaks. Subsisting solely on copious amounts of dried fruit and nuts for 12 hours also forced us to hike 3 across rather than in a line, if you catch my drift (I caught Derek’s a few times too many). We are definitely going to be doing more of these races, and look forward to preparing for them the same way we prepared for this one: playing around in and out of the gym, running a little every so often, and making sure being fit is fun. Next time though, we will be paddling kayaks.
too bad they didn't have a "tallest team" category, we would have owned it
Fight Gone Bad 6 is here! For the newer tribe members, FGB is a fundraiser we do to benefit certain charities. After getting donations for the cause, we’ll participate in the WOD “fight gone bad” followed by a bbq. Last year CFCDA raised over $3,700… this year we will beat that! The fight will be benefiting the following charities:
-Supports the goal of, “not one more child drowns”
Our goal is to have EVERYONE at the gym be a part of this. I don’t care if you raise $20 or $2,000, every part helps and it will be a good time to boot! The WOD will be on Sept. 17th… even if you can’t make it we still want you on the team.
A new class makes the cut, and more goofy poses are struck. Our kick butt August class will be joining the ranks of the CFCDA firebreathers. A lot of you might recognize Dawna, she was with us back at our 3rd St location… she can tell you stories about how bad the (only) bathroom was there… it smelled like a pungent mixture of mold and urine (bad plumbing). And you had to open a roll up door to get to it… The gym has come a long way since then, and so have these guys in the last month.
Don’t forget, get your friends and family in for the next boot camp starting Monday, Aug 15th at 6 am or 6:30 pm… and don’t forget the new evening hours!!!
CrossFit CdA will be hosting a Hero WOD along with dozens of other affiliates on Saturday, September 3rd at 9 am. The WOD will honor the 31 fallen men that were killed in Afghanistan on August 5th. The registration fee of $31 goes to the Navy Seal Foundation which helps family members of wounded or killed member of Naval Special Warfare.
To register, click here. Even if you can’t make the WOD, you can still donate. Let’s show our support and suffer together for these guys!
FYI, our evening hours will be changing. Effective August 15th, our evening classes will be at 5:30 and 6:30 pm.
Also, we’ve been turning on the AC on the hotter days during evening, so there’s no need to avoid those classes.
That being said, make sure you get out and enjoy the weather! It’s ok to miss a few workouts this time of year as long as you are staying active and having fun. One of the major reason’s why we kick our own asses a few times a week is to stay fit and be able to do the things we do! How do you use you’re fitness?
The 2011 CrossFit Games kick off tomorrow at 8 am! Our very own Ted is down there right now ready to compete with the 19 fittest men in his age bracket… click here to check out ESPN 3 and watch the action live! Get some Ted!!!
Ted is so bad-ass, he does his Zeus pose WITH a heel turnout... awesome!
The Dirty Dash in Spokane is on August 20th! We’ve got 5 signed up for the 11 am wave so far… let’s get some more crossfitters in there! We had about 20 athletes at the Warrior Dash, and it was a blast!
For those of you that couldn’t make it to the Warrior Dash this weekend (pics to come), we’ll be sending a team to the Dirty Dash mud run obstacle course in Spokane on August 20th! One of the great things of being a part of this community is the fact there are like minded people with issues that enjoy punishing themselves and crawling through mud! ?Let us know if you want to join the team!
Josh, Derek, Bridget, Jesse, Dianna, Meghan, Jace, Mark, and Joe.
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