Hero Workouts are a staple in the CrossFit Community. It is what sets it apart from any other workout program I have done. My nine-year-old daughter did her first one…it was awesome!
It is Veteran’s Day weekend…and as is the usual in my house, my daughter Molly wanted to know exactly why we were being treated to a three-day weekend… so my simple explanation was that we were taking time out to remember our Military Veterans… the men and women who have been in the armed forces. She immediately wanted to know how this was different from Memorial Day to wit I explained that Memorial Day was to remember those who had died in service to our country.
As I was planning my workout Sunday, I decided to do a Hero Workout.
In the CrossFit Community Hero Workouts are a major piece of the fabric that knits us together as athletes. While a CrossFit workout may be replicated, the experience of completing a Hero Workout is like no other. When I announced my intentions, Molly perked right up. “Can I do it with you Mommy”? I had to ponder for a moment (and only a moment) what my answer would be.
“Of course!” I replied.
I posted four different workouts on my Facebook page looking for a comrade with whom to share the workout. CrossFit did not disappoint. Kim Nadeau, a former athlete of mine from Concord High School and a current White Mountain CrossFit workout buddy came through.
We all met at Memorial Field at 3:00 and decided to do “Michael”.
This particular workout is named for Navy Lieutenant Michael McGreevy, aged 30 of Portville New York who was killed in Afghanistan on June 28th, 2005. As prescribed, the workout consists of running an 800m, then doing 50 back extensions, then 50 sit ups. This sequence is repeated three times. Since we did not have a GHD machine upon which to do the back extensions and sit ups we simply used the ground. Molly, at age nine, was clearly too young to do this work out in it’s pure form…so I scaled it for her. Scaling workouts is also common in CrossFit. It is a means of making the workout achievable for people of all fitness and ability levels. Molly would do a 400M followed by 10 sit ups and 10 back extensions. She would also do three rounds.
We got to it.
Kim and I running the 800, Molly doing a 400…all of us grunting and panting on the grass as we worked through our exercises. At one point I was coming off the final turn and could see Molly finishing her sit-ups. She jumped right up and started running. Her slender body and tender heart floating around the track on a Sunday afternoon made my heart catch…I started to cry…athletic endeavors do not come easy to Molly…but she is not afraid to work hard. She is also extremely intelligent and sensitive so doing a Hero Workout and what that means was not lost on her.
She was running for Michael McGreevy.
When we were done, we all high fived and jogged a “granny shuffle” cool down lap. Forty-nine-year-old me…thirty-eight-year-old Kim…nine-year-old Molly sharing the best and worst parts of the workout.
For me it was how slow I was at the sit-ups and back extensions. “Yeah”, replied Kim, “I gained on you there”.
For Kim it was the running. She has been struggling with some lower leg injuries of late and has lost some of that fitness. “The running was not fun”.
Molly didn’t say much…she was mostly excited that she had been included and that she had finished.
We found a nice woman to take our picture and got into the car. As we pulled out of the parking lot Molly said “I like Hero Workouts Mom. They make it easier to keep going”. I had to agree with her. “It is what I loved about doing “Murph” on Memorial Day” I told her, The whole time I thought about him”.
She was quiet for a while and then said, “Next year, I am going to do the whole thing!” “That will take some training” I replied…”I know she said, but it’s the least I can do”.
I am not always the best role model for my daughters. I lose my patience. I get frustrated. I am often late and typically disorganized. But they do see me live a healthy life and celebrate my body for its accomplishments rather than its appearance, and today,Molly saw two women meet at a track to do a workout named for a fallen soldier for no reason other than to honor his memory through hard work thus honoring themselves.
I am incredibly proud of Molly for completing her first Hero Workout…but mostly for “getting it”. Thank-you White Mountain CrossFit, Thank-you Michael McGreevy and Thank-you to all of our Veterans and current military personnel.
Happy Veteran’s Day.