Memorial Weekend & Murph ’16

Today I’m linking up with Running With Spoons to give a recap on Memorial Weekend and Murph. This past weekend I went home to my parent’s house for Memorial weekend. I had an aunt come into town who we don’t get to see all the time, so that meant lots of family time which is always nice. Our time spent together was filled with eating and games and catching up. 

Air Show

On Saturday we went to the nearby Air Force base to watch their air show. It was packed with people and was pretty hot outside. We got to  check out several different planes and go inside them.

It was neat to learn about the different planes on base and what they can do and the different jobs that people there. It’s also nice to know what’s flying over your head and around your house all the the time.

My mom always got excited about going inside the planes and sitting in the cockpit. So we waited in a line in a couple different planes just to go inside and scope it out. It was worth it though. 

If you follow me on Snapchat you saw a few snaps from the weekend (@skylarrain) and got to see some short clips of the Thunderbirds performance which was really, really cool!

Murph

If you have any friends on social media who do CrossFit, you’ve probably seen their posts about doing Murph this past weekend. (Please click here for the background and more info on Murph.) Murph is a traditional Hero WOD that is done in honor of Lt. Michael Murphy.

Murph consists of:

1 mile run

100 pull-ups

200 push-ups

300 air squats

1 mile run

*20 lb weight vest 

The box I went to Monday is the box that I first started CrossFit at. Murph has become my yearly benchmark WOD to see how I’ve improved since the year before. One of my first workouts was Murph in 2014 and I only did a half. Last year was my first time doing a full Murph and it took me 60 minutes. So this year was my third time to do it. My Mom and sister were able to come out to be my personal cheerleading squat and photographers, so I’m thankful they came to support me and took all these photos.

Anyone who has done Murph before knows how tough it is. The first mile run was pretty smooth. Since I don’t run much over 800 meters at a time anymore, I’m not in the best running shape. I broke my reps into Cindy for 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats. And of course I don’t wear the 20lb weight vest (maybe next year….or never). 

I got going and by round 5 I was having to take a few breathers with push-ups and was doing them on my knees. Round 10 came around and I took a deep breath and was like well I’m halfway there. It felt like I still had forever to go. (I promise I squat deeper than the photo below shows.)

Cycling through the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats wasn’t too challenging mentally. I just focused on the set I was working on and getting through those reps. The last 5 rounds or so of push-ups I had to really talk to myself. Like I was seriously muttering under my breath to myself to “come on” “keep going” “3 more” “2 more”. 

I didn’t hit the dark place in the pain cave until the last mile run. Like everyone else, my legs felt like jello and I was hurting. The deceiving thing about the way the mile run was set-up was that we ran down the street and back for ½ a mile and had to turn around at the entrance and go back to do the last ½ mile. It was so disheartening to have to turn around on that last mile and go back down.

The last mile I really had to push-myself and take my mind to a different place. I did take a few short walking break probably 3 or 4 times during the last mile. To push through that I thought of my boyfriend (he’s in the Army and does cool stuff) and how if he was with me he wouldn’t let me quit and would be pushing me not to walk. I thought of the young man whose name is engraved on the bracelet my boyfriend wears every day and that he can’t be here today with his family. I thought of Lt. Michael Murphy.  This is kinda weird, but I thought of the movie Lone Survivor and the guys in that movie and all the pain and suffering we saw them endure through the movie alone. (If you’ve seen the movie Murphy is the one who climbed back up to the top of a cliff to make a call to get help for his men.) Basically I was reminding myself not to be a wuss and to suck it up. Eventually I finished.

I finished in 49:11. That’s 11 minutes faster than I did the year before. I’m happy with my time and the progress I’ve made in a year. Last year I know I was breaking up pull-ups in 3s and 2s. Push-ups probably took me a little longer too. The run killed me both times. 

However, we need to remember that Murph isn’t about burning calories or getting a good workout in. It’s honoring those who gave their life for our freedom. Our coaches at the box reminded us that it doesn’t matter how long it takes us to do Murph or how we have to modify it, the core reason of why we do it is the important part. 

Once again another weekend is almost here. After Monday I’ve spent this week at my internship, working out, and editing photos. Tomorrow I’ll be heading off to Austin to second shoot a wedding! 

How was your weekend?

Anything exciting for this upcoming weekend?