Murph and The Lone Survivor

Lt. Michael Murphy

When I first looked at CrossFit’s main site, I stumbled on the lists of Hero WODs and saw the Murph for the first time:

1 mile run
100 pull ups
200 push ups
300 squats
1 mile run
(wear body armor if you have one)

One I realized it wasn’t a typo, I thought WTF? And, sure enough, Murph kicked my ass months later when I finally did it. I bitched about how grueling it was.

Then a fellow CrossFitter told me to read The Lone Survivor (by Marcus Luttrell) the story of Murph and his Team of Navy SEALs who gave their lives serving this country. The heroism in this book is that of legends. I cried from cover to cover. Incidentally, Michael and J.T (also Hero wods) also died in a mission to rescue Murph’s Team.

After I finished the book, I had an entirely different outlook of the Hero WODs. I did ‘Murph’ again and cried through the last mile as I replayed the events in the book in my mind. But, I had no doubt that this time, I gave it everything that I had.

Next time we get the opportunity to do a Hero WOD, let’s do our part in remembering these men. Let’s push beyond our ordinary physical and mental limits to honor these amazing soldiers, officers, and firefighters who embody everything that is good and noble in our country.

~ by ruth on March 16, 2009.