Memorial Day Murph

What will you be doing this Memorial Day? Some of you will attend services and parades, others of you will place flags at grave sites…but many of you will simply cookout, swim, drink, and enjoy the three day weekend…the “unofficial” beginning of the summer season….without consciously considering the meaning behind the holiday, and that is fine…because those for whom the day is dedicated fought and died for our very freedom to ignore it….so that we can live in a world where we are not obligated to honor or thank them… it may seem illogical, but soldiers fight and die for our freedom…even if that freedom makes them invisible.

Monday May 28, Crossfit athletes, veterans, currently deployed military personnel and many others will participate in a fairly new Memorial Day Tradition called the Memorial Day Murph. Named in honor of Lt. Michael P. Murphy a Navy Seal killed in Afghanistan in 2005, the “Murph” is a workout that he used to call “Body Armor” because he would complete it wearing his military armor. The workout consists of a one mile run, followed by 100 pull ups, 200 pushups, 300 air squats and then another one mile run. It was one of his favorites. When he was killed, the workout was re-named “The Murph” in his honor. The formal participation in this workout anytime over the Memorial Day weekend honors Murph and his contributions to the Navy. (a link to his story and foundation follows this article)

I belong to White Mountain Crossfit here in Concord and when the information was written on the white board at the gym I quickly went to the website and signed up. WMCF will be doing “The Murph” together as a gym Saturday at 9 a.m. A few of us who couldn’t make that time did it Thursday morning. You don’t have to officially sign up to participate, but the “Memorial Day Murph” is a non-profit foundation that contributes every penny raised to charities and foundations that support veterans, military families, and other charities associated with the military. There are no paid employees in this foundation.

As Thursday approached I began to get nervous. I don’t typically get nervous before Crossfit workouts but this one was different, first because, it had a bigger meaning than my fitness level, so I felt a responsibility to give it my best effort and second, it is a bit harder than any workout I have done at Crossfit yet so I knew it would hurt, and that it would talk me a long time. My good friend Robyn Grant and a newfound Crossfit friend Allison Timmons-Ordway showed up at 7:30 and began the workout. Chandler Pellock and I would start at 8. They were worried that the workout would take them more than an hour and wanted to be sure to finish in time for work. (They did this with minutes to spare!) As I pulled into the parking lot they were just starting out. I got a lump in my throat. I know that our participation in this workout won’t bring Murph and others like him back to their families, but I whispered his name anyway as they disappeared around the building. They were back into the gym and starting their rounds of chins, pushups, and air squats when Chandler and I took off. Of the four of us only Chandler did the workout in its purest form, Robyn, Allison and I did ring rows in place of pull ups (next year!!) as we are newer Crossfitters and are still working on that skill.

The entire first mile all I could think about over the roaring in my ears was the rest of the workout! I pushed self-pity away by thinking of the people among us who endure far more physical and mental hardship than I would in this workout. Chandler’s back 50 yards ahead of me kept me focused. Upon entering the gym and starting the 20 rounds of 5 ring rows, 10 pushups, and 15 air squats I got into the zone. I love this place…it happens to me in races and really hard workouts…a feeling of being next to myself…nothing really hurts anymore and my mind becomes free. As Chandler and I made our way through the effort we were encouraged by others in the gym and by one another. Robyn and Allison finished (yay!) and went outside so that they could cheer us on as we completed mile number two. This mile was much more painful than the first, but the relief of being able to stop at the end kept me going. That, and my thoughts of Murph...his family and friends...floating through my mind as I sprinted to the finish. So there we were, the four of us, behind the gym, on a Thursday morning in Concord…sweaty, tired, sore….one physically fit young man and three mothers of varying ages and fitness levels, brought together by one crazy Crossfit Gym and one hero, Lt. Michael P. Murphy.

Happy Memorial Day everybody!

http://www.memorialdaymurph.com/index.html