A big phew from me for taking on the Fight Gone Bad this morning. And, although the image I chose is more related to doing a marathon, in a way, Fight Gone Bad is like a 17-minute marathon. You're more likely to puke at FGB, but, given the right moment, you just might shit your pants, too. The wall comes somewhere near the end of the second round.

Back in 2002, I finished the Portland, Oregon marathon. I alternated walking and running, but had a plan not to run until about the halfway point (after a major hill). I was so excited the morning of the race that I got to the site and realized that I'd forgotten my timing chip back at the hotel, about 6 blocks away. I panicked and ran all the way back to the hotel and then all the way back to the site. And I still had so much adrenalin that when the starting gun went off, even though I was toward the back, I started running. Luckily, one of my friends reminded me that we hadn't even crossed the start line yet and maybe I'd like to save my energy for the race. I was okay after that and finished the marathon in a little over 6 hours, which I was totally happy about. The next day I was sore, but was still able to go for a hike. Ah those were the days.

Last night I was getting so nervous about the Fight Gone Bad that I started watching videos of the lifting moves and practicing them. This morning, too, I had so much nervous energy that I started to get a little headache from it. I guess this is how I know that an event is important to me. Some of you donated money for me, and that gives this event even more personal meaning. It really means so much to me! I carry that with me into these events and it pushes me to do my best. And I like to see what I can do. I don't really know until I do it. But, just like the marathon, I have to hold the reigns when the buzzer goes off. This was especially true today, since I was doing the FGB after being out from Bulldog all of last week and not attending regularly before that. When I hurled the first wall ball, I knew it really was a fight.

And I made it through, of course. I don't think my number of reps (202) is as high as last year, but I know that my lifts were better in form this year and I felt stronger. I also know that I really need to work on my wall ball technique. This is a new goal for me. I've read in a few places that before you do your workout, it's a good idea to do your warm-up and then take a few minutes to practice something that you suck at. Friends, I'm going to practice wall ball.

Oh --and if you have no idea what wall ball is --it's taking a 10-20 lb medicine ball, doing a squat while holding the ball at chest height and then springing up while hurling the ball at a point 10-12 feet up on the wall, then catching it as you simultaneously go back down into your squat position. I managed to whack my face into the ball twice today, but also, I was just completely exhausted by the movement involved in each hurl. And I was only using a 10 pound ball.

Watching the Crossfit games this week on ESPN2 (next round is on 9/21) and then doing the Fight Gone Bad for my second time, I realized that going to Bulldog and doing workouts, getting better and feeling stronger, are so important to me. But lately I've been struggling with making it there regularly, which really is the key to making progress. So I'm taking the inspiration from this past week to recommit myself to Bulldog and to getting stronger. The first step to being successful with this is to get my ass up (and get to the early workout at Bulldog). Thanks for coming up with this catchy rap, Vanilla Ice: http://youtu.be/ZwQyG7iD92A.

(Thanks to "brilliantly sarcastic responses to completely well-meaning signs" at http://www.happyplace.com for the last image.)