Row, Row, Row Your Boat....For 26.2

The timing was perfect.  I had just vowed to abandon my jump rope for a month after the 5000 Double Under Challenge.  I had decided I was going to work on pullups now between my lifting sets during O-Class.  And then it popped up on my Facebook messages like a bright light coming out of the Internet-Cloud heavens…”Behold…your new CrossFit Challenge.  Go forth and conquer.” To which I aptly replied “Your will be done."

At least that’s what Shaunna would have you believe.  Instead it was another challenge posted by Performance as Rx (the dirty bastards who drove Bryn and I into torn up shins and abandoned ropes).  Simple: Row a marathon.  Say what?  Yes, row a marathon.  You run marathons.  You love half-marathons.  Make the rower your friend and simply row 26.2.  Here, we’ll make it easier for you.  Do it with a team of 4.  It’s only 41,920 meters.  A simple 10,480 m each.  Rich did it.  Him and 2 other CrossFit badasses did it in 2 ½ hours.  So can you. 

And so, with resolve matched only by Barney Stinson’s, “Challenge Accepted!”  Last Thursday, Bryn and myself resolved to row a marathon.  Shaunna, sadly was a no go due to an unfortunate car wreck (she’s fine…car…not so much).  Sad face.  Heather had agreed to join us when she got off of work at 7.  It was 5:45pm and Bryn and I knew we needed to get started if we didn’t want to be there all night.  Row an hour Just the Two of Us?  As motivating as Will Smith’s song is, I wasn’t jiggy with it so we decided to recruit a third victim.  Elizabeth.  Poor Elizabeth.  Poor girl made the dire mistake upon our approach of saying “I hate rowing!”  To which Bryn blessedly replied “Find your weaknesses.  Make friends with them, then beat them to death.”  I love it when he quotes my future ex-husband.  Elizabeth agreed to row with us, but only until Heather appeared.  Having to borrow a pair of my shoes (luckily, I always seem to have a whole CrossFit shoe store in my gym bag) as she was only at the gym because she was locked out of her apartment, Elizabeth began the 26.2 journey with Bryn and myself at 6:30 pm.

We agreed to approach the challenge with smiles on our faces, convinced that the challenge would best be undertaken at a leisurely pace.  While Rich and his team aimed for times that the CrossFit gods would nod approvingly to, fully mortal we aimed at simply finishing – preferably before the next sunrise.  At 6,000 m Heather appeared to join us, and Elizabeth (poor girl) knew she was damned well hooked and would not leave until the challenge was completed.  

Merrily, we rowed along, laughing, joking, wondering where Dickey Blaze was with our pizza dinner (this would never appear).  There were a group of boys using the batting cages next to us and while I’m sure a few softballs were meant for our heads as a little game for them, they clearly enjoyed a chuckle or two witnessing our insanity.  At one point, we had the brilliant idea of working on pullups while the other rowed.  Yes, pullups.  Because it is not enough to use your grip for 26.2 of rowing.  You must try to tear your hands – everyone knows no challenge is complete without blood.

Almost 3 hours later, our row was nearly complete.  With slightly over 1500m to go, we pondered, how should we end this sojourn of ours?  Recalling that Rich & Co. rowed the 26.2 in 2 ½ there was also the little image of that 1;30 something as their finishing ave. time/500m.  Now there’s something we can aim for!  Little ol’ chickadees were not going to pull sub-1:40 at the end of a marathon…but we had a secret weapon.  Very few people know that Superman is a coach at our gym.  We have none other than….the very obsessed with Smallville, Bryn Herrin!  Bryn would be the last rower!  He could pull us to victory!  And at 3:09:46 with a final pull of 1:41/500m victory was ours!  Challenge complete!

P.S. – Performance As Rx you can take your 2012 Thrusters by January 31^st and…..  Let’s just say I will not be participating in a 3^rd challenge at the moment.