"No Retreat, No Surrender"

It has been a crazy, energy draining, last couple of days. Starting Saturday at Crossfit we did a workout titled "Badger". It's 3 rounds of 30 Squat Cleans, 30 Pull ups, and an 800m run. Honestly, I was really pump to be able to wake up at 9am for this workout. The first round went well, by the second round, I was struggling with my pull ups and the run. By the time I got back to finish the third round, the others, who I was working out with, were already close to start on their final run. I knew I had to push myself a little just to stay close, so I tried speeding through my squat cleans. 8 more to go and I was hurting, I'm not talking muscle pains, this was my tummy. I was feeling woozy so I ran as fast as I could into the bathroom to throw up.
I was out for probably a couple of minutes. By now everyone else was on their run. After my drama with the toilet, I was feeling better, went out, finished the rest of my squat cleans and muscled through push ups instead of pull ups, my hands were close to tearing, and then I nonchalantly ran my final 800m. It wasn't pretty, but I did finished.
Today's workout, Monday, was another test of endurance. For time, we had to do 35 ball slams, 35 pull ups, 35 kettleball swings, and 35 burpees. Luckily there was no trowing up during or after the workout.

On top of everything, today was the final day to get in as many mileage as possible for the running challenge. After a hard workout this afternoon, the last thing I wanted to do was run. But in my head all I can think about was "no retreat, no surrender". The reference is from a 1986 movie, titled, believe it or not, "No Retreat, No Surrender" I felt like I was personally getting beat down by Jean-Claude Van Damme. As a treat, here is a clip of that powerful moment, when those words were uttered.


So after 31 days, here are the final standings. Congratulations to Jill, a true star.

Click image to enlarge

My final run paid off, it put me from 11th place to 10th place, woohoo! My goal was to stay in the top 10 and I barely squeaked by with a total of 17.76 miles.
It's a bitter sweet feeling to say I am glad this running challenge has come to an end, it did get me out running and keeping me in shape. But what did I learn from this challenge? I am competitive to a point, and still, not a big fan of running. Of course I will keep running, to prep for a 5K this summer. So, when there are challenges that face you, and if there are still ways to accomplish them, don't go retreating or surrendering, Bruce Lee would not approve of that. Finish the best way YOU can, and trust me, you'll feel better...after the pain wears off. My next physical challenge will be, to do at least one muscle ups, but that's a whole new post, so stay tune.