Certain WODs at KOP are always performed in conjunction with holidays. On Halloween, we do Wolverine. On Valentine's Day, we do "Just Stop Talking To Me", aka "The Valentine's Day Massacre". And on Memorial Day, we do Murph. Murph is a hero WOD that holds special significance in the Crossfit community. Fran is probably the most well known workout in the Crossfit world (how dare you not know what your Fran time is!), but Murph may very well be the most iconic. A version of Murph has shown up at each of the last two Crossfit Games. A reimagining of Murph even appeared at this year's Regionals. It is a really tough WOD that honors a really tough man. Murph honors Michael Murphy, a Navy Seal who was killed while on a mission in Afghanistan. If you've seen the movie Lone Survivor, then you are familiar with Murph's story. This WOD can take over an hour to complete even if you do it without the weight vest you are supposed to wear to meet RX standards. Here's what's involved in Murph:
"Murph"
1 mile run
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 air squats
1 mile run
*Men wear a 20 pound vest, women wear a 10 pound vest
That's an awful lot of work for one person to do, so most average Crossfitters (or below average ones like myself) will either do half of that work or they will partner up with someone and split the bill. I had only done this one time before and that was back in 2013. I was a Crossfit newbie, so "1/2 Murph" was really my only option as I was not fit enough to do the full workout and no one wanted to spend all day long splitting the workout with me. For the pull-ups, I used multiple thick bands to slowly get through my 50 reps. My push-ups were almost certainly range of motion (ROM) rather than the real deal. I think I did the air squats properly, but it's possible that I shorted those somehow. When it was all said and done, 1/2 Murph (no vest) took me 32:29 to complete.
Having stumbled upon a more efficient way to get through workouts with a lot of pull-ups (this would be my second WOD in a week with 100 pull-ups in it), I gave strong consideration to doing full Murph without the vest. 200 push-ups was a lot, but I thought if I split them up enough, I could slowly get through all of that work. I could definitely do 300 air squats and some extra running would do me a world of good. (Note: This WOD begins and ends with a run, but everything in the middle doesn't have to be done in order. You can split it up however you like. A popular strategy is to repeat rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats.) I might be the last one done, but hopefully I wouldn't be 10 minutes behind everyone else.
Holiday workouts typically take place at 10am and I was in no hurry to show up early. With this being a friends and family WOD, things were bound to be a bit chaotic in the gym. These workouts never end up starting on time, so if I rolled in right at 10, I wasn't worried about being late. (At a typical class, the 400 meter warmup run might begin a minute or two early and then you've got to run out the door and play catch up.) When I walked into the gym, I had a hard time finding a place to drop my bag. It was that crowded. Here's a shot of everyone (ok, maybe not Jill A) warming up:
Take the group warmup seriously, Jill!
Before that warmup began, the coaches discussed the various options we could go with for this WOD. The vast majority of the participants were doing 50% of Murph. It was just a matter of whether they were doing it on their own or doing it with a partner. Danielle was standing off to my left and she asked me what I was doing. I told her I was thinking about doing full Murph without a weight vest. "Why would you do that?", she asked me. I didn't have an answer. I guess it just seemed like the best option at the time. At least it was until Danielle asked me if I wanted to partner up. Less work and guaranteed rest? Sign me up! Danielle was even on board with some extra cardio as we semi-agreed on running a mile at the beginning and at the end of the workout rather than the typical 800 meters most teams would be doing. (Semi-agreed because I got confused as to what we were doing on the first run as you will soon see.)
Envision everyone in that photo above charging through a parking lot at the same time. That is how Murph began. Those of us running a half-mile would make one trip out to the 800 meter turnaround point and back. Sickos like Danielle and I would be making two trips out before we could head into the gym. Danielle and I were about mid-pack when we got back to the barricade where we started our run. And that's where I got confused. I had spoken to a bunch of other people before we began and got a mix of responses as to whether they were running a half-mile or a full mile. As I turned around at the barricade to head out for my second 800 meter loop, I saw some people who I thought were running a mile keep charging past the barricade. Did we turn around too early? Maybe we were supposed to run to the gym entrance before heading back out? I pivoted again and ran back towards the gym. As I started to cross the street, I saw those people run into the gym. Wait a second. They were definitely not running a mile. Danielle noticed I wasn't with her any longer, turned around, and yelled to ask what I was doing. I didn't have much of an answer, so I shrugged my shoulders and double-timed it to catch back up with her.
That first mile wasn't so bad. We kept a decent pace even though we didn't have a whole lot of company during the second half-mile. When we returned to the gym, our first objective was to find someplace to work. It seemed like every bar on the pull-up rig had an athlete on it. The floor was covered with people doing push-ups or air squats. It was going to be tricky finding real estate, especially since we were late to the party. Danielle was leading things off for our team, so she headed off to the pull-up rig while I tried to stake a claim to a small patch of the gym so that she could do her push-ups and air squats once she was done with her pull-ups. The two of us were going to alternate rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats. Once we both finished 10 rounds, we could head out for another mile run.
Recap of Danielle's rounds: They seemed very fast! Ok, that might have been because when she was working, I was resting. I never felt like I got enough rest between my rounds. I think Danielle did single reps on the pull-up bar. She snaked her push-ups, so she didn't have to break up her 10 reps like I ended up doing every round. She didn't appear to have any problems moving through 15 consecutive air squats at the end of each of her rounds. Definitely the stronger member of the team.
Recap of my rounds: They were very slow! At least I felt good on the pull-up bar. I was sticking with my mild-kip singles every round and they worked out well for me. The push-ups were much worse than the pull-ups (who knew a day would come when I would say that?). The toughest part of the pull-ups for me was finding a high bar that was free. Even when there was an unoccupied high bar, I had to worry about swinging into someone using one of the adjoining low bars. During the middle rounds, I kept getting to the high bar at about the same time as Chris S got to his low bar. We didn't say anything to one another, but soon we developed a pattern where we would move through our quick singles together without hitting the other. He would swing through and then as he pulled his chin up over the bar, I would begin my swing through. And vice versa. Round after round, we were able to make our way through our pull-ups without slowing the other down.
Chris getting ready to swing as I complete one of my pull-ups
My plan for the push-ups was to do two sets of five. I probably did 5 or 6 rounds like this, but I could tell early on that this was a dumb strategy. Whenever I completed the 5th push-up of my first set, I felt like I could do more. Then I'd barely get through the five I needed in the second set. I should have just rode the momentum in set #1, got as many as I could, and then did the remainder in set #2. Towards the end of the workout, I did a couple rounds where I led off with 6 push-ups and one where I led off with 7 push-ups. Sometimes it is best not to overthink these things.
I never had to stop during my sets of 15 air squats, but my pace definitely slowed down as this WOD dragged on. I really threw on the brakes in the final round because it dawned on me that I was going to get no rest before I headed out on my last mile run. (I should have went first when we got back from the initial run. Sometimes it is best to overthink these things.) Danielle was all ready to go when I completed my 150th air squat, but I was exhausted as we headed back out the door. I couldn't keep up with Danielle as we embarked on the first half of the mile run. She was well over 100 meters ahead of me when I came back to the barricade.
It was my idea to run two miles, but with a half-mile to go, I was experiencing an overwhelming amount of regret. I wasn't jogging very fast and I desperately wanted to walk instead. That's when reinforcements came to my rescue. Mr. Intensity had completed his workout and was waiting outside to cheer me on. He could see I was struggling badly, so he took it upon himself to run with me. He probably didn't think he was helping me initially as I wasn't able to pick up my pace very much on the journey away from the gym. But once I got to the turnaround point and was able to run downhill for a bit, I hit my stride. I carried the momentum up the last small incline towards Frosty Falls, then turned it on with everything I had left as I sprinted towards the gym. Danielle had probably finished a full minute earlier, but the clock didn't stop for our team until I ran through the door. Final time: 49:12.
While I was lying on the floor recovering, I saw Cline completing his last round of pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats. He had decided to do Full Murph without a vest and there was still a mile run awaiting him before he'd reach the finish line. I cheered him on as he headed out the door. I could sympathize with how awful that last run was going to feel. So I tried to follow Mr. Intensity's example. When Cline made his way back to the barricade, I decided to go out with him on the final 800 meters of his run. Maybe it was because I was no longer on the clock, but that 800 meters I ran with Cline felt better than the one I did to complete my workout.
Whenever we do a hero WOD, we're told the story of the soldier that we are honoring. We are told to remember their sacrifice and to push extra hard during the workout. But maybe it's not about the intensity we bring to these workouts. Maybe it's better to honor these heroes by following the code that they lived by: leave no one behind. Our Murph times may not have been outstanding, but Mr. Intensity made sure I didn't have to complete this workout on my own. I made sure that Cline didn't have to finish solo either. And when all of us were accounted for, we got together for a group photo to commemorate the day.
The KOP crew after completing Murph
Tuesday preview: Heavy back squats and a cash-out involving the assault bike and GHD sit-ups.
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