Extra Motivation

I don’t do CrossFit, but I always hear about the Memorial Day Murph Workout.
1 mile Run, 300 Squats, 200 Push-ups, 100 Pull Ups, 1 Mile Run. In a weighted vest. In honor of fallen Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy. It was his favorite workout.

Since my husband was doing it today, I decided to push my regular workouts back this week and attempt Murph myself.

It was definitely not pretty. It took me 90 minutes, ten minutes longer than a good beginner time. Nothing I did would have passed a CrossFit inspection. I probably didn’t break parallel in all of my squats. I did girl push-ups. My pull-ups were assisted with a band and a step. My runs were rough. I definitely didn’t wear a weighted vest. But I did it!

Considering I don’t run anymore, I have previously only ever done one pull-up, and push-ups are really hard for me, I am super proud of myself for finishing!

Halfway through I wanted to quit, but I dug a little deeper and found extra motivation. Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, was killed in action in Afghanistan on June 28th, 2005. He was a Navy SEAL who knowingly sacrificed his life by exposing himself to enemy fire in order to transmit the location of his team. Even when he was shot in the back, he still found a way to pick up his dropped transmitter and communicate with the rescue team. 19 servicemen lost their lives in that battle, but one surviving member of Lieutenant Murphy’s Navy SEAL team was rescued.

He didn’t quit, so I didn’t quit. When I didn’t want to go any further I reminded myself of him and the many other servicemen and women who don’t give up. Who take one more step, who fight with everything they have to keep us safe and free. If they keep going, the least I could do was keep going in their honor.

I found some extra motivation thinking about the great sacrifice our military make for us. With every step I told myself, “If he could do it, I can do it.” And I kept going until it was done.

Thank you is not enough for the many brave men and women who continue to fight for our freedom. Today, and everyday, I honor you!

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