Get Ready to Start Ugly Crying

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by MobilityWOD.

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“People working together in a strong community with a shared goal and a common purpose can make the impossible possible.” — Tom Vilsack

The Ultimate Test of Strength

So you like to lift heavy?

So does Leigh Holland-Keen. She’s a 29 year old Australian nurse who completed the ultimate trial of strength in August; lifting the Dinnie Stones.

Say what?

The Dinnie Stones are a set of 732 pound granite stones in Scotland. Named after Donald Dinnie, who in the 1800’s carried the pair 17 feet across a bridge in Potarch, Scotland.

In the last 60 years, only 76 people have succeeded in lifting them, much less carrying them any distance at all. Leigh was the first woman in over 40 years to do it.

Bad ass.

Leigh competes in Strongwoman, and that’s where her training lies. Her first try was an off the cuff attempt during a trip to Scotland for Strongman comps. Although she failed the first attempt, she realized that it was probably doable. She started training specifically for the stones, focusing on deadlift, trap bar, and deadlift holds to prepare her grip.

Breaking barriers.

Leigh is proud to be representing females in the sport of strong women. “But it’s good to be strong, it’s badass, and I love it,” she said.

Sounds like our kind of girl.

Get Ready to Ugly Cry

You can’t cry pretty.

Carrie Underwood sang it so it’s basically a fact, and if you want to test the theory then watch this. 

Some background. 

Justin Gallegos is a member of the University of Oregon track club. He also has cerebral palsy. In 2017, he set out to join a select few athletes with cerebral palsy to ever complete a half marathon — and his goal was under 2 hours. 

Long story short, he came in just shy at 2 hours, 3 minutes but everyone was all kinds of sobbing and it’s not hard to tell why. You can watch more of it here.

In the midst of all that training…

He told a friend at Nike Running about his two hour goal. He told another friend, and that friend told another friend and then someone told Brett Kirby, a senior human performance researcher in the Nike Sport Research Lab, and Geng Luo, a senior biomechanics researcher.

And they started working with him for months to help achieve that goal, analyzing his running patterns to create a custom shoe to fit his gait. 

Here’s where we get to the good part. 

Like we said, he didn’t hit his goal that day but Justin was determined to continue pursuing it. 

Then one day, a bunch of cameras showed up to practice to capture some footage of Justin training. After they all finished up, Nike’s Insight’s Director, John Douglass, walked up to Justin and presented him with a three year contract as a pro runner with Nike. 

OK, onion ninjas…when did y’all show up?

Told ya. 

Oh and Nike hasn’t been the only company in Justin’s corner. Both RockTape and Xendurance are supporting his athletic career too. 

Coffee Break Conversations

What to tell your neighbor who eyeballs you going to CrossFit every morning while he heads to the local globo gym…

We get it, breakups are hard. Breaking up with your gym is just as hard as breaking up with a partner. It might even be harder, but you can do it. We’ve seen you checking out CrossFit, with its sleek programming, super cute coaches, and all those barbells. Yep. You too can do it. But not until you ditch the other bit. CrossFit won’t work as a sidepiece. You gotta fully commit, and you can. We believe in you!

What to tell your sister when she says tries to quit CrossFit because she’s expecting a wee one…

Not so fast. While every situation is different, CrossFit is still scalable for everyone. These three pregnant Paradiso CrossFit staff members show you what that looks like with three variations based on how far along they are and how they feel. So, much like when you’re injured or new to CrossFit, there’s a workout for everyone. 

Things To…

WATCH: Healing After Tragedy

After delivering a stillborn baby boy, Allison Schwartz spent six weeks on the couch trying to recover from the mental and physical stress of labor and delivery. Then Allison gathered the courage to return to CrossFit, which became part of her healing process.

HAD TO BE STRONG.

HEAR: Scarcity vs. Abundance Mindset

On this episode of She Thrives podcast, host Taylor Gage discusses the scarcity versus abundance mindset, ways you can see this self limiting mindset in action in your life, from your bank account to your career goals to your dinner plate, and how to re-structure your thought process towards abundance.

THIS ONE IS DEEP.

EAT: Creamy Oven Polenta with Mushrooms

This polenta recipe has the ideal ratio of minimal effort to maximum payoff, resulting in a bowl of cheesy, creamy, comforting goodness you barely have to work for, even though it looks like ya did. You can add extra butter, fresh black pepper, or parmesan if you want to gild the lily.

A DINNER IN.

 

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• AN ODD DROP-IN — A koala and its joey dropped in to a class at The Results Room in Mansfield, Australia. Once inside the two wandered around the gym, climbing on the equipment until they settled on a rig. The coach dimmed the gym lights and turned down the music, so as not to scare them, while they finished their WOD. 
• RETIREMENT IN FLAMES — Ed Kranski retired after serving 30 years as a Fire Captain and he wanted to go out on his own terms. An Olympia medalist, Kranski deadlifted 585 flaming pounds in full gear.  
• WOD FOR WATER — WOD for Water, hosted by Crossfit Iliom in Troy last Saturday raised $80,000. The funds will be used to aid people worldwide without the benefit of clean water.
• BURPEES FOR BOOBS — Friday, October 12 CrossFit Fireside is hosting a Barbells for Boobs event and coach Jeff Templeton has also pledged to do one burpee for every dollar raised. 
• NEW CROSSFIT AFFILIATE — Dominic and Betsy Mancine have just opened Renovation CrossFit location in Livermore Falls, ME.

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES (a highlight reel around social media of CrossFit pros and average joes)

Margaux Alvarez is on the cover of BoxLife Magazine • The West Coast Advantage podcast is one month into their vegan challenge • Sean Hollick
dropped-in for a rowing class with Lowell Caylor • Cole and Genasee Sager are in Massachusetts and filled up all four of Katrin Davidsdottir’s
tires • Jason Carroll still got in a Wodapalooza qualifier re-do on his honeymoon • Wes Kitts gets a 210kg/463 pound clean and jerk at the Caffeine and Kilos Invitational last weekend • Congratulations to Christmas Abbott on the birth of her son, Loyal Atticus Abbott • Fifteen-year-old Mady Riddle just got a 100 pound snatch PR.

…and Rich Froning welcomes Tia-Clair Toomey to Cookeville with a three-story belly flop.

“She Just Came to do Grace But Left With a Husband,” by Jessica Danger, Morning Chalk Up

A year ago, Corinne Tindal Cook was a single mom, working two jobs and wrapping up the final stretch in a seven-year-long journey to complete her Bachelor’s degree in Business and Accounting.

To help mark her one year anniversary of starting CrossFit, Corinne decided she wanted to do “Barbells for Boobs” at Rose City Barbell in Portland, Oregon. She had never done Grace before and she wanted to support a breast cancer fundraiser. No one else from her gym was going, but doing things solo had never terrified this single mom before so she committed to going.

Corinne got up and got dressed in all pink but was running late, so when her phone alerted her that Rose City Barbell had gone live on Instagram with the event, she thought she had missed her chance. She messaged them, telling them she wouldn’t make it after all. She hadn’t even left yet.

They weren’t having it.

The person on the other end of Rose City’s Instagram story said, “Just get here.”

Corinne got there and just in time for the coaches to place her in the first heat in a scaled lane. None of the coaches there knew her, and Corinne wasn’t sure she could even do thirty 95 pound clean and jerks in a row. But she was there and now she had to do it.

And she did it. She finished.

Corinne walked around thanking everyone for helping her do Grace for the first time. Then she tried to say goodbye, telling the staff she had to get on back home to her daughter. But one of the coaches told her she should really really realllllllllly stay for the podium ceremony.

Wait. Podium?

Corinne had no idea that she had actually just competed. She thought she was just doing a fundraiser WOD. And she had no idea she had just placed, too.

So, she stayed. She looked around the room filled with strangers eating and laughing and sat down next to a man who was quietly sitting alone. His name is Mike Cook.

“I think that I’m going to be on the podium and I don’t know anyone here. Can you please take my picture?” she asked him.

A few days later, Mike still on her mind, Corinne found him on Instagram and sent him a message thanking him for taking that picture. The two started messaging. Then texting. Then exchanging photos. Then a coffee date.

10/12 – 10/14: Faith RX’d (Denver, CO)

10/13: Barbells For Boobs 2018 (Sutton, MA)

10/13: WOD for a Cause (Bloomsburg, PA)

​10/13: C4 CrossFit Co-Ed Classic (Brunswick, NJ)

10/13: 2018 War in the Woods (Norton, MA)

10/13: The Festivus Games (Online)

10/13: Grand Games 2018 (Westfield, IN)

10/13: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ Red Island CrossFit (Smithfield, RI)

10/13: Barbells for Boobs (Steamboat Springs, CO)

10/13: Older, Wiser, Faster, Stronger (Plymouth, MI)

10/13: The Greenville Games (Greenville, SC)

10/13: Reps For Recovery (Hickory, NC) 

10/13: Kal-Haven Trail Ruck (Kalamazoo, MI)

10/13: Fall Brawl (Saint Michael, MN)

10/13: Sweat for Georgia Mae (Wendell, NC)

10/13: Barbells For Boobs (Southaven, MS)

10/13: Wodtoberfest Co-ed Team Competition (Owosso, MI)

10/13: OUTWOD (Atlanta, GA)

10/13: Battle for the Bell VII: Stranger Bells (Southbury, CT)

10/13-14: Central Florida Throwdown 6 (Lakeland, Fl)

10/13 – 10/14: Box Wars 3 (Fort Valley, GA) 

10/14: CrossFit for Kayden (Fallsington, PA)

10/20: BCS Classic 2018 (Bryan, TX)

10/20: Head 2 Head in Hamilton (Hamilton, NJ)

10/20: Fittest on the Valley VI (Lahaina, HI)

10/20: Crossfit Bona Fide Third Wheel Throwdown (Portsmouth, NH)

10/20: CrossFit Katana Samurai Showdown VI: Trio of Terror (Mansfield, OH) 

10/20: SE Texas Masters of CrossFit Fall Classic (Cypress, TX) 

10/20: Barbells For Boobs (Stamford, CT)

10/20: Filthy 150 Irish Competition (Dublin)

10/20: CFT’s METAvivor Fundraiser (Carol Stream, IL)

10/20: WOD for the Fallen (Columbia, SC)

10/20 – 10/21: The Independence Games (Florence, SC)

​10/20 – 10/21: The Lincoln Invitational (Spokane, WA)

10/21: Chalk It Up 2018 (Akron, OH) 

10/21: Me Jane, You Jane (Santa Rosa, CA) 

10/26 – 10/28: JAKTRX Atlas Games (Montreal)

10/27: Tough Temple Invitational (Rockville, MD)

10/27: Rock Your Box Throwdown (St.Cloud, MN)

10/27: Halloween Havoc (Harrisburg, PA)

10/27: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ CrossFit Trumbull (Trumbull, CT)

10/27: Saberspook Throwdown (Minneapolis, MN)

10/27: Monster Mash (Ann Arbor, MI)

10/27: The Foundry 5K (Steamboat Springs, CO)

10/27: Rock Your Box Throwdown (Saint Cloud, MN)

10/27: Beartown Halloween Beatdown (Lebanon, VA)

10/27: 9th Annual Fall Brawl (Gibsonia, PA) 

10/27: Boo Bash (Cleveland, TN)

10/27: Crush Cancer at Dogtown CrossFit (Los Angeles, CA)

10/27: Sin City Championships 2018 (Singapore)

10/27: Barbells For Boobs at CrossFit New Albany (New Albany, OH)

11/2: Wodapalooza Qualifier – Team (Online)

11/2 – 11/3: Women’s WOD Jam Individuals (Denver, CO)

11/3: The Battle of Port Royal Sound (Okatie, SC)

11/3: Battle for the Badges (St. Louis, MO)

11/3: PPS CrossFit Fall Throwsdown (Portland, OR)

11/3: CFT’s 2018 Strongman Classic (Carol Stream, IL)

11/3: WODamania (Riviera Beach, FL)

11/3: Barbells For Boobs at CrossFit Florian (Norwood, MA)

11/3: Bar Wars 2018  (Harker Heights, TX)

11/3: Masters Of The Midway (The Hills, IL)

11/3: Dynamic Duo Deathmatch 2018 (Southlake, TX) 

11/3: Inferno in the Forge (Lawrenceville, IL)

11/3: Perimeter Rowdown (Atlanta, GA)

11/3: Central Texas Showdown (Seguin, TX)

11/3: Rookie Rollout 3 at Troy CrossFit (San Diego, CA)

11/3: Masters of the Midwest (Greenwood, IN)

11/2 – 11/4: Reignited Games 2018 (Wilmington, NC) 

11/3 – 11/4: Charlotte Throwdown for Mental Health Awareness (Charlotte, NC)

11/04 – 11/05: WODNATION BR (Vinhedo, Brazil)

11/10: Emerald Coast Honor Games (Destin, FL)

11/10 – 11/11: South Loop Games (Chicago, IL)

11/10: Metcon 4 Hope (Reno, NV)

11/10: Best of the Wurst (New Braunfels, TX)

11/10: Warrior Affiliate League Delta Force (Duarte CA)

11/15: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ Hybrid Athletics Bridgport (Bridgeport, CT)

11/17: Reps For Rescues (Peru, IL)