Tia-Cair Toomey is Confirmed for Wodapalooza

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by RPM Training Co., a lifestyle inspired union of training, adventure, and design.

Can Jacob Heppner beat his RPM Double Fran Challenge?

Fran

100 Double Unders with weighted Scout Rope

10 Peg Board Ascents

100 Double Unders

Fran

10 Minute Time Cap

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“You can only control two things; attitude and effort.” — Dan Bailey

How One Woman Returned to CrossFit After a Helicopter Crash

The story.

Carol Gray, at 65-years-old, was taking flying lessons from her instructor, Harvey Shubart, when they lost control and made a hard landing into nearby marshes around 9:30 AM on Friday, August 10.

Both her and Shubart got out of the helicopter on their own and were rushed to the hospital via ambulance. Both survived.

That’s amazing.

“I truly believe because of CrossFit that I was able to walk away from the crash with little to no long-term physical disabilities or loss of quality of life,” Carol said.

When the helicopter Carol was flying plummeted into a marsh, she was completely upside down, suspended from her seatbelt. “Because I am flexible, I was able to get one leg on the ground, hold myself with my arms in an upside-down position and release the belt without further injury. I am thankful for CrossFit stretching and flexibility skills, upper body strengthening, and handstand pushup movements. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that handstand pushups would help save the day!” she said in an interview.

How is she now?

Carol’s injuries from the crash required surgery on a knee laceration. “As a nurse practitioner, I know very well that with this mechanism of injury, the incidence of neck and back injuries are very high, and usually result in prolonged pain and loss of quality of life. I am positive that because of my core body strength and ongoing training, that I did not have neck and back injury at all. Again, I have CrossFit to thank.”

After her knee surgery, Carol wore a full leg brace that did not allow for any bending of her right knee. But Carol was back to work two weeks later, finished physical therapy early, and returned to the fitness at Hardbat CrossFit just 8 weeks after the crash.

“I am very lucky to have survived a helicopter crash, grateful that I survived without life threatening injuries and most importantly without loss of quality of life. Thank you CrossFit, I’m back!”

Coffee Break Conversations

So you want to start Black Friday early…

Margaux Alvarez and the Vine Yard are hooking you up with 50% off all apparel with the code “BLACKFRIDAY.” And also, 2POOD is offering 15% off site-wide to Morning Chalk Up readers (that’s you, people!) with the code “CHALKUP15.”

We thought this was really cool…

Over the past six years, Ft. Wright CrossFit members have welcomed over 40 babies and more than half of them have been delivered under the care of Dr. Allana Oak, a longstanding member of the gym.

Things To…

WATCH: Rich Froning Interview, Part One

Rich Froning sat down with BOXROX while in Berlin. He shared some details on his European tour with Chris Hinshaw, how he would introduce himself to a non-CrossFitter (a who now?), and how cool it is to see that CrossFit community around the world.

HI, MY NAME IS RICH. 

HEAR: Kristin Miller on the Legion Podcast

CrossFit Mayhem athlete Kristin Miller joined the Legion podcast to discuss how they develop team communication skills for competition, how Mayhem is approaching the changes to the 2019 CrossFit Games season, and what actually happens at Mayhem on a daily basis.

SPILL THE BEANS, KRISTIN. 

EAT: Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates

Sweet and savory bacon wrapped dark chocolate and goat cheese stuffed dates make a fun, delicious appetizer to serve a crowd. These little bites have hints of dark chocolate, creamy goat cheese, and crispy bacon. They’re guaranteed to impress guests!

UHHHHH YES PLEASE.

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Chalk Up Community

• WODS FOR WARRIORS — In total, 225 gyms came together together to raise just over $60,000 this year. All of the funds will go directly to Team RWB’s programs to help reach more veterans. 
• FUNDRAISER FOR LIMO VICTIMS SON –– More than 90 athletes came together Saturday to compete at the Fall Brawl in memory of Mary and Rob Dyson, who lost their lives in the NY limousine crash in October. All proceeds from
  the competition go to Mary and Rob’s son Isaac.
• REPS FOR RESCUES — Reps for Rescues had over 30 athletes working together for the Illinois Valley Animal Rescue this weekend at their first fundraiser. A highlight of the event was when a young girl personally donated $385 that she had raised on her own. 

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

Happy eighth anniversary to my Push511 • Congratulations to CrossFit Snyder members in Snyder, TX who just finished a six week challenge and lost 344 pounds total.

…and the next time you think you just cannot row another meter, remember these two. 

Shaping Up Nicely — Wodapalooza has begun announcing their elite roster for January and the first announcement is none other than Tia-Clair Toomey. 

Australian CrossFit Championship Week One Online Qualifier — The first round of Online Qualifier scores are due today for the Australian CrossFit Championship. Submit your scores by 3:00 PM PT and follow the leaderboard. 

— What’s next: The next two WODs will be announced today at 5:00 PM PT. 

— Anything else? Yes, actually. Jacob Heppner just signed up and, as of this writing, is leading the men’s leaderboard. Some other CrossFit Games athletes you’ll recognize are Dean Linder Leighton, James Newbury and Kevin Manuel on the men’s side and Maddie Sturt representing on the women’s leaderboard.

Fittest in Cape Town Qualifier — On Sunday, the judges finished reviewing all qualifier submissions and the invitations to the top 20 male and 20 female athletes have been sent out. Athletes have 72 hours to accept or decline their invitation.

We’ve put together the full list of qualifiers, but here are a few of the more notable names who qualified, including Lucas Parker who originally sat outside of a qualifying spot. After the video review and leaderboard shuffle, he jumped up six spots.

— Men: 1). Streat Hoerner, 2). Tim Paulson, 3). Jason Smith…4T). Jacob Heppner, 7). James Newbury, 8). Mitchel Stevenson…12). Sean Sweeney…16). Lucas Parker…19). Khan Porter.

…Didn’t qualify: 47). Roman Khrennikov.

— Women: 1). Carol-Ann Reason-Thibault…3). Chelsey Hughes, 4). Lindsey Valenzuela…6). Anna Fragkou, 7). Emma Wright, 8). Alessandra Pichelli…12). Courtney Haley…14). Mia Akerlund…19) Helen Harding.

— Don’t forget: Fittest in Cape Town still has four “wild card” invitations in both the male and female divisions.

Dave Colina, Founder and President of O2 Natural Recovery, talking to BevNet on capital investment and overcoming growth challenges in the beverage industry — “It’s called O2 because it has seven times the amount of oxygen as tap water. When I first started O2 in 2014…I’d just started coaching CrossFit as a way to make ends meet, so when we launched O2 we started to sell in CrossFit gyms.

— “For the first four years of the business, we launched in 2014, and it was literally out of the back of my car…Now we’re at a point where we know we have a product that people love, we play in a very big and attractive growing market, and we know how to attack it. So we’re entering into the high growth phase now.

— “In terms of investment, we’re actually just now closing our first round of major growth capital. We’re a few $100,000 away from closing that round. What we’re looking for is people who have a background of growing this sort of thing, people who can contribute more than just a dollar. I think we’re really focused on folks who have been in this space, scaled high growth companies, who can contribute intellectually as well as financially.” 

“How to Beat the Office Cold…Because You Know It’s Coming,” by Abbey Sharp, the Greatist

It’s that time again. The season of sharing and giving… colds, that is. Yes, just when you thought it was safe at work, Jill from accounting decides she’s not wasting one of her precious sick days and proceeds to sneeze on your croissant. Inconsiderate? Just a bit. And while everyone and their grandmother swears by some combination of foods (apparently that only someone’s mother can make), we’ve dug through the research to determine what actually works to help get over a cold fast.

1. Wash Your Damn Hands

First of all, this is a no-brainer. If your mom skipped this lesson and went straight to ginger ale and soup, she may have missed the mark. If you’re not feeling well, stay home from work, don’t touch your face, and for the love of all things holy, wash your hands. And wash them a lot! No, that doesn’t mean a quick slap under the running water. You need to lather up and rub your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds before rinsing. Sing “Happy Birthday” if it helps, just don’t be gross.

And if you’re already sick, do everyone around you a favor by sneezing or coughing into your sleeve (not your hand) and disinfecting any surfaces you’ve touched regularly after use.

2. Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is good for you, we all know that. And research confirms it may be one of the most important things you do to protect yourself this cold and flu season. Think a solid six hours is enough? Think again. One study found that adults who slept between five to six hours a night were four times more likely to catch a cold than people who slept at least seven hours. As the temperature drops and the sun sets earlier, head to bed early to stay feeling your best.

There’s more here…

11/20: Ben Marconi Memorial WOD (San Antonio, TX)

11/25: Carpathian Games II (Kosice, Slovakia)

11/30 – 12/16: Naughty or Nice Toy Drive (Online)

11/30 – 12/2: Rogue Winter Classic (Cleveland, OH)

12/1: Rock It CrossFitMas Classic (Fort Worth, TX) 

12/1: Barbells For Bootstraps (Beverly, MA)

12/1: Bro Down Throw Down for Cancer Awareness (Bridgeport, PA)

12/1: Push/Pull for Pancreatic Cancer at CrossFit Pawling (Pawling, NY)

12/1: Winter Throwdown 2018 (New York, NY)

12/1: Reindeer Games 2018 (Medford, OR)

12/1: Heroes Challenge (Dallas, TX)

12/1: Vekter Games (Columbia, MD)

12/8: Fittest Alive in the 845 (Poughkeepsie, NY)

12/8: The 2018 Reindeer Games Finale (Del Mar, CA)

12/8 – 12/9: WOD Godz (Shreveport, LA) 

12/8: Rampage Christmas Throwdown (Murfreesboro, TN)

12/8: A Very Krampus Kilofest (Hickory, NC)

12/8: Reindeer Games at CrossFit 321 (Topsham, ME)

12/15: Masters Mania (OKlahoma City, OK)

12/22: The Flanders Throwdown (Zedelgem, Belgium)