CrossFit Invictus: Endurance Events

INSPIRATION

2009-10-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

TEAM:

We are closing in on the final week and we're crushing it!! Friday night's rowing event was awesome. With Kung Fu Panda providing the motivational back drop we had upwards of 15 people steadily rowing away and accumulating some nice meter'age. We had several folks breakthrough into the 20 KM mark, yet everyone did an incredible job...even a couple youngsters took a couple pulls. This Friday will be the last session at the USD row room, so lets all pull together...there are more than enough "ergs".

As many of you may realize I am an easy target for inspirational and motivational stories, but inspiration does in fact live everywhere and reveals itself in many forms...take a look around. For me, I get inspired mainly by the simplest of things, like The Biggest Loser (if only those contestants know how they enrich my life as I watch their journey, their humility and their courage)...by my wife getting 10 pull ups in a row after struggling with just one months earlier or by walking the final miles in pain during her first marathon after training so hard the prior 6 months but just wouldn't quit ... from my 61 year old friend Ben who with his scabbed legs from failed box jumps and other missteps toes the line every morning at 9am to participate in a local CrossFit class...to Pops Martin, who put together 3 20 KM rowing days, yes in a row...or to my 69 year old mom who has battled knee and hip problems, ignoring doctors orders that she would never be able to exercise again, and because of that "stubbornness" is now in the best shape of her life, yes I was primed when I recently came across this motivational pre-game speech delivered by a Junior Varsity coach prior to a championship game.

What I was most amazed by this speech was the nature and context it was delivered. This came from a JV high school coach that probably doesn't make much if anything at all from a monetary standpoint but doesn't let that limit the depth of what he seemingly gives to these kids. In a time when there is a lot wrong with the greater world, these are glimpses of greatness in our time that should be recognized. We should all live life with this level of passion and desire in what we spend our time doing.

I AM A CHAMPION
**Video: Click on the link**

RANKING REPORT

General Classification
Ranked 18th out of 257 - 2,675,318 meters

Team Type Classification - Health Club
Ranked 4th out of 44

CrossFit Rankings
Ranked 1st out of 16

Team CrossFit Invictus By The Numbers
1 Brad Posnanski 451,144
2 Adam Towle M 387,435
3 Elisabeth Baker 180,000
4 Matt Frediani M 168,841
5 Nick Hawkes M 157,809
6 Christine Read F 142,000
7 Aaron Stine M 110,346
8 Mark Riebel M 100,001
9 Jeff Clark M 85,000
10 Pops Martin M 68,000
11 Tabitha Stine F 67,432
12 CJ Martin M 67,000
13 Michele Vieux F 66,150
14 Shane Farmer M 49,775
15 Cynthia Lumley F 46,000
16 Rebecca Claunch 44,100
17 Richard Madrid M 39,022
18 Mike Hom M 37,000
19 Ronald Duff M 36,500
20 Eizabeth Terris 31,266
21 Jon Miller M 30,050
22 Andre Castro M 27,664
23 Amanda Schuk F 24,000
24 Cody McLaughlin 20,239
25 Miriam Castro F 19,300
26 Kristen Hatcher 18,500
27 Courtney Johnson 18,000
28 Carla McDonald F 15,081
29 Susan Kohn F 14,365
30 Moses Aum M 11,029
31 Kenny Greenfield 11,000
32 Calvin Sun M 11,000
33 Kimberly Towle F 10,119
34 Katie McLaughlin 9,500
35 George Economou 9,000
36 joe coneglio M 9,000
37 Rhonda Seabolt F 8,000
38 Sean Erb M 7,500
39 Josh Yonas M 7,400
40 Ari Gelles M 7,000
41 Angela McLean F 6,900
42 Karen Martin F 6,000
43 Kelly Ballard F 5,500
44 Courtland Creekmore M 4,300
45 Brent Clarke M 4,000
46 Christina Marzocca 4,000
47 Nick Zabatino M 4,000
48 Mary Sears F 3,800
49 Shane Hurdman M 3,625
50 Jennifer Henry F 2,625
51 Joshua Edgeman M 2,000
52 Barry Lumley M 2,000
53 Carolyn Kaye F 2,000
54 Rachel Hale F 2,000

Update

2009-10-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

Team:

We continue to motor past all of our early on goals. I realize we are all probably a little bit "over-rowed" right now, but we are coming up on the final week and I see us definitely blasting through 3 million and possibly bumping up into 4 million. We still need 4 more people to cross over the 100K mark by the 15th of October to be one of a handful entered to win an erg for the gym...we are close...but would be nice to have those slots secured!!

Reminder:
1. The roster is locked and unfortunately we can no longer add anyone onto the team.
2. Tonight is our first "Row and Movie Night" at the University San Diego...even if you can't add your meters to the team it should be a great night so bring the kids and swing by. The directions to the event are below.

Here are directions from downtown:

Take I-5 North to the I-8 East exit.
Immediately exit onto Morena Blvd.
Steer right as Morena splits into Linda Vista Avenue (immediately after you pass under the I-5).
Continue on Linda Vista through 4 stop lights and take your first available left into USD after the 4th light.
Park next to the pool entrance, walk into the sports center basketball court, and go to the far west side of the building and you will see signs that say Invictus Rowing Extravaganza.
There are tumbling mats for the kids, and stationary bikes for those who can’t row.

Awesome effort by all...keep it up and we are done on the 15th!!

RANKING REPORT

General Classification
Ranked 19th out of 257 - 2,222,427 meters

Team Type Classification - Health Club
Ranked 4th out of 44

CrossFit Rankings
Ranked 1st out of 16

**Notable CrossFit Rankings**
Closest CrossFit team: No Excuses Athletics-Crossfit - 1,183,886 meters
Local CrossFit team: CrossFit San Diego - 61,844 meters

Team CrossFit Invictus By The Numbers
1 Adam Towle - 372,417
2 Brad Posnanski - 366,755
3 Matt Frediani - 154,608
4 Elisabeth Baker - 150,000
5 Christine Read — 121,000
6 Nick Hawkes - 114,602
7 Aaron Stine - 88,336
8 Mark Riebel - 88,000
9 Jeff Clark — 68,500
10 Michele Vieux - 61,150
11 Shane Farmer - 49,775
12 Tabitha Stine - 47,430
13 Rebecca Claunch — 44,100
14 Ronald Duff - 36,500
15 Eizabeth Terris — 31,266
16 CJ Martin — 31,000
17 Andre Castro — 27,664
18 Mike Hom - 27,500
19 Cynthia Lumley - 26,000
20 Jon Miller — 25,050
21 Amanda Schuk — 24,000
22 Cody McLaughlin — 20,239
23 Miriam Castro — 19,300
24 Richard Madrid — 19,000
25 Courtney Johnson — 18,000
26 Kristen Hatcher — 16,500
27 Carla McDonald - 15,081
28 Moses Aum — 11,029
29 Kenny Greenfield - 11,000
30 Calvin Sun - 11,000
31 Kimberly Towle — 10,119
32 Katie McLaughlin — 9,500
33 joe coneglio - 9,000
34 George Economou - 9,000
35 Pops Martin — 8,000
36 Rhonda Seabolt — 8,000
37 Sean Erb - 7,500
38 Josh Yonas — 7,400
39 Angela McLean - 6,900
40 Ari Gelles — 6,000
41 Kelly Ballard - 5,500
42 Karen Martin — 5,000
43 Susan Kohn — 4,356
44 Courtland Creekmore — 4,300
45 Christina Marzocca — 4,000
46 Mary Sears — 3,800
47 Shane Hurdman — 3,625
48 Brent Clarke - 3,000
49 Jennifer Henry - 2,625
50 Joshua Edgeman - 2,000
51 Barry Lumley — 2,000
52 Rachel Hale — 2,000
53 Nick Zabatino — 2,000

ACCEPTANCE

2009-09-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

Team:

Apologize for the lack of update. I have been fighting illness since Sunday and haven't been doing much of anything...but as does life, the Fall Rowing Challenge has been continuing and CrossFit Invictus continues to deliver.

Brad "POS" Posnanski has been doing yeoman's work on the erg and is the first of our team to crest the 300,000 meter mark with a 120,000 meter effort over that last 4 days. He currently is sitting in 3rd place on the individual ranking for our division. Awesome job and as we all know that is a *$#! ton of meters.

We also have 6 team members who are officially over the 100K mark...we need 4 more to qualify to win an erg for the gym. I know we will get there, with a couple that are nipping on the heels of that goal and others who have committed to the goal. Keep pulling, everyone is doing great.

Reminder: TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO SIGN UP AND ROW FOR THE TEAM...SO LET ME KNOW IF YOU STILL WANT TO PARTICIPATE OR ELSE OUR ROSTER IS LOCKED.

...More later

RANKING REPORT

General Classification
Ranked 20th out of 253 - 1,881,683 meters

Team Type Classification - Health Club
Ranked 4th out of 44

CrossFit Rankings
Ranked 1st out of 16

**Notable CrossFit Rankings**
Closest CrossFit team: No Excuses Athletics-Crossfit - 1,122,217 meters
Local CrossFit team: CrossFit San Diego - 52,328 meters

Team CrossFit Invictus By The Numbers
1 Brad Posnanski - 307,550
2 Adam Towle - 272,403
3 Matt Frediani - 149,080
4 Elisabeth Baker - 137,000
5 Nick Hawkes - 108,602
6 Christine Read — 105,000
7 Mark Riebel - 80,000
8 Aaron Stine - 64,268
9 Jeff Clark — 58,500
10 Shane Farmer - 49,775
11 Michele Vieux - 45,150
12 Rebecca Claunch — 44,100
13 Tabitha Stine - 37,410
14 CJ Martin — 31,000
15 Andre Castro — 27,664
16 Ronald Duff - 27,500
17 Mike Hom - 27,500
18 Eizabeth Terris — 25,238
19 Jon Miller — 25,050
20 Amanda Schuk — 24,000
21 Cody McLaughlin — 20,239
22 Courtney Johnson — 18,000
23 Kristen Hatcher — 16,000
24 Cynthia Lumley - 16,000
25 Carla McDonald - 15,081
26 Miriam Castro — 13,800
27 Moses Aum — 11,029
28 Calvin Sun — 11,000
29 Kimberly Towle — 10,119
30 Kenny Greenfield - 10,000
31 George Economou - 9,000
32 Pops Martin - 8,000
33 Rhonda Seabolt — 8,000
34 Sean Erb - 7,500
35 Josh Yonas — 7,400
36 Katie McLaughlin — 7,000
37 Ari Gelles — 6,000
38 Kelly Ballard - 5,500
39 Karen Martin — 5,000
40 Courtland Creekmore — 4,300
41 Richard Madrid — 4,000
42 Christina Marzocca — 4,000
43 Mary Sears — 3,800
44 Brent Clarke - 3,000
45 Jennifer Henry - 2,625
46 Angela McLean - 2,500
47 Joshua Edgeman - 2,000
48 Rachel Hale — 2,000
49 Nick Zabatino — 2,000

OBLIGATION - Update

2009-09-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

Team:

What can I say? We are just ten days into this odyssey and we have already surpassed one of our early stage goals of 1,000,000 meters and there are no signs of slowing down. I have been doing a lot of thinking lately as well as listening to the same 42 songs that endlessly scroll through my iPhone, that sits in a zip lock bag inside my shorts in the small of my back, that somehow is surviving the onslaught of sweat that I am punishing it with. Anyway, back to my thinking...I am in awe of the community at CrossFit Invictus. Many of us, myself included, are not rowers and most of us cower at the thought of rowing whenever it finds its way into a workout or warm up. So what drives 50+ of our family to sit on an erg, that we detest (remember) and endlessly pull out meter after meter after meter. Why does this challenge seem important for us to participate in...to embrace...not just participate in, but to compete? Every time one of us sits on that slide...straps in our feet...and makes that first tug on the handle...we are at the same time creating and empowering an inner communal strength that makes CFI stand out from the rest of the CrossFit community...we are doing more than simply rowing. The rowing is inconsequential...I would contend that if the challenge was ditch digging...we would still have the same type of unwavering blind obligation that has been revealed in these last ten days...and in this we are different, special, and unique. This is truly what many gyms attempt to attain, create, develop, manufacture...it isn't necessarily how well we do at the CrossFit Games or this event, or any other event for that matter, those are merely mile markers in the long journey CJ set off on months ago and we have naturally become attracted to that energy. Keep up the unbelievable effort...there is no sense in setting an end goal...my instinct tells me whatever we say we will do...we will do better.

Friday Night Row at USD

Shane Farmer, a newbie to the CFI family and recent grad from USD has secured us the use of USD's training facility, fully equipped with erg's and a DVD projector. I would like to open this up to the team to get together for a couple hours to watch a movie and row. I will provide more details later today with the logistics but looking for at least 8-10 people who would be interested. This is also a family friendly environment, so children are allowed to come and hang out as well. Head Coach Brooks Dagman has been exceptionally gracious to open up this venue to us so I would like us to take advantage and assist in a minor and appropriate way financially to support their fundraising for a new boat. Please email me if this is something that you would like to participate in at atowle@me.com

Award Status

If we are interested in getting CFI in the mix for a new erg for the gym, we need at least 10 people to hit over 100,000 meters...we have 4 so far and a number of you are inching closer, so keep it up and if you close...get closer :)

RANKING REPORT (as of 10:30AM PST)

General Classification
Ranked 19th out of 237 - 1,208,386 meters

Team Type Classification - Health Club
Ranked 4th out of 39

CrossFit Rankings
Ranked 1st out of 16

Team CrossFit Invictus By The Numbers
1 Adam Towle - 202,600
2 Brad Posnanski - 135,122
3 Matt Frediani - 121,889
4 Elisabeth Baker - 112,000
5 Nick Hawkes - 85,170
6 Christine Read — 67,500
7 Mark Riebel - 60,500
8 Shane Farmer - 37,525
9 Aaron Stine - 31,130
10 Michele Vieux - 28,150
11 Jeff Clark — 26,000
12 Tabitha Stine - 24,377
13 Cody McLaughlin — 20,239
14 CJ Martin — 19,000
15 Mike Hom - 17,500
16 Rebecca Claunch — 15,600
17 Jon Miller — 15,050
18 Courtney Johnson — 13,000
19 Ronald Duff - 12,500
20 Miriam Castro — 12,300
21 Eizabeth Terris — 11,138
22 Andre Castro — 11,100
23 Cynthia Lumley - 11,000
24 Kimberly Towle — 10,119
25 Moses Aum — 10,017
26 Kenny Greenfield - 10,000
27 Amanda Schuk — 8,000
28 Carla McDonald - 6,335
29 Sean Erb - 6,000
30 Kristen Hatcher — 6,000
31 Calvin Sun — 6,000
32 Pops Martin — 6,000
33 Ari Gelles — 6,000
34 Katie McLaughlin — 5,500
35 Kelly Ballard - 4,500
36 Courtland Creekmore — 4,300
37 Richard Madrid — 4,000
38 Karen Martin — 4,000
39 Mary Sears — 3,800
40 Rhonda Seabolt — 3,000
41 Josh Yonas — 2,400
42 Jennifer Henry - 2,025
43 Brent Clarke - 2,000
44 Joshua Edgeman - 2,000
45 Rachel Hale — 2,000
46 Nick Zabatino — 2,000
47 George Economou - 2,000
48 Carolyn Kaye - 0
49 Trinette Sachrison - 0
50 Barry Lumley — 0

ELEPHANT SANDWICH - Update

2009-09-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Team:

Keep on "pulling"!! We are well within reach of our first 1,000,000 meters and that should fall at some point today. Yesterday we did an incredible 177,000 at this rate our 2,000,000 meters goal will look like underachievement! :)

Brad "POS" Posnanski continues to log in the consistent numbers and is our third team member to cross the 100,000 meter mark. Not only would I want to be in a math class with him, but put me in his boat too!! Remember we NEED 10 people to hit 100,000 meters for Team CFI to earn a shot at winning an "erg"!! What's an "erg"...it is the technical...in the know term...for a rowing machine. An ergometer is a device used to measure work.

Take a moment to check out the team numbers below...I have highlighted those individuals over 50,000, but certainly not to take anything away from every contribution being made. There is some cool saying about "it takes a village" and this is no different. We need everyone to be pulling for this goal.

How To Eat an Elephant

Often times, in a number of different life scenarios I, as I feel most, get overwhelmed by the enormity of a challenge or situation and become paralyzed to even begin or to contribute. In times like these we need to take a step back and bring our attention and our focus to the present moment. The present moment is so fleeting yet so valuable that we squander it with thoughts about tomorrow and the "ouldas" that we miss out on the great opportunity to be a part of something today. This event is no different. I admit, I have fallen victim to thoughts of the enormity of this challenge and the pressures that I have put on myself to contribute to the team...all wasted energy. Whether it is a 5K or 200K contribution each are the right amount, but don't get overwhelmed with trying to attain anything for anyone else other than yourself. Because much like our "whiteboard" that hangs in the gym, come October 15...all these meters get erased...no one wins a million dollars...it is in the self satisfaction that individually we contributed to a team objective that is the goal at hand. So while the overall long term objective may seem ominous...the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time...we will get there...and when we arrive, it will be just as it was supposed to.

Nutrition

I am probably one of the last people to start writing a blog entry on "nutrition" however in this very specific scenario I have a little bit of experience. I have had years of experience doing/training for Ironman distance triathlons as well as other endurance types of events so I know a little about fueling my body during extended training sessions. Before I make any suggestions, the caveat is to be found in the previous sentence..."fueling my body". We are all different and require different amounts of fuel to operate and respond to different types of fuel...so the key is to try things out. The second caveat is if your longest session of movement (specifically rowing) will be 20-30 minutes, your water bottle should be sufficient. It is when you move into the 45+ minutes that your body starts asking for some assistance. You wouldn't fill up the tank in your car in San Diego and head off to New York expecting to make it on one tank...would you? Our bodies are the same...we require constant fueling especially when we are contantly moving. I am not going to get into all the scientific details (because I don't know them) and I will let Mr. Riebel pick up any questions, but I will share with you a brand of products and a process that I use in my training.

I use an assortment of nutritional products from Hammer Nutrition http://www.hammernutrition.com/

During Exercise
1. Sub 1-2 Hours - HEED
2. Over 1.5-2+ hours - Perpeteum or Sustained Energy

Post Exercise
1. Recoverite

Why do I use these products? Check out their site for all the great marketing answers and nutitional information, but for me it is convenience. These are all powdered drinks that have been scientifically designed to deliver the right amount of essential nutrients to the body in a way that the body can use them without the sugars and garbage in a lot of the other products. When you push your body for a long period of time it taxes your digestive system when you try introduce nutrition into the equation...this takes out all the thinking.

Hopefully this helps a little.

RANKING REPORT (as of 9:15am PST)

General Classification
Ranked 17th out of 226 - 906,151 meters

Team Type Classification - Health Club
Ranked 3rd out of 39

CrossFit Rankings
Ranked 1st out of 16

Top 5 CrossFit Affiliates
CrossFit Invictus - 906,151
No Excuses Athletics CrossFit - 564,964
CrossFit Louisville East - 362,012
CrossFit Lethbridge - 346,440
CrossFit Decatur - 192,130
*CrossFit San Diego - 23,257

Team CrossFit Invictus By The Numbers
1 Moses Aum — 5,017
2 Elisabeth Baker - 89,850
3 Kelly Ballard - 3,500
4 Miriam Castro — 6,800
5 Jeff Clark — 18,000
6 Brent Clarke - 2,000
7 Rebecca Claunch — 0
8 Courtland Creekmore — 4,300
9 George Economou - 2,000
10 Joshua Edgeman - 2,000
11 Sean Erb - 4,500
12 Shane Farmer - 15,000
13 Matt Frediani - 121,889
14 Ari Gelles - 6,000
15 Kenny Greenfield - 5,000
16 Rachel Hale — 2,000
17 Kristen Hatcher — 3,000
18 Nick Hawkes - 85,170
19 Jennifer Henry - 1,000
20 Mike Hom - 11,500
21 Courtney Johnson - 13,000
22 Carolyn Kaye - 0
23 Cynthia Lumley - 11,000
24 Barry Lumley — 0
25 Richard Madrid — 4,000
26 CJ Martin — 17,000
27 Pops Martin — 4,000
28 Karen Martin — 3,000
29 Carla McDonald - 6,335
30 Cody McLaughlin — 7,166
31 Katie McLaughlin — 3,000
32 Jon Miller — 13,050
33 Brad Posnanski - 101,095
34 Christine Read — 61,500
35 Mark Riebel - 42,410
36 Trinette Sachrison - 0
37 Amanda Schuk — 8,000
38 Rhonda Seabolt — 2,000
39 Aaron Stine - 14,980
40 Tabitha Stine - 11,310
41 Calvin Sun — 6,000
42 Eizabeth Terris — 6,110
43 Adam Towle - 140,000
44 Kimberly Towle — 10,119
45 Michele Vieux - 28,150
46 Josh Yonas — 2,400
47 Nick Zabatino — 2,000

ONE DAY AT A TIME - Update

2009-09-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

I rode, and I rode, and I rode. I rode like I had never ridden, punishing my body up and down every hill I could find...I rode when no one else would ride.
- Lance Armstrong

Team:

We are doing a phenomenal job...way beyond what I could have expected...but in hindsight, certainly not surprised knowing the types of individuals that constitute the Invictus community. To put this in perspective, in just under a week we have cumulatively rowed 729,174 meters...for those of you who aren't familiar with the conversion, that is just under 500 miles...which is like rowing from San Diego to San Francisco!!! Wow.

While as a team we are doing incredible, there are a couple stand outs that deserve some recognition...as we have mentioned before Matt "The Olympian" Frediani is just over 101K, but the story that is developing is the competitive battle taking place on the East Coast between POS (80K) and Betsy (77K)...this should get a little nasty. :) Everyone's contributions are huge, valued, and appreciated.

I have also added an area for pictures...so feel free to have someone take a shot of you and your misery...then email it to me and I will add it to the group.

More to come later, but here are the current rankings.

RANKING REPORT (as of 7:30am PST)

General Classification
Ranked 18th out of 226 - 729,174 meters

Team Type Classification - Health Club
Ranked 3rd out of 39

CrossFit Rankings
Ranked 1st out of 16

Top 5 CrossFit Affiliates
CrossFit Invictus - 729,174 meters
No Excuses Athletics CrossFit - 486,131
CrossFit Louisville East - 263,237
CrossFit Lethbridge - 254,547
CrossFit Birmingham - 162,144
*CrossFit San Diego - 11,050

ATHLETES ROW - Update Three

2009-09-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

Team:

Incredible efforts and contributions are coming from every direction. Matt "The Olympian" Frediani is the first on our team to break the 100K mark and no sign of slowing down...big Jim "Pops" Martin made his presence known in this contest and threw in his first 1500 as well as a handful of others who are jumping into the action and chipping away. We crossed over the 500K mark at some point early this morning and we are way ahead of our 2,000,000 meter goal, let's aim higher, but let's get there first.

Tomorrow is going to be our first Record Setting Sunday. Pick your best row total and try to blow it out. If you have the convenience what a great way to pick up meters AND watch a football game. How ever you can do it, make the attempt to set a new PR on the "erg"...the time you spend pushing yourself on the "erg" will increase your mental toughness and resolve. It will reveal itself in a number of different ways.

Next week I will provide a couple of thoughts on making your rowing a little more bearable as you continue to adapt to the increased volume.

Protecting your extremities - hands, butt, back, etc.
Workouts - add volume without the "agony" of simply pulling chain
Nutrition - Sub 5K rows can be done with water alone, but your body needs additional support as your time on the slide increases and how can you recover to do it again. I will share what I do and the products I use
Additional inspirational perspectives to ponder as you row

I will update the "individual contributors" numbers on Monday and be prepared to see some incredible numbers and well as the growth of our team. We are up to 44 members with an average contribution of 12,769 meters.

RANKING REPORT (as of this afternoon)

General Classification
Ranked 18th out of 219 - 561,821 meters

Team Type Classification - Health Club
Ranked 4th out of 39

CrossFit Rankings
Ranked 1st out of 15

Top 5 CrossFit Affiliates
CrossFit Invictus - 561,821 meters
No Excuses Athletics CrossFit - 431,927
CrossFit Lethbridge - 254,547
CrossFit Louisville East - 248,222
CrossFit Decatur - 125,580
*CrossFit San Diego - 9,050

FALL ROWING CHALLENGE - Update Two

2009-09-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

Team:

Great work being done by everyone in this first week of competition. The majority of us didn't even know we would be getting so familiar with the "erg" this week much less for the entire month. Having said that...WE ARE IN IT and if we are already there...there's no sense in not trying to WIN IT!! Remember this is a marathon...steady additions yield great results. We need to remain focused especially as we get deeper into it. The benefit in our community...is the support. When I wake up (early...to fit this in my day) I know that someone out there is rowing and I don't want (the million reason why not to row) to stand in the way of letting the team down. Believe me I have a million reasons to not row everytime I sit down...but it is just 1 hour...it will pass whether I row or sleep...might as well row. :) My inspiration is found in the excitement of everyone on our team who email me their daily updates and who chip away at this lofty goal of ours...2 million meters! Speaking of which...if you would like to email me your GOALS/COMMITMENT I will post them so we can all support each other. Let me know. I will kick it off this weekend and post my commitment to the team.

Keep up the great work everyone!!

Who is Kevin "The Olympian" Frediani?

So as many of you may be wondering...as did I, who is Kevin Frediani? Well I found out. Kevin is a 'brotha from another motha'. I actually 'googled' Kevin before actually communicating with him, so I knew that he Crossfitted (is that a word) out of Diablo CrossFit up North. As it turns out, they don't have a team participating and he joined ours...here is an excerpt from his email back to me.

"We don't have any home row people at DCF besides me so I joined your team on the concept2 website. you guys kicked ass at the games. Count me in till october 15th. Im shooting for a 5am & 7pm 5k so gonna try for 50k weekly , 200k finish."

With a commitment like that...welcome to the team Kevin!!

Inspiration

To be honest, I am not a rower and I don't tremendously enjoy myself when I row, however that has never stopped me from doing something that I think has incredible benefits. Participating in this event has opened my eyes to new levels of grit and determination that I have not known outside of professional sports. The culmination of the participants in this event are the average guy/girl who work out next to you daily or that you pass in the street. Taking a look at some of the cumulative individual rowing numbers are staggering...I was so taken aback by this one individuals numbers that I sent an email to get a better understanding of exactly how this person was approaching the event.

Response from my email:

Hi
I set my goal for this challenge at 60K a day. I try to row 40K in the morning before noon. I usually start very early about 5:30am. I am a very competitive person and I like to see our team win and if I don't win I like to make whoever beats me work for it. My goal to be somewhere in the top 10 and the top rower in my category. I usually row 10k per hour or try to. Afternoon is a bit slower. Third week gets a bit rough. Hopefully I can keep it up.

One thing to note...this rowers name is Darlene and she is 66 years old.

Sorta puts things in perspective. :)

RANKING REPORT (as of this morning)

General Classification
Ranked 22nd out of 211 - 345,275 meters

Team Type Classification - Health Club
Ranked 5th out of 38

CrossFit Rankings
Ranked 1st out of 15

Top 5 CrossFit Affiliates
CrossFit Invictus - 345,275 meters
No Excuses Athletics CrossFit - 300,746
CrossFit Louisville East - 194,722
CrossFit Lethbridge - 132,746
CrossFit Decatur - 97,816

Team CrossFit Invictus By The Numbers
Aaron Stine - 3,360
Adam Towle - 60,000
Barry Lumley - 0
Brad Posnanski - 38,723
Brent Clarke - 1,000
Calvin Sun - 2,000
Carla McDonald - 6,335
Christine Read - 15,000
CJ Martin - 4,000
Cody McLaughlin - 6,141
Courtland Creekmore - 2,300
Courtney Johnson - 5,000
Cynthia Lumley - 11,000
Elisabeth Baker - 34,237
Jennifer Henry - 1,000
Jon Miller - 5050
Josh Edgeman - 2,000
Karen Martin - 0
Kenny Greenfield - 5,000
Kimberly Towle - 1,500
Kristen Hatcher - 1,500
Mark Riebel - 23,250
Matt Frediani - 58,037
Michele Vieux - 11,150
Mike Hom - 10,000
Nick Hawkes - 16,191
Nick Zabatino - 2,000
Rachel Hale - 2,000
Rebecca Claunch - 0
Richard Madrid - 0
Sean Erb - 2,500
Shane Farmer - 15,000

FALL ROWING CHALLENGE - Update One

2009-09-17T07:18:00.001-07:00

To begin I want to thank everyone for your support and participation in this event. When you remove all the hoopla and excitement this really is YOUR event. It is a vehicle for you to acheive your own greatness, an opportunity to take a step out of your comfort zone, to challenge yourself and the limits of your own body and mind. The net result will be no less than greatness. No matter how many meters you ultimately contribute, it will be one more meter than you would have done and we will celebrate collectively our own individual successes. One final thought, please don't take this too seriously, it is supposed to be fun, keep it there.

I will do my best to keep this updated as best I can with information that is useful and appropriate for the competition.

Again, thank you to everyone who is participating in their own way.

General Classification
Rank 20th out of 202 - 226,602 meters

Team Type Classification - Health Club
Rank 4th out of 37

CrossFit Rankings
Invictus - 226,602
No Excuses Athletics CrossFit - 220,150
CrossFit Louisville East - 139,772
CrossFit Decatur - 39,498
CrossFit Birmingham - 34,010
Boulder CrossFit - 32,636
Battleborn CrossFit - 28,400
Lynwood CrossFit - 25,512
getBuilt Chattanooga CrossFit - 23,000
CrossFit Row - 22,000
BTB Fitness CrossFit - 10,000
Bulldog CrossFit - 9,019
Sect CrossFit - 8,990
CrossFit San Diego - 1,000
CrossFit Lethbridge - 0

Team CrossFit Invictus By The Numbers
Aaron Stine - 0
Adam Towle - 45,000
Brad Posnanski - 27,563
Brent Clarke - 500
Carla McDonald - 0
Christine Read - 8,000
CJ Martin - 2,000
Courtland Creekmore - 2,300
Cynthia Lumley - 1,000
Elisabeth Baker - 20,637
Jennifer Henry - 1,000
Jon Miller - 5050
Josh Edgeman - 2,000
Kenny Greenfield - 5,000
Kimberly Towle - 1,500
Kristen Hatcher - 500
Mark Riebel - 16,000
Matt Frediani - 48,037
Michele Vieux - 4,000
Mike Hom - 10,000
Nick Hawkes - 10,015
Rebecca Claunch - 0
Sean Erb - 1,500
Shane Farmer - 15,00

Without saying a word we have the power to inspire someone.