In life, there are challenges that are acute: a one-time lightning bolt, tough but quickly finished. The bruises stick around, but life is otherwise quickly returned to normal.
The tougher stuff is the chronic: continuing recurring tests without a clear end in sight. These take a different kind of endurance; a toughness that makes survival of the short-but-tough stuff seem almost lazy.
Though we'll all certainly be faced with both, we're lucky in that preparation in the one column helps with coping in the other. You can prepare for the chronic through the practice of the acute. The opposite, however, is less true: a marathoner will not have an easier time with Fran than you will. But you, CrossFit athlete, will be able to struggle your way through 10k, given enough time, a running clock, and Cam's coaching.
Every year, just before summer, we test your resilience. Each of these workouts stands on its own as a tough highlight to a whole week of WODs. Each is a highly-contested record on the Board. If you're a CrossFitter, you may forget to buy milk, but you'll always know your Angie time. In a world where we gauge success by performance at objective tasks, these six form a good picture of your progress. Put together, they're daunting; your goal is just to survive, and try to PR at every single one.
To participate, show up to as many as you can. Add your time totals together; that's your Baseline score. No special registration, but a special commitment. Try to make them all.
Monday: "Angie" – 100 pullups, 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats. For time.
Tuesday: "Michael" – Run 800m, 50 situps, 50 back extensions. 3 Rounds for time.
Wednesday: "Grace" – Clean and Jerk 135lbs. For time.
Thursday: "Fran" – 21-15-9 of Thrusters and Pullups. For time.
Friday: "Kelly" – Run 400m, 30 box jumps, 30 wall ball. For time.
Saturday – "Midnight 5k," starting at 12 midnight. Varsity Cup (teen competition) starts at 8pm!
Picture: Rich Leblanc on the edge of the CN Tower this weekend.