Saturday's "CCT 21/23" Fundraiser was a huge success!!!
Here is how the day's events rolled out from my perspective:
6:30 am. Breakfast: Eggs, bacon, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and almonds. Ready to go!
7:30 am. Arrive at CFFB. It's go time. Time to organize, arrange, and finalize all the details for the day's event.
9:00 am. People start showing up. Whew! I am busy getting people registered and assigned to heats.
10:00 am Brief the little ones on their special part in the opening ceremony. We decided to have the kiddos take part in the opening ceremony and help us recognize the combat controllers and their spouses by presenting them with a small gift and words of appreciation. I sat with them and asked them if they knew why we were gathered together for the day. I explained to them that we were gathered to honor our service men and women, those who fight for our country. I asked them if their fathers or mothers were in the military. All of them raised their hands. I said that we were there to say thank you to them. I explained that we were also there to give a very special thank you to two very brave men in particular who died defending our country. I asked them if they would help me by presenting our service men with a special gift. They were all so excited to help and to give their thanks. It was very moving.
10:15 Opening Ceremony. The mood in the room was of proud but heavy hearts. As the speaker spoke of the combat controllers; his dear friends who paid the ultimate sacrifice while defending our county, I thought about how fragile life is. I was reminded of the seriousness of the job that our service men and women do and the sacrifices they and their families make. I don't think that you can really understand the sacrifices that are made by the service men/women and their families until you've lived a day in the life of a war time deployment. I give all my respect and gratitude to all war veterans and their families.
As the speaker concluded with, "“When you see an explosion in the slideshow, know that people are being killed on the ground. Our job is to crush and kill the enemy, and we are not embarrassed by that. This isn’t Hollywood. This is real, courtesy of people who are right here in this room.” He continued, choking back emotions and saying, “It is important that we look at these guys for who they were and their legacy. If that only meant giving money, then I’d give it all. If it means telling their story, then I’ll stand up here and cry and tell it.” My eyes filled up with tears and my heart full of gratitude.
Michelle then greeted and welcomed the crowd and invited the kids to present their special gift to the service men and their spouses. It was great.
10:30 Holy Crap! It was announced that the workout was starting in about a minute. I was sooo busy taking care of people and odds and ends, I didn't have time to warm up. I didn't even have a weight vest on! I quickly found a vest, but then realized that there wasn't any more room on the pull up bars. I was in a state of panic and I have to admit a little sad at the thought of not being able to participate in the 1st heat. Then, Shayna, a super awesome, super sweet woman, who is always thinking of others said she'd share her bar with me. Just as soon as she scooted over the crowd shouted out:
"3-2-1- GO!" Shayna and I traded back and forth doing 5 pull ups at a time. Then, at 25 pull ups, one of the guys jumped off the bar so I quickly went over to that spot and knocked out 10 unbroken to make up for some lost time. Then all of a sudden, a guy right next to me slipped off the bar and fell. I went over to see if he was okay. He was a little stunned, but okay. By standers encouraged me to continue on. I completed my first set of 50 Pull Ups and took off running.
I gained a little ground on the first run. It was awesome to give and receive "high fives" and words of encouragement from my WOD mates. There are times when you are running out there by your self and you find yourself having mini conversations in your own head. "C-mon, you can do this!" Then, out of no where, your friend will give you a high five and say, "Keep it up!" 1.5 miles Complete.
I began repping out all 100 push ups and then all 200 sit ups. (I didn't know you could go back and forth from push ups to sit ups...I will DEFINITELY do that next time).
Back on the road for the last 1.5 mile run. Still having mental conversations with myself. "You can do this, you can do hard things." I found myself thinking how hard it must be for our Soldiers out in the middle of the desert. I thought about my husband, and what life might be like for him on deployment. I thought to myself, "If they can get through that, then surely I can do this!"
Last round of Pull Ups. I started with a pull up ladder, 1 to 5 and back on down again. That put me at 25. By this time, some of the guys had finished and started cheering on Michelle and I. We were the only 2 girls back on the bars at this time. We were both at 25! I jumped back on the bar and my hands ripped open! With each pull up, I could feel the skin separating from my hands and blood was all over my bar. The last 25 pull ups took me longer than I wanted, but I finished in second place behind Michelle. That is a-okay with me. She is a top-notch athlete!
After catching my breath and drinking my recovery drink, I went back and cheered everyone on. What a great event! It was hard, but is was soooooo fun! The whole experience was just amazing. Words can not serve justice to the sense of camaraderie, the community, and the determination that was present in the building.
What a wonderful way to honor our nations military and fallen Soldiers. The cause fueled the flames to the energy in the room and made it an experience I will never forget.
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