Getting the opportunity to Q on 9/11 is a big deal. I’m happy to see that all the men who were given that chance took advantage by creating a tribute to those who lost their lives on that day 18 years ago. I was not going to disappoint the men who showed up at the Abyss. 4 of those men arrived to kick it off at 5:15am so I shared my thoughts.
A special treat was having Boogie Down join us a few minutes into the warmup. As I was talking with him during the workout he shared with me that he lived in NYC during this terrible event. More on that later…
Today I wanted to honor the first responders who lost their lives on September 11th 2001. They were:
343 firefighters (including a chaplain and two paramedics) of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY);
37 police officers of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department (PAPD);
23 police officers of the New York City Police Department (NYPD)
But that was not personal enough, so I gave each PAX a name of one of those 403 first responders and asked each of them to take some time today to look up this person.
I pulled the name of Martin McWilliams, who died at the age of 35 and was part of FDNY Engine 22. He was a new dad, his daughter (Sara) was born only a few months before his death. He was great at fixing things, he loved house projects and working on cars. He played golf whenever he could and was an avid skier. He was a daredevil, who tried flying lessons and skydiving. His sister recalls that he was a terrible joke teller. He would be 53 years young this year.
To pay tribute to these fallen heroes we did the following.
7 Burpees
Then 9 rounds of:
11 Pull-ups
11 Push-ups
11 Sit-ups
11 Squats
Finish with a 403 m Run around our small track = 2 laps
The combined reps for this workout would equal 403. I demanded that the PAX not short any of their counts today, as each rep represented a life lost.
We finished with 10 minutes to spare so we went to our regular hill.
Run down, at the bottom = 9 Bombjacks
Run up, at the top 11 Flutters (DC)
We finished up at COT. I asked Boogie Down if he would share some of his recollections from that day. It was moving, and I’m so glad he joined us to share his experience. What caught my attention the most, was his remembrance of the smell of burnt “stuff” that lasted in Manhattan for months after the attack. If he wants to share more, ask him next time you see him.
An Honor to Lead
Royale