For the first time in my 16 year fitness career I got a chance to witness the NYC Marathon up close and personal this weekend.  To say I was in awe would be an understatement, I was simply blown away.  While I was there to support Dan De Rienzo and Aviv Mihalic on their 26.2 mile journey I could not help but be captivated by the entire experience.  It was everything I had expected and then some!

The day started at about 10:40am with a power walk through Central Park in effort to see the elite men and women make their way into the home stretch.  Although a valiant effort this proved to be a failed attempt.  These athletes covered more than 10 miles in the time it took to walk roughly 15 blocks.  The next stop was the 59th St Bridge, a point we had agreed to meet in case Dan or Aviv needed anything.  As we tracked their progress and waited anxiously for a chance to cheer them on directly we saw literally hundreds, if not thousands, of men and women run past us on 1st Ave.  Some ran as if sprinting while some ran at a smooth steady pace.  Some looked like they might be cramping while others looked like they could go on forever.  Some even walked, but everyone had a big smile and a look of determination to finish what they had started back in Staten Island on the Verranzano-Narrows Bridge.  Finally, Dan and Aviv appeared and we spent the next 5 minutes grabbing a hug, sharing a quick story and posing for a few pictures.  As they headed off for what was roughly a balance of 10 miles my mind started wandering and racing at the same time.  First off I was beyond  impressed and proud, I knew how hard they had both worked to get to this point and now they were literally killing it.  Then I started thinking could I do this? Did I want to do this? Would anyone else be motivated/crazy enough to join me? I would mull these questions over for the rest of the day and subsequent evening.

Four hours and fifty three minutes after they started Dan and Aviv finished their first NYC Marathon, for Aviv this was her second marathon (she ran Philadelphia last year).  After a long day I finally went to sleep sometime around 10pm last night and was awakened in the wee hours of the morning, my mind already hard at work.  As I lay there in the dark trying to fall back to sleep I could not help but continue to mull over my thoughts from the marathon.  Alas, an idea was born and I have appropriately named this idea Beards, Bulking, Bros, Bras (credit to Doug here) and Boarding.

Now let me take a few moments of your time to explain the rationale behind the name and what the point of this blog will be going forward.

BEARDS

So I have been told everything is better with a beard. There are beards for Movember, playoff beards, hockey beards and so on. In the military members of Special Forces are encouraged to grow beards. People often swoon over celebrity beards. There are beard growing contests, websites devoted to the ins and outs of beard growing and some even suggest it takes a full year to grow an appropriately manly beard. While women do not often sport beards they are more than welcome to, after all there is always employment with the circus. That being said beards can confer some additional warmth during the winter and they can even be used to store snacks for later. I am therefore encouraging anyone that wishes to partake to grow a beard from now until whenever. Pat already has a head start on the rest of us but I'm sure we can give him a run for the money.

BULKING

Ok raise your hand if you like food! Who does not like food after all, admittedly some of us like it more than others. You can put your hand down now, you look funny staring at your computer with one hand up in the air. Who needs to be convinced to eat a little more, especially if they are going to train harder, heavier and longer? It should be no secret by now that fueling your body to grow, repair and perform is absolutely essential to any and all success you will have regardless of your sport or fitness endeavors. As we go into the winter months and concurrent holidays some people refer to this a bulking season, the time of year when we will typically wear heavier bulkier clothing and as a result we can afford to put on a little weight without it being too noticeable. That being said no one will ever advocate eating just to eat or eating an abundance of crap food because the health repercussions will subsequently outweigh the proposed benefits. Here is what I will advocate and what I will personally be attempting to follow, it is up to each individual to decide what is right and works best for him or her. When it comes to eating it takes very little to convince me to eat more, but I do try to keep it mostly healthy with just a few indulgences here and there. I am in Kendrick Farris's camp when it comes to "Pancakes for PR's." I personally hate to count calories and believe it is largely a metric of convenience or inconvenience if you ask me. Therefore, my calorie allotment will be just north of a lot and just short of too much. I am not going to worry excessively about Paleo because I do believe that foods like oatmeal, other whole grains and low fat dairy products can be very helpful during such a phase of training. I even believe pizza, chinese food and moderate amounts of alcohol can have their places in such a program. Obviously the latter three items need to minimized but they can and should be enjoyed. I am not going to worry about whether I have a six pack for the next four months, instead I will be concerned about how much I squat, clean, jerk, snatch, deadlift and even curl. If you do not share these sentiments entirely that is fine I am not here to force my ideas upon anyone, do what is best for you and enjoy the ride along the way.

BROS & BRAS
So I think this part may be self explanatory. Bros = guys and Bras = ladies. I tried to make it rhyme but in the interest of not offending anyone I thought it best to use Doug's idea and that also afforded me the witty title of this blog which of course is themed. We will be starting what will likely be called Bro Sessions on the weekends starting this coming weekend, Sunday November 9th. Before anyone feels this is an unfair title I figured Bra Sessions sounded too much like lingerie party and might confer the wrong connotation. During the winter months these workout will have a strength and power bias, come the spring and summer the bias will shift in accordance with our goals at that point (more on that later). These workouts will be where the shit gets a little crazy. We will be doing longer, harder, crazier workouts. We will be doing partner workouts and team WODs. We will be doing the sort of things that sometimes give people a bad impression of what CrossFit is.  However, we will keep things safe, healthy and efficacious to say the least. We will adjust, modify and scale when and where necessary to make sure everyone walks away better for the time we spend together. For those that are unable to attend do not worry we will post what we do and you are more than welcome to make it up as we go. We will also alternate the days we do these on between Saturdays and Sundays so as to maximize the availability for everyone. It still may not work for everyone all the time but we'll give it the Old School try and see what happens...Let's do it for Blue!! (Anyone get the movie reference?).

BOARDING

As some of you may already know and some may even agree, I generally hate the winter. Between the darkness and the bitter cold I have often thought of moving to California, but alas I am determined this year to make the most of it. CrossFit whole heartedly embraces the notion of expressing our fitness through sport and activities that require a combination of skills both new and old. That is why I am proposing that as the winter months drag along we will try and get out to snowboard, ski and even go ice skating. Whatever the activity we will try and make the most of the next few months and embrace the winter sports so we have something to look forward to.

So here is the plan. For the next 6 months, from now until early April when the weather starts getting warm again, we will train to maximize our strength and power. This will give us a higher baseline level from which to start our endurance training in the spring. Along the way we will go out of our way to plug the holes in our respective game and address the little nagging things that may have already come up or will likely rear their ugly head as we go. Come the spring we will shift toward an endurance based mindset and start adding in some running, biking and even swimming. We will map out our calendar and try to partake in as many competitive and friendly events as we can find.  These may include CF style competitions, 5Ks, 10Ks, Triathlons, Biathlons, hiking trips, rucking sessions and so on. Nothing will be off limits but nothing will be mandatory either. The key for all of this is to have fun, motivate ourselves and hold ourselves accountable along the way so that we see it through to the very end. While I would like to get a list of those that are interested in signing on to this idea I also realize that some people may want to take the ride but get off before the end, and that is fine there will be nothing holding you to this other than your own will and determination. Everyone is welcome regardless of how long they want to be a part of this and despite what their endgame may be.

What is the endgame you ask. Drum roll please...did you already guess it?...be honest...need a few more seconds?...ok times up...we are going to run the NYC Marathon in 2015 as a group! Ok, now that you all think I marginally crazy let me know who is in.