Richard Nutall, killed in Afghanistan. The workout was a 20-miniute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes) of 30 box jumps, 20 push presses (pressing 115# over your head 20 times) and 30 pull-ups. As are all Hero WODs, this was a rough one. Pook and I were evenly matched on the box jumps and his youthful strength gave him the clear edge on the push presses. But pull-ups are my specialty, so I had the advantage there. This would be an intense competition, each of us with our individual strengths; both of us fiercely competitive. And what had transpired over the weekend only magnified each of our individual drives to compete. And win.After we completed the warmup, we each ripped off our shirts and the countdown clock began: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Pook’s and my workout stations were side-by-side and we each had an official “counter.” Typically, CrossFitters are expected to self-count their reps and report them accurately. Hero workouts are so intense that having someone else count your reps frees up energy for the athlete to do nothing but concentrate on their performance. As expected, we finished the first round of 30 box jumps at precisely the same time. I knew I’d fall behind on the push presses and would need to
