First stop from the airport was the Colin’s gym, CrossFit
Tipperary in the town of Clonmel, where I got to meet a few of the guys who
would be joining me for the duration of the weekend. The bulk of the groups wasn’t set to arrive til later that
afternoon. The box was great. High brick walls on all sides, painted
white but stained gray in parts from years of use. Pullup rigs on two of the walls, and high hanging ring brackets
coming out of a third wall above an endless sea of kettlebells. It was clean, spacious, and had all the
trappings of a killer place to train.
Right about this time my stomach was ready to eat itself, so
Colin and I made the round of introductions in short order then shot off for
some breakfast. We went into town
to a place called Nimh’s, which turned out to be a bakery in front and a cafĂ©
in back. I ordered the most
enormous thing I could find on the menu…a full Irish breakfast plus potato
waffles and coffee. If you’ve never
been to this part of the world, you’ve probably never experienced breakfast the
way they do it. Be it in England,
Ireland, Scotland, or Wales, the standard morning fare is some variation of the
following: Bacon/rashers, sausages,
baked beans, fresh tomatos, hash browns, mushrooms, white pudding, black
pudding (“pudding” equals fried pigs blood, just so you know), and a fried
egg. While I still might prefer a
3 egg omelet most days, I love the UK and Ireland for maintaining this
tradition.
After breakfast a few of us went on a small scouting
expedition to one of the locations for Day 3 of the trip. Colin said that his box frequented a
small creek not far away that featured a jogging trail and a series of pools useable
for jumping in and cooling off. “Cooling
off” in Ireland means “icing” in the rest of the world. The area around the creek was
beautifully forested and covered in green moss, but the water itself was
freezing. Despite my California
roots, I’ve never been one to shy away from a good ice bath, especially since I
knew my body could use a reset after all those hours on the plane, so in I
went. Correction, in we all
went. 3 separate times. That was the cool part about this: you
run a ways, then jump in (shoes and all), run a ways, jump in. It wound up being like a mini mud run,
but with way less people and waiting in line. At the bottom of the creek sat an ancient stone monastery
where we were planning to do a fun workout on Day 3. This part of the world is replete with relics like this,
making it a dream vacation for anyone obsessed with history.
After our run I got checked in at my residence for the
weekend, the Clonacody House. This
is not your average B&B, though that’s probably the way it’s listed
online. I’m talking an authentic
Irish countryside experience—from the hundred-year old floorboards to the
horses trotting and grazing out back.
This place was an absolute dream.
Helen and Michael, the live-in managers, inherited the place from
Helen’s family awhile back and decided to turn it into a venue for travelers
and events about 4 years ago. They
renovated the spots that needed updating and the resulting structure is no less
than magnificent. The main house
stands 3 stories tall with a basement below. The ground floor consists of a living room, drawing room,
dining room, and kitchen, all of which boast 15-foot ceilings and ridiculously
ornate moldings and finish. The 2nd
and 3rd floors hold all the bedrooms and baths, 7 in all. The furniture is rustic and country
inspired, with enormous Victorian bathtubs in all but 2 of the bathrooms. Needless to say, I was stoked to be
staying there. Surrounding the
main house are acres upon acres of land, including grazing fields, gorgeous
trees and gardens, and an ancient barn & courtyard that serve as the work
area for Michael.
We agreed that I would lie down for a few hours to try and
catch some rest, then head to the gym for a workout before the majority of the
group arrived that afternoon. I
was definitely tired when I went down, but getting up 2 hours later was like
coming out of a coma. I had no
idea where I was or what I was doing there. For my money, the California to Europe experience is still
the toughest jet lag there is. Groggy
as could be, I made my way to the box and started shaking out the cobwebs…
WARM UP
1000 meter row
5 rounds:
5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 situps, 20 squats
SKILL
EMOTM 10 minutes:
2 muscle ups
6 alternating pistols
6 alternating pistols
WOD
100 meter overhead carry (100 kg)
*Every drop requires 10 deadlifts
By the end of this my brain was back on track, just in time
for everyone’s arrival. We had a
whole host of locals from Clonmel, a group of 6 from Cork, a few from Dublin,
and one from Spain. As usual,
people that were strangers kind of stuck to their own packs at first. But by the end of the weekend we’d all
be close friends.
To introduce everyone to each other and the AWF experience,
we headed out to the Clonacody House for our first workout of the trip. Colin has rigged up an old van with
pullup bars and support posts, so finding a spot to do a workout was as simple
as finding a place to park. We did
so on the back grounds of the estate, setting up the following for everyone:
20 minute AMRAP:
10 toes to bar
25 meter walking lunge
25 meter walking lunge
10 burpees
25 meter walking lunge
10 ring dips
25 meter walking lunge
10 burpees
25 meter walking lunge
We set this up so that the toes to bar and ring dips were on
opposite ends of a 50 meter stretch, that way the lunges were the way to
transition from one exercise to another.
The rings we hung from an enormous and gorgeous oak tree looking out
towards the mountains. By 3 or 4
minutes in the moaning and groaning had started, as it is wont to do, but soon
everyone found their groove and was able to continue through to the end. Afterwards we went inside for soup and
salad and had a round table discussion about programming, nutrition, recovery,
and travel. During the course of the
workout and discussion, everyone became visibly more at ease with one another
and began to open up. This is
always a good sign so early in a trip.
Beyond that, however, the discussion itself was really, really
interesting. People were raising
questions about everything from supplementation to recovery cycles. We even talked about the difference
between motivating forces for competitors and those seeking health and
wellness. It was probably the
easiest and most enjoyable open forum I can remember.
Most everybody was ready to call it a night after that, but
a few of us ventured into town for some late dinner. Not much open on Good Friday in Ireland, but we were able to
snag a table at a local Indian restaurant that proved delicious enough. The plan for the morning was to be up
early enough for breakfast and to be at the box by 9:00 to train. After that, we would be hitting the
road!!!