It was quite the fun filled day with participants, exhibitors and volunteers who all made it possible. And a special thanks to Coronado High School for the use of their gymnasium.
The day began with local area businesses and volunteers getting the facility set up and in good working order to welcome the local community to enjoy the festivities and get some exercise while there. Our first participant, John Norsworthy, hit the floor and cranked out 400 (that’s FOUR HUNDRED!) in 15 minutes. In the women’s division, Wendy McGowan of Allergy Solutions, repped out 220 in 15 minutes to take the prize in the women’s round. Ladies were allowed to do their push ups on their knees. Then Rocky Mountain Brewery took the prize for the 4-Man Team round.
Ken Fritz, from Colorado Crimson Group, who was the brains behind this event, was slated to do push ups, but three weeks prior to the event he had a little mishap with a log splitter and almost lost a finger. As a former Air Force vet Ken was confident he could have attained 800 in an hour. Maybe next year! By the way, his finger is doing much better.
Finally, I set a goal to get 1,000 push ups in one hour. That’s how I raised support by wagering businesses and individuals to sponsor each push up. While conditioning myself for this event over the last several months, I had struggled to get to 900 plus and had doubts as to whether I could achieve that 1,000 mark. It should also be noted that I had NEVER done push ups in this order before. It should also be mentioned that I won a gold medal in powerlifting at the local State Games that took place July 31st. In case you didn’t know, powerlifting and endurance training (as in 1,000 push ups) are two totally different animals and with these two events only eight weeks apart, I felt like an Olympic athlete in full-throttle mode training in two different sports. In short, I got 1,010! Though after viewing video and admitting some of the push ups fell short of the full-range mark, I was sure to thank the volunteer counters who were generous in giving me those push ups. Hence the reason for cranking out an extra 10. I could not have done it without Mike Smyth and Carol Cash (a.k.a. The Cash Lady) being in my corner. Mike, from Unique Massage, provided the massage and Carol provided the energy drink and helped make my goal an achievement I could be proud of. By the way, I celebrated my 47th birthday the Monday before! Yet another achievement! I appreciate everyone who supported me, but as for next year, we’ll have to wait and see what happens…
All in all, it was a fine day at Push For Life and we want to thank all the business owners, volunteers, participants, and Coronado High School, who made the event possible. If you missed out this time around, be sure to join us next year!
