**This journal entry was originally scheduled for before Memorial Day. Despite its latency, the content below is still relevant and you can apply it next year at Memorial Day - and for parts of it - perhaps even during the Fourth of July or Veteran’s Day next November to honor Veterans and their service to the Nation.** 

This weekend in the United States is not about barbecuing, boating, water skiing, or fishing. This weekend is about Honor and Remembrance of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. This weekend is about honoring those who have died for the United States of America. 

How can you honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice? 

There are several things that you can do, small things - simple things:

1. Attend a Memorial Day ceremony near you. There are a lot of them. Check your local paper/news station. 
2. Take your children to a smaller, local memorial and talk to them about the names etched in the walls of the memorial. Talk to them about the sacrifice that those men and women made for freedom - how they were sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers. They were volunteers who laid down their life so that you can live free here at home. 
3. Look up some of the men and women who have died for your freedom (The American Fallen Soldiers Project is a great site to learn more about some of the heroes who have died since the start of the Afghan War in 2001.) 

This year, I wanted to honor LTC Jason Good, one of my former bosses who made a tremendous impact on me as a young officer in the Army. In February, Jason died far too young and left behind a beautiful wife and two children.

On most Memorial days, Jason would do the Cross Fit Hero WOD “Murph” to honor those who had fallen in the name of freedom. So this year, I wanted to do it because Jason no longer could.

(Murph is comprised of: Running 1 mile, completing 300 squats, 200 push-ups, 100 pull-ups and then running another mile. It’s brutal.)

I wrote a training plan and completed “Murph” for time with my 20# vest on. I did it in 43:38, which is a pretty solid time, but it wasn’t about the time. It was about the effort that I put into training for “Murph,” and the effort I gave when I did it for time. 

And remember how I wrote several months back about what to do with your ‘leftover’ fitness? Well, you know what I did? I did “Murph” again - this time with no vest. I did it with a friend yesterday - and it was awesome. On Wednesday, I’ll do it at work - again. 

This Memorial Day, take time to honor those who have fallen in the cause of freedom. There are a lot of ways you can do this - and I’ve listed a few above - but just take the time to do it. You’ll walk away from it more grateful for your freedom and the time that you are spending with your family and friends. 

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend, but above all - remember why you are enjoying the day off. 

Train hard. Train smart. 

V/R,

Lieutenant Colonel Ed Arntson (I got promoted last month!)