From the States to the DR, CrossFit style...

As I began my run from my apartment last Friday to the CrossFit Lounge in Santo Domingo, the 'mixed-media' sidewalks were shaded by mango, palm and luffa gourd trees and the frantic streets were abuzz with cars, motores (motorcycles) taking their lives in their hands with every swift cut in front of a larger vehicle and bicycles rigged as sales carts and just plain sales carts. Stop signs, traffic lights and the generally accepted rules of the road are just suggestions here in the DR. As the shade melted into patchy sunlight, I was already drenched in sweat, like my workout was over, and a tough one at that. I ran the short mile-and-a-half to the CrossFit Lounge and was nearly hit by a few vehicles wherein the drivers would make eye contact with me the whole way. There’s just a sort of unwritten agreement that automobiles are always given preference, even when there is a stoplight or sign saying otherwise. In these cases, the drivers would have a puzzled yet apologetic look on they’re faces, trying to comprehend this unusual incident where a pedestrian didn’t immediately jump out of the way.

I arrived at the CrossFit Lounge in one piece right across the street from the Hugo Boss store, a tremendous contradiction with people selling fruit and nuts, cell phone cables and windmills at the intersection in front of the store while well-dressed Dominicans pass by seeming not to notice, or sit in their Jeepetas (SUVs) at the intersection and don’t make eye contact. When I walked into the Box (CrossFit gym), there were athletes all at different moments in their workouts, so it was a little bit of controlled chaos. I found out that they don’t have specific start times due to the crazy traffic and practical/cultural impossibility of being on time; their classes, rather, are from 6-10a and 12-3p and when you arrive, you start the warm up and use the provided chalk to notate your start time and do a little math at the end to come up with your actual workout time.

The workout was nice and sticky with an extensive warm-up that seemed to be all over the place. It was a combination of double-unders, med-ball cleans, med-ball good mornings (new to me) and a couple sets of various stretches. The Box is really groovy and quirky with a space that boasts alternating open-air spaces with closed ones. There are a few water coolers, so precious drinking water is always at hand, cool drinking water at that. Our WOD consisted of 4 sets of 15 box jumps and a 400m run for time. Every athlete here seems to despise running, so I think that will set me apart, I could coach endurance WODs and even possibly an endurance seminar.

The walk back was a leisurely stroll through downtown Santo Domingo and I just let the DR ‘happen’ around me. There are well-dressed men and women at times on the same stretch of sidewalk as people begging for pesos. The frenzied pace of city life never seems to slow, and if it does slow, hold on tight to your wallet.

I wrote this post about a month after landing in the DR and have not written anymore since, the process of acclimation has been, well, a process. Now that things have somewhat stabilized, I will start to document my DR journeys, my training and other fun stuff with and about my family. We're going for at least a post a week for now, and more when inspiration/ability occurs, but be sure to be on the lookout, maybe subscribe, and I don't know, you may have some fun or learn something in the process...