Prayers for Eleni. Añejo & Repo. Hello Amber – Adios Andrew. Asteroids. GGBridge. Long Covid. TWA 2.21.22

Coach Eleni Needs Our Prayers & Love

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”  Seneca

PRAYERS FOR  COACH LENI!  Diablo OG She-Devil, CrossFit Games Athlete, and former Coach & Manager, Eleni Frediani is battling ovarian cancer. She was diagnosed last week. She gave permission for me to share this news with the community. For those of you who don’t know her, she is an incredibly kind, generous, thoughtful and caring individual. She is tremendously fit and in her prime at Diablo she helped lead Diablo’s Team to 3 CrossFit Games appearances, including a 3rd Place podium finish in 2012 and multiple 1st Place finishes at Regionals. She is one of Diablo’s most beloved Coaches – tremendously popular with our community. 

Eleni will start with chemo this week, then surgery to remove a mass in her pelvic region, then possibly more chemo. She has a good team of doctors, surgeons and nurses at Kaiser. She is not in pain, but has some discomfort from the tumor that’s apparently the size of a large orange. Her husband, Matt, will be by her side taking care of her when she’s home. He also committed to me to get back into class at Diablo to keep his physical and mental strength up! 

Eleni will likely not share this information on social media yet. She only needs our prayers and positive vibes. Her message to us is:  

“Keep the prayers and love coming. Just keep seeing this leave my body and sent to God’s light. He is our master planner and I surrender it all to Him. I am so blessed for the foundation all of our ancestors and you have set for me to trust in that surrender. Together living in Christ consciousness we can change the vibrations of the world. I love you all.” 

JOIN THE OPEN – DIABLO TEAMS NEED YOUR HELP!! Diablo CrossFit CrossFit Games Teams are back with a vengeance. We will have TWO teams in the CrossFit Open competition trying to qualify: Diablo Anejo and Diablo Reposado. Each team must have at least 2 men and 2 women as athletes. Our Anejo team will have our top 3 men and top 3 women competing – watch them on Friday night at 5PM!  Our Reposado team will comprise the rest of Diablo. Each week, CrossFit includes the scores from the top 2 men & women on the team. Thus, ANYONE on the team can help score for the team during the Open! If a workout happens to be in your wheelhouse, you could be scoring for your team.  

There are 3 Levels of Workout each week:  Rx’d, Scaled and Foundations. Each level also includes scaling for Masters athletes. So, no matter your experience, ability or age, the CrossFit Open is for you!. Please, please, join the Open and participate:  Join The Open

If you’re not a member of Diablo, you can still do the Open from home or at your gym. The foundation workouts will make it easy for everyone to participate, especially if you do not have equipment.  

The Open begins on February 24th. It is simple: 1 workout a week, for 3 weeks. Diablo will host Friday Night Lights beginning Feb 25th at 4PM.  We will all come together for the workout with back-to-back heats from 4PM until 7:30PM. It is an absolute blast – and a positive experience that will remain with you for life. PLEASE REGISTER TODAY!   Also: we have some pretty cool 2022 Open Shirts this year.  

HELLO AMBER, ADIOS ANDREW  Amber Piggue is Diablo’s newest coach. She has more than 8 months of prior coaching experience and about 4 weeks of Observe & Assist experience with us. She’s also a Firefighter/Paramedic and a pretty impressive CrossFit athlete. She’ll be coaching part-time at Diablo in between her shifts at the Fire Dept. We’re excited to have her on our team! 

Coach Andrew will not be around as much as he takes on Aviation Mechanics school in Fremont for 2 years. He’s giving up most of his morning coaching shifts but promises to take on some evenings, Fridays and weekends. He’s pumped about this opportunity and we know he’s gonna crush it. At our last Coach training session, we decided to give him a head start with this gift.  

TWEET OF THE WEEK  “A fat, sick, frail, drug-addicted and fearful population is not an impressive representation of a supposed Superpower.”   

WORKOUTS –  February Focus:  Calendar  /   Newsletter  
The week ahead:  

CRAIG’S LIST (Stuff I’m Reading, Hearing, Watching, Using or Buying) 

Sevan Podcast with Ed Calderon  This is a good one. Ed Calderon has appeared on Rogan as well. He has the inside scoop on immigration, legal & illegal, from Mexico. His stories are heartbreaking and enlightening. He is extensively trained in law-enforcement as well.  

Meteors & Glaciers: Joe Rogan with Randall Carlson #1772 This is a really scary episode. I’m enthralled by Rogan’s podcasts with Carlson and Graham Hancock when they appear. Carlson talks about “extinction level” meteors that have struck Earth in our history and how we know where they hit and how devastating they were. But, the most frightening section is when they talk about how many incredibly large asteroids pass very close to Earth every year or few years. You really get a sense of how much luck has contributed to our existence. 

Peter Attia MD:  A Suicide Safety Net At The Golden Gate Bridge  The suicide safety net is under construction at the Golden Gate Bridge and will be completed by 2023. Will it work? Dr. Attia used to think it was futile. However, legitimate studies show that 94% people who survive a suicide attempt never try again. Good read. 

NY Times: How Long Covid Exhausts The Body  (pdf version) Hopefully this is the last Covid news. This is a VERY good article on the effects that the virus has on various body systems: the brain, the circulatory system, the lungs etc. I’m blown away by how long the virus may linger in areas of our body. If you didn’t “bounce back” 100% after Covid, your answer might be here. Great read.

Make it an awesome week!

Craig