AN OPEN LETTER OF THANKS, by Bryan Wadkins
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The Games have now come and gone and it is time to look back and thank all those that helped me along the way with love, support, and encouragement. I would first like to thank God. Without his blessings nothing would be possible. I have been so fortunate in my life because God has and continues to smile upon me. This was especially evident over this last year given our situation with Andrew.
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Nyra you are one amazingly strong woman and I am so lucky that I can call you my wife. I know that this last year has not been an easy one for our family. You have been so strong and brave and worked so very hard to take care of Andrew, our home and me. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to compete. Without your support, I would NEVER have been able to walk on to that field. I know you sacrificed a lot during my training and I can never thank you enough. I love you.
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Andrew you are the center of my world. I thought my life was complete before you arrived, but now I realize how much I was actually missing out on. When the stresses of training for the Games became overwhelming, I would see your smile or hear you laugh and those stresses would quickly disappear. Every rep and every effort I put forth at the Games was dedicated to you my son.
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Derek, you may be 20 years my junior, but as a training partner we see eye to eye. We both enjoy training by punishing our bodies and doing volume that others think is “stupid”. Obviously it works for us. I am so proud of your accomplishments at Regionals and I look forward watching you compete for many years. Thanks for all the hard work you put in this last week at the Games. You took good care to ensure I was rested, stretched, warmed up and anything else I needed. I appreciate your dedication and friendship.
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To all my other training partners (Eric, Joe, Melisa, RC, Merisa, Ian, Vince, Erik, Ashlee, Andrew, Earl, Carlo, and all the others), thanks for pushing me and putting up with me. It is no fun to train solo and it is not good for you either. I know several of you didn’t necessarily WANT to WOD with me, but you did it just the same. I appreciate your efforts and the support.
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Dr. Bill Porath of Synergy Sports Care, Orange. Thanks so much for your healing hands and constant encouragement. After injuring my back, you not only helped me with therapy, but were so positive about your confidence in me that you helped my injured confidence as well. Your dedication and support was never more evident, then when you drove from the Games to your office in Orange two nights in a row to provide therapy for my injured back and damaged muscles. I highly recommend this man to any CrossFitter looking for a Chiropractor/ART/Physical Therapist.
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To my RXD Family, your support was AMAZING. I recognized that it is not easy to drop everything on a Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday and go to Carson, but yet you showed up in mass to show your support. Those that weren’t able to show up sent me messages of support and screamed at their computers as they watched the WODs stream live. We have built an STRONG community at RXD and that was never more evident than this week.
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Thank you so much for everything. Although I was out there alone on the field competing, I knew I had an army of support in my corner and knowing that allowed me to push harder, lift heavier and run faster. When I compete, one of my goals has always been to bring recognition and pride to RXD, and to inspire and motivate others. With all of your help, I believe I was able to accomplish both of those goals.
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God Bless,
Bryan
