An All-Star line up... oh, and that Byers chick - you know, the one who breaks barbells?

Aside from the all-star cast of presenters, I got to meet some fantastic people at the Exercise Science cert this past weekend.

-Coach. I got to meet Coach. That was really cool. I introduced myself and he said, "I know that name". Uh, really? It's certainly not because of my Fran time or my overhead squats... but maybe you saw my broken barbell picture? He asked me to send him the video. Ha.

-Rip. He is FASCINATING. We talked about Jamie Skibicki, tequila, meat and a really cool idea for a poster that I'm working on with Jonathan Sabar. I have GOT to get to a barbell cert, pronto.

-Eva T. I had a total celebrity dork-out moment when I introduced myself to her. After all, she was a prime focus of my "Best of CrossFit.com" Journal article - I've been a big fan for a long time. So when I realized she was standing right next to me, I sort of froze up for a minute. What I wanted to say was, "Eva, I'm a big fan. I think you are an excellent role model for women, and you've been a big inspiration in my own training and fitness pursuits". What I actually said was, "Uhhhhhhhh... Ilikeyourfrontsquat". Apparently, she gets this all the time, because she was very gracious and sweet and responded as if I was not, in fact, functionally retarded.

-Spider Chick (Karen) After emailing with her a bit, I was happy to meet her in person. She may swear, spit and get dirty in the gym, but outside of the workouts, she is lovely, and extremely well spoken. And it is obvious from anyone who gets to spend more than a minute talking to her that she is truly passionate about CrossFit. We had a long talk about how CrossFit women are generally very supportive and encouraging (unlike most of the girls you went to high school with). Karen was no exception, and I hope at some point I get to do a workout with her as my trainer. Bet your booty she'll have me cussing like a truck driver.

-Jason Ackerman, Albany CrossFit. I've been emailing with Jason a little, because I'm going to volunteer at the Games Northeast Qualifiers in May. It was fantastic to get to meet him in person - he's got an awesome sense of humor and we totally hit it off right away. And I am not going to tell you about the really funny thing that happened while we were all running around downtown Fort Worth looking for a bar that was showing the fight.

-Jason Leydon (CrossFit Milford) and Ben Kelly (CrossFit Performance). I met these guys while doing some training at GSX. I recruited them both to check out my kipping. Somehow, getting approval in an Australian accent (Ben) just sounds better. I also met Doug Lane, from CrossFit Amelia Island. I got the chance to talk to all of them about what it's like to run an affiliate, as that is definitely in my future, someday.

-Court Wing (CrossFit NYC). As much as I tramp around with the NYC crew, I had yet to meet Court. I'll be coaching at his KB cert at the end of the month, though, so I'm psyched we got to hook up beforehand. We got better acquainted over barbecue, and he let me in on something really cool going down at CrossFit NYC in a few weeks. Stay tuned.

And of course, there were a bunch of cool peeps that I consider friends... Jeff Martone from CrossFit Kettlebell certs and Tactical Athlete, Ray Anderson from York Barbell and Kettlebell, Keith Wittenstein from CF Virtuosity, and Neal Thompson from CF Boston. And my internet friend and super smart guy Adam Drake, who sat in the back, asked lots of good questions and guzzled from his gallon of milk.

Finally, my constant compadres from the weekend... Lu Crenshaw of CrossFit Allegiance, my new CrossFit partner in crime, Mathieu Lalonde, who has a PhD in Chemistry from Harvard and is the hottest damn scientist I have ever met, and our gracious host and chauffeur Tucker (who was given nothing but trouble by Lu and me for his outstanding efforts to keep us fed, caffeinated and entertained). More on this crew tomorrow, because THEY deserve their own post.

Thanks to everyone who introduced themselves, let me ask them dumb questions, helped me with my form on something or other... and a special thank you to those who bought me a beer.