What did you learn from the 2011 CF Games?

I’m not a competitive person. Sometimes I am jokingly competitive and I have even told someone I’m going head-to-head with during a WOD to “Bring it!” (Cade!). While it is fun for me to competitively joke around sometimes, competition is something I usually shy away from. I’ve been a competitive athlete before and during that time in my life, it wasn’t fun. Eventually I became burnt out and I gave up my sport because I didn’t enjoy it or the environment that came along with it.

When the 2011 CrossFit Games rolled around, I was nervous. I didn’t want to compete. I could care less about how I ranked against everyone else in the world and I didn’t want my new sport of CF (that I love!) to turn into something that might not be fun for me anymore. As the registration deadline grew closer, I knew I had to make a decision. If I did it, there would be no turning back for me… when I commit to something, I finish it. For me, the deciding factor was trying to get a Kitsap CrossFit team into regionals. I truly believed that we had a shot at regionals and if I could contribute to getting a KCF team there, it would be worth it.

As the weeks went by, some WODs were good, some were bad, and some were just down right ugly. When WOD 11.3 showed up, I was scared. The WOD consisted of a 5 min AMRAP of 110# clean and jerks for the women. Prior to this, my 1RM C&J was 113# - that’s it! I thought I’d be lucky to get one round completed and doubted that I’d get any more. When the time came to do it, I actually surprised myself by completing a few rounds at this weight and I learned a few things about myself along the way... 1) I would have never taken on this weight if I hadn’t been “forced” into doing it (this is true for multiple Games WODs), 2) I’ll push myself a lot harder when I’m doing something for others than I ever would if I were just doing it for just myself, and 3) I think my 1RM clean and jerk is now more than 113#! I never knew these things about myself until I decided step out of my comfort zone and give the Games a try.

As you all know, our team never made it to regionals but I’m still happy and proud of our results. I learned a lot about myself and I saw numerous people from KCF do extraordinary things because they were forced to try it. Lots of people not only PR’d as a result of a Games WOD but they did it multiple times over!

If you PR’d as a result of a Games WOD, please post your PR below. If you learned anything (good or bad) as a result of the Games, please share your experiences below. It doesn’t matter if you were officially registered as a team member or not, we ALL pushed ourselves, and each other, through these WODs every Wednesday for six (well, actually seven) weeks. Let’s recognize all the milestones we accomplished along the way, no matter how big or small.

Why is CrossFit Better?

A few weeks ago Erin Okonek, Coach for CF oly lifting courses and general all around bad-ass, posted the following on her FaceBook page:

 

“Hey Crossfitters!!! I am about to write an article regarding the reasons that Crossfit is better than other workouts! I have my opinions, but am curious as to everyone else's. Any feedback?”

This was my response to her post:

“I've been thinking about this a bit lately. For me, it isn't about competing, "chasing a rabbit", becoming an athlete, or a firebreather. CF makes me a better mom, employee, wife, and overall a better person. I'm more focused, stronger (mentally and physically), dedicated, and ready to embrace everything that life throws at me because I know I can make it through. Don't get me wrong, I love lifting heavy shit, love to PR, love being faster, and definitely love looking better but it is all a means to make me a better, more confident, well rounded individual. I'll do things now that I wouldn't have dreamed of doing with my kids before I found CF... AND... it takes less time to do CF than it does to do any other "workout" program. To me, that means less time in the gym and more time living my life the way I wan to live it. Good luck with the article and let us know how it turns out!”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that a lot of my obsession with CrossFit has to do with the relationships that I’ve formed as a result of CrossFit. There’s something amazing about the journey taken together by CrossFitters... We sweat, we share pain, we sometimes bleed, we cry, and occasionally we even carry each other. I’m not saying that we literally pick each other up and carry ourselves around (although in some WODs, we do!) but we “carry” each other. We all have our weaknesses, we all have our insecurities, we all have that “thing” that we’re self concious about. In some weird way, all those “things” have the ability to disappear when we walk into the box if we let them. If you’re ready to embrace your weakness, expose it, and let others “carry” you, your insecurities and weaknesses will disappear. We’re all here to better ourselves in every way, the amazing thing is that we often better each other without even realizing it. While the concept of CrossFit and individual WODs can be done solo in a globo-gym, what sets us apart is the miracle that takes place everytime we hear “3-2-1 Go!”. We work hard for ourselves and often we work harder for those around us. This community has the potential to conquer amazing things when we’re together and improve lives in ways that stretch far beyond imrpoved physical fitness. We actively decide to show up every day to work hard for ourselves AND each other… it is something that simply doesn’t happen in any other workout program.

Below is a photo of Erin doing what she does best (lifting heavy stuff!) after an Oly Seminar at Kitsap CrossFit.