#thecrossfitopen

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what a trip.

even though this was my fourth time doing the open, i learned the most this year. in 2013 i was brand new to crossfit, couldn’t do most of the things, and overall had no idea what i was even getting into or even what the open was all about. 2014 was really just beginning of when i began to take competition a little more seriously. and in 2015 perhaps i took it a little too seriously. i got more wrapped up in it all and found myself upset if i didn’t get a certain score or beat a certain person. 2015 wasn’t much fun—partially because i was out of my home gym for 3/5 of them, but mostly because of my perspective.

2016 was a lot different from 2015.

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i gave 100% effort on all of them and did them all rx. i didn’t give a shit about anyone else’s score and stopped comparing myself to others in a negative way because comparison really is the thief of joy. i proved to myself that i am much fitter than previous years and that is all i really care about. i set little goals for myself on all the workouts and met them all. my chest to bar pull ups improved hugely, my conditioning and pacing skills improved, i did the fastest set of 25 toes to bar i’ve ever done in my life, i got my first bar muscle up and then six more in the workout (and five other reps before/after), i did a lot of pretty heavy deadlifts safely, i got over the mental block and enjoyed doing wall balls, i got through the uncomfortable dark place that is rowing (even though i really, really wanted to stop) and finished the row before the time cap, i PR’d my 14.5 time by about six minutes (give or take, i don’t know my exact 14.5 score) in 16.5. these workouts were not fun, but at the same time…they kinda were. i embraced the suck…i (finally) learned to love it all.

i also had more fun than any other year watching, cheering, and judging other athletes because crossfit brio (my first open season at brio where i was actually home for all five weeks) is pretty awesome and is full of some really talented humans (three top 20 in canada west masters 40-44 ladies, for one). i let the last five weeks really sink in as much as possible because being part of this (really great) community as a whole is pretty fun. i anticipated what the next workout would be (even though i told myself to stop trying to guess), anticipated actually doing it, thinking about what i just did, and reflecting about what i want and need to work on most. i still looked at the leaderboard—but this time with a new perspective and found it interesting and not demoralizing. i realized that although there are a lot of other really fit people out there, my fitness isn’t really that bad. no, i am not elite. i’m not even that good of an rx athlete. i am one of the many who really just do it to be better than yesterday. i’m your average crossfitter and i (finally) learned to appreciate that. 

i (finally) learned that if you have the perspective that whatever you do will be better than what you previously could do, you can’t lose. and i (finally) learned that if you have the right attitude and believe you’ll accomplish something, you will.

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