The open, my loving crossfit family, and my girl crush!

Hi all!

So it’s been a while!  I have been busy with work/crossfit/social stuff/ watching all the episodes of Chrisley knows best, etc.  I’m back now and ready to get back to my regular blogging schedule!

The CrossFit open has come and gone. So many good things happened not only to me, but to a lot of people at RCFBC!  If you’re not sure what the Crossfit open is, here’s a quick synopsis: 

” The CrossFit Open is the first leg of the qualifying process to reach the “championship” competition, the CrossFit Games (a days-long event broadcast by ESPN last year).The Open is comprised of five workouts, performed over five weeks, for a score—generally either most reps completed in a set amount of time or a workout completed as fast as possible. At the end of the five weeks, the top 48 men and top 48 women advance to The Regionals. There is also a Team Competition with the top 30 teams advancing to the Regional competition. Every individual and every team in the world performs the same workout on a given week, and they all learn about it at the same time: 5 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday evening. Competitors have until the following Monday at 5 p.m. Pacific Time to complete the workout and submit their score.”

Basically it’s 5 weeks to see how you stack up against the other people that are in your division. If you competed last year, you can see how you’ve progressed, & you can also see what strengths and weaknesses you have.  For me, this year was mostly about weaknesses (as it usually is!!).   

Week 1:

The first workout included double unders. For someone who BARELY had single unders, I knew I was gonna be out- and we didn't even start yet. I felt so defeated when they announced that workout. But you know what,  it forced me to practice! I had a terrible bout of bronchitis and a wicked bad cold leading up to the first workout, so I was already down for the count. I went in to the gym on Sunday to practice- talk about waiting until the last minute! I got so many tips from Hill & Phil, The Monarchs, & Alex- things that would be playing in the back of my head while I was doing that wod on Monday....so I thought. When it came down to it, all I needed to get was one- in order for my score to count. Sharon was at the box that night- if it wasn't for her and her constant guidance, as well as the support of the entire 5:30pm class, I would have never got that double under! That was such an amazing day.

Week 2:

Overhead squats and pull ups. Are you kidding me? I've only done overhead squats one other time before this- and it was my one rep max @ 65lbs. I knew I wouldn't get to the pull ups/I can't do them yet, so  that was just a non-factor for me.  There's no way I was going to get 10 of them at 65lbs. But I knew I could get one.  I ended up doing this one on a Friday- thank goodness for Sam, Lenore, Michelle, Colleen, & Eats. I don't think I would've got through the 7 overhead squats if it wasn't for the motivation and impeccable dancing!

Week 3:

The one I had been dreading all along. Deadlift/Box jump ladder. Deadlifts- easy day- As Mike says, I have long arms, which helps with deadlifts. It was the box jumps- or step ups as far as I was concerned. In order for my score to count, I would have to get 15 step ups on a 20in box. My biggest fear. I breezed through the deadlifts, and I knew a majority of my time would be spent on the step ups. I was surrounded by so many amazing people- I can't even put into words the energy and support that was around me that day. Lauren, Kaylee, Lenore, Hillary, Christy, Elena- just the whole group of strong ladies was focused on me&  making sure I was being supported. Every single rep- even if I missed it, or had trouble- they were there- cheering me on. Thank goodness for Lauren's quick thinking- I had been practicing my step-ups with the box against the wall- sort of as a safety net...not like the wall is going to do anything if I fell off, but it still made me feel better! Lauren moved the box against one of the beams that's in the middle of the gym. That was the best thing that could've happened- she was on her game and it was the best idea! It gave me the feeling of that safety net, which was exactly what I needed. When time was called, I basically just fell into the arms of those ladies who cheered me on the entire time. I was crying (as usual) and a few other people were too. It was just a feeling of pure joy and relief that I actually was able to get it done.  I just can't even explain the feeling that surrounded me that day- all I can say is that it was amazing...just the feeling of love and support meant so much to me, and I hold the feeling of that day very near to my heart.

That friggin box and my amazing judge- Lenore! <3 

The amazing ladies that helped get me through this L-R: Kaylee, Elena, Lenore, Lauren- Love you ladies more than you know!! <3 xoxo

Week 4:

This was a fun one.  It started out with 60 calorie row- easy day. But the next thing was toes to bar, followed by wall balls, followed by cleans, and finally finished with muscle ups. Finish that in 14 minutes. I knew I had the row and the wall balls down. The rest of the stuff- I would have to scale, and the row would only count toward my score. But I wanted to get a decent workout in, so I decided to scale the other movements and just get after it!

Week 5:

This was the workout that broke me- mentally and physically. It was 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of thrusters @ 65lbs and burpees over the bar. The thrusters I had- I hate them, but I can do them at that weight! The burpees over the bar- another story. Mike set up a faux bar so that I could jump at the same height that was required, but without the risk of tripping over the bar- he knows me so well! We tested it out, and it just wasn't in the cards for me. But I would still be able to submit a score with the thrusters- and I would just do regular burpees. Sounds easy enough, right??? WRONG. I am so slow at burpees. It takes a lot of effort to get this body down and up off the ground one time, nevermind 85 times!  There was no time cap, so I had to finish the entire number of reps. Right around rep 6 out of the 21 thrusters- I started thinking  "I'm never gonna finsh" but I just kept going. I got to rep 4 of the 21 burpees and I started crying. Instead of focusing on the small number, I just kept thinking about how many more I had left to do in total. That was a bad decision. Nina, Elena, and myself were in the back room while the other class was doing the regular workout of the day. Elena & Nina, as well as the whole 9am class had finished and I was still there- just barely through the 15 thrusters.  Most of the entire class was next to me- cheering me on and pushing me further than I would've pushed myself. All I remember saying to Sharon was, I'm gonna quit- I'm never going to finish- I'm just gonna quit.  She wouldn't let me! Sharon, Kaylee, and Christy were right next to me- Christy doing each burpee with me- AFTER she had already worked out. It was so awesome. It took me 53:53 to finish. Almost a full hour of thrusters and burpees. I have never felt so defeated in my life. I just couldn't get over that it took me that long to do that. I was completely spent. I actually took the rest of the week of off CF to recover and get it together.  

Started from the bottom...Sarah and I! xo

So basically, I have a lot of stuff to work on for next year. As I expected. I'm glad it's over, but I sort of have a longing now for the weekly announcements. It was something I looked forward to, despite it being terrifying! We just celebrated the end of the open with a huge party at Sarah's house- that was a lot of fun! I love seeing everybody in real clothes and out of the gym- so much fun! Thanks again, Sarah for hosting- it was a blast! :)

Now, I'm working on some problems that I've been having with getting my diet on track. Kaylee has been instrumental with this. Speaking of Kaylee, I sort of have a girl crush on her. She's one of the coaches, is married to JD- a games athlete, and she's just awesome. She's a little peanut, but man is she strong! She's from the South, so she's automatically nice...haha. I just love her! She's been helping me with a meal plan- something realistic, that I can stick to - and has been great about responding to my endless emails and texts about stuff- I would've told me to pound sand by now! She is such an asset to the gym, and I can't imagine not having her, now that she's been there for a while. Like Mike, she is part of my safety net. If she's there, I automatically want to do better and she pushes me to be better.

We recently had the president of CustomFit Meals visit our gym. He was from the South- so automatically nice. His name is Mike, and he shared his personal account of how food has been a huge part of his life, and his story really resonated with me. If you get a chance, check out the website- https://www.customfitmeals.com/ and read about them. I don't get any kickbacks from them- I just really liked his story and the protein bars are pretty delicious! :)

I cannot say thank you enough times for the amount of support, cheers, love, tears, & laughter I have received from my crossfit family. Thank you just isn't enough. I am forever grateful for each and every one of you and am so incredibly happy to have you in my life! <3

P.S.- I know most of you see my almost constant facebook posts about crossfit this and crossfit that- I just want you to know that they won't stop- so if it bothers you, just block me- because this is a major part of my life now!

P.P.S-  I can't wait for the NorthEast Regionals! It's going to be amazing!!

XOXO

-A

Rich Froning's butt at the ECC- just in case you forgot how good it looks!! ;)