Last Hopper WOD

So it's now Sunday, and it's time for the fourth and final (for me) WOD of the day. I worked out three times yesterday, more than I worked out in the past two weeks, and my body is sore. However, the soreness is really in my traps and some in my quads, muscles I know I can push through. ...On a side note I wore the shirt I got from competing in last year's hopper, and for some reason everyone else did too. Weird how we all got the memo.

They draw from the hopper, and this is what they come up with:
AMRAP 7 minutes
5 push jerk @135#
12 KB swings @53#
7 burbees

Nothing impossible, I can definitely do this. And then there was a bonus incentive.

At that time I was ranked 67th, and before the workout my girlfriend Kristin turned to me and said, "if you move up to 62nd, I'll do crossfit for a month".

Now, Kristin doing crossfit has been a dream of mine since I started. I feel that if she experienced the wonders that is crossfit it would help her out in the same way it helped me and everyone else out. ...I don't think there could have been a stronger incentive for me to push myself to the limits.

So in 3, 2, 1 the WOD starts. I clean the weight and begin push jerking it. I'm not realy having any issues, and I move on to the Kb swings. They're not hard in the least since I'm used to heavier weight, but they take a long time since my arms are much longer than most. Need to figure out a way to increase the speed of them. Anyway the burbees weren't really a problem , although they weren't fun either.

As I get to the third round, my legs start to quiver when I hold the weight for the jerk. I drop the bar at least once, but I get it back up right away. I want Kristin to crossfit, more than pretty much anything else in the world, and I'm not about to let a silly little 135# get in the way of that. I'm never stopping, but I'm slowing down a lot. My muscles are just not quickly responding, no matter how much I tell them to hurry up. With the burpees, I find a place of pain that I've rarely reached, and I go further. I know with the burpees it's not a strength thing, it's a determination thing; and I am going to grit this one out. I close my eyes with the burpees, and just wince through it. Sadly though, I don't get to finish my fourth round. I end up with about three and a half rounds, and I know it's not enough to reach 62nd.

So I'm lying on the ground, telling myself, "I've failed" over and over. Who knows when the next time Kristin will offer up a chance to crossfit, I had an opportunity and I couldn't take advantage of it. While I was lying there, some random guy came over and helped me up, telling me not to finish like that, to finish strong and don't let the wod get the best of you. ...It kind of annoyed me, who was he to tell me anything about how to work out. But he was right in that I was lying there focusing on the negative, and that's not the way to go.

So my three and a half rounds were good enough for 70th place. Obviously, 70th doesn't help me get to 62nd, it sets me back for a final finish of 69th. But I felt so much better throughout this competition. I actually had fun doing this! I didn't crush the WODs, but I didn't let them crush me like last time either, so I'm very happy with the improvement. I had my doubts going in to this competition, I was afraid that it would expose me to be the weaking that I am, but instead I had a fun time finding new places in my mind, and had a great time with the other people of CFOT. In the end, I'm really, really glad that I did this, I think it brings a lot more to my experience as a crossfitter, and really helps me out as a coach.

This was so enjoyable that I have already signed up for another crossfit competition, Superfit in Charlottesville, VA. Hopefully this time I won't have bronchitis right before the competition, and I'll really get a chance to train.