Sunday April 7, 2013

Opens WOD 13.5: Second (and Final!!) attempt

As awful as this workout is, I was really looking forward to redoing it all weekend. I felt very little pressure as I knew it would take a miracle to send me to the Games. I had a new strategy mapped out that was literally down to the second! The new gameplan was to intentionally break the first set of pull-ups into sets of 5 in the hopes of not hitting that dreaded "redline" too early. The hope was to get through the second set of P/U's in 3 sets of 5 with only a few seconds rest between. The last set would be tough but I figured if I had about :45 - 1:00 I had a chance of banging out 15 pull-ups in sets of 3.

My plan went pretty well until that second round of pull-ups. I got the first set of 5 but had to break into smaller sets after that. My third round of Thrusters was pretty good actually. Put the bar down after 9 reps but picked it right up and gutted through the last 6 reps. Only about :30 left for the pull-ups - just enough time for 6 reps for a score of 81. Again, not terrible, not a score I'm ashamed of, yet not quite good enough and definitely not "elite".

After 5 Workouts, I can hold my head up high and say I gave it everything I had. I have no excuses and no regrets. I can't blame anything on injuries or bad luck or other people cheating. 29th place is not where I hoped to be but I accept the result for what it is and will not beat myself up over it. In the end, the top 20 guys are where they deserve to be and I truly salute them. I know I worked hard over the last year but I can imagine that they worked even harder.

While this is the end of my goal to make the 2013 CrossFit Games, this is also a new beginning. I am more committed than ever at getting better. And it's not just in the hope of making the 2014 Games. It's really about much more than that. More than anything, I want to be an elite level Crossfitter. I want to attack my weaknesses instead of pretending they don't exist. I need to work harder and suffer more but I also need to take care of my body better than ever. P.T., mobility and active recovery need to become a much bigger part of my training program. I also need to compete more with guys at or above my level. I need to be more disciplined around nutrition as well. I eat "pretty good" but I also have some bad habits that involve "little cheats". This can be like death by a thousand paper cuts. I will squash those habits ASAP and eat and train like a champion. Can't wait to start getting after it!