{"id":793,"date":"2012-03-29T12:54:48","date_gmt":"2012-03-29T19:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/?p=793"},"modified":"2012-03-29T12:54:48","modified_gmt":"2012-03-29T19:54:48","slug":"crossfit-2012-open-comments-and-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/?p=793","title":{"rendered":"Crossfit: 2012 Open comments and notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2021 Crossfit Games Open<\/a>\u00a0is over. \u00a0Five weeks of competition to see what our Crossfit selves were made of. \u00a0Week one was burpees, week two snatches, week three presses, box jumps and toes-to-bar pullups, and week four was wall-balls, double-unders and muscle-ups, and week five was thrusters and chest-to-bar pullups. \u00a0You can see the workouts here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I had no idea really what I was getting into,\u00a0because\u00a0I had no plans to compete, but CFES<\/a> said, “yes you are”, so yes I did.<\/p>\n

The main thing I took away from the Open was to plan carefully. \u00a0For me that meant being realistic about what I could accomplish, and set my pacing myself accordingly. \u00a0Mostly that worked; for four of the workouts I met my goals. \u00a0The exception was week four, the\u00a0wall-balls. \u00a0I really thought I could do 150. \u00a0I gtt 98. \u00a0You can see my results here<\/a>. As it so happens for week three I forgot to post my score of 153, so I didn’t get an official ranking. \u00a0But I’m somewhere in the bottom 5%.<\/p>\n

It was tough. \u00a0Every Wednesday I would check to see what the workout would be. \u00a0By Thursday I was starting to feel worried, Friday nervous, and Saturday morning come workout time I had a bad case of nerves. \u00a0It would get to the point where I was losing too much energy worrying and it was a relief to get going.<\/p>\n

The 75# snatches, the 95# push presses, and the 90# thrusters were all right at the edge of my abilities. \u00a0In fact most the workouts I was doing things I hadn’t done much of. \u00a0In fact I had never actually done toes-to-bar, or chest-to-bar. \u00a0I had to figure those out in one day.<\/p>\n

The pacing was critical, and I had some great support from judges and the people watching. \u00a0That’s a big part of the experience — there is someone there to coach, count, help with timing, and people are watching and cheering. \u00a0The nerves, the noise, the physical stress all get combined with a kind of internal quiet into one impression.<\/p>\n

The final workout was my best. \u00a0The previous four weeks had helped me get disciplined, and I felt like I knew what I was doing. \u00a0What I found interesting is how different I \u00a0experience\u00a0time in a hard workout. \u00a0Seven minutes? \u00a0It felt like an hour. \u00a0My focus increases,\u00a0extraneous\u00a0thoughts are gone, I am calmer. \u00a0At first I can think about the next three moves; after a while it’s one move, then eventually parts of moves. \u00a0Just get one more set of three, just get one more set, then it’s just get your hands on the bar. \u00a0Pull. \u00a0Move the legs. \u00a0Pull. \u00a0Now do that set of moves one more time. \u00a0 And a loud voice is saying go! \u00a0One more!<\/p>\n

It comes down to resolve. Pain? It’s just another experience. After the final workout, I felt like my heart was pounding so fast I would faint. \u00a0I had to lay down and close my eyes. \u00a0I have a new word for it: gym spin. \u00a0Like bed spins, only without the alcohol. \u00a0I was able to get up after a few minutes, but it took a while for me to really recover my wits (such as they are, anyhow).<\/p>\n

One thing I didn’t experience is the kind of explosive energy I see in the better\u00a0athletes. \u00a0I’ll have the work on that. \u00a0Next year for sure.<\/p>\n

That’s it for now. \u00a0Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!<\/p>\n