2014 Crossfit Open Recap.

Holy COW you guys, life is CRAZY right now.  But guess what??!  No more grad classes for me until the fall, WOOO!!  I have two courses left to take and it just so happens neither of them are offered this semester.  I think that was God’s way of lightening up my load for the crazy months ahead.  Thanks, big guy.  Despite being a tad bit stressed lately, it has also been an awesome 5 weeks due to the Crossfit Open.  Warning crossfit hater friends, even though I still love you, you may want to stop reading now.

Normally all of our workouts are programmed by our coach (who is insane/awesome) but this time of year we get to do the same workout as other boxes all over the world and see where we match up.  It is pretty cool and also INCREDIBLY humbling.

Last year in the Open, I was sick to my stomach almost every week before the workout was posted.  Almost every time, it was a movement or a weight that I had not been able to master yet.  So, I was excited that this year I could do almost everything.  It was the year of cardio, which you would think means I kicked a$$ on everything… but that is certainly not the truth.  The weights may have been lighter this year, but it was a good reminder that even though I am indeed getting stronger, my form and technique still needs a lot of work.

It is also this time of year that I feel the most “fun”.  Why?  Because it means Friday nights consist of doing a ridiculously hard workout followed by hanging around in your sweaty workout clothes and enjoying a few celebratory beers in honor of that ridiculously hard workout.  If only all bars were like that, maybe I would be a normal 27 year old who liked going out.

It has been 2 years since I started this Crossfit Journey and I honestly thought that eventually it would get old.  I thought I would get bored after a while and need another change.  Man was I wrong, every day is a new challenge.  Every day is a new milestone.  What others see as a “fad” has become my saving grace and what has pushed me passed my athletic limits these last two years.  I have been an athlete almost my whole life but when I left college and no longer had a team, I felt a little empty.  Having a good family and friend support system is one thing, but having people who help you push past your physical and mental boundaries is something else pretty special.   It makes me feel empowered and it makes me feel alive.  While nobody can ever replace my college soccer team, I have a new team now.  We might be a team of misfits, but we show up every day and we do our best.  Some days are harder than others, but one constant remains…we keep getting better and we have a hell of a good time while doing it.