Why I Love the Open

When I started CrossFit back in 2010 it wasn't about competing at all (and the Open didn't even exist yet). I had recently retired from my career as a hammer thrower, had spent a year getting skinny fat by eating crap and running long distances (which I got better at, but didn't enjoy much), and I basically realized that if I didn't start doing something a little more functional I was going to lose capacity to do even regular things pretty quickly.

In the years since, CrossFit has formed the basis for a wide variety of opportunities in my life, many of which we've been able to live together through the formation of Arena Ready. I've certainly spent an awful lot of energy training and competing, and to those who may not know me as well it might seem that's what it's been about at the core, but especially this year I've had the opportunity to reflect, and I can honestly say that while I do enjoy competing, and striving to make the next level, that's not really what it's been about in prior years, nor will it be my focus this year.

I do the Open to see what I'm capable of, to test my weaknesses, and to enjoy my strengths. I enjoy laying it all out there to see where I fall short (or even literally faceplant if we're talking HSPUs). I enjoy the motivation that I feel for months or even years after a good competition - I still remember finding a second wind to run faster when Brittany Williamson was about to pass me on the final lap of a workout at Femme Fit back in 2010, and I draw on that second wind frequently when I think I "can't go any faster". My interest in getting better at the things I'm not very good at, or to endure things I don't like very much, benefits me in all areas of my life, not just in the gym, and I enjoy developing self-awareness of how much I care about achieving my goals, getting better at being me, and generally persevering even when things don't come easily. Years and years later, I still find this fun.

I also do the Open because I really think it's fun to hang out at the gym with my friends. I enjoy cheering for everyone, and hoping that they are able to perform in line with their expectations. I like strategizing pacing, and it's funny when people accidentally go out too fast and have to live with that for more minutes than they'd like. I LOVE watching people get firsts in the Open because it provides that tiny extra push that enables them to want success more than they fear failure. It's really cool to reflect on everyone's time lapses - to see how far they've come while also appreciating the opportunity they have to continue growing, if they so choose. It's just sort of a magical time of year.

Finally, one year I didn't really do the Open. I entered, but I had decided I wasn't doing it to be my best self, I wasn't trying to see what I could accomplish, and mostly because my heart was a little broken from falling a single point short of qualifying for the Games in the year prior I didn't really want to put myself out there again. That year I learned that it never was actually about the end result. It's about the journey, and it's a journey that I love, [almost] entirely independent of where I fall on the leaderboard. Putting myself out there is fun.

This CrossFit season has obviously been a means to keep my body healthy as I work on an entirely different mission. I've been torn about competing in the Open because there are a lot of things I can't (or shouldn't) do. I'm a little self-conscious about actually recording on the internet how different my best is right now (given the constraints of being 36 weeks pregnant) and putting legitimate, "where I'm at today" scores on the internet for people to see, only to feel like I "should" be capable of more. But you know what? That's no different from anyone else, ever, in the history of the Open (and I've done it every year, so I know). Just like everyone else, I need to be mindful of my body, my current training volume and capacity, and the appropriate level of intensity for me where I'm at right now. I have the opportunity to compete alongside my friends, to record this benchmarked moment in time, and to become a little more self-aware. Sure, I probably won't be able to do even a whole workout as prescribed, I may not be able to get even a single rep of one of the scaled workouts, and I'm likely to have to skip a workout or two at the end, but between now and then, I get to be out there doing something I actually love alongside my AR family.

The Open is pretty cool.

The first workout of the 2018 CrossFit Games Worldwide Open ("18.1") was released on Thursday evening, so if you're going to be completing the workout this weekend at Arena Ready (either during the fun craziness of our Open Heats during all Saturday classes, or during Sunday Open Gym) then please start by reviewing the workout details here and watching the standards video above (which covers only the Rx workout, and not the scaled version) - thanks!

It's not too late to register for the 2018 Open!  Join in on the fun and register here on the CrossFit Games website (make sure to select Arena Ready as BOTH your affiliate and your team).  You'll be able to register up until the online score submission deadline for 18.1 on Monday at 5pm (i.e. you can come in and do the workout this weekend and then register & enter your score afterward, as long as that's before Monday at 5pm).     

WOD For 02-23-18:

Single Arm Dumbbell Overhead Squat:

5-5-5-5-5 (per side)

-then-

4 Rounds For Time:

200m Run with Medicine Ball @ 20/14 lbs

20 Medicine Ball Walking Lunges @ 20/14 lbs

20 Box Jumps @ 24/20 in

20 Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 10/9 ft

You may support/hold the medicine ball in any fashion during the run and lunges, except on top of your head or by holding the laces/tabs.