It’s Monday morning, and the 2016 Open closes today. My first ever Open attempt ended on the backside of 16.5, Friday morning, on the 64th thruster, when an old shoulder injury took over and stopped me in my tracks. DNF – the proverbial competition kiss-of-death. I called it a day on the Open and have had plenty of time to think since then. Here’s what I’ve come up with over the last 3 days:
Written by Training Day Athlete, Rich Foote
- This is NOT a failure. I came into the Open this year with simple goals – Rx every workout and don’t go down without a fight. I had a lofty second goal of finishing in the top 50% of my group, the 40-44 Masters Men. I stayed pretty close through 16.4, and was ready for 16.5 when I showed up to the gym. This WOD was no joke, as most of you now know, and I gave it everything I had, right up until my body told me it was time to stop. I didn’t WANT to, I HAD to…and right up until I dropped the bar for the last time, I was fighting for every single rep.
- This IS a wake-up call. I’ve been doing Crossfit for almost 7 years, mostly on my own, but for the last 5 months with Training Day. I’ve learned a lot since I’ve signed on here, but I have a long way to go. I’m a competitive guy, and I love Crossfitting every day. What I realize after the Open is that I haven’t always been applying myself the way I should. I need to look at my weaknesses and do a better job attacking them, making time to train them and turn them into new strengths. I want to be better, every day. While I did Rx the 4 WODs I finished, I could’ve scored higher, I could’ve pushed harder, I could’ve gotten deeper into that dark place. Now is the time to step it up and push those limits.
- Motivation comes from so many places. You may not realize it, but there is a huge difference between working “hard” in the garage or at a daily class and working “HARD” in the middle of an Open WOD with music and the community and points on the line…and for me specifically, with my wife in front of me, pushing me through reps and new movements. I do this stuff because I love it, but more importantly because it’s a family goal to do it for a living, to be part of the Crossfit community and help others achieve the things we’ve achieved. Plus, setting an example of a healthy lifestyle for my son is a big deal, and he’s already paying attention and wanting to get involved, so I’d better keep it up.
- Goal-setting is a continuous process. I started 2016 with a list of goals, some individual movements and some bigger ideas. Three months later, I’ve added a few things to the list, and I look at that list every week, think about ways to attack those goals and get as close as I can to each of them before 2016 is gone and we’re sneaking up on another Open season. Sure, I still want to snatch 135, walk on my hands and knock out some more Rx benchmarks, but now I also want to focus on building a better engine and understanding the science behind what makes every improvement possible. Level 1 certification is in the near future, and anything else I can get into to keep making progress.
- In the end, it’s how YOU feel that counts. Seriously, YOU are what matters. If you know you’ve done your best, given everything you’ve got and learned something in the process, then you’ve succeeded. If you’re happy and your family is happy, then you can always call it a win. Crossfit is hard, there’s no denying that. We’ve chosen the challenge, and we tackle it every day. Make the most of every opportunity to work hard and to learn. Take care of yourself and the people who matter the most, and the rest will come to you.
Written by Training Day Athlete, Rich Foote
