With the 2014 Crossfit Open now over, it’s time to go back to strictly weightlifting. I enjoyed myself again this year, and can’t say I won’t miss it. I had a lot of great experiences, made friends, and had times of self-reflection. That being said, I will be returning to Crossfit this summer…after Nationals.
There were so many things that I learned this year while doing the Open that I am just going to summarize them:
- You will be inspired. Inspiration will come to you at some point…if not right away. You will have that fleeting moment where it gets stirred up inside you. For me, I was inspired by witnessing high-level athletes compete. Although that motivates me, it doesn’t motivate me as much as the person who is exactly the opposite; the person who is average or less than average, who has more drive and passion than those who are elite. I spoke with a few people this year that weren’t concerned about the leaderboard. They were happy just to do the workouts and see how far they could get through them, even if they weren’t proficient in all the movements. After I did 14.5, I spoke with a girl who said she finished the workout in just less than half an hour. She had never done a 65lb thruster in her life. But she finished the workout. I was greatly inspired by this person’s heart and determination; I can think of a million people who would have made every excuse in the book, or just given up. But not her.
- You will become mentally tough. If you’re not mentally tough already, it will grow on you when you’re in Crossfit. Just like the example I provided above, you will push even when you think you can’t push anymore. It will hurt, but your mind will drive through it. I’ve never seen anything like this before. You can be in the bottom of a clean, straining to stand up, with people who don’t even know who you are cheering for you. And you’ll stand up. The more you overcome those obstacles, the stronger your mind will get. If you already possess mental prowess, it will get even sharper.
- You will improve. Maybe it’s because of the community environment. Maybe the improvements are due to the two aforementioned points. Either way, you will improve. You may not improve as much as you want to at times, but you will still see improvement within yourself. I believe that’s what Crossfit is about. Providing inspiration, forging mental toughness, so you and others can improve yourself in every way possible.
14.5 Recap and Training Update:
This is a going to be a short one. Hopefully, I’ll never have to do 14.5 EVER AGAIN. I can’t point out to you anything that hurt in particular. I just felt dead throughout the entirety of the workout. Knowing that my endurance is crap, I went in with no special strategy. I pretty much decided that I wanted to just get the workout over with; I wasn’t aiming for any specific number. I just kept moving the entire time. I ended up finishing in 15:24. It felt like an hour, but I am and was happy with the outcome. And no puke!
It’s weightlifting time! Not that I totally deviated from my training, but the fact that I’m not killing myself on Saturdays will help my recovery. I’m deloading this week, but on a new training cycle. The Open and going to max all the time on my lifts was quite draining (and probably not the smartest). I have to chill out a bit and then build back up towards the end of the month.
I can’t wait until next year’s Crossfit Open…