Competition is a cruel mistress. You can be drawn into competitions that, in retrospect, you probably have no real business joining. I’m mean, sure the word “open” is right there in the event title. Your trainer probably even said something like “we encourage everyone to participate.” But seriously, the CrossFit Open? What the hell was I thinking?
According to the official Web site, “The 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games are the ultimate test of fitness. The Games are a grueling multi-day, multi-event competition to determine the Fittest on Earth.” Are you laughing, yet?
Week One’s Workout is 30 double-unders followed by 15 power snatches (55 lbs. for women). You do as many of these sets as you can in 15 minutes. When I heard the first activity was double-unders, I seriously considered quitting immediately. It’s only a $10 entry fee and, seriously, DOUBLE-UNDERS!
There’s guys (and women) at my gym that can throw a bunch of double-unders in a row and it looks like they’re just…jumping rope. They are as graceful and as smooth as a school girl skipping rope. Only, with my gym mates, the rope swings twice, effortlessly for each jump. I have to do four or five single jumps to get the rhythm, then throw the double under. And it works about 65% (maybe 70%) of the time. The other thing about double-unders is I still get a little surprised when I manage to do one (and stop jumping). So, I have to start over a lot: four singles…double, stop….four singles, double (oops, missed)….four singles… I’m sure you can visualize the process.
The other thing was that each competitor had to be observed by a judge. To be honest, when I signed up, I thought my attempt would be more….private. My judge was John, co-owner of Crossfit Will County. We call him, “Bad Cop.” He’s not mean, he's just...serious: standing quietly, arms crossed over his chest, watching.
John leaned in and explained the rules. As he was talking, I glanced over his shoulder at the door and I thought, “I can take him.” I had this crazy image of me just knocking him over and making a break for the door. Sure, he’s bigger, and a dude and, generally, in much, MUCH better shape than I am. But, I’m a brown belt and, in that moment, I was convinced I could kick his ass. Or at least beat him down long enough to make it to the door.
“Do you understand the rules?” John asked. I looked back at him and nodded. A short hysterical giggle escaped from my lips. I slapped my hand over my mouth but continued nodding.
John looked straight into my eyes and smiled slightly. For a second, I thought he knew I was planning to knock his ass over and run for the door. “Good, as long as we’re on the same page.” For some reason, I felt calmer then. I had finally realized John wasn’t actually stopping me from reaching the door; I was free to leave any time I wanted. The panicky feeling began to retreat a little.
I picked up the jump rope and waited for the timer to start. “Just one set,” I said to myself, “I just need to finish one set.”
It took the first ten minutes for me to accomplish the first 30 double-unders. I was only lifting 45 lbs. for the power snatch. (So my score wouldn’t actually qualify at the competition). But, on the brighter side, it was a reasonable task for me. I got the 15 snatches out of the way in a couple minutes and had time to start another set of (yuck) jumps. So, I finished with one full set (and 8 extra double-unders).
When the 15 mins. was over, I was starting to wish I had attempted my escape. John put his arm around my shoulders. “I’m so proud of you, Stacy.”
OK, so maybe that sentence means a little more when you hear it coming from Bad Cop. Besides, maybe I’ll luck out and next week’s workout will be two things I have a chance of doing, like traditional situps and walking on my hands.
(Note: I actually did this the Saturday before the Naperville Challenge. But Karate comes first. And, if you’re keeping track, that means Saturdays, for the next six weeks, start at 7:30a.m. for sparring and grappling and then move onto this Fitness competition.)
