GoodBye Opens, HELLO Regionals!

27
Mar

GoodBye Opens, HELLO Regionals!

The 2012 CrossFit Games have come to a close.  We had great participation, purchase with 13 athletes participating, along wit some guests.  We had men, women and masters competitors.  We also had a team, Team CrossFit Oakdale.  The scores of the top 3 men and top women went to the team score, and we ended up in 60th place in Northern California.
The workouts were varied and challenging.  One of CFO’s highlights was Don Q placing 39th in the freaking world in the Masters Division in WOD 12.2.  Amazing!
For many first time competitors, I think the scary thing about putting yourself out there in the Open is wondering, “How can I do this?”  I saw a ton of this last year.  I loved the look in the eye of Mike and Tony as they wrapped their heads around big snatches in 12.2 and double unders and muscle up AFTER 150 wall ball shots in 12.4.  But for those athletes that took on the Open for the second time, we saw them asking “How can I do this well?”  What an improvement in a year!  Yes, your fitness improved, but so did your mental game, as you went into attack mode.
As a gym, we got beat up a little in WOD 12.1, 7 minutes of burpees.  This put us all behind the 8-ball, and we had to dig our way out.  It was amazing to watch our scores climb after this suckfest, both a individuals and as a team.  We climbed from 84th place to 60th place in one of the toughest regions in the world, and the birth place of CrossFit.  Be proud of that!  I will break down a few of the WODs in another post, looking at what CrossFit Oakdale did well, and what we can improve on.
I believe the Open “tricks” you into becoming fitter.  We believe intensity is the single greatest factor in improving fitness, and the more intensity we pour into WODs, the fitter we get.  As each WOD comes out, our ego’s push us harder.  If you know you’re going to do 150 wall ball shots against everyone in the world, you prepare your body all week for the test: you eat right, mobilize, get in your training, rest properly, to tackle this test.  Combine that with your previous scores, and comparing to how other athletes in your peer group did, and the intensity goes through the roof.
The peer group in the Open is an interesting thing.  Yes, we are comparing ourselves against the fittest on earth.  But you can compare yourself by age, bodyweight and more.  It’s crazy, but you may find an athlete that you tie every WOD on.  How is that even possible?  Bob found a CrossFit “Clydesdale” message board (men over 6ft, over 200lb), and found a whole new peer group to jockey position with and compare strategy.  I wonder if Gloria and Emmaline can find a “Tinkerbell” CrossFit division: ladies under 5’3, under 120lb.  The heart these ladies showed in taking on these challenging WODs made me so proud.
Given enough time, nearly everyone can develop elite times on CrossFit WODs.  But what is really damn hard, is moving up on the leader board, because everybody is getting better.  Go to a CrossFit event: everyone is mobilizing, eating right, and has their own Olympic weightlifting coach following them around.  People take this stuff SERIOUS.  Christine threw her hat in the ring this year, and placed 260th, putting her in the top 25% of Nor Cal females.  The big jump came from Alison and Tricia.  Christine, Al, and Tricia push each other all the time, in a fun, exciting way.  Alison competed in the open last year, and finished in the top 60% of athletes.  Yes, that also means she was in the bottom 40%.  This year, she jumped to 306 place, against a much larger field, putting her in the top 33% of competing athletes!  The biggest jump goes to Tricia, who jumped from the bottom 20% of competing athletes last year to 384th place in Nor Cal, placing her squarely in the top 40% of competing athletes!
I had a great time these last 5 weeks.  I met my goal, and placed 25th in the Region, earning a spot back at Regionals.  I look forward to getting ready in the next 2 months.   I enjoyed the breaking down of the WODs and the anticipation leading up to the effort.  Most of all I enjoyed the support and camaraderie we shared through this test of fitness.  Only 11 months to the 2013 Opens!

Workout of the Day
Strength
Overhead Squat
In 15 minutes, build to a heavy single.
Metcon
AMRAP 12
9 Overhead Squats 115/75
1 Sled Push/Farmers Carry
If a sled is available, push it to the cone and back (approx 100ft).  If not, pick up 2 kettlebells/dumbbells and walk to the street and back.