The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat

5
Mar

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat

Team CFO has knocked out 2 of the 5 CrossFit Games Open workouts.  The first WOD was like getting beaten by a bag of onions.  I loved 12.2 (an ascending snatch ladder, information pills with heavy loads) as a competitor, order but as a coach/affiliate owner, ask I had my doubts.
 
I can say I had a TON of fun watching Team CFO hit lifts they never hit before while exhausted.  The beauty of the snatch is, you either have it or you don’t.  This kept things relatively safe for the athlete really trying to push themselves (a heavy deadllift ladder, for example may have been more tenuous).
 
As the clock wore on, and the loads got heavier, Team CFO had to dig down deep.  I promise you, we all wondered if we would be able to make some big lifts under serious fatigue.  As we stood and watched, each successful lift was cheered like we won a gold medal.  Tony, Mike, Christine, Alison, Emmaline, Don, Tricia hit PRs on their snatch, then continued to hit it deep in the workout.  Tony snatched 135 22 times!  Mike snatched it 23 times!  Emmaline snatched 75#s, a PR 7 times, after missing it all night on Wednesday!  Tricia couldn’t hit 100# in warmups, but somehow found the strength to hit 100# in the WOD!  Christine missed 100# on Thursday, but made the lift 3 times on Saturday, fighting fatigue and the mental anguish of missed reps.  Louis pounded out 14 snatches at 165, and Chance saved a 165# lift from off his knees!
 
I may have doubted 12.2 as a safe test of fitness, but I think I was wrong.  Everyone met the challenge, and even in failure, we saw so much determination and will.  Once you got tired, making those heavy lifts took everything you had.  Watching each athlete set up, miss, try again, miss, and make a lift to cheers was life affirming.  Each judge was a cheerleader for their athlete, coaching them through the effort.  It was like watching the opening of “Wide World Of Sports“: the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, the human drama of athletic competition, all in a matter of seconds.  In life we fail, but it’s the getting back up, and the support of others that makes us stronger.  It’s moments like this that really remind me why I love this stuff.
 
Team CFO is working hard, and it’s been a blast.  It’s been so much fun, we’d like to share it with the whole gym.  On Sunday, March 25th, we will hold the final workout at noon, and follow it up with a catered lunch from Phat Hogs BBQ, a new spot here in Oakdale.  We hope you come out and cheer on Team CFO as we go for it, then enjoy some barbecue after a job (hopefully) well done.
 
On March 24th, CrossFit Oakdale will be participating in the SOS (Support Oakdale Schools) Run. If you haven’t signed up already, there are forms at the gym as well as online. All proceeds from the event will go to Oakdale schools through Teacher Grants. Come help support our community. It is $25 to register (1mile, 5k or both) and you are guaranteed a t-shirt if you register before March 9th.
 
Please RSVP to the above events on Facebook too! We want to make sure we know who is attending.
 

Workout of the Day
 
Strength
Pullups
Work on weighted pull-ups (use the belt, or pinch a weight between your knees/ankles).
If you don’t have weighted, work on dead hang.  If you don’t have dead hang, work on assisted dead hangs (use the crossed leg assist method)
 
Metcon
21-15-9 rep rounds for time of:
Pullups (CTB for Open athletes)
Box Jumps 24/20
Wallball Shots 20/14