I survived! I popped my CrossFit Competition cherry and lived to tell about it!

I prepped a lot in advance–myself and Eileen making a list on Wednesday. It was rather large, including a tent, chairs, food, foam roller, loads of water, ice, waiver of liability, etc. We were trying to not be nervous by focusing on other things. It didn’t work so well, but we were prepared. I feel proud about how prepared we were, we didn’t miss a beat all day!

The night before I was nervous, I knew what the WOD’s were, I had talked to my trainer Holly {love her to bits!!} and I had a plan for the day, but this didn’t make me any less nervous about what I would be doing. I am very thankful I played competitive soccer in my youth, I was used to the day before jitters. I also knew I needed to get to bed early, since I was going to be up at 5:30am. Eileen wasn’t so lucky, she had family over for the night and she was so nervous her stomach was cramping and she barely slept. She didn’t need to worry, she would do great.

Eileen and I before it all started. So fresh looking!

8AM: WOD #1: 2 mile run

TIME: 29:22

I don’t feel anything other than great about this. Let’s look at where I have been for the past three months–no running or jumping. Since I have been given clearance to run and jump the longest distance I have run is 600m. I didn’t know if my calf and heel could take this. I went at my own pace, I had my iPod, my music and I just kept going. I didn’t need to walk until .75 miles in. At that point the arch in my foot started to feel weird. And I walked until it went away. Then I ran more. It wasn’t my conditioning, it was my foot. I walked when I needed to but for the last stretch I ran it straight. It sucked, I was gross and sweaty, but I wanted to push myself. My time was not a contender, but I beat my goal to not finish last. I was bottom ten, but I wasn’t the worst. And that, for me right now, is a win.

Me after the run. That is a “hooo boy” look!

10AM: WOD #2: Clean & Jerk 1 Rep Max

Score: 110lbs

This was so much fun!! I was paired with a girl who also was participating for the first time and we were about equal in strength. So we went up in weight together, which was fun. Her landing the weights pushed me to meet them right along with her. I must also express that at this time the sun was out and it was getting hot. I am sure this is when my back got burnt. But I digress. My previous 1 rep max was 85#, so when I landed that with ease I thought “I am going to PR the shit out of this!” and I wasn’t wrong! At 85# we started going up by 5# increments {much to the disappointment of the guy who was “cheering” his girlfriend on}. We tried to jump from 95# to 115# but we both failed. We then did 100# and then 110# and did it. She struggled more than me, but at 110# I made the decision to stop. My wrist was tweaking a little bit and I still had 2 more WOD’s to do. Plus, at this point I had PR’d by 25# and that was major for me.

11AM: Floater WOD: 14# Wall Balls for 2 minutes

Score: 47

I think this is one of the reasons why shoulders might be pissed at me. First–the target is higher than the one we do at my box. Second–I struggle with a 10# wall ball, so this sucked. I also didn’t try to do this hardcore. I was tired from the first two WOD’s and everything I was doing here was a PR. Plus, I knew that the next WOD was happening at noon, in the sun, no shielding me from the elements. I was one and done.

12PM: WOD #3: 5 burpees, 10 clean & jerks {65% of 1RM}, 15 14# wall ball sit-ups. 5 rounds. 15 min time cap

Score: 3 rounds plus 25 reps

Holy shit. This WOD was like crazy. I believe I have the potential to finish this WOD in 15 minutes. It was high noon. That black mat, in the sun was insanely hot. It sucked the wind from me in my first burpee and I had to mentally readjust to it. The clean and jerks were ok {I was lifting 70#} but got heavy fast and tiring fast. Plus the bar was getting hot in the sun, so hot i ripped the skin off my thumb. Crazy!! The sit-ups, which I had planned to be my best part, sucked. The mat was so hot, like lava hot. I hate laying down on it, it felt like it was sucking the energy from my body. At this point I wished we were not in the sun, because the mat seemed to get hotter the longer the WOD went on. At minute 7 I wanted to cry a little. But I was so hot no tears would be able to come from me anyways. So in-between sets I would pour water on my body because I was so hot. I kept going. I had to be yelled at, at the end, to pick up the bar, but I did it. I just kept moving. I almost started round 5. So close!

This is how I felt after the last WOD. A picture says a thousand words!

I was nowhere near the podium. I knew I wouldn’t be. My run was my biggest weakness and my lifting was my biggest strength. This was not a shock. I feel great about my first competition and I am proud about my results.

We were so lucky to have Skip and his son Jason come out and cheer us on from the very beginning. I kept thanking him all day, but I am not sure he realizes how integral he was to our overall morale for the day. They cheered us on, got in our face when he knew we needed it. When we felt too tired to move, he got us water. He is one of the best people I know here in Houston.

I was also lucky enough to have Robert come out in time to see me do the wall balls and then the final workout. He was nervous about yelling at me when I was flagging but Eileen and Skip were able to tell him how it was motivating. He packed the car when we were done, and took care of me for the rest of the day. He is so the best cheerleader ever.

Eileen fresh from her run, looking way more refreshed than I did!

Eileen was the perfect person to do this with. We are roughly at the same level–she’s a faster runner than me, but I can lift more than her. She beat me by 10 reps in the find WOD, but I landed more wall balls than her. And we knew what to say to get each other to the next round. She was even kind enough to invite myself and Robert over for a swim in her pool afterwards {it was glorious}. I can’t wait to do another one with her, in maybe in October! Let’s get Houston to cool down a bit, k? K.

Today I am feeling good. Tired, sore in my shoulder and ads, but my heel is totally fine. I am so happy I was able to walk away pain-free. Sure putting on a bra, shirt or reaching for something sucks, but it’s not a pain I haven’t felt before.

Overall, I would do this again. I learned to wear gloves when touching a barbell to avoid things like skin being ripped off it due to the heat. I would bring just as much food, water and more ice. I would hope to have more people there to cheer us on, because that is huge. And I hope to have a bit more time to prepare, two weeks was scary. But I don’t know how we could have prepared more. Gotta just trust the training.