Ok, havent been posting in a while. Had alot going on since the games but here is whats on my mind:
My games experience was fantastic! Our team as a whole gave it everything we had and I could not be prouder. As for my performance, well, that is a different story. Although I was mostly pleased with how I did on the MU/DL/GHD/Sprint wod, the sandbag and Max Rope Climb/Clean wods crushed me. During warm ups for the Sandbag wod we were picking each other up to simulate the sandbags. I picked up one of my 210# teammates and carried him a short distance. As I was putting him down, I leaned slightly to my right and my back popped and immediately got tight (Fantastic!). I got that feeling when you kind of get the wind knocked out of you, but I was ok. So, what do I do? Pick him up again, of course. I intentionally tried to tighten up my abs and was able to carry him without any trouble this time. As the wod started and I began running with the 180# sandbag across my shoulders I felt good. Until I got to the logs at midfield that is. I put the sandbag on the logs and hopped over. Then I picked it up and had it on my right shoulder (which was a great idea since that was the side where my back popped and was now throbbing, absolute genius Matt). I remember the bag folded me down a little bit after I had walked about 10 yards from the logs and I pulled it down and carried it in front of me. I was moving at about half the speed of smell but I wasnt gonna drop that dang bag. All my teammates passed by me and I was hurting. Then, one of the camera men gets right in front of me and is filming me moving at a snails pace with this bag, great. By the time I got to the wall on the other side of the field I dropped the bag and could barely feel my arms. My heart rate was through the roof and honestly the rest of the wod is a blur. I gave it everything I had but I felt I let my team down. Going into the wod, even before I hurt my back, I didnt have the normal pre-competition wod jitters. I didnt have the butterflies in my stomach, or that sense of urgency of an impending fight. Even now, over two weeks later, this still puzzles me. This was the first wod for my team in the biggest CF competition there is- The Crossfit Games, and honestly I felt almost no nerves or excitement. I sat in a chair after the wod for probaly half an hour feeling bad about my performance and sulking. I apologized to my teammates, but they wouldnt hear any of it. They all told me that they knew I gave it my all and to get ready for the next wod. This made me feel better, but by this time my back was getting extremely tight and I could feel a knot about mid way up my thoracic spine on the right side. I went to the stadium and got worked on by the chiropractor's which did help some. I knew I had to get my mind right so that I would be ready to perform in the second wod. During warm ups for it I got loose and my back was feeling better. I felt good climbing the rope, and easily hit a 205# squat clean. With my current pr being 215#, this made me feel better. But, even more importantly I had the pre-wod jitters (now im feeling like myself again). So we go to the stadium floor and begin the wod. The first 3 rope climbs felt easy. I was almost to the top of the rope on my 7th climb when time expired. My grip didnt feel too bad, but when I grabbed the first 135# clean it was very fatigued. I power cleaned 135# to get something on the board quickly, then put on 185#. I power cleaned it as well, but noticed that my pull didnt feel strong at all and I almost dropped it because my grip was shot. Anyway, I got it and still had over a min left. I bumped the weight up to 205# and rested about 15-20 sec. The first time I tried it I barely got it past my waist and my grip gave out. I rested until they gave the 15 sec warning then tried again. This time I pulled it to my chest but didnt whip my elbows around or even try to squat clean it. When I saw the video of myself on the clean I got sick to my stomach. The bar was above my chest and all I had to was whip my elbows around it. Again, I gave it everything I had physically but mentally I was making dumb mistakes. Our team finished 18th on the wod and we were in 18th overall after day 1- No thanks to me and my crappy performances.
The first wod of day 2 was an absolute God send. Muscle ups, 245# deadlifts, GHD situps, and sprints- now we're talking! Our team tore through the wod and finished 19th overall. I felt much better about my performance but I still made some silly mistakes like not coming off the rings controlled after my first set of MU and not running in a straight line on the sprints. Even so, I finally felt like I contributed to the success of our team as opposed to them carrying me and doing well in spite of my performance. During the final wod I have to say that I was so proud to see my wife tear through the 95# S2O. That is pretty heavy for her but she crushed them. Also, she flew through the monkey bars like a spider monkey on crack which was really cool to see. The double unders got a little rough but that is one of those things that you can want to do all day long and if the timing is off then it just wont happen. Our team fought till the end and ended up 27th overall. With only the top six teams going on to the final wod, we were out of the competition. So, what did we do- celebrate! We got caught up on some overdue cheat meals and watched the individual competition. There were so many outstanding athletes. It was very inspiring to see Rich and Annie as well as the other top competitors throwing down. For me though, the two athletes that stood out the most were Annie Sakamoto and Chris Spealler. The determination, athleticism, and all out heart that these diminutive competitors displayed was unreal. In spite of them being significantly smaller than the rest of the competitors, they both managed to not only compete but dominate several events that required them to lift or move substantially greater loads than their own body weight. Seeing this in person is something that will always stay with me. However, seeing them interact with others and the kindness and humility they both displayed was even more impressive.
Ashley and I actually got the opportunity to meet and talk to Chris and his wife Sarah at the athletes dinner the night before the games. There was a line of people waiting to talk to Chris and he took the time to speak to each and every one, taking pictures and answering peoples questions about training, life, and anything else. Now, I had seen Chris' height and weight numbers on the listing of all the individual competitors before meeting him and I knew that he was not physically a very big dude. But standing there with him I felt like a giant. Looking back now after seeing him squat snatch 205#, push the dog sled with over 300#, and crush the rest of the wods, it is even more impressive. He is living proof that "it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog."
So, where do I go from here? In seeing games competitors like Rich, Chris, Annie, etc. it makes anyone want to attempt to unlock their own potential as an athlete, and as a person. For me, it has made me analyze what I have to do to be my best. Therefore, I am recommitting myself- First and foremost to Christ. Each day I will study God's word and live it. I know I will never be perfect but I will strive to live and love those around me as Christ did. I commit to be the best husband, son, brother, friend, athlete and trainer I can be. I will do all things for God's glory and to the best of my ability. As for my training- I am currently reading Greg Everett's book "Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes and Coaches." I am starting a 12 week Olympic Weightlifting and Core Strengthening cycle next week. Upon completion of that I plan on attending an Olympic Weightlifting certification course, as well as studying OPT's methodology to learn how to program more effectively for myself and others, and continue to expand my knowledge through further specialty courses and study. I have a ton of work ahead of me but I am excited for the challenge. I am far from the finish line!
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