"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
-Winston Churchill
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| Above: CrossFit 808 ready for action at the 2011 CrossFit Games Northern California Regional in San Jose, California! Coach Josh will be competing in the Individual Men competition, Coach Elyse will compete in the Individual Women competition, and Rome, Lei, Kyla, Mike Kinzie, Mike Ballenger, and Hoku will compete in the team competition. |
Today's WOD:
Part A:
2K Row for time.
Part B:
100 Wall Balls (20/14 lbs. to 10 ft.) for time.
Inside Coach Elyse's head: Day 1 of the Nor Cal Regionals
The first day of Regionals had finally arrived. I could not have been more anxious. There were a thousand different thoughts racing through my mind as we were briefed in the stands by the director of the Nor Cal Regional, Andy Boone. Blame it on the time change or the fact that I could not relax, but I only had about 5 hours of sleep the night before. Would this affect my performance on Day 1? What if I choke? What if cramp up? What if I let everyone who has been behind me down? What if my shoelace unties during the workout? What if some "new" chick comes out of nowhere and smokes me? Yes, these were all the things that ran through my mind as I waited for my heat for first workout to be called.
Finally, we were on the start line for Workout 1 and every part of my body was shaking. Was this really happening? Was Regionals about to start for me? Then, the 3, 2, 1... GO!
I finished Workout 1 in 10:30, a 1-second PR from when I practiced the workout at home. 1-second PR... I'll take it! Was it perfect? Well, if you forget about the fact that I kicked my judge in the head as I failed a Handstand Push-up and you don't remind me that my judge forgot to start my Rower before I got to it, then yes, Workout 1 was just fine. But, that's exactly what CrossFit prepares you for--the things that you can't control and happen all the time. You just move on!
Next up was the Thruster Ladder (Workout 2) and I knew I had to do fairly well in this one despite weighing in at only 120 lbs. The standards were strict and many athletes from the week before had choked under the pressure. Would I lose my balance and step forward on a light weight? Would I choke too? The ladder doesn't care that I'm smaller and lighter. One by one as each girl stepped into the Thruster Ladder, the more my nerves took over. Then, it was my turn. I was the last female athlete to enter the ladder. I took a deep breath, power cleaned the first barbell (105 lbs.), and thrustered it. Then I moved onto 115 pounds and that went up smoothly. As I stepped up to 125 lbs., I was feeling a lot more comfortable (I should've known that wasn't going to last long) and power cleaned the barbell up. As I squatted down to initiate the Thruster, I got too relaxed and the barbell travelled a little too far a away from my body as it went up. Luckily, I somehow squeezed every muscle in my body and willed it back over my head. My judge quietly commended me for the "great save". I was back to being uncomfortable and nervous. Next was 130 lbs., then 135 lbs., then 140 lbs., and 145 lbs. As I stepped up to 150 lbs. I was the only athlete left out there and all eyes were on me. I took a deep breath and thrustered--150 lbs. had been my max with the Regional Standards and when that was cleared there was a sigh of relief. The crowd began to cheer as I stepped up to the 155 lbs. barbell. I took a deep breath and gave it everything I had! Surprisingly, the barbell went up and over my head as I locked out and waited for what seemed like FOREVER for the judge to say down, I could feel my back giving out to the load. I tried to hang on and not take a step, but there was no down signal and I stepped backwards. So close, but no 155 lbs.
After Day 1, I went home tied for 1st with Chyna Cho--3rd place for Workout 1 (3 points) and 3rd place for Workout 2 (3 points). I knew I wouldn't have any problem sleeping that night. I was exhausted!
Yesterday's WOD Board:
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