I always get really excited when the Crossfit Games Open comes around.  It is a lot of fun, and I really enjoy seeing how I stack up against other local Crossfitters and even the national competitors.  The one problem I run into though is that I get depressed when I start looking at my results. When I didn’t get past the 135# snatches in 13.1 I was mad.  I’ve been doing this for over 3 years.  I can’t manage 150 in that workout?  Bummer.  So last night when I watched the 13.2 announcement I thought to myself, “Awesome! I’ll be able to get 10 rounds for sure!”  So this morning I decided to go ahead and test 13.2 out with a little 5 minute version of it.  I lost count on rounds because someone was talking to me, but I think I got just over 4 rounds.  I felt pretty good, and I think I could have continued my pace for another 5 minutes.  However, I don’t think it’s going to be realistic for me to get to 10 rounds.  I think 8 will be a good target when I do 13.2 Friday morning.  Should I manage 8 rounds, this will most likely still be well under the average of my immediate group of Crossfit friends and certainly well under the regional and national averages.  I realized at the gym today that my results in Crossfit competitions don’t matter.  I’m not a Crossfit competitor, and I don’t really want to be.

As I watched the 13.2 strategy and tips video from Barbell Shrugged last night I began contemplating the box jumps.  The box jumps are probably the hardest movement in this workout.  Just in case you don’t have any idea what I’m talking about, the Crossfit Games Open workout 13.2 looks like this:

10 Minute AMRAP

  • 5 Presses/Shoulder to Overhead (115#)
  • 10 Deadlifts (115#)
  • 15 Box Jumps (24″ box)

Anyway, in the video (below) they talk about jumping off the box versus stepping off the box.

I think the actual phrase was something like, “If you’re a CF competitor, and you want to qualify for regionals, then health be damned!”  The fact is that you’re going to have to jump off that box, rebound, and jump back up quickly if you expect to do well in this workout.  Stepping off the box or “the safe way” to do that movement is just not going to cut it.  That’s going to slow you down.  I get that, and I’m ok with it.  However, I simply cannot take any chances right now.  If I tore my ACL jumping off a box during a Crossfit Open workout and wasn’t able to run for a long time I’d be devistated!  I’ve got my eye on the Ouachita 50 Miler in April, and I am putting all of my focus on that.  I need a big PR there, and I’m going to do all I can to get it.   I’d be concerned with mediocre CF Games Open scores if I hadn’t made any progress over last year, but I’m continually getting stronger and hitting PR’s in races.  That’s what it’s all about for me.  I want to be strong, and I want to run long races.  If I can’t do box jumps and snatches as well as the other 37 year old males in my division, who cares?  As far as Crossfit is concerned, I’m ultimately competing against myself.  When it comes to my personal goals and training, I need to be lifting heavier and running further and faster.  That’ s my thing.   Lift Heavy, Run Long, remember?  Crossfit is one tool that I use to train for my runs.  I’m not training to win Crossfit competitions.  I’m training to run long races and pick up a bunch of weight.  If  the next Open workout required athletes to run a 50 Mile race, I’d be much further up on the Leaderboard.

So, the point of this long rant is that I can’t let myself get discouraged because I don’t walk away from a Crossfit competition workout with an awesome score.  That’s not my goal.  Sure, I can use these performances as a gauge to see what I need to work on to be a better all around athlete, but ultimately it doesn’t really mean anything if I’m the 3409th fittest person in my Crossfit region.  It matters if I DNF a race or fail a lift I know I should be making.  It matters if I’m not stronger this year than I was last year.  I have to do everything I can to reach my goals, and if stepping down off a stupid box instead of jumping off of it is what I have to do then that’s what I’ll do.  I may have a slower time or less reps than Rich Froning and 3000 other guys in my region, but when I’m coming across the finish line of that next 50 miler with a faster time than last year I’ll be happier than if I had made it to regionals in the Crossfit Games.

Now that is out of the way, here’s today’s training update:

photo (41)

Shitty Instagram Photo of my WOD.

Back Squat 4RM; 4 x 4 @90% of 4RM

These felt really good, and I spent a lot of time with it.  Worked up to 255# on the 4RM.  That’s 5# heavier than just last week so I was happy with that.  I did the reps at 235#, and they all felt pretty good, but got tough at the end.

EMOM – 10 Minutes – 1 Power Clean + 1 Clean @ 75%

Today 75% was 165#.  These felt REALLY good and heavy!  Loved it!

As I said above, I did a 5 Minute version of the 13.2 workout:

5 Minute AMRAP

  • 5 Shoulder to Overhead (115#)
  • 10 Deadlifts (115#)
  • 15 Box Jumps (24″ box)

4-ish rounds.  Looking for 8 tomorrow!  I’ve got the Crossfit Endurance course in Cookeville, TN this weekend so I’m really excited about that!! Should learn a lot and have a lot of fun!