When I first walked into Crossfit Santa Clara last July, I didn’t know exactly what to expect and I didn’t know who would be there. Since that day there’s been a constant progression, a constant feeling that I was a part of something bigger. But I never could feel it as much as I did last week, the first week of the 2011 Open. The energy level at the gym has reached such incredible levels and it’s all in the spirit of competition.
It started out with Wednesday afternoon’s session. A few heats of five or six athletes at a time giving the workout their first shot. People got paired up with judges, the music got turned up and it was 3, 2, 1, go. It was inspiring to see Jason complete 8 rounds plus 28 double unders, but that wasn’t the only impressive performance in the gym. Alex came close to getting 8 full rounds as well. Everyone set their bar, and started planning their week out for their next attempts.
But that is really only part of the story, because not everyone who was competing could make it at that time. All of that lead up to Saturday’s competition heats. Saturday classes always bring in a lot of people, but this Saturday really had a lot going on. It started at 6 a.m. with 40 marine recruits coming in for a training session, then the 9 am class, and then the OpenWOD competition. Pulling into the parking lot and seeing all the marine recruits doing their thing, a new business venture setup making paleo omelets and pancakes, and a really big turn out of both new and old faces for the 9 am class really set the tone for the day. I’d spent the last few days mentally and physically preparing for the OpenWOD, knowing that my performance would be gated by my skill at the double unders.
As the 9 am class continued more and more competitors arrived and began their own preparations, and a bunch of the marine recruits stuck around to see what this Crossfit thing was all about. The scheduled time for the heats to start was 10:30, and just about that time the music got turned down and instructions were given out. Your standard fare of what’s a rep, what’s not a rep, etc. I’d been hanging around the gym for a couple of hours at this point, so I decided I had best go in the first heat before nerves built up anymore.
Once the clock started I was in a complete focus tunnel. I tried to stay as relaxed as I could, and luckily I didn’t have to keep a bunch of numbers in my head. That’s one advantage to having a dedicated judge, you can focus on performing and not on counting. I set a goal for myself that was well above and beyond what I had previously achieved on this workout. I didn’t achieve that goal but I am fairly close. I don’t think I would have performed nearly this well if it was not a competition. If it was just another workout I would have been counting my double under attempts, and my result would have been some unreconcilable mess. Measurable and repeatable.
The energy level only continued to rise heat after heat, and so did the volume. Crossfit Santa Clara isn’t a small space, so it takes a lot of yelling and cheering to fill it up with sound. The last 1-2 minutes of each heat filled it up and then some. Every athlete in the building was firing on all cylinders. This was it. This was the something bigger that I felt a part of. A gym full of athletes, coaches, competitors, judges, spectators, boyfriends, girlfriends, parents, and everything in between. Competitor in heat 1, judge in heat 2, spectator in heat 3, but one in the same. I know I wasn’t alone in feeling the energy in the gym. I was glowing all day on Sautrday, long after I had left the gym.
I didn’t think I’d have anything else that could top that experience until the next OpenWOD was announced, but that’s what is pretty amazing about this format. At what would seem like a random moment on a Monday afternoon, Ranbir decided to give the OpenWOD another go. Here’s a snapshot of the gym during his workout. The picture doesn’t really do the scene justice, as there were probably twice as many people just to the left and the right of the frame. This wasn’t an organized time, this was just the gym sometime between the 4:30 and 5:30 classes. The people that just finished were probably exhausted, and the people that just got their could have been mobilizing, but instead everyone was cheering. Everytime Ranbir hit his 30 double unders unbroken the place erupted. Ranbir beat this previous workout’s result by something like 11 reps or more. Energy. Community.
I can’t wait for the next 5 weeks of this competition. I am going to savor it all. Both as a competitor myself and as a member of something bigger.
Update: In the time time that I started writing this, some “discussions” have taken place about who should be in this competition and why. What I believe was the catalyst for this was the “Open letter to Crossfit HQ“, which then spurred a lot of conversation on twitter. This morning Jarret wrote a follow up that had one particular quote in it that I think sums things up for me.
The set up for this year is either video your WOD or go to an affiliate. I was the first person to sign up at my box. Do I think I am going to Regionals, no. Am I going to the Crossfit Games, only if I buy a ticket. Is this stopping me from doing the Sectionals WOD, not even close. How will I know how I compare as a Crossfitter outside my box if I never challenge myself to get better, do better, be better.
This is the sentiment that I know some other people in our gym share. If I am always thinking about competing “next year,” how can I measure my progress from last year? How do I know I’m doing my best? How can I improve my weaknesses?
The open format of the sectionals this year has many benefits. Sure, it may be marketed as a means to discover that absolute beast who has been working out in his garage for the past year with Fran, Helen and Grace times that will give you nightmares, but it’s also allowed for competition to scale. Compete with the rest of the Crossfit world, compete with the other athletes at your box, compete with yourself.
Pingback: Open Burnout? | Perfect Mike dot com