Why Will You Compete?

Tomorrow is the day.  The day that registration for the 2014 CrossFit Open begins.  You can register up until the day before the first workout but the majority of us overzealous crazies will register early.  Somebody asked me the other day - 'are you trying to make it to regionals?'  Ummm... no. That isn't even on my radar.

So - why do I do it?  Why put myself through five grueling and painful workouts if I know I'm not going to 'win'?  Well. Lots of reasons.  

Here are the top five reasons why I compete (and why you should too):

1. Because I can.  And really... anyone can.  The first workout in 2012 was 7 minutes of burpees.  ANYONE can do a burpee.  Don't let the weights and times of all the other workouts intimidate you.  Last year, a gal at my gym did almost 150 fourteen pound wall balls to a 10' target.  I don't know if she'd ever picked up a 14lb medicine ball, much less done a workout with it.  And she KILLED it.  That's the point of the open - to crush your limits.
2. To beat myself.  Last year I came in 19,220th place out of the 27,820 women who completed all five workouts.  Awesome right? Okay... not that awesome.  But this year - I want to beat myself last year.  
3. To compete with friends.  There aren't very many opportunities that you have to compete against your friends at the gym - trying to beat them while cheering for them to get one more rep.  You work your ass off, give each other sweaty hugs, and then you go have a beer afterwards.  It's the best kind of competition.
4. To feel awesome.  Last year, I didn't think there was any way that I could do ANY of the workouts for the Open.  I was so intimidated.  The workouts are long.  The workouts are heavy.  But you finish it - and you feel awesome for finishing it.  
5. Because why not?  Seriously... why not compete?  It costs $20 and you get to see where you rank against all the competing CrossFitters in the world. In. THE. WORLD.  Where else can you see where you rank against a whole world of athletes?  I'm not positive - but I think no where.  (Unless you are an Olympian.  And in that case - having you compete in the CrossFit Open is remarkably unfair and I protest.)  

So... have I convinced you?  Why will you compete?  

Just Do It

I've had a couple people ask me lately "What got me started doing CrossFit? What keeps me going?".  Well.  Let me just start this off by saying that I NEVER in my entire life imagined that people would ask me questions like this.  I was a lazy slug for years that promised myself I would go to the gym... tomorrow. 

So... why did I start doing CrossFit?  Last year, I lost someone who was about as close to me as you can be - my fiance.  After that, I went through a period where my life felt totally out of control and I couldn't handle much of anything.  Work, family, friends - all of it felt like too much and it was taking everything I had just to pull it together and make it through the day.  A friend encouraged me to give CrossFit a try (his exact words being 'It will change your life') and then a girlfriend and I had one too many glasses of wine and signed up for a free trial class (that's the definition of liquid courage).  Even during our trial class - it felt good.  For the hour - I felt as normal as I had felt in months. It took me one trial class to be hooked.  Each time I went to class - I was in control.  I controlled how much I lifted, how fast I moved, how many reps I could do.  It was refreshing to push my body as hard as I could.  

It also helped me to make some healthy decisions - I cut back my drinking, I actually ate and ate healthy, my body was tired so I was sleeping.  Being healthy and getting fit made a huge difference for me - it seemed to help counter everything that was going on in my head (and with my heart) and make it just slightly more manageable.  And when you are trying to put your life back together - you need all the help you can get.  

So... why do I keep doing it?  Because I love it.  I have made friends who are amazing and who I hope will be in my life for a very long time.  I love coaching.  I love the sore 'you are killing it' feeling that I feel almost all of the time.  I love cheering for complete strangers in competitions.  I love pushing myself to failure.  I love PRing.  I love laying on the mats after a workout sucking wind and hoping someone brings me my water bottle.  I love the sound of dropping weights.  I love that I can walk into the gym with one mood and walk out with another. 

CrossFit for me is a perfect fit. 

My words of advice for people who aren't sure if they want to start something new or are feeling lazy?  JUST DO IT.  I don't care if it's CrossFit, yoga, running, pole dancing, Zumba, paddle boarding, biking, whatever.  Just do it.  And do it now.  Stop thinking about it and get out there and do it. Maybe it won't change your life... but maybe it will.  I think about my friend's words all the time - and he was right.  CrossFit and the folks at Sound CrossFit changed my life - and very much for the better.  I can't imagine a life without it.  

Stop telling yourself you will do it tomorrow - if you need to, drink that glass of wine and get the liquid courage to sign up for a class you've been dying to try. 

Get a group of friends that keep you accountable - it can make all the difference.  Trust me - if you skip out on a 6:30am class and leave a friend to do it alone - they won't let you forget it anytime soon.

If you don't love something - try something else.  Don't force yourself to do something that you hate - it will only make you and everyone around you miserable.  And... you won't do it.  You will constantly come up with excuses as to why you can't do it right now.

But more than anything... just get out there and do it.  Try new things and you'll discover what changes your life.  

 

The Boston Marathon

"But the night was ordinary.  It usually is, I think, when your life changes.  Most people aren't doing anything special when the carefully placed pieces of their life break apart." 
- Carole Radziwill, What Remains

I read this book not long after Will died and these words resonated with me. It's true. From everyone who I've ever talked to - it's just a normal day when your life falls apart. Maybe you sense something in the air - but you can't quite put your finger on what it is. For all intents and purposes- its just a normal day. 
 

Today, the explosions at the Boston Marathon are stunning people all across the country, reminding us that life is too short and that sometimes people do horrible things to totally innocent people for absolutely no reason.  I'm sure that eventually we will know some sort of reason behind it - but to the people who have lost their lives and limbs and to the family and loved ones left behind - it may not matter.  

All of these people who were just having a normal day have now had their lives rocked and will never be able to go back to the way it was the second before the explosions went off.  These people were attending the race to cheer on parents, children, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, friends and complete strangers who were competing. Everyone who was touched by the tragedy today will never be able to go back to the minute before the finish line practically exploded.
 

I don't know what it was like to be at that race, but I do know what it is like to have your entire world break apart in seconds.  For me, I never get to go back to 3:57pm on January 22, 2012.  For me, it wasn't an explosion - it was a phone call.   It's not the same - it's not even close - but the thing that I keep thinking about is that all those lives will never be the same.  

This is just another reminder to me that life is too short.  It's too short to not make the best of every single day.  It's too short to waste being mad, stressed or unhappy.  Life is too short to not be passionate.  It's too short not to be crazy in love with someone who makes you insanely happy. It's too short not to laugh or be silly. It's too short not to love what you do.  It's too short to be too busy to take that vacation or spend time with the people you love.  Life is way too short to not tell the people you love that you love them. 

You only live once.  Make the most of it.