Well the SoCal CrossFit Regionals have come and gone. It was a weird weekend for me; weird and good in a lot of ways. I have personally competed in every Regional-Style CrossFit event for the CrossFit Games since they began. This one I did not. I stepped back and let others carry the flag of CFCM into the arena. I had and have mixed feelings about it. One part of me was sad, sad I wasn’t there to compete and share in the sweat and pain. I experienced a feeling of loss I haven’t felt before. Loss is probably not the right word; maybe it’s better described as missing out. But I did get to experience something else as well; something unique to the situation over this weekend. I got to feel pride; a deep kind of pride that comes, not through personal accomplishment, but through the accomplishment of others. It is a very special thing for me. It was a pride based on seeing the CFCM name on the back of a shirt on the people competing. It was not based on anything I had really done. I didn’t make these athletes stronger; I didn’t give them some amazing coaching tips that changed their lives. They did it for themselves. It was their dedication, their commitment and mental fortitude. They deserve all the credit.
I’d like to give you some examples of what I mean by this.
Mike Cahill, a beast of an athlete, had a very humbling first workout. Not humbling due to a lack of ability, but humbling due to a frustrating aspect of CrossFit as a sport, which is the judging factor. I man with 5-6min “Diane” time ended up 2nd to last due to, in part, this frustrating aspect. I watched amongst the crowd of thousands as Mike was repeatedly “no repped” and as the time ran out. The athletes surrounding Mike saw the discrepancy; the crowd saw it as well. But Mike, with what I can only imagine was a boiling frustration, kept working through the end of the clock. He could have stormed off, cussed out the judge, but he acted with class. After that he went on to get 3rd overall in the next workout, literally destroying the competition, and he fought tooth and nail every workout and earned a spot in the final WOD after the cuts. Pride.
Linds, our other individual superstar, came into Regionals with several PR’s to overcome. When the Regional workouts were announced, she had several blocks to overcome right away. Namely, the 70# One Arm Dumbbell Snatch and the 30 Hang Cleans at 135#. When it came time to do the cleans Linds handled it easily to beat the minimum required to make it through the cuts.
One workout three, when the 70# snatch was required, she missed both “practice” attempts for her judge. I thought “oh no” and felt this knot in my stomach. But she started nailing them when the time to start began and she ended with 21 total reps. The crowd would erupt every time she would hit the lift and all I felt was pride.
Our Team, composed of Aaron, Nathan, Scotty, Cheree, G, and Tara had a rough first day. The WOD’s didn’t completely fall under any one combination of strengths. We finished day one in the bottom 3rd of competitors. But when Day 2 came around we turned it on. Tara and Nathan crushed the first WOD, destroying everyone in their heat and then when it came time for Aaron, Scotty, G and Cheree, they turned it on too and pulled us back into striking range for the 3rd day. It came down to the snatches and each of these 6 people landed CFCM a 4th place finish overall. Cheree had a personal record of 105# on her snatch as did Scotty, G, Aaron, and Tara; all lifting more than they ever had before. It dramatically jumped up our team’s position and took us within one spot of competing in the final workout. I have not felt this unique kind of pride in a long time.
I felt it over and over this weekend. Especially as I watched other gym members show up and cheer on the competitors, as I watched the encouragement and support pour out.
You all are an amazing group of people. I am blessed to know you and blessed to be a part of CFCM. See you next year.
I thought I would make a quick post. I just got back from fun and relaxing “Hanson Family” vacation to Hawaii. I was posted some pics and facebook shenanigans when someone asked me why I was working out on my vacation. I was initially super confused, I mean, I had all this free time, I was actually working out twice a day and feeling more awesome each day.
Here’s my thoughts about what a vacation is all about.
Here was a list of my workouts. Day 1:
AM:
5K Run
PM:
15-10-5 Muscle Up and Pistols
Then
5 Rounds
Basketball Court Wind Sprints (down and back)
10 Ring Push Ups
Day 2:
AM:
1mile Run
25-20-15-10-5
Rock (Box) Jumps
Handstand Push Ups
1mile Run
PM:
10 Rounds
Sprint Around Basketball court
2 Muscle Ups
Then
3 Rounds (partner WOD with Erica)
P1 Runs a set of “lines”
P2 FLR Hold
Day 3:
AM:
5k Run
PM:
3 Rounds
30 OHS Log Squats
Swim 6 Laps
Day 4:
Active Rest
2mile River Canoe Paddle
1mile Hike
2 Rope Swings
Day 5:
AM:
5K Run
PM:
10-20-30-40-50*
Hand Release Push Ups
Double Unders
*Between each rep set farmer carry two 70#+ stone blocks 100m
Schedule Reminder Thanksgiving
We’re planning on keeping the gym open through the holiday with the exception of the 24th. There will be ONE workout the day after, your only chance to burn off the bird, we’ll be gathering at the gym at 10am to give thanks to CrossFit through some constantly varied functional movements. We’ll follow it up like a good WOD’r should with a post workout meal, potluck style. So bring some food to share and get ready for a great workout, it should be a great time.
Further, Kristan is opening up her house on Thanksgiving for anyone needing a place to relax and enjoy some good company. Please email her (kristan@crossfitcostamesa.com) if you’d like to come over for a nice T-Day dinner.
Video Love:
Alec tried his best to do these two videos. Cut him some slack.
Those parts of us that dwell in our minds that want us to fail. They talk to us often, sometimes whispering, sometimes shouting, always destructive. They are our insecurities, our fears, our excuses. They tempt us, trick us, and look to deceive us. They are our most dangerous adversary.
But they also have a weakness. They can’t stand being brought to light. They can’t exist outside our minds. When spoken or shared they shrivel and dissipate, their true power stripped away. So I’d like to share some of the best excuses they use on me and a story that I remember and will never forget.
Excuses
You deserve it, you’ve done so much today
No one will know
Oh who cares really? No one else thinks it’s important
You just worked out, you can eat that now
You’ll make it up tomorrow
Work is too important right now to go workout
You’re already more fit than “that guy” (whoever that is guy, I’ll never know)
None of it “really” matters
“One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said,
‘My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt,
resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness,
benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ‘Which wolf wins?’
The old Cherokee simply replied, ‘The one you feed.’”
Yesterday I did the OC Throwdown qualifier off to the side during the group WOD. I figured I would get it in because I saw Derek and Dakota going for it and figured “what the heck!”
This is the workout.
10min AMRAP
75 Double Unders
50 Box Jumps (with full hip opening stand)
25 Shoulder to Overhead Anyhow @ 105#
Look familiar??? Well, I finished with 2 rounds and 45 double unders. I thought today would be a different workout and guess what? It was the same one. I even looked at the programming before and was prepared for something else.
Well, who cares right? During the one mile warmup of “yogging” as I believe it’s called, I decided I would beat my previous score.
So I did. 2 rounds + 75 DUs + 11 Box Jumps. Very happy.
Just goes to show you. The real workout is not happening with your body, it’s happening in your mind. The rest is just noise.
You matter. Period. Somewhere along the lines of our lives we believe we don’t, at least not “that” much anyway.
Some of us have parents who tell us we matter, some are not so lucky. But shortly, we learn we are only as valuable as what we can accomplish. School tells us we matter if we get the best grades. Sports tell us we matter if we can beat the other guy. Our friends and peers tell us we matter if we can somehow be cooler than everyone else.
And we always fall short, don’t we? There is always someone smarter, someone more athletic, and someone just cooler than all of us. And in this wild ride of becoming who we are today, we forget that we matter. We try our best to recreate our own importance; through our efforts and tribulations we strive to hear from others the validation that we have worth, that we are valuable and important, that we matter.
We stack rank ourselves against everyone on a hierarchical ladder we make up based on a value system of intrinsic worth that we piecemeal together from various life experiences, of which we define through other paradigms and life experiences, many of which we simply witness and somehow believe to be God’s given truth.
Basically, it’s all made up shit we’ve come to believe, accept, and allow to run our lives. It’s a worldview we live our lives by, controlled absolutely by paradigms we don’t even know are controlling us.
Well, in all that bleakness and confusion surrounding our “real” selves, there is a ray of hope. There is a way to begin to unearth and behold your intrinsic value. It will take work, but it will be worth it.
During your next CrossFit workout, I want you to go deep. I want you to pour out yourself and take your mind and body to the point where the only sound is the thumping of your rapid heartbeat and the roar of your burning lungs. That place where the voices of doubt, self-loathing and fear, begin to get stripped back and drowned out and that small whisper of your true self can be heard. I want you to go there and find your self again.
And in that moment, in that space of pain and exhaustion, you will find that you are worth the pain. You will see that you are worth going through that pain and that on the other side, you are worthy and capable of achieving amazing things. You may even PR the workout, or not. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is that through that blackness you get to rediscover that you are worth it. You are worth the pain to become the person you are destined to be. You get to remember that you have a burning sun inside your body and mind, an unlimited power built inside you screaming for release.
You are worth more than a mediocre life with mediocre results. You are worth more than a paycheck, a balance sheet, or someone else’s opinion. You are worth the pain.
It’s my hope for you that you will have the chance to meet that person the next time you CrossFit. The “real” you. The “you” that is filled with an indomitable will and ability, the “you” that can take on anything, and the “you” that is worth all the success, all the passion, and all the love this life has to offer.
It’s all yours and it’s all possible with just one little dive into the heart of pain.
I find it bizarre but somehow completely normal that most of us don’t have goals.
Don’t get me wrong, we have vague ideas and semi-thoughts that propel us in some form of a direction, but if we are honest with ourselves, these are not real, hard and fast, goals. We have soft commitments, unspoken objectives, and an unclear path towards a hazy horizon.
Why?
Why do people so often hide from making real goals? Is it Fear? Laziness? Apathy? What’s your excuse and reason? Why do you not spend the time to solidify and declare your goals to the world?
Men and Women of humanity, enough is enough. Do not settle for a mediocre and unclear path. Write your goals on the skyline of your life. They don’t have to be gigantic world changing goals. Start small and revel in your micro-successes.
Transforming your life doesn’t happen when that giant life changing goal is finally met, it occurs when those small upfront steps are taken, when resolution and commitment finally take hold and that first small movement is made.
What an amazing day. Check out the CFCM crew hanging out with Greg Glassman, the Founder of CrossFit. What a fun chance to talk to the man who started this revolution.
For anyone out there today, we want to highly encourage you to come. If you don’t have a ticket, pay the $30 at the door today and come to the luxury Suite T2. Everyone from the CrossFit Costa Mesa Family is welcome to chill with us in the suite. Good food, cool water, and Air Conditioning at the CrossFit Games. Doesn’t get much better.
Here are a few pics from the individual event as well. Click to enlarge.
