Sarah Too

Well, spring is almost here and I am getting a lot of questions from a lot of friends and family concerning getting back in shape, losing that last 5 pounds, or how to do CrossFit without paying for it. The answers are pretty simple, and here's a hint. You already know the answers.

Starting round 2.

Honestly? I am totally procrastinating right now. I should be working on my presentation for the University of Iowa Running Symposium. Instead, I'll let you all know what I learned from my very first CrossFit competition experience.

This past Saturday, the Mister and I gathered together two teams of athletes from our gym for a friendly CrossFit throwdown in Iowa City. As it worked out, the Mister and I would be competing as individuals. I didn't plan to participate in the individual women's event, it just kind of worked out that way, and I was anxious to see just how I would fare. Looking at the workouts for the individual events, I was not even sure I would be able to complete either one. Here's what was on tap:

Workout #1:
3 Rounds of:
300 m row
8 ground-to-overhead (100#)
35 doubleunders
Time cap: 10 minutes

Workout #2:
50 pullups
50 burpees
Time cap: 8 minutes

Finals:
2 minutes to complete: 10-20-30-40 m suicides and as many reps as possible of 100# deadlift
1 minute rest
2 minutes to complete: 10-20-30-40 m suicides and AMRAP of 100# front squat
1 minute rest
2 minutes to complete: 10-20-30-40 m suicides and AMRAP of 100# shoulder-to-overhead

[A lot of that gibberish above may mean nothing to may of you. Just know that all of it was heavy, lung-sucking hard work.]

The scores from Workouts 1 and 2 were combined to determine which females advanced to the finals. Well, that is if there had been enough women to warrant whittling the field down to 12. As it was, there were only 8 females, including myself, competing in the women's event. NONE of us completed the first workout. I made it through only 2 rounds in 12 minutes. The doubleunders (i.e., whipping the rope under your feet twice per jump) are what did me in, plus sucking wind on the 100# ground-to-overhead lift with the barbell. Going into the first workout, I wasn't even sure if I could lift 100# over my head 8 times in a row, so I viewed it all as a success.

For the second workout, half of the women's field completed the workout in the time allotted. I missed finishing by 10 burpees. Boo. SO CLOSE. At least with that workout I knew I could do everything, it was just a matter of how quickly. Guess I need to work on my cardio some more! (Don't we all...)

So, I made it to the women's finals by default. By the end of a very long day, filled with a lot of waiting (and cheering for my Mister and our teams in their events), only 5 women were still around to compete in the finals. I did not officially "place" in the top 3, but I participated, worked harder than I have in any daily workout, and landed in the top 5. Not bad for a first effort at competing.

I absolutely loved the experience. Our teams performed awesomely and many of our athletes posted personal records lifting more, and jumping higher and faster than ever before. The atmosphere at CrossFit events is unparalleled. Where else can you commiserate with your fellow competitors as well as cheer each other through that last rep? Last, I felt such a sense of accomplishment because I exceeded my own expectations of what I thought I could do.

I keep thinking back to where I was and what I was doing in 2011 and I see how quickly I have gone so far. This competition was a moment in which I could focus on what I achieved rather than grumble about how far I have to go. Even when I think I am treading water, and going no where, I need to remember that the effort of keeping my head above water is success in and of itself. And with that, I look toward another Whole30 experience. We start tomorrow and hopefully, I learned some tricks since last year's Whole30 to get me through this one!

Now that the boss-man knows my plans, Jacob and I can finally go public with our news. Some folks already know what I'm going to say, and others may not. I definitely used hushed tones around the office to prevent early knowledge from spreading like wildfire. So here is the news...

August 19 will be my last day working for the federal government and my last day working as an endangered species biologist. Jacob quit his job last Friday. We are going into business for ourselves by opening our own CrossFit gym. Family is extremely important to both of us, so we're opening our gym in the Garvin hotbed -- Muscatine, IA -- on the western bank of the mighty Mississippi!

This change is bittersweet. I LOVE St. Petersburg and leaving the safe haven of dear friends is a melancholy thought for me. On the other hand, Jacob and I are SO FREAKING EXCITED about this adventure. We've been planning this since we both became Level 1 CrossFit certified this past February. Right now, we are in the process of setting up our Limited Liability Company, known as "Garberling LLC" (which will operate under the name "Warrior CrossFit Muscatine"), securing a gym space in downtown Muscatine, ordering equipment, and completing the final stages of becoming fully-affiliated with CrossFit Headquarters. In the next month, as we prepare for our move, we're going to ramp up our marketing efforts. Stay tuned for updates and let your friends know that CrossFit is coming to Muscatine!