On the End of the Open 2013

"How often have you come to a crossroads kind if day, like the day you married, or the day a child was born, or the day a parent died, or the day you graduated high school? Have you anticipated the day? Have you let yourself feel the emotion of the event. Have you allowed yourself to be swallowed by your sense of gravity of the event? Have you ever just stopped and considered how the event fits into the course of your life, how it might change it, how you might be changed by it. Today the Open ends for me and golf season begins. At 6:00 am I am sitting in the dark thinking about that. It's certainly not as momentous a point as marriage or death. But, it is nonetheless a point. And we have been taught in our Crossfit life to measure, to record, to contemplate our results. And so I do. "
http://www.facebook.com/groups/CFMasters/permalink/520091398029731/

CrossFit Games Master competitor, Ray Garcia, writes eloquently about competing in this year's CF Games Open.  Read on friends and be inspired.

I finished a little better percentile wise than last year, a little worse than the year before. Next year I compete in an older grouping - can I crack the top 10%?

CrossFit Games Open 13.1

My friend Jon Gilson of Again Faster writes:

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The CrossFit Open is the World's biggest whiteboard, an opportunity to post a score for everyone to see.

For some, the whiteboard is a contest against self, a record of where we are and where we've been, a log of continuous improvement.  For others, it is mathematical proof positive of victory or defeat, a bid for fitness superiority, a record of battle.

Whether it's you versus you, you versus me, or you versus the World, it's time to sign up and throw down.

I pushed the buttons myself last week, not because I have any hope of winning, but because I know that I can define my own game, my own end.  Fittest on Earth?  Hardly.  I'd settle for fittest on my block.  I'd settle for fitter than last year, fitter than yesterday.

Despite my low bar, I know I'm participating in the largest fitness experiment in history, a global, simultaneous execution of the CrossFit Methodology, the most effective general physical preparation program in history. 

Join me, regardless of your end.  Whether you're aiming for the podium, or simply to be a part of something remarkable, push the buttons.

I'll see you at the whiteboard.

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I enjoyed this Jon, thanks for sending.  Fittest on my block!  Hell yes that would be cool!  Even better would be to find I'm more fit than I was this time last year.

We are excited to be doing the Open.  It's my third year, and fifth of participating in the Games in one way or another.  It is Janet's first year to participate, and she beat her goal for 13.1.  My 12 year old did a version of 13.1 tonight and rocked it!  I should take my shot tomorrow.  

The WOD:  40 burpees, 30 snatches at 75#, 30 burpees, 30 snatches at 135#, 20 burpees, 30 snatches at 165#, 10 burpees, and then they separate the men from the men who are not "beastly" with as many snatches at 205# as you can do before reaching the 17 minute time cap.  I'd be very proud to get far enough to get a snatch at 165#, which would be 151 points. 

You can see a video of the second fittest female on the planet performing 13.1 here:  Foucher CFG Open 13.1

In Which I Waste Time On A Hater ...

I wasted an hour today to respond to this critique.  I wonder if the author will post my response.

A Civil Critique on Crossfit

Summary of the author's argument:
1. Unless I specialize in running and body weight stuff, I don't get the results I value most.
2. I prefer a definition of fitness I found in a dictionary more than the one that CrossFit used to frame the methodology of CrossFit programming.
I suppose not everyone reads all the old CF stuff, but I did, way back when.  The point of defining fitness for Coach was that it wasn't defined in any useful way.  Somebody could claim fitness and mean anything.  Of course, folks did and do just that, and never bothered to define the term in any way that was subject to evaluation.  Coach's blinding flash of the obvious was "what if we defined it in a way such that training could be designed to achieve the end, fitness, in a way that is quantifiable."  So he defined it, published it, and strove to build a fitness system that achieved it.  The intellectual integrity of that approach is remarkable in a world of myth based marketing.
The desired outcome - fit for anything, fit for the knowable, fit for the unknowable.  Someone said above that CrossFit is about "excelling at being average."  That statement was intended as a critique, but it is just as much a compliment since the statement implies having no weakness.  CrossFit's founder wrote many years ago that CrossFit is about compromise - or as the old saying goes, "any strength to excess is weakness."
The author of this blog has made this completely uncontroversial claim: "if I don't specialize in running and body weight movements, I'm not as good at running and body weight movements as I used to be when I specialized at running and body weight movements (aka the Marine PFT)."
OK.  CrossFit says that too.
As for whether or not the CrossFit Games should be crowning the fittest on the planet, everyone has a right to their opinion, and each counts as much as the author's, which is zero except hopefully to yours and my friends and loved ones.
As for worthless anecdotes, I have several, but my PFA test scores for the highly unimpressive Navy PFA test were their best, as a forty + year old, after I found CrossFit (I only did better as a 25 year old officer candidate).  I did nothing but CrossFit, except I would practice the PFA 3-4 times prior to the test.
In summary, because the author didn't take time to fully understand the context of CrossFit's claim to fitness, he/she made a tedious, pointless critique, when all that needed to be said was "I tried CrossFit and the results of the CrossFit implementation I tried didn't match my goals."

2012 Reebok CrossFit Games, Men's Chipper Final Heat

Having done workouts like this, it seems impossible how "easily" the best in the world move through this event.  Nevermind the fact that this is day three of a four day competition - their bodies must be smoked already.

For those that did not see the Games, the winner of this event, Rich Fronning, was the Games winner, as he was last year.  He missed winning in 2010 by a weakness in one event, the rope climb.  He's the first dominant Games athlete, and you can see why in this event:  efficient movement, never stops, very strong, very powerful, almost seems to be relaxed.  Rich is probably better in terms of genetics than most of the others, but he seems to have the best competition psychology also.

Chipper Mac

Chipper Windows

Inspiring

DCC Mac

DCC Windows

"Spirit of the Games" winner is featured in this short video - on the one hand, just one of a million inspiring moments watching incredible athletes giving their best in The Reebok CrossFit Games.  On the other hand - this athlete was eliminated from last year's Games due to her inability to swim.  So she learned how to swim, and then ran into the brick wall of her own fear in the event.  But she faught through it, and completed the open water swim, sandy/obstacle bike ride, and ridiculous mountain trail run.  And then did so well in the remaining events that she made the FINALS!  Top 18 IN THE WORLD!

Incredible.

If that's not enough inspiration for you, take a look at the Master's competitors, especially the over 60 group!