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It was an amazing experience. Reebok kicked out with some amazing apparel for all the athletes. I felt respected and honored the whole time I was there from picking up my gear to competing and after. It takes a huge number of people all working together to have an event of this magnitude come off the way this one did. If you watched any of this on TV or the computer you saw about 10% of what really happened. And a large portion of it was done by volunteers. My hat is off to both Reebok and CrossFit HQ for an event well run and spot on.
As many of you know this has been the culmination of a 2+ year quest. In April of 2012 I thought I could get good enough at this CrossFit thing to go to the games. At that time it meant I had to be in the top 20 in my age group in the world. For 2+ years this was my over-riding goal. Last Thursday the quest was complete. I finished the last workout and ended the quest #6 in the world. Did I want to be #1? Of course I did, no one does the work and shows up wanting to be #18.
I got to work out with some of the greatest guys I have ever had the pleasure of working with. 99% of my workouts are done alone. Here were 18 guys, all good, and all skilled and talented, and 18 guys happy to get to work. They were competitive and helpful. There weren’t any head games or blatant rudeness that I saw. In 4 days we created a community that will continue past Thursday. I look forward to seeing all of these guys in the future.
People have asked about nutrition and sleep and other preparatory tasks. I tried to eat exactly what I always eat and at the time I eat them. I brought my own protein powder and made sure I had avocados. I made sure my hydration was spot on…this is one place where it would be easy to fall down but I went out of my way to drink plenty of liquids. I slept well which was surprising. Normally the night before competing I would not sleep well but this time I was fine. After the first day I was exhausted…4 wods will do that. I think because I was just focused on my own performance I wasn’t feeling the pressure of competition. Bottom line is you don’t want to try new things in competition. You try to keep everything as close to the same as always…the warm up, the pre-workout food and the post workout ritual. This is part of the home field advantage that gets discussed…it is much easier to maintain your routine at home rather than on the road.
One of the unusual things that happened to me occurred on Friday. I slept in and got up with a sense of unease. I felt unhinged. It took me a while to realize that I had completed my quest and no had nothing on my plate. It was an unsettling feeling. The goal had been accomplished and there wasn’t a plan, a schedule, a drive for the next thing. It was an oddity. By Saturday I had found my balance though and was perfectly content with the world.
I was very happy with my performances. I went into the week wanting to leave on Thursday with no regrets. To be able to say I did everything I could do with tools I had. I can say that. I wanted to stay on track as the focused and confident athlete I am. I didn’t want my head to get in the way of my physical performance. I stayed out of the leader board, stayed focused on one workout at a time and got the job done.
Knowing what I know now there are things I would do differently if faced with the same tasks. Just little tweaks…like not going out so fast on the run rope or picking up that 70# medicine ball before hitting the playing field…little things like that. But overall I was so proud of myself for staying in my game plans and remaining focused on my performance and no one else’s.
At this writing I have had 10 days of rest. The most I have had in 2+ years. I feel strong and healthy. And tomorrow we begin again. The quest for constant and never ending improvement is always in front of us and so are the 2015 Reebok CrossFit Games. The Open is 7 months away!
Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.
Mahatma Gandhi
Namaste
John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
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