Sunday Story…It’s Over

My trip to the 2024 CrossFit Games ended on Saturday. There was a cutline at 10. I finished Saturday 15^th. Not where I wanted to be, better than where I started, and fortunate given my various infirmities. After my 2018 CrossFit Games, I thought I was done. I needed 3 surgeries, and it took months to get my fitness back on track. Then in 2022, I managed a return and a 2^nd place finish. Every trip since 2018 has been with the knowledge that this time could be the last…I stepped on the competition floor (I’ve been competing in something since age 5)…I could ever showcase my fitness…I could be an inspiration to others with my skill and dedication. So, 2022, 2023, and 2024 were all gifts from the universe.

Here are some quick reflections on this year’s experience:

Although Birmingham was a great city to visit, the town itself really didn’t know we were there (unlike Madison WI)

The workouts were good and challenging but releasing them early favored some athletes over others in ways I didn’t think were fair.

The venue itself was adequate but could have been better.

The spectator experience was better than it has been for Masters over the last couple of years but still far from great.

The level of competition continues to improve every year.

The vendor village was underwhelming.

 The question I get asked after every year is “Are you going to try to go back next year?” My answer this year is probably not. I may need a knee replaced, my hip is responding slowly to physical therapy, and getting out on the edge of human performance even if once a year is detrimental to my stated goal of health and longevity.

My outlook has always been to feel like I made the phrase “Full Effort is Full Victory” come true. I achieved that goal this year. That and being one of the fittest old dudes on the planet that is!

 John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Games Recap Day 3

I’m starting the day in 13^th place. There are two workouts scheduled and before we started, I was optimistic about both. Now, however, in a cruel twist of fate, neither of them is going to be in my favor.

The first one is a simple triplet of 6 bar-facing burpees, 6 toes to bar, and 1 165# clean. Before my hip blew up, I was excited about this one. Both toes-to-bar and bar-facing burpees are in my wheelhouse. With only 1 clean at 165# I am confident I can get through the 8 rounds. Until the first clean that is! I finished the toes to bar and the burpees in a great place. When I pulled the clean, I pulled it so hard it hit my chest, threw me back about six feet and the bar went the other way. It took me about a minute to get up and get back to work. I managed to finish 7 rounds and ended in 12^th place.

The second workout is to establish a 1 rep max front squat. Normally I will go 215 – 225# in a competition like this. In the warmup area, I managed to get to 185# but I can tell that I’m only going to get one shot at something heavier. My left hip has no power coming out of the bottom of my squat. The strategy is simple. Start light, move quickly, and don’t fail. Failing in this competition means you must strip the bar before you return it to the rack and then reload the bar. I hit 155, add 20#, and hit 175, add 20#, and miss 195. But when I miss my hip just gives out and I end up sitting on my butt on the floor. It’s bad, really bad. But it’s not over until the bell rings. I quickly strip the bar rerack it and load up 185. Somehow, I manage to squat it to depth and get it up. This is probably my worst finish in 6 years of games competition…19^th.

Final recap next week!

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story…Recap Day 2 cont’d

As I move into the final workout of the day, I am 11^th overall. There is one workout left on Friday. It’s a snatch ladder. Going into the competition I was feeling good about this one. The initial weights…95 & 105 are light enough, and the reps…5 &4 are easy enough to fly through those first two. I need to do 3 at 125 and then 2 at 135. I hit 135# on Monday in practice which I haven’t done in ages. I tried 135# about 10 times during the semi-finals and never got one.

The bottom line is that my hip is inhibiting any dynamic up-and-down movement. This translates to doing all the snatches in a power position as there is no way I can squat the weight overhead.

I got through the 95# quickly (about 12 seconds) and then we had to add the weight ourselves to get 105#. This was a change. The bars were preloaded with the first and third weights and then we had to add the weight ourselves for the second and fourth. So, I stepped up to 125# with plenty of time to get 3 reps. And it didn’t matter. In this condition, 125# was out of reach. I could pull the bar (and did) plenty high enough, but I had no way to get under the bar. It was an unmitigated disaster and a very disappointing performance. I finished in 17^th place (and thankful for that!) and 13^th overall.

Luckily, Jason Grubb brought cold plunges for us to get into which helped the hip. With a considerable amount of Advil 2 and deep blue, we will see what tomorrow brings!

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com    

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

  

Sunday Story…Recap Day 2

I am starting the day in a great position; 5^th overall but today has 3 very tough workouts. We are starting with a real grinder…75 wall balls, 40 DB shoulder to overhead, 30 DB box stepovers, 40 DB alternating DB snatches, and 75 Wall balls. Right out of the gate, I’m in trouble. My heart rate spikes as I get into the wall balls, and my judge is no repping me relentlessly. I ended up doing probably 90 wall balls to get 75. Not ideal, that’s for sure. My hip’s on fire and getting worse. Double DB box stepovers aren’t helping either. I hit the snatches hard, got back somehow to the wall balls, and got time capped out after 6 more wallballs. I finished in 11^th. Not only is this not my expected finish but I may have damaged my hip.

The second workout is 24.6…accumulate 75 calories on the Echo bike after doing 30 double unders and 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups. The catch is you must do 4 minutes, rest 1 minute, 3 minutes, rest 1 minute, and then 2 minutes to finish. As my regular readers know my double unders have been a sore spot for several years, more so now with my hip lit up. In the first round, I had to go with the single-double. I did get 20 unbroken so that was good, just slow. About 3 minutes into that 4-minute round I see a judge’s hand go up indicating someone is 5 calories away from 75! WTF. He finished before the 4 minutes was up. Unfortunately for him, the judge’s call was wrong…he only had 45 (which was still way more than I had)! My doubles came back in the next 2 rounds, but I only finished with 56 calories which netted me 13^th place.

I am going to leave you in suspense here! Day 2 recap will continue next week!

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com    

775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Recap Day 1

We arrived in Birmingham early Wednesday afternoon. Time to pick up my uniform and get a couple of headshots for the media team. This was a pain in the rear, honestly. It took almost 3 hours to get through both lines. Then we had to come back for a briefing at 8:30pm. Not ideal is all I will say.

My first event is #1…the run deadlift combination. It’s 4 400-meter runs with 4 ascending sets of deadlifts sandwiched in between. My strategy for this one is simple, go easy on the first run, increase the pace every run, and crush the deadlifts. They are only 175#, so that will be more than doable. It is sweet when a plan comes together. On the last run, I pass a ton of people after coming in dead last on the first run. 20 unbroken deadlifts later and I finished 5^th.

The second event for our group is 4 rounds of 3 rope climbs and 6 100# sandbag cleans. All the other groups had some kind of handstand walk after the cleans but they took that away from us. The sandbag cleans required the athlete to show control by removing a hand from the sandbag before the rep counted. This went well until the last rope climb when my judge didn’t see my touch at the top. Luckily, I caught it about halfway down but then she also missed the second one. Finally, it got credited and away I went. I finished at 6:42 and ended up 7^th. Oh, and just for fun I went ahead and handstand walked a quick 20’ or so anyway!

Day two next week.

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com    

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story…The Aftermath

 My 2024 CrossFit Games ended on Saturday the 7^th. I finished 15^th and did not make the cut to the final workout. I started in 19^th place and finished in 4 places better than I started. That’s a win in my book. Things didn’t go as well as I wanted or expected but that’s why we compete. It’s supposed to be a test. A test of fitness. At this point in time how good are you, how well do you perform during this test? Just like any other test you’ve ever taken. In this case, the test is also relative to the other participants.

It isn’t where you finish, though. It’s how you finish. Did you put forth your full effort? Did you push your limits? Did you enjoy both the journey and the moments of the competition? These are all the questions I ask myself in the aftermath of a test like this.

For my part, I am completely satisfied with the results of my effort. I managed to come home with no new injuries. I did exacerbate some old ones, however. We are attacking those now.

One of the things to realize is that it isn’t any one of the workouts. If you look at them any one of them would be hard. But 7 over 3 days and do them all at a level 10? That’s what’s hard…that intensity piece tears a body up!

Here’s what I am doing to help my body recover. I’ve increased my mobility work to 22 minutes a day up from 15. This is a huge piece for all of us. Even just 8 minutes a day will do wonders for you. I have also gotten back to my zone 2 training. Just 3x45 minutes on the bike this past week. And 2 sessions with Dr. Amanda Anderson, the physical therapist extraordinaire. It’s taken all week, but my body is finally feeling close to normal.

A more complete recap of the events will be forthcoming!

John Mariotti

www.crossfitoodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogpost.com

775-338-2412

Sunday Story...It's Over

 

It's early Sunday morning. If you have been following my progress at the CrossFit Games you may already know I did not make the cut for the final workout this morning. Only the top 10 got in and I was #15.

I will be sending a more comprehensive synopsis in the next few weeks but suffice to say this went better than expected in some areas and way worse than expected in others. I knew going into this competition that I  had some nagging injuries that could affect my performance and they did in a number of ways.

The mantra I live with is "Full Effort is Full Victory".  At the end of the day, that is all there is. Where you finish doesn't matter as much as your effort. Did you give your best effort, given all the variables that existed? Did you exhaust all options and leave it all on the field? Competition is often a microcosm for life. You try and sometimes you exceed your goal and sometimes you fall short. But at the end of the day, the thing you can control is your effort. Your career, your relationships, and more are about your effort and how you choose to handle adversity as it arises. Control your effort and your reaction to what is happening and you will find some measure of peace.

My games experience is done for the year. I gave my full effort. And I am at peace with the journey. 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com    

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412