I think the best way to judge progress and become newly motivated is to challenge myself. Frankly, if I don't set myself up for failure from time to time, I never get any better because I never figure out where I lack. Therefore, a few months ago when my friend Hannah decided she wanted to compete in a Pound for Pound competition (scaled to percentage of body weight, not just a scaled/unscaled weight for everyone), I decided to join her. Hannah has been doing CF for 3.5 years, so I was pretty intimidated to be her teammate - I didn't want to let her down. But I also wanted to do something that challenged me.
The competition changed me. For a few weeks prior, I started watching what I was eating (as in, I tried my best to cut down on the fried comfort foods and beer), I tried sleeping better, I got one-on-one training and tried to be a good student (to my coach) so that I could become a more efficient athlete, and I tried to visualize my WODs before I did them. Then the day came to make the drive to Montgomery. Hannah and I jumped in the truck, bags packed full of protein bars, coconut water, speed ropes, athletic tape, ibuprofen, and at least 10 changes of clothes, put on some Macklemore and Ludacris, and got pumped up.
The WODs were tough. When we finished the first one (which I have decided was the hardest 12 min AMRAP of my life), I wasn't sure if my hamstrings were going to permit me to do anything else that day, and the thought of having another WOD in 45 minutes scared me to death. However, I was so pleased with our performance. I couldn't have pushed harder, I couldn't have gone faster. I left it all on the field (as you can see in the photo). The feeling of knowing that there is nothing I'd have done better and there was no way I could have given more was quite fulfilling.
The second WOD was a 1rm weighted pull up (25.5 # for me, which was a PR considering I'm 110 pounds), Hannah did a 1rm ground to overhead on an axel bar, and then we did a 3 min row for average watts. My coach had me do that earlier that week, and I crushed my average from that attempt. Again, I walked away completely pumped, knowing I had gotten better and that I'd left it all out there.
The third WOD was the most intimidating WOD for me. My coach and I had worked on it earlier in the week with less weight, and it destroyed me. I was scared I'd have to rely too heavily on Hannah. But... I could hear my coach's voice in my head - "open your hips," "straight up," "turn your wrists forward," "fix that back." I'm not really sure what got into me, but it all worked, and I felt like a rock star on that WOD. In fact, when we got done, I was nearly glowing because I was so excited about our performance.
And then we did something stupid.... we looked at the standings.
As it turns out, there were only four all-female teams, so we were thrown in with the men and co-ed teams. That changes the game. A lot. Hannah and I had no trouble finding our names. We were at the very bottom, battling for last with the other 3 women's teams.
There was a 4th WOD, but at that point it was irrelevant. After being so proud of our performances, finding out that we were last was devastating. I have to admit, though, that it almost didn't matter to me because I was so proud of how hard I had worked, how much improvement I had seen in such a short period of time - and proud that we didn't wuss out and compete in the intermediate division instead of the advanced division. But... we were at the bottom. The very very bottom.
I think that whole experience was incredibly important. It taught me some great things that I will constantly carry with me, and that I remind myself while watching Regionals. I'll list a few. There are plenty more...
1. The most important competition is the one with myself inside of my head.
2. There is always room for improvement.
3. There is always someone better, faster, stronger, and more committed.
4. Failure is relative, as is success.
5. Learn from my mistakes.
6. Ask myself: "If I could do this all over again and do it differently, what would I change?"
7. Fall down, get back up.
8. Ask more questions.
I mentioned that it changed me - that is very true. I've kept up the "diet" and switched to as many whole foods as possible throughout the day. I've asked for help from my coach a lot more. I've watched the girls who are better and studied what they are doing and working on my weaknesses. I've decided that being comfortable with the level that I am at is not an option. I've started researching more, and last but certainly not least, I've gained an immense amount of respect for those who are at the top of this sport - moreso than I could have ever imagined.
Competition can either discourage you or push you. I need a swift kick in the ass every now and then. Hopefully I'll get another one soon.
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