First Competition Done: How Did It Go?

Before our 1st WOD
If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I have already posted quite a bit about how my first competition went. In the general sense it went well. But let's really break it down by WOD and discuss the situation and what could have been done better.

In general, I am uber prepared. I packed the night before; changes of clothes, appropriate food (chicken, fruits, hard boiled eggs, veggies, etc.). I am not nervous. I am actually checking something off my bucket list I have been dreaming of doing for years.

The morning of I am still not nervous. We meet at the box early to get gear needed and head out from there. The location of the competition happens to be right next to the main office of my company, so I know exactly where I am going and everyone follows me.

Getting ready to row!
We arrive and get set up. The weather is the exact opposite of what I thought it would be; it's very cool and very windy making us all very cold for most of the day. Our heats are the last so we don't complete each WOD till the end. The good thing? We get to watch everyone and discuss what to do and what not to do. The bad thing? Lots of waiting!

My face in this is exactly
how I felt during this WOD!
It's finally time for our first heat. It's the only heat I did not "try" before hand all the way through. I still feel ready. I am not nervous until I step inside the workout area, minutes before my start. The judge goes over the movements with me. The first WOD is: 500m row, 30 goblet squats, 40 KB swings. 6 minute time cap.  I have tried the goblet squats and KB swings (both are 35lbs) but not with the rowing beforehand. I still feel ready. I have a plan. I know what to do. The bell rings: my row is ON POINT. At 2:10, I have more than enough time for the rest. But then I don't.
Costume change for the
2nd WOD! 
I cannot breath after the row. My tongue is numb and I know I am not getting enough oxygen. I struggle through even the squats when my plan was to do 2 sets of 15. I get through them and get to the swing. I wouldn't say I fell apart but I would say it did not go according to plan. I didn't finish. The time ended. I don't even know how many I had left because the judge didn't tell me and I didn't ask. I literally wanted to cry during the KB swings. I wanted to cry when I finished. I felt disappointed. But everyone still told me I did a good job. I talked it out and in the end, I was here, competing when most other people weren't. Besides I had two other events to redeem myself.

Getting ready for the 2nd
WOD w/judge.
And I did just that. The next WOD was Crazy 8's. 8 Deadlifts, 8 Hang Power Cleans, 8 Shoulder to Overhead, 7 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible). This WOD went much better. I had tried this one in its entirety before today so I knew exactly what to expect. I wouldn't say I nailed this one, but I did a lot better.  4+3 (4 full rounds, 3 deadlifts).

Cleans during 2nd WOD!
I am feeling most confident about the last one. I have also tried this one all the way through. I know it's the one I will do the best at. 8 box jumps (16"), 5 dumbbell snatches each arm. It's made for me. It's only 5 minutes. Go and don't stop. I do great at this one. 6+1 (6 full rounds and 1 box jump). I am more than happy with that!
Last WOD, dumbbell snatch!

I came in 48th out of 58 people (over 70 people registered but 11 people didn't compete at all leaving them all tied for 59th with no score). I didn't come in last and I didn't blow it out of the water. I did exactly as I expected.

So what did I learn?
1) Always try the entire workout first. Had I done this, I would have been better prepared for WOD 1 and could have  better.

2) I need more KB work. The row isn't what killed me, the KB was harder than I expected it to be. I need to work on my KB swings. And my breathing.

3) No matter how good or bad you do, you are still doing better than everyone not there. Few people in comparison will actually compete in CrossFit events, whether it's for fun or to win. But I am still better than those people not competing at all.

4) People still cheer you on, even if you don't finish. At our home box this happens, but in the competition, it also happens. If I hadn't had my coaches and fellow CrossFitters there to cheer me on, I might have cried after the first WOD and done horribly at the next 2. Instead, I listened to them, moved on and did better. Couldn't have done that years ago. Yep, I have come far.

When's my next competition? Planning for Battle on Sunset at the end of August. 11 weeks to train for this. Much more time that this one. I will be more prepared. I know how I will feel now. I am ready for the next time.

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