How excited are we??

PRETTY DARN EXCITED!! 
                                                                                                                                                                       

NO...we're not talking about sex OR running.
We are talking about......

THE OPEN...whoop whoop!!

I remember my first OPEN...2011. There was this buzz in the gym about 5 weeks of workouts NOT programmed by Coach Chad. Who else could program a good workout but Coach Chad? That's how naive I was. AND then over the next few weeks we were practising all these movements at crazy weights. It made me wonder if Coach Chad really knew what he was doing 'cause he didn't have us doing any of this!! And we had to do how many reps at that weight?

But I showed up anyway. Coach Chad told me I had to. In that first Open I think the only movement I didn't succeed at was a muscle up. I NEVER got my chest close to the bar until this Open. NEVER did that many OHS before this. NEVER did box jumps that fast (fast for me). There were some very cool firsts for me in that first OPEN. Oh yes...and I qualified for the Crossfit Games too in this year. It was Matt Bathgate who told me I qualified. When I asked him what the Crossfit Games were about he told me that too. I didn't know Matt all that well at this time except that when he looked at me with his squinty eyes, I always stepped it up.

And so I took a trip to Carson, CA in July 2011, to the Home Depot Centre with my biggest fan, my daughter Justine, Coach Chad and our crazy, wonderful team of coaches. We won a 2nd place finish that year.  

Tron thought I'd be REALLY heavy with that Silver Medal

2012 rolls around. I'm ready this time for these crazy workouts. NOPE...got it wrong again. Wrong in the sense that I had it all figured out, that nothing would surprise me. Well, I was surprised. I was surprised at how much I learnt again about myself. I got the MU's this year and a ticket back to the Crossfit Games. I learnt more about how I reacted to pressure, how I under-performed when I didn't manage it, how passion can over-fuel intensity, throw off physical - psychological balance which too causes performance below ability. Does it sound like life? Every year I got better at life because I chose to show up for the Open. Sound cheesy? You're going to have test it out. 

The 2012 Open meant another trip to The Home Depot Centre. It's an opportunity I am forever grateful for. This 2nd trip was a bit of an up hill journey for me as a few areas of my life were below the standards I held for myself. It was the start of a growth period for me. I'll say it again. Because I participated in the Open, my life path took a particular direction. I finished 6th at the Games in this year. Not what I saw in my mind but exactly where I was supposed to be. 

Then came 2013 and 2014, two years of balancing relationship, health and faith. I completely let circumstance into the driver's seat. Let's just sum up those two years with this and get on:

And ta-daaaa!! 2015 and it's time to sign up for the OPEN...again...OR for the first time. This next part is important. Everyone of my experiences in Crossfit have been with my community of team mates. And my experiences are not my own. A first for me meant someone witnessed it and got the courage to push outside their own comfort zone. AND I've been witness to so many awesome PR's and firsts in Open workouts that when my turn comes, I'm going out to be part of that. NONE of us achieve anything without each other. 

What's this all mean? I'm registered for THE 2015 OPEN. Do not let me be on the battle field alone. I won't make it nearly as far as with my mates. Come find out what it's really about...the sidelines are not the place to experience it. I need you ... and you need me. I need a top 20 finish in this Open to head back to the Games. And you have my permission to kick my ass...as soon as you're registered. 

Can't give this guy enough air time.