17.5

Here we are at the final Friday Night Lights competition. So glad I took the chance to try something new. I’ve learned a lot about the limits of my body vs the limits of my mind. I’ve also learned that it’s easier to keep going when you have your biological and CrossFit family there cheering you on.

Overall, I ended up in the top half of all the women CrossFit competitors. That sounds much better than 81,122nd place! It get’s even better when I look at women my age group who competed the scaled versions: made it to the top 5% for that one. Better than how I stack up against other competitors, I can’t wait to see how much I improve at next year’s Open.

17.4

I have to say one of the best parts of this experience has been having my girls there to support me. Started the day with this killer workout and then got to take my youngest business clothes shopping for her first real job. More than anything I want my girls to grow up with the knowledge that they can accomplish whatever they set their minds to. Maybe competing in these crazy competitions will help them step out of their comfort zone a little.

17.3

17.3 kicked my butt!!! But I kicked it back! Focused on keeping myself moving and not swearing too much in front of my girls. Ended up completing 155 reps. Not bad, but I was just too worn out to continue increasing the barbell weight. Next year I’ll kill this!

17.2

17.2 take three! I guess the third time’s the charm. Finally figured out how to get my kipping pull-ups again, so happy! Kipping is a way to use momentum (aka cheat) to help get your body up over the bar. This is very helpful for those of us still working on our upper body strength to total body weight ratios.

A new thing I learned is that you can repeat the workouts as many times as you want and submit the score you like best. Three attempts in three days…so tired but worth.

17.1

Well, it’s official! I paid my $20 and joined 153,244 women around the world to compete in the 2017 Crossfit Open. I had no idea what to expect but was determined to push myself to learn and do things I wouldn’t normally do. Time to get WAY out of my comfort zone!

17.1 was a brutal test of endurance. It didn’t look too horrible, until I watched the seasoned pros finish their rounds, lying on the ground panting and too exhausted to sign their score sheets. I seriously considered backing out right then and there!

My time was much slower than it could have been, slowed down by my brain that was not convinced I should be competing at all. “You’re too old for this! You’re going to hurt something! Let’s just rest for another 10 seconds…” But somehow I trudged through and finished in 17 minutes and 29 agonizing seconds. Ten minutes later I found the strength to sign my score sheet. This fitness thing is no joke!

Getting Strong

Aging brings with it a few more aches and pains, as well as muscles and joints that just don’t spring back the way they used to. The tendency to become less physically active, especially as life get busier, is easy to understand. The question then becomes, how can you stay active while working with your body instead of against it? That is my quest. You are welcome to stop by and share in my fitness journey.