WOD
5 Rounds On The 4 Minutes:
21/15 Calorie Bike,
15 Ten Meter Sprints,
9 Heavy Slam Balls.
Score is your lowest and fastest times combined.
Tuesday Night Musings with Coach Julia.
The Joy in Our Friday Night Lights at Helo (or alternatively … My One Redo).
Last week marked the start of the 2019 CrossFit Open with 19.1, that happened to be a lovely combination of wallballs and rowing. At 5’8” and a bit, the wod was definitely in my wheelhouse and I was happy that I knew I could get it done RX and would likely be pretty decent. My only dilemma was that I’d been preparing for and would be attending a 2 day administrative trial as lead counsel for a physician that was ending on Friday night around 5 pm, so I’d be exhausted and would be running on little to no sleep.
That said, Friday rolled around and I found myself getting to Helo with time to spare to join in on one of the later heats. As I walked up to the half open garage door – I could hear music and loud cheering and I started grinning because I had forgotten the magic that I was about to walk into – as I stepped into our 6th year of Friday Night Lights I remembered why I love this time of year and doing the Open – because there is simply a lot of joy in all those endorphins after the all-out effort at Helo and the camaraderie is indescribable.
Now sure, I walked in and it was a slightly smaller group then maybe in the past years due to the changes in format, but the quality of peeps who were there were top notch. In fact, I got to see some of my favorite people (who during the week because of schedules I barely got to say hello to) and I
got to give them hugs and cheer for them and toast to them after. I don’t know what other boxes are like but I think ours is pretty special during the Open. Alecio runs it so well and with the help of our other coaches, it just makes for a great sporting event both for participants and fans alike.
And so, on this particular night, I prepared to start my wod and I had a great judge who knew how to push me. Yet, almost straight away on my second round I didn’t go to the last rep on my wall balls (my judge was saying 18 and I just wasn’t processing) because I was just tired and I lost time and then I did it again and I was fidgeting with straps and my pants falling off and I just lost a bunch of time. I finished and while not perfect, I was still in a great mood to be just done so I could get a treat from the Matterhorn food truck we brought in and I had a fantastic rest of the evening as people hung out, bonding over the experience, and Alecio and I both talked about how much more fun we had then we were expecting the next morning.
Which doesn’t really explain how I came to decide to redo 19.1 on Sunday morning, which is typically an absolute “no no” in our house as Alecio and I have both stated we are one and done for years (and have seen a lot of redos that didn’t seem worth it in other competitors to justify the additional strain to the body on an already tough 5 weeks). So, the truth is – a few weeks ago on some follow up to my prior surgery six months back, a new and potentially scary medical issue arose that to be cautious was being addressed on that Monday, and I felt I needed some extra good positive mental energy or fortitude to prepare me for whatever I was going to face (and just in case I wasn’t going to be able to do another Open wod I wanted to feel like I ended as a champion even if it was just in my own mind as I certainly wasn’t going to beat the very top scores in the box).
So, on Sunday, I decided to redo the wod … not so much to show anyone else that I could do better, but because I wanted to reiterate to myself internally that this was a wod I was good at, that I was mentally tough and redoing that dang wod and pushing myself was my way of giving myself a pep talk that I could face whatever was coming, scary or not, that I was a specialist in survival and I always have been. I think Alecio knew that I just needed to do it for me and that’s why he didn’t talk me out of it like he normally would (he even helped me warm up properly). And I nearly keeled over (and I’m never redoing a wod again) after I finished those 15 minutes but gosh darn it, I kicked 19.1’s booty and I showed myself that I am still mentally tough and I am in fact good at those movements.
And you know what, while prepared for the worst, I got lucky as I got good news on Monday where I walked out so relieved and grateful for my life and all that I had (and my heart broke for the Spanish speaking woman who left at the same time who was crying as she returned back to her beautiful 4 month old in the lobby where her own mother waited for her and I hoped that maybe her news wasn’t too bad). I didn’t have to fall back on the mental willpower or strength that I had built around me the day before but seeing the tears in the woman’s eyes beside me reminded me that we are all in this together, and we need to fight, and cry, and cheer together for each other in this lifetime to.
As you see I do feel like we are all in this together at Helo – as a community and as a chosen family – and which leads me to my final thought and summary as I wait for this week’s announcement regarding 19.2 and I’m excited to once again step into the magic of Helo’s Friday Night Lights. It is simply this: that if you are competing – try to enjoy the time you are there, the fun of the competition (as some wods are going to go better then others), and your friends who are there with you because these will be the days or nights that you will later look back on fondly; while, if you are family or friends cheering on your fellow athletes and loved ones – try to tell the person you are there for that you are proud of them and support them because they won’t forget it either that you came.
And last but not least, please try not to take these nights or moments for granted as the Open experience is amazing because of the greatness of each of you and I at least am grateful for and will always treasure being able to be a competitor and the privilege of getting to be a part of the joy in Helo’s Friday Night Lights!
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Coach Julia
