Compete or Die! and give me a hug when you're done!

Competition.
There are 570 million results when you Google this word. It can mean fighting for awards, recognition, a mate or status. In CrossFit it is about bettering yourself...ultimately. But there is competition between athletes...oh yes.

I have competed in several CrossFit events in my three years with CFOS. The biggest has been our gym's CrossFitting 4 Cures. It usually draws about 70 to 90 athletes from around the region to compete in a series of events. I have competed in this event two times and would not write home about my performance.

The gym takes on a different feeling when the international games begin the preliminary event called The Open. All gym members participate. It usually makes me a bit nauseous.

This summer a new event emerged called Chlorine and Chalk. I could not believe it! An event that combined swimming - my strength- with Crossfit. And I could actually compete in the highest women's event which is called "RX" meaning you have to use the weights prescribed. I can't always compete RX, but I could manage these weights!
I needed a partner though.
One of our members, Gabby, wanted to compete, too. She is not a strong swimmer, but she is all heart and can lift some serious weight. We decided we would enter.
I had no expectations of winning, so I was relaxed and performed well. The competition was fun!
That was my latest CrossFit epiphany - I have them a lot! Relax during competition - don't get all jacked-up about it - and perform better.

Rivalry
One of the best parts of competing in Sports Training is the camaraderie and friendly rivalry. Meta and I are heading to Franklin, Tn in two weekends to race in a 5K. She has a great smile, and it was the biggest I have ever seen it when she challenged me to this race. We will have a great time, but I plan on kicking her butt. :)

Our Sports athletes have competed two Saturdays in a row in team events. Erin's plan, in my opinion, is to get us comfortable competing from a healthy place. If we see it is fun, if we also work hard, performance improves. I Pr'd my double unders during one of the events. No nausea that day!

The other day we had a plank contest at the gym. We had to hold a plank in different positions for about 5 minutes and then for as long as possible on our elbows. I was the last master's division member left planking - 8 minutes. The last minute was for me - to know I could do it, but it was also because I saw Julie Holt still at it.

Julie is crazy competitive.
It is what makes her an international-level athlete, and she is strong as hell.

Today we did a 4-round WOD of 400 meter runs and 21 deadlifts. By the last round she was ahead of me on the run. I tried to pass her, but she could feel me behind her. She would speed up...stay just ahead of me. I pushed her and she pushed me. It was great. By the time we made it to the gym to finish the deadlifts we were a bit spent, but she had enough in her to beat me by about thirty seconds.
I love that about our Sports Program team. We push each other and that makes us push ourselves in the process.

Competition and Rivalry mean - in my world - bonding with my fellow athletes. When it comes down to the end, I will cheer for Gabby to finish her swim, even though we won't win the race. It means I will hug Julie for her great performance today because she pushed herself to go farther and faster. It means running with Meta, so that we will both go have a fast time on a beautiful night in Franklin, Tn. This is why I am an addict. I love these people.

CrossFit Murray posted this:
Your CrossFit accomplishment, how much you lift, how fast you run or your athletic capacity does not indicate what kind of person you are.
But being coachable, respectful, a great teammate, mentally tough, resilient, and honest (including range of motion and counting correctly) IS a direct reflection of your character.

Here is my competitive mission: to give all I have to myself and my teammates.
And if I win a race along the way - I won't kick it out of bed!

My Drug

According to a little reading I have been doing exercise is much like an addictive drug.
Exercise releases endorphins which are chemicals that interact with the receptors in your brain. These receptors can reduce the perception of pain and actually release a sense of pleasure much like morphine. A good CrossFit workout can create a sense of euphoria and even affect one's outlook on life.

I personally find that I want more. As sore as I get, as tired as I get and as beat up and bruised as I get - and an occasional humiliation - I can't wait to get back to my gym.
I recognize that my brain has been altered. I am ok with that.

I like being a competitive athlete and I think you have to be this way to do what competitive athletes do - marathoners, triathletes, bikers or crossfitters, there is a drive to perform, but there is also a drive to train.

This all has gone up a notch with the start of the Sports Training. It seems that the more intense you train, the more you want to get back for more.

Today I dropped a barbell on my leg and it left a dent. There was a dent in my calf. That hurt a bit. I showed my new injury to my teammate Shaunna.

You have to know Shaunna - she is a little ball of fire. Really. She may weigh 100 pounds and can overhead squat more than 100 pounds. She is like an ant that can carry a watermelon on its back.

She dashed off and got me ice for my leg. Julie came over to look at it as well. We all stared at my leg with a morbid fascination.

"That is a significant dent," said Julie.
"Yeah, it is going to bruise like a m----- f-----." I cussed. Sorry I do that in the gym.

I kept thinking two things as we were staring at the dent. One - I wished I had shaved. Two- when could I get up and finish my lift?
This second thought is important because it speaks to that chemical interaction going on in the brain. I WANT TO LIFT HEAVY S---!  Sorry its that cussing again.

Julie patched me up with a wrist band around my calf when I realized the pain was subsiding pretty quickly. I couldn't lift very easily with ice on my calf, but compression felt good.

I finished my lift and when coach Donna came out to check on me, the little scoop in my calf had diminished.

Cool.

Pain gone - pleasure returned. I walked out of the gym today happy I had taken my drug.

Day One

My coach, Erin, walked up to me after our first WOD of Sports Training today and asked me what was wrong. We had just finished a set of heavy Clean and Jerks. I told her I was OK, but I was trying to figure out why she asked me that. I realized my face must have looked very serious because I was going through everything I did wrong in my head. Not enough hips, too much arm...

I was also questioning if I should have gone up five more pounds on each of my lifts. Hence the title of my blog and the theme of this journey: the power of five more pounds in my CrossFit Life. I am steady at 195lbs on my Deadlift PR, 100 on my Power Clean, etc. - just to take it up five more pounds is a barrier for me. But that is why I am committing to this program. To go to a new place with my pain tolerance, my form and my fear. I REALLY want to be over this damn fear of punching through to the next level of fitness.

Why I know I can -
My teammates are amazing. The men and women I am joining in the Sports Training program are high intensity. Julie has competed in the CrossFit games, Derek and Steven are coaches, and everyone else in the room today was lifting...well... at LEAST five more pounds than me.
So I know what I have to do.

I have to listen to my coach. Erin is tough, but really wants us to succeed. I have to trust her even when I doubt myself.
I have to focus. I have to compete against me and not let my ego get in the way of good form and healthy progression.
I have to celebrate my teammates, because we will be getting through this together for seven months.
I have to be smart. I will do what I can do.

I am 48 years old. This will not be an excuse. It will be an inspiration. But it does mean I train different than a younger athlete. I have to stretch more- Derek teased me today and said our early start will cut in to my typical hour of "Buy In!" I also have to get my rest and hydrate - really hydrate!

Being 48, though, brings another advantage to me as an athlete - I know what I want. I want to be strong. I want absolute confidence that I can achieve a goal, like a marathon or a triathlon, without doubting myself.
I also want to set an example for my 12-year-old daughter - that if you work hard and support your teammates, it pays off.

Five pounds...here I come...many times over.