CrossFit: The Will to Finish

As the 2013 CrossFit Games Open came to its conclusion, so did five weeks full of all sorts of different emotions. In comparison to last year, this year was different for me, in that not only was I involved in the Open as an athlete, but also as a coach for the first time.

As an athlete, I finished 62nd in my region. Only the top 48 make it on to Regionals and I fell short of that goal. This was a goal I had set to attain last year when I just made it to Regionals and didn’t have the greatest performance. I set my sights on 2013 and vowed to train harder, eat better… so falling short of that goal left me feeling defeated in many ways.

Looking back, I know I could have prepared better. As athletes, we always look back and know that we could have trained harder, eaten better, been more serious and devoted to a training regimen. For me, not meeting my goals is hard. I am harder on myself than anyone else could possibly be on me and I’m disappointed in myself. Does that mean I won’t try for next year? Absolutely not.

I may be defeated this year, but I also think that by not meeting goals and falling short, sometimes that is the best thing to motivate us to do better and to reach higher levels.

Although I am disappointed in myself as an athlete, my experience with the Open as a coach has been nothing short of inspirational and inspiring. We had 30 people from our box, which has been only open for just over a year, sign up for the Open. People who I never would have expected to sign up…did. They helped support me, our box, our community, and to give it a try. Week in and week out, I had large crowds of people show up at the box to do the Open WODs on Friday nights and Sundays.

The dedication and sheer determination that these people had is nothing short of inspirational. This is what CrossFit is about. It isn’t solely about the fittest man and woman on earth, it’s about the small victories within each box. It is the people, who day in and day out, work their butts off to improve their quality of life and to be better at it. It is about the goals that these people set, no matter how big or small, and how they work to achieve them.

I saw tons of PRs and outstanding performances from people who did things that they never thought were possible. This is the magic of CrossFit. The sheer determination and dedication people have to completing something. As I stand back and reflect on these performances, I am humbled. Each and every one of my athletes did more than I have done. I went into these WODs confident in knowing I could do all of the movements…for these athletes, it was truly the unknown and unknowable. I have to ask myself, would I be that brave faced with something I didn’t know I could do?

I watched some of my athletes struggle during 13.4 with the clean and jerk, trying and trying to get the weight up, again and again. I saw some PRs, and I saw more dedication and drive than I could imagine.  In WOD 13.4, I saw some of the greatest efforts by athletes. 95#/135# was heavy and above many of my athlete’s PRs at the time. Not only did many of them get a new PR, but they did it multiple times. I also received an email from a client about how her score was 0, but it was the “most inspirational one of all the open WODs” for her. That is CrossFit right there!

I’ve learned that you can’t let yourself be defined by your placement or get so wrapped up to where it isn’t fun anymore. Yes, I am the 62nd fittest woman in the Northwest Region, but I am more than that. I am an athlete that will get back up when I get knocked down. I am a coach that inspires, motivates and shares experiences with my athletes. I am part of an amazing community that is full of support and genuine people.

Corey Salois

Age – 32