This was the response of an athlete at my box when asked whether or not she’d re-do the workout or not.
At first, I agreed.
However, it has kept coming up in my mind over and over again–a nettle that won’t let go–because deep inside I don’t agree.
The Open for me is about doing the best I know I’m capable of. This entails re-doing the workouts because there is a learning curve–especially to movements such as the hang dumbbell clean that is not all that frequent of a movement in CrossFit programming. If I have an opportunity to do better, I’m gonna take it!
This applies to all aspects of my life. I always strive to do my very best in everything I do because I care about my work and the results. I want to learn to do things better. I want to be a better parent. A better wife. A better employee. A better member of society. A better writer. A better CrossFitter. A better person. This involves practice.
I re-did 18.2 and 18.2a today. My goal was to do 18.2 30 seconds better. My goal for 18.2a was to clean 5 more pounds.
I met both of these goals–almost exactly.
All because I knew I could do better.
If I don’t try when I know I have more in me, I’m letting myself down. And for me I can’t live with that.
So to answer the question: I care and I will care in four months when the lights dim and the hubbub diminishes what my Open scores were. I want to do my very best in this competition. For myself. To verify in my mind all my sacrifices are worth it. It’s important to me. Don’t get me wrong–I’m always in it to win it. But the competition is within.
Challenges and goals. Some met, some not. But always doing my best. Till the day I take my last breath…
My Journey to the CrossFit Games 