16.1 Accomplished

I’m very relieved to have the CrossFit Open 16.1 WOD over with. Today was a great day at CrossFit Sunalta with plenty of nerves, fun, and #gainz.

Of course, I’d debated a ton about whether or not to scale 16.1. The scaled version appealed to me namely because I’d only ever done a few chest-to-bar pull-ups in my life. Doing the scaled version would enable me to skip the dreaded C2B pull-ups and speedily zip through the other elements.

But the RX version was doable, minus the pull-ups. I knew I was capable, although I also knew it would take me a month of Sundays.

With a bit of peer pressure and pull-up testing at the local playground, I begrudgingly decided to do the RX version. I woke up with a stomach full of nerves and after we walked Penny, we drove to the gym so I could get warmed up. After following Coach Eric’s warm-up, I felt pretty ready and we got rolling.

My friend Colin judged me and it was awesome having such a supportive buddy there to push me as I got tired. 20 minutes is a long time, folks. Dana was there to coach me too from the sidelines, thankfully.

I had zero issue with the lunges, and the burpees were a breeze (I used the step-in approach to save energy); however, the pull-ups were a bit of a drag. Singles from the start, but amazingly I was able to keep going! I alternated grips which really helped.     In the end, with plenty of encouragement from everyone, I got 124 reps (nearly 5 rounds). Nothing compared to Coach Emily Abbott’s performance at the announcement, but I’m definitely really happy with myself for doing the more challenging alternative and beating my goal of 4 rounds.

Dana went a little bit later and got 152 reps. I am so proud of him! His knee’s been bugging him lately but you never would have known it today. He did great!

Meg was in the same heat as me and her performance was amazing. Like me, she questioned her ability to do the C2B pull-ups but she was able to crush 4+ rounds today!

Just like last year’s Open, I found that I was pushed to find my outer limits and then go further. I’m really excited to see what else Dave Castro throws at us in the weeks to come!

How did 16.1 go for you?