Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Running out of time...

Today was my 30th birthday!  I was pretty excited about today and to celebrate with Kara and my friends.  The more I thought about my birthday the more I started to reflect on my training and competing in the games.  I thought to myself I am 30 years old I don't have that many good years left.  Everything is going to become more difficult.  I will not recover as fast, movements may slow down, and many other bad thoughts.  After a great conversation this morning with one of the coaches at WCCF I got another point of view.  This point of view was "there's plenty of time... just keep training".  There is always the master's class and I have 20 years to train for that!

I changed my thinking.  I am only 30 years old.  That is great!  I have only been doing Crossfit for a little over 9 months and have tons of room for improvement.  I am fired up!  Time to get after it...really push the extremes.  I need to look at my training in a whole new manner.  I need to understand how to recover more effectively, hone in my nutrition, and make all my lift techniques perfect.  Imagine where I will be this time next year.  I will be a whole year stronger, faster, and more efficient.  What is the plan for this upcoming year?

TO HAVE FUN!

That's right I said have fun.  I never want Crossfit to become something I stress over.  I want it to be my outlet for stress and to make me feel great.  I want to train hard and be competitive but at the same time I do not want it to become a chore or work like.  Crossfit is an amazing sport.  You can push yourself beyond you limit everyday and you become better for it.  Why would you want to turn this into something that you stress out about.  I do not feel this makes me any less motivated as a Crossfitter instead I think it will make me a better Crossfitter.  I will have the advantage of perfect focus.  Entering the box everyday and knowing I am there for 2 purposes: to get better as an athlete and to have fun will be very important.  You cannot let the one thing in your life that makes you happy become a new source of stress and anxiety.

What is your plan over the next year?

Whether you made it into the games or not you will need to improve on your level of fitness.  Will you hang your head and become frustrated or will you look into the future and train to become a better athlete?  Only you can decide which it will be.  You can have the best coaches in the world, the best Crossfit community, or the best box in the world but if you do not commit to being a better athlete you might as well not show up.  I don't want to train around someone that is feeling sorry for themselves.  Get over it, move on, and get better.  Use that awful taste of defeat to motivate you training.  Understand that your improvements will always help with the next challenge and that everything has happened for a reason.

If you ever need support in the box I am here.  If you have lost your focus I will give you it.  As a member of the Crossfit community it is important that we pull our friends along.  If you see someone suffering or down after a WOD pick them up.  Not just physically but mentally and emotionally.  We can only become a better community if we all work towards the end result of becoming the best athletes possible. 

Take pride in your efforts, never stop working, and become a student of the sport.  Read articles, go to seminars, perfect your nutrition and supplementation, and most of all improve who you are.  Become the athlete you want to be because  it will happen if you up in the blood, sweat, and work.   

"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”
-Gail Devers

4 comments:

  1. I think this is an issue we all run in to from time to time. Our stress relief (CF) becomes something we concentrate so hard on, that it stops being fun. I wavered in to this zone a few months ago, and realized I had no outlet, nothing to enjoy. Taking a step back, a deep breath, helps sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I definitely agree with you Dole. You want to be at the top of your game and have a lot of focus but you dont want the stress. I like your advice.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, and me being the jerk to forget... Happy Birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  4. As a slightly older athlete I still want to be competitive, but CrossFit is more importantly a means to better health, longevity, and an overall better quality of life. The competitive aspect is what makes it fun for me. It would have been great to have CrossFit when I was 30, but I'm even more grateful for it now.
    We can only train to be our best. We can't control if someone is "better", we just keep going.

    ReplyDelete