After the Open

You’re in one of a few places right now. You either killed the Open, met your goals and are pleased. OR you are disappointed, because you trained hard or thought you did, and you expected to place higher in the Open. Well I have a couple reasons that maybe that isn’t true for the latter.

1. The Open is different every year. We do repeat workouts from time to time, but usually only 1 each year. The test is dramatically different in the ways fitness is being measured. Some years we squat more than others, some years we press more than others, some years we do double unders, some years we don’t, some years it’s ring muscle ups, other years it’s bar muscle ups. These factors have nothing to do with reps or time domains, the order of the workouts or how many total scores there are. You can see now that even the few factors I’ve mentioned show we can’t simply compare 1 year to the next in regards to our “position” compared to others. If each year was the same test, I wouldn’t be able to say this to you. But it is true, the test this year could have faired another or several others better than it did you. 
2. You aren’t the only one training for the Open! I have so many athletes, and have so many weekly conversations about the hard work they are putting in, it blows my mind. I’m so encouraged to read that people are dedicated to programs, to their nutrition, to their sleep, which is in turn really positively affecting their lives. BUT then the open happens and for some reason each athlete seems to assume they are the only one doing these things as if it gives them some sort of entitlement at success. The hard truth to share is that now hard work, good fuel, good sleep, and consistent training is what EVERYONE is trying to do within our community. It is beautiful how we are changing the world through CrossFit but it makes success in the sport that much harder as we all grow in our capacities. When you are bested in a workout, tip your hat to others who beat you, knowing that if YOU put in the work, you must imagine and assume they did the same. 
3. The masses are coming! Each year the numbers get more skewed. The enrollment in the Open has increased EVERY.SINGLE.YEAR. So we are not only all getting older, but we are also getting surrounded by more talent and numbers. This makes even the smallest of error cost our placing to drop 100 spots in a region or 1000 in the world! Again, if we were all competing against a fixed field each year, we could assume and make more targeted expectations based on how we will line up against others, but we can’t! We have no idea who will turn up to “play” from year to year, but we know there will always be MORE. 

I mention these 3 factors because it is important to show yourself some grace. What have you done for the last several months? The last year? You put in the work, you improved your fitness. Did your strengths go up? Gymnastics improve? Stamina increase? If the answer is yes to any of them you are a success! Do not short change yourself or discredit your accomplishments by only accounting success based on the performance of others. We can only control our effort and our attitude. If those actions lead you to be fitter this year measured through quantifiable data compared to only YOU, then you win. Well done! Ignore the ranking, and record the data, next year or through the off season as we repeat workouts, your job is to keep moving those numbers in the right direction, that is it.