CFCM Games, and the benefits of good competition

This weekend I competed with the Barbarians in the CrossFit Central Manchester Games, and had a fantastic experience. No, actually, an outstanding experience.

The pace was set early on with the first WOD, in which we were head-to-head with CrossFit Clithero. They proved to be fantastic competitors, beating us in WOD 1. We were a few reps behind them, but still secured second by a good distance. We then knew who we’d be chasing the rest of the competition. WOD 2 consisted of max snatches in one minute, and I completed 26 (at 30kg). WOD 3 was significantly longer: 180 thrusters followed by 180 bar jump burpees (team total). We flew threw the thrusters, but Clithero managed to get through them a bit faster, moving on the burpees ahead of us Barbarians. However, our strategy of rotating through the burpees helped us catch up, and soon we were rep to rep with Clithero. In the end, they beat us by one second, giving them their 3rd first place finish at the end of day one. We knew our likelihood of a first place finish was minimal at this point, though we likely had second in the bag. Our new goal became to beat Clithero in a WOD. 

Our opportunity arose with WOD 4, the first workout of day 2 of the competition, which consisted of heavy deadlifts and double unders. We Barbarians FLEW through the WOD, smashing out the deads and speeding through the double unders, and managed to gain an early lead on Clithero, and eventually taking first in the WOD. Finishing first felt as good as winning the competition, and we were all thrilled--> video

(On a personal note, my double unders are certainly coming along so much better, especially in competition)

Going into the final, the places were more or less already set based on the ranking system. However, I was excited, as there were heavy clean and jerks awaiting me in WOD 5, and some awesome teams to go up against. We took second in the final (no surprise) to Clithero, and all left everything in the ring. I don’t think Kat, Karl, Ryan, or myself could have worked any harder. I was so thrilled with such a successful first experience as a team, and I could not have asked for a better group to compete with. What was most impacting however was to go up against such a solid and experienced team as Clithero. We later learned that some of them went to regionals, and that should have been obvious based on how good they were. Having a team beat you by one second is a really important lesson, and provides unbelievable motivation. As crazy competitive as it sounds, my personal strategy changed after WOD 1. I knew who we were chasing, and with each movement, I made sure my bar faced the Clithero team. I wanted to watch them. I wanted to keep pace with them. Ultimately, I wanted to beat them. Insane, I know. But I sure as hell lifted 100kg faster because I knew exactly where my competition was at and what I need to do to beat them.