11th Place in Nor Cal 2014

My 2014 CrossFit season has come to an end. It has been a long journey, but one I have enjoyed. I had my best open finish this year (46th), and for the first time in any open, I was in the top 48 the entire time. I usually have to climb my way into the top 48, so being in the running was a lot more comforting and less stressful overall. This year's regional work outs seem much different than previous years. While strength was still a big component, gymnastics and execution seemed to be the focus. The opening 2 events were extremely nerve wracking, there was absolutely no room for error. I have never choked in a competition like I did in event 1. But, I remained focused and was able to climb my way back to 11th place overall. I now have finished 11th in the Nor Cal regional in 2013 and 2014.

Event 1: Snatch. My plan, like I had done in practice many times, was to hit 155#, 170# and go for 180#. This was not unrealistic at all, considering I had done 155# and 170# comfortably in practice a few times. In warm up 155# felt smooth, and I even hit 165# which was solid. I had 15-20 min of standing around after my heat check-in, and I think that was too much time. The first event is always the most nerve wracking, no matter what it is. The snatch was a lot of pressure, I expect myself to do very well because I know I can, but I only had 3 chances and I blew it on 2. I only hit my opening weight of 155#, and it was not even solid; The weight felt very unstable. Things go well in practice and warm up because I am in control of my environment. So in warm up, I felt good and confident, but when I got out on the floor, there was a new bar, a crowd, a microphone, etc. Anyways, missing 170# was not ever part of my plan. It was probably the worst way to begin the weekend, but I kept my head up and kept doing what I knew how.

Event 2: The handstand walk. This was almost a disaster. I was still shaken up by the snatches, and I almost fell over at the 15 ft line. I ended up making it to 70 ft, which was my worst finish (place wise) for the weekend. All things considered, I felt fine with 70 ft. But this was the weirdest work out. All of a sudden I was handstand walking and thinking "wow, this is it." I can barely remember this work out, I think I blacked out haha.

Event 3: Nasty Girls V2. I did 2 rounds in 6 min in practice, and if this was supposed to go anything like practice, I was hoping for a sub 11 min time. I ended up getting 11:45 but I felt good with this. Pistols were exhausting, as expected, but I just happy to have an event go somewhat as planned.

Event 4: HSPU/FS/BURPEE my practice time was almost a minute faster, but I felt good with a time of 13:24. In practice I didn't have the same set up, so the time walking from the barbell to the wall in competition was longer, and added more time. This was a good way to start the day.

Event 5: Rope Climbs I felt great on this. I want to try this again with the same ropes and no risk involved to see how fast I can go. I was hesitant to blow up. I got 7:03 but I should have gotten sub 7. My judge "no repped" me on my last rope climb that I CLEARLY touched, and so when he said no rep I said "What?! I just touched it" and he looked at the judge next to him who nodded his head yes and then my judge was all "ok, ok go" so I ran to the finish line, but that costed me about 10 seconds. It was annoying but I am just glad I did not have to redo a rope climb due to judging error.

Event 6: the 50s. The most dreaded work out of the weekend. The ring dips were my only saving grace here. Thats where I was able to make up time. I think I was last to start ring dips but ended up 3rd or 4th in my heat overall. For a work out that should have been my worst event, this actually went okay! In practice I got 2 or 3 box jumps on the return, and in competition I got 34 deadlifts. So I didn't get as far as I would have liked, but I was content with a 13th place finish. I felt like I just had no energy, which is where the whole 3 day competition comes into play. In practice, I never simulated a regional weekend, I just did 1 work out on a certain day to practice pacing, but by this time in the competition I was feeling pretty tired.

Event 7: Pull ups OHS This was probably the highlight of the weekend. I had a strong finish, 2:59... not quite as fast as in practice once again, but I was proud to finish with an 8th place for this event to end the weekend. I felt like we had very little time to relax between event 6 and 7, and event 6 really kicked my butt! This went exactly as planned, 32 pull ups to open up then smaller sets, and a power snatch to UB OHS to finish.

This weekend was a lot of fun. Although only 1 out of the 7 events went better than planned, and I fell short of my goal (top 10), I am still holding my head high and happy with the effort I put in not only for this weekend, but the for entire training year.

I am so thankful for everyone who has supported me along the way. Whether you supported me by coming to the event, or sending a message, I am grateful for each and every one of you. A special thanks to my sponsors/supportors for keeping me ready to go!
Body Science BSCskinUSA
RPM fitness
Dynamic Nutrition
Blonyx

A big thank you to my coach, Michael FitzGerald, for making the trip out to California for the second year in a row to support me during my regional weekend. I felt as prepared as I ever could have been for this weekend!



2014 Final Regional Event from Chelsea Ryan on Vimeo.