1st Annual Oktoberfest Obliteration

What an incredible event!  I want to start off by saying, I love CrossFit.  I continue to meet amazing people and have great experiences with this one of a kind community.  Matt and Pam of CrossFit Champions did a hell of a job hosting this event and I send my thanks out to them and all of the volunteers and judges for their efforts and great job.  This competiton was a special day for me as it ended up being my greatest CrossFit victory to date.  No, not my less than stellar performance in WOD1, but in watching my wife, Karen, do things she didn't think she could do.  Karen competed in the women's scaled division and this was her first CrossFit competition, and her first anything competition since highschool.  Karen started the day placing 9th in her division in WOD1 which qualified her to move on to WOD2 later in the day.  And I know Karen would want me to send specific thanks to Vic Zachary of Bayou City CrossFit.  Vic was Karen's judge for WOD1 and he did a badass job motivating her through the WOD.  You should have seen her face when she found out she had to do another WOD!  She went on to a 10th place finish in WOD2 and on the day, but she showed grit and determination toughing through 2 tough WODs and going hard and giving her absolute best.  I am so proud.

Karen and I are at home garage gym CrossFitters, and I have the joy of being her trainer, writing and scaling her WODs and teaching her everything I can about CrossFit standards, movements, intensity, etc.  This basically makes me her coach and trainer.  Not only did I get to see my wife make a major breakthrough in mental and physical barriers, but I got to watch an athlete I trained do it as well.  This has been an overwelmingly rewarding experience for me.  But this isn't about me.  Since giving birth to our son 13 months ago, Karen has dedicated herself to raising our son and living a healthy lifestyle.  Her hard work and dedication was on display for all to see this past Saturday.  Karen has put in the hard work, and it shows.  Keep it up baby!  The results speak for themselves.  You are making everyone proud!  Congratulations on a successful showing at your first competition, you deserve it.

A few quick words on my performance on Saturday...it was yet another disappointing one for me.  I had a couple of extra obstacles factoring in, but I don't want to make excuses and at the end of the day, my mental game failed me.  I have my best performances in my garage, when it doesn't matter.  And I tend to have my worst performances when the world is watching.  By my own calculations, I think I ended up with a 16th place finish in the men's standard division.  I am going to refocus on my mental game and find a way to turn "it" on for game day.  Next time my mind WILL be steady.