So, I have been holding my breath since 14.1 was announced, hoping and wishing for NO chest to bar pull ups or muscle ups until the very last week. But you know… the whole unknown and unknowable thing got the best of me this week.

My back is nowhere near ready for any sort of a kip or aggressive pulling, especially not chest to bar pull ups. I won’t really be doing 14.2, but I sure did have fun today at NorCal CrossFit watching my friends throw down with smiles and a whole lot of class. It got me fired up for next year’s Open and for this coming year being my healthiest, strongest, happiest year yet!

Watching Jason and Pat judge each other brought me back to 3 years ago when we first met, and they showed me the CrossFit light

Today was a wonderful reminder of why we CrossFit; hanging out at the gym, laughing about life, making fun of each other, and lifting heavy stuff… that is what it is all about. The coolest part about it is we have guys like Jason Khalipa and Pat Barber, who have been doing this for a long time and are very competitive athletes, but still make sure to enjoy the ride.

Every heat that threw down today had the whole room there cheering, pushing, and wishing nothing but the absolute best for their friends. The competitive side of CrossFit is like nothing I have ever seen. After the final pull up or squat, when you are laying flat out on your back, you can be sure that a friend (who also happens to be your competition) will get right down on the floor with you to hash out the workout, give you support, and laugh it all off.

Right as Cheryl finished and hit the deck, Molly was right down there with her

I see a lot of people taking this competitive working out VERY seriously, and while I have nothing but respect for the dedication, drive, and hard work that goes into being a competitive CrossFit athlete, I hate to see the respect, the support, the community, and the laughter forgotten. Having been in this community for a while now, surrounded by the most kick-ass people you’ll find, I have come to learn that CrossFit can bring so much companionship, empowerment, excitement, and joy – but only if we continue to remember why we do it and where it all began. The guys like Jason and Pat, who are the top of the competition and in the heat of all of the limelight still laugh, joke, and enjoy the process – if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be where they are now.

People email NorCal a lot asking about special programming for competitive athletes trying to make it to the Games. The reality is that there is no secret. You can ask Jason and Pat, and anyone else who has been there. It takes hard work, dedication, lots of hours, but MOST importantly, it takes joy. That sounds weird, but you have to ENJOY the ride and, even more importantly, the people you surround yourself with, or you will never get there.

And most of us never ever will compete at The Games, but that is just fine. We do CrossFit for the community, for the adaptation, for the general skill set it improves, to improve our quality of life, and for the pure joy of it.

The thing that I have enjoyed more than anything else since the first workout announcement are the thousands of PR’s occurring in gyms around the world because of these workouts.

I have heard countless stories of first-ever double unders, PR snatches and overhead squats, and my very favorite, “boobies on the buzzer” from HQ Media’s very own Jennifer Poli. Check this quote out:

“14.2 is done. I have never done a chest to bar pull up, so this workout was a little daunting. I got my over head squats done around 47 seconds, so for the remaining time I had to work on getting a chest to bar pull up. With 3 seconds left I jumped up on the bar and got those boobies up there at the buzzer! Thanks Jenny Lau & Charlie Dube for the encouragement! #boobiesonthebuzzer #justintime”

Now that is EXACTLY what The Open and CrossFit are all about.

So if you take anything from all of this rambling, please, just don’t forget to laugh…..

Just like I did as soon as I heard Chest to Bar pull-ups. Remember, there is always The 2015 CrossFit Open, and the goal is simply to be better than last year, to laugh as often as possible, and to keep lifting heavy stuff all the while.

Oh and to EAT!

So now, for a quick nutrition tidbit!

Here is a picture of my lunch today. I spent most of the day at the gym because of meetings and Open shenanigans, but I had time for a quick Whole Foods trip. Here is a 4-block meal:

I got 6 ounces of Applegate lemon rosemary turkey from the deli counter

While they sliced that, I went to the salad bar I filled a box with 1 block mixed greens/power greens, 2 blocks roasted sweet potato (I love that they have this in their salad bar), and 1 block carrot/beets.

I topped that off with a splash of olive oil and some pumpkin seeds for my fats, and viola!

I was in and out in 5 minutes, with a delicious lunch on the run.

Happy Friday everyone… spend the weekend with someone you love doing what you love!