WOD 5-23-09: Extreme Challenge

From nasacrossfit.com:

EXTREME CHALLENGE -
The event was 5 exercises: burpees, box jumps (20” men, 18” women), push press (70# men, 45# women), SDHP (sumo-deadlift high pulls) (60# men, 40# women), and wall balls (15# men, 12# women). With a continuous running clock, each exercise was 1 minute and after each round of 5 exercises there was 1 minute of rest for a total of 3 rounds. The person with a most reps total for all three rounds won. This was very much like Fight Gone Bad, but with burpees instead of rowing.

I took second place in my age group with a score of 253. 3rd place for overall women, 5th place overall men and women.

I definitely have mixed emotions about this event.

It was good to be able to see what it was like to be in a competition, and I learned that focusing on my breathing is VERY important. And I went as hard as I thought I could, but I wished I would have pushed myself just a little bit harder. 1 more rep per round would have made a huge difference, and in the future I need to have that thought constantly running through my head: "one more rep".

It was bad because it was not judged fairly at all. The girl who beat me (by 4 reps) did not do one correct burpee according the rules - there was never even a bend in the elbow! The guy who won 36 and under (and overall) did not lock his arms out once on his push-presses. The guy who won 36 and over did not catch or throw one of the wall balls from his chest, he did everything from his waist. Would I have one first place in my age group had everyone been judged correctly? Absolutely.

I am of the opinion that if you are going to associate the name Crossfit with your event, you better damn well run the event according to Crossfit standards.

Do I sound like a sore loser? Probably, but trust me that is not the case. 2nd place is first loser in my opinion, and it was a kick in the ass that I needed to ramp up my training. So, I can only keep training harder and getting better, faster, stronger so I can win without question in my next event!