CrossFit Open 2014

March 30, 2014

CrossFit Open 2014

Just in case you're wondering... "Why is the blog titled "Running for One" when all the posts are about lifting and eating and CrossFit?

Well, such is life. I discovered the adult athlete buried within me about 7 years ago. She was a runner. (Ok, I use this term loosely, not in the Kara Goucher sense of the word.) I completed my first run as a professional (a working mom) driven by stress and a desperate need for quiet (no "Mom. Mom! MOM!" or "Mrs. Lawson. Mrs. Lawson. Mrs. Lawson!" out on the road) and fell. in. love.

And then my inner writer finally quit snoozing and "Running for One" was birthed (read the story behind the title).

Fast forward 5 years or so. Enter obstacle course racing. Enter the Olympic lifting. Enter this little thing called The CrossFit Games (Thank you, ESPN!) and... I'm hooked. I've never been so fit. So healthy. So capable. So versatile. (I mean, for Pete's sake... I have abs! And they're not buried under a layer of fat! AND I turn 40 in a few months.) Anyway...

The CrossFit Open...

The Open is 5 weeks long. And it is just that-- open. To anyone and everyone who pays the $20 entry fee. Each week a new workout is released and athletes have a set amount of time to complete it (4 days). To ensure validity of the score, workouts need to be performed and judged at an affiliate or submitted by video. Once validated, each athlete's score is compiled onto

The Leaderboard...

All the competition you've ever thought you wanted. For a type A, super competitive person like me, I sometimes think the leaderboard is the glory and the bane of my existence. (Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. Really, it ~~can become a bit of~~ is an idol for me.) Anyway, the brains behind CrossFit are no dummies. This leaderboard (there's even an App!) publicly ranks every person who is registered in the Open. Stats galore! I can see where I stand in the world, in my region, and among my CrossFitting frenemies (because I love you, but I want to WIN).

The Workouts...

Aka the WODs are labeled according to year and week (so 14.1 is 2014, week 1). The beauty of CrossFit is the variety. Over the course of 5 weeks, there will be exercises that are in your wheelhouse and ones that are... well, not.

The Athletes...

Who should compete in the Open? Anyone and everyone who is physically fit for exercise; can safely complete the basic CrossFit exercises (pull ups, double unders, box jumps, wall balls and thrusters); and who can perform Olympic lifts (clean and jerks, dead lifts, snatches) at near Rx weights. Obviously, your coach should weigh in to your decision to compete. Just don't be intimidated!