Open: not restricted to a particular group or category of participants <open to the public> <open housing>; enterable by both amateur and professional contestants <an open tournament>
Closed: confined to a few <closed membership> ; excluding participation of outsiders or witnesses
Since the beginning of the year, all across the internet and Facebook, those of us who count ourselves part of the CrossFit community have been bombarded by reminders that the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games Open is coming and we should all sign up. "The Open is for Everyone!" each new blog post and video proclaims. "Test Your Fitness!" Excitement has built, nutrition has been put on lock, training has peaked. For the elite 1% of the CrossFit world this is the beginning of their season - the first step in qualifying for the Games. For the other 99% of us it's a chance to play among giants and see where we stack up in the world of fitness. Just how far off the marks of Rich, Sam, Annie, and Jason we actually are. Overall the Open is fun and builds community, and if you've got even a little bit of CrossFit under your belt, there really isn't any reason that you can't, or shouldn't, try to participate. (As long as you aren't injured...)
Two years ago I started CrossFit shortly after the conclusion of the 2012 Open so 2013 was my first chance to participate. Like many newbie CrossFitters I was nervous about signing up, despite the assertions that anyone could do it, because after almost a year of training I knew my limitations fairly well. I didn't have pull-ups, box jumps, double unders, toes to bar, muscle-ups - all things that were likely to show up in the Open workouts. I was very much a weightlifting specialist so I knew that the chances of something coming out of the hopper that I wouldn't be able to do were high. It was pretty much guaranteed that at some point during the Open I would be stuck helplessly staring down a piece of equipment unable to perform some movement Dave Castro had cooked up, but I carried the hope that if there was a slim chance that I would be able to get some part of the workout done, I knew I had to at least try. I signed up and waited with anticipation for the release of workout 13.1.
As luck would have it, I was at a work conference dinner during the announcement so I couldn't watch it live, but as soon as dinner was over I pulled out my phone to check Facebook and found out that the first workout was burpees and snatches - two things that I could absolutely do. I was ecstatic. And giddy. It was a bit ridiculous how excited I was and as no one that I work with does CrossFit they didn't quite understand my hopping around going "burpees and snatches, burpees and snatches!" Throughout the Open I was able to do less and less as the workouts got more difficult, but I was still able to do something every week and even better, I got to be a part of the community of like-minded CrossFitters at my box, and compare scores with my Dad, and check the leaderboard obsessively to see if I was 20,000th or 30,000th that week. I sat in the Navy Yard Metro station for nearly an hour watching the 13.3 release on my phone because I couldn't wait until I got home to see it.
Even though I had zero chance of making it to Regionals, and the workouts were so brutal that they left me mildly incapacitated for several days, participating in the Open was some of the most fun I have had as a CrossFitter to date. I started and finished the Open at Brickhouse and did the 3 workouts in between at District. I saw several PRs from my friends, first muscle-ups, watched one of my coaches make it to Regionals, and I even learned more about myself as a competitor. The Open came after a few months spent focusing solely on weightlifting and it reminded me how much I loved doing CrossFit. Even more exciting to me was the fact that I had posted scores all 5 weeks and would have this data to compare myself to going in to the 2014 Open when I was going to be Oh-So-Much-Better-At-CrossFit.
So, here we are. The Open is upon us. 14.1 was announced tonight, and even though I'm signed up, registered, and ready to go, I am about 99.9% sure that I am going to have to sit out this year. On the very miniscule chance that Castro programs a seated dumbbell press, plate step-up, rowing, plank hold, AirDyne AMRAP - I'm tagging in. Otherwise, I'm going to be a spectator/cheerleader/judge and just enjoy everyone else enjoying the Open. I'll watch the announcements, read the strategy blogs, follow my friends on the leaderboard... but this year the Open is closed to me, at least as far as being an athlete participant is concerned.
And you know what? I'm totally okay with that. Well, mostly okay. I won't lie...I'm a little bummed that I won't be in the mix, but I'm not devastated and I'm not stupid enough to risk further injury just to participate. This year my Open test is patience and persistence. 5 weeks of not pushing myself too hard. 5 weeks of not testing the limits of my fitness. 5 weeks with my blinders on, focused on my programming, focused on healing, with my head down - working on getting stronger.
For the first time in a long time I'm at peace and content. I'm in less pain that I have been in months, I've let go of some anger and resentment and hurt that I was holding on to, I'm ready to take each day as it comes, and I'm excited to see what happens from there.
Good luck to everyone who is participating in the Open - I can't wait to see what you all accomplish this year!
