The final week of the Open

I think by week the of the Open I was kind of over it.  I liked how we did it at our box last year better, just my personal preference.  Last year, I didn't sign up for the Open because it was supposed to be something that was to be done on the weekends. With three kids, I've never been able to go on weekends.  But they ended up doing the workout as the WOD every Thursday beginning the second week.  Just so happened, that I go on Thursdays.  So while I wasn't sad to miss 12.1 (7 minutes of burpees), it was fun to hit all of the other workouts.

So this year when it was time to begin signing up for the Open, I asked if it would be run the same as last year and they said yes.  So I signed up.  As it turned out, they decided to do the big Open "party"on Saturdays.  They also gave the option of Wed or Thurs evenings at 7 or 8 PM.  But again with 3 kids, going in the evening isn't very feasible.  They have been awesome and allowed me to hit the Open workout every Thursday during my usual class.  And most days, there's been at least one other person to hit it with me.  I don't really mind doing it alone or in a small group, but it is weird doing it early when no one else has hit it yet.  I don't have any tips or even target numbers to hit.

Week 3 was a repeat, so I felt like I went into that thinking it'd be easier than it was.  I couldn't believe how sore my quads were!  For three days!  And I didn't do much better than last year, which surprised me.  Last year I'd made it through Karen and then got 5 doubles.  This year I got 33 doubles.  But I'd thought I'd make it through all of them.  My doubles are good and I had two minutes left.  But my feet were numb and my arms were toast.  Good lesson there!

As for week 4, I felt good that day but of course as others were posting higher scores as the week progressed, I second guessed whether I could have done better.  I did almost exactly what I thought I would with 54 reps, but I know I could've finished those last 6 toes to bar.  My form was just sloppy on that last round.  I should've taken a second before starting and got myself together.

The good news is that I've been staying after class everyday to work on new things.  I'd been working on my dips, but have moved on to hspu's and bar muscle ups.  I can now string 3 good hspu's and can get two muscle ups with a band.  I'm at the red & purple band and hope to be off of the bands soon.  Learning new things and getting better at old things is going to be my focus now.  I've enjoyed the Open, but have never crossfitted for the competition.  I enjoy competing, but I think I lose focus of the bigger picture.  Which is to say since last September, I've lost 24 pounds and fit into the smallest size clothing I've ever fit into.  In fact, here's a photo of the shorts I just bought two pairs of.  Mostly because I was able to wear a size small!!

So yeah I've had fun doing the Open, I might even do it again next year.  But I'm kinda over it and looking forward to not worrying about what it'll be or when I'll do it.  What are your thoughts about the Open?