Firestarter Challenge by Claudia B One morning earlier this year as I entered the box for my regular 6am class, I was approached by Kris H. (to be known in the near future as Captain Coercer) and asked if I would be interested in joining his team for the Firestarter Challenge at Triangle CrossFit in June. Many thoughts went through my head. First was, “Was he actually talking to me?” Next came, “Oh, he must need a Master (or Grand Master) level competitor to qualify his team” which I was certainly capable of fulfilling. Then, “Maybe I will be busy that weekend”. As he explained to me, the teams were made up of 2 men and 2 women. Paul S. (our comic relief and mascot in a way) and Kris had already decided to do this. Now they were scoping out the ‘other half’ of their team: the women. So I thought surely he had a long list of people to ask and since he saw me just about every morning, he might as well ask- but had he really ever seen me WOD and know how much I had to scale? I immediately told him that I was not a CrossFit athlete and that there were many, many moves that I could not perform without scaling and I could not move a lot of heavy metal and surely he must have the wrong Claudia. He assured me that this competition was specifically intended for novices and intermediate level athletes and they actually set maximum standards. If you could perform them, this was not the competition for you. I eventually went on the website (after Kris continued to throw me his coercing smile every time I saw him in class and greet me with, “Hey Teammate”) and read through the standards and it started putting my mind at ease. I kept thinking (hoping?) he would eventually tell me that he had found 2 ladies that would make up his team and that I was off the hook. No, that never happened. Kris found (coerced?) Jesse K. to complete our team and The Local WOD Squad was created. As it turned out, I did NOT have plans for that weekend in June, until now. Resigned (but still terrified), I started to think of what strengths I could contribute to the Team. Well, I was pretty limber and flexible and a good listener. But unless they had a yoga or team counseling WOD, that wouldn’t help. So I continued to attend my CrossFit Local classes and increase my endurance workouts on days I did not go to the box. Then WOD #1 was announced and included rowing, running, and dumbbell thrusters- all things I could actually do! The Team started meeting to strategize this WOD which was an experience in itself because the breakdown was not clear. We practiced, Captain Coercer emailed Triangle CF to clarify and we were on our way. A couple of weeks later, WOD #2 was announced which included single or double unders (I called the singles), deadlifts, and bar-facing burpees. We added this WOD to our practice and then WOD #3 was announced - a 3RM overhead squat - yikes! None of us was really thrilled with this one, but we figured no one in the competition would be. Each time WOD Squad met to practice, we got things done: we kept track of our times and reps, sweated, and had some laughs. Our Captain was always encouraging, giving us a pep talk before and after the WOD and setting our goals a bit higher for the next time. He kept reminding us that it was going to be FUN which I had a hard time believing I could get over the urge to puke enough to have fun. Then event day came. We packed our coolers, chairs, snacks, and tent (thanks, Jessie) and headed east to somewhere in Raleigh surrounded by farmland. We also brought our most powerful weapon - our own personal cheerleader and photographer, Stephanie H. Once we were at the competition and set up, I avoided scoping out the other teams. I was focused on my Team and doing the best that I could do for them. We had prepared and bonded as a team over the course of several weeks and were ready for the WODs (except #4 which was unannounced until the day of the Challenge). I was still nervous, but channeled that into my efforts. One great surprise came when (our personal) Coach Audrey showed up to strategize our Team through WOD #4. We had a great time that day and were consistent in our rank, if anything. When the day was over, I left physically exhausted but otherwise invigorated and excited that I had actually done it and got to know a group of other CrossFit Local athletes even better. The butterflies went away, aches and pains lingered and are gone now, but those memories (and pictures) will be around a long time. A huge thank you to Captain Coercer for: 1. Asking me in the first place 2. Not letting me off the hook 3. Being a great leader 4. Showing me that competing can be fun. Also, a big thanks to all my teammates for the privilege to call me a member of the team, making me laugh (Paul), and an overall great experience. When is the next one?
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 01:00:00 +0000
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