A little competition

So on Saturday I participated in my first in-person Crossfit competition.  Back in February I had done a competition, but that was over the Internet kinda sorta.  This was in person against other guys that were physically present.

These kinda competitions are pretty frequent these days in Crossfit, but most of them are 2 day (Saturday-Sunday) events, and most of them are at least geared toward the 'best of the best'.  This was not.  It was supposed to be kinda an intro style event, and it was only on Saturday, so I was game to try it out.

It was up in Baltimore, and consisted of 3 events.  The first event was a 2000 meter row on a rowing machine.  The second was a maximum deadlift in 10 minutes.  The third event was as many rounds as you could do in 10 minutes of (10 burpees, 20 pullups, 30 situps, 40 kettlebell swings using a 53# kettlebell, 50 air squats, and 100 double unders on a jump rope).

My brother Matt, my sister-in-law Raquel, and my nephews drove up to Baltimore to watch me compete in the first 2 events, which was pretty cool.  Matt snagged some pretty cool photos/video of me competing.  Although I was nowhere near the top guys in the Row/Deadlift events, I hit personal bests in both, so I was pretty happy.

Here's a video my brother made of me on my final deadlift, setting a personal best of 365 pounds.  You'll see me give the 'I'm done' wave at the end right before the fist pump.  I figure, I set a PR, I'm calling it quits rather than going further and failing a lift.  Failing is where you can get hurt, and I think (especially in a competition) can be hard psychologically because it sets up a wall instead of a stepping stone later on.

The third event, I did the 20 pullups unbroken, slowed down a little on the KB swings, but then I couldn't get my jump rope going, and wasn't super happy about how I finished.

All told, it was a fun day.  I don't think I'll be doing too many of these in the future, mainly because they seem to focus on Saturday-Sunday competitions.  Also, I enjoy exercising to better myself, not necessarily to beat other people.  While sometimes its good to know where you are, and see what possibilities exist, I'm not sure I need it that often.