Veteran’s Day/Post-competition blog

Veteran’s Day is always a tough day for me.  My times overseas seem very distant most of the time in my day-to-day life, but on this particular day, things flood back and seem very recent.  A lot of memories, and heavy emotions tied to those memories, hit me hard at seemingly random times throughout the day.  My Veteran’s Day was a good one, and my thanks go out to all the people who showed their appreciation.

Now let me shift gears and thank all the competitors for their hard work, dedication, and commitment.  It was a hectic weekend, with CFD sending 4 teams to compete at a 3-day, 7-event competition at CrossFit Kilo in Cedar Falls.  I feel much better than I thought I would have after that much work!  What an experience to say the least….

To those of you who put in the extra time and effort to better yourselves as athletes through training, all while supporting that hard work with appropriate nutrition and lifestyle–well done!  There is no definitive line between doing it and not doing it; every day you train, every time you eat (or don’t eat), and your recovery methods (or lack thereof) all impact your performance incrementally at all times.  Slacking a little bit in multiple areas leads to a lot of lost potential.

We learn more from our losses than we do from our wins, so regardless of the outcome of any workout, whether it be a training day or a competition, you will grow as an athlete if you use the opportunity to learn from it.  Did you train appropriately to meet your expectations you had of yourself this past weekend?  Did you fuel your body appropriately before and between events?  Learn, grow, and come back stronger than ever next time!  That exactly why you’re here at CFD–to openly admit your shortcomings and spend time improving them.  I know I will.  Anyone who saw Jake and I doing our ‘handstand walks’ (I’m using the term very loosely) knows that it was definitely a chink in our armor!

Again, what an incredible experience.  I’m so very proud of everyone who put themselves out there and competed.  It’s an experience I think everyone should have, and I encourage everyone to give it a try at some point.

-Coach Phil

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