The Monday after Pentecost is a holiday here in the Netherlands, but not per se for Crossfitters. Coach Marc posted a “Holy Ghost” WOD for a minimum of 10 participants on Monday. There was a big music festival that weekend and you never know who might be nursing a bit of a hangover. When I looked on Sunday afternoon, there were 9, so I figured I’d sign up —not knowing what I was getting myself in for.

When I got to the box I checked out the whiteboard: Team WOD! OMG! Panic stations!

WOD 1 AMRAP 15 minutes

2 team members  do deadlift-hang/ power clean combos while the other 2 team members run 400 m.
After the running team has completed 400 m., switch. Total weight lifted is your score.

WOD 2 AMPAP 5 minutes

Synchro pushups

WOD 3 AMRAP 7 minutes

Burpee effing box jumps

WOD 4 AMRAP 5 minutes

Consecutive Vee ups

About 20 people turned out.

I wound up in a team with 3 of the toughest bosses in the crew, so I was determined not to give it any less than my best shot. The guys coached me along to a higher level and we didn’t finish last. I can say that I have, at last, seen the light and it felt great. Nobody fell down or started speaking in tongues though. I hope the coach wasn’t too disappointed about that.

Tuesday I wasn’t feeling it so much. Maybe I was feeling it too much. It was a two Advil day and my most strenuous physical activity was walking the dogs.

This morning, Nancy was on the whiteboard, I looked ahead:

5 rounds 400 m. run + 15 Overhead Squats.

Talk about intimidating. I stink at running (less so than 8 months ago, but still) and Overhead Squats are another beastie on my slowly shrinking list of Crossfit bêtes noires.

Recently I read an excellent article about how to deal with your fear and self-doubt at the Box. 7 Tips To Overcome Fear at the Box

I figured I didn’t need to do the whole 7, so I googled “ what are overhead squats good for” in order to give myself some clarity as to why one would do this and hopefully take some of the scary out of the mix. To paraphrase Meghan Tranor– It’s all about the core, ’bout the core, no shoulders. Which was a good thing because mine were still sore after all the pushups on Monday (I’m doing them strict now—hah!). Call me “Mrs. Leg Day”. Seriously, I’m one of the few people at our Box who get excited about Sally squats for a warm-up and don’t get me started on Thrusters, I like me some thrusters, but this was core stuff, and not my strong point.

While walking up the friggin’ stairs, I recalled what Mark S. told me out on the parking lot one morning when I first started Crossfit. He asked if I were looking forward to the workout. I told him I was a little anxious. He said, “The thing about Crossfit is that any workout is gonna hurt and you know that, so why worry?” Why indeed? It serves no purpose.

Readers, I scaled. I scaled mightily and fearlessly being that I have no ego left after 2 years in the Box. I knew my form was nowhere near good enough so I didn’t even use a barbell. It was broomstick and medicine ball time for me and I came in last, just under 20 minutes. And yeah, even though I was last, I felt a bit like a badass just for finishing.

* Keep The Faith