2013 REEBOK CROSSFIT GAMES WRAP-UP

The Masters Competition at the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games

After eight days in California, my CrossFit Games has come to an end. I wasn’t there as an athlete, but as a member of the staff on the Social Media Team. My job was to tweet the play-by-play for the Masters competition and then turn around and tweet the Individual Females. I would like to say it was an awesome experience- and it was!- but at the same time, something happened to me that, in all honesty, rarely happens. I failed. It is even hard for me to type that.

My father always told me growing up: “If you are going to do it, do it right.” I apply this in just about everything I do. In fact, in preparation for the Games, I spent hours on making spreadsheets of the athletes I would be covering. I listed each athlete’s age, region, affiliate, Open and Regional placement, past Games experience, and any other interesting facts I could find. I did this for all 244 athletes. I meant to be prepared.

Things started out great with the Masters competition. This was my second year tweeting for the Masters, and I enjoy every minute of it. The athletes are so inspiring to watch as they defy the limitations that come with age. I have gotten to know many of them over the past two years, as well as their families. I estimated that I spent 21 hours over three days sending out around 800 140-character tweets. By Thursday, my brain was shot. In fact, I thought it was Wednesday and was grateful to think that I had a day off before I transitioned to the females. Oops!

Rich Froning running by me. No big deal.

On Friday, it was time for the big show. Tweeting to the 2,000+ followers of @CFGMasters is very different than tweeting to the 110,000+ followers of @CrossFitGames. Was I nervous? Hell, yes! Was I feeling confident? Hell, no! I made it through the first event all right. I had to have spotters because part of the competition was in a different locale, and I wasn’t used to doing that.

Then came the second event… It was a 50-yard sprint with obstacles that took the female athletes mere seconds to complete. We didn’t have heat sheets to go by so it made a tough situation even tougher. I admit- I was frazzled, shaken, and could not process the information quickly enough. It would be the end of my tweeting the Female competition. I was moved to helping to spot the action. At that point, I could not even spot effectively. I was devastated.

My friend and CrossFit blogger, Lisbeth Darsh, put it best: “You can’t always hit one out of the park.” And she‘s right. I don’t know if it was fatigue from the Masters competition, nerves, or if I was just in over my head. I think it was probably a combination of all three. I accepted that I was not the best person for the job and moved on. I did my best to be helpful to my team- going to athlete briefings, retrieving heat sheets, getting everyone coffee, etc. I was terribly disappointed, but in the end, I knew it was the right thing.

One of the best moments at the Games! Cheering on third Fittest Gym in the World, CrossFit Adrenaline.

I am not used to failing. It is a hard pill to swallow. But on Sunday afternoon as I watched the individual’s competing in the final event, I could not help but think how every one of the athletes on the floor came to the Games thinking they would be on that podium. They spent hours and hours training, shedding blood, sweat, and tears, and making huge sacrifices in preparation for the biggest competition of their life. The only athletes who weren’t disappointed were the ones crowned the Fittest on Earth. And all of those athletes will now pick themselves up and begin training for the 2014 Games season. That’s what you gotta do!

My buddies, Josh and Lisbeth, on the floor at the end of the Games.

All in all, it was an amazing week at the CrossFit Games. The production was insanely magnificent, down to the last detail. I cannot even imagine how it can be topped next year. The number of staff and volunteers it takes to pull it off would blow your mind. I am extremely proud to have played a part in it.

I want to thank HQ for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the Games. Thank you, Matt and Johnathan, the masterminds behind the Social Media Team, for picking up my slack. You did an awesome job! Thank you to Josh, my therapist for the weekend, who talked me down from the ledge. Thank you to Tan who put everything into perspective and reminded me to have some fun. Thank you to Ben and Glissel for keeping my spirits up. Thank you to Lisbeth for driving me around all week and knowing just what to say when it needs to be said. Thank you to the 2 Megans for taking good care of me all week long.

And thank you to the Games athletes for putting on one helluva show. Training starts now!