Random Thoughts from a Restless Mind

Sunday musings…

1) Milestone. “Lovely Daughter”: “Girls don’t graduate, they just move.”

2) Villain. Where are they? Seriously, where are the CrossFit villains? I’m not talking about folks who have run afoul of CrossFit, Inc, but rather about the kind of villains that fans cheer AGAINST. You know, like Conrad Dobler in the NFL, or Barry Bonds, or Ivan the Terrible, Brock Lesner.

Where are they? In every other sport there are villains with whom you compare your heroes and your favorites. The guy who takes a dive, the ingrate, the traitor. They’re everywhere, but they are not here. One competitor was well on his way to achieving a measure of at least dislike a couple of years ago in SoCal and now he’s showing up on Main Page and Games demo videos. Epic villain failure.

If you know the CrossFit community I guess you wouldn’t be all that surprised by this, but we’ve grown so much you’d figure that by this time we’d have at least one villain, or even a villain wannabe, or maybe someone with a villain starter kit. Nope…nada. Not a one.

I’m gonna enjoy this for as long as it lasts.

3) CrossFit. Why CrossFit? What is CrossFit? Who does CrossFit? Who should do CrossFit? These are the questions that each one of us has asked of ourselves, and each one of us is asked these questions regularly. In a brilliant and inspired move CrossFit HQ has offered us the answers to all of them over the last month or so through the juxtaposition of the publicity surrounding the CrossFit Games (CrossFit as competitive sport) and “Killing The Fat Man” (KTFM, CrossFit as life/health prescription).

No one can deny the spectacle that is the CrossFit Games. My oh my, the gulf that exists between me and the WOMEN competing in the Regionals is so vast it beggars description; it’s hardly worth the electrons to even ponder the performances of the men as a comparison. Strength, agility, stamina, all 10 of our fitness domains are on display in a way that is as  impressive as watching the best athletes in any professional sport ply their trade. CrossFit is a worthy platform for the all-around fittest athletes on the planet to compete.

Are the Games the ultimate expression of CrossFit? I think CrossFit has answered this by posting KTFM during Games season. Love him or not, Gary Roberts epitomizes what is possible if the CrossFit Rx is applied to that broad swath of humanity that will never, ever set foot in any form of competitive CrossFit arena. Indeed, Games Director Dave Castro said as much last week at the Central East Regionals. You could make a case that the vast majority of CrossFitters should NEVER compete with anyone other than themselves (except perhaps as part of building a community).

Why CrossFit? It works. Who should CrossFit? You.

4) Thanks. It’s a very special day chez bingo. “Lovely Daughter” is graduating from college, on time, with Honors. You might reasonably ask why this is a big deal, and what this might have to do with CrossFit. You see, we almost lost this beautiful girl in her teens, just around the time I discovered CrossFit.

CrossFit had nothing to do with saving my daughter’s life, but it was certainly CrossFit and the people in and of CrossFit that saved mine. 3 days on, 1 day off I went to a gym and laid bare all of my fears, my anxieties, my anger. I brought them to each WOD, and more importantly I left them in that dark place we enter when we have pushed ourselves to a brink. Unburdened of that day’s emotional mines and conditioned to now better handle the pressure of moving through the emotional mine field ahead, I was quite simply better at being the Dad and husband I needed to be at such a difficult time.

At the same time the CrossFit community gave me a place to go, to grow, to be all of those little parts of me that were whatever version of good I might have. I found friends here, at first on CrossFit.com and then, well, everywhere. I’ve been blessed to meet many of you for real, to shake your hands, to give and receive hugs, new friends in the flesh found first in the cyber-gym. When much was dark you gave me light.

Thank you, Coach, for this CrossFit. For the program itself. For my seat at the CrossFit table and my tiny little corner of the CrossFit community. For your friendship and all of the other friendships born here. Thank you all for unknowingly being part of helping a family come through the darkest of days and into the light. It’s another good day to be a CrossFitter.

It’s graduation day!

I’ll see you next week, and every next week you’ll have me…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012 at 10:11 am and is filed under Crossfit, Random Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.