I've said it before...

...and I'll say it again- what a difference a year makes.
A year ago I was in Saskatoon competing in a competition hosted by Synergy Strength & Conditioning. It was my first CrossFit Competition and I was in the Intermediate division.  Throughout the competition I watched the athletes in the 'advanced' division and at the end of the weekend made the decision that I was going to train hard so I would be able to compete alongside them the following year. And so..there I was...competing this weekend at the Bridge City Beatdown in the 'Beasts' division.

I have had a variety of emotions sweep over me in the day or two following the competition. Originally I was upset with my performance. There were numerous points where my mental game just wasn't present(prowler push) and silly mistakes and technique problems(missing a 141# jerk twice because of bad technique). However, after my initial frustration wore off I realized I should be happy with how things went and more importantly with how far I've come as a CrossFit athlete.

The best part of the weekend was the chance to feel like a part of a community again.  First, I got to join up with the athletes from CFW and I realized just how much I missed them.  On a bigger scale though I also got to meet and compete against a lot of awesome athletes from the prairies.  I always find it amazing how much the CrossFit Community comes together at competitions-how you hear and see athletes on the sidelines cheering for their fellow competitors-it is unbelievable to be a part of it.
(On a side note: The judges were also AWESOME!! Cheering for you, yelling at you to pick up the bar and congratulating you after you were done. A serious amount of thanks is owed to them)

Of course I'll use a little bit of that original disappointment I felt to fuel my training for the next month leading up to the Big Dawgs Bash in San Diego next month. After that (besides sectionals and hopefully regionals next year) I plan to be back in Saskatoon, schedule permitting, again next year.

Below are two pictures. One from Saskatoon last year(left) and one from this year(right).