I’m 51,391 And That’s Okay

For the past three weeks and for the next two I am competing in the CrossFit Games.  Yes.  I'm one of those people who will talk incessantly about CrossFit and how magical a workout I get from it. For me, it's more than just a workout, it's more than a sport, it's a community.  CrossFit is the only place where the biggest cheers are for the person finishing last.

The CrossFit games are held all over the world with the workout coming out on Thursday nights.  People from Idaho to Australia compete.  There are the elite athletes who you will see at the top of the leaderboards, but then there's people like me....in the middle.  Specifically 51,391 out of 171, 332 women competing. I'm perfectly okay being in the middle.  In fact, I have worked my ass off to be in the middle.

As a competitive person and someone who fears mediocrity the middle seemed like a failure to me.  But.  I have learned (with the help of CrossFit) that just because you're in the middle that doesn't mean it's a failure, it's a marker of how far you have come.  Sure.  I still do a jumping pull-up.  And maybe a muscle-up will never happen....but what I do know is that from competing in the Games I have gained a strength that cannot be measured by the amount of weight I can deadlift....233lbs to be exact...but it's that inner strength that tells you to crank out just one more rep, the strength that says "the answer is not can you, but will you?" So.  The middle is just fine.....as long as today I have made a small difference in making the world better than it was yesterday.