Show Love

I was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. I cursed the humidity and the two glasses of wine I'd had the night before.  Everyone else was done with the workout and I still had the whole last round of 10 deadlifts to go.  I got stuck after four.  My hands were ripped and stinging and I couldn't keep a grip on the bar.  Each second felt like an eternity.

Coach said to stay positive, but I was kicking myself.  I had chosen to do the perscribed weight, 135 lbs, when I probably should've know that it was too heavy for me at that volume (four rounds of 400 meter sprints followed by 10 deadlifts for time).  The two other women who chose to go r'xed can go way heavier than I can on deads.  I felt foolish.  Plus, it was the morning session.  People needed to leave to get ready for work and there I was holding everyone up while I slugged out single reps. 

I thought I heard Brian tell me to switch my reverse grip.  I tried, but it didn't work.  Someone, maybe Xan, said something about my hips.  Brooke said to drive the ground away.  As I gritted through those last six reps, I couldn't really absorb the advice I was being given.  I was a mess.  What did sink in, though, was that I was surrounded.  My boxmates were watching and cheering me on. 

That was awesome. 

Later that day, I got a text from Jimmy, who hadn't been there, saying, "So I heard that you're kind of a big deal."  I didn't know what he meant, so, naturally, I signed on to Facebook.  Jen, who hadn't been there either, had commented on my wall, "Great job this morning gymbelle!!  Everybody on the [CrossFit Metropolis blog] is talking about it!!"  Three other friends wanted to hear the story.  I migrated over to CrossFit Metropolis' blog.

Jen was right.

In the space where everyone posts their times and scores for the day's workout, I found the following:

"Big up to Lauren fighting thru that last set of DL’s. That was downright inspiring." -Xan

"Lauren that was the most inspiring thing I have seen in a long long time. Has me thinking about how many times I have picked a weight to find myself in the middle of the pack, as opposed to going that little extra and challenging myself to the edge. You rock." - Mike

"And major love to Gymbelle this morning for toughing out the whole thing as RX. Really great to see everyone cheering her on and her not giving up until the last deadlift was completed. I think it deserves a Gympressions blog post. " - Brooke

"I’ll echo everyone else’s comments, really inspiring push this morning Lauren." - Tall Brian

"Nice job Lauren!" - Dan

"Way to power through Lauren." - Mike

Inspiring.  Whoa.  I literally teared up.  That's not how I'd typically describe myself.  I mean, yesterday afternoon, I managed to dump pickle juice down the front of my shirt... and my pants... and my keyboard... and my office chair... and the floor...while hosting a conference call.*  So, to come home after a crazy long day at work and read these messages was extra super awesome.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, CrossFit Metropolis is a very special place.  Thank you to everyone who cheered me on, during and after.

And, despite the state of my hands, I still do love heavy deads.

-Gym Belle- 

*  

Before the incident. It looks like a harmless individually wrapped pickle. Don't be fooled.