If I’m honest, when the cry ‘who’s up for putting teams together for Battle Cancer 2017,’ went out, my initial reaction was one of fear, ‘what if I’m not good enough to compete? What if I let my teammates down?’
However as a lifelong suffer of crippling FOMO (fear of missing out) and the fact that it was for such a great cause close to all of our hearts, when a spot came up on an all-female team I nervously put myself forward.
This was more than just a competition in Manchester; the fundraising in the lead up to the event really showed what Crossfit East Rocks is all about and why I love it so much. Everyone got involved and we supported each other, be that in our 26-hour Marathon Murph challenge, the burpee mile or individual challenges like Ronnie and Cam shaving their heads. Those not taking part in the challenges came and cheered us on, bought food and just generally kept us going, and we were all motivated to raise as much as we could for our coach’s chosen charity, St Richard’s Hospice Foundation, who had taken such good care of his mum. So heading down to Manchester, we were already proud of our achievements, nearly £7k raised!
When we met at the train station for the ‘party train,’ I could tell I was not the only one that felt terrified about competing the next day. The announcements of the WODs the week before had done nothing to help my nerves. The weights were certainly challenging (30kg power snatch and 40kg clean and jerk for the girls) and toes to bar with no scaling option was a bit of a concern, however the one thing about our box is that trying your best is always good enough, so that’s what I was determined to do.
The morning of Battle Cancer started with a hearty breakfast in the hotel whilst eyeing up the competition (team Spartan…this could not be more of an appropriate name), it was at this point I started to think; this is possibly going to be more serious than I thought! This thought was only confirmed when we arrived at the impressive Victoria Warehouse where we were quickly surrounded by rippling biceps and massive traps! The inside of the venue added to the growing anticipation, it was dark and a bit sinister and seeing the kit all laid out, it began to feel very real.
The Venue all set for WOD 2
Some of those rippling Biceps ;)
After a play with kettlebells and bars in the warm up area and plenty of visits to the loo (!), in no time at all it was time for WOD number 1. We were lucky enough to be in one of the later heats so we were able to cheer on some of our fellow East Rockers, it was so good to be able to watch friends push hard and achieve so much. Watching competitors from other boxes was also inspirational; these guys were serious athletes with amazing form and great to learn from.
Then we were on….I certainly didn’t expect to enjoy it so much! The atmosphere, the music, the adrenalin meant that I went faster and harder than I have ever gone before. The support and camaraderie from my fellow teammates (the lovely Joan, Caroline and Ruth) made such a difference, I was determined not to let them down. Once WOD 1 was over, it just got better. A highlight for me was WOD 2, the one I was most scared about but ended up loving. Ruth cheering at the top of her lungs as we repped out the clean and jerks still makes me smile. And then finally WOD 3, who’d have thought triple Fran could be so much fun. We worked together as a team, and ok that might have lost us time due to more transitions, but this wasn’t about coming top (thank god when we were up against the Spartans) it was much more about trying our hardest and enjoying it.
The East Rock Bar Belles
I loved watching people in our wider team achieve personal bests, getting rep after rep at weightsthat they wouldn’t normally attempt at the box, and the look of accomplishment on people’s faces at the end of each WOD was so great to see. I also loved our night out, which if we’re truly honest, was why most of us signed up!
I am proud of how much money we raised for such a worthy cause and I have come back motivated to push on and work harder, as I know have many others….so watch out Battle Cancer 2018, we’ll be back, even fitter and stronger!