CrossFit Decatur

On Thursday May 26th, 2011 Crossfit Decatur’s two qualifying athletes left Georgia and headed down to Jacksonville, FL for what would be an awesome weekend. After a five hour car ride, Emily, Duda, Ben and Luke checked in at registration and got to see the venue. No detail was forgotten as a $30 Million Equestrian center was chosen for the event. As our Region’s nickname is the “Dirty South”, the Regional Directors did all the could to keep that theme consistent with the competition. http://games.crossfit.com/features/videos/south-east-regional-setup
After a meeting with the directors and an explanation of the weekend, we all headed to a friend of Crossfit Decatur’s house where we would be treated like Kings and Queens for the entire weekend. Lisa has hosted CFD for the last two years at the Regionals and she and her two boys, Max and Andrew were amazing.
On Friday the energy was very high as we all woke up and drove to the first day of competition. Diana Toney, Audrey Reese, Dave Neil, Robert Miles, Emily’s parents and Duda’s friend Matt were all in attendance to cheer on their friends as they attempted to make it to the next level. The athlete’s then recieved their briefings and got ready.  South East Regional Day 1-Arrival

The first Event was: Run 1000m, 30HSPU, Row 1000m.  Emily finished 4th with a time of 10:42 and Duda finished 22nd with a time of 10:16.   http://player.vimeo.com/video/24333726?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&autoplay=1  The second Event was a Thruster ladder in which the Athletes moved from each station and attempted to execute a proper Thruster without moving their feet at all.  This was a little different than almost all the competitors were used to.  Emily finished 8th with 140 lbs. and Duda finished 29th with 205 lbs.  This concluded the first day of competition.  http://games.crossfit.com/features/videos/south-east-day-1-video  When we all returned to Lisa’s house, Duda and his friend Simon (A fellow Regionals Qualifier), took turns in the trash-can-ice-bath to help with recovery.  Emily decided to wait.  We all sat around in the living room and talked about the first day of competition.  We then all ate a huge meal and went to bed.

On Saturday, the athletes woke up a little sore, but were ready to go as soon as they got to the venue.  Ben checked in with the event coordinators and got his daily briefing of the movements.  Luke started shooting video for the second day of highlights.  Emily and Duda went to the Athlete area and soon after received their instructions for the Events of the day.   The first event for the day was a 21-15-9 Deadlift and Box Jump Couplet at #(315/185).  Emily finished 16th with a time of 6:10 and Duda finished 42nd with a time of 10:56.  http://youtu.be/xTNXvnyOh98  The second Event of the day was a chipper of 100 Pull-Ups, 100 Kettle Bell Swings, 100 Double Unders and 100 OHS.  Emily finished 12th with a time of 25:35.  Duda finished 9th with a time of 24:36.  This ended the action for day two.  http://games.crossfit.com/features/videos/south-east-day-2-video  The crew then headed back to Lisa’s for another great meal and Duda, Simon and Emily took turns in the ice bath.  With the last day of competition ahead, only the top 14 men and women advanced on to the last day.  Emily was then at 11th place and prepared for her last day.

Sunday was an early morning for Ben and Luke as they headed into the venue early to get prepared.  The first workout for Emily would be Amanda (9-7-5 Muscle-Ups and Squat Snatch).  Emily would finish 3rd in this event with a time of 10:14.  http://youtu.be/qfmw9JSKgWM  Emily then prepared for her final event which would be a Chipper that would prove difficult for many of the competitors.  Emily finished 5th with a time of 14:21.  This would leave her in 9th place out of 32 athletes in the South East Region.  An amazing feat for a first time competitor.  Duda would finish in 29th place out of 43 athletes.  This concluded the weekend and the Regional for CFD.  http://games.crossfit.com/features/videos/south-east-day-3-video  The top 3 Men, Women and Team Athletes will now advance to the Crossfit Games in California which will take place in the Home Depot Center at the end of July, 2011.

After the awards ceremony and clean-up of the venue, everyone headed to Lisa’s for one last dinner.  The whole crew then went to Jax Beach for some much needed relaxation.  Everyone talked about coming back again next year and bringing more supporters and more athletes to compete.  A special Thank You goes out to Lisa, Max and Andrew for hosting us this weekend.  It was truly an amazing time and we are all appreciative of what you do for us.  Thanks to everyone at CFD for your support and thanks to Emily and Duda for representing us all so well at the event.  You guys are Rock Stars and we are so proud of you!