Cob Jockey

Since I actually have a lot of readers that do CrossFit, I thought I'd give a Nicole update since we're partway through the Open.  Feel free to skip if you're really not interested, I only tie it in to horses a little at the end of the post.

Animal.

It seems hard to believe, but this is our fifth year doing the Open together now.  She made it to Regionals the first two years, then made it to the Games the second two years, finishing 30th in 2014 and 15th in 2015.  Right now, in the Open, she's sitting in 5th in the Central East region after three strong workouts, with two to go.

In the warmup area with her at the 2014 Games.

Every Friday night during the Open (which is a series of qualifying workouts released once a week for five weeks) our gym holds multiple heats to get our gym members' Open workouts done, and then she does hers by herself.  Hers has to be videoed for official review as a potential qualifier, so there's a whole setup we have to do and script to follow each week.

Last Friday

I know better than to talk about the future with her when she's in the middle of qualifying in the Open or Regionals, but by the third or fourth week of the Open I always quietly put my vacation requests in for the end of May and the end of July in the hopes she makes it to both.

It means almost all of my vacation goes to her every year, but I would never consider spending it any other way; wherever she goes, I go (literally, unless I get kicked out of somewhere I'm not supposed to be at Regionals and the Games, which happens a lot.  My policy is to just keep walking with her like I'm supposed to be there until someone stops me.  It's almost a game at this point: How many hours will pass before Jen gets kicked out of a place this year? Pro-tip: Dress like the athletes for a better chance of success.)

Former gymnast.  Somewhat obviously.

What Denny Emerson says about the dedication required to become a top eventer rings true for Nicole.  It's so amazing to watch her - her entire life is devoted to achieving a single goal.  Every dollar she spends, every minute of her day, every food decision she makes, every typical twenty-something experience she denies herself, all of it is done with an eye on the prize.

Not many of the top athletes run their own gym AND have the time it takes to train and recover at the caliber they have to in order to keep qualifying year after year, but Nicole makes it work.  Just being around her makes me focus harder on my own goals.

I hope I've given you all someone to cheer for in the upcoming competition season!