Integrity...So I want to address this, and let all you know the importance of being honest with yourself.  Especially in the situations that are very hard to be.  Situations like you face almost everytime you are in the 'CrossFit Mean Streets".

The magic of the WOD happens not when you finish, but in those final moments when you are in a territory you have never been in.  You know when this happens because you might barely be able to stand, or breathe, or keep your food down,....Like todays wod...I was faced with putting a barbell over head that I was barely holding with my shoulders.  It was in this situation that I didn't know,...and...against all other wishes my body may have had, I kept going.   I  gathered all the strength I had, both physically and mentally.  Heck...I found myself thinking back to a time when I was stronger to get me though this dilemma.  I took a second to tighten up every rep.  Whatever it was, and however it plays out, I was going to get through it.  I was in a place I have never been before,...and I pushed through it.  I gained access to that territory.  I got my last 15th rep....It was MINE!

On a small and large scale you are experiencing new territories like this every day...and to take that away from yourself by, for instance, counting that last pull up when your chin wasn't over the bar, or doing 10 reps when you should of done 21, splitting out early on the 400 meter sprint....is blocking this magic from happening.

Everyday you do a WOD.  And everyday your name is written on the whiteboard, next to the score you got.  I can't imagine making up a score for you and writing it next to your name, but this is what you are doing if the standards aren't met.

Last Saturday I PR'd on a 2k row.  I beat my last time by 2 seconds.  But I earned those 2 seconds...It took everything I had in me (and then some)...and that measely 2 seconds made a world of difference about how I felt about myself...that is after the temporary pain of the WOD went away.  If I were routinely fudging my scores, skimming numbers here and there...making up times, or not hitting the standards...that 2 seconds wouldn't have made a difference.  Hell, I could just go to the whiteboard and reduce my time by 10 seconds....that would be alot easier.  BUT...I would have missed out on SO MUCH!, and I wouldn't of truly known or represented myself with integrity.

So remember this.  When the pain is so much you cannot bear it, do not give in to thinking shortcuts don't really matter.  You will be missing out on everything if you complete only 98% of the workout.  It's that last 2% that make you great.....And I want you to be great!