“I know what I am capable of and I am remembering what brought me to CrossFit in the first place—that it was fun and it made me smile.”
Photos courtesy of Dustin Garrett
At the conclusion of Event 3 at the 2013 North West Regional, Marisa Liepman had a DNF next to her name. She was one muscle-up away from advancing to the next day. After all the preparation, anticipation and excitement leading up to the regional, it felt like it was over before it began.
Liepman was faced with a decision: How would this define what happened next?
One year later, Liepman will return to the North West Regional, placing nearly 20 positions higher in the 2014 Open than in 2013, confidently securing her spot on the region’s roster.
“CrossFit is a learning process,” said the 33-year-old Rainier CrossFit athlete. “As you learn more about the sport, you learn more about yourself and what you are capable of. I don’t think I realized that last year, to fully grasp everything involved, physically, mentally and emotionally. This past year has allowed me to put that in proper perspective and leverage it.”
No Comparisons
Liepman said in the past, she would overthink and compare herself to others’ outcomes, striving toward what she thought she should be.
“That was the first thing I had to cut out,” she said. “I learned that it wasn’t just putting in a good performance or hitting the numbers, but that it was having a different attitude. To know that you are training hard, putting the effort and to believe in yourself and what you are capable of. That will help you catapult further than just being a natural athlete.”
Everyone who makes it to regionals has circumstances in their lives that they choose to work with, or around, in order to compete, she said.
“I can’t compare myself to a 22-year-old, who may have the ability to train full time,” Liepman continued. “I am in my 30s, I am a full-time mom, full-time nurse and CrossFit comes third. Yes, you can figure out how to make it work for you. That’s what I learned this year in the Open and in training for regionals.”
Here and Now
Liepman chose to make everything work for her during the 2014 season. She retooled her approach to training—and everything else.
“When I am at the gym, I am 100 percent at the gym,” she said. “I don’t think about work or family. I am focused on what is in front of me. And the same with family and work—I give it my complete attention. It provides a better end result in all areas and then there is less stress all around.”
The biggest shift Liepman has made has been to quiet the negative self-talk she let dominate her training in the past.
“There was no one telling me ‘Oh, Marisa, you should have been faster on that, you could lift more, you can do that better,’” she said. “No one has ever said that. They only have been supportive and encouraging. I had to stop allowing that voice in my head to get in the way of real progress and let my coaches and training play itself out by putting in the work. I learned to feed off of that ... and not pay attention to that negative thought process. That has been the biggest difference this year.”
Having Fun with It
Liepman trained through the post-Games season, adding additional local competitions to her busy schedule to test her redirected focus and saw it pay off.
“I didn’t realize the correlation between having fun and relaxing into it, into being a better athlete,” she said. “I used to stress so much and it wasn’t fun. After I made that mental shift, CrossFit got fun. And it got easier in a way ... and I got better, a lot better.”
Liepman said she thought extra work would make a difference, or make her better.
“My coach even told me to not push so hard, but I was convinced that working hard, hard, hard was the answer,” she said. “I can be stubborn. Since I changed that approach, now I do what I know, what I have trained for and have fun with it.”
“I have learned to turn off the doubts and negative talk in my head and believe in what I know,” Liepman continued. “I know that I have trained hard and given my all and that is good enough, regardless of the results and how it compares to other athletes.”
Renewed Faith
For Liepman, daring greatly is to return to the arena, where last year was marked by what then seemed like failure. Now, she has fostered a new and renewed faith in her abilities.
“Preparing for regionals, I am much more mentally relaxed as I have faith in myself and I will do the best I can,” she said. “I am not stressing out as I was last year because I know what I am capable of and I am remembering what brought me to CrossFit in the first place—that it was fun and it made me smile. I am excited to work out next to some amazing women and have the support of the CrossFit community and my family cheering me on in the stands. That is what I am most excited for.”
