"For someone who had never snatched 135 lb. before, it was unnerving staring at that bar," Pruger says.
Thirty-two minutes after 13.1 was announced, Roger Pruger started in on the set of 40 burpees.
It was 8:32 p.m., and he was at an unfamiliar gym.
Drawn away from home for a business trip, Pruger called local boxes to see if anyone was doing the workout that night. Soon, he found a box that was going to keep the lights on and music blaring late into the night. He completed 13.1 at Burning River CrossFit in Bay Village, Ohio.
Pruger, a first-time Open competitor, worked through the 40 burpees, 30 snatches at 75 lb., and the next 30 burpees, before loading the barbell with 135 lb. He paused to look at the weight — it was 20 lb. more than his snatch PR.
“For someone who had never snatched 135 lb. before, it was unnerving staring at that bar,” he says. “But after the first few went up and I got comfortable, the technique smoothed out and it got better. I got excited to put the weight over my head.”
He wasn’t the only excited CrossFitter in the box.
Shawn Skelly, owner of Burning River CrossFit, had a hard time keeping his composure as he watched Pruger set a PR, and then go on to complete 14 snatches at that once unattainable weight.
Pruger registered for the Open simply to see how he would stack up. He was never very athletic in school, he says, but he started to get a taste for CrossFit competition during the daily workouts at CrossFit Cleveland.
“CrossFit is a whole different animal,” he says.
Now, he’s been at it for nearly a year, and he’s not missing the Open — even if it means training with strangers, in garages or, in this case, after hours.
Pruger emails potential affiliates a couple weeks in advance to see if they will have room and what their policies are. To date, he’s never been turned away.
“I really enjoy meeting the other members and getting a different benchmark as to where I stand outside my box,” he says.
Over the next five weeks, that benchmark will be an Open Workout. He may take another shot at 13.1 in Park City, Utah, home of CrossFit Games legend Chris Spealler.
“I may drop in at CrossFit Park City and do it again there on Friday morning,” he says. “There is still more in the tank.”
After facing 13.1, he has come up with some strategies for a better second attempt. He offered some advice to anyone going into the workout for the first time.
“Don't be in a rush on the burpees, get a good pace,” he says. “When you do the snatch, don't be afraid of the weight, you can probably go heavier than you believe you can.”