Fueling Your Competitive Drive

Luke Espe • July 23, 2021
A woman in a yellow shirt is lifting dumbbells in a gym

Operating at the highest level of your potential always requires re-shifting your focus. Whether you are competing against or against yourself, fueling your competitive drive takes tons of self awareness and training. The constant mindset of getting better day in and day out comes from providing yourself with challenges. When you are just shy of attaining your goal, it is time to analyze, make adjustments then try again.

Heather Smith has always been a competitor and her spirit is alive more than ever to help the 12 Labours Lions at the NOBULL CrossFit Games. Take a moment to see a snapshot of her journey and how she became part of the 12 Labours Community.

My entire life I've loved to compete. I started gymnastics at age 2, started competing at age 5 and continued until I was a Division 1 gymnast at James Madison University. There is something about being on that competition floor that I can't get that feeling doing anything else.

A gymnast is jumping over a balance beam in front of a banner that says carolina
A female gymnast is doing a trick on a balance beam while a group of people watch.

After college I got into running and completed several half marathons, but it was never the same feeling. The final workout of the Open in 2016 was my first CrossFit workout and immediately fell in love. I knew this was what I was missing and finally found something to fill my competitive void. I immediately knew I wanted to train so I could compete again.

A woman in a purple tank top is hanging from gymnastic rings

I did the CrossFit Open every year and did a few local competitions, and competed at Wodapalooza.

Two women are lifting a barbell in a gym.

In 2018, I qualified for Regionals on a team. All of the training, all of the sacrifices was so worth it to be on that competition floor.

A group of people are lifting weights in a gym.

In 2019, I qualified on a team to compete at Granite Games. I actually competed against Erika, Robbie, & Jeff. 

A woman is doing a handstand on a football field

Shortly after the Granite Games, I got injured and it felt like my entire world flipped upside down. I was snatching at the gym and when I caught the bar in the bottom of my snatch I felt my hip go. I ended up completely tearing my hip labrum, I tore my hip flexor, and once I saw the surgeon found out I needed to shave down part of my hip bone. Needless to say it was a long recovery, but I focused on what I could and worked on my mental game. Laying on the hospital bed right before going into surgery the last thing I told my husband Andy was "I'm going to be back & better than I was before" & he responded "I know you will." That was my goal and my motivation throughout my recovery period. I knew doing the not so fun rehab and PT would enable me to eventually get back to doing what I love to do.

A woman in a hospital gown is laying in a hospital bed

Towards the end of my hip recovery the pandemic hit and it led me to training in my garage by myself majority of the days (with my three dogs). I am very fortunate to have a garage setup and loved that I could continue to train, but it was certainly lonely some days! The motivation that came from my injury and wanting to be back on that competition floor fueled me every day to keep chasing my dreams. Every training session I finished I knew I was one step closer.

A woman is doing pull ups in a gym while a dog watches.

Fast forward to January 2021 I started training with Erika, Robbie, & Jeff with the 12 Labours crew with the goal of the CrossFit Games on our mind. Next week is a dream come true competing on the CrossFit Games competition floor. All the blood, sweat, tears, injuries, counting my macros, tracking my sleep, taking recovery seriously, every single minute was worth it.

Heather Smith, 12 Labours Lions

A group of people are posing for a picture on a field.

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