Ohlsen on 19.1: “This is tough, but I’m tougher.”

Noah Ohlsen isn’t known for pacing workouts well. In fact, the 5-time CrossFit Games athlete has been in the spotlight for making some questionable pacing decision in the past.

When it came time for 19.1, Ohlsen knew he was facing two of his “worst” movements in the Open. A well executed plan was critical and on his first shot at the workout, he was focused on executing the plan.

“I hope I can be disciplined, keep my row pace down, and have a little juice at the end,” Ohlen said.

That discipline netted Ohlsen 9 rounds + 3 wall ball for a score of 345, and his reaction was lukewarm. “Not pumped or disappointed, but I stuck to my plan,” he said about his first effort. “I’ll do it again on Monday and [hold] a higher pace throughout.”

Come time for the redo, Ohlsen was enthusiastic and “excited for the opportunity to improve.”

“I pushed the pace the whole way through and it hurt a good bit more at the end. I said to myself ‘this is tough, but I’m tougher.’ I wanted to stop a couple of times but I didn’t.”

As an athlete at the tip of the spear of competitive fitness, even marginal improvements can be both costly and exciting.

“I pushed the pace the whole way through and it hurt a good bit more at the end,” says Ohlsen about his second shot at 19.1. The extra pain was worth it, landing him 13 more reps to cap off 19.1 with a score of 9 rounds + 16 wall ball, 358 reps.

“I said to myself ‘this is tough, but I’m tougher.’ I wanted to stop a couple of times but I didn’t, [and] I’m happy to improve.”

At close of submissions, Ohlsen’s 358 puts him tied for 619th place worldwide, his lowest Open finish outside of the 1RM clean on 18.2a.