No summer rest for this teacher

The summer is supposed to be a time for rest and relaxation for those school teachers who have spent countless hours in a classroom.

But for Tia Vesser, she’ll spend her summer away from Canfield Middle School a little differently.

VESSER, A physical education and weightlifting teacher at Canfield, will compete in the upcoming CrossFit Games Aug. 1-4 in Madison, Wis. She is ranked fourth in the world according to the Reebok CrossFit rankings in the women’s Masters division (age 50 to 54).

“It’s overwhelming, to be honest,” Vesser said. “I get more feedback from the people around me about my ranking that I can barely comprehend myself. It’s a dream, and I’ve put a lot of work into it. I’ve wondered how I could do. I’ve worked hard at it, and it’s a dream come true to be able to compete at that level right now.”

Qualifying for nationals was a little bit of a challenge.

“It’s a process,” Vesser said. “The first part is an open that lasts five weeks where you get a specific workout each week. You can do it as many times as you want, but your score has to be in by that Monday at 5 p.m. You get the workout on Thursday, and have to have it done by Monday. In my age group, if you get into the top 200, you go into an online qualifier, then they give you five workouts in one weekend. If you finish in the top 10 in the world, you get to go to the games.”

CrossFit events can vary from weightlifting, running, as well as some ocean swimming and climbing.

“To be honest, I love weightlifting and working out,” said Vesser, who trains at the CrossFit Coeur d’Alene gym. “My favorite part of this is all the support from this gym and the community that’s around us. You’re sweating, moaning, groaning and commiserating with like-minded people around you. It’s just so much fun to be here with them. It’s painful, but when you’re done, it feels awesome. The people around you, they’re laying in a pool of sweat, and you’re laying in a pool of sweat. People are cheering you on and doing the same thing you are. It’s a wonderful thing.”

WITH SCHOOL out for the summer, it has allowed Vesser to train a little differently than during the school year.

“Being a teacher, it helps right now,” Vesser said. “I get a little time this summer to come in on my own schedule. When school starts, I’d come in at 6:30 in the morning, go to school, then coach, and come back here at night and be here from 7:30 to 8:30 at night, go home and go to bed, wake up and do it again the next day and repeat that every day.”

She’ll even take some of her work into the classroom.

“Sometimes my kids can tell when I’m using things from CrossFit,” Vesser said. “They’ll ask if I did this in the gym that day, and I’ll say ‘yes, and now you are.’ I get a lot of ideas from here and take those to them. My girls in class, the empowerment they get from the weightlifting class, and how they leave the semester, I’m so fortunate to see that develop. I’m very lucky to have that job.”

Vesser has competed in seven full Ironman Coeur d’Alene competitions, as well as the Coeur d’Alene Triathlon.

“I was training for a ‘Tough Mudder’ race with some friends,” Vesser said. “One of the guys that works out here asked if he could bring a friend, and I’ve been hooked on crossfit since. Competing in Ironman, it kind of gave me the mental edge here that I could do it. The grind, just to get through some of these workouts is tough. It’s tough out there on that (Ironman) course, but nothing here is that long. So I’m thinking that if I can get through that, I can get through this.”

VESSER WILL travel back to Wisconsin a few days early to get acclimated to the conditions in Madison.

“We’ve had a team that’s advanced to regionals a few times,” Vesser said. “When I went to watch them, that really sparked that fire in my belly, but I’ve never been to the big show. I want to get used to the weather and humidity and feel my way around to get my bearings and kick some butt.”

To prepare, Vesser said her training can involve anything from running, jumping or weightlifting.

“(On Tuesday), I did some sprints on a rower (rowing machine), went to the pool to go swimming, and came back to the gym for some weightlifting, ring muscle up and some gymnastics work,” Vesser said. “Then I’ve got some massages, cryo therapy — and they’ve been a gamechanger for me — as far as my recovery. I’ve got a rock climbing program, and I’ve never been rock climbing, but my workout tells me to go rock climbing, so here we go.”

Ring muscle-ups combines a pull-up and dipping in one movement.

At nationals, it could be any kind of competition, with no set discipline.

“They mix it up all the time,” Vesser said. “It’s a long 20-minute workout that has some power cleans (weightlifting), running and some pull-ups,” Vesser said. “But it could be something with a one-rep max. They can do whatever they want and try to mix it up and fool us a lot. You’ve really got to be prepared for anything.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.