Shame, shame, who's to blame?

Today I was able to experience a strange mixture of emotions, my friends. I call it a strange mixture, because it began with relief, elation, doubt, worry, and finally guilt. "Guilt for what?" you ask. Today I felt guilty for being the first one to finish this morning's WOD. "Well why do you feel guilty?" I hear you, again. "Did you cheat?" The answer to that is no... well, yes and no. Let me start from the beginning.
The day began the same as any other, with a sleepy-eyed drive to the box, wondering if I was awake enough to tackle the day's challenge. Today's WOD was:
(4x)
9 Thrusters (95#/65#)
15 Toe to Bar(Knees to Elbows-Micah)
21 Double Unders(4:1)
Micah 9:21
Carlie 11:21

When I walked in and saw this WOD written on the board I was relieved. This workout, while challenging, isn't what I would call a "killer." Let's call it "manageable." And so before we began I was placed in the back corner right next to the pull up bars, with a handy weight stand next to my thruster weights to hang my jump-rope on, I mean logistically speaking- I had the set up! I was feeling confident. I was going to blow through this workout, and be done before I even broke a sweat. And blow through it, I did! I finished in record time, almost a good minute before the next person. And yet...
When I finished my 84th jump-rope on the last set, yelled time and looked around, nobody was even close to finishing up. I had to think... Did I miscount? Did I read the workout wrong? My mind was racing. All these incredulous eyes on me, silently screaming "Cheater, CHEATER!" Well, perhaps not, but that's how I felt. I was tempted to do another round just for good measure, but then I thought if I did that then I would really look like I was a cheater.
So, if I did the WOD as prescribed and finished with a good time, then why should I feel guilty? I was having a hard time figuring that out myself.
When I got home, I went onto the Crossfit IoTA website and found that today's WOD was titled nothing more fitting than, "Dead Last." It had been posted along with a moral story about how finishing first isn't everything, in fact it should be the last thing on your mind. Time is nothing when compared to effort, form, and striving to do the work to your fullest. After reading this I had to reflect on my performance today. Had I given my full effort on workout? In all honesty, no. Not even close. On the latter sets when I became fatigued my form became sloppy, my squats weren't as deep, my knees crunched further and further away from my elbows. In short, I didn't give my all.
That's why I felt guilty for being first.
So in light of Paul's ever-so-fitting post on giving your all every time, and not worrying about WOD time, rather that you're truly giving your best, it is my new resolve to simply work my hardest, without thinking of "How fast can I get this over with?" And hopefully from now on I can remain a middle-of-the-road, worked-my-butt-off, kind of crossfitter... Now, that I've had time to think on it, I may even start aiming for "Dead Last."