6/30 - Swim Video...

End of day 1...

6/30 - Learning to Swim is (actually) fun!

Swim WOD today though more like a personal swim lesson.  I wasn't going to go but changed my mind knowing that a swim would be good for me - and it's another weakness that I need to work on. 

I never learned how to swim as a child.  I remember swimming lessons but only for a few beginner levels before minus 40 temperatures and wicked earaches ended my (not yet started) swimming career.  I have always loved the water though - have had an attraction to it always but I've never been able to swim beyond what would be necessary to save my life (if it ever came to that).  I paddle and SUP and splash but I've never really swam... until today!

Shonelle was an amazing coach.  The first 50m she told me just to swim like I normally would.  I couldn't see myself but by the look on her face it was more like splashing and flailing than anything resembling swimming - the reason being that I don't put my face in the water - or rather until today I've never swam with my face in the water.  Oh how quickly that was about to change.

Shonelle was great at breaking down what I had to do.  Initially it was just kicking with one arm in front and the other by my side and practicing on keeping my face in then popping it up for a breath.  I did this for 50m then Frances arrived and I got to use the flutter board to do the same drill for another 100m.  Note - when I talk about the lengths it's not necessarily continuous - there were a lot of stops in the middle to rest/ shake out the water/ stop gasping... thankfully I could touch the bottom all the way along.

Next up was the same drill (with flutter board) but now I was swimming with one arm and trying to breathe every 2 or 3 strokes and then down to every stroke when I needed to.  I did this for a total of 4 laps (200m).  Last drill was to do the same thing again for 4 laps but this time stroking with both arms (still using the flutter board) but still only breathing on the one side.  This was tough as I wanted to breath every third stroke but since I was only breathing on one side I was limited to either 2 strokes or 4.  After all this I really was starting to feel better about breathing - that was my only focus today - head under water and coming up for breath but there was still so much to think about...

-when to breath (on the back half of the pull phase of the stroke)
-how to angle my head when breathing
-rolling my top shoulder back when breathing
-avoiding looking forward when I go to put my head back in the water
-breathing out while head was in the water
-not drowning
-and probably many other little things that seemed to come along as I progressed through the laps.  The biggest one really was when I was lifting my head up to breath.  Light bulb.

Then... just as I was feeling good about things Shonelle tells me I now have to actually swim... without the flutter board.  100m.  Just me and my head underwater and breathing and swimming!

IT FELT SO GOOD! 

I truly felt like I was swimming rather than splashing around trying not to sink.  In a way it almost felt effortless and I was actually managing to breath every 4 strokes because the rhythm just felt natural that way.  I made it 25m without stopping then took a bit of a break then struggled with the second half of the lap - I don't have any swimming endurance and as soon as my heartrate increases my breathing struggles.  Something to work on in the future but... but when I'm rested (like the start of the second 50m) I can swim!  I am so amazed with the progress I made in just one hour.  Shonelle said at the start that she'd get me swimming before we left and she was right and I love it.  I'm hooked.  Next time I know what's in store too - exactly what I did today but with my breathing on the other side.  I'm looking forward to it.

Vini took some 'after' video (thankfully there is no before) that I'll try and post when he sends it to me.

Thank you Shonelle, I'm closer to saying I can actually swim. 

6/29 - Running "Jackie"

Strength/Skills
Tabata ab mat sit-ups (12)
Beat Swings

Managed a consistent 12 reps for all rounds of the ab mat sit-ups while slowly and painfully removing skin from my butt.  I thought it was just the zipper at the back of my lululemon shorts that was the cause but it turns out it's actually the combination of the ab mat and my butt as I was wearing my compression tights today.  Guess I need to use (if I can remember) a yoga mat underneath rather than lying directly on the rubber mats of the box.  Made it through though my shower might sting a little.

Beat swings were good - great to practice but I was being careful with my hands as we had many more pull-ups again today.

WOD
Running "Jackie"
1000m run
50 Thrusters (18/28kg)
30 pull-ups
12:27 Rx

Our box only has two rowers so rather than doing Jackie with a 1000m row we ran it instead.  I was pretty slow on the run but was okay with it given that it's still my "rest" week and I haven't been backing off that much as we've been doing a lot of body weight/ skill work rather than anything heavy this week.

The thrusters were relatively light but the high number of reps was still tough.  My legs were surprisingly fresh for the squat portion but the push overhead really hurt.  My arms are still super tired.  I got through it though in pretty solid sets.  I did 10 and then rested in the rack position before doing another 5.  Then another 10 and then sets of 7, 6, 6, 6 or thereabouts.

I started with 3 pull-ups on the old bar and then chalked up and realized we were all pretty tight on the bars so jumped over to the lower new bar and really liked it.  For some reason it wasn't as tough on my hands and managed to do sets of 3 instead of my usual two without worrying any more about my hands than usual.  Once again managed to not tear them so I was happy.  Also quite impressed that I had the strength to get through all 30 without a band after the 75 reps last night.  Definite progress.

Taking a break this weekend from WOD-ing.  Will hopefully get out on my surfski and/or SUP for a light paddle.  Also, ordered a set of rings for my trip home next month so for any of my paddling friends reading this - they'll be at the gorge if you want to play/ do a bit of a WOD. 

6/28 - pull-ups and burpees oh my...

Another day at the box today...

Strength
60 second bench press

39 reps/ 20kg


Went with 20kg again even though I knew I wouldn't be able to get 60 reps with how tired I (still) am.  I wanted to use the same weight as I did last time however just to compare.  I last did this on April 2nd and got 40 reps at 20kg so I'm happy to (almost) match that here given that I should do better on a more rested day with the progress and strength I've added over the last two months.  I'll take it.  Once again it was quite interesting just how fast it got tiring - one second you're busting out steady reps and the next it's like an off switch was flipped and it's almost impossible to push the weight.

WOD
3-6-9-12-15-12-9-6-3
Wide grip pull-ups
Burpee broad jumps
15:14 (14 reps remaining at 15 minute cut-off)

I finished off the last 14 reps probably a minute after the time expired.  With about 2 minutes remaining I decided that I was finishing it no matter how long it took so I'm glad with that.  The pull-ups were hard on my hands and that was the limiting factor with me taking care to lower slowing rather than link the reps so that my hands didn't tear.  Thankfully no tears!

The burpee broad jumps were way more tiring than normal burpees though the chalk hand prints along the floor were quite amusing to look at.

6/27 - a good day...

This was a good WOD to see today - no heavy lifting... just what my body needs

Skills
Double-under drills
Tabata hollow body/superman
5 x 10 beat swings

These were all good though my superman's were a little lacking as my lower back is still hurting.  Managed to keep my legs straight throughout the hollow body holds though which was an improvement.  

3 rounds
3 negative pull-ups
10 barbell rows

The negative pull-ups were good.  I was able to slowly lower myself through the movement though I probably couldn't have done more than three reps.  Even the last one was a little questionable.  I only managed to finish 2 round of this which I was okay with. 
 
Static bar hold competition

I didn't last long on this one at all and when I did start to come down it was less controlled than dropping straight down.

10 min AMRAP
10 beat swings (for quality)
15 ab mat sit-ups
20 double-unders
8/25

Managed to finish 8 rounds at the beat swings and DU's.  Coach Match had us finish out the round we were on even after time expired so I finished the round of 9.   I was happy that my hands held out and I could do the beat swings unbroken really concentrating on good form and the movement coming through my shoulders rather than from my hips.  The ab mat sit-ups were steady, just constant movement and my DU's were fairly solid.  I tripped up a bit and TMI ALERT BOYS had some bladder control issues going on at times which stole a bit of my concentration.  Ah, the things we deal with - not an issue I have often but Tash mentioned that it sometimes has to do with monthly changes in women and that could likely be the case here. Anyway, I'm really glad there was only 20 per round otherwise there might have been some trouble.

Still tired and sore but I'm not expecting any major changes to that this week, hopefully doing things easier and lighter this week will help with recovery.

And here's a picture Neil took of us while Coach Match was explaining beat swings.

Source

6/26 - back at it...

Took all of Monday as a rest day and was back at the box tonight for an 'easy' WOD...  spent the past two days in my compression tights so wasn't feeling too bad other than a lower back which is in agony so when I saw the WOD I was a little scared... 

WOD
5 rounds
5 front squats (45/60kg)
10 squats to the barbell
15 hand release push-ups sit-ups
5:50 (28kg)

The strength portion of the WOD was front squats so I was happy to miss it.  This WOD was actually a good thing for my back - it stretched me out a bit while not being too heavy (I went really light on the weight) and I realized Kayla had a really good idea in doing the sit-ups over the push-ups given how we'd each spent 10 minutes attempting ring dips and were quite sore across our chest and shoulders.  Her and I were working beside each other and it was funny how we were pretty much in sync in our movements throughout (though she was lifting heavier than me).  We finished together and it was nice - not much pressure on the WOD other than doing it.

I'm still really tired so while I'll still do the WODs this week I'll be doing them lighter and not pushing too hard on all of them just to give my body a bit of a break.  I'm also starting to feel a bit of a head cold coming on which I want to avoid if possible so I'm into the vitamin C and taking care of myself really well.

6/24 - Primal Throwdown Day 2 WOD 1 (Photos)

Thanks to Mel for the photos...

6/24 - Primal Throwdown 2012 - Day 2

There has been a bit of a delay to me writing this post because I haven't known how to.  Day 2 of the Primal Throwdown was probably the most emotional crossfit day I have ever had in my almost one year of doing this kind of thing.  It broke me and challenged me and made me more proud than I have ever been but we'll get to that I guess.

Going into the day I was really happy to have made the Sunday workouts.  I honestly had no expectation of making top 10 going into the weekend until after the second WOD on Saturday when I saw that it was a true possibility.  I saw the twinkle though in the Southern Crossfit boys eyes as we left the stadium Saturday that what they had up their sleeves for Sunday would be no walk in the park.

Day two started bright and early again (and cold) at 7am with sign in and some stretching.  My back was super tight from the deadlifts and was going to make it hard.

WOD 1
15-10-5
row for calories
toes to bar
chest to overhead 2x12kg KB
5 minute cut-off
5:21

5th place on the WOD

I didn't finish this one (and not many people overall actually did).  The row felt really good, I felt strong and finished the 15 calorie row in about 45 seconds which was right where I wanted to be.  I think I broke the t2b into 10-5 though I wasn't connecting them that well as my swing was a little off.  The KB's was where I slowed way down, 2x12kg was extremely heavy and I just had to keep picking them back up and pushing through as best I could, minimizing rest.

I was in a pretty good spot for this WOD - my cheering section was quite close by and seeing their faces really pushed me harder, made me rest less and do as much work as I could knowing it was only 5 minutes of my life.  I got through the round of 10 row and t2b and finished only 4 of the KB's when time ran out hence my score of 5:21 - 21 remaining reps after the cut-off.  The first place girl in this workout still had 3 reps remaining as time expired so no one in my division finished - and this was just the start.

WOD 2
15 minute AMRAP
2x rope climb to 15'
7 ball toss - 12kg over 7'(?)
14 pull-ups
24

Tied for 6th place.

Going into this WOD I had never done a rope climb.  Ever.  I had spent the first few heats watching and learning and getting help on how to climb a rope.   Knowing we had to start with the rope climbs was also quite daunting but going into it I was quite ready to give it a go.  Worst case I'd spend 15 minutes trying to learn how to climb a rope.

I managed the first two okay though I struggled to come down under control.  Kayla had the best and most truthful line of the day when she said "everyone told me how to get up the rope but no one told me how to come down".  True!  Coming down was also quite hard when your forearms were pumped as was the case with me.  I had made it through the first two and was off to the bar.

The ball toss was basically a wall ball using a slam ball instead and getting it over the pull-up bar - I think the pull-up bar was about 7' high as I had to use a box to get up to it rather than just jumping to it.  These were hard.  If the slam ball hit the bar it was a no rep and you had to hit full squat depth on the way down.  Thankfully as intermediates we only had to do 7 reps.  Once these were done it was on to pull-ups and although the bars were quite good and much easier to hang on to than the ones at our box I still only did sets of two.  My body was getting fatigued.  Every time I hit the ground though I got right back up as quick as I could and pushed through.

Then... then it was back to the rope.  This is the part I struggle to write.  I got to the top, one rep down and then got my first warning on not coming down under full control which I was struggling with - I was trying to come down slowly but my forearms were not cooperating.  They were pumped.  I kept trying.  Next attempt I got to 12' and as I was moving my feet my grip went and down I came, one full unexpected slide with just my hands on the rope, a hard landing on the balls of my feet.  It scared me and the emotions came.  The tears slowly started then.  There has have been WODs in the past that have almost made me cry but this was the first time then tears came and I couldn't stop them.

I knew I had more than half the time remaining and that I had to try the climb again.  At this point I was on my hands and knees, vision blurred through the tears, trying to stretch out my forearms.  I knew I was going to give it another go but I was also terrified.  There is something not quite sane about attempting to climb up to 15' knowing that at any time your body might physically give out on you mid air.  I started again...

Again, I hit the 12' mark before my grip went and I slid down by my hands, landing hard on the ground but thankfully upright.  It was frustrating to get so close and still fall.  It was terrifying to be that high and then suddenly be falling through the air.  It was disappointing to know that there were so many faces right in front of my supporting me and cheering me on and yet I couldn't get to the top.  It was also hard knowing that I could do it but my body was just letting me down.

I knew I needed a lot of rest if I had any chance of completing the rep on my next try, time was ticking down and no matter how many times I uttered the words "I can't" I knew I wasn't going to quit.  I always knew I'd give it one more go but that it would most definitely take everything I had.  Once again I was on my hands and knees, uncontrollable tears flooding my eyes.  Coach Kirst was amazing, crouched right down there with me.  Equal parts pushing and supportive in just the right balance.  I remember her telling me how proud she was of me and in that moment that meant the world to me.  She also kept telling me to stop saying "I can't"...  (my "I can't's" were from fear not from any lack of confidence in myself as I'd already proven I could 3 times).  I remember looking at my hands for damage and realizing that through two falls it was just one major rope burn on my middle finger, skin torn and bunched up and at this point I realized it was bugging me and ripped the skin away and tossed it on the floor (yes, I'm classy).  I recall Kirst telling me it was nothing and that I could stop the bleeding after the WOD (which was quite funny to me and also the truth).   I remember telling her that I'd give it another go with 1 minute remaining as I continued to massage and stretch and try and get my forearms to stop cramping.  I heard voices all around me on how to stretch and what to do but it was Kirst I was focused on, having her there in that moment made such a difference.  With about 1:30 remaining I got back to my feet and stared at the rope.  I remember thinking of R and how he did this all the time and "if he could only see me know" and I got ready to go again, giving it everything I had... and I did.  I started up the rope and could sense the support behind me, the staring eyes and the ticking of the clock.  The bated breath... and once again I fell from 12' BUT... I gave it a go and I can say I gave it everything in that moment.  I collapsed on the floor and was overcome by emotion at this point, I couldn't tell you why I was crying but it wouldn't stop.  Kirst told me to stand up and be proud and I did while also trying to hide my face from the camera man who thought it was an appropriate time for a close-up.

Brenda and Glen were there with amazing hugs which were exactly what I needed as the tears continued to fall.  Then they so gently and kindly guided me in the direction of the medic to get my hand fixed up.  The tears eventually died down and as Kathy later massaged my forearms I could reflect on how proud I was of myself.  I had done something I had never done before, I faced the fear of falling and kept trying even after failing over and over.  And now, as I type this I actually don't want to call them failures because I still made it to 12' each time I tried.  Failing would have been never leaving the ground and even through the fear and fatigue I didn't quit.  That was my biggest moment to date as a crossfitter.  This, crossfit, is more than just some physical activity we put ourselves through - it's heart and passion and dedication and drive.  It's as much mental as it is physical.

I tried to thank Kirst after for being such an amazing coach especially in that moment but I'm not sure words could ever do justice to what those 15 minutes meant.  Thank you!

WOD 3
5-10-15
ring dips
16kg KB swing
10 minute cut-off
11:30

Tied for 8th

I spent 10 minutes trying to do ring dips.  Mostly I was doing isometric ring dips where I'd get almost to the bottom and then drop to the ground without being able to even try to push myself back up.  It was hard and a good mental battle but at least it wasn't scary on top of it all.  I could definitely feel the fatigue in my body at this point, all the workouts were definitely adding up.  I think on a normal day when I am not tired I could probably manage at least one rep but today wasn't my day for it.  Once again though I kept trying.  Shalon was judging me and was so supportive and offering all kinds of great advice and while it didn't help me in the moment it will most definitely be on my mind as I work on this weakness in the future.

WOD 4
5 minute AMRAP
Snatch/Burpee Ladder
1 snatch* (30kg)
1 burpee (jump over bar)
2 snatch
2 burpee
...
30 (completed the round of 5)

*could squat snatch or power snatch but if power snatch then still had to do an OHS

At this point I was so tired that I wasn't trusting my squat snatch (though in retrospect I probably should have given it a go).  I power snatched and OHS for each rep which took more time to complete.  I didn't realize until the first rep just how sore and tired my quads were.  They were basically shaking for every rep.   We also had 20kg bars with silver 2.5kg weights on either side which meant we couldn't drop the bars so had full range of motion to the ground as well (or below the knees if linking reps).  As Jack pointed out afterwards my feet were going really wide at times which was a function of bad form when I was fatigued and mentally not wanting to miss a rep because of the wasted energy of that.  I did get no-repped on one of my snatches where I didn't drop under it at all but rather pushed it out which was a fair call and made me ensure I was at least dropping a bit to get it overhead.  I was really happy with this one as we did a WOD last week quite similar to this and I love to snatch.  I would love to do this again when I wasn't so fatigued just to see how many rounds I could smash out.

Overall I was really happy with the day.  I finished in 7th place right where I started the day.  I had no expectations and was just glad to get through all the WODs - some better than others.  I did things I had never done before, I pushed my body to places it probably has never been and I survived 8 wods in 2 days - competition level as well.  It's quite a way to see my progress as well over the 11 months I've been doing crossfit.  In my mind I don't always see how far I've come or where I'm even at - it's still skewed by the mental image that I had of myself for so long so to finish what I did and to see the photos of who I am now are often still quite surprising. 

Next up.. Primal Pairs...

Primal Throwdown 2012 Photos

Mark aka Best (most supportive/ encouraging) Judge Ever

6/24 - Primal Throwdown 2012 - Day 2 Preview

Note, I was in the intermediate category for all these WODs.

6/23 - Primal Throwdown 2012 - Day 1

Breaking this down into two parts otherwise it's likely to be a long and wordy read...

WOD 1
run 1km
then in 60 seconds complete a max clean then AMRAP double unders.
4:05 run, 50kg clean, 40 DUs

Placed 25th on the run and 6th on the clean/DU's.

I was really happy and surprised with my 1km run.  The only reference I have for this is when I was training for a half marathon about a year and a half ago and I was pretty consistent at about 6:15min/km so to come in over 2 minutes faster than that was huge.  I didn't sprint at the end because I knew the clean was coming but I stayed steady throughout and definitely pushed myself. 

I went straight to the 50kg bar knowing I could make this.  My max squat clean is 57.5kg and that's during a lifting session and not with a high heart rate so I didn't even attempt 60kg (there was no in between weights).  Given my focus on this portion I was able to start my DUs quickly and managed to go unbroken until I was out of time.  The 40 reps made a huge difference to my placing - 18 people cleaned 50kg but the tie breaker was the DU's and this placed me second in those that had cleaned 50kg. 

WOD 2 
agility course (1:30 cut-off)
V-sprint
balance beam
box jump overs
zig zag sprint
bean bag toss (5 tries)
46 secs -5 sec bonus = 41 secs

Placed 6th.

I enjoyed this one but there is something odd about starting face down on a WOD - it's a bit disorienting.  I made it through all the obstacles on the first try and was glad I got at least 1 bean bag in the pail which gave me 5 seconds off my time.  The difference between 41 seconds and 46 seconds was 16 places for the WOD and 5 places overall for the first two so it was much needed.

WOD 3 
7 min AMRAP ladder
60kg deadlift, 2 reps
10kg OH plate carry (about 10-15m)
increase deadlifts by 2 reps each round
56 deadlifts (completed the round of 14s)

Tied with 10 others for 12th place on this one.

For the plate carry you had to take both the clip and the plate off of your bar and put it back on each time - it got quite frustrating as my plate kept sticking half way onto the bar and it seemed was the case throughout the day and wasn't just my ineptness.  My back was dead by the end and promptly tightened right up after it was over.  When they made the announcement that WOD 4 was a definite go it was a little disheartening but you do what you gotta do and thankfully we had Kathy there to fix us all up and she got me going again for the next one.

I was in round 1 for WOD 3 and sitting in 5th place going into it which made it nerve racking watching the other scores slowly trickle in.  I didn't really think much of making day 2 (only top 10 made the cut) but at this point in the day it was within reach and I didn't want to blow it, I suddenly really did want it. 

WOD 4 
2 x 2 min AMRAP
10kg plate chest to overhead
pistols
51 + 27 = 78

I was quite happy when this one was announced as Tim and I have been doing a lot of pistols lately in our part WODs because they are challenging but also a very good skill to have when they do come up.  It was awesome that they didn't scale them for the intermediate division but rather rewarded those that could do them for their ability to do them (as would be the case on day two throughout all the WODs).

The chest to overhead was harder than you'd expect.  I completed the first 20 reps pretty steadily but wasn't using my legs very much which was a brutal mistake.  Should have started using them from the get go.  Was happy to get 51 reps.  The rule was that if your plate rested anywhere other than locked out overhead or against your chest you were done so that added a bit more pressure on things.

I was steady with the pistols.  I didn't go too fast through them but I also didn't miss a rep either which I was happy with.

Once again it was a matter of waiting for scores to trickle in to see how I did.  I came 19th on this WOD and fell two spots to 7th on the day but still within top 10 which meant I got to do it all again the following day... my body was exhausted and sore.  I came home, ate, had a hot shower, did some stretching and was in bed and asleep my 8:30.  Thankfully I was so tired that I slept much better than Friday night and was fairly rested when my alarm went off at 6am again on Sunday.

Overall it was a great day - great organization by Southern Crossfit and all the volunteers.  A great turn out by Cooee athletes and supporters as well.

Day two coming... as are some photos when I can get my hands on some - I didn't take any of my own.  Oops.

6/20...

Last WOD before a few days rest heading into the Primal Throwdown this weekend.

Skills
3 rep sets of 1 legged snatch grip deadlifts
33kg

Didn't try to go too heavy on these as I remember the last time we did one legged deadlifts and although it felt fine during the workout it hurt for days afterward and I didn't want the same thing heading into this weekend.  Was really good to focus on form with this movement though - if you don't have it it's really hard to keep balanced. 

WOD
8 min AMRAP -
8 power snatch (30/45kg)
8 burpee bar hops
6/2 23kg

Thought about doing 30kg as that's a pretty easy power snatch for me but once I started the WOD I was really happy with just going with the 23kg because even that felt hard (I think my mind is already in taper mode).  It was pretty good all the way through though I found that my technique with the lighter weight started to falter I think because I could muscle it up and didn't have to rely on form like I do when it gets heavier.  Ooops.  Lesson for next time.

Now it's two days of rest and then whatever the weekend may bring.

The WODs were "previewed" tonight though some details like weight and times, etc. were left out.  I'm not sure if I prefer half knowing, I think I'd rather know all or nothing.  Hmmm.

6/19 - Ab day...

Today was most definitely an ab day - did a bit of mobility when I got to the box early mostly on my glutes as my legs were really tight.  I don't know if it's from Sunday and the beach run and squats or if it was from the (light) deadlifts and (few) OHS last night.  I don't know where it came from but they were quite sore.

I jumped into the noon session today too which was fun - different bunch and therefore different energy that I quite enjoy.  Need to take advantage of these now since when I start my new job I likely won't be able to make any.

Skills
Tabata hollow body hold
Accumulate 30 hollow body rocks
5 x 10 beat kicks on the pull-up bar

Hollow body holds hurt a lot after the first half though Coach Match was all over me getting me to straighten out my legs when they'd start to bend.  I suck at the hollow body rocks, I definitely need to practice these.  The beat kicks were fun/ easy however they hurt my hands and although the first set I got 10 straight the rest were done in sets of 5 or so...  

WOD
12 min AMRAP -
10 box jumps
15 sit-ups
20 double-unders
25 sec hollow body hold
6/24 24" box

I quite enjoyed this one though it was a definite killer on the abs.  I was steady on the box jumps rebounding on almost all of them throughout.  The sit ups were steady and 15 was definitely enough.  The first few rounds I struggled on the DU's, not sure why but from then on I was solid and managed to go unbroken.  The hollow body holds were fine though when I started the first one it took me a few seconds to realize that the clock was counting down and not up and therefore the math was slightly more complicated in my head - that being said at the start of each round it gave me something to concentrate on for a few seconds rather than just focusing on the agony in my abs.  Ha!

Mike tried to get me to do 4 consecutive strict pull-ups afterwards convinced I could do it and I got 2 and even they were tough.  I was definitely feeling tired in my shoulders after 'Diane' and yesterdays 36 pull-ups.  Oh well... still happy to get 2 as that's a step in the right direction.

6/18 - taking it easy?

Today was the start of taper week before the comp.  I've switched up my training to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday with the intent of taking Thursday and Friday off.  I have a massage booked for Thursday as well which I'm looking forward to.

My plan seemed pretty straight forward (always the case really) but in reality it turned out much different.  I got to the box early as I knew Tim and Jack would be there.  It was Jack's first day back after 6 months in Canada so I had to see him and when Tim stated that they were about to do Diane I couldn't say no (it should be obvious by now that I can never say no to extra WODs with the boys).

WOD 1
'Diane'
21-15-9
Deadlifts
HSPU
10:12

I scaled the workout as I think it's generally 70kg deadlifts for women and obviously HSPU's to the ground but I didn't want to destroy my legs so I did 50kg and since I can't do HSPU's to the ground (yet) I did them with my hands on the 10kg plates down to an abmat which is about 6cm difference.

I was quite happy with this.  I smashed the deadlifts which made sense given the light weight and was fairly consistent on the hspu's.  The first round I did 5's and 4's then it was pretty much down to sets of 3 and then 2's by the last round.  My kip is getting better as well - it's more vertical than frog legged though if I try and get it straight up I tend to fall off the wall.

I enjoyed this and cheering on the boys after I'd finished was great - they were working so hard it was inspiring.

Strength
5 x 3 shoulder press
20-25-30-32.5(f)

I didn't pay too much attention to the workout so doing strict shoulder presses after Diane was quite hard.  I managed 2 reps at 32.5kg but that was all I had.  I know I'll have more if I don't do 45 hspu's for a warm up.  Tim laughed at me for this - I deserved it.

WOD 2
3 rounds -
12 pull-ups
9 hand release push-ups
6 OHS (30/45kg)
Note:  start with 400m run, then 300m run after first set, 200m run after second set and 100m run after third set
12:13 Rx

This was a struggle but I got through it.  I struggled most with the pull-ups doing mostly sets of 2's with a few sets of 3 in the early round and some singles by the end.  Kipping just kills my hands which is mostly my problem.  Need to get better at this somehow or get new hands, not sure which is the easier option.  I'm happy though to be doing them Rx now.

The push-ups were tiring but I managed to do all the rounds with at most 1 break in the set which I was happy with.  The OHS's were okay, definitely a struggle by the 5th and 6th reps but I wasn't putting the bar down on this one - all rounds were straight sets which was awesome.  Also, isn't there something completely satisfying about dropping the bar from overhead?  I used to hate it but there are times when it's just needed (but not always Tim!)

It was definitely a good day but I'm going to hurt. 

6/17 - Sunday WODs

Another fun early Sunday session in Cott.  We're getting a good little turn out these days - today Ric joined us and was sane (insane?) enough to meet me at 7:30am unlike the other kids who didn't show up until 8 (or almost 8:30 for the ones running late).

WOD 1
beach run
approx. 20 minutes

This was fun - just a nice warm up and catch up for Ric and I.  It's nice to have someone to chat with and share stories as it makes everything hurt a bit less.

WOD 2
30 seconds on/ 30 seconds rest
air squats
hspu's
ring holds
pullups

Didn't keep count on this one but it was good to work on the movements.  This was mainly just a filler while waiting for the boys running late to show up.

WOD 3
team WOD (one person working at a time)
25m sprint
120 one arm KB swings
25m sprint
150 air squats
25m sprint
approx. 30 minutes

We split into two teams of three.  I was working with Tim and his girlfriend Nat (who is very new to crossfit type workouts) and Vini, Mark and Ric were on the other side.  It was fun as initially it was just sprints and swings and we added to it as we went.  It was pretty solid and we were fairly evenly matched.

Afterward we went for coffee - always the best part of Sunday morning WODs.

6/15 - Comp training day 4...

Last big WOD night for comp training as next week is the eve of the big day(s).  We spent the first part of the night talking about what to expect, things to pack, etc.  It was a good review of things as well.

WOD
7 minute AMRAP
9 hang cleans (35kg)
6 KB snatches (16kg) - subbed 8 single arm swings
3 thrusters (35kg)
87 reps
4 rounds plus finished the hang cleans and swings

Because of the insane amount of burpees the day before my shoulders weren't exactly happy and I figured it's best not to get them angry at me the week out from a comp so I subbed the single arm swings for the snatches and did 2 more to make it about even from a time perspective (though only counted them as 6 reps).

The hang cleans were solid as were the swings but the thrusters were horrible.  Though there were only 3 I really didn't want to pick up the bar for them at all - they were heavy and hurt.  That being said my entire body was quite fatigued from the endurance WOD the night before which probably had a lot to do with it.

Fun though and I'm feeling ready to give it my all at the comp.  I don't really have any expectations for myself other than to push as hard as I can mentally knowing that physically my body can keep up.

6/14 - Endurance WOD...

Knew today was going to be long and tough when I came in and saw this on the board:

WOD:
1 mile run
150 double-unders
50 burpees
800m run
100 double-unders
35 burpees
400m run
50 double-unders
20 burpees
31:57 Rx

Was really quite happy with getting through it fairly steadily.  Initially I thought that the first mile would take me between 9-10 minutes - when I was training for my half marathon about a year and a half ago I was pretty steady at a 10 min/mile pace (or slightly higher) so I figured given that I'm in better shape from crossfit and it was only 1 mile I'd be slightly faster.  I really underestimated my improvements - I came in at 8:02 and I wasn't even sprinting hard because I knew I was going into 150 DU's (I was tired but not exhausted).

I was pretty solid on the first bunch of DU's getting somewhere around 40 or so on the first set and then throughout the entire WOD getting solid bunches of 15-25 each go.  I would take a few extra breathes when I tripped up preferring to get solid sets instead of rushing into it and continually tripping up.  I remember clearly after each run hearing Coach Match telling us to get right on the rope and bust out 10 or 15 reps and I'd laugh at him in my head thinking that was a low estimate that I was aiming for greater than 20... hah!

The burpees were all mental.  It took will to just keep moving throughout.  I remember on the set of 35 that going into it I was going to do 7 sets of 5 and then once I got into it I decided on 5 sets of 7.  Once I hit the first 7 reps I figured out I was close enough to 10 and then didn't know what to do with the extra 5 I'd have at the end so did 15 reps straight out.  It's amazing how much further the body can go beyond what the mind wants to or thinks it's capable of.  On the last 20 Vicki came over and since I knew she was watching I knew I couldn't stop so I pushed through them all at once.

I felt quite accomplished having pushed through this WOD but I was so happy when it was over.   

6/12 - DU loving, real world avoiding...

Went in early to do a little bit of practice stuff with the boys and I spent time working on both HSPU's and wall balls.  Coach Match taught me a new way to work on strength for HSPU's - from a handstand position against the wall take one hand off the floor and (quickly!) touch the same shoulder - repeat on opposite sides.  I managed to get up to 5 consecutive reps before I'd fall off the wall.  It was very challenging but I can also see how it would help with both HSPU's and handstand walks.

Following that I did a little WOD.

WOD 1
5 rounds
5 HSPU's (hands on green plates to ab mat)
5 wall balls (7kg to 9ft)
8:56

This one quickly tired out my shoulders.  By the last round I was doing single reps of the HSPU's.  The wall balls were the easy part for me so that's saying something.

Skills
Double-under practice

Strength
5 x 5 snatch-grip deadlift
40-50-60-65

WOD 2
7 min AMRAP
30 double-unders
10 one-arm KB swings
10 KB push-ups
1 KB shuttle run
18 (16kg KB)

Score was one point for every completed task so total 4 points per round.  I managed to quickly get the DU's and KB swings completed (just) in the last 45ish seconds.  I was really happy with the 5 rounds of DU's as I managed to go unbroken on the 30 every round.  The KB swings were unbroken with me solely focused on not ripping my hands.  I did ring rows instead of the pushups as anything to "crunchy" is still causing me some pain in my shoulders.  The shuttle run was more of a shuffle though I think that helped with my being able to solidly do the DU's.

WOD 3
50-40-30-20-10 DU's
10 toes to bar in between each set
9:30ish

Thought about doing "Annie" but can still vividly remember the lingering pain of the situps from last time so I decided to throw something else in the middle (and I wasn't doing 150 t2b) so this worked out quite well.  I did the first three t2b on the rings which was fun but super hard to string any together so I jumped on the bar.  By the last set I was fighting the pain in my hands to finish out the reps (why are my hands so dainty?).  Ugh.  The DU's were solid I think I only tripped up once on the 50 and 40's and the rest went unbroken which makes me happy.

And yes, I did three WODs today... I realized that it's my way of avoiding the real world as my time in the box (or on my surfski or SUP) are the only true times when my focus is solely on what I'm doing and not on the rest of what's happening it my life.  I guess there are worse ways to deal with silly boy issues and unemployment - at least it's a healthy addiction.  Heh.

6/11 - Snatch and Regionals WOD 2

Today's focus was all about 'style points' on our snatch technique.  Low weight, just going through the movements with good form.  I loved it but wanted more when it was over...

Snatch skills:
Snatch grip deadlift
Snatch pull
Hang snatch
Snatch balance
Snatch drop
Squat snatch
For quality!  

WOD (with Tim)
1/2 Regionals WOD 2
1000m row
25 pistols
15 hang cleans (scaled to 40kg)
8:30ish

It took me just over 4 minutes on the row.  It was good as it allowed me to focus on good form and keeping my stroke and heart rates low.  I didn't come off feeling fatigued though I had a bit of cramping in my glutes.  Coach Match said it has a lot to do with the recovery and whether you're pulling back with your heels or toes and that it's best to work on both options to be able to adjust depending on the workout (hamstrings/glutes vs quads).

The pistols were okay, getting easier now since we've been practicing them so much in these 'extra' wods.  And the hang cleans were heavy but I was still able to manage decent sets - 5-4-3-3.  I was reluctant to join Tim in this WOD but was glad that I did.  I was afraid of the rower (I hate the rower) but after this I didn't feel to bad about it.

6/10 - 3 WOD Sunday...

Fun day with the boys doing a few WODs...  woke up dark and early at about 7am and heard the rain and wind... it was pretty miserable out but I got out of bed knowing that there were probably going to be people showing up.  Got a text from Tim that asked if I was going however it seemed to imply that he was happy enough to stay in his warm bed but that soon changed with a text from Vini as well saying he was still heading down.  So, a little late but we all still managed to show up for a Sunday WOD at Cott...

Given the conditions we were just going to go for a beach run but with us all being different speeds we changed that to some beach sprints to warm up. 


WOD 1
5 x
10 second sprint
50 second rest
then
2 rounds
30 seconds on/ 30 seconds rest
hspu's (scaled to pushups if necessary)
L-sit hold
strict pullups (didn't want anyone falling off today)
then
tabata squats/pistols

This was fun - not a ton of hard work but some time to work on skills which is always a good thing.  The beach sprints were hard but I was happy to be able to keep closer to the boys by the end.  HSPU's were hard and when I get my head fully to the ground I can't actually push back up but I'm working on it.  I think in the 30 seconds I'd get about 6 or 7 reps.  I managed a set of 5 strict at one point too which was awesome - too hard to kip on the slight hill/ against the sign.

GOT MY FIRST EVER STRICT PULL-UP!!! I didn't even want to try kipping after last week and I made a comment about not being able to do one strict and then gave it a try and it worked.  It was slow but as long as I focused on tightening everything up before the first pull it would work.  That being said I really only got 1 rep on the first 30 seconds (plus a half that I couldn't finish off) and then I got 2 on the second go round.  Progress.  I'm so happy about this accomplishment.

Pistols are starting to feel better and I like that we're working on them so much (and without lifting shoes as well). 

We finished up with coffee and then everyone went there own way with plans to meet up 1.5 hours later to do some hill sprints and a pool WOD.


WOD 2 (as a team)
Staggered start
3 rounds
Hill sprint (tags second person)
Rest
KB swings (16kg)
skipping
squat/med ball toss (7kg uphill)
approx. 35 minutes for us all to finish

There were 5 of us so we staggered the start with the first person (me) doing a hill sprint and then once I was back at the bottom I tagged Tim who then started and we progressed through the movements.  While Tim did his run I got to rest and then when he was finished I started KB swings, he rested and Adam sprinted.  The intervals for each movement were however long it took the person running to get to the top and back down so it was fun. 

The hill was wicked... and hard.  There was a powerline near the top that seemed like it'd be easy going after you got to that point but it was actually the opposite - that last 50m or so was a leg burner and coming back down wasn't too easy either especially with the burning lungs.  Knowing that there was rest after it though was a good thing as was only doing it three times.

The KB swings got hard - it was about 1:30ish of swinging so there was some moments where you had to put the KB down because forearms were pumped.  Some of the boys did KB snatches.

I did single unders for the skipping as my heart rate was still pretty high plus the wind was insane.  Some boys did DU's - they're more badass than me.  Adam was the brains behind the squat/med ball throw combo and it was hard - squatting on a hill and then trying to throw up was tough and then you had to sprint up in order to get the ball before it rolled right back to where you were.  Fun though and something new.  Three rounds of that and we were all quite warm and ready for some pool time...

WOD 3
3 rounds
swim as far underwater as you could then sprint to other side (33m pool)
wall walk across ledge
swim back to other side
wall walk across ledge
untimed

This was really hard for me as I am not a strong swimmer at all but as Vini said - it's crossfit, you have to work on your weaknesses... and that's why I didn't give up even though I was lapped by both Adam and Vini and took forever (or so it felt) to finish.

The wall walks are where you push up on the edge of the pool like you're going to get out and then walk your hands across from one end to the other of the pool ledge - it was the easy part for me.  My swimming was ugly but I didn't drown and didn't stop - I also did the third round even as Adam finished (he was done before I was half done my second go) and Vini was about to finish his last swim.  My arms got super tired on the swims though that probably also had a lot to do with the fact that it was WOD 3 of the day.  Fun times especially sitting in the 'hot spring' at the end - though smelly (sulphur).  Good way to spend a poor weather day.  Thanks boys!

Adam skips, Mark rests, Tim tosses med ball and Vini snatches KB (I'm done)

Post WOD dorks...

Go Vini

Adam trying to get the med ball before it rolls back down the hill

The evil hill for sprints - finish was the farthest power line

6/7 - Comp training day 3...

Tonights comp training WOD was a combination of the 'Crossfit for Hope' WOD and 'Fight Gone Bad'...

I've never done FGB so this was a new format for me - though I do remember 'Fun Gone Bad' which was the very first fundamentals WOD which was the same format as FGB though two rounds of 5 movements (air squats, sit-ups, push-ups, etc) and to this day I still think it's the hardest WOD I have ever done because it was the first time I realized how hard you could go in just a 10 minute workout.  Anyway...

Tonight we partnered up with one person judging and one working for the 3 rounds and then switched.  I was with Kayla and thankfully she went first - she started on the snatch and progressed through the 5 movements and then the whole ground had a minute rest at the same time (and then started again - because of our size we all started on different movements).  I also started on the snatch which went okay, moreso I was happy to start with something I was strong at and end with what I hated most (the row).

It's hard to see from the photo above but the standards for Intermediate Women were:
Snatch (25.5 kg)
Box Jumps (24")
Wall Balls (7kg ball to 10' target)
Pull-ups (head over bar)
Row (for calories)

My scores through the three rounds were fairly consistent...

Got a few more reps on the first go round of the snatch but then followed up the next two rounds with the same numbers.  The box jumps were good - I'm happy I've been practicing on the 24" box because it's making it easier to bounce right back up - when I'm tired I get a quick extra breath at the top before rebounding.  I was working beside Tash who was stepping down and jumping up and I managed to keep pace with her while still getting that extra second to breath.

I suck at wallballs.  Let's repeat that - I suck at wallballs... More specifically - I will learn to love wall balls over the next two weeks as I know they will be in the comp.  I picked up my new 7kg medball today so I have no reason not to practice (practice, practice, practice).  The extra foot made such a huge difference and these were definitely a downfall for me as you can see by my scores - 7-5-6 which included two deflating no-reps on the second round for not getting it high enough on the wall.  I tried to make up for this shortfall on both the box jumps and the pull-ups getting mostly sets of 2 and sometimes (with a big push from Kayla) 3's.  Definitely tough though but happy that I got them all and was able to maintain the same score without ripping my hands (there was a close call on round two).
 
The row sucked but thankfully didn't last too long - it was at most 45 seconds of work once you got there and got set to get going.  I need to figure out how my typical speed relates to calories as just watching the calories click by is no indication for me on whether I should be going harder or not (with my 500m splits I know what I can maintain but with calories I don't and that was the only number I was focused on).  I am really glad that I was on the rower last as my legs really tightened up during this minute and I needed the rest afterward if only to get loose again.

6/7 - loving the bar...

Today's WOD (per usual) looked deceptively easy but I knew that generally the rep schemes of 15-12-9 or in this instance 12-9-6 always look easier than they end up being.  I figured this would hurt given that it was all bar work... at the start I actually was wishing the thrusters were burpees (and who ever actually wishes for burpees?)

WOD:
12-9-6
Power snatch (45/60kg)
OHS
Thruster
 14:15 (33kg)

This was hard.  Fortunately I was working facing Oli and we were almost matched in terms of how we were breaking up the reps and this helped - though I think upon reflection we were actually pushing each other rather than having set reps to get through and were waiting on the other to put the bar down - either way it pushed us both.

The power snatches felt solid and when I was fatiguing at the end I was dropping under them a bit more and that definitely was helping as I didn't have to pull the bar as high.  The OHS were tough - at one point on the round of 9 (I think it might have even been the last rep) I dropped the bar while in the squat position which immediately notified Coach Tim was he was perhaps a little too close to me as he quickly jumped away (sorry Tim!). 

The thrusters just plain old sucked.  Tired legs, tired arms, it was a slog just trying to get through them.  There's really nothing more I can say about these except they were tough.  I did a lot of resting in the rack position which I think at least saved me a bit more time (similar to what I did last week with the front squats). 

I was most definitely right when I thought that this would be deceptively hard.   While I didn't feel too sore in any particular place last night after the WOD I definitely did this morning when I woke up and rolled over - my legs - hamstrings mostly but also my quads were definitely rebelling and the reason I didn't make the noon WOD with the boys - had to save myself up for comp training...

6/6 - three "short" WODs...

I almost skipped today but used it as a make-up for Monday's holiday.  When I saw the board I wished I had but I made it through it...

WOD 1
6 mins – run 100m on the minute, in the remaining time push press (30/45kg)
Score = total number of push presses
55 reps Rx.5

This one was pretty solid.  My 100m sprints were pretty consistent time wise and I didn't kill myself on them so that I could pick up the bar and be solid through the remaining time.  I went right up until the end of the minute to maximize reps and to miss the chaos at the door. By the end my shoulders/biceps were reminding me to not go too hard...


WOD 2
12 mins – Death by push-ups
Add 2 push-ups every minute until you miss the 1 min cut-off, then switch to sit-ups
14

...so I did ring rows on this WOD instead of push-ups - I find it's easier on my shoulders I think because I can change the rotation on the rings versus the ground.  That being said by the time I got to the round of 14 I just stopped.  I had plenty of time to get the reps in but the nagging in my shoulders was a sign that I don't need the high volume just yet.  So... I started on the sit-ups on the round of 16 (with an abmat) and ouch, did I ever feel them.

WOD 3
6 mins – 10 burpees on the minute, in the remaining time deadlift (30/45kg)
Score = total number of deadlifts
50 (40.5kg)


I wasn't actually sure I could do 10 burpees within a minute, especially in the later rounds but I could with about 10-15 seconds to spare and busted out consecutive deadlifts as the weight wasn't too much - good form and quick movements really helped to get through the deadlifts.  I was pretty consistent as well in the last few minutes getting about 7-8 each round after the higher scoring first few minutes.  The burpees definitely got hard though near the end...

6/5...

The WA day WOD was surprisingly good for my aching calves - they hurt less after another 100 box jumps so must have got the blood moving.  Today was a straight forward WOD but fun...

Strength:
3 rep max back squat
30-40-50-60

The last set started to hurt my back and Coach Match mentioned that at the bottom instead of keeping upright my butt is lifting up a bit first and putting that pressure onto my back.  Something to work on.  My legs were still pretty tired so didn't push it beyond 60kg.
WOD:
3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3
Hang cleans (30/45kg)
Double-unders
Cockroaches
9:23 Rx.5

Hanging cleans got tiring but were still pretty solid - by the end I was dropping under a little bit which helped but the reps took a bit longer for me to stand straight up and lock out at the top.  The first 3 rounds of double unders I was really tripping up which isn't usually the case and with such few reps was a little bit frustrating but after that I mostly went unbroken.  The cockroaches were easy to push through just to get them done. 

6/4 - WA Day WOD

Today was another public holiday here and so we only had one workout at the box... I had thought Coach Match was going to program Griffin (he had a conspiring look in his eye when he read through it on friday night) but alas, it was a WOD for Moz... aptly (forevermore) dubbed 'Boss Moz'

'Boss Moz'
800m run

50-100-150-200
pull-ups
KB swings (16/24)
box jumps
double unders
1x 300m run

then finish with
800m run

You can break up the reps however you want as you can assign whichever number for each movement - for instance Tim did 150 pullups whereas I only did 50.

There was a 40 minute time cap (I was half way through the last 800m when time ran out)

I didn't have a real plan going into it however I was without a scoreboard to keep track of my reps so it had to be something straight forward for me to remember what I had done.  It actually worked out quite well... it went as follows:

800m run
25 KB swings (16kg)
300m run
5 rounds
10 pull-ups
20 box jumps
25 KB swings
After the box jumps in rounds 3, 4 and 5 I did DU's - 100, 50, 50
run 800m

Since my calves are still hurting from Friday's box jumps I decided that I'd do 150 KB swings and 100 box jumps which worked well since the sets were manageable.  My KB swings were in sets of 15-10 each round with a quick shake out when I put the KB down.

It was fun sharing the boxes also as I think from talking to others it pushed us all a little bit more - kept you from stopping to rest because you had to quickly get your rep done so that the other person could do theirs even if you wanted to rest instead (especially when you were sharing a box with Coach Match).

The double unders were a little hard with tired shoulders but still managed to keep them in solid sets of about 15-20 reps each time.  The last 800m was slow but I was definitely happy to get all the work done even if I didn't quite make the cut-off.

6/3 - Sunday Park WOD

I've been getting all kinds of extra WODs in lately mostly I think because Tim is so eager to do them as well so having a partner in crime makes it easier to get out of a warm bed on a Sunday morning to meet up at 7:30 - that being said, I have questioned who I am lately - I love sleep, I hate waking up early, I'm lazy and yet I'm the one making plans to meet up early to work out... who am I?  It's fun though...

Park WOD
3 rounds
1 run (around the park for me - boys did the stairs down to the beach, along the beach and back up another set of stairs - my calves were too sore for the beach)
5 wall walks
10 pull-ups
15 sit-ups
20 pistols
24:30 (ish)

The run for me wasn't too all out but still tough - my calves are screaming from the 150ish box jumps that we did on Friday.  The wall walks were exceptionally hard especially with there being only 5 of them - it definitely killed the shoulders.

The pull-ups were scary.  When we were playing around/ warming up I was doing a few pull-ups.  I did one and was kipping into the second one with my legs coming up in front of me when I felt my hands slipping.  It felt like slow motion but there was really nothing I could do at that point except tuck my body in tight and hope to not land too awkwardly.  I landed on one side of my body and crunched my left shoulder a bit but was mostly fine (a little sore today).  Tim laughed at me though - well, first he made sure I was okay and then laughed, and still laughs when the story is retold.  Heh.  I was pretty careful on each round and mostly did the pull-ups in one or two rep sets.

The sit-ups were a well earned break before the struggle of the pistols.  Was good to work on them again though I think 20 seemed like an ambitious number - especially as Mark busted out the jump squats so quickly.

I didn't get my heart rate too high on this one but it was a lot of fun and a definite change up to work on some new skills.  I quite enjoyed it - almost as much as the coffee afterward.

6/1 - Primal Throwdown Training Session #2

Coach Match had indicated that tonight's training would be all about "mind games" and it definitely was.

When we arrived we saw this:

Blurry due to shaking hands

After our warm up we were presented with the following:

Yup, still shaking

We didn't know anything else about the WODs except the pairings and the weights/heights/distance/standards.  I'm registered in the intermediate division so I was using a 30.5kg barbell, doing 3x single unders (would rather do DU's), squat jumps, 24" box jumps (woo-hoo - have been practicing these) and running 250m.

Here's what we did:

This was Tash's scoreboard - I needed a cheat sheet

So clearly that all makes sense right?  Ha!  I just finished doing it and I'm not sure I can remember it all.  Let me try.

We were paired up so one person was working while the other was judging/counting but there was really no rest in between other than switching around/tightening collars/ etc.

Epic WOD
1 min cut-off
8-6-4
thrusters
jump squats
1 min cut-off
250m run
1 min cut-off
7-5-3
pushpress
push up (hand release)
1 min cut-off
run
1 min cut-off
6-4-2
burpees
box jumps
1 min cut-off
3-2-1
OHS
3x single unders
1:30 min cut-off
4-3-2
front squat
snatch
1:30 min cut-off
6-5-4
sit-ups
hang cleans
1 min cut-off
run
2 min cut-off
2 rounds
7 pull-ups
7 cleans
2 min cut-off
6-5-4
clean and press
bar hops (every over is one rep)


Total score = 7 (only completed rounds got a point - bold WODs are the ones I completed)

A little unclear on when specifically we went up to 1:30 cut-off and 2 minute cut-offs, it didn't matter it was all hard.  Initially when we weren't completing the first few WODs (no one finished the first one but there was at least one person who completed each one thereafter) I knew that Coach Match was just f--king with us because it's mentally tough to move on to the next WOD knowing you just put a ton of effort into the previous one and didn't finish it.  It truly does mess with your head and if you don't believe me just try it one day.

I almost quit entirely after the pull-ups/cleans WOD, truly I did.  I did not want to do any more.  My body was tired, my legs were on fire and I wanted it all to be over.  I kept going anyway.  The press portion of the clean and presses were painful on my quads - I needed them to get the bar overhead but they were most definitely on fire.  Ouch.  I was happy though to make it through and believe me, I worked for every point that I got - there was no place to relax on any of these WODs and you might look at them and think that they're all pretty easy (low reps/ short duration) but when you stack them all up - especially when you have only a minute or two rest and sometimes less as all but the last runs were done all at the same time it really starts to add up to a long and evil WOD.

After(partner)WOD
first person runs (250m for Intermediate again)
complete a total of 50 ground to overhead
second person runs
7:17

The other caveat with this WOD was that the person who ran first had to do the first ground to overhead rep and the person running last had to do the last rep, otherwise they could be broken up however you wanted to.

All of my reps were power snatches.  Knowing that my quads were done for the day and that the snatch would be my most efficient movement I kept with it - most of my reps were touch and go again in sets of 5 though I did bust out 8 somewhere in the middle.  It was good.  I do love snatching when I don't have to reach a full squat.  I did 28 reps and felt really good about it.  The olympic lifting has paid off by giving me solid technique so that when I'm working at a lighter weight I can be efficient in the movement and bust out higher reps. 

I'm done now - totally destroyed/tired/achy/exhausted.  Tomorrow will be another rest day.  I do need it along with possibly another ice bath - I'm not sure however that the ocean is cold enough to do the job.  We'll see.  Sunday is another day to meet Tim and others at the park for some more fun WODs - that being said it's Tim's turn to make up the WOD so it might be evil... haha.

Also, ordered a 7kg med ball today since my work gave me a gift certificate to a sports shop as a "leaving" present.  Sweet!  The 6kg balls were back ordered so I got a 7kg which will only make me stronger in the long run - aim to overachieve!  Ha.

6/1 - double day (again!)

Yesterday was a well earned rest day.  My quads aren't so much sore as they're just tired.  I am still trying to work out the best way to get stronger doing more WODs and recovering from those same WODs in less time.  If anyone has the secret let me know.

WOD
4-8-12-16-18-20-18-16-12-8-4
Double unders
Box jumps
Mountain climbers (count each leg as 1)
14:59 (DU's/24" boxjumps)

There was a 15 minute cut-off on this WOD and I snuck in just under the wire - literally just had time to turn my head after finishing the last box jump and see the clock before it turned to 15.  Since we were sharing boxes I started on the mountain climbers which was good but I still managed to catch up to Sharon pretty quickly as I was doing DU's which save a lot more time than I think SU's do.  Sharon was awesome (and trying to slowly work back from a bad knee) and let me go at the box when I needed to which meant that I was able to string a bunch of consecutive jumps together which was awesome - I'm happy that I've been practicing at the higher height and that they're coming together.

The DU's were mostly unbroken as were the mountain climbers - the numbers were such that it would have taken more time to stop and rest than to just push through and get them done.  It was good.  I was happy to finish.

Neil front and center and me (blue shirt background) mid jump - Source

AfterWOD
5 minute AMRAP
5 burpees
10 squat jumps
shuttle run
6

My legs rebelled on this one.  I can't believe that the burpees were the rest for me on this.  Quads on fire during the squat jumps which then made the transition into the run very difficult.  Coach Match also hid the clock on us on this one and we didn't get to count reps but only completed rounds so it was also a bit of a mental game pushing through more reps without knowing how much time remained.  Definitely a good (challenging) change up.

Afterwards Tim was nice enough to let me stand in his ice cold pool while Sharon laughed at us both for being so crazy.  It was freezing but good, my legs are still fatigued but definitely didn't feel as bad as they would have otherwise.  I see the benefits of ice baths for sure.  I'll take ten minutes or so of cold over dead muscles any day - if only I had a bathtub/pool.

We did another Friday night competition training session and it was a lot - I'm going to put that in a separate post.  It requires it.

5/30 - double workout day...

Even after the three day pains from "Abmat Annie" I managed to convince Tim to do a WOD in the park with me this morning (he's not that hard to convince, he's a training machine these days).  This time I got to make up the WOD and it was a long one.  He typically prefers the shorter, intense WODs but I haven't done a good chipper in a while and so it went...

Morning Partner WOD

tower climb to start and between each round (each person does 1 at the same time)
reps must be equally split between partners but broken down however you want
20 HSPU's
40 pistols
60 burpees
80 sit-ups
100 squats
80 sit-ups
60 burpees
40 pistols
20 HSPU's
33:29

There is a rope climbing structure in the park here in Freo that was our "tower climb".  It's funny because throughout the WOD we did 10 of them and while they physically weren't that hard I still found it a bit confusing to work through the ropes to the top - there was never one set path that emerged each time.  Fun though - quite a change up.

We worked well together and it was a lot of fun - we both climbed the tower at the same time but otherwise alternated working on the different movements.  The HSPU's (against a tree) were broken into sets of 5 each (I didn't quite get full movement but Tim rocked them).  The pistols were in sets of 10 each and by the second round I was getting much better on them (even without lifting shoes).  They started to feel really good and for most reps I was getting full depth.

The burpees sucked - I hated myself for programming them in but as they say - you have to work on weaknesses/ skills you strongly dislike.  The first time we did alternating sets of 10 and on the way down I was trying to convince Tim to do sets of 5 each (he went first) but instead of doing 5 or as I then thought 10, he did 15!!!  Evil... so we ended up doing two sets each of 15 reps.  It's my own fault really I guess.  Ugh.  At least it wasn't a 7 minute AMRAP... could always be worse!

The situps were broken into two sets of 20 and weren't too bad (we've had abmat practice!).  The squats were my downfall.  Serious pain - my quads were screaming and the following tower climb was a challenge (I think it's the one that I did a bit of 'butt' climbing).  Not sure how I'm going to survive the next WOD tonight (leaving shortly) as I know there are front squats (21-15-9 front squats/burpees/pull-ups... uh-oh).

It was a fun morning WOD followed by coffees and good conversation first with Tim and Jess and then with another crossfit (and mining industry) friend Melanie.  Perfect day... um, ya, if only someone would just hand me a job.  Ooops, need to get on that!

Evening WOD
21-15-9
front squats (30kg)
burpees
pull-ups
13:59 Rx

This hurt.  That's about all I can really say.  Though the front squats were "light" my quads were still screaming.  I broke up all the sets - 11-10, 10-5 and 5-4 - though on the last set and in the 10 reps on the second round I rested in the rack position which was pretty good.  I'd take a few deep breathes before squatting again.  I kept steady on the burpees - just moving through and I thought of Tim on the round of 15 - I pictured him waiting for me to finish so he could do another set of 15 like it was for the morning WOD and that pushed me harder (it's true, half of crossfit is a mental game for sure).  The pull-ups were mostly on my fingertips so that I didn't rip my hands and I think this put more of the strength aspect into my biceps.  I still only do 1 or 2 reps at a time but I'll get more eventually.

Rest day Thursday... yippee!!!  It's been well earned.

Front Squats in the background - Source