CrossFit Midwest Regional Review WOD 1

I wanted to write down some of my thoughts surrounding each work-out of this past weekend. Overall going into it I was certainly a bit nervous and anxious but definitely not anything compared to how I've felt in the past with running races. When it came time for the work-outs I felt fairly cool and collected and just went in with a "well, let's see what I've got" mindset.

Saturday May 16, 2009 WOD 1(9:00am):

21-15-9
185lb Deadlift

chest-to-bar pull-ups

Time 11:22

Thoughts: First, I found it interesting that almost exactly a year ago (May 14, 08) my 1 rep record for the deadlift was 185lbs. Thus, there is NO way that I would have completed this workout within the 15 minute time limit. My husband Corey joked that I would have been on my first set of 21 deadlifts within that time period and he's probably right. I was hoping to finish a bit faster, but I think I paced myself well. Both ladies in front and behind me pulled the first 21 deadlifts consecutively and went straight to the pull-up bar. THAT in and of itself was a bit intimidating. I will completely admit that I felt like I was going to be the last one done with that workout and had the fight the devil on my left shoulder questioning me why I thought I belonged in this kind of competition. While Sarah Dunsmore (winner of the Regional) was the lady right behind me, the girl in front of me did exactly what I was afraid of and burnt herself out on that first set of 21 to the point that I'm not sure she made it within 15 minutes. Those heavy deads were well, HEAVY!

The plan Corey and I had was to pull until I started to slow. At that point rest. Put the bar down, take a few steps away and come right back. The idea was to not completely wipe myself out trying to muscle out too many and not be able to do any in the rounds of 15 and 9. It really worked well for me. I pulled 5, rested and then started pulling in sets of 2 and 3. During the 15s and 9s I continued that 2-3 with an occasional single.

The pull-ups were my strong suit, and I made up some ground on people there for sure. It is evident that many do not do chest to bar pullups on a regular basis. Every since they required chest to bar at the Games last year that's literally all I've done. At first it was really hard and now it's no big deal. I make all my clients strive for chest to bar as well. Sometimes I know they hate me for it, but it will get them more prepared for the muscle-up as well.

After those 21 pull-ups I came off the bar and saw from my judge's clock we were at 5 minutes so I felt far more confident from then on out. Just move through and finish with something left over for the other work-outs to come. This sweet lady named Heather was my judge for this first workout. I dont' remember much after that first round except for her encouragement and positive voice. It made a big difference as I was in the back corner and couldn't really hear Corey or Laura too often. Although I particularly remember making eye contact during some of my rest periods during that first set of 21. I recall thinking, "Help me, here." haha

12 ladies finished this first work-out. I had the 10th fastest time. They take 10 to the finals on Sunday so I was where I needed to be at this point to get into the finals.

Tuesday May 12, 2009 Sleep: 5.5hrs, 20 min nap

Deadhang Pull-ups (7,5)

Strength/Skill work:Thrusters 5x 75, 88, 2x98, 1x103, 1x111, 116F

Just some light weight sets to feel a bit of a load without wearing me down.

WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:

~200m run (longer than shorter but probably pretty accurate. Uphill out, downhill back)

10 single arm dumbbell push-press

5 chest-to-bar pull-ups

7 rounds + ~120m run

Time to focus on getting some stinkin' sleep. Wednesday and Thursday either my dogs will not be spoiled and get their afternoon trip to the park or my husband will do it solo so I can get some more sleep. The work-outs are said to be posted tomorrow (today wednesday the 13th). C'mon Rogue update your page! Curious competitors are anxious to know the tasks that lie ahead.

Weekend Zzzs & another Snatch PR

Saturday May 9, 2009 Sleep: 9 glorious hours

Did the warm-up with the class which included 9 consecutive deadhang movements.

Played around with a little tumbling but other than that rest, rest, rest.

Sunday May 10, 2009 Sleep: 8hrs

Active Rest Day with a two hour hike (see pics) with friends who were in town from NY. The hike wasn't challenging but I was exhausted before we started. Goal of the week...lots o' sleep

No pull-ups it seems I am a day ahead anyhow.

Monday May 11, 2009 Sleep: 7.5hrs no nap

Hitting a bunch of drills to include double and single leg broad jumps as well as some bounding today to demo the warm-up for 3 classes.

10 (6,4) pull-ups in a.m. and a couple sets of 10-15 push-ups and squats

Strength/skill work: 8pm

Snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

45lbs, 65, 75, 79, 84F, 84F, 84F, 82.5F(used the 15kg bar with 10kg bumpers and 2 1/4lb plates), 82.5F, 82.5!! PR(Laura even caught it on video below.), 84F, 84F enough.

Although it may appear that this session would be quite frustrating recording all those failed attempts, but they were solid attempts. I kept getting it over head but unable to stand up with it. Until FINALLY I did. When I did these a week ago Sunday I couldn't even get 84 to my eyes (mostly because I'm a headcase and knew how much was on the bar). Now, I'm close to standing up with 84. Triple digits in the snatch before the year is out! It was a solid session. I was mentally in a MUCH better place than last week.

The Jerk

For those times when water fails you rest assured there is now a "Dry Mouth Spray" on the market. Experience "Instant Moisture". Oh, the things they feel the need for in our society.

(Yes, I actually saw this in an Asheville grocery store and just so happened to have my camera in my purse.)

Friday May 8, 2009 Sleep: 6hrs, no nap. Really dropped the ball with my efforts to get more sleep this week. There has been a lot going on and I have a presentation to give this coming Tuesday for this business class I'm taking. I don't feel horrible, but keeping my training as smart as possible. Next week I KNOW I need to squeeze in some extra sleep.

Warm-up

Line drills with "quick feet" work

12 overhead squats with PVC and push-ups

26 deadhang pull-ups to meet my "buy-in" for Matt's Pull-up Challenge

Mobility work for hips and shoulders

Strength/skill work:

Push Jerk 5x44lbs, 65lbs, 75lbs, 88lbs, 98lbs, 104lbs x 4, 104lbs x 5, 110lbs x4 F on 5th

It was stupid that I didn't get the 5th on that last one. Lack of focus. I was going to re-do it but I started using the back rack position today in prep for the regionals next week. I saw this done in a video of another regional where they had to do multiple overhead lifts. It is easier to avoid the temptation to put the bar down while holding in the back rack position (so as if you were about to back squat) than the more traditional front rack. However, the re-rack between reps can be punishing when I don't get the my scapulas "back and down" fast enough in order to best absorb that weight on my traps. So, while it is easier in some regards it is more challenging in others.

Moving a bigger bell...

Wednesday May 6, 2009: Sleep 7hrs, no nap

CFE Row: 2pm

3 rounds of

5 seconds on 10 seconds off,

20 seconds on, 10 seconds off,

10 seconds on, 10 seconds off,

30 seconds on, 10 seconds off,

25 seconds on, 10 seconds off,

15 seconds on, 10 seconds off
This is the version I did which is slightly different from the version written on the site, but still works for the same amount of time per round.

Distances after each round were

1) 538m

2) 1075m (537m)

3) 1617m (542m)

Strength/Skill Work (6:30pm)
Overhead Squat: 5x45, 75, 85 and 4x95 failed on 5 moved onto DL

Deadlift 5x132, 3x176, 1x196, 206, 220, 230F, 230F

It's been quite awhile since I pulled over 200 for anything (months actually) so I wanted to at least match my PR. It may be 225 I'm not sure to be honest and wasn't writing down back in Jan when I hit it. Until I do it again, 220 it is.

WOD: 3 rounds of 1 minute max burpees immediately followed by 30 kettlebell swings (45lbs) 30 sit-ups. The next round starts at the start of the 4th minute. So, the 2nd starts at 8 minutes. The last round in completed for overall time.

Burpees: 23/19/16 Overall time 19:23This was the first time I have used the 45lb KB. It felt good. I did 20 straight the last two rounds. I could definitely swing the 53lb or whatever the 1.5 pood is if I needed to.

Thursday May 7, 2009: Sleep 6hrs, closed my eyes for a 10 minute nap. Man, I didn't want to get up.

WOD

3 rounds of
50 double unders

10 handstand push-ups

8:42

Those double unders kill me. However, I can do upwards of 10-15 at a time. Two weeks ago I couldn't do 3. All in time, all in time. At least my fear of them coming up at regionals has forced me to work on them. Oh, how it is easy to focus on our strengths.

10 minutes in time

The above picture is centered one my main work-out partners, Laura. She will be coming to the regionals with me as support and next year we are going to get her to the regionals working towards her own spot at the 2010 Games!! She is motivating and supportive. I love working with her everyday.

Monday May 4, 2009 Sleep: 7hrs, no nap
Unplanned rest day. Didn't get the workout in before my evening class and by the time that was over around 7:45 I was done. I tried a few front squats around 85lbs and called it a day. Honestly, I was content with it too. I mean obviously I'd like to get in a workout but I'd much rather listen to my body at this point.

Tuesday May 5, 2009 Sleep: 9 straight hrs! This felt great, but it was one of the fastest 9 hours of sleep I've had. I definitely could have slept close to 12 if time allowed.

Strength/skill sets: Thruster-jerks 5x 75lbs, 88lbs, 95lbs, 100lbs, 105lbs
This is a new movement for me that I wanted to give a try. Some of the regionals recently have had full squat clean to overhead anyway you can get it. So, thruster is faster at getting the bar overhead push it overhead straight out of the squat rather than standing with it, resetting the feet and redipping to put it overhead. However, the jerk (when you use the legs to accelerate the wght overhead and then catch with bent legs or on the re-dip) saves energy over catching it in a fully extended thruster. Any non-crossfitters here are probably more than lost. But I've never done it and wanted to practice the technique. It felt good and I enjoyed it. I could have gone heavier, but it was the weight with which I was doing my work-out so I decided to just get started with it.

WOD: Max reps in 10 minutes of muscle-ups and power cleans at 105lbs. Must complete at least 10 of each.
I did muscle-ups first and then went back and forth as the numbers show...

3 2 2 2 2 1 Total Muscle-ups 12

5 5 5 5 10 19 Total Power cleans 49

Total reps: 61

I just found out that Candace Hamilton (pictured below) of CrossFit Oakland was the winner of this work-out at the NorCal Regional this past weekend with 101 reps! Incredible!

Mental Set-back then Snatch PR

Saturday May 2, 2009: Sleep 7.5hrs, 3.5hr nap

As I believe I've mentioned in earlier posts I had told myself that I wasn't going to go to the CF regionals this year as my life can be quite hectic between my husband and I in our first 6 months of business for two separate businesses. However, here I talked about the change of events which now has me competing in the regionals. When I signed up I knew I was going to show up and compete but more than anything I wanted to just keep my training focused yet relaxed and go have fun. Well, Saturday I had a bit of a set back.

You see, I have a history of being quite a headcase regarding training and competing. I was a collegiate distance runner for Kent State University from 2000-2004 and ended up quitting the team with eligibility left in cross-country and track for 2005. You can read more about my youth athletic experience here but mostly I was by no means ever tagged as a "natural talent" growing up and through much of high school. However, by my senior year I had trained consistently enough that I was winning races and earned a college scholarship.
Long story short I became wrapped up in the idea that "more is better" for training and spent much of my collegiate career battling injuries and left in the pool or riding the elliptical machine like a maniac. When I was healthy enough to race I would get myself so worked up that I had to prove myself that by the end of it all would run faster in practice than competitions and completely break down pretty much having anxiety attacks and screaming negative things about myself out loud in the middle of 5 and 10k track races. I was an embarrassment not only to myself but most importantly to my team. Thankfully I do have some positive memories from those times, but in the end my perspective was completely warped and I didn't know what else to do but walk away. I spent my last 3 semesters of college living the more "typical college life" and while I've completed a marathon, half-ironman and some dinky road races since I haven't taken part in any "serious" competition since; particularly not any at which I had a shot to do well.

Recently some of the compulsiveness started to sneak back in. As you may have read my training has been fairly lax over the past few months and yet I continue to improve week after week. (Oh, the beauty of CrossFit training.) However, especially since I'm trying to focus my training towards skills I have only recently started doing consistently (muscle-ups and double-unders) as well as adding in some heavier stuff since a distance running background doesn't exactly prepare you for heavy anything, the majority of my workouts are done on my own. On days that you've been up since 4:45am and coached at 6,7,8, and 9am, stayed through 1pm for open gym and back in the evening for more classes talking yourself up to train can sometimes be a challenge. I love CrossFit and I love to train, but I am human and sometimes lack personal motivation. When this happens I tend to get frustrated at myself and it can be a downward spiral.

Saturday after putting on the morning workout I wasn't feeling up to working out myself so I told my husband Corey that we'd come back later. Well, I went home and slept for nearly 4 hours that afternoon. When I woke up I cleaned the apt and kept fighting to find motivation to get back in the gym. I never did. Instead, I completely melted down and took much of my personal frustration out on Corey. I yelled at him for not being more supportive and motivating me when I feel lazy. (He is MORE than supportive of all I do and was unable to read my mind to know my lack of motivation, as I expected of him. I'm sure other significant others out there are nodding their heads at this point.) I also got mad at him for not giving me more guidance with my training even though, 1) Again, I never asked and 2) I have been doing my own programming as well as the gym's for quite awhile now.
In the end, we had a good discussion and I got a lot off my chest that I had been internalizing. I never did workout, but I went in Sunday with a much fresher perspective. It's now Wednesday that I'm catching up on this and I can say that I've been in a much better place since.

Sunday May 3, 2009: Sleep 8.5hrs
Strength/Skill Work: Snatch Didn't keep exact track of weight/reps at each but started at 45 and worked up to 79lbs. This is a 4lbs PR. I hit this weight 3-5 times. Then went up to 84lbs. I had about 5 misses here. I'm a head case. I snatched 79lbs easy every time, but I couldn't get my head wrapped around the 84lbs to put it overhead. Next time...

WOD:
5 rounds of
185lbs deadlift, 3 reps
20 double unders
5:39

Felt solid. Need to hit some heavy deads this week.


One of the blogs I follow, Rizzzzo's World, had a pretty cool post about athletes having a good support system. I can't emphasize enough how supportive my husband, co-owners and clients of CrossFit Asheville oh and my old trainees back in NY. (I haven't forgotten about y'all and miss you much!) Even though my family doesn't really understand this whole CrossFit thing they are great. My mom and sister are both coming to the regionals so they will get a true taste of all the CF madness. I can't wait to hear what they have to say about it all. haha Looking forward to it and thank you to all!