Crossfit Games 2012 WOD 12.5

I'm going to write this blog as though I'm not almost a week behind!

After doing 12.4 I was so ready for my vacation, but since I wasn't leaving for it until Monday, I decided to get one last WOD in on Saturday.  It was a partner WOD and it was pretty fun!

10 Minute AMRAP
200M Dumbbell Carry
1 partner does DB Carry & 1 partner does Max Reps Barbell PP

then:

10 Minute AMRAP
20 Box Jumps
1 partner does BJ's & 1 partner does Max Abmats

Not sure what the scores were, but I know Joanne and I kicked some ass! 

After the WOD I hung around for a little bit to watch some competitors go, but I knew I couldn't stay too long because I had to run last minute errands before vacation. 


VACATION:

I had gone away with the hopes that I would do some working out, but it didn't happen.  I slept late, I sat by the pool or on the beach and read, and walked around the hotel. 

I didn't run, I didn't burpee, I didn't WOD, and I didn't feel bad about it either.  I took the vacation for what it was, a vacation.  I'm going to leave it at that. 


I got back into PA on Friday night, which was nice having the weekend to get settled and organized for the week, and Saturday I knew I had to do teh 12.5 to finish out the Opens. 

When I found out what the WOD was, I was really disappointment.  3 Thrusters, 3 Chest to Bar pull ups, 6 thrusters, 6 chest to bar pull ups and so on AMRAP in 7 minutes.  The problem?  I couldn't do the Chest to Bar pull ups so I knew my score was going to be 3. 

After a while of thinking about it, I was ok with that.  The Opens has to weed out the beginners somehow and this was a perfect way to do so.  Even though I knew I was going to do 3 Thrusters and attempt a C2B for 6 minutes, I showed up and I tried and tried and tried. 

I have to celebrate the fact that I did all 5 WODs the best to my ability and now I have a great report card to compare to next year.  I've also learned a TON about myself over the last 5 weeks and I know what I need to focus on to keep improving.

I'm so proud of all the competitors that did so well and hat's off to all that qualified and made the team!  GO 610!!!!  Below are my final standings:

Crossfit Games 2012 WOD 12.4

Before leaving for vacation I knew that I had to complete the Crossfit Games 2012 WOD 12.4, which I early waiting for them to announce.  Then when they finally did, I became the most popular topic on twitter and facebook:


The WOD:


12 Minute AMRAP of
Karen (150 Wall Balls) 14lbs
90 Double Unders
30 Muscles Ups




My first thoughts: I knew I couldn't do a Muscle up so the best possible score I could get was 240, but that was a lofty goal.  


I looked back to my "Karen" time and I had done in a few months back, in 10 minutes with a 10lb wall ball.  So I knew that adding the 4 extra lbs was going to take me a little longer, but training since then should make that weight not very noticeable, so I decided GETTING to the double unders was my goal.  Even if I only got one.


Obviously I had been in a funk (see my last post) but after work, I went to Crossfit and I did 12.4 with as much effort as I could. 


I started off really well, I was breaking the wall balls into sets first 15s, another 15, then 10s and then 5s until I FINALLY got to 150.  With only seconds left I got 1 double under and I was done.  


I laid on the floor trying to catch my breath and I couldn't help but feel defeated.  I know I at least got to the DU's but my endurance has taken a beating.  I couldn't help but tear up and I was just really really sad.  


Luckily a fellow Crossfitter that is a HUGE supporter and inspiration (Courtney) was able to talk me out of my tears and helped me feel a little better.  We looked past how I did compared to others (which isn't always the easiest thing to do) and congratulated me for increasing my wall ball weight to 14lbs and sticking with it.  


It's really easy to look forward to what you WANT but its really hard to look back at what you've achieved.   




WOD:
12 minute AMRAP
Karen
90 DU
30 MU


Score:  151 reps

Losing Momentum

Losing Momentum is a super scary thing, and I have a terrible feeling that's exactly whats happening to me right now. 

I started having issues with my running last week (mile 2 I'd develop a cramp and wouldn't be able to walk it out) and since then, I haven't gotten in my miles to keep me on tract for the half at the end of April.  This has been a very difficult pill for me to swallow, and the thought of not being able to run the THIRD half that I've signed up for, would be a huge failure to me. 

Even though I wasn't running, I was going to Crossfit and getting my WODs in.  Some I'd do great in, and some would leave me upset and pissed, which is part of the deal but it's really been getting me.  And for the first time in months, I took 2 rest days in a row. 

Then I have the Burpee Challenge, which was simply a mistake.  I'm over 200 Burpees behind and the longer I wait to catch up, the harder it's going to be. 


WHERE TO GO FROM HERE?


I'm going to take a deep breath, calm down, and just relax.  This is the first time since I've started Crossfit that I've felt like this and that is ok.  I'm only human and I'm doing the best I can.  I'm going to be on vacation from work next week so I can focus on getting in miles and doing at home WODs while vacationing.  When I come back, hopefully nice and rested, my attitude and spirits will hopefully refreshed. 

I'll be back in time to complete the 5th and final Opens WOD and I can celebrate completing my very first Crossfit Games Competition, regardless of my placing. 

With all the extra time on vacation, I'll divide out my past due Burpees and come home with a clean slate.  Problems Solved. 

Losing Momentum is an easy option, but one you gain it back and keep it going, its a non issue. 


Thank you everybody for all your support, it means the world to me! 


Saturday:
As a Team of 2
200 Slam Balls
While 1 person works, the other does DU
sub 10

Sunday: Attempted Run

Monday:
WOD
20 Burpees
30 Squat Cleans
20 Burpees
sub 10

Tuesday:
WOD
25 minute AMRAP
50 Ground to Over Head
75 HRPU
100 Air Squats
125 Cal Row
1+30

Wed & Thurs: REST

Crossfit Games 2012 WOD 12.3

After 12.3 was announced, I realized we were getting into the "meat" of the WODs.  The first two WODs were 1 movement WODS, one testing endurance and one testing strength.  12.3 was combining those two skills.

18 Minutes AMRAP

15 Box Jumpes (20in)

12 Push Press (75lbs)

9 Toes 2 Bar

First thought: YES, I can do this RX'ed!!

The good news (at the very least) was that I can do all of the above movements without having to scale.  Which gets me on the board.  I was thanking the Crossfit WOD Gods.  Then I really looked at the WOD and was cursing them in my next breath. 

18 minutes of work is no joke.  

I decided to take a rest day on Thursday to prepare my body for 12.3.  I also wanted to get the WOD in early, so I was going to be doing it at 6am (btw this is the 2nd WOD I've done for the games at 6am).  Reformed Fatty (aka my amazing husband) said he would come with me to spectate and keep an eye on me if I needed cheering on.  He also took some amazing pictures!

With my stomach in knots I partnered up with Kate and some how I convinced her to go first.  She is a beast!  She did so well, I was so proud of her.  She kept a great pace, hardly rested, and kept pushing through the rounds.  I was so proud of her!

Then it was my turn.  Got through the box jumps no prob and then when I started the push press' I mentally got nervous.  They were heavier than I expected and had to break them up into 6 and 6.  Onto the t2b.  I attemped and fail.  Attmpted and failed again, and shit now I was worried.  I called over Dennis and he talked me right back into the WOD.  BOOM!  I strung 9 together!

I finished the workout with a score of 4+11, which was pretty lame, but it was the best I could do at that moment.  I had the chance to redo the WOD on Saturday, but I chose not to.  So far I have not redone any of the Games WODs.  

I did watch lots of people do the WOD Saturday and the energy is completely out of this world.  People are working, cheering, and pushing each other and themselves to whole new levels.  It's an amazing atmosphere!  

So now that 12.3 is in the past, I sit here in suspense to see what 12.4 holds!

Thursday:

Rest Day

Friday:

12.3 WOD

15 BJ (20)

12 Push Press (12)

9 T2B

4+11

Box Jump Burpees = Busted Shin

I cannot believe I've been Crossfitting for almost a year now!  March is my 11th month, and I can't imagine life without it.  With that said, yesterday I hit a milestone.  I finally missed a box jump and busted my shin. 

The fear of the box jump is something that I've heard about many times.  I've heard horror stories of people missing the box, busting their shins and having to get stitches.  It would happen pretty often, but never to me, and I've seen some nasty falls! 

Well yesterday that all changed.

The WOD was a 5 minute AMRAP of 5 burpee box jumps and 10 sit ups.  Now burpee box jumps is a rarer form of box jumps, but I was familiar with both the moves, all I had to do was combined them.  I would drop down to push up and when I came up, instead of jumping with an overhead clap, I would jump onto a box. 

No problem.

The 2nd, I kid you not, the 2nd burpee box jump, my right leg didn't make it up and boom, right into the corner of the box.  No pain right away, so I figured I was ok, and then it started to throb.  I was wearing long pants so I couldn't see if I had really done any damage, so I decided to pause and see what it looked like. 

1 Day After

Basically it was already bruising, some ripped skin and a tiny bit of blood.  The main concern was figuring out if it was deep enough, but compared to other wounds that I've seen, this was just a scratch. 

I finished the WOD and only suffered slight throbbing for the rest of the night.  I know that when some people stumble on Box Jumps, they have a hard time doing them again knowing what damage they can do, but I'll have no problem getting back on the box.  I'm just surprised it took this long for me to get bit by the box. 


Tuesday:

4 mile run

Wednesday:

Strength
3 Rep Max Dead lift = 170lbs

WOD
5 Minutes AMRAP
5 Burpee Box Jumps
10 Air Mat Sit Ups

5 minute rest

Repeat

Round 1: 4+13
Round 2: 5 + 1

Stepping Out of my Crossfit Box

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been taking "fitness" classes at another gym.  Don't get too worried folks, it was a 5 class groupon to a company that is run out of the Lehigh Valley Sports Academy called Sweat Like a Girl.  They teach nontraditional fitness classes like, Pole Dancing, Chairfit, Piloxing, and Yogalicious. 

Before I get into any of this, I'd like to make a few points.  I, in no way, consider myself a girlie girl but I am not a tom boy either.  I'd like say that I'm right smack in the middle of these labels.  I can be girlie if I wanted to (2011 was the year I finally tried make up!) but I'm not afraid to get gross and sweaty (I've done a couple triathlons and jumped out of a plane). 

After 9 months of Crossfiting in what I would consider a "Tom Boy Gym" (blaring heavy metal music, the cold dark colors of metal, no frill decorations, and bloody, sweaty man tanks walking around), I was curious how it would be going to this different type of gym.

The classroom looks like Barbie's dream house on crack.  So.Much.Pink. 

EVERYTHING was pink, and there were balloons, and boas, a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge mirror on the wall, and six strategically placed poles in the room.  It was almost too much to handle.  But being an open person, I kept an open mind.  I did the same for crossfit when I first started and I still remember thinking that Trainer Mike and Molly looked scary and the equipment looked so cold and uninviting. 

Then class starts.  The teacher keeps yelling out words like, fabulous, gorgeous, shake your bootie, and swing those hips.  And then she kept making cooter jokes.  (which I guess would be equivalent to our Snatch jokes).  But good lord was this overwhelming!

I went from "Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable"

To "Absolutely Fabulous"

I must admit that I got a decent Cardio workout in the different types of classes that I tried, but nothing like Crossfit.  Even though the classes were fun and slightly aerobic, they will not be my main source of fitness, and I now have a whole new physical respect for strippers!

It's fun to try new things and keep an open mind, sometimes you hit big (Crossfit) and sometimes you just have something to laugh about with your friends.  


Monday:

Lower Back Squats 7 x 3

3 Pull Ups & AMRAP Cleans @ 65lbs on the minute for 10 minutes

Lowest Score = 4 

My 10 Miler Race Day

Race day started out like most of my normal race day.  I was nervous and not excited about the long run, and the bad weather was not helping any of this.  It was raining pretty hard at 8:30am (Race started at 9am) and while waiting in the car, I started crying and told Dennis I didn't think I was going to run because of the rain.  Dennis said that if the rain was the ONLY reason I didn't want to run, he supported me, but he also reminded me about how I shouldn't make excuses.  And then magically, at 8:50, the rain let up and I was ready to start.  

but I don't wanna runnnn!

It was pretty cold out but after the 3rd mile I was nice and warm.  The course had already proven to be pretty challenging, with some crazy hills, one considered a "Mega Hill", and only on some of the hills I allowed myself to walk.     But when I walked, I walked fast, and ran as soon as I could.  The nice thing about this course was that there was plenty of time between hills to recover, unlike the Superbowl 10k.  

For me, the race didn't start until mile 7 when I started to feel challenged.  Miles 1 - 6 I zoned out and just basically kept running with no really problems.  The last 3 miles I started breaking down mentally and somewhat physically.  

Dennis was kind enough to figure out spots where he could cheer me on, which helped, but at one point he was driving along side me while I was running assuring me it was much easier driving rather than running.  I so not very kindly gave him the finger and told him to get out of my sight.  hahahaha. 

The last hundred feet or so was uphill (of course right?) and there was no way I was going to walk any more.  When I turned the corner and crossed the finish line, I couldn't believe my eyes.  I finished in 1 hour, 37 minutes, and 45 seconds, a HUGE PR!!!  

Comparing this course to the Broad Street run just isn't fair.  Even though they are the same distance, the two courses are completely different. The Broad Street run that I did almost a year ago is completely flat and took me almost 2 hours to run.  This race was insanely hilly and I still beat my old time by more than 20 minutes.  That is impressive!  

I already knew the importance of training, but this goes to show that if you are true to your training, put the work in, and really commit, you will see results.  Crossfit was my "Cross Training / Strength" and I know it played a huge factor into my success.   

I know that I should be very proud of myself, but the fact that I had to walk a little bit of the race bothers me.  I need to figure out how to run hills better somehow.  The good news is that my running pace obviously makes up for any short distances of walking that I do.  

After the race, I decided to go out in Philly with my sister-in-law which I was a little apprehensive about.  Usually after races, especially challenging ones, I'm useless the rest of the day, but I was completely fine.  We had a really fun time and I was able to keep up with everybody!  

Saturday:

10 Mile Race

01:37:45

Sunday:

Rest

Crossfit Games 2012 WOD 12.2

With my competitors cherry popped last week with 12.1, it was time to do the 12.2 WOD last night, and I was slightly LESS nervous than last week, simply because I already had one under my belt. 

I literally spent all day yesterday trying to come up with a goal, but for some reason I couldn't decide.  I didn't want to say 61 and then only be able to do 40, but I didn't want to say 40 and blow past it.  So I basically didn't decide on a goal.  Fine, no big deal.

We got to the gym and there was a bar set up for 75lbs, so I figured I'd do a couple test Snatches.  75lbs is the 2nd round of 30 in the WOD and I knew that I had done a previous Snatch WOD with a weight of 70lbs.  I tried to Snatch, and I failed.  Talk about an ego blow.  Granted I wasn't warmed up, but still, 75lbs was heavier than I had expected and I suddenly became very afraid of the WOD. 

3....2....1....GO!

I was able to easily Snatch the 45lb bar.  I would do 10 reps, shake it out for about 3 seconds, 10 reps, shake it out, 10 reps, shake it out and then prep the bar for the next set of 30 @ 75lbs.  I was done with my 1st 30 reps in about 2.5 minutes. 

Now the hard part.

 I was able to get 21 good reps in before my time expired, but I think that I had at least 5 failing reps.  I really wish that I could have gotten to 60 total (rather than 51 reps) and that was the moment when I knew I would be repeating the WOD on Sunday. 

Dennis and Courtney were watching/judging me and they were awesome!  Both of them kept yelling/encouraging me to keep moving or to shake it out, or whatever it was that they thought I needed to hear. 

All and all I need to be happy that I got 21 reps of the 75lbs Snatch but deep down I'm still disappointed I couldn't finish up the round.  My shoulders are quite sore this morning, but hopefully they will be recovered for Sunday's redo. 

WOD:

10 Minute AMRAP

30 Snatches @ 45lbs

30 Snatches @ 75lbs

30 Snatches @ 100lbs

As Many Snatches @ 125lbs

Score = 51

Happy March!

Happy March everybody!  For those of you who haven't been counting down to my vacation, here is a nice little reminder!

 

I have 17 days until my week long vacation in the Bahamas and just this past weekend I pulled out of my tub of summer clothes.

I was giddy with joy.

Things were fitting me nicely and I have never been in more love with my arms/upper body than I am now.  It's amazing what a 9 month investment in your body can do.  For those of you who haven't started, start now, so in 12 weeks you can feel as amazing as I do. 

Last night Crossfit Games released the 2nd Open's WOD and I sometimes think I have no emotions whatsoever.  The WOD is:

in 10 minutes get AMRAP of:

30 Snatches 45lbs

30 Snatches 75lbs

30 Snatches 100lbs

As many reps @ 120lbs

And I honestly had no emotional reaction.  I've done Isabella (30 Snatches for time) at 75lbs in 4:45 minutes so I'm quite confident I will be able to get through the first 60 reps if time allows.  But then again, I'm not 100% sure.  I can't settle on a goal, and I guess I'm just pretty "blah" about this one.  I plan on doing this tonight at the 7pm class, so I will make sure to keep you updated!

This Saturday is my 10 mile road race, and its been the furthest thing on my mind this week.  I had an unusual week, which put a major hiccup in my routine, but I did my best to stay on track as far as exercising went.  If all goes to plan for tonight and tomorrow, I will have only missed 2 workouts in this months training program, which again, is a huge success for me.  (I usually quit my training programs).  I hope to beat 2 hours in the race on Saturday which is my current 10 miler race time. 

Monday:

Strength

5 x 2 Lower Back Squats

5 x 2 Shoulder Press

WOD

5 Rounds w/20 minute time cap

400 meter run

25 DU

15 HSPU

4+435

Tuesday:

3 Mile Run

Wednesday:

Forced Rest Day