Crossfit Games 2013 WOD 13.4

 

 

A Facebook Status that started out as a joke:

 

Tomorrow is my Wedding Anniversary and we have no plans. Maybe we should do the 13.4 head to head after it is announced?!?

 

Turned into one of the most memorable Crossfit Open WODs & Anniversary Celebration thus far.

 

I half jokingly posted that status on my Digital Mustard's Facebook page and the responses were nothing short of amusing.  People were voicing if they were on Team "Dennis" or Team "Karen" and saying that they would come to the box just to see such an event.  Before I knew it, our Trainers at the Box were more than happy to make the event happen, complete with cupcakes for smashing and champaign for a toast:  O'Donnell vs O'Donnell

 

The only thing I could now hope for was a WOD that we were both able to do. 

 

and then this happend:

 

 

Both Clean & Jerks at that weight and Toes to Bar were things I was able to do, and not only that, I was quite comfortable with the weight.  With only a little time before the announcement of the WOD and me doing the WOD, my mind wrapped around what I thought I could do.

I knew I was going to struggle on the Toes to Bar and 95lbs was doable, but certainly not "light" for me.  I decided that making it through the 6's was a challenging, yet reachable goal. 

After a fun little photo session, Dennis and I were ready to go.  The first round, the C&J's were not a problem at all.  If I had to do the T2B one at a time, that was how I was going to do them, but I surprised myself and banged out 3 in a row, completing the first round in under 30 seconds.  Amazing pace!

Then the weight of the bar settled in.  It was heavy.  I struggled, but I got them done, stringing them together as best as possible.  Then back to the T2B.  Got 1, got 2, then it was "no rep" city.  I must have gotten no repped 4 or so times before I could get in a good rep.  I finally finished out the T2B, looked at the clock and thought, holy shit we are already 5 minutes into a 7 minute WOD.  My 2nd round was obviously a bit slower than my first. 

I got back to the bar, failed an attempt, but some how got my 9 in and snuck in 2 last T2Bs, giving me a final score of 29.  Which, I'm honestly not that upset about.  Here are my helpful tips for those of you that haven't gone yet:

Tip #1:  Make sure you talk to your judge before the WOD about no repping the C&J's.  I made sure that I heard my judge count my rep before I released the bar.  I didn't care if it took an extra secound or so, I wanted to make sure the rep was good and counted for. 

Tip #2:  If possible, don't drop the bar from overhead.  I didn't drop on the first round, but as I got tired in the 2nd, I did that and I found that once my hands were off the bar, it took me a while to set back up.  3rd round, I'll let it slide if you drop. 

Tip #3:  Save your Arms.  User your hips for the clean, and your legs/hips for the Jerk.  Split Jerk if you have to, but SAVE YOUR ARMS!  You need those suckers for the T2B!

Tip #4:  Shake out your arms before the T2B.  I was such in a rush to get to them, I went, unprepared, and got lots fo no reps.  I was litteraly a papers width away from the bar each time, but just couldn't get them to touch.  Once I relaxed and shook out my arms, I was able to get better reps.

Tip #5:  Embrace the WOD.  Clean and Jerk is one of my FAVORITE Crossfit WODs.  I always feel so empowered after doing them and I think they are fun.  Embrace it!!


Overall I was happy with my performance and after reflecting on the WOD I am happy that I can sometimes very well keep my expectations and predictions close to the reality of my capibilities.  But guess what, I'm 100% doing this sucker again!! 

So I may not have won the head to head challenging with my husband of 3 years on WOD 13.4, BUT I certainly won the cupcake smashing!!