5/31/12 "Helen"

Sleep 9:15-4:15.  Feeling sleepy.

Training @ 8:30a



Round 1: 2:41
Round 2: 5:31
Round 3: 8:22

Over 30s improvement from Nov 2011 when I went 8:56. 

I did have a video after all!  UB on KBS & pull-ups.  Didn't even stop to chalk as I chalked bar ahead of time.  Thank you Mizar!

5/30/12 Training

Sleep: 9:15p-6:30a


 
A. Power clean TnG 5, 5, 5; rest 3 min  122lbs, 132lbs, 142lbs
+
5 TnG power clean and jerk
5 burpees AFAP
AD sprint 20 seconds @100%
Rest 2:15
x5
Rest 4:30
x2x2

1. 103lbs/30s/?
2 103lbs/31s/8cals
3. 103lbs/33s/7cals
4. 103lbs/31s/6 cals
5. 103lbs/30s/6 cals
6. 103lbs/50ish/7 cals
7. 83lbs/30s/6 cals
8. 83lbs/29s/8cals
9. 83lbs/26s/8cals
10. 83lbs/26s/10cals 


trouble finiding rhythm with C&J.  collar bones got tender.  wanted to quit after 5 sets, but stuck in there.  better when it's over.  

5/29/12 Training

Monday: Sleep 9:45p-4:45a
Afternoon hike at Laurel Creek/Sam's Knob. 80 min with 20 minutes of that spent in sun on rock.

Sleep 10:30p-5am.  Ugh

A. Back squat @31x1, 6, 4, 2, 6, 4, 2, 6, 4, 2; rest2:30
6x135lbs, 4x145lbs (actually did 5 by mistake), 2x155lbs
6x145lbs, 4x150lbs, 2x160lbs
6x145lbs, 4x155lbs, 2x165lbs B. Amrap unbroken muscle ups x5; rest 2 min
3, 3, 4, 4, 4.  Notice that I'm cutting myself short on the press out at the top for some.  On my way back down before I finish lock out.  I got no repped on this at regionals so you'd think I'd learn.  Now that I see it I'll make a point of it.  C1. Snatch grip overhead walking lunges 20 continuous steps x3; rest 2 min
45lbs, 50lbs, 55lbs.  Tough.  Not able to stay continuous at 55lbs.  Trying to pay attention to not hyper extending elbows.  C2. Weighted lean away chin ups 5, 5, 5; rest 2 min (4-6 second eccentric)

NO WAY I'm ready for weight on these.  Super tough! 

Sunday 5/27/12

Sleep 9p-6a no alarm.  Generally feeling tired.

Training @ 9:30am fasted except for coffee & cream


5 rounds for time:
20 burpees
100m farmers walk 1.5 pood/hand
40 double unders
Rnd 1 UB FC & DU 2:52
Rnd 2-5 FC broken at 50m
Rnd 2 3:38
Rnd 3 4:00
Rnd 4 3:35
Rnd 5 3:31
17:36 overall felt good  

It's my mom's last day in Asheville.  At 4:30 into the video she joins me for some mother-daughter farmer's carries!  She doesn't see herself as athletic being that she has never participated in sport.  However, this week I was trying to get her to acknowledge that I get much of my athletic ability from her genes.
I have seen pictures of my mom from when she was in her early 20s and although she never specifically worked out she was quite lean and had tiny 6-pack abs.  Then, one of the first times Corey met my mom we were out back at our old house talking about training (surprise, surprise).  Something came up about pull-ups and my mom says, "I wonder if I can still do a pull-up."  My at the time 52 year old mother reached up to the overhang of our patio and pulled herself up and over several times.  She may not have been doing any organized training, but she is a hard worker and would spend hours working in her gardens all through my youth and young-adulthood.  Since she moved to FL two years ago she has lost some of this strength as she now lives in a condo with no gardens or yard to maintain.  Hopefully she'll join our SilverFit ladies here in Asheville sometime in the near future!

Love you Mom!

Saturday 5/26/12 OHS 1RM

Sleep 9:15-6:15 back in my own bed, but family is still in town.

Coached 7am-10am then: A. Build to a 1rm clean and jerk
133lbs, 143lbs, 153lbs F jrk, 148lbs, 153lbs power clean was ugly. 143lbs squat clean, 148lbs squat clean, 153lbs F to stand up the dang squat.  Called it. 





B. Build to a 1rm OHS
95lbsx5, 110lbsx3, 120lbsx2, 130lbsx1, 135lbsx1, 140lbsx1, 145lbsx1, 150lbs F but almost stood it up & almost messed up my elbow.  150lbs for two more attempts but failed the jerk both times.  

150lbs attempt 2
150lbs attempt 3


This is a 10lb PR but I have not maxed this out since doing a heavy double at 135lbs in fall of 2010.  I typically feel uncomfortable jerking from behind the neck and this was definitely a behind the neck PR.  


C1. Weighted dip 5, 5, 5; rest 2 min
BW+20lbs, BW+25lbs, BW+35lbs.  My anterior delts have been very sore since Thursday.  These didn't feel so hot today.  
C2. Bent over single arm DB rows @41x2, 10-12x3/arm; rest 2 min
20lbsx12, 20lbsx12, 25lbsx12.  Tough!  

Thursday 5/24/12

Sleep 9ish-4 My mom is in town and we're staying out of town at a cabin.  It's awesome and really it's actually closer to town than where we presently live.  But I'm feeling a bit off being out of my routine.

Mom & I are going to the spa for facials later today.  I was on to coach 6:30-8am and had to sneak my workout in beforehand.  So I trained at 5:30am.


21-18-15-12-9-6-3
KBS 1.5 pood
Ring dips


Ring dips were definitely the limiting factor.  All KBS UB and RD very broken.  Most I did was 7 in the first set and it was mostly 2-3s from there.  

Wednesday 5/23/12

23-May
5 TnG power snatch
5 burpees AFAP
Sprint 100m
Rest 2 min
x5
Rest 5 min
x2


Set 1:  77lbs/46s
Set 2:  82lbs/47s
Set 3:  87lbs/48s
Set 4:  87lbs/48s
Set 5:  92lbs/48s (R shoulder feeling wonky)
Set 6:  82lbs/50s
Set 7:  82lbs/48s
Set 8:  87lbs/49s
Set 9:  87lbs/50s
Set 10: 87lbs/50s


Definitely felt harder after the longer rest between set 5 & 6.  Had to mentally focus to keep myself in it. 

Tuesday 5/22/12

22-May
A. Back squat @31x1, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 10; rest 2 min


10x110lbs, 8x120lbs, 6x130lbs(video), 4x140lbs(video), 2x150lbs, 10x120lbs(video)





B. Weighted chin up drop sets 6.6.6 x4; rest 15 seconds w/ weight
change/ rest 4 min
Set 1: 20lbsx6, 15lbsx6, 10lbsx6 tough! (video)
Set 2: 17.5lbsx6, 15lbsx6, 10lbs x 4 +2
Set 3: 15lbsx6, 10lbsx6, 5lbsx6 Whew!
Set 4: 10lbsx6, 7.5lbsx6, 2.5lbsx5+1 Holy cow these were really tough! (video)



C. Barbell forward lunges 20 continuous alt'ing steps x4; rest 90 seconds

65lbs, 75lbs, 85lbs, 95lbs(video).  Have never done these so didn't know where to start.  The last two sets were challenging. 

Sunday 5/20/12 1k swim & Max Patch Hike

Sleep 10:15p-6:50a no alarm, but had some a few beers Saturday night @ local brewery & feeling low energy this morning.
Weight: 119.4lbs in bathing suit on fancy scale at Y

Internet wasn't working well at home so ended up going into town to hit up coffee shop prior to my workout.  I found myself being generally low energy & a bit moody today.  Husband & I ended up being on different pages regarding plan for afternoon training/errands.  He ended up dropping me off at pool without a watch as he didn't understand why I always need to have so many splits for my workouts.

Quite simply splits make me happy and help me to better understand my training.

Swam about 200m freestyle warm up and got going with it already.  Used wall clock at started at 10 minutes after the hour.  Went out aggressively as I remember last time  feeling like I never pushed much.  Well, this time it got my breathing all off and I missed about 4 flip turns throughout due to mistimed breathing.  Sucked in some water early on and was generally a mess.

With all that said it never felt like it caused me to slow to a crawl or anything dramatic, but when I came up at the end my time was 17:50 when last time my time was 12:54.  I had my own stop watch and splits for every 250m.  This time I'm just confused if I counted far too few of laps then or if this time I went crazy slow as I felt quite confident of my lap counting.  Who knows....THIS is a prime reason why I like splits.  I could have compared the 250m splits.  Oh well...in the end it was done and I'll have a better result the next time.

Saturday 5/19/12

Sleep: 10p-5a without alarm.
1st day of cycle

In Charleston and had hoped to get out to see sunrise, but we didn't get going out of hotel fast enough.

My phone was dead by the time we got home to train but here are a few photos from our hour on the beach this morning.


Drove 9:30-1:45.  Stopped at WWC to walk dogs on trails and stretch out our legs before going to gym.  45 minute barefoot hike.

Training @ 3pm.  Feeling tired and a lack of motivation.

A. Hang squat clean; build to a moderate effort triple

 bar, 83, 103, 113, 123, 133, 143-F squat on 2nd rep. Caught forward.  not focused.  Low energy. 
B. Thrusters 10, 10, 10, 10, 10; rest 90 seconds (increase weight per
set to a tough single set of 10)

63lbs/23s, 73lbs/24s, 78lbs/24s, 83lbs/26s, 93lbs/28s.  
C. Close grip bench press 8, 8, 8; rest 3 min

93lbs, 103lbs, 113lbs-tough here last 5 reps.  BARELY made 8th rep.  

Back to Normal Eating!

Friday May 18th, 2012

My transition back to regular food went smooth.  They recommend upwards of 3 days before solid foods but most do the cleanse 5-15 days and I did 3.  So I had freshly squeeze OJ from the Greenlife juice bar this morning and some beet/celery juice in the later morning.  At lunch Corey and I hit up the EarthFare food bar before hitting the road to Charleston.  I ate mostly normal with emphasis on cooked vs raw veggies, but did have protein with pork and chicken salad.  I made a point to slowly eat it and it didn't seem to give me any issues.

We went to Charleston to watch one of our coaches, Rick Miller, in the Firefighter's Challenge.  It was his first official run of the year.  The course ended up being slow as there was a slight uphill slant for the final dummy drag which will definitely make a difference.  Rick still snuck under the 1:50 qualifying mark for later in the season.

We've talked a good deal about this event and he has played videos for me & Corey to better understand the event.  However, it was great fun to see in person.  Rick took 4th place overall in 1:49.  Great job Rick!

Neera Cleanse Experience

Lloyd's goofy smile upon my return from the bank. 

Neera Day 1 Tuesday May 15th, 2012
I had some anxiety about going 3 days without solid food.  But I started this morning. I'm seeing it as a new challenge.  

My husband Corey is continuing to eat normal as he has training to do.    His dinner smelled REALLY good. 

First Strict Muscle-ups!

One of my goals for the year was strict muscle ups as I had never been able to do one.  On Saturday post workout I randomly pulled myself up and in not for one but for 4 consecutive.  I was unable to replicate it Sunday or Monday BUT today I did 3 consecutive.  So it's not a fluke after all!  That's all I did today other than a 30 walk with the doggies.   

New goal: 7 strict and 12 kipping by March 2013  

Neera Day 2 Wednesday May 16th, 2012

The drink tastes much more delicious today!  Yesterday I was not all that into it.  I think I used too much cayenne pepper initially. 

Generally I'm feeling really good.  It was really pretty easy today although I regularly have to remind myself not to grab a bite of this or that.  My awareness to scents of food is quite potent...Corey had dill pickles cut on his salad that smelled delicious and walking by the olive bar while at the grocery store (needed more lemons) olives have never smelled so enticing!

Activity: Walked the dogs about an hr and did two strict muscle ups.  

Didn't get to sleep until 9;30 or later last night and I had the option to sleep in this morning but I was woke when Corey's alarm went off at 4:15 and didn't feel the need to fall back asleep so ended up getting up.  Energy has been high all day without caffeine. Oh I did fall asleep for a bit while reading in the sun on the deck, but didn't feel the need for a nap prior. 

Neera Day 3 Thursday may 17th, 2012
Learnings:

I can have good energy without "food" and I can survive and be a happy functioning person without food

Food & discussion around food is EVERYWHERE! 

I really do enjoy the act of eating and I greatly appreciate good food! 

My mental clarity is definitely not as sharp at times.  

It's funny how good I feel yet how much I'm looking forward to getting back to eating.  I feel it is more a desire of wanting my typical routine.  

I think I'll enjoy this again sometime and have more appreciation for the process now that I know what to expect.  

Activity: Hour hike in the woods with Corey and the dogs.  

Monday 5/14/12 MAP Session

Today was intended to start my 3 day Neera cleanse, but it will not arrive in the mail until later today.  So, one more day of movement before the rest of the week of resting and regeneration!

Last Supper 

Thank you to the Nelsons for their thoughtful gift!  :)

Monday May 14th 

8 min constant movement:

5 pushups

10 DU's

run 100 m

(rest walk 3 min)

8 min constant movement:

5 KBS - 1pd

5 toes to bar

15 DU's

(rest walk 3 min)

8 min constant movement:

AD 15 cals

5 burpee broad jumps

3 CTB chin ups

(rest walk 3 min)

8 min constant movement:

Rowing - 5K pace

Sunday 5/13/12 Weight pull-up 5RM

Sunday May 13th

Weighted chin up

Build to 5 rm

5x25lbs, 5x35lbs, 5x45lbs, 4x53lbs.  

+

3 jerk tougher per set

Run 400 m @ 95%

Rest 5 min x 5

Push jerk TnG x 3/400m run time

Set 1: 97lbs/1:40

Set 2: 107lbs/1:33

Set 3: 117lbs/1:32

Set 4: 122lbs/1:31

Set 5: 127lbs/1:30 

I'd say the 400s would be 8-12s faster on a track.  Our route is not ideal for fast splits w/several turns & an out/back, but it's at least repeatable. 

Training Week Post Regionals

Rested completely on Monday except for some light hiking with the dogs.  My energy generally feels low and my low back is fried from the deadlifts.  I am aware of my body guarding picking up laundry baskets & backpacks throughout the day.  Demoing lifts for clients & getting on & off the floor is challenging.

Tuesday May 8th

Burgener warm up   

AD Z1 for 20 min

Wednesday May 9th

20 min general movement:

lunges

sit ups

back ext's

push ups

skipping

running

(all @ 60% constant movement)

Avoided any barbell/hanging from bars as my hands are still quite sensitive from the weekend.  Felt good to move & sweat a bit. 

Thurs May 10th off

Sam's Knob

2.5 hr hike at Sam's Knob with Ladies Hiking Group

Friday May 11th off

2.5 hr hike back at Sam's Knob this time a Friday evening hike with Corey & dogs.  

Saturday May 12th

10-1 for time

Power Clean 105#

Wall balls 20#/10'

12:35 PC easy & UB, WB not so much, but good practice with heavy ball.  

Regionals Wrap up

I finished the weekend in 13th place.  This is my worst placing in my 4 years of participating in the regionals.  It may be my worst placing, but I personally feel it was my best showing.  The events this year were heavy for me but I hung in there and made it through to the final which is ultimately always my primary goal.  

My reaction at the end of last year's regionals was drastically different than this year.  I was frustrated and felt like I didn't have that competitive desire to push through discomfort.  I wasn't sure if I even wanted to compete in the future and had the general feeling of, "Well, I might as well just get pregnant" is the attitude I left with.   It was this feeling of well, if I'm not going to pursue the life of being competitive then motherhood would be the other option.  For anyone that knows me...this is drastically the other far far end of the spectrum for me.  Kids like me, but I've never enjoyed any length of time around children.  I feel way too selfish to have children, but I'm sure if it ever does happen that I'll feel like many of the other mothers I regularly hear from in that it will be "the best thing that ever happened to me...yada yada yada".  

I think that I was also freaking out a bit around turning 30 last September and felt like if I was going to have children then I better do it now.  Since then I have acknowledged that there are many women having children in their late 30s and early 40s and that time and health is on my side.  And so I digress...

Sporting the "Sunday" shirt with Stacy! 

This year I'm hungrier & excited to get back to training.  Looking forward to having a full year of training with focused goals rather than spending most of the year floating from one goal to the next.   I see my journey in the sport of CrossFit as a long journey for me.  I have my engine and building the strength around it simply takes time.  Going forward I want to continue to improve not only physically but mentally & emotionally as well.  It was shocking to me how much calmer and pulled together I felt for this year.  I finally feel like I have an appropriate perspective surrounding athletics.  I do it because I love discovering my capabilities.  Competitions are ideal places for me to challenge and test myself, but the result of the competition does not determine my own self worth.

Where I want to be in upcoming years...front line of final heat!

James often talks about how true competitors spend their days constantly thinking about winning.  When I initially heard this it made me feel like I don't have what it takes; that it doesn't mean THAT much to me.  However, when I took a step back I acknowledged that much of my day is spent around maximizing being more efficient in my daily tasks as a wife, owner of two businesses and "mother" of two dogs.  I'm working to put myself into a better and better position to free myself up for more training or well more so than the training is the increased recovery by reducing my overall strength.

As CrossFit gets more and more competitive every year with more eyes on the money and more sponsorships coming into play it becomes more difficult and much less likely for what James refers to as a "wannabe athlete" or someone that competes but really they still work full time or more than full time to remain competitive.  I have an amazingly supportive husband and a great coaching staff that has enabled me to have far fewer demands in the gym and far less stress than a year ago.  I'll continue to do what I can to keep an appropriate balance in my life and see where it takes me in years to come.

Ultimately I simply want to put myself in a position to realize as much of my full potential as possible.  It may turn out that CF continue to demand heavier and heavier loads in order to be competitive and my smaller frame may limit me.  However, the sport is too young to confirm that this is where it will go.  Until then I'm going to keep showing up and see where I land.

Onward! 

MidAtlantic Regional Event 6

3 rounds of:
7 deadlifts @ 225lbs
7 muscle ups

3 rounds of:
21 wall balls
21 toes to bar

70lbs farmer's carry
28 burpee box jumps
70lbs farmer's carry

3 muscle ups

17 minute cap

I was sitting in 12th place going into the last event.  I'm not going to lie.  It's tough to get motivated to do a bunch more work when there is no chance for anything "special" to come of it.  Meaning I could win the whole thing and there would be no CF Games.

225lbs is a lot of weight for me with a DL max of 260lbs.  I'm good at high percentages of my max, but nonetheless my body & mind were quite tired.

I opted to do singles for all the DLs dropping each one from the top to save the eccentric loading.  The first round went alright but then it started to feel like a 1 rep max effort each lift.  I had to mentally get myself psyched up to approach the bar again.

In time muscle ups also need to get smoother.  I had taped my hands and was bleeding through the tape after the first set of muscles ups where I linked two together and failed on the third.  Honestly it hurt my hands more to grab the bar for deadlifts than to do the muscle ups.

I started failing on MUs and was getting close to the time cut off.  I started doing 1 rep every 30s to keep myself focused as I've done this before in training.  I made it through the first set of three rounds with about 20s left and knocked out about 7 wall balls to finish the weekend.

MidAtlantic Regional Day 3 Event 5

Snatch ladder:
In 50s complete 20 double unders and snatch.  First load was 105lbs, 2nd was 115lbs, then 125lbs and increased by 5lbs from there.

When the event was announced my snatch PR was 116lbs.  The week prior to regionals I hit 118lbs three times and felt good about it.



Warm up went well.  I was feeling aggressive and hitting good weights.  I warmed up back and forth between 95/105 and 115lbs several times.  I didn't have any misses but also didn't attempt any heavier.  I did do some snatch pulls a bit heavier up to 135lbs just a couple times.

One of the most challenging parts for me with this workout was the amount of time between warm up and actually getting called out on the floor.  They lined us up and walked us out while the first ladies were going.  It was 20-30 minutes from when I finished my warm up to when I did the 105lbs load.  105lbs felt horrible, but I made the lift.  The next bar at 115lbs felt better for sure.  I was stoked for the 125lbs.

With the double unders I was intentionally doing 21 as I had an incident at regionals 2010 where I kept getting called back for another double under multiple times in a 12 min AMRAP workout.  No problem on the 105 & 115lbs but at the 125lbs my judge asked me to do one more DU.  I should have told her that I was planning to do 21 each set.  Maybe she would have had a bit more confidence then, as it was that uncertainty look when I set my rope down.

Anyhow, I had time for two attempts at 125lbs.  Missed both but dang watching the video they were overhead.  They gave me one DU at the end which I didn't feel I had, but I guess that made up for the initial miscounting.  :)  With a bit more warm-up or less time between warm up and being on the floor who knows...

Keep getting stronger!

MidAtlantic Regional Day 2 Event 4

Event 4 

50 back squats @ 95lbs

40 pull ups

30 shoulder to overhead @ 95lbs

50 front squats @ 65lbs

40 pull ups

30 shoulder to overhead @ 65lbs

50 OHS @ 45lbs

40 pull ups

30 shoulder to overhead @ 45lbs

22 min time limit 

On paper this was the event that I felt catered most to my strengths.  High rep, fairly light loads, lots of pull-ups.  I knew it would be uncomfortable, but felt confident that I would be able to chip away at the reps.  

On day 1 they kept the heats the same for the second event of the day as they did for the first.  I again made the mistake of assuming that this is what they would do on day two.  I was in the last heat for event three and thought the same would happen for event 4.  Corey & I had a chill afternoon.  Went to the grocery store, back to the hotel where I tried to sleep for about 90 minutes.  I never fully fell asleep but had some good resting and then visualization time when I woke up.  

We arrived back at the venue around 3:45 (thought I was competing at 5).  I got some help taping my hands from the rips after event 3 in prep for the pull-ups.  At 4:00 the first heat was already started and I began my warm up running laps around the track surrounding the competition area while watching the girls in the first heat.  I was also running by the warm up area and heat schedule table and noticed Pamela who was in the same heat for event #3.  I chatted with her to find out that they switched the order and found out that I was to start at 4:25 not 4:55.  It was about 4:10 by this point.  

I informed Corey and headed to the warm up area.  Once again I did not have a plan for my warm up plus now I'm rushed so I did some squatting, pull-ups and pressing overhead.  Plus another bathroom break.  I only ever warmed up to 85lbs for a few reps overhead and they were calling us to line up.  I felt a bit frazzled, but not overly.  

Long story short I knew the first set of 30 shoulder to overhead at 95lbs would be a critical point for me in this workout and perhaps I talked myself into that as it was just that.  I went UB but steady on the 50 BS, pull-ups were something like 20-22 and shorter sets to 40.  Headed back to the shoulder to overhead I had hoped to hit at least 10 upwards of 15 and sets of 4-6 from there.  Well, my rhythm trying to pop it off my shoulder was off and I through it down after 7.  Watching the video I was just getting into my groove at 7 and there was not any real reason I needed to throw it down other than I was frustrated.  

From here on out it was a mental battle with that voice in my head making everything seem much harder than necessary which resulted in shortening sets and lengthening rest between sets.  I pulled myself back together in the final couple of minutes when I got to the OHS at 45lbs.  I found my mantra of "one is easy" and started knocking them out.  Ended up going 30 & 20 to finish that out.  I should have ran over to the pull-up bar at that point, but to be honest I just wanted it to be over.  THere was 30s left when I got back to the bar and I finished with 13 pull-ups when time expired.  

It never occurred to me that I wouldn't finish this workout.  While I had some mental battles throughout my mental game was still far better than a year ago.  There was negative talk, but not the extreme angry why do I even bother to do this voice.  Rather I was able to have the awareness that I didn't set myself up for success in this event.  Keep learning and growing for another day...

MidAtlantic Regional Day 2 Event 3

Sleep was less than optimal after day 1.  I was a bit jazzed after the excitement of the day and although we got back to the hotel at a reasonable hour I broke some of my own "rules".  Spent about 2+ hours from about 7-9/9:30 staring at my computer screen answering emails and getting the CFA website ready for the following week.  Spending hours staring at a bright screen & then trying to wind down before bed didn't work out so well for me.  

I also made a comment to Corey about being on the wrong side of the bed before he started snoring around 9:30.  Soon thereafter I realized how wide awake I was feeling.  Tossed & turned a bit and then ended up taking 2 melatonin around 11/11:30.  Again, NOT the thing to do at that time of night.  I also woke Corey up and told him I needed my normal side of the bed back.  Soon after that I fell asleep sometime around midnight.  Corey was up around 5:30 & I kept rolling over trying to stay as asleep as possible.  I got up a bit after 6 and my eyes were burning.  I didn't freak out but I definitely finished my full caf coffee that morning.  

To the venue.  

Event 3

Complete 4 rounds of: 

10 DB snatch 70lbs

short run to end of competition floor and back 

10 min time cap. 

DB snatch workout was first.  Our warm-up options were interesting with the DBs: something like 35lbs, 45lbs, 50lbs and then jumped straight to 70lbs.  For the men it went from 70 to 100lbs.  I had actually brought a 65lb DB from the gym with me as they had 50/60/70lbs at the SE regional the wk prior and I was thinking that I wanted something b/w 60& 70.  I contemplated going to get it, but the car was at least 600m away & I wasn't sure it was worth it.  My warm up was fairly successful, I had a few misses, but nothing horrible.  I had more than enough time to warm up but wasn't sure what to do.  So just kept occasionally snatching the 50 aggressively and then the 70 in the same fashion. I would probably hit 3 out of every 5 attempts at the 70 during warm up.  

I was in the final heat of this workout due to my standings after day one.  3, 2, 1…go!  I got to work steadily hitting reps, but certainly not flying through like many of the other girls in my heat.  Pamela and I were well paced finishing the first and second round at nearly the same time.  Took me about 3:30 for the first round…was thankful to be running down that floor knowing that that was all I needed to continue onto Event 4, as I had concerns I would be stuck there with the DB for 10 minutes.   

Finished 2nd of a possible 4 rounds right around 7:30 and completed another 9 reps before the 10 min cap expired.  Pamela and I had the same score.  I had a few misses in the third set (only about 1 miss per round in the 1 & 2nd round) as I was trying to pick up the pace to finish it off.  If I went back to the DB too quickly I missed the rep.  It was a fine balance of fighting the clock without missing reps.  

I had ripped the skin of my right palm and left thumb pad so we went to the drug store to get super glue & athletic tape. Then headed back to the hotel to rest.  Event 5 wouldn't happen until 5pm that night (or so I thought)... 

Mid Atlantic Regional Event #2

Event 2

2k row

50 pistols

30 hang cleans @ 135lbs

When I first saw this workout I was really bummed about the row as I do not enjoy nor yet consider myself to be stellar in rowing.  However, I was relieved after meeting with James as he pointed out that this workout is not about the row and even advised me to pace on the row "no grunt efforts".  Sweet! 

I was initially a bit unsure about the pistols as we have not done any in training once this year.  However, I am good at bodyweight exercises and we use pistols as one of the assessments pre/post manual therapy at the Stay Active Clinic.  So I do at least a couple post workout every so often.  James put them into my training the week after the OPTathlon & I gained the confidence that I would do 50 straight through.  

One of the areas I want to improve for my next competition is to plan my warm-ups or at least have some options beforehand, as that is still an area where I have uncertainty.  I thought they were going to put the top 12 from the first workout in the same heat together as they did at the SE Regionals the week before.  So I was anticipating being with the last group.  However, they kept us in the same heats as Diane and I was in the 2nd to last group.  This forced me to rush my warm up a bit.  

Corey was there and when I gave him a "what should I do?" he had me start with a 3 minute row getting faster over each minute.  I went something like 2:30 pace, 2:20 pace, sub 2:10 pace last minute.  Then got off the rower and did 5 pistols per side, then walked over and did 2 hang cleans at 135 (I had previously warmed up to 135)

He then said, "I would go through that a couple more times."  

I had no desire in rowing 3 minutes again so this time I did 3 45s intervals getting faster over each like above.  10 pistols, 1-2 hang cleans. 

Walked around and eyed the other competitors for a few minutes.  It seems that very few people warm up much at competitions.  But I know I do better after a good warm up so I went through it one more time with an even shorter row: 

3 sets of 30s row getting faster over each.  Pulled 1:50-1:55ish my last 30s.  10 pistols, 1 hang clean.  

Time to line up.  

It was somewhat comical as they would call us out and have us check in and then we would go and stand in these corrals corresponding to our assigned lane.  Lined up like race horses to make small talk with the girls next to you.  People have always been quite friendly at CF competitions, but I felt like this year the girls were friendlier than ever.  I would say this is simply due to my chilled out perspective.  more on that in a separate post.

Out onto the floor we went.  We met with our judge and demonstrated one hang clean & one or two pistols per leg.  No problem.  They turned on the rowers and we stood behind them until the ever famous, "3, 2, 1…go!"  Sit down, strap in & start pulling.  

I kept the stroke rate low (25-27) and eased.  My splits have escaped me by now but it was something like 2:07-500m, 4:20 1k and somewhere around 8;45 overall.  

My original plan was to row 2:05-2:10 but I kept dropping down to 2:13-2:16 and would hear all my negative thoughts sink in like old habit.  I remember at one point thinking, "Well, here I go again.  I'm not going to get through this.  At least it will be over in 17 minutes."  

But then I would shut it out and refocus.  James had told me that my word for this workout was, "intent" I knew I just needed to get through the row and get to those pistols.  

Girls starting getting off the rowers just over 8 minutes.  There was maybe one more girl rowing when I got off.  Pamela Gagnon was in the position beside me and got off the rower just before me.  She was the only person I could see during my pistols so it became my focus to not stop and move faster than her.  I quickly found my groove on the pistols and just focused on breathing and staying efficient throughout.  

When I finished I turned to head to my bar and realized I was the first person done with the pistols although Pamela was right behind me headed to the bar.  At this point i turned my back on her and faced the rest of the field.  I picked up the bar & knocked out 5.  It felt good, but I wasn't able to replicate that again.  Went 3 on the next set or two and a bunch of doubles from there.  I specifically remember being at 18 and thinking 6 sets of 2.  You can do this  Each set started to get a bit harder  With one set of two to go.  I got the first one and thought, "just one more".  I caught that last one forward on my shoulders and low but I was determined to stand that sucker up and I did.  (Corey got a bit too excited and missed that last rep on video.  :))  Sprint maybe 15m to the opposite side of the floor and it was done.  

I had thought I won my heat but round out later that another girl finished just before me.  It's so hard to know what is going on out there.   It's all really a blur.  

This was my favorite workout this year.  I almost gave up on myself, but stuck it out and worked for it at the end.  

Like I do with all my workouts I have looked back and wondered if I could have gone faster.  I feel like I could have rested less between the sets of hang cleans, but at the same time I think the fact that I had to dig for my last rep shows that I was working right at my threshold.  My max (although hasn't been tested recently) is just under 150 (I think 147/148 for a hang squat clean) and I do not have any recollection of ever doing a HPC of more than 135.  So this load was 90% or more of my max.  With the video replay I figured out that this  was 30 reps of 90+% in ~4:25.   

Learnings: 

Stay positive & stick to the plan with less worry!

Keep getting stronger!   

Mid Atlantic Regional Event 1: "Diane"

Sleep Pretty good.  Feeling chill but excited.  Was in hotel around 6p and probably fell asleep around 9p and woke up at 4:50am.  Stayed up at that point.  Did some visualizing for the first event.

Ate 1 hard boiled egg and the white of a second.  1 banana.  Max-fiber supplement drink and vitamins per usual (Max-energy, VMG).  Had Starbucks coffee with cream but barely touched it.

Although I've been CFing for over 5 years now I'm a bit non-traditional is that I do not regularly do the "named WODs".  As such, I've never done the workout "Diane" before.

Diane
21-15-9
Deadlifts (155lbs)
Handstand push-ups
for time.



 I will visualize events by starting my stop watch and closing my eyes only to hit stop when I'm done moving through the whole thing.  Sometimes I'll journal about it afterwards.  This morning I did just that.  I visualized 3:49 with all DLs UB & fast & HSPUs UB but steady.

In reality I breezed through the DLs and went UB on the 21 & 15 HSPU but then hit a wall on the set of 9.  Came down after 5 on the last set.  Went back up to finish and failed on the 9th.  Took another attempt at the 9th without coming off the wall, but didn't make it.  Came down, shook out my arms and went back up to finish.  Took me 40s to complete the last 4 reps.

My judge told me my time: 3:48 and I immediately laughed remember the 3:49 from the morning visualization.

I had a solid warm up...focused on being quick on DLs and went up and did a few at 175lbs in attempt to help 155lbs feel even lighter.  Didn't do a ton of HSPUs, but practiced the transition a few times.

I have never felt so relaxed and at ease going into a workout.  I knew I would do what I could and that would be that.  In the past I'd have all this worry over the what ifs.  This was a good new feeling.

Learnings: Get faster at HSPUs not only in real life, but need to start seeing myself doing them faster as well!  :)  Would like to gain strength/confidence to knock these out strict.
Also, learn to use the full range allowed on the HSPU standard.  Corey pointed out to me that I had my hands a couple inches inside the border while those that were knocking them out faster than me had wider hand position and thus shortening their range.

Training Into Regionals

1-May
A. Snatch; build to a tough single (not a 1rm)
93, 103, 108, 108, 113, 113, 118, 118, 118lbs.  116 was my old PR and 118 felt GREAT today! 

B. DB snatch practice 55-70# (26 total reps maximum with 70# DB), jog
200m after every 6 reps

Hit 70lbs on my second and third set! Stoked! 


 
C1. TnG DL 155 x5 reps x3; rest 0 sec
C2. 5 HSPU x3; rest 2 min
Done!  Felt good!

2-May
A1. Front squat 65# x10 reps x2; rest 10 seconds
A2. Shoulder to OH x10 45# x2; rest 10 seconds
A3. 2 muscle ups x2; rest 3 min
B1. Back Squat 3x3; rest 10 seconds
B2. 10 unbroken chin ups x3; rest 2:30
Done! 

3-May

The venue!  

OFF-easy hike 90 minutes at Prince William State Park in VA.  Felt good to get out of the car and shake out the legs.  

4-May
Game day!

5-May
Game day!

6-May
Sunday!

7-OFF