Strategies and Regrets
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Wear long pants/socks for rope climb!!! We know some of you are on the fence about the Nutrition Challenge . . . DO IT!!
Warm up/Mobility:
Olympic Squat on Wall, 2 minutes
Keg Drill, 2 minutes
Group Warm up:
Sotts Press review
Muscle up row review
Gymnastic Strength:
3 Rounds for quality of:
10 Sotts Press
5 Ring Dips
3 Muscle ups – or 5 Muscle up Ring Rows
Notes: Sotts press with weight only if you can maintain perfect form. If you struggle in bottom position, you may perform this with a PVC pipe, a Power Position or a Split Position. Advanced athletes should perform the gymnastic movements strict if possible. Everyone focus on a good lockout and ROM!
Classic Conditioning:
15 Minute AMRAP of:
1 Rope Climb
5 Hand Release Push ups
10 Abmat Sit ups
Notes: If the athlete cannot perform the Rope Climb, they can hold an anchor for 3-5 seconds without climbing, or perform a version of lowering to the floor and pulling back to the standing position. Watch this rope climbing video.
Advanced Conditioning:
5 Rounds for time, 18 minute cap:
3 Rope Climbs
20 Hand Release Push ups
30 Abmat Sit ups
Notes: Be sure to keep those hips high on the finish of each push up and reach full ROM on those situps!
Cool Down:
German Hang, 1 minute
Cobra, 1 minute
Samson stretch, 30 seconds
The Track Master enters the platform . . .
This is a continuation of last weeks post on some of our people’s experience with The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Since it was her first comp I asked Baylie to write about her experience and she was able to capture it in a way I have been unable to since, as most of you will read and understand here. Enjoy!
This competition all happened kind of by surprise. I hadn’t planned on doing one so soon, but it was definitely one of my goals for 2013. My friend from a Crossfit in Santa Barbara had asked me if I was going to do it. At the time I told her no, but we had discussed it more and had said we would both do it if we could enter as intermediate because we were both intimidated by advanced and it was our first comp. So that week I was asking Zeb about the competition just to get some input and he told me I should do it and that he would do it with me as support. Knowing Zeb is an advanced athlete I was surprised he’d even agree to doing intermediate with me. He coached me through things so I wasn’t as nervous and we both agreed this was going to be fun and for me to get a good experience. (Btw my friend never signed up, I got scammed ;))
As the competition grew closer we had worked out together a number of times to decipher our strengths and weaknesses (Sometimes I think Zeb knows more of what I’m capable of than I do myself.) We were prepared for whatever was going to be thrown at us. I was getting really nervous and even a little scared. Zeb was really good at laughing at me. Especially when we found out what the first WOD was: 2k row and AMRAP of box jumps. REALLY?! This is my biggest weakness and something Zeb doesn’t like either. All I could do was laugh (I think I was going crazy.) We strategized and did the best we could. I think I went to the bathroom 6 times before we began thanks to my nerves. Once we started that all went away. The first 500 meters wasn’t bad but when I got to the box jumps I saw my life flash before my eyes as I almost fell because my legs would not move! It took me a few jumps for my legs to actually feel okay. The next 500 meters were tough, but we pushed through. The main goal was to finish before the time cap, which we did. We knew this WOD was not going to play to our strengths but we felt we did our best.
The floater WOD we did 20 minutes after the first WOD. Find your Max weighted dip in 4 min with 1 min rest before doing 10 meter shuttle sprints Amrap in 4 min. So this WOD, Zeb was excited for and we were hoping to do really well on it. We hadn’t watched anyone do it, so we didn’t know how to strategize it and I have never done a weighted dip before. (The yellow band is my best friend at the box for these.) So I start light and realize its much easier than expected being on parallel bars. Zeb is stacking on the weight. I do my measly 5 pounds but happy I was able to do it. I definitely could have done more and the next thing we knew Zeb did his amazing 145 pounds and time is up. We were jumbled and confused and wishing we had more time because we both could do more weight, so confusingly we rush over to the sprints (which were not sprints in our case) we were upset at our performance and after running 39 1/2 shuttles we looked at each other and were like wtf just happened. We knew we didn’t give it our best shot. All I remember Zeb telling me was ” that was stupid and boring and we need a redo!” I agreed! We wish we could have had a do over. We were so angry and we knew better. This is a competition and we didn’t put out like we should have. We were pissed and I knew going into the next WOD we had to make a huge comeback somehow.
The chipper which was 50 Kbs, 40 burpees, 30 thrusters, 30 power cleans, 40 pull-ups and 50 wall balls. My biggest fear in this WOD were the wall balls. I wasn’t very consistent with them and I was scared to get no repped. 3, 2, 1 GO! It was like a fire was lit within me and the anger of the last WOD fueled me to just keep moving. I kept looking over a couple lanes down at a team that was close behind us but we were consistently ahead. Then……….. Wall balls came I looked over it was 16 min something I had plenty of time. I was down to my last ten wall balls when the girl finished her wall balls 20 seconds before me. I was so mad at myself for not going faster. We still finished the WOD at 18:26 which was really good, but I was now obsessed with wanting to conquer these damn wall balls and not to mention figure out this girls name that somehow pulled ahead of me. We went from 9th to 5th place after this, so we made a huge leap and we knew everything was going to come down to the floater WOD that we didn’t do our best in. All the numbers were in and me and Zeb realized this wasn’t about just having fun anymore (Stupid floater.)
We were elated that 3 of the PCF teams made it to the podium. I was so excited for everyone but when I saw that the team that won the modified division was the team that beat me in my wall balls I got angry. I don’t know why I’m all of a sudden obsessed with this wall ball situation but I am. And now I have this drive to do another competition and give it 100% on every workout and I am going to conquer these stupid wall balls! Haha
I had an absolute blast with everyone from PCF. It was such a fun experience, it took me back to my competitive dancing days. The camaraderie was amazing and the drive to be a better CrossFitter is higher than ever. I was so inspired by everyone. All the PCF teams kicked ass and I was so proud to be part of it. Watching everyone push themselves with everything they’ve got and even though some of the WODS didn’t play to some of our strengths everyone pushed through. I think it was one of my best requested days off. Who knew I’d take a day off to kill myself at a competition and be excited to do it again 🙂 I had a great teammate/coach. Zeb you pushed me to do something I didn’t know I was capable of and am thankful for it.
Baylie
We fucked up and we know it. Have you ever trained for something for days and weeks and months, let it become the purpose of your efforts and practices and thoughts, and never stopped thinking about it even in your dreams, and come Game Day the stage is set for you to succeed, no calamity or injury has befallen you (we both got sick beforehand but whatever), you put out on everything, you do everything right, but you underestimate and slip up on one small thing, and that one small thing costs you your victory? We did that.
The Floater tripped me up, caught both of us unawares, and before we knew it, it was over. It was over. It was over and we couldn’t get it back and the hot, insidious pang of regret stabbed into our hearts and we had to make it right. With one WOD left, our WOD, we had to make it right. We dashed headfirst into WOD 2 like bats out of hell. We need this, I thought. Baylie, partner, I’ve never seen you move like this. Your burpees are fast. You’re not stopping. You’re angry. I’m angry. I’m butterflying as fast as I can, and you’re not stopping. Go for it partner. Use it.
She found her fire, and her rival, that day and has never been the same since. Nor will she. Because I believe things happen for a reason and I’ve never told her, but that’s why I believe we lost (sorry Partner.) There is a fierceness and focus and quality to her WODs now that was not present pre-Massacre. We placed 6th, great for her first comp but lower than our potential, precisely so she could be obsessed with her training in a way neither I or any other coach could elicit before, and not for want of trying. She is finally aggressive, and hungry. Because we are now on the hunt for the next comp, a Revenge Comp, and we will not have a comfortable day until we find it and win.
Echoing what others said, The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre was one of the more enjoyable comps I’ve been to. It was smaller, local, and a great excuse to hang and spend quality time with even higher quality people. Shivering around in the balls freezing morning, looking at everyone just sitting and talking between WODs, the anticipation of the next event, I loved every second of it, and there was nowhere else I’d rather have been. McCoy said it was a testament to our training that we placed so many of our teams on the podium in both divisions, and Coffee WITH Cream intends to honor that legacy.
That’s our story, and we would love to hear some of your greatest sporting/competing moments or upsets.
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