CrossFit Beer WOD - St. Patricks Day 2012

Work hard.  Play Harder.

2 person teams.
3 rounds for time:
2 green beers
40 Wall Balls
40c Row
40 Burpees

Any of the above could be broken up between the 2 members of the team, but only one member could be working at any given time.

I believe almost all the teams broke it up as each a beer, and then splitting the rest evenly unless someone was having trouble, then the other could pick up the slack.

A few people did indeed have to run out and vomit in the parking lot, which is indicated on the final scores/whiteboard (picture posted).

These are 98% pictures taken during the competition (which had to be divided into 4 heats due to the number of people that showed up)

No pictures really were taken once the real festivities began...you know to protect the innocent :)

Russ.  One of our Coaches

Jason.  Another one of our Coaches

The 'Coke' machine houses only beer.  And you don't need money.

First heat

Russ and Jason were a team

Second heat

Britney

Ben.  And Mary..with her tongue out. 

Terri.  Who is NOT a drinker but held her own with the beer portion

Nilo goofing off...

Teams and times.

My girl Terri flippin' that tire!

Go Terri go!

I seriously didn't think she was gonna do it!! These tires weigh 500lbs, and we normally do them in partners

Yum!  Just part of the food afterwards!  Yay for Paleo!

Incidentially I am back to Paleo and instead of 80/20, I have actually set the goal to be 95/5.  I still need to get the remaining feta cheese from my stock in the fridge, but the weekend was a huge success, and I cooked enough food and portioned it out in GladWare to last me all week: breakfasts, lunches, dinners and even snacks.  At least through Thursday anyway!

I am seeing a huge improvement in muscle tone and overall 'look' so between eating well and CrossFit, coupled with my running, things are good.

Don't tell anyone, but I could so give up running to do CrossFit full time.

Even though I am sore as hell this morning, I saw the WOD for today, and I want to do it so badly, but I think I am just going to be able to run today.  No way I can do both.  And with the amount of soreness in my biceps, I don't know that I could RM much weight anyway.

Sad face.

Weekend Update

What a whirlwind of a weekend!

I was thankful (at first) that there was no bad weather in the forecast for Saturday since it had been a while since I had had a long run out on the roads.  

Of course it sucked that it was 70deg at 6am, and high humidity.  I am not ready for Summer yet!!!  Yes I know that in the  Summer its usually 80deg at 6am, but still.  It had been a long time since I've run in craptastic SE Texas weather!

I had made plans to run with M, who I hadn't seen in quite some time and we had a LOT to catch up on. 

The route thankfully was Rice/Hermann because its loaded with new construction along the way which means an abundance of bathroom opportunities which would also prove to be in my favor.

Another thing that hadn't happened in a long time was me having stomach issues.  I had to stop 4 times which really did a number on my head having to stop so many times.  Coupled with the fact that because I wasn't hungry on Friday night, I didn't eat dinner.  Another big mistake.  I should have made myself eat something but I didn't.

I still managed a 10:40ish pace (which didnt include the stops) for 10 miles.  I was just frustrated.  And I spent too much time yakking along the way, and that usually isn't a good thing for me.  I still enjoyed the time with M, but overall the run was crappy (no pun intended), and I was happy for it to be over.  M pulled away from me as we hit the Shephard bridge, and she went up the dirt side while I went up the sidewalk side.  I was also thankful for this because as I was running up Memorial, off in the distance on the other side, I noticed a familiar gait of a runner, and was relieved that I didn't have to come within even 5 feet of them.  Sure looked different, that much I could tell, even from across the 4 lanes of road that divided us.

After coming home, taking my BCAA's and a quick protein concoction, I rested before hitting up UC for the CrossFit St. Patricks Day Beer WOD.  So much fun, loads of pictures taken which I will upload into another post.

Today I hit up UC again at noon instead of going to the gym (soooo boring to me now!), and took on the challenge of "Karen".  I thought since it was a re-do of the weeks CFG challenge (150 wall balls, 90 DU's, 30 MU's in 12 minutes) that I was going to be able to stop after 12 minutes.  This was not the case.  R and J made me keep going until I got to 150 Wall Balls.

I started out with a 40c row (4:06), and cooled down with another 40c row (4:37).

I have expressed my hatred for Wall Balls enough here, and I went because of that very fact.  I wanted to face the challenge to see how many I could get in those 12 minutes.  

I ended up doing all 150 as I said and it took me 13:55 (14lb ball).  I started out with 20 at a time, then dropped to making it through 10 at a time, then about half way through I went to getting through 5 at a time before taking a few seconds to bring my heart rate back down.  I was the only girl to show up today, and W and D were the only 2 attempting the challenge (they did theirs in 9+ minutes before moving on to DU's).  Both of these guys are in grrrreat shape and even they were struggling, but obviously still miles ahead of me, but when they were done, stood there and cheered me on to the finish!  

Love my CrossFit compadres!!!

I will probably only run tomorrow (KW Hills) as even now my biceps are killing me, but we shall see.  Tomorrows WOD isn't posted yet....  :O)

A small part of the St Patricks Day CrossFit competitors

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Tis the weekend!

Enjoy some green beer.  Or not. 

I should have some great photos from this coming weekend since there is a special fun activity at my CrossFit box tomorrow!   Green beer is involved (and a Paleo cook out afterwards)!

Running with Kenyan Way first thing tomorrow morning though! 

Yay for no rain this weekend!  Boooooo for hot weather!

Why Thursday is Quickly Becoming My Most Favorite Day of the Week :O)

This is me on Thursdays!!!

The runner girl...and nothing else.

Death by Wall Ball? That Just Sounds Horrible Doesn't It?

Warm Up:

Death By Wall Ball

Start @ 7

WOD:

'Helen'

3 Rounds

400m Run

21 KB Swings (55/35#)

12 Pullups

Core:

Death By Ball Slams

Start @ 7

I will start by explaining what Death by Wall Ball, or Death by Ball Slams are:  Basically, in this case anyway, you start with 7 of either in the first minute.  For each additional minute you add 1 additional to the starting number.  Make sense?  (in Wall Balls, I made it to 13 before quitting (6 minutes), and in Ball Slams I went to 15 and then called it a day (8 minutes)

Everyone at CF's everywhere has a 'nemesis', and mine (so far) is Wall Balls.  I hate them.  They hurt me.  They hurt my legs and they hurt my shoulders.  I use a 14lb freaking hacky sack basically which is harder to handle that say, a basketball like ball, and its brutality.  Sheer brutality.

For those that don't know its not simply throwing the damn ball up the wall, but there is a target, higher for men than women, but high enough...

And you aren't just standing there throwing it...you have to begin in the squatting position, throw the ball up there, and then proceed to catch it while you are moving your body back into the squatting position.

Like this...

Brutal indeed.

This video, which is just out to announce the standards of the Crossfit Games 12.4 workout shows how Wall Balls should be done for each rep to count.  We have tape all along the walls on the outside and inside of our 'box' so we know where our 'target' is both for women and the men.

Now what I do love is Ball Slams.  I prefer when we do partner ball slams, but ball slams are indeed fun to me.  

I scaled the WOD by using 25lb on the kettlebells (up from 15/20lbs that I have been using), and I used the band for the pull ups and on the 3rd round of pull ups, I used the rings instead.

My time for Helen: 12:04

I really wish I would have had an 11:xx and I could have had I not walked for a few seconds after the 200m turnaround on the 3rd round.

Ben, C, B and I started with KB's instead of the run since we weren't shooting for Rx, so after the KB's and the PU's,  Ben was the first out of the box, with B right after him and then myself.  As I exited, R yelled to me 'CATCH HIM!'.  B passed Ben up but I was still about 20yrds behind him up to the turnaround and it wasn't until I was about 50yrds away from re-entering the box and I pushed all that I had to go past him with his response being 'you stinker!'.  He must have said something to Russ when he came in because I heard R say 'ha!  Its my fault, I told her to catch you'.

This gave me the edge that I needed and now I needed to concentrate on pushing on the KB's to try and get out the door in front of Brit.  I thought I was going to let her catch up when I hit the bar, but I jumped off with 2 reps to go and finished on the rings, and I was gone!  That 2nd 400m I had to dig deep to keep my lead on her, and she was closing in on me, but I just had to run faster.

When I hit the box for the last round, I saw the clock said 8something and I freaking laid into those KB's, ran to the rings, and out the door again.  I had left Ben in my dust long ago.  I just wanted to beat B.

As I was making my way back, I had no idea how far back B was, and as Ben went past me I asked him, and he said about 30yrds.

Once I hit the box, I laid across the top of an actual box used for box jumps.  I laid there limply and R was laughing at me.  I said "I think I'm gonna throw up", to which he said "good.  Now get up and walk around with your hands above your head.  That should help."

Oy.

B came in at 12:28.  And Ben came in at 13:28.

I was just happy I beat both of them.  :O) 

Then it was on to Ball Slams which I fared at much better than Wall Balls...


p.s. I ran 4 miles on the treadmill before going to Crossfit

The Long Run (by Mishka Shubaly)

This was a gem of a little book!  I was turned on to this one by a friend on Facebook who posted the link for it being a Kindle (Single) and only .99 (free if you are an Amazon Prime Member).

This book really resonated with me due to my own past demons of substance abuse, internal demons and how running probably saved my life.  While I wasn't 'using' at the time I took up running, I would be willing to bet at some point I would have had a case of the backslider blues.

Even to this day, I have periods (usually just a day or less) where I think: Man...sure would be nice...you know, to just escape...to feel that feeling...but thankfully it goes away almost as quickly as it comes on.

So if you are looking for a quick, easy and good read for cheap, this one is one that I would recommend.

I finished it in 2 days.

Here is one small excerpt that I clipped/saved (love that feature on my Kindle btw):  and my old buddies, well, we can't hang out anymore.  They are recalcitrant before they drink and then loud, repetitive and finally, incomprehensible as the evening wears on.  They hold me at arm's length, too, like some grim memento mori.  Can't say that I blame them  ---- I have gone over to The Other Side.  I am a bleak reminder of what may lay in store for them, the Ghost of Christmas Future.

This is what my life before and now have become.  While I still am 'friends' with them all, I haven't seen 98% of them in 4+ years.  They still hang out at bars, still congregate to listen to whatever the band of the moment is, and still drink in excess (drinking wasn't my problem although I could drink for days.  Ugh that sounds like a problem doesn't it? LOL)...anyway, I tried a time or two to meet up in the old familiar places under the old familiar situations, but I just cannot handle being around drunk people.

Not because it makes me want to partake (I still have a cocktail or two from time to time; I'm not a fuddy duddy!), but because I cannot stand the antics of drunks.  The screaming to be heard over everyone else and the music, the drinks being dropped or spilled...the smell...any of it.  But mostly because I just can't be sober around drunk people.  They are infuriating.  I realize I was probably that person...but that person hasn't been a part of me since 2005.

And drinking etc., interferes not only with my running, but it interferes with my feeling good every morning that I wake up.

I wonder sometimes...had I known how good it felt to not be hungover from drugs or alcohol, I might have done it more often...or less often I mean... as I guess that is what is actually applicable...

This line in the book says it all:  For me, the hardest part was learning how to care about my life again.



p.s. there are a lot of good things that have come out of not being on Facebook and Twitter these past 3 weeks.  One of them being that I am reading a lot more!

Groovy Tuesday at CrossFit

Warm Up:

Turkish Get Ups

5 - 4 - 3 - 2 -1

Each arm

Go up in # each set

WOD:

15 min AMRAP

10 DeadLifts (225/185#) - Only overhand grip allowed (like I can deadlift 185lbs!)

10 Lateral Hops - Over and back over the DL bar = 1 rep

5 DumbBell Thrusters (45/30#)

300m Run

Buddy Cool Down:

100 Medicine Ball Butterfly Situp passes (20lb/14lb)

One good thing about the time change is that its now lighter out longer in the evenings so I can ride my bike to and from either the gym or CrossFit.  Sure I could have done it before, but its just scary riding over the TCJBridge at night.  I just didn't see a point in possibly becoming roadkill.

So yesterday I decided not to run before CF and just hopped on my bike and rode over to the box and met up with the usual suspects. 

There was a new girl, fresh off of On Ramp last week, that is also Kenyan Way, so its always fun to meet a fellow KW runner.  With so many people at KW during marathon training season, its hard to meet everyone!  She recognized me, not the other way around, as usual :O)  She ended up being my partner for the Partner Core at the end since B wasn't there and T was coming for the later session.  I hope she is there tonight as well, because she is really nice and I liked her from the get go.

 

I scaled the deadlift weight to 85lbs (as most girls do/did), and I only used 15lb dumbbells x 2 for the DB Thrusters.  The new coach tried to get me to put more weight on, but I said nope.  This is plenty and while it may look like its easy for me to you, its not.

By looking at the board from the day, most everyone was hitting 4+ or 3+ rounds, and I set my sights on 3+ (which means 3 full rounds plus whatever others I could fit in before he called time).

At some point after coming back in after my 300m run the 3rd time, I looked at the countdown clock and knew I had a small chance of making it a full 4th round.  The bar hops gave me the most 'trouble' in that last set, and I never thought I was going to be able to run another 300m after 5 more DB T's, and when I looked at the clock and saw that I had just under 2 min to finish, I was out the door! 

About 150m in my legs just started to give out and I stopped to walk and I heard C behind me yelling GO JUNE GO!  You got this!  I said a bad word and off I went. 

As I rounded the last corner with a mere 10 yards to go, I reached the gate and heard J call TIME!

I had done it.  Thank you C for yelling at me!

I just love love love CrossFit! 

Even when I hate it.  :O)

And of course since I had ridden my bike there...I had to ride it back home...

Oy.