Spring Fling V: The Official Pics

Shayn at Edgematic Images has released a ton of pictures from Spring Fling V.  Naturally, there are a few examples of the ridiculous faces I make mid-workout.

"Do these shorts make my ass look big?"    

The look I've got here pretty much captures how much I was hating life at the time. 

I'm preparing to snatch a whopping 95lbs, so obviously I had to break out the epic face.  

If you want to give Shayn some business -- or just see some pictures of people who manage to not look like a total freakshow while competing --  check him out on Facebook.

CFR: "Blackjack"

Warm-up
"Roxanne":
Play the song "Roxanne." Jog in place, and do a burpee every time you say the word "Roxanne."


WOD
"Blackjack"
First WOD since Spring Fling.  I wasn't back to 100%, and this isn't a WOD suitable for blasting through, anyway, so I just resolved to get through it. 

21 pull-ups
200m run
21 push-ups
200m run
21 squat clean and jerks
200m run
21 burpee pull-ups to 8'
200m run
21 calorie row
100m run

The clean and jerks took a little longer than I would have liked. 

18:22 rx'd

CFR Spring Fling V

TART (Tyler And Rankin's Team) finished in 5th  place out of 21 teams after four WODs.  We're happy with that.

WOD 1: Fatbar Squat Clean and Two Presses

After learning that we could alternate lifts, this altered our strategy a bit.  We had thought that I had to be done before Rankin could start.

I started with 160 on the bar, for a safe lift.

I put 180 on the bar, and did it.  Rankin lifted it too.

I completed 190, as did Rankin.

I put 200 on the bar.  I squat cleaned it, but couldn't get a press and had to drop it.

Rankin completed the complex and added 10 lbs.

He managed to clean it, but couldn't get a press before time ran out.

Our score was 390.2, which was good for 7th place in that event.


WOD 2: Two Five-Minute AMRAPs

AMRAP 1:
200m row
10 burpees over ERG

I don't want to be a complainer, but the judge on this messed me up by counting my burpees BEFORE I completed them. So a couple of times I stopped on the 9, only to be told that I had one more to do.  That confusion cost us a few seconds.

Really, though, it's on me.  I should have counted for myself from the start, which I did on the third round.



AMRAP 2:
20 double unders
10 bell swings (55lbs)

Rankin had to work harder with less rest on the first part, so I took the first three shifts on this one (DUs, one set of swings, and back to the DUs).  After that, we split the work with me doing the skipping and him on the swings.

Due to that, I failed after eight DUs when I got back to the skipping.

It was smooth sailing after that, with no more failures.  After a few more rounds, I took one more shift of the bell swings to give Rankin another quick breather.  I felt good about how we did on the second AMRAP. There was almost no wasted time.

Our score was 1243, good for 8th place.  The team ahead of us got 1244 and the fourth place team got 1266, so the the extra seconds on the row would have definitely upped our results a bit.  (Every metre counted as one point, so this competition rewarded rowing disproportionately... although if you were slow on the burpees, there was less time to row.)

Even though we finished in 8th in this event, we managed to move up to 6th place in the overall standings.


WOD 3: Pull-ups, Snatches, and Weighted Lunges


Five rounds of
12 cleans (95lbs)
12 pull-ups
4x40' 45lb walking lunges (alternating between partners)

(12 min time cap)

The competition was held at the Highland Curling Club.  One of my concerns was the fact that there were no mats on the lanes where we were expected to do the walking lunges on the bare concrete.  The movement standard said our knees had to make contact with the ground.

My lunging style is not all that controlled, so I was faced with either slamming my kneecaps on the concrete or going slow and tentative.

I chose Option 3.  During the break between WODs 2 and 3, I had to run an errand.  On the way back, I stopped into WalMart and bought a $10 pair of volleyball kneepads.   I would have bought a pair for Rankin, but there was only one pair left.

When I busted them out in the athlete's warm-up area, reactions ranged from a joking "That's isn't legal" (actually, it was; I checked) to "Fuck, that's smart" (correct) to "Pussy" (I imagine; no one actually said this to me, but I'm sure they were thinking it.)

During the event, the kneepads really made a difference.  Rankin and I hit this WOD hard.  We had noticed that some of the other teams in the previous heat had little urgency when tagging out, and we resolved to be quick.

We divided the pull-ups and snatches.  I did the pull-ups, and managed to do each set of 12 unbroken.

Rankin was an absolute beast on the snatches.  He did them all, other than asking me to do four in the third round.

I went as fast as I could on the walking lunges, but I have Marvin the Martian legs.  Rankin needed about four lunges to make each 20' length.

We ended up only 60' of walking lunges short of completing the WOD, which put us in 4th place in the event and 4th place overall.


WOD 4: Conga Line from Hell

The top 8 teams qualified for the bonus WOD, which was announced just before we did it.  They probably did it that way because no one would have tried to finish top 8 if they knew what what they were going to have to do.

This one sucked.  I hated it when I was doing it, I hated it when I was done it and I hate it as I'm writing this. In five years, I could re-read this blog post and I know I will think to myself, "I still hate that fucking WOD."  

30-20-10
Toes to Bar
Jumping squats onto a plate
155lb deadlifts

(15 minute time cap)

We each had to do these. Partner 1 has to complete his station before Partner 2 could start.  Partner 2 couldn't pass Partner 1

I went first, because Rankin said he was awful at T2B.

Well, T2B were terrible for me for me, too, although I managed to avoid tearing my sissy hands to shreds.

We DNF'd this one, and it was my fault.  I took WAY long on the T2B in both the sets of 30 and 20.  I was stepping up to the bar, which ate up too much time.  Jumping up to the bar sucked, too.  There were times I could only do one rep before dropping off.   I'm sure at least a couple of the teams must have lapped me.

We finished 7th out of the 8 teams in this WOD.

We finished in 5th place, and agreed that we were very satisfied with that result.

I was lucky to have Rankin as a partner.  He really carried this team, and I can't imagine too many other guys would have kept going after ripping up his hands like this.

I sure wouldn't have.

He and I approached the competition the same way.  We didn't go in expecting win the whole thing, but we knew we had a chance to do well and we came up with a plan to maximize our individual strengths.

I usually enjoy CrossFit competitions (by the end of them; I can be a sucky baby at times during), and doing the team version was even more fun.  There was less pressure and strategy was a factor, rather than just sheer athleticism  Also, I finished better than bottom three, which is nice.  I think this is how I will participate in CrossFit competitions going forward whenever possible.

.

CFR: More Spring Fling prep

Rankin and I met to discuss strategy and work on fatbar cleans

Unfortunately, I can't disclose more than that.

CFR: Spring Fling Prep

CrossFit Regina released the WODs for Spring Fling V.

Rankin and I met to test the waters on a couple of the workouts.

WOD 1: 5 min to find a max axle bar squat clean and push press x2

The tricky part about this one is that the teams only have a total of 5 minutes, and that the weight on the bar can never be reduced.  So the first guy has to end at a number that the second guy starts with.

Rankin is stronger than me, so this should work out okay.  The number that I can confidently hit is a good starting point for him.



WOD 2: Five-minute AMRAPs

Five-minute AMRAP of:

• 200m row
• 10 burpees over ERG

One minute rest.

Five-minute AMRAP of:

• 20 double-unders
• 10 bell swings (55lbs) 

Basically, we just have to hit this one hard and fast. Rankin rowed. The burpees over the ERG were surprisingly quick for me (assuming I was counting correctly).   Transition time is going to be key in this one.

In the second part, the DUs were easier for me than the swings were for Rankin, so we switched up.  During the actual competition, we may switch back.



After the WODs, I did a single muscle-up.


Here's WOD 3, which we'll play around with on Thursday:

Five rounds for time (12min time cap)

12 power snatch (95lbs)
12 pull-ups
8 20-foot lengths of a sandbag lunge (each partner does four each)

Athletes may divide reps on the snatch and pull-ups as much as we want.

5 rounds for time (12min time cap)

12 power Snatch (95/65)

12 Pull ups

8 lengths (20′ lengths) of a sand bag lunge (45/20) – 4 each

 

In teams, you will complete 5 rounds of the above. Athletes may split reps and exercises (only snatch and  pull ups as they wish with only one athlete working at a time) each athlete must do lunges. 

Barbell Complex and Rejected Spring Fling Team Names

CrossFit Regina WOD

Five rounds, not for time:
Using 95lb barbell

-Snatch Grip Deadlift x6
-Snatch Grip Romanian Deadlift x6
-Hang Power Snatch x6
-Overhead Squat x6
-Push press x6

Don't put the bar down until you've gone through the entire complex.  You're supposed to rest 90 seconds between sets.  I was partnered with two other dudes, so my rest time might have been more than that, but not nearly as much as I would have liked.

Rx'd version called for behind the back, snatch-grip push press, unless you have shoulder issues, which I do.  I can barely lower an empty bar behind my head, let alone after a shitload of work. 

I did this.  It got hard at the end.  (That's what she said.)

Rejected Spring Fling Team Names

I signed up for this year's CrossFit Regina Spring Fling V.  I decided to change things up from finishing in the bottom 3 of the individual competition, so I signed up in the team competition. 

Rankin is graciously allowing me to be the albatross around his neck as we are partnering up. 

The competition isn't until June, but the first order of business was come up with a team name. 

Here are some of the ones I proposed, which we didn't go with.  However, some of these are great and I reserve the right to use any or all ofthem at a future date.  NO STEALSIES!

In no particular order: 

-Jazzercise
-Ran-Ty
-Trankin
-Vicious and Delicious
-Nacho Men
-Rich Froning's Weird Cousins
-Awesomesauce
-Paleotards  (We almost went with this, but decided it might be deemed offensive.)
-Paleo Dicaprio
-Beerpees
-Rhabdominators  

I will reveal our actual team name at a later date.  Right now, only Rankin and I know it.   

And Keenan.   

And maybe Aimee and her unborn child.   

And a couple of my co-workers.    

But other than that, I'm keeping it under wraps.

.  

Snatchy Snatch Snatch / "Breathless"

A. Snatchy Snatch Snatch*

*Not the official name. But it should be, amiright?

1. Snatch Complex: Snatch DL, Snatch Shrug, Snatch high Pull, Snatch (bar, +20lbs, 40%,50%)
2. Snatch 60% x 3, 65% x 3, 70% x3x3 – build into with snatch with complex, focus on bar positioning and ending up on toes in full extension. Do not set bar down in between each rep, lower the bar so it is about 1 inch from floor (completing 3 reps not 3 singles). 

I did 95, 105 and 115. 

Uncles gave me a good tip on the snatch.  He said I could be opening my hips more.  I kept that in mind and noticed an immediate difference. 


B.  Metcon = “Breathless”
AMRAP in 12mins:
15 Burpees
35 Double Unders

Note to self: When doing a WOD that has double unders, ensure that your shorts are laced sufficiently tightly so they don't start falling down around your ass in the first fucking round, forcing you to drop the rope and waste precious seconds retying your shorts so that you preserve some shred of modesty.

Other than that, things went just swimmingly.  Meaning, I sucked wind like this one as much as I did when swimming* at Spring Fling.

*Fuck swimming, amiright? Fuck it in its ear.

In addition to the near self-pantsing, my first attempt at double unders also featured a couple of sets of five or less.  Somewhat less than efficient. 

In subsequent rounds, I did them in 20 and 15.  In the last one, though, I was trying to maximize my score, so I did 35 straight.  Not sure if that was smart, because I wanted to complete 15 burpees and get back on the rope, but I was pretty gassed.

No dice.  I only got to 12 burpees. 

Final score: 5 rounds + 12 burpees.

Spring Fling IV

 

Short version

Full results here.

I finished 30th out of 31 men in Division 1.   Fuckin' swimming, man.  Fuckin' swimming. 

Nevertheless, I had a great time and this was as good as any CrossFit competition as I've participated in. 

Longer, incredibly self-absorbed version

I tweaked  my back on Wednesday doing back squats and I was still hurting two days later.  I actually tried to pull out on Friday, but there was no one who was able to take my spot on short notice and the Scot in me wasn't willing to kiss $80 goodbye.  Yeah, I would have gotten a T-shirt, but I'm not going to wear something that says "Competitor" on the back if I didn't actually compete.  

I thought I'd give it a shot on Saturday and see how I held up during WOD 1.  I wasn't optimistic after a couple of painful 95lb cleans in the warm-up area (alley). Then I borrowed Matt's belt, and it made a world of difference. 


WOD1 "Grace is growing on you"  (8:00 time cap)

10 Clean & Jerks 135lbs (Grace standards apply, any clean, any jerk)
100m Run (to 50m marker and back)

10 Clean & Jerks 155lbs (athlete adds own weight to bar)

100m Run (to 50m marker and back)

10 Clean & Jerks 185lbs  (athlete adds own weight to bar)


I had a pretty good pace on the first set of 10.  Don't get me wrong, I was by far the slowest in my heat, but I think I was still done it in under 90 seconds.

After the run, the 155lbs went okay. 

I don't remember how much time I had went I got back from the second run.  Less than four minutes, for sure.   I remember thinking it probably wouldn't be enough time. 

Going into this, the 185lb C&Js were kind of scary to me.  I've cleaned more than that for singles plenty of times, but usually not after doing a fair of work already.

However, when I started doing them, they actually went up a little easier than expected.  It could've been because I was good and warm by then, or due to Matt's belt, or just because I was the last one still going in my heat so I got a lot of support from the spectators. 

Ricky Bobby said "If you ain't first, you're last."

Well, in CrossFit, when you're last, they cheer you like you're first. 

Because it was so loud in there, I couldn't really hear my judge Nicole telling me what rep I was on. I probably wasn't paying much attention anyway. 

With 10 seconds left on the clock, all I knew I wasn't done yet, and I couldn't will myself to pick up that bar one more time. 

I found out afterward that it would've been my last one.  Oh, and you get a half-point for a clean.  That hurt a little.

But, going into this, I figured I would likely DNF it.  I did, but I DNF'd it as good as I possibly could have without, y'know, F-ing it. 

After they posted the results, I thought I was tied for last on this WOD, because my name was at the bottom of the page.  I didn't see the second sheet of paper underneath with the rest of the field. 

26th out of 31


Between WODs 1 and 2, I took advantage of the free massages offered to athletes, asking the masseuse to work on my lower back.  That was so great.

* * *

WOD2 - “Save Olympic Wrestling”


12 minute AMRAP of:

5 KB Snatch each arm (55lbs)

5 pullup/toes to bar complex
15 Burpee broad jumps

Having done this WOD on Wednesday, I knew what to expect.  I also knew that there is only one way to do well on this: Don't stop. 

So I went as fast as I could.  The snatches were over quick.  I'm not great at T2B, but I tried not to waste too much time on them. 

After the first round, I felt like maybe I had pushed the pace too much,  I don't know if I noticeably slowed down, but I tried to just push through it.  

Global News was there to take some shots for the weekend sportscast, and when I saw the clips on TV, it sure seemed like I was moving slower than I remembered. 

By the way that coverage also included a clip of yours truly doing this:

Is this a shot from Global Regina's coverage of Spring Fling, or a clip from my long forgotten softcore past?

Sexy, right?   You can look, ladies, but you can't touch.  Or if you do touch, try to make it seem like an accident. 

I had a couple of missteps during the WOD.  One time I started on the T2B, not the pull-ups.  Because I'm a dumbass.

And then, late in the WOD, I couldn't find my kettlebell.  Like, what the fuck?  I know I put it back on the designated spot, so I think the dude in the lane next to me (you can see him in the picture above) misplaced his, and then used mine and put it back on his spot. 

So I took it back, did my snatches and put it back on his spot before he needed it.  I don't know how much time it cost me looking for a new KB (there were 45s in the vicinity so that added to my confusion).  It could have been 10 seconds or it could have been 20.  It may have cost me a few reps, which would have made a slight difference in the WOD and overall standings (maybe one spot, two at the very most) but whatever.

I finished with a score of 154 on the WOD (4 complete rounds, plus 10 snatches and 2 PLU/T2B). 
That was good for 26th out of 31. 

* * *

This smiling fool has no idea how bad this is is gonna be.  No frickin' idea.

WOD #3 “Sink or Swim”


10:00 time cap
2 rounds for time:

100m Swim

25 Squats

50m Kick

25 Situps

The last time I swam in any kind of a competition, it was in Cancun in 2010.  That competition involved swimming across a hotel pool (maybe 10m), chugging a beer, swimming across the pool, eating a slice of cheesecake, and then more swimming, and possibly tequila.   

I nearly died. 

This was worse.  Holy shit, I should have gone to swim club. 

As I was approaching the edge of the pool after the first 50m, I looked down and saw how deep it was, then looked up and saw how far I was away from the wall and I thought that I might actually drown. 

I'm pretty sure I forgot to kick my feet for at least some of the time I was swimming.  And when I was kicking, I was kicking them out of the water, which is inefficient and spazzy.  It's good to see that my swimming technique shares some qualities with my Oly lifting.

I couldn't believe people were walking in the water when they got to the shallow end of the pool... until I actually started doing the WOD and that was my favourite part. 

Anyway, I was terrible at this and I have no one to blame but myself.  I knew for weeks there'd be swimming and I did absolutely NOTHING to prepare for it.

I got ANOTHER fucking DNF... I was six situps away from finishing.  29th out of 31.


I would like to note for the record that, despite how terrible I did,  I think it was a great idea to include swimming in this year's Spring Fling.   It's good to see how CrossFit-ness can translate into success (or, in my case, lack thereof) in other areas of fitness that we don't experience every week in the box. 

Plus, the swim WOD also gave us a chance to see Shae wearing a pair of Batman swim trunks he obviously stole from an 8-year-old. 


Holy compressed package, Batman!



And, since I was safely out of the top 8 -- way, WAY out of the top 8 -- I was able to relax and enjoy watching the final event (a fucking Fat Bar Fran) with a couple of my best friends.



So, yeah, good weekend.   

All the best pictures in this post (the two sweet black and white ones, "Swimming Idiot" and "Nacho Time") were taken by Shane Nicholson of EdgeMatic Images.  He takes awesome CrossFit pictures, and I bet he's great at other kinds of photography, too. Hey, maybe you should hire him to take pictures of something.     





Back Squats / Spring Fling WOD2

A. Back Squats 5-5-5

(start at 81%; Spring Fling competitors do sets across )

I did a few warm-up sets and then did fives of 245.

I tweaked my back on this so only did two sets

 

B.  Spring Fling WOD2: “Save Olympic Wrestling”

12 minute AMRAP of:

5 KB Snatch each arm  (10 points)

5 pullup/ toes to bar complex (10 points)

15 Burpee broad jumps (15 points)


3 rounds + 5 KB snatch (right arm) + 5 KB snatch (left arm)  +  5 pull-up/T2B + 9 Burpee Broad Jumps

Front Squats / "Back at the Ranch"

I'm writing this two weeks later, so this is all best guess stuff. 

A.  Front Squats 5-5-5

I think I did 185-205-225

B. “Back at the Ranch” (from Spring Fling 2011)

3 mins Burpee Box Jump overs (24/20″)  - 32?  That seems low.

1 min rest

3 mins Sled Drags for distance (185/125, 135/95, 95/65lb) back and forth to 50m mark.

I used 185. This was terrible.    I couldn't get moving to start.  Ended up with 125m

Tyler gets, I dunno... ranty? Preachy? Sanctimonious?

I wrote the following on the CFR blog today.  My goal was to encourage at least a few more CFR members to think about signing up for CFR's Spring Fling.  I worry the tone comes off as preachy or like I take all this shit too seriously (maybe I do... or maybe I don't take it seriously enough), but I stand behind the sentiment. 

Since this blog is where I write about my experiences with CrossFit, I might as well re-post it here.

What prompted it was a post by Robin.

Robin said:
CFR members, we have 8 men and 8 women already signed up for Spring Fling! If you want to compete, make sure you sign up at CFR TONIGHT! Registration will be made public tomorrow!

Which compelled me to write with my two cents.

Tyler said:
Re: Spring Fling – I encourage any CFR member who’s on the fence about this to sign up. Just do it.
16 participants from CFR is a good number, but I think it would be great if we could get some more out for a competition hosted by OUR OWN GYM.
 
Friggin’ Synergy in Saskatoon chartered a bus to so they could have, like 20-some people drive 8 hours across a frozen Prairie in January to FrostFit in Winnipeg. I’m sure they, and Function, and Brio and Flux and other gyms will have good sized delegations. We should too.

So, set aside those lingering doubts and sign up. If you are new and have to scale most of your WODs then sign up for Div 2.

If you’ve been doing CrossFit for a while and can do most of the WODs as Rx’d, then sign up for Div 1.

Look, I don’t have muscle-ups, I’ve never deadlifted more than 315, and I get winded just watching Lance and Shae and Leya and Tiff work out, but I still signed up.

Yes, I will not finish anywhere near the podium and you might not either because there will be some freaking crazy fit ninjas in the same division, but you know what?

It doesn’t matter.

You’ll get to push yourself in a fun, supportive atmosphere with people you know (and people you don’t) cheering you on and there is no pressure because even if you finish last in Div 1 or Div 2 or the Masters category, you’re still way ahead of everyone who didn’t compete.

I can virtually guarantee doing this will make you love CrossFit even more than you already do. Take it from the guy who finished SECOND LAST in 2012 (that would be me… and I barely edged out a new CrossFitter because I could do double-unders and he couldn’t)
Even with my ridiculously fragile ego (I get legit mad when my own 5-year-old kid repeatedly beats me in boxing on the Wii) I still signed up for Div 1 knowing that I could very well finish last this year.

I think it would be awesome if you signed up, too.

Okay… I will get down off my soapbox now.

Then Mike, one of the nicest guys at CrossFit or anywhere else, followed up with a post that struck exactly the kind of tone I wish I had.  Dammit.  No wonder that guy won CrossFitter of the Year.

Mike C  said:

I could not believe how much fun I had at Frostfit. Getting to know Tyler, Jenn and Tiff along with our CFR support team was an incredible experience. I finished 20 out of 25 in div 2 and I came away inspired, enthusiastic and focused on the things I wanted to work on. I won’t be able to compete with many of the athletes at Spring Fling, but if that mattered, how many of us would go to CFR every week other than the super-humans like Robin, Matt, Joel and the others Tyler mentioned? I kind of had the same reaction to other competitors that I do at our gym – amazed they can do what they do, humbled in my own abilities, but really uplifted by how accepting and kind everyone is and how they genuinely root for you to do well.

I have found that the competition was less about competing with others and more about testing yourself in a way you haven’t before – in other words it’s really in line with what makes CFR amazing every day. Sign up if you are hesitant, and feel free to slash Tyler’s tires if you don’t like it. (that’s ok, right Tyler?)

Spring Fling 2012

Official results


WOD 1: "JETHRO" (aka TYLER LOVES SNATCH)

Five minutes to a max single Snatch/Overhead Squat, rest one minute, five minutes to a max single rep of "The Bear."

I had no illusions of destroying the field on this.  My overhead squat is fairly good, but my snatch is mediocre. 

I had a lot of time to warm up for WOD 1 since I was in one of the later heats, so I did a lot of 135lb snatches. I decided to start a bit heavier than that in the competition. I think I started with 140, then went to 155. After practicing this week, I wasn't counting on snatching more than 150, but at this point I was having fun and decided to go for 160, which would tie my PR. Since the competition allowed for a lot of leeway when it came to pressing out, I got that.

At this point I still had a fair amount of time on the clock, so I thought I might as well go for 165. I got 165 (Snatch PR) with about 30 seconds left in the five-minute period.

I believe I started the Bear with 155. I'm not sure if I did any other weights before putting 180 on the bar.

I was able to do 180 with a lot of time left, so I thought "What the heck?" and put 205 on the bar.  (Spoiler alert: this is a dumb approach to take during competitions)I cleaned it, front squatted it, jerked it, back squatted it. I rested for a bit with the weight across my shoulders, and attempted a jerk. I let out a decidedly non-gangsta screech and failed the lift.

In retrospect, I should have gone a bit lighter... like, maybe 195. I am not complaining about how I did on this one, though. I was planning on only doing 150 on the snatch and 165 on the Bear, so I beat my total by 30lbs and got a new PR to boot.

With my total of 345lbs I got 14th out of 20 on WOD 1.

WOD 2.1: SHOTPUT (aka "FUUUUUUUUUCK")

I knew this would suck for me, and it did.

My two throws were very close to each other and far short of just about everyone else's. 

 thought they were 7.51 and 7.53m, but the official records use my 7.51 as the throw that counted, so I could remember wrong. If I'm not wrong, I would have placed18th, instead of the 19th spot that I was credited for since a dude from Winnipeg got 7.52.

WOD 2.2: 800 METRE RUN (aka TYLER AIN'T AS FAST AS HE THOUGHT HE WAS)

I thought I would do relatively well at this, but -- as it turns out -- pretty much all the dudes in Div 1 were fast and strong. Fuckers. They should pick one or the other.

My time of 2:55 (a PR, I might add) was only good for 17th place out of 20. That was a pretty jarring reality check for me once I learned that little piece of news. 

Still, this WOD was responsible for one of my favorite memories of the day:

Jarrett and I were in the same heat, along with Shawn and Big Nick S. Jarrett and I started out fast and I overtook him around 100 metres into the run. Still, I knew he was pretty close behind me because I could hear him. That's the worst feeling.

I should also mention that Jarrett has a nagging groin injury that helped keep him to my speed.

On the second lap of the 400m track, I avoided some puddles and, in doing so, gave up the inside track to Jarrett. He pulled up beside me and edged ahead as we were coming around the final turn. I put everything I had into catching up to him and we were neck and neck down the final stretch, each doing everything we could to beat the other.

He beat me by a nose (the official record says  his time was 2:54 but there was far less than a second between us). I was disappointed that I lost to him for the next three minutes.

Then I realized something: Jarrett was competing in Division 2. It didn't matter if he beat me.

Furthermore, I finished a lot faster than I would have if I wasn't trying to catch him, and I did finish just one second ahead of the guy in 18th place, so I have Jarrett (and his groin) to thank for that.



WOD 3: "LIVE WITH ROYCE" (aka TYLER FUCKING BLOWS IT)

Three rounds of a 400m run with a 65lb sandbag and 15 chin OVER bar pull-ups.

This event was responsible for another great moment that I will remember for a long time.  And it had absolutely nothing to do with me. 

The youngest competitor of the day, a 12-year-old kid named Mack from Yorkton's CrossFit Function, was finishing up the Div 3 version of the workout.  And, like what happened with Brad Flood's box jumps in 2010, the entire crowd was cheering him on as he finished and staggered into a hug from his mom, who was also competing. 

Here's a video of his last five pull-ups.  I saw this live and watched the video a couple of times, and I seriously get a little choked up every single time.



I would say my own personal memories of this WOD are not quite as fond.  This was the worst one for me, both in terms of how hard it hit me and how I failed to live up to my own expectations.

Going into it I actually thought I'd do okay. But, as it turns out, 65lbs is a lot of goddamn weight to carry for 400m.

What's worse is the fact that whatever I did diet-wise during the day, snacking on dried mango and a bit of beef jerky, didn't work and I started getting a cramp in my stomach on the first run. It didn't hinder me much on the first one, and probably not that much on the second, but I really felt it on the third.  On the second and third runs, I did have to take some walking breaks.  I also had some interesting conversations with myself.

By the time I got to the pull-up bar on the last round, I would guess I only had about 35 seconds left.  I pounded them out as fast as I could, but  I got a DNFF. I was two pull-ups short, which was good for 18th place.

Another thing that hurt was the pull-ups. The standard was that we had to get our chin through the vertical plane of the bar, so it could be seen on the other side (at least, that's how my judge interpreted it).

Frankly, I think this was a mistake to include this standard.

Chin over bar a hard enough thing to do without hurting yourself, and the CrossFit Regina pull-up apparatus ("Royce") is not completely stable. It wiggles and shakes a little when there are people swinging on it.  So, when you've got a bunch of other CrossFit psychos furiously banging out pull ups, it's easy to take a bar to the throat when you're attempting to satisfy a finicky judge.

I got called for a bunch of no-reps in the first round, at least five and maybe as many as seven. So on rounds two and three I made sure to get as much as my face over that bar as possible. As a result, there a couple of times I really slammed my throat on the bar, and one time I grazed my chin on it.

It actually bothered me quite a bit later on in the day, and I had trouble swallowing for hours afterward.

It's really my only problem with the entire event, but I would recommend to Aaron and Robin that they program either regular pull-ups or chest-to-bar instead of chin-over-bar in future events. Personally, that's the last time I'm going to do the chin-over-bar version, no matter what the WOD calls for.

Beyond my minor quibble with the pull-up standard, I thought this was a good, tough event that really tested a competitor's heart and fitness, which is all you can ask of a CrossFit WOD.

WOD 4: CLASSIC CROSSFIT (aka TYLER'S LAST CHANCE)

One minute at each of the following stations:

Wall ball

24" box jump

70lb bell swings

Double unders

Speed burpees

Going into this WOD, I was sitting in dead last in Div 1. I actually predicted this on the CFR website earlier in the week, but I gotta admit I was really hoping to at least beat a couple of guys.  I know I preach "If you wanna be a big dog, you gotta run with the big dogs" but it's still pretty hard on my fragile ego to be running at the absolute back of the pack. 

However, before WOD 4 I was in last place by three points, which meant I had to get at least 17th out of 20, and hope the dude in 19 got last if I wanted to beat even one guy.

My strategy on WOD 4 hinged on doing well on the double unders and hoping that there were some dudes who couldn't do them very good at all. I figured everyone would be pretty close on the box jumps, WB, and burpees.

Because I remember how bad the 70lb bell swings were in the final WOD from my first competition in Saskatoon, my plan was to rest that entire minute and enter the DU minute as fresh as possible. I figured, I could kill myself to get 15 swings, or I could rest and get another 20-30 reps in DUs. As it turned out, since my judge Trevor (of CrossFit Function) was yelling at me (he's actually a super nice guy), I did pick up the bell and do 10 swings, but I stopped well before the minute was done.

The DUs didn't go quite as well as I wanted, but I did manage to get an even 50 in them. I had time for some more but I kept tripping up on the rope.  

It was pretty amazing to see Nolan, who placed first in this event and second overall, do a minute straight of double unders.  This came after he did a minute straight (NO breaks) of wall balls, and another minute straight of box jumps.  He took a brief breather on the bell swings, but he probably still got at least 20  of them.

If Nolan weren't such an incredibly great guy, I would totally resent how awesome he is at CrossFit.  He is my CrossFit hero.

In the end, I got 13th place on WOD 4 with a score of 123.

My math actually had me at 126, which would have been good for 10th in the WOD, but I could be remembering my round totals wrong. I only saw the tally sheet briefly when Trevor had me sign it, and I WAS pretty destroyed by the WOD at the moment. (I should note that even if I WAS victim of erroneous math on the final WOD and the shot put -- and I very likely wasn't and am just remembering wrong -- it wouldn't have resulted in me finishing any higher than I did overall, since I was 11 points away from the next guy).

At the end of the day, I ended up in 19th place overall.

This was an extremely well-organized and well-designed competition and, despite my bitching and moaning about my own lack of success during the day, these events always remind me why I dig CrossFit so much.

Congrats to Robin and Aaron and all the volunteers and judges for making the day go so smoothly.   I look forward to another bottom three finish next year.

More Spring Fling practice

I spent a little time at 6am working on snatches, the Bear, shot put and reminding myself how to do double unders

Spring Fling practice

I basically just worked on a little bit of the snatch/OHS and Bear weights to figure out what I should go for in the competition.

Spring Fling Workouts released

The workouts for this Saturday's Spring Fling have been released and I think the CrossFit Regina crew have done a good job coming up with a good mix of events. 

Here's what I'll be doing this Saturday:

WOD1) “JETHRO”


Barbell Complex x2, at CFR

Part 1) 5 min to max Snatch + Overhead Squat

1 min rest

Part 2) 5 min to Max Bear single

Score 1 = total pounds of best of each

Standards:
 Start with an empty bar, athlete does all weight changes themselves, as many attempts as you wish during the 5 minutes, weights may decrease if you miss.


Part 1) Snatch may be power, squat, split, press outs allowed. However you snatch, you must still complete one OHS after. For example, if you squat snatch the weight, you must still add an OHS.


Part 2) One rep of “The Bear” is Power Clean + Front Squat + Push Press from front + Back Squat + Push Press from behind the neck. All standard Bear rules apply.


WOD2) Classic Track & Field

2 Track & Field events, at Usher Track.  I went to Usher Collegiate, but it wasn't the site of any athletic triumphs for me.  I can't see that changing on Saturday. 

Part 1) Max Shot Put – 2 attempts

1 min rest

Part 2) 800m Run

Score 2 = best meter distance for shot put

Score 3 = time for 800m Run




StandardsPart 1) Standard Shot Put weights: Div 1 & 2 men = 16lb, Div 3 men = 12lb, All women = 8.8lb
Part 2) 2 laps around track for time



WOD3) “LIVE WITH ROYCE”
At Usher Track

3 rounds for time of:

400m Run with Sandbag

15/10 Pull-ups

12 min time limit

Score 4 = total time (plus one second for every rep not completed, in this case every 100m = one rep)

Standards:
Div 1 men = 65lb sandbag
Div 1 men & women = COVP (chin over vertical plane = chin over bar), 15 reps


WOD4) Classic CrossFit

Back at CFR

1 min at each station:
Wall Ball
Box Jumps
KB Swings – heavy
Double-Unders
Speed Burpees

One point for every rep completed

Score 5 = Total reps completed

Standards:
Wall Ball – Full squat at bottom, ball must hit wall at required line or above.
Div 1 men 20lb ball to 10′ line, Div 1 women 14lb ball to 10′ line

Box Jump – both feet on box with feet horizontal to ground (ie heels can’t hang over), fully extend hips at top, must jump up, may jump or step down.
Div 1 men & women 24″ box

Kettlebell Swings – CrossFit style overhead (bottom of bell faces ceiling, judge must see ear from side)
Div 1 men 70lb, Div 1 women 55lb

Double-Unders – rope must pass under feet twice with one jump, you may use your own rope

Burpees – Speed burpees, chest touches floor, jump up with full hip extension and “punch ceiling” with straight arms, judge must see ear from side, feet must jump back and forth.


Athletes ranked according to placing, 1st place = 1 point, 2nd place = 2 points, etc. 5 total scores. Athlete with lowest # of points at the end of the day is the winner.

Spring Fling 2011 WOD

20 ront squats 185 lb (taken from the floor, not the rack)
30 speed burpees
30 pull-ups (chin must break bar's vertical plane)

5:50 rx'd.

I wasn't sure how quickly I would get through the squats, but I did sets of 10, 6 and 4 and it was over sooner than I thought. I managed to avoid having to clean the weight too much.

.

Spring Fling WODs 2 and 3

Spring Fling WOD #2 “Pull Through”
For time: 45 Pull-ups
Then 21-15-9 reps of
Power Snatch – 95/65lb
Row Calories

Time was 12:52


“Rain or Shine”
3 rounds for time:
400m Run
20 Push Press/Jerk – 115/80lb
20 Box Jumps – 20″

Time was 13:53

My times today were slower than they were when I did these in the Spring Fling, (10:28 and 3:20 respectively). That can be attributed to a number of factors, but mostly due to the fact that the competition atmosphere is so crazy that it pushes you to your absolute limit. It's hard to take much of a break when you've got a gym full of people screaming at you to pick up that bar or jump on that box, and you've got a counter right with you keeping track of your results and coaching you through. Plus, if you're chasing someone or trying to stay ahead of someone, it gives you a heck of a push.

Plus, I hadn't eaten. I had woke up about 5:45. I didn't warm up. AND it was 6am in the morning and I didn't even have my pre-morning WOD meal of a spoonful of Nutella (note to self: buy more Nutella). Finally, I knew I'd have only a 10-minute break to do these WODs, not five hours so I paced myself a bit more on the first one.

If I'm being honest with myself, I could and should have pushed myself a little harder. Lesson learned.

SCFC - "Spring Fling"

57 competitors, three events, one freaking crazy day.

Read about it on the CrossFit Regina website here.

See the final results here.

See pictures from the event here.

My voice was hoarse from screaming at other competitors. There was a great energy in the gym all day, and there were some incredible athletes gathered in one place. But just as inspiring were the regular people who pushed their bodies and spirits to the absolute limit, cheered on by friends and people they had never even met. I am not exaggerating when I say that there were a few times that I almost teared up just watching.

WOD 1 "Bottoms Up"
Concentric back squat (one rep max) plus ring dips.

This was like a max backsquat, except the bar was racked low and you start from that position. Your score on this one was the weight that you lifted plus five points for every ring dip.

You get four attempts at a lift. I did 245 and then 265. I failed on 285 and 275. After the fail on 285, I had a brief but entirely ridiculous spaz-out episode, which subsequently embarrassed me way more than actually missing the lift. That may have messed with my concentration when I went for 275. I didn't even lock the bar down properly on my back before standing up, so it rolled back and was ruled no lift.

I got 15 ring dips, which I think was a PR. I thought that was pretty good, but nearly every other guy in Div 1 beat it.

Total score was 340, which put me at 10th out of 14.

Even though adding the ring dips hurt me as far as the standings went (I would have finished a couple of spots higher if only squat numbers were counted), I thought adding them to this event made it a good balance.

WOD 2 "Pull Through"

45 pull-ups, then
21-15-9 of:
95lb snatch
Row for calories.

I did 26 pull-ups off the start, then finished it off with a few more sets in the 4-6 range. I had a couple of blisters, one on each ring finger. But I taped them up and I don't think they slowed me down on this one.

My strategy was to go as fast as I could though the snatches and not kill myself on the rower. Having said that, the 21 snatches were pretty awful.

There was a guy next to me who could pass for a marine and I figured he'd pull away from the pack, but going into the 15 snatches, I was right on his tail. I think I passed him around the ninth rep. Having someone to chase, and then someone to stay ahead of, really helped me push through this one. And it was nasty.

I did this in 10:28, which was good for 4th out of all the Div 1 men, and moved me to 7th overall. I was definitely surprised that I finished that high (because I went in one of the earlier heats, I was briefly in first place) and I think there were a few other people who were, too.


WOD 3 "Rain or Shine"
Three rounds:

400m run (in the rain)
20 115 lb push press or jerk
20 20" box jump


Because I was in 7th, I got to go in the final heat of the day. That was a blessing and a curse. It was good, because we got to see what worked for the other athletes.

It was bad because I got to see how this wod destroyed people. See, until then, I didn't think it was gonna be that bad.

It was THAT bad.

We had to run in the rain, which was probably better than doing it in oppressive heat. But running at the start of a round instead of the end always presents a bit of a pacing challenge.

On the first 400m run, I wanted to keep a good pace, but leave something in the tank for the push press. My thinking was that it was going to be the push press that really determined who would do well on this one. I had seen the push press just absolutely wipe some people out in earlier heats and I had also seen some freakishly strong people, like Hardcore Ange, crank them out like she was pressing a PVC pipe.

The key would be to put the bar down as little as possible. As I came in from the run I was thinking that I would have to break up the push press into sets of 7, but on the first set, I was able to do 12 straight. I then did eight straight to finish off the set. My technique must have been a bit iffy, because I heard Aaron telling my judge Shae to make sure I locked out at the top and straightened my legs. From what I had seen earlier, Shae didn't cut people a whole lot of slack, so I couldn't have been too bad.

My box jumps were painfully slow. In the previous heat, I saw Brad Flood crank out 20 straight box jumps in his third round to finish before the time limit ran out. Flood was exhausted, but jumped on and off quickly as the entire gym counted in unison. Flood was awesome and that was one of my favourite parts of the day.

I did not provide any box jump-related heroics. I jumped up and stepped down for the vast majority of mine. I just wanted to keep going and not burn myself out.

I don't remember too many specifics about the next two rounds. I think I did pretty good on the push press and when I did set the bar down, I didn'tleave it on the ground for long. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I had Shae urging me on and dozens of other people yelling at me. The atmosphere alone probably shaved a good two minutes off the time I would get if this were just the workout of the day. The box jumps were slow and steady, but I did deviate from my stepping down to throw in about four up-and-downs. I'm no Brad Flood, but it was the best I could do.

I finished in 13:20, good for 7th in the event.

After the results were posted, I I was in a three-way tie for 7th overall, which is better than I expected.

I had a great time, and it showed me that I still have a lot of room for improvement, both in my CrossFitness and to how I respond to adversity.

UPDATE:

Here's a cool video focusing on one of the athletes who competed that day. It looks really professional.

Sask CrossFit Challenge: Taryn Romanowich from Colin Tulloch on Vimeo.

"Lift Off"

For time:
20 Snatch (squat or power) 95 lbs
Then 10 rounds of
10 Thrusters 45lb
10 Toes to Bar (sub = straight leg raises)
200M Run

The rx'd weight for the snatch on this is 135 lbs, but the competitors in this weekend's "Spring Fling" were told to do it with 95 lbs. I was going to go ahead and do 135 lbs anyway, because I am so fucking badass.

Then I looked on the whiteboard and saw a bunch of times that were all north of 30 minutes, and many that were 40-plus. So much for being so fucking badass.

Even scaled down, it took me 32:54.

The good: Did all the thrusters without dropping the bar. (Pretty lame, I know.) I was also able to string together a number of T2B before dropping off the bar in each round.

The not-so-good: Toes to Bar just absolutely suck. We were told not to tear our hands, and I didn't, but my Sissy Hands were hurting pretty bad pretty early into this. I do have a nice big blister on my right hand ring finger, so we'll see if that hampers me on Saturday.