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.

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