Must Find Motivation!

I know it's been a while since I have updated. With my crazy schedule for the holidays along with battling this cold that won't seem to GO AWAY, I haven't been able to dedicate the time. I know some of you were wondering how the competition went.  Lets just say some of it was good.

First off, being surrounded by so many CraicHeads is incredible. I have never met such a dedicated and inspiring group. Even for ones that weren't competing who made the drive, you complete me. I love how at every competition, we are the largest and loudest group. I love it! We spread our infectious ways faster than a zombie outbreak. With a little less blood as well.

CraicHeads!

I found out what the WODS were a couple of days ahead of time. Nothing really scared me, but I knew I would have difficulty with some of the movements. This was a non-firebreather competition. Meaning the people competing are training for life. Firebreathers are the ones you see on ESPN.  They are also the ones who don’t seem to feel pain, or at least they don’t allow it to stop them, or even slow them down. After this competition the only thing I have in common with a firebreather is I don't allow the pain to stop me. We'll get to that later.

WOD 1- "The Mayflower"

21-15-9

Hang Power Cleans 95#

Lateral Burpees over the Bar

10 minute cap

6:03

25th place

An okay time. Lets put it this way, I knew I had no chance of winning this competition with this time. It had to be under 4 minutes to be able to compete. Plus, when I saw  Paul Teehan walk into the box the other day saying he was in the competition. I knew I was fighting for second place. In case you forgot, this is Paul...

Funny because the night before I was talking to the Caveman about strategy and how realistically you should be able to do this WOD in 3 minutes. Yea sure, maybe if you are an elite athlete. I might look like I might be good, but I suck harder than a pro am on her first casting couch.  I was right about the time though. Everyone who was in contention finished close to that prediction.  I knew I never had a chance when I saw burpees listed. I really knew I didn't have a chance when I went through the motions of the WOD the day before. Looking back on it maybe I shouldn't have done that. I think I mentally fucked myself by realizing I was gonna suck at this WOD before I had a chance to do it for the competition.  I called the Caveman immediately after and said, "We are fucked on the 1st WOD!"

Yes that's me sucking at Lateral Burpees!

Paul and how you are supposed to do a Lateral Burpee!

Now the 2nd WOD! Oh baby this is what I was waiting for. I get to lift heavy!

WOD 2- "Myles Standish"

 5min

5 rep max Front Squat in 25 secs (25 seconds start when bar leaves ground)

Immediately following the 5 minutes, Max jump rope passes in 90 seconds.

This is a separate scored workout.  Triple Unders= 3 points, Double Unders=2 points, Single Unders=1 point

215#  5 rep max Front Squat

146 points Jump Ropes

5th Place!!!!

I knew I was going to do well with this one. You had to power clean or squat clean the bar up before starting your reps on the front squat. I've been able to power clean 215# for a while now so I knew no matter what I was going to get at least 205#. I also knew that I would be near the top. It's not easy cleaning that much weight off the floor. I had to figure most people would have trouble with it. I game played here a little bit. I wanted to only have 3 chances before resting for the jump ropes. I knew my legs were toast from the burpees and I needed to conserve as much energy as possible.  So I went heavy right away.  I didn't want to fuck around with warm up weight and have no time left.  185# was my first attempt and then I did 205# right away.  I had plenty of time left so I was only going to attempt 215# once whether I made it or not.  Super psyched that I was able to do this. The video below is my attempt at 215#. At the end you see my left hand slip off and kind of slap me in the face. Ha! Ha! I held the bar up there for an eternity with one arm. It seemed like forever till the judge called that last rep. I was gonna be pissed if it didn't count.

I decided to do double unders for the second part of the WOD. I haven't done them in a while so my timing wasn't spot on like it has been in the past. I was doing okay for a but, but my legs were killing me. With 30 seconds left I switched to singles and my total score was 146. I was thinking afterward that if I just did singles to begin with I probably could have cranked out at least 200 points. I don't think in the end it would have mattered much. 5th place on the Front Squat is awesome!

215#

Paul crushing it at 245#  Bastard!

Now the dreaded 3rd WOD! Looks pretty straightforward on paper.

WOD 3- "Squanto's Revenge"

Run 300 meters

5 rounds

9 Deadlift @185#
12 Box Jumps @24 inches

15 Wall Balls @20# with a 10 foot target

Run 300 meters

20 minute time cap

DNF

(Did Not Finish)

I can run 300 meters without gassing myself so I didn't mind that.

Girls always run faster than me.

Deadlifts are right in my wheelhouse, especially at that weight.  

Oh Baby! My favorite movement.

Box Jumps, Uh Oh! I knew at some point these were going to kill me and slow me down immensely. 

This is in reference to any WOD with Box Jumps. Notice no picture of me here...

Wall Balls, only 15 at a time. I can do those. I knew they would be tough toward the end, but doable. 

Obviously before my back said FUCK YOU!

I was hoping to fall into the 13 to 15 minute category time wise. Oh Boy was I way off.  At some point during my second round of Box Jumps something happened to my lower back.  Not really sure, but I was in pain. Badly. True to Tony No Bread fashion I kept going. I could barely stand up on the box to complete my reps. Wall Balls became super painful as my range of motion became non-existent and the Deadlifts just hurt. At this point I was in my own world. My back was killing me and I couldn't hear anyone or anything except my judge. I vaguely heard Mike Power saying something about not being stupid, but as we discussed later no one was going tell me to stop and no one would have stopped if the positions were reversed.  In some fucked up way I still thought I could finish in time. I believe I ended up being 9 Wall Ball reps and the last 300 meter run from finishing.  I don't know what hurt more at that point. My back or my pride. TNB let out a little cry after that one. 

In the end I wasn't really happy. I mean I pretty much knew where I would finish with each WOD. I have enough experience in the past year to know what my strengths and weaknesses are.  No real surprises. Just the fact that I couldn't finish that last WOD. I was so mad and disappointed. I actually felt like I let the CraicHouse down.  I hurt my back and I feel like I was kicked in the balls. I am having a really hard time getting motivated again. It's now been almost a week since I have worked out. Partly because of my back, but also because I am mentally handicapped because of my finish.  I know there were some highlights in there for me. The 2nd WOD finishing 5th and the fact that I never quit. Still doesn't make me feel any better though.

On another note the CraicHouse kicked some serious ass! Of course Paul Teehan came in 1st Place in Men's Rx, but we also had Sara McEvoy win the Woman's Rx with Shazam coming in 3rd and in the battle of The Yardhouse, Ed came in 2nd over Daniels in 3rd in the Men's Scaled division.  Here is CrossFit Providence's Recap. The CraicHeads were all over the standings. I am very proud of everyone and would like to thank our coaches John, Glen, Sara and Jarrod for making us better physically and mentally everyday. If it wasn't for you guys we wouldn't be able to crush all of these other CrossFit Boxes!

Till next time....

Teehan showing off the goods. This picture depresses me! Ha Ha

Throwdown!

I haven't been able to update in the last couple of days. I have been too busy, but I will catch up and post the two WODS I did.

I have been taking it kind of easy this week because today I am doing my first competition. Woo Hoo! Turkey Throwdown held at Crossfit Providence. I am nervous and excited at the same time. My plan is not to embarrass myself. I will update sometime tomorrow.

Get Some!

I'd rather be running.

Today's WOD was a quick burner. It also brought back memories of Winter rowing. Now everyone should know by now how much I hate running, but I forgot how much more I hate rowing. I just can't win. My knees always seem to swell up when I row. It's gonna take some time to get used to again, but I am gonna just have to push through it and continue with the rebuilding of my legs. Maybe it would be easier to just buy new ones. At one point during the WOD I actually thought that I'd rather be running.

WOD
3 Rounds for time
Row 250m
15 Push Press 115#

6:52 Rx

This was not a time that I was happy with.  Besides my affinity for rowing, the push presses would harder than I thought. I always seem to have trouble with heavy weight on Monday workouts. I don't know if it's a combination of taking the weekend off and not being warmed up or the fact that on the weekends I work, which was this past one I lift hundreds of cases of beer.  I would actually like to try this one again. I believe that I should definitely be sub 6 minutes on this.

Just like Iceland Annie, Lego Men smile while they row!

My Eyes Were Bigger than My Mouth!

When I was a kid I would go out to eat with my family and I would order a ton of food and I would never be able to finish what I ordered. It was always a bit too much. That's what today's WOD felt like to me.

WOD

Run 400m

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Deadlift – you pick the weight
Pullups
 Run 400m

19:23

Running, blah! Deadlifts and Pull Ups, Gooood!  I get to pick my weight? Excellent. Oops!

I flirted with the idea of 315# for the deads. Why, I'm not sure. I was channeling my inner TapeFactory and I really wanted to set the bar high.  I quickly realized that I have done these schemes before and although it looks easy, that weight gets heavy real quick. I put on 225# and it felt light so I threw on 20 more for a total of 245#.  Johnny Deadlift came over and told me that if I want to get faster this is not the way to do it. Strength is not my problem. It's conditioning. I told him I felt that 245# would work for me. He then said if that's the case, make sure I do everything unbroken.  He knew I would be miserable.

The WOD started off great. I tried to set a comfortable pace on my first 400m run and I came in through the door first at 1:40 seconds. Exactly where I wanted to be. The first 10 Deadlifts were easy as well as the first 10 Pull Ups. Round 9 went similar. On round 8 I had to focus more and I could tell that I was going to be in trouble.  My energy levels were quickly being zapped. Round 7 sucked balls! At this point I was taking a lot of extra time between sets so I could finish everything unbroken at least. Oh why, oh why don't I listen??? 

I was disappointed with myself at the end. I really thought I could blast through this WOD in 15 minutes or less. I like to lift heavy and I think it's hurting my progress at this point. I talked with John later that night and we agreed that I need to focus more on lighter weights to help bring my conditioning up to speed. From now on Johnny Deadlift calls the shots. I am not even going to think about it. When I walk through that door he's just going to tell me what to do and I am going to listen. End of story. Hopefully it get me to where I think I should be and sooner than later.

Oh and we finished up with a 100 sit ups afterwards. Those were fun....

What I see when I look up at Johnny Deadlift!

Kick That Goat!

If he did CrossFit he could kick it harder!

Strength workout today! Yea! I love these days. Oh Shit! Squat snatches and a 1 rep max OverHead Squats. Um, maybe I should pass...

Skill/Strength: Squat Snatch

 65#

 

Strength: OverHead Squat 1-1-1-1-1

 

135# PR!!!

In the past I totally would have skipped this workout and by the look of the board today, it looked like a few of my fellow CraicHeads did. I have said it before and I'll say it again, but I'm not going to get any better at something if I keep avoiding it.  Especially one of my biggest Goats, OverHead Squats. 

 

I look at it as voting. I have had heated arguments with people about politics and candidates and at the end of the conversation I continually find out that most of these people don't vote. Shut the F up! Your opinion doesn't matter to me.  Just like I can't feel compelled to cry about not being able to do a movement if I never put any effort into it. I can't complain about if I don't do it.  So now that I went today, let me complain....  :)

Squat Snatches... Oh man I had a tough time with them. I just can't get my head into the movement. I don't know if it's my limited range of motion or just a fear of sucking at something.  I only worked up to 65# because I just wanted to work the movement. I didn't do very well.  I have a new Goat now. JOY! Add it to the list.

Oh Baby! OHS not my favorite movement, but I have been making an effort to work on them and I think it payed off today.  1 rep max, 135# Never in a million years would I have thought I could ever do this. With my junky shoulders and mental blocks I would have been happy to continue to use the bar, but what good would that do? I had written down that my 1 rep max was 125# before, but I know that I didn't get my butt down toward the ground on that. Since that's the case 95# was my 1 rep max. I crushed it! It felt really good to get it done. Johnny Deadlift was nice enough to take a video of my PR. 

 

Check it out!

P.S. Bite me Ray!  <--- New TapeFactory for a few movements.

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun.

WOD 1 and WOD 2

I was looking forward to today's WOD or should I say WODS.  They both looked easy, but if there is one thing you learn real quick with CrossFit is that no workout is ever easy.

WOD 1
10 min amrap
5 Pullups
10 pushups
15 squats

9 rounds + 4 reps

Rest 5 mins

WOD 2
10 min amrap
Run 200
10 KB swings 70

4 rounds + 1 run

 

Both WODS are pretty basic and are simple. This is more about pacing for myself and not about strength. My focus was on being consistent. The problem is that I get so bored mentally with these type of WODS. They seem so repetitive to me that I tend to lose focus which in turn makes me lose count and I just wait for the time to finish.  WOD 1 is only half of a benchmark workout called "Cindy" which is 20 minutes total of the same movements.  I would need a professional counter and Johnny Deadlift holding a bamboo stick whacking me every so often to keep me motivated.

WOD 2 I had nothing in the tank for. My legs where just jello from the air squats. I literally saw an old man on a lark drive past me on one of my runs. The KB swings were  a nice break. Those were pretty easy for me. I really need to work on my running. It's getting to a point where I am starting to mentally fuck myself even before I begin.

I need to buy this shirt!

Heavy Days are Here Again

I am liking it. Once again today's workout focused on strength with a mix of skill work.

Tabata Hollow Holds

Skill: Toes to Bar

Strength: Shoulder Press 5-5-5-5-5
Max effort bar dips in between each set

15 minute cap

Rest exactly 3 mins between efforts

 145# / 13 reps

First off anything Tabata sucks. Choosing Hollow Holds as the Tabata. Pure Evil.  I joked around halfway through them that if this was my first day at CrossFit I wouldn't come back. 4 minutes of hell! It's funny because I dread doing anything Tabata, yet I kind of like the torture. The results are great as well. Painful, but worth it.

Tabata's follow this structure:

• Push Hard for 20 Seconds
• Rest for 10 Seconds
• Repeat this Eight Times
• Totally 4 minutes

We then went right into strict shoulder presses. The last time I did shoulder presses I did a 5 x 5 which equaled 25 reps @135# for each set.  The difference with this one is that I had to increase my weight on each set along with max effort dips also.  The dips were a killer. Totally sucked any extra energy I had in reserve. My sets went as the following:

• shoulder press 5 reps @95# / Max effort dips 13 reps
• 5 reps @115# / 11 reps
• 5 reps @125# / 10 reps
• 5 reps @135# / 7 reps
• 5 reps @145# / 7 reps 

Pretty happy with my weight. 145# is a lot of weight for 5 reps. I was shooting for at least 135# and I  honestly thought that with the dips thrown in there that there was no way I could achieve that. The 3rd set was pretty tiring. I had to walk out a few times so I could focus. Some days I can get distracted pretty easily with my surroundings. When that happens I tend to fail more often then not. I'm getting better at it though. I can recognize early on when it's happening. The only question is if I can reel it in in time.

Johnny Deadlift/Playboy then threw in a 10 minute 100 Toes to Bar to finish. Ugh!  First off I could barely hold myself up on the bar after doing a 145#'s for 5 reps. Plus, I did a 100 T2B a few weeks ago with Glen. Not exactly my idea of a good time, but I welcomed it anyway. I decided to do kipping T2B the whole time. I did have delusions of attempting to finish in the time limit, but I knew between 40 and 50 that I was taking too much time. I was having a tough time hanging onto the bar. I stopped at 70 and left it at that. That's 70 more than nothing. My flabs hurt...

Still pushing for Tabata Beer Chugs...