Jack WOD

“JACK”
AMRAP 20 minutes:
10 Push Presses, 115lb/75lb
10 KB Swings, 55lb/35lb
10 Box jumps, 24″/20″

Result - 9 rounds 3 reps


I love my son whose name is Jack, this WOD not so much.  Two goats of out 3 makes for a tough wod.   What is the best way to get better at your weaknesses?  Work at them everyday.  It is tempting to do the fun wods and the ones that we excel at.   The last week and half has been a series of wods and drills focused on things I suck at.   I am really trying to improve my HSPU's, Overhead Olys - C&J, Snatch and Push Press, and box jumps.   Its good to take video of yourself from time to time to look back and watch the improvement.   I compared my Fran from last year about this time to the one I did on Sunday, Night and day.  Im not talking about the time either but the form and range of motion.  If you focus on being efficient with your movements everything else will fall into shape.  

"Fran"-tastic

Say "Fran" to a crossfitter and you sure to get a strong reaction.   This has been on the calendar for a few days but I have been good not let it get in my head.   With a workout like Fran there is a tendency to really overthink it.   I find that I have done best when I just go and do it.   That said I was anxious just like I used to get before any college soccer game.  I think this is normal and actually useful if you can channel the energy properly.

There were suppose to be 4 of us doing the WOD but sickness and an upcoming competition limited to me and Coach John.   By the way I think Coach John should have some crossfit nickname like Craic John or Irish John or Shamrock John,   I wonder if I can get any of those to stick?   I suggested since it was just the two of us we shouldnt do it at the same time.  This way you dont have to even count all you need to do is do.  Its amazing how hard counting can be when all your blood is pumping everywhere but to your brain.

John elected to go first and hit it hard pressing straight through the first set of 21 Thrusters and Pull-ups.  His PR going in was 3:48 and he was on target to smash that.   John worked through the next round without slowing down much at all.   At this point Sarah and I are go crazy - screaming and cheering to give it everything as there are only  9  reps to go.   John's final time was 3:19,  He took 29 seconds off his time,  Amazing.

Now I was up and the bar was set very high.   The last time I did Fran was close to 8 months ago and I hit a PR of 3:42.   I made sure that I was good and warmed up, jacked the heart rate up a few times and recovered.   Then it was down to 3, 2, 1 go .....   First round of Thrusters and Pull-ups straight through.  The second round I got 15 Thrusters not straight through but I didn't put the bar down and then into the pull-ups which I were a combination of kipping and butterfly. Down to the last 18 reps.   I had to put the bar down after 5 reps of Thrusters and then I made it through the pullups.  Final Time 3:35 a new PR.  I was very happy with that.   John and Sara told me I was ahead of John's pace through the second round.  I think I would benefit from doing some heavy thrusters and really focusing on my butterfly pull-ups.

Amazing People who are making the world a better place

As I reflect on the senseless violence that just occurred in Tucson I think about a two people in Boston who I know that are working to make the world a better place. 

So I'm sure a few of you saw my post last night about my wife's and my friend Josie.  Josie just turned 51 and instead of a party for her she threw a party that focused on the Louis D Brown Peace Institute http://www.ldbpeaceinstitute.org/, Zumix http://www.zumix.org/index.php and the THEE Slap Bracelets dance group. (check out their video they are amazing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxrkoJuPjLg It was a chance for us to learn and be inspired by their mission and work.  Josie you are amazing.

• The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute is a non profit organization in the City of Boston that assists and supports families of homicide victims. Their Core Principles are Love, Unity, Faith, Hope, Courage, Justice and Forgiveness.
  
  The Peace Institute is named after Louis D. Brown, an ambitious young man who dreamed of becoming the nation's first Black president. But big as his dreams were, and as hard as he pursued them, Louis' dreams were shattered. At only 15 years old, on December 20, 1993 while on his way to a Christmas party, he was an innocent victim caught in a gun fight  in Dorchester, MA just as he was about to enter the subway.

• ZUMIX was founded in 1991, in response to a growing number of homicides—many of them among youth—in Boston. Addressing the problems of escalating violence, substance abuse and mortality, and the growing underserved youth population of East Boston, ZUMIX sought to provide alternative ways for youth to deal with frustration, anger and fear. The mission of ZUMIX is empowered youth who use music to make strong positive change in their lives, their communities, and the world.

• THEE Slap Bracelets are lead by 18 year old Khamari Bendolph who found solace through dance after his father and brother were brutally murdered in 2004.  He founded the Slaps as a dance group with a certain sense of social responsibility and, as such, the Slaps have collaborated with community groups such as Peace Boston and participated in awareness events since its founding, such as the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute’s Walk for Peace.

The other person that has inspired me is my Dentist Dr Charles Badaoui who is in currently in Guatemala on an annual trip with Medical Missions for Children.http://www.mmfc.org/index.htm MMFC is a dedicated group of approximately 375 medical, surgical, and dental volunteers who use personal vacation time each year to travel to remote geographical locations around the world in order to help heal children and young adults suffering from tragic facial deformities, such as cleft lip and palate and severe injuries.   Dr. Badaoui thanks for all that you and your colleagues do!

There is hope in the world when we all decide to do something and get involved.  If you can't give your time at least make a donation however small to these charities!

A Sort of Homecoming

I have been really wanting to get over to CrossFit New England for a long while and today was the day. It was a perfect storm - a hero wod and a nice dusting of snow. Walking thru the door was like going home -all kinds of memories racing through your mind but an overall warm feeling of comfort.   I named this a sort of homecoming because CFNE is home for me even though most of my training now is at either Crossfit Craic or some non descript hotel gym.

CFNE continues to draw all kinds of amazing athletes and I could see the 7:30 class was going to be no different.   Adding the homecoming was the old guard (Dennis, Maura, Julie, Craig and so many others) ready to test their metal against a hero WOD.   It was at that point that I was reminded of what makes crossfit so special.   A group of amazing athletes ready to go at it at early on a Saturday morning for nothing more than to honor U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant John Rankel - a true model of Courage, Commitment and Heroism.  As at any Crossfit box that was everyone's first mission, the second mission is not competition or winning but encouragement and support.   With that the count was given 3, 2, 1 go..... and we began  “Rankel”
  

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
6 Deadlifts (225, 155)
7 Burpee pull-ups
10 Kettlebell swings (70, 53)
Run 200 meters
Post Scores to Comments
U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant John Rankel, 23, of Speedway, Indiana, assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1 Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, California,  was killed on June 7, 2010, while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan

I really enjoyed this workout,  the biggest difficulty I had was with the burpee pullups.  I wasnt able to get any rhythm going and ended up doing deadhang pullups.  Score -  6 rounds plus 11 reps.  Just short of the goal that Mel had put out there for us at the beginning of class. 

First flight of the year

Since this blog is called life on the road I had better focus in that a little. The great news on the first trip is the plane was only half full in both directions. In fact I am typing this at 30k feet in a row all to my self. On the way out to Minneapolis the guy behind me talked at his seat mates for the whole flight. The guy furthest away put his noise blocker headset on so he was probably fine but the poor woman next to him, I feel for her. The whole plane was silent aside from this one guy going on an and on about what he did, lawyer but mostly expert witness, as well as everything he knew about sailing and where he had sailed. Clearly if I was next to him I would have been heads down working, that's generally my strategy.

I really enjoy going to Minneapolis as I lived there while on a project for 2 years and had a great experience I arrived to a beautiful sunny day with temps in the low 20's. In had planned to do a meeting and come right home but the last flight wouldn't allow it. that gave me the chance to pay visit to MOA that's not a typo for MOMA. It's the mall of america. I was curious to what kind of shape it would be in as it had just opened when I lived there 18 years ago. I think of malls some what like casinos. They either need to be blown up or upgraded or they fall out of favor. MOA had changed the indoor amusement park had changed a lot.
Let me be clear I'm not a mall or shopping fan but was curious as this type of place is atell tale for culture and vibrancy or direction of a community.

I'm hoping to squeeze in a workout before soccer tonight but not sure if schedule will permit.

Planning Ahead

The week of no travel has ended and I have to got MSP tomorrow. I have really been a nice groove. Especially staying Paleo since I got home. This trip messes up my On/rest plan but I will work around it.

Do you ever open the browser to check tomorrows wod? Well today I got an email with a message regarding Sundays WOD. Sundays have been special sessions that I am considering as games ready practice. Last week we did Bull and this week we do Fran. Bull clearly messed with my mind last week and Fran will but in a different way. With Bull I was clearly worried whether I could do 60 OHS. Fran is just thinking about how to drive through intense pain and the need to not stop! My PR is nothing to write home about compared to the Firebreathers, butI would love to shave a few seconds off.

Yesterday CFNE did a few more of their Paleo Benchmarks - the mile and a 2 min drill. This is where the power of a big box full of top notch athletes can really help A huge pack of antelopes pulls the rest of the group along on this run for sure. Some great scores for the 2 min drill - I want to try that one out.

Warmup

Handstands and Hand Stand Pushups

Kettlebell Cleans - need work on my KB skills

WOD

Since I did deadlifts on Monday I did a WOD which was on the main site on Monday

3 rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
30 Overhead squats, 75 pounds
21 Pull-ups

Coach John and Glenn did it earlier in the day so I had something to shoot for. The time to beat was 12:27.

Round 1 - Felt good on first run 1:25 and the first round was fast - 3:20
Round 2 - Started the 2nd run and nothing was working (gassed and legs gone) Managed a 2min 400. The rest of round 2 took 2:48 total - 8:15
Round 3 - This run felt better probably because I was crawling 2:20(thats not even an 8 min mile pace) 2:41 to finish the round which is cool. TOTAL time - 13:18

I could taste the blood in my lungs after that.

Off Program WOD

So Monday should have been a day off but with a vacation day I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. Coach John M has been great with helping me adjust the programming for when I am on the road or am still taxed. So we went with 5X5 of Clean and Jerks. Last round was 175 which is decent for me considering my max is not much better. Then for the WOD AMRAP 6 minutes @ 135 of 12-6-3 Deadlifts, Power Clean and Jerk. Still trying to dial in my technique. Got off 4 rounds plus 9 reps. I was smoked. This high intensity short wods are a goat. Glad to have Tuesday off.