Red Eye

Go a decent amount of sleep on the red eye but clearly running on fumes today.  My neck started bothering me, the oblique stain is still there and now I have a cold.  Im not really surprised considering what I have asked of my body over the weekend.   I guess the lesson would be to take a little more rest.  I had lowered the intensity the first two days but probably should have gone easy on Thursday as well.  Lesson learned.  I'm just hoping this strain doesn't set me back to far.

Work or Rest

I was thinking about taking an extra rest day but Jason Gold from Craic was in town and I thought it would be fun to train with him at Lalanne's so I decided to do the class.  


Warm-up

Band Drills - we had bands around ankles and above knee and did about 10 minutes of work.  My piriformis was certainly screaming!
3 rounds

Deadlift
Practice Pistol dill
Step Ups

Great warm up and especially the pistol drill which worked on stability and balance.

 7x2 Deadlift

I had done this with the class last time I was in SF on Jan 9

Good warm up and I was getting after it.

1st Round = 2@355
2nd Round = 1@355 and then came up lame.  I felt something pull in my Left Oblique.   This wasnt just a minor thing as it took my breath away.  I tried to stretch and see if it would loosen up and I had no luck.    I out my weights away and considered doing the wod but realized that would be a bad idea as it was really bothering me.  I hate to leave class injured and early.   Very disappointing.  Im hoping a recover quickly.

Considered but Rejected

I considered taking a rest day but I cant help myself I just enjoy going to the gym to start my day.

Warm-Up

400m
3 rounds
10 situps
plank
10 presses


WOD
"Standing Lynn"     
 5 Rounds:            
 Max Reps Shoulder Press 
 Max Reps Pull Ups  

I considered doing 135lbs or 115lbs but then got smart and went with 95lbs.  Decided it would be smarter to take it just a little bit easier while trying to recover.


Round 1 - 15 -16
Round 2 - 15 - 15
Round 3 - 10-15
Round 4 - 14-15
Round 5  - 8-20 Not much rest in this round, hence the low press reps.

I just kept the pullups moving and didnt go near the edge since i was recovering

Finisher
7 min  on the minute 

150m Row
with the time remaining burpees!

This was tough.  I was getting only 3-4 burpees per round

Not Fully Recovered

I hit the 6am class at Lalanne this morning and realized I was probably not fully recovered from the weekends competition.

Warm-up

1k row
Splits
Hamstrings
Squats


Front Squat 3x17reps

The front squats went fine. I did 155lbs and felt pretty well.

Elizabeth 21-15-9

Squat clean
Ring Dips

This I was definitely not recovered for and scaled down to 95lbs and still found it challenging. 

Rest Day

Rest Day - Took the family and Christina to the airport early.  Sad to have them all leave.    Time to get back to work - my job and training.   I need to get this movie as I have really enjoyed the clips especially this one:

Norcal Day 2

2 Wods today and they both look heinous. The first one is a chipper and on paper looks ok until you realize you do all the barbell work with Fat Gripz. Good think I practiced that ....Not. The other one was suppose to be a prowler push but it was scratching the floor so they went to wheel barrow push. That I have done before. But I suspect they will be putting some thing heavier than grass clippings in it.   They had an athlete's briefing scheduled for 6:30am and I decided to blow it all so the whole family could get a little more rest.   My motivation level was not sky high when I got to the venue as it had been a long day.    When I had posted the updates about the day 2 wods all the athletes back home were posting their support.  This one from Judy Mulladey stood out " Good luck today John! You've got what it takes! My immediate reply was " I may have what it takes but I'm not certain I want to give it up"  It was all going to come down to that.  Whether I wanted to enter the pain cave.  

The Fat Gripz Master Chipper

20/15 Cal Row
50m Bear Crawl
13 Thrusters (65/95)
13 Up and Over Box Jumps (20/24) must leave ground with both feet but no need to open hips at top
13 Deadlifts  (105/165)
13 Wall Balls (9 feet/10 feet  14/20)
13 Ring Dips.
And then back down

As we entered the competition area I went in first so I could get a rower on the end.  For some reason I dont like having athletes on both sides of me.  I had Skip Hanson who was sitting in 2nd place right next to me.   The athletes who had gone earlier warned me that the 2nd bear crawl is completely awful and Elaine Polito said to just keep a steady pace. Here she is giving me guidance.



3,2,1 go....  The first row went well. It felt easy and smooth and was over in no time at all.   Skip finished right behind me.  That should have been my immediate tip off that I was going out to fast.  Skip is 6ft tall and weights 205 and has a Helen time of 7:25.  So he is big and fast.   I made it through the bear crawls first and then hit the thrusters and plowed thru them.  Still in first.  Slowed down at the boxes but managed to get through them as well.  Deadlift no problem. Skip and I still  1 and 2.  Now I notice Freddy who had been way behind closing ground.  Wall balls slowed me down some more as I had a few no reps and then I hit the dips.  Freddy by that time had caught us and hit the dips unbroken.   Skip and I were really slowing down. Skip told me later he got no repped multiple times.   Now I was really hurting.  More no reps in the wall balls.  A slight respite int the deadlift.   The Box jumps just tried to keep moving.  Susie and were screaming encouragement and all I was thinking about was whether I was going to be able to even finish.  Freddy was now way past us.  I could see him getting to the rower just as I started the final thrusters which I broke up into 7,4,2.   The bear crawl was the worst. I actually had to stop at the turnaround and even the judge started yelling me to move it.   I was never more happy to see a rower.   20 Calories to go,  I could hear the announcer calling calories and I knew i was neck and neck with Steve Crane and gave it everything I had in the last part and then collapsed on the floor.  Here are a few photos so you can see it was no joke that I wrecked myself.  None of them are pretty.  

Yep Im drooling...

The final push. "yes Jarrod I know my knees are not suppose to bend out"

I have no idea I even gashed my finger on the box jumps until someone told me.

Susie and Christina had thought I finished second but Steve Crane nipped me by 2 seconds  12:06 to 12:08.    Freddy destroyed the field with a time of 9:55!  1 minute faster than than anyone else.  I took 5th in the event.  It goes to show you know how to pace.  Keep it under control.  I told Freddy after that I got a better workout because I blew up  :).  

So after that event I had moved up to 4th place and was wondering whether they would take the top 3 of top 5 to the finals.  They hadnt announced it.   I know its a sad thing to say but I was hoping it would be 3 and we could go back to hotel and enjoy the rest of the day.     

Forgot to mention yesterdays speakers - Susie and Christina both got to hear and then get feedback on their lifts form Mark Bell and Jesse Burdick.   Today they got to hear and speak with
Annie Sakamoto, Jim Baker and Kelly Starrett.   Photos here:

 While they were doing all that I was at the booth of   Kinetic - Chain Sport talking to Monte Spicer and Tammy Marquez.   There tag line is Treating Everyday People Like Million Dollar Athletes.  The use a combination of Sports Massage Recovery and Active Release Therapy. They both are working on you at the same time and it was like having  a pit crew.  Walked away from that treatment feeling great and I will definitely see them again.

The last event which had been modified was going to be quick with a 5 minute cutoff.  It was all going to come down to the double-unders.  Who ever blinks would lose.

"Junior " MiniWod 3:

    35 Air Squats
    run to the other end of the MiniWod arena
    pick up 2 plates (45/25)
    run plates back to start
    add the plates to the wheel barrel
    walk/run wheel barrel straight back down same path
    stop half way
    perform 35 air squats
    continue to move wheel barrel to finish line
    push entire wheel barrel and your body over the finish line
    perform 100 double unders

 Freddy and Skip went in the heat in front of me so I knew that it would take about 2 minutes to do the first part and then it all came down to whether you had the double unders.  Freddie scorched it and finished in 3:11.  He got 98 straight before he messed up.  Skip finished in 3:30.



As expected I got through the first part fairly easily.  Air Squats no problem,  had a moment of trouble getting the weights onto prowler/wheel barrel and then getting the wheel barrel to go straight.  Hit the double unders in 2 minutes.   I got a nice chunk straight away but then I ticked the barrier rope behind me as I had floated backward.  I was also worried about Eric Delgado next to me as he was floating into my lane.   Got through it with about 5 mess ups.   Not bad but not quite good enough.  Finished in 5th. 10 seconds faster and I would have been tied for 4th and 12 second faster would have been 3rd.

After that event there was a big layoff while Kelly Starett took the floor for his talk.

 It was now time to wait and ponder what they might be throwing at us.  It was confirmed that they were taking top 5 so I was in as I was still in 4th.   I  kept my eyes on the competitor area and noticed they had left up the rings and put the barbells back out but with limited weight.   When they announced the final wod I felt pretty good as it was a Squat Snatch - Muscle Up ladder.  The original time was 7 minutes which was then reduced to 5 minutes.  The rep scheme was 1 snatch - 2 muscle ups.  As I warmed up with Skip, Freddy, and Scott Taylor I felt confident in my squat snatch as I had been drilling it for a long time.  

When they called our group it felt great to be on the floor with such a great group of athletes.  I hit the first snatch no problem but go no repped on my first muscle up for not locking out.  Silly as I was up and just came down to quickly. It was the right call for sure.   I got through the first 4 rounds and really wanted the 5th and rushed the lifts but couldnt end the round.  I got 4 rounds plus 3 snatches. Good for 3rd behind Skip and the overall winner - Brad Matsik.  Wasnt able to gain enough ground to move up so finished in 4th.   Just off the podium.

 

 

Norcal Masters Day 1

The trip over to Ricmond at 6:30am took no time at all.   I was there in 20 minutes.   The Craneway Pavillion is an awesome place to have a crossfit event.  Take a look at the photos.

The first wod was called a "YOUNGIN" and on paper it didnt look to bad.   It was 3 minutes to find your 1 rep max weighted pullup.  I had no idea what to go for as you could kip.   Warm area was small so there was a line of people trying to figure out their strategy.  You didnt want to try to many attempts and leave yourself tired for the 1 minute max Farmer carry. I warmed up at 53lbs - no problem but then went to 90 and failed.  When the WOD started I went right to 70 and nailed it.  Then I went to 88lbs and got that as well.   I added 10lbs and failed twice.  Its easy to say i should have backed off and tried 92.  After the 3 minutes was up we had 15 seconds to line up with our 2 70lb kettlebell and do a 1 minute AMRAP  You get one pt per 10m trip.  Score is total of  trips.  Both feet must go over line at turn of carry.  Now I had witnessed some major blow ups.  One dude drop both on the concrete floor and they went skidding into other competitors and almost took them out like bowling pins.  Another dude tried to dive the mat and almost crushed himself.  I tried to stay out on the end.  I got 12 trips.   I was pretty happy with both of those WODS.  They were scored combined and I finished 9th overall.


WOD 2 - OLY SMOKES
5 min EMOM
At the top of each minute for five minutes you will attempt:

Burpee over barbell ( must do at least one) and one snatch—one attempt per minute only for the Snatch

-Your snatch attempt can be a power, muscle or full squat. You must show complete control and once again, you will only get one attempt each minute. You will have as many Burpee over Barbell attempts as you would like. You must start with your Burpee over Barbell and once you attempt your Snatch you cannot return to the Burpee over Barbell.

Rest one minute while changing weights


5 min EMOM

At the top of each minute for five minutes you will attempt:
Toes to Bar (must do at least one) and one Clean attempt-one attempt per minute only for the Clean

-Your Clean attempt can be a power, muscle or full squat. You must show complete control and once again, you will only get one attempt each minute. You will have as many Toes to Bar attempts as you would like. You must start with Toes to Bar and once you attempt your Clean you cannot return to the Toes to Bar.You will be allowed to preload your bar.

Score:
50% is number of burpees plus toes to bar
50% is total weight lifted (snatch plus clean). If you failed a rep, you  get a zero for that minute.

So this one I practiced as there was a lot of strategy to it and I am glad i did.  When I did the Burpee over barbell I did them facing and jumped and turned.  In the even you could jump perpendicular to bar which is much easier.

OLY Smokes  Part 1 - 58 Burpees and 5 Snatches at 155. Very happy with that.  I power snatched it and actually was pretty efficient on all but 1.

OLY part 2 - I loaded another 50lbs to get to 205.   Toes 2 Bar went well. Made up some ground with this movement.

Round 1 - 16
Round 2 - 14
Round 3 - 10
Round 4 - 10
Round 5 - 10
Total of 60 T2B and 5 Cleans at 205.  I got a lot of attention from the photograpers and the MC for my toes 2 bar and even had TJ come over to tell me he was a Jamaica Plain or West Roxbury  kid funny how poorly my mind works after a wod.

I finished in 5th on both of those to put me in third.   I had to wait awhile to start this WOD as a guy slipped off the bar during T2B hit the chalk bucket and ended up with a laceration to the head and a broken collar bone.   After this event it seemed like ages before i would be back at it with the WOD called Hellenita.  I was looking forward to this one.   I made sure I ate and drank but when this wod came around I was really lacking energy.  I was hoping that when I hit the floor I would get a surge.  

Part A:
3 rounds for time:
Run 150m shuttle
10 swings (53/35)
5 pullups

Part B:
Immediate AMRAP that totals 10 minutes including the first three rounds.
Runs will be broken up into 25m lengths so athletes will shuttle run down and back 3 times per round to total 150m.
Scoring for the AMRAP portion: Each 150m run gets 12 points or reps.  Each 12.5m gets 1 point.
Each round of the workout is 27 points (12 for run, 10kb, 5pullup).
Score: 50%  Time for first three rounds
50% total reps in 10min.

So I started off well and was in 2nd place finishing the runs but I kept getting no repped on the swing.  The standard was that bent arms were fine just that the bell had to be straight up.  I wasnt panicking but the extra reps were putting me behind and wearing me down.  I managed to hold it together for Part A but Part B didnt go so well.  I was really sucking wind and at one point i lost track of the laps and started to swing the KB until my judge said you have another lap.   As bad as It went I wasnt  really that discouraged. In fact the media guys had a camera and mike and where asking me about coming out from Boston for the event. I told them I was really glad I came  and the only thing I regretted was the that wod not being 2 minutes shorter.   I have a much better appreciation for what pro;s must feel like.  I was really spent and could barely breathe and there they were ready to interview.  I was trying not to look and sound like an idiot, not sure I accomplished that or not. Hopefully that will end up on the cutting room floor.

Scores

Helenitca 1 - 6th
Helentica 2 - 8th

This dropped me from 3rd to 5th.

The last wod of the day was called a mini as well but didnt seem like one.  It was called WhipRSnapR.  Row 1200m plus ball slams in 6 minutes.  Athlete will row 1200m for males.  With the remaining time athletes will ball slam.  Score is based on as many slam balls as possible.  Judging standard is that the arms and legs must be fully extended with ball overhead every rep. 40-49 Males 50lb ball.  I haven't done ball slams in years and when I warmed up with the 50lber It felt like 200lbs.  That said I was confident going into the row as I have been doing a ton of that.  My technique still isn't that good but I had a good understanding of pacing.   Susie game the number to beat from the prior heat ( the minis they split us into smaller groups) and this is a huge benefit for me as  I am much better killing myself to hit a number versus just trying to see what you can do. 

My judge was amazing as well.  She was coaching me the entire row.  I think she made me at least 10-15% more efficient.  The 1200 meters took me about 4:28 and didnt wreck me so i was feeling pretty good about my chances.  Got 32 reps.  Very happy with the score. Good for 5th,  Leaving me at 5th for the day.