13.1 Revisited

So 13.1 has came and went, and I lived to tell about it!

My first thought when they announced the WOD on Wednesday was "Crap. I can hardly land a 100 lb. snatch when I'm fresh, on a good day... when the wind is blowing in just the right direction". Needless to say they were 'iffy' at best and I knew that the reps at 100 lb. would be determining factors. I tried to play it cool, but I definitely left the gym knocked down a few pegs. I felt as if I all the hard work I've put in wasn't good enough. I was defeated.

Later that night my coach sent this in a group message (he may be a mind reader):

"If you go into anything scared or thinking you're gonna lose, you've already lost. You gotta go in with the attitude that you're going to win, and be successful."

- Scott Panchik, minutes before winning Open Workout 13.1

Wow. I was a bit embarrassed by my crappy attitude. I decided that, if nothing else, this would be a learning experience. I had to be real with myself. I am competing in the CrossFit Open with just over at year of CrossFit under my belt. I'm not 'Games' material. I'm not an elite athlete, but I had put in a lot of time and effort to be ready for this competition, and selling myself short wasn't going to get me anywhere.  I wasn't going to go into it defeated.

I spent the next couple of days working on my snatch form and attempting to perfect my 1 rep max of 100 lb. And also watching countless videos with tips and strategies for 13.1. My goal was to get through the 150 reps and at least touch the 100 lb. bar. I wanted to get a rep at 100, but I really didn't think I could do it, honestly.

By the time Saturday morning rolled around I was a nervous wreck.
I was in one of the last heats so I got to watch most of my fellow athletes compete first. I was super proud of each of them, but I could tell this WOD was more challenging than most of us planned.

I won't narrate my entire WOD, don't worry.
I tried to pace my burpees as best I could, without feeling like a turtle. Surprisingly, the 45 lb. bar wasn't terrible and I did sets of 10 semi-easily. I originally planned on doing singles for the 75 lb. bar, but I was able to sets of 2 for all 30 of those. I knew the moment was coming. I tried to plan in my head while doing my last set of (and probably the hardest set I've ever done) of 20 burpees. I remember telling myself "Just touch that 100 lb. bar. Just get to it and attempt 1." Well the moment came and my body was definitely not working with me. I attempted 3 and failed each of them. After my 3rd rep I saw my coach over to the side, he yelled at me to "throw it behind you". I thought "okay, let's be real. You want this. Touching the bar was never the plan. You want a rep at 100 lbs." and I did want that. I wanted it bad.

I reset on  the bar, took a big breath, and somehow got under it. After I stood it up, I saw so many people around cheering for me. It was definitely one of my proudest moments. I still had some time left on the clock, and although I was completely happy with my results, I wasn't about to stop there. I failed a couple more, and with about 10 seconds left on the clock I set up for my last attempt. I set up, pulled under the bar, and stood it up!  When I let the bar drop  I broke down. I was that happy and relieved. I did what I didn't think (and told myself) I probably could not do.

All that to say, I didn't have the top score (or even top 5) in my gym. I didn't write this to toot my own horn, in anyway. But hopefully, someone might read this and feel inspired. I hope they might feel inspired to try something they thought they had no business attempting. 

Fab Ab February!

It's already March (read Spring Break... and the OPEN eeeek!) and I cannot believe it! February went by in a flash, but the good news is that now I can do my Fab Ab Feb post! Patience isn't my strong suit, so waiting a month for something is a big deal for me. And I'm rambling.

I asked a couple of friends/fellow CrossFitters if I could track their Fab Ab Feb progress, and thankfully they agreed.

-disclaimer- We each used FAF as platform to focus more on  our core. That being said, we did not follow the original FAF Calendar

Kate's results:

1) What is your prior athletic history?

 I have been an athlete my entire life. I played multiple sports in high school, club volleyball during my undergrad, competed in triathlons during my masters degree, then finally began Crossfit in 2010. During both my undergrad and masters degrees, I taught group fitness courses. 

2)What type of diet did you use? Was it close to you typical diet or did you switch it up for FAF?

 I am typically paleo 80% of the time. I cleaned things up a bit and eliminated all wine (the only form of alcohol I drink) and soda (I love diet coke) from my diet. 

3) What type of diet did you use? Was it close to you typical diet or did you switch it up for FAF?

I continued to do Crossfit. I did add some extra cardio (running and rowing) and core work (GHD sit-ups and back extensions daily) to the mix. 

Christina's Results:

1. What is your prior athletic history? 

When I was in high school I did a lot of different sports, lacrosse, swimming, cheer, soccer. In college ad after I mainly did my own thing and took the occasional yoga and Pilates class. Then I had to have knee and foot surgery so that set me back and after I finally recovered I decided to start Crossfit about 9 months ago.

2. What type of diet did you use? Was it close to you typical diet or did you switch it up for FAF?
I just paid more attention to eating clean. I usually do 80/20 paleo but for FAF I was actually more 70/30 mainly because I discovered balance bars and couldn't not eat them. But other than that just high protein and high veggies.

3. What type of workout regimine did you use? 

I started doing extra work outside of just one WOD a day so it would either be 2 WODs or 1 WOD and about 30-45 minutes of extra work. I also run 1-2 times a week.

My results:

1. What is your prior athletic history? 

I was a competitive cheerleader throughout high school. In college I thought sitting on my rear and eating everything in sight sounded like a great idea. I start CrossFit just over a year ago.

2. What type of diet did you use? Was it close to you typical diet or did you switch it up for FAF?

I eat 80/20 paleo pretty consistently. I'll have 1 cheat meal a week and I cut out alcohol completely. Honestly, I didn't change my diet hardly at all. 

3. What type of workout regimine did you use?

I stuck to my typical workout schedule. I workout 6 days a week with 3 days of extra pull-up & muscle-up work and 2 days of extra olympic lifting work. I also try to do a light run on my rest day. 

So proud of each of my ladies and all the hard work they put in! Next week is the first week of the CrossFit Open. I'm going to try to blog throughout the competition and include some videos, so check back!