Marianne's Handstand & the 2011 Open (Workout Recap Week of 2/25)

In preparation for the 2013 CrossFit Open, Mercer Island CrossFit programmed a week of workouts from the 2011 Open.  We'd get to practice being judged during a workout and get a sense of what the intensity might be like for the upcoming 2013 WODs.
 
Monday: Rest

 

Had a headache and a busy day...did some shoulder stability and took a short walk.

 

Tuesday: CrossFit and Running

 
Went to the 6am class.  Skill work was handstand holds and plank holds while Coach Jared gave everoyne a quick talk on Competition, Ego, and Respect.
 

Next we were on to the WOD.  My goal for the 2013 Open is to RX everything except muscle-ups (even if my scores are really low).  It was nice to be able to RX the first WOD from 2011: double unders and power snatches!
 

My double-unders are still weak, but I kept chipping away at them, and Sara, who was judging me, was really encouraging.  It felt like forever before I was done with the first 30, but then it was great to move on to something I knew I could do pretty well!  I really focused on good form and efficiency for my power snatches.  It's so much faster and less tiring if you do them right.  My second round was actually way better on both double unders (I linked 13 at one point) and the power snatches.  I got through the 3rd set of double unders and 6 of the power snatches before the 10 minute time cap.
 

 
After the workout, Ray asked if anyone wanted to run 20 laps (our track is little, so a mile is about 18.5 laps).  Normally I would say no, but I have realized that I need to work on my running a lot, particularly my attitude about it.  I had time before work, so I said I would come and run!  We took the first 14 laps or so at a pretty chill pace (okay, chill for Ray) and then he asked if I wanted to pick it up at the end.  He told me to set the pace and he'd be right behind me.  SO much more motivating than if we had each just run our own pace.  I pushed really hard and worked on my mental game.  I was totally panting and leaning on the wall for support after we finished, but I felt super proud of myself for doing it. 

Plus I was wearing my new shirt from Stoneway CrossFit:
 

 

 

I came home and did about 25 minutes of mobility, focusing mostly on my neck and traps because my headache was getting worse and I thought it was likely a tension headache.

*Alert the Media* My mom came to the 6pm class and got her very first handstand hold against the wall!  She had help kicking up but held the position for 15 seconds.  So proud!

 

Wednesday: Active Recovery

 

If you have access to an ERG (rowing machine) this is a great recovery workout!

 

For time (but at light effort):

Row 400m

Rest 2:00

Row 400m

Rest 2:00

Row 400m

Rest 2:00

Row 400m

 

I still had my headache from Monday night, so after my row I did 30 minutes of mobility, including calves (sore from running and double unders on Tuesday!), forearms, and traps/neck.

The great thing for me is I take my recovery SUPER light so I don't get sweaty which means no need to shower and change...I can head straight to work which saves me a ton of time.

 

Thursday: CrossFit

 
Thursdays are a fun day at the box because it's usually "athlete's choice" day.  If you have an unlimited membership and have already come Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, there will be a recovery WOD for you to do on Thursday.  That way you can still get a workout but you'll actually be helping your body recuperate from the last three days instead of just beating it down more with something too intense.  If you haven't been all three of the previous days, you can choose to do a workout that you missed.

No matter what WOD we were doing, we all started out with the same skill: retest of the February 2 minute challenge.  This month it was med ball cleans. 

Previously I'd used the RX weight (#14 for girls) and gotten 39 reps.  I was aiming to beat my previous score.  I should have aimed higher, because I took a second rest towards the end that I really didn't need and only ended up with 40.  I think I could have gotten 44 or even 45.  Oh,well.

I'd only been to class on Tuesday, so I could choose between Monday and Wednesday.  Monday included fairly light deadlifts and hand-release pushups, which I am fairly proficient at.  Wednesday included some REALLY heavy power cleans and wall balls, which as you know, I kind of hate.

I was a good little CrossFitter and picked the tougher WOD.

I took a little time to warm up my power cleans since my one-rep max last tested around #110.  I went with #103 instead of #100 since Heidi used #103 when she did Wednesday's WOD and I wanted to try to follow her.  I was hoping for 3 rounds, but I actually got 4 rounds plus most of the fifth!  I probably could have finished five except for failing a rep of the power clean in the fifth round that kinda scared me.  I had to take some time to build back my confidence and finish the cleans safely and correctly.  My wall balls saw a huge improvement!!!  I'm really glad I picked this workout because I got to work on some weaknesses and prove a lot to myself.

 
 

 

Friday: CrossFit and Racquetball

Friday was 5pm CrossFit in my new Mercer Island shirt from my buddy Jess B!

 

 

We were matchies, and so were Mom and Coach Allison!

 

 

It was a packed out class, but tons of fun with a bunch of great athletes.  Coach Jared kept everything running really smoothly and partnered us up so that we could WOD in waves.  First was two waves of the March 2 Minute Challenge.

 

 

I picked chest to bar pullups since my kipping pullups are fairly solid.  I decided to try them with only the purple band, which turned out overly ambitious...I only got 5.  Oh, well.  Room to improve.



 

I got partnered with Coach Allison for the WOD since we were the only girls in the class planning to RX.  I was in the first wave for this chipper-style WOD.

 

 

We warmed up our power cleans a little since (especially for me) that's a really heavy weight.  Then it was time to WOD!

 

It took me a long time to get through the cleans, but I really focused on trying to have good form on each rep, and I didn't fail a single one!  I got started on the toes to bar way after everyone else in my wave...and I got through 15 and was so excited to be done!  I looked at the board to see what was next...and realized there were THIRTY toes to bar, not fifteen.  Oops.  I wished Jared had put Allison in the first heat because I was afraid she would catch me and have to wait for equipment.  This actually turned out to be really motivating...she was almost done with her double unders when I had five thrusters left.  Normally I would have split them up, but I saw how close she was and linked all five!

 

The lunges at the end were brutal but I finally finished.

 

 

Some of the 5pm girls!

 

I got to follow up a great class with my weekly racquetball date with my daddy.  He's pretty much the coolest.

 

Saturday: CrossFit Team WOD

This was supposed to be my Wendler restest day for my overhead press and deadlift, but I was WAY too exhausted from Friday's workouts and knew it was just not a PR kinda day.  Plus my hands were in kinda sorry shape for holding barbells:

Thankfully Heidi asked me to jump in and be her partner for the team WOD!

Go, Team Neon!  Heidi's been super encouraging on my wall balls and I linked two sets of 10!  After class we took a quick cool down run and then I did 30 minutes of mobility.

I was so hungry that afternoon that I dropped Jared off for his soccer game, hit up a burger joint and ordered an avocado swiss burger AND a bbq chicken sandwich.  Just for me.

 

Sunday: Rest

Went for a little walk in the sun and did some partner mobility with Jared.  Long week!!!