REVIEW: Western Pacific CrossFit/Spring Sweataway 2013 Part II

 

No vacation for Team Matson would be complete without a CrossFit field trip. 

Back in September, I met Elizabeth at Graham CrossFit, who told me to check out her brother's box in Kirkland, Western Pacific CrossFit.  We'd been meaning to visit ever since, so Jared emailed Nate to find a good class time for us to drop in.

Western Pacific has a lot of good class times available, in particular a block of morning classes from 6:30am through 9:30am Monday through Friday.

Nate said we were welcome at any class, so we decided to pop into the 8:30am.  We had a little trouble finding the place because of all the business park/warehouse buildings in the same area, but eventually we made it!

 

 
Nate was really welcoming and let us ask any questions and do mobility as the 7:30am class finished out their WOD.  Jared talked coaching and the Open with Nate while I snapped some photos of the space!
 

 
It's so big and so pretty!  I love the way the space is laid out so a lot of athletes can be working at once.
 

 

Jared loved the black ERGs!

 

You know I had to buy a shirt - love representing any good box.  I went with the neon green tank...so cute and very true to size!

 

 
There were 3 athletes in the 7:30 class, and they were all really friendly and welcoming.  We talked about how everyone had done on 13.3 and what people's thoughts were for 13.4

Another athlete popped in, so it was three of us for the 8:30 class.

The warmup was really thorough and straight-forward.  Nothing too complicated but definitely got your muscles moving and increased some range of motion (we had to hold the bottom of a squat for basically forever).  The strength work was back squats - it was really fun to each have our own squat rack.  Plenty of bars and plates - even some little 1, 2, and 0.5 plates for breaking plateaus!

I took it a little light after doing back squats on my own the day before.  Nate gave some really good cues that helped me improve my form, and I ended up with two reps at #153.

Next, we were on to the WOD:
 

My hands were still shredded from Chelsea.  I had taped up really well, but I took one rep on their pretty pullup bar and felt fire on my right hand.  I asked Nate about subbing in different movements for the kettlebell swings and pullups.  I ended up with 15 medicine ball cleans ("Can you do the #20?" - yikes) and 10 v-ups. 

I had to use a band for the ring dips, but I got the double-unders and even had a few good sets of linked repetitions!  Progress!
 

 

Some final thoughts on Western Pacific CrossFit:

 

I have not seen any better deals on monthly memberships in the Seattle Eastside area.  They even have a couples membership which is an even better deal...if you both do CrossFit, chances are you will both KEEP doing CrossFit.

 

The coaching is excellent.  The more boxes and events I'm around, the more picky I get about the person who is coaching me.  Someone said recently that the best coaches compliment form and effort.  Nate does just that.  His focus is on encouraging his athletes towards better quality of movement, and congratulating people on working hard. 

 

OLYMPIC LIFTING!  We haven't yet had a chance to visit one of the bi-weekly Olympic Lifting classes, but these are led by Lincoln Brigham who has worked with Mike Burgener.  These are offered on Monday and Wednesdays at 6:30pm and are even open to non-WPCF members for a drop-in fee.

 

Jared and I were so impressed with Western Pacific CrossFit! 

We hadn't even gotten in our car before both saying, "If we had to switch to a new box, this would be the one." 

Great coaching, great space, and great people.  Definitely give them a vist.

 

We finished up our day watching Argo (such a great movie!) and getting a late lunch over at Paddy Coyne's in Seattle.

 

 

 

Our drinks were excellent, but the food was only okay.  I'm so spoiled having such a great chef at home that when we go out to eat I am often disappointed! 

 

Oh, well.  It was nice to have time to talk and not prep or do dishes.  Plus the trees in Seattle are just beautiful this time of year! 

 

 

Uber thankful for some much-needed time off work.  And so thankful to Elizabeth for telling us to visit Western Pacific CrossFit!!!

 

 

Spring Sweataway 2013 Part I

Due in part to holidays and closures at the SJCC, Jared and I contrived to take Monday and Tuesday off work and enjoy ourselves on a much needed break.

 

We slept in a little and went in to the 7am CrossFit so Jared could bust out his birthday WOD!  My hands were still beat up from the Saturday before, so I stuck with my regular programming and did my Wendler's deload week for back squat and bench press.

 

We got to shoot some hoops before working out - he helped me out with some pointers and I made a bunch of baskets!

 

 

 

He was sporting the birthday present I got him...the Reebok CrossFit Nanos!

 

 

If you wanna give his birthday WOD a try, here it is:

 

"Jared"

 

2 rounds for time:

 

25 Double Unders

12 Clean & Jerks #95/65

13 Snatches #95/65

25 Pushups

12 Burpee Blasters

(burpee into knees to elbows into pullup)

13 Handstand Pushups

25 Calorie Row

 

Jared busted out the top score of the day - sub 20 minutes!

 

 

 

I took it easy on my deload week - it was nice to get some time under the bar and not work my hands too much.

 

 

 

 

After we got home, we ate a little, packed up, and Jared tuned the bicycles so we could head north to Anacortes for a ride!  Great views all along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found a great trail for riding and got to see herons and a cute otter up close.

 

 

 

We were STARVING by the time we finished and hit up a local cafe for some awesome food.

 

Jared's lunch - French Toast Cinnamon Rolls!

 

My lunch: Fish and Chips and Shrimp and Clam Strips!

 

Yes, I had salad, too.

It was so nice to get out and enjoy the sunshine and sing along to music on our mini road trip.

 

 

New Year's Date Weekend

I don't know about you, but I'm loving all the 2012 recaps and New Year's Eve posts and 2013 goals.  I kept my two resolutions from last year, which were "get more sleep" and "eat at least 3 servings of veggies every weekday" - I only missed a few days here and there and saw a ton of improvement in my body and mind as a result!
 

Sneak veggies into breakfast
and you're 1/3 done for the day!

I don't have 2013 goals yet, but I DO have a New Year's recap for you.

Every quarter my husband and I try to have a weekend "away."  Even when we can't afford to actually go anywhere, we make sure we get focused time to relax together.  Our last trip was in September, so we were due for another "sweataway."
 
Things are a little tighter right now and our work schedules were a challenge, so we got creative for our New Year's Date Weekend.  We'd spend part of it at home, but enjoy New Year's Eve at a nearby hotel!  I searched around to find something within our budget but still really nice and settled on the adorable Hotel Deca in the U-District!  The reservation experience was really smooth and we got a great deal on a room with a view.  I heard great things about this place and was excited to be going somewhere fun but close to home.
 
Sunday the 30th: After a morning at church, we built a fire and spent the afternoon and evening relaxing together at home.  We read books and had fun snacks (yeah, protein smoothies!) and watched a movie.  Ahhhhh....
 

 

 

 
Monday the 31st: Monday morning we both had to work, so we were up at 4:30.  I dropped Jared off at the gym to teach his boot camp class, and went back home to pack. 
 
After September's trip (well, and practically all our other trips) when I wasted literally an entire afternoon of our vacation "packing" and we were both stressed and frustrated, I decided that was a sucky way to start a fun time.  So I went back home to surprise Jared by getting my packing done early!  SUCH a good idea.  I am a morning person and so packing at 6:00 and knowing I had to leave by 6:30 really helped me be efficient and prioritize.  I also set a timer, which helped, too.
 
I headed off to work, and got my half day in.  Then it was off to CrossFit for the 11:30 class!  The box is having a recovery week, so lots of cardio.
 

 

 
 
The WOD was kinda hard!  I did okay on the double unders, which was really encouraging since I'd taken a break on these after my frustrating jump rope experience at the end of November.  My burpees were on fire and super efficient.  I actually scaled up on the first round of famer carries, using the #35 kettlebells and then using the #26s for the last 2 rounds.  My lungs were burning!  I'm so slow usually that I don't feel the cardio burn as much - this one really worked me!
 
I'd already done the 2 minute challenge, so I worked on skills at the end of class instead. I showed Heidi some tips that helped me on my burpees and handstand pushups, and I also worked on strict pullups. I can link 3 good ones, but I really want to get more, since I think the strength would help me on my chest to bar pullups. 
 
I also had a massage scheduled post-WOD while Jared played basketball.  I SO needed it...great way to relax for our mini-trip!
 
We went home to pack and Jared was really impressed with what I'd done earlier in the morning.  We were able to get everything together pretty quickly and left excited for a night in Seattle!
 
We had an early dinner at The Ram down in U-Village.  It was fun to catch part of a game or two, and the food was great as usual. 

Then we checked into our hotel! 

There was a surprisingly long line for check-in, but the staff was really kind and did their best to move everyone along in a timely fashion.  By the time I got to the front, they got me checked in really seamlessly.  Before we knew it, we were settling into our room.

 

Adorable black & white bathroom

 

 

TV and DVD player!

 

We don't exactly travel light...

Jared was excited to find that the iPod dock worked for charging his iPhone!

We brought a bunch of things to read:
 

 
 And of course a bunch of snacks.  I got hungry after a while and finished up my "Faburge'" burger from The Ram.

 

 

Never too much chocolate!

 

 When we started up the fifth Harry Potter film, we chowed down on the veggies, tropical fruit, cheese, and salami with some good pita crackers.  At first Jared thought we should wait till midnight for the champagne, but then we realized it was only 7:-something and we wouldn't make it to midnight.

 

We enjoyed our movie, champagne, and snacks, and went to bed before 10pm.  Yup.  The excitement basically never stops.

We woke up to an absolutely gorgeous morning - never mind the delight of getting up without an alarm!

 

 

We had some of the breakfast snacks I packed and planned our "busy" morning based on checkout time (noon).

 

After some serious reading and enjoying of the view, we headed across the street to Trabant.  Being in the U-District brought back all the memories of when we lived there after we first got married.  Trabant was the first place I'd ever had chai!

 

Jared got coffee of some sort and more coffee in a bag (I know so much I should be a barista) and I got a really fun drink called "Pfeffernusse -- ginger molasses syrup, espresso (optional), rimmed with our Mexican chocolate, nutmeg, and pepper"

 

So delicious!

 

Our hotel...literally across the street

 I kept ruining our photo.  Lame.

 

They didn't have a lot of food on hand (although they played killer big band swing while we were there) so we went back to the Tully's at Hotel Deca for some real breakfast.

We watched another movie (Spy Game) and watched more mountains come out of hiding from our window.

 

 

We finally said our good-byes to the U-District.  I would highly recommend Hotel Deca, especially if you are looking for an affordable local "getaway."  There is a lot of great shopping in the area, second hand stores nearby or fancier shops down at U Village.  You can run over to Greenlake or downtown really easily.  The hotel itself is really cute and the staff friendly and helpful.  All in all, a great experience for a great price.

We headed back to the box to "practice" for Saturday's competition.  I had a PR with Grace, and then we chilled back at the apartment for the rest of the day.  I felt so relaxed I could melt from happiness.  Now I can't wait for our next little trip in March!


You tell me: How did you spend your New Year?  Ever found that a less "fancy" or "planned" time is the most fun?  What are your favorite snacks to bring on a trip?