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!!!

Recovery Week: Workout Recap Week of 2/18 (Kelly: Girl WOD)

Recovery!!!

 

If you read much, you probably know that taking regular recovery weeks is part of a smart, healthy training cycle.  I read in one of the CrossFit magazines a while back that you should probably have more recovery weeks than you think you need.  To begin incoporating recovery into your fitness, the article suggested starting with 13 weeks of work followed by one week of recovering.  Then 12 weeks of work followed by one week of recovery.  Then so on counting down, and then start over again at 13.

 

I wasn't totally sure about how to plan things, but I put some recovery weeks on my 2013 schedule back in December of 2012 and worked down to my first recovery week of 2013: "week 0" (2/18).

2/25 is week 6, counting down to my next recovery week 0 starting 4/7.

4/14 is week 5 counting down to week 0 starting 5/19.

I based these dates in large part on knowing I will be crazy busy the week of 5/19 and wouldn't get to workout much.

 

It worked out really nicely that this week was a recovery week, since last week's workouts were crazy and kinda brutal!

 

Monday: Shoulder Stability and Mobility

 

My hands were still in sorry shape from Saturday, plus I had to pick up our car from the shop.  I did shoulder stability exercises with a band while at the office, then had time after picking up the car to go to Half Price Books!  Landed a killer haul for less than $40.  (One of the many perks of recovery weeks...you get to remind yourself that you DO have a life outside of CrossFit.)

 

That evening, I got in 45 minutes of mobility while reading one of my new books.



 

Tuesday: Mercer Island CrossFit

 

Went to 6am CrossFit.  Skill was push press - starting really light (#15) and just focusing on good form.

 



 

The WOD presented challenges even with my taped hands.  I had to alter a lot...and it took me forever to do only three rounds!

My WODHub notes on the workout:

Scaled to 3 rounds (recovery week) and scaled movements due to hand:

200m row

4 burpees

1st round 12 pull ups w red band, 2nd&3rd 18 ring rows

1st round 15 Strict Press at #45, 2nd & 3rd 15 Snatch high pulls at #65

16 V-Ups

rest 2:00

 

When I finished 3 rounds it was time to go to work!  

I got a really pretty view on my walk to the office.

Wednesday: Out Sick

 

Thank God I scored that loot on Monday.  I woke up with a sore throat and decided to take a sick day.  After 10 hours of sleep I still felt totally tanked.  I don't know what I had, but I could barely walk around the apartment to get food, tea, water, and use the bathroom.  Spent the day pretty much on the couch watching Gilmore Girls and reading Dorothy Sayers.

 

Note to the ill...I have found it helps to have a ton of tea, make sure to get my vitamins and veggies, and to avoid as much sugar as possible.  Sugar messes with the immune system.

 

Jared made me dinner which was really sweet, and then we went to bed early.

 

Thursday: Partner Mobility and Yoga

 

After 11 hours of sleep, I felt a lot better than I did on Wednesday, but not 100%.  I had the day as a vacation day but cancelled all my plans for fear of spreading my germs around.  I had the energy to do some chores but still focused on resting and fighting off the end of whatever it was.

 

When Jared got home from work, we did some partner mobility.  Nothing like a good tricep and calf smash session to bring people closer together, right?  I also did some mobility by myself...almost an hour total.

 

Later in the evening, I felt like I had some energy but not enough to throw weights around or get my heart rate up.  I hadn't done yoga at home in ages, and since the place was looking clean and pretty, I felt super zen and decided to unwind with a few sequences from my favorite yoga book.
 

 

 

 

 So relaxing.  Seriously, I wanna do this every week!

 

Friday: Racquetball and Lifting

 
By Friday I was finally back to normal.  After work I met my dad at the gym for racquetball...AND BEAT HIM BY 5 POINTS!!!  This is a milestone for me as I've pretty much only beaten him one other time.  He said it was "the smartest game" I'd ever played.
 
Afterwards I went on to my Wendler lifting.  I thought about CrossFit, but the programming was a Hero WOD and I just didn't feel like I had enough energy to do it justice.  I was on week 4 for Wendlers, which is the deload phase, and I actually took it even lighter than my normal deload.  No reason to overdo it after being sick!
 

Satruday: Mercer Island CrossFit - KELLY

 

Got to work out with some of my favorite Mercer Island athletes. 

 

 

 

We were excited about the strength and skill, but a little mutinous about the WOD since usually Saturday is a Girl WOD and the programming listed a regular old run of the mill workout. Coach Jared took pity on us and let us choose between Nancy (5 rounds for time of 400m run and 15 overhead squats at #95/65), Isabel (30 snatches at #135/95) and Kelly (5 rounds for time of 400m run, 30 box jumps, and 30 wall balls at #20/14). I voted for Isabel (which I would have scaled). I don't like running or wall balls and box jumps kinda scare me...and of course I got out voted and we did Kelly!

 

 

 

The wall balls took me forever, but I wanted to get at least 3 rounds before the time cap and I ended up getting through the fourth round and 20 of the box jumps!   It made me realize how much I need to work on my wall balls, though...particularly my attitude.

 

Finished up Saturday with a great Leadership and Coaching seminar over at Stoneway CrossFit.  I'm not even a coach and I found it SUPER helpful!

 

CrossFitters and their coffee with butter...they crack me up. 

 



12ks of Christmas Recap/Advent Mobility Day 19

One Team Matson holiday tradition is the annual 12ks of Christmas run in Kirkland, WA.  We've run this every year since we've been married, and even last year when I had a knee issue, it was still a blast.

They raise money for Toys for Tots, and people can also donate toys at the event!  Jared got our race packets ahead of time, and also picked out some awesome toys for us to bring.  Not gonna lie - I really wanted to keep the Spidey basketball game for myself!

This year was extra fun since my girlfriend Meghan was running with us - her first "real" race!  She actually put in more training runs than we did.  (She's a total champ.)

We had Meghan meet us at our apartment so we could carpool together.  Jared was showing her how to put the timing chip on her shoe.

 

We loaded up and headed over to downtown Kirkland.  Thankfully we found a great spot near the start line, dropped off our toys, and headed for Caffe Ladro and some warmth.  It was CHILLY!

 

I highly recommend getting to your races early and chilling at a local coffee shop.  Standing out in the cold is no way to warm up for a run.  For me personally, I've found a hot beverage is no bueno right before running, but definitely buy something so you can have an excuse to use the restroom!  Beats a porta potty for sure.

Pretty soon it was time to get ready to run!  We dropped our gear and coats at the car.  Meghan wisely suggested a pre-race photo since we were cute and not sweaty yet.

We warmed up as best we could down by the start line.  Jared was doing "real" warmup stuff.  Meghan did some karate forms and I did pushups.  We also ran into our friends Matt and Katy, who were also running the race!  Sadly I didn't have my camera with me anymore...but so you can see how cool they are:

We all decided to start together towards the back of the pack, since none of us had REALLY trained for the event.  We started out at a good, chatty pace, and enjoyed hanging out and watching all the speedy people and fun costumes.

Around the 3rd mile, there's a big hill - the biggest of the race.  Somehow Meghan and I got separated from Jared, Matt, and Katy on the hill, and never quite caught back up.  This was also the point where, despite having gone to the bathroom right before the race started...I had to pee.  I decided to try to tough it out even after reading this exciting race day tale.

We carried on and crested the mean hill, and toodled on our merry way.  I'm glad to say that my new New Balance trail shoes held up great (even though I'd never suggest wearing new shoes in a race) and treated my feet really well - in addition to not being slipperly on the wet ground.

Things got a little harder for us when we hit the halfway point...usually there's gatorade but this time there was just water.  We continued talking away and hit the long, steep downhill and thankfully didn't trip and fall or flail into anyone.

Towards the 10k mark, Meghan was starting to get tired.  Thankfully the Lord gave me the gift of gab so I babbled and cheered and distracted and encouraged all the way to the end of the run. 

We didn't hit any amazing pace (this was actually my slowest time at 1:26 and change), but we achieved our two goals: beat 1:30 and don't feel miserable.  Done and done!  Jared finished around 1:10 and Matt and Katy around 1:20.  Go team! 

Much as I whined about training for this one, I am really glad as always that we did it.  Big thanks to Jared for putting up with me and to Meghan, Matt and Katy for being awesome race buddies!


On to mobility...my shoulders and lats are feeling kinda tight, so I will be focusing on those today.  Here's a video from Mobility WOD if you need some ideas!

This challenge has been a HUGE motivator for me.  Any time I am losing steam and don't want to take the 15 minutes, I think of you guys and get out the old lacrosse ball and foam roller.  Keep it up!  We only have five days left after today!

Also...this week's "extra credit" is meditation.  It gets really nuts as we get close to Christmas, so give yourself some much needed brain mobility!  Just five minutes sitting alone with your eyes closed to focus on breathing in and breathing out can go a really long way. 

Post your time to the comments - I love hearing about other people doing work!

Advent Mobility: Day 11

Hey, #AdventMobility team!

We are almost halfway through the challenge already - hard to believe!  I have seen personally great lessening of elbow pain (forearm mobility) and knee pain (IT band mobility).  I've also seen some improvement in my squat depth!

I just want to remind you when you think about putting off your mobility for tomorrow...this IS your tomorrow.  If you want to improve your health and your fitness, why put in all the effort, expense, and time into prepping Paleo meals and WODding at the box if you're gonna risk the screeching halt of an injury?

To stay motivated, remember that mobility, like strength and skills, doesn't just happen.  You have to put in the time!  Only 15 minutes a day will net you a ton of progress.

K-Star often has "test/retest" on his videos.  Do the test before you do your mobility work, and then retest afterwards to see how you've improved.  You'll be amazed!

Today let's hit those IT bands!  I went trail running on Sunday and still feel tight.  I've got a race coming up on the 16th and want to be all limbered up.  As usual, you can do mobility wherever you need it - no need to follow along with my programming.

Post your time to the comments!  Extra points if you tweet about the challenge.  Lorie's in the lead right now to win that copy of Supple Leopard!