Double Unders Suck!

I've always thought that I was pretty good at Double Unders.....I have recently been proven wrong! The third workout at ACO last weekend was a 10 minute AMRAP. Every minute on the minute you did 3 squat cleans and as many double unders as you could with the rest of the minute. Now I just got a brand new rope from RX Jump Rope and it is awesome. I'd practiced with it very briefly before ACO and thought it was all squared away....WRONG! As soon as I got to about round 3, I was clipping my left foot regularly....SO FRUSTRATING! I just attributed it to a small gas-tank...I mean, cardio is my nemesis whereas strength is my power...and double unders are straight cardio right?! Well, today the Advanced Class over at CrossFit Katy tackled the next Again Faster WOD.

WOD #11 is

200 double unders

7000lbs total deadlift

75 thrusters with a 45lb bar

Partition as needed.

I decided to do:

4 Rounds

50 Double Unders

10, 10, 9, 9 Deadlifts @185#

19,19,19,18 Thrusters

Let me tell you....those damn double unders kicked my butt again! The first two rounds went ok but as soon as the I got to that third set of DU's I could not for the life of me get it together! I haven't been that frustrated in a WOD in a long time! I hate making excuses but I think I'm going to order another rope that is one inch longer than my current rope. Maybe then I'll conquer those suckers! So I guess I'm using this post to vent a little. Contrary to what people may think......every CrossFitter gets crushed by a WOD sometimes and today, I was crushed! The important thing to remember is that there is always another WOD.....and next time double unders come up...they will not defeat me!

The 2010 All-Cities Open

It came, it went and I survived! Actually I did more than just survive. I managed to get 11th place overall this weekend and I've got to say, I'm pretty happy about it.

Usually after a tough CrossFit competition, I spend the rest of the weekend ruminating over what I could have done better.....should have done better, how I could have shaved a second here or added a rep there, but all the woulds and shoulds don't change anything and I'm learning to accept my weaknesses and revel in my strengths as far as this year's ACO is concerned. I am definitely looking forward to turning those weaknesses into strengths in the next few months.

The one thing I still can't get over is how connected I feel now to this whole community. It's an incredible feeling knowing that no matter which competition you attend, you will always have someone there cheering you on and many times it's fellow CrossFitters who you've never even met before or only briefly!

This past weekend during the horribly cold and windy run on WOD#4, I got passed up by another girl in my heat. (For anybody that doesn't know, running is my nemesis and I am HORRIBLE at it!) But as she ran past me she slowed just a sec to turn and say "come on Leah". That's what really sets us all apart you know......we elevate each other to perform at our best. Do I go into every competition with the desire to win?? Of course I do, but I will always celebrate my competitors successes. I want to be elevated to do my best because they are doing their best and hopefully my best will be good enough some day.

Again Faster

For the past few weeks, Again Faster has been challenging any and all CrossFitters to compete against the Again Faster Competition Team in their challenge WOD's. The newest set of WOD's is a little bit different. The first two WOD's are task domain WOD's and the third WOD is a time domain WOD but the kicker is that the time for the third WOD depends on how quickly you finish the first two WOD's.

Over at CrossFit Katy, the 7pm Advanced class has decided to rise to the challenge and take on these next three WOD's. They've only posted the first one so far, a 2K row time-trial, and we hit it hard last Thursday! I haven't rowed a 2 K since February and wasn't really expecting much since I haven't been able to train that much with the end of school looming, but I surprised myself and rowed a PR: 8:02. Hopefully I can hang in the next two WOD's. The next one should be posted in two weeks.

AF WOD 10 2k Row from Neal Kay on Vimeo.

Tis the Season!

Wow! I can't believe it's December already! (ACO is just around the corner...Yikes!) Good news is, Hannukah is way early this year (go Jews)! Haha... Ok, ok, so maybe I'm spoiled and get to celebrate both Xmas and Hannukah, but that is besides the point. The point is that for all you Jews and non-Jews alike, the holiday buying season is upon us and I just thought it would be fun to put together a little CrossFit Holiday Wish List. I'm sure most if not all of the people that read this blog are already avid CrossFitters, but just in case you aren't (or if you are and need ideas for your CrossFitting significant others or friends) here's a little list of things that I'm sure would make any CrossFitter happy!

The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf-- If you're a CrossFitter and haven't gotten your hands on a copy of this book, then lean into your computer and I'll cyber-slap you now! :-) Seriously, the most concise and best written book regarding Paleo eating out there....go buy it!

The Primal Blueprint Cookbook by Mark Sisson--Some of the recipes in here do utilize dairy and small amounts of sugar but overall it's a great tool in case you're sick of eating steak and veggies every day (though I don't think I could ever get tired of steak)

Pendlay Barbell 2010 Do-Win Weightlifting Shoes- For the Ladies' they have an awesome pink and grey pair (and they actually come in women's sizes) and they just released some sweet neon yellow and neon green men's shoes!

RX Jump Rope- They make custom cable jump ropes. Every one of their ropes is custom sized to meet each individual Crossfitter's needs. Each and every jump rope handle is hand wrapped for maximum comfort and grip and comes in a variety of cable diameter and weight geared toward different work capacities. Every rope comes with a patent-pending swivel axis ball bearing system that is fast, functional, and bullet proof! Ok so I may have stolen this blurb from their website, but trust me these ropes are sweet. Nothing sucks worse than getting schooled in a double under workout because you're rope isn't the right size!

Puma FAAS 300- Ok so I know everybody out there is all about the Innov8 and I'm sure they're awesome, But I just checked these out at my local Luke's Locker and I think they're pretty cool. They're extremely light and have a really flat sole. I've never been a Puma fan before but I might have to give these a try....besides they come in some sweet colors!

Life as RX- This isn't really a specific product because there are too many great products on their website from which to choose. Some of my favorites include the Elliptical Fail tank, the Strong=Sexy tank, and the CrossFit Sri Ram Ashram t-shirt which benefits the CrossFit program at the boys orphanage in India.

Lululemon- Of course I can't forget my absolute favorite store of all time. You can never go wrong with a gift card to Lulu. Some of my favorites for this season include the new Hot Racer Bra, the Stride Jacket*Ruffle, and the Dance Sweat Pants.

Hopefully Santa (or Hannukah Harry....does he even exist or did my parents just make that up when I was a kid?!) reads my list and I hope all ya'lls holiday wishes come true too!

This Crazy Life

Well, it's been a hot minute since I've last updated because things on this end are CRAZY! I was in one of my best friend's weddings (you know bachelorette, rehearsal dinner, wedding...the whole shebang...lots to do when you're a bridesmaid!) and I am entering the home stretch of my nursing degree and it seems like EVERYTHING is due at the same time. No calm before the storm business....this is the storm! Working multiple overnight shifts at the hospital to accrue clinical hours for graduation is the real kicker right now and it has made my workout schedule sporadic to say the least. Contrary to popular opinion, just because you're a Certified CrossFit Trainer, doesn't mean that life doesn't happen sometimes. So I'm taking this opportunity to let you in on how I am handling it so maybe the next time you've got a million things on your plate, you'll be able to handle it just a little bit better.

First off....Nutrition is everything! When you can't train the way you need to train, you have to eat clean and eat right! This becomes extremely difficult when you are stressed out, believe me I know, (I always crave horrible food at the end of my night shift....damn Cortisol!) but it really helps with maintenance.

Secondly, You need to schedule what little workouts you can make into your planner just like any other meeting...you have to make you a priority. Even if you just get in two workouts during a really busy week, you are doing your body a favor!

Third, sleep is just as important as working out...Just ask Robb Wolf. I know, I know....how are you supposed to sleep when you've got all this crazy stuff to do?!?! Believe me...there's more time then you think. How many of us watch an hour or so of TV a night before bed? Spend that time IN bed instead and you'll be able to manage the extra stress better.

Lastly, give yourself a break! This is not an all or nothing lifestyle! This has been the hardest thing for me to accept. When things get crazy, I just feel like such a failure when I don't get all my workouts in...but you know what...it's ok! I will just keep trucking and that's what you need to do. Don't just give up because your life gets off track a bit.

So that's the game plan for now until graduation in December. Not going to lie, I am a little worried about the All-Cities Open. I know I will be going up against some heavy hitters (I'm talking to you CrossFit Central ;-) and all this extra "stuff" is making my training really hard, but I'm going to keep at it as best I can and we'll see what happens!

Big and Strong or Small and Fast??

So here's something I've been contemplating for a while. CrossFit is a sport that claims to punish the specialist. Our specialty is not specializing....or as Greg Glassman (founder of CrossFit) would put it, "We do your stuff almost as good as you. You can't do our stuff at all and we do stuff neither of us does way better than you can." But I've come to wonder if that is necessarily true all of the time.
As far as I'm concerned there's two types of CrossFitters....Big and Strong or Little and Fast....Now that's not to say that there aren't people who are both (Hello Chris Spealler) but those people are considered the elite. So for all of us working hard to get to that elite status....which is a better starting point? Is it better to be Big and Strong already and to work on your speed? Or is being small and fast a benefit in more ways as far as CrossFit is concerned? I really can't tell you the answer to that, I've just been thinking about it for a while.
I've never been little and fast. True, I was a sprinter on the track team....in Junior High!...but once I started actually growing into my body, it was pretty obvious that I wasn't going to win many races. So I started out my CrossFit career with a huge strength bias and have been working on my speed ever since. Many days, I don't really let it bother me, but today we did a sic WOD over at CrossFit West Houston just for a little fun. It was....

1 Round of
3 Rope Ascents
1000m Row
15 strict Handstand Push Ups
5 Deadlifts at 185#

Some people might look at this workout and think that's it a strength biased workout.....which it is BUT I definitely think it favored the small and fast who have less body to haul up the rope and push up out of the handstand. The whole time I was struggling up the rope and failing at the HSPU's I wondered....if I didn't weigh 160lbs would this stuff be easier??? Now, I'm never one to really care about my actual weight. I think the way you look in your Lulu's is a much better indicator than the numbers on a scale. But every once in a while I still find myself wondering does being as big (and strong!) as I am help me more than being able to run multiple 400's at a 1:30 pace.......so, big and strong or little and fast? Which one would you rather be?

CrossFit Showdown at CrossFit Beaumont

Yesterday the CrossFit Katy crew and I traveled to Beaumont for the CrossFit Showdown at CF Beaumont. Beaumont isn't that far from Katy so most of us opted to drive in the morning of, but man 5:30 AM drives to Beaumont are NOT fun! :) At least Neal and I had plenty of company on the ride (thanks Lezlie and Adam).
When we got to Beaumont, we checked in and got to find out which heats we were in. Luckily for me, I was put in a heat with Adrian Sanders (one tough chick from CrossFit Houston). It's always good to be put in a heat with a top competitor because it pushes you to be your very best. I was also pretty excited that all the other CF Katy athletes were in different heats so I got a chance to watch everybody perform. The day consisted of three WOD's with no eliminations. Points were awarded to athletes according to how they finished. (First place gets one point, second gets two, etc.) At the end of the day, the athlete with the fewest points wins it all!
WOD #1 looked like this:
5 Rounds of
5 Ground to Overhead (75#)
25 meter Overhead Carry (75#)
It looked simple enough but those overhead carries got pretty crappy pretty fast! Anything overhead is always a problem for me because it emphasizes my lack of mobility in my shoulders. I have very limited range of motion and to overcome that, I compensate by arching my back to stabilize the weight overhead. Yes I know....NOT a good idea! I desperately need to improve my mobility and I am working on it, though relatively half-heartedly lately. But I know that if I want to improve as an athlete it must be done! Anyway, I finished the workout second in my heat (right behind Adrian) and ended up second overall after the first WOD.

WOD #2 was
4 minutes to find your Max Clean then one max set of pull ups (for every pull up, two pounds is added to your clean weight)
Pull ups aren't my best CrossFit skill but I LOVE the clean. For an early birthday present, Neal bought me a pair of sweet Pendlay 2010 Weightlifting shoes and yesterday I got to try them out for the first time! I PR's with 175lb clean....AWESOME! I actually got under 180lbs but couldn't stand up with it. Looks like I'll be working on my front squat in the near future! I only got 15 pull ups so I wasn't too happy about that but my clean weight was still enough to put me in first place for that event.
After the first two WODS I was sitting in first place but only by 4 points! If I wanted to keep that position, I was going to have to book it in WOD #3.

WOD #3 consisted of
10-15-20
Deadlifts at 135#
Burpees
Kettlebell Swings
For some reason, the deadlift has been giving me some serious trouble ever since I maxed at the BCS Games in College Station and my burpees haven't been that great lately either, but the weight was really light for me so I was pretty confident that I could rip through this workout pretty quickly. I think there's this unwritten CrossFit rule that the easier a workout looks, the harder it is because this workout gassed me! My burpees were slow and that set of 20 deadlifts was tough! I definitely need to work on more lightweight, high rep metcons because I barely made it out of this WOD in the top 4!

Amazingly enough, even with my slower performance in WOD #3, I managed to squeak out a #1 finish! After all was said and done, I won the CrossFit Showdown at Beaumont by ONE point...right behind Adrian! It was awesome! Neil Riley and the whole crew at CF Beaumont put on a great competition and all of the athletes did an incredible job. Special congrats go out to my CF Katy crew. Teresa and Lezlie both finished in the top ten! Michelle competed in her first ever CrossFit Event and did a great job! She even got a new PR in her clean! As for the guys, Ed cranked it out in another tough comp and Adam H. made the top ten in his first individual competition. But I have to say I'm most proud of Neal for taking 6th place and getting a PR in his squat clean by 15lbs! This was his best finish in a CrossFit competition and I am so proud of him!

As for me, I had a blast, revealed some weaknesses and some strengths and am newly motivated to kick butt in my future competitions. The next one on the books for me is the All Cities Open at Dallas CrossFit Central on December 11th and it's going to be epic! All the top competitors will be there and I can't wait to see how I stack up against the best!