So, here it is the morning after.
It's not your typical morning after...you know the one. No, this morning after is the morning after the CrossFit Open 2013 Games.
It's over.
I sit here today a little happy and a little sad a little regretful and a little glad....you see I have a culmination of feelings all smashed together.
I am not a shoulda coulda woulda kind of person....so I refuse to look back, BUT I will look at my stats to help me move forward.
I love numbers. I love comparing and I love stats. I think this is partially why I love CrossFit. It's analytical. I can break it down, and put it back together like my favorite puzzle. So, I am breaking down my 2013 Open...and I'm putting it back together and I've already started my planning for 2014 Open.....that's what I do on the morning after. Get up, and move FORWARD.
Let me break this down.
A little happy.
My goal was to be in the top 25% of my age group this year. In the Central East I finished in the top 7.1% or 13th out of 183 women ages 40-44. If I were to use the original number of competitors in my age group and division I would be in the top 4% as 13 out of 320. In the World I finished 7.1% or 205 out of 2,882 women my age. If I were to use the original number of competitors in my age group in the world I would be in the top 4.3% as 205 out of 4,752 women.
So, you can see why I am a little happy.
Plus, how lucky do you have to be to be in 13th place:0)
A little sad.
It's over. That explains my sadness. There is nothing I love more than to analyze and strategize and organize and compete. Nothing. Now, with that said....5 weeks of it is a long time.....and I can't do it forever...but there is always a let down when your done.
A little regretful.
I know my weaknesses and I shouldn't have waited until 2013 to actually concentrate on them. I know if a WOD has box jumps, double unders, and toes to bar....I wouldn't fare well....but did nothing about it. So, since I won't look back, I can only use this information to look forward, you will please know that THIS WILL NOT BE THE CASE in 2014!!!
A little glad.
I prayed to God before each WOD this year, it's something I've never done in the past. I'm so GLAD that I've changed who I am spiritually. I prayed for safety for all of our Open Team and each time I asked God to help me be the best me I could be that day. After each WOD my prayers thanked him for my healthy body and the abilities that he has so graciously given me. I believe with Him on my side, all things are possible which brings me to my numbers for 2013 and goals for 2014.
WOD: Division: Place for WOD: # of Competitors: Overall Place: Percentage:
13.1 Central East 10th 320 10th 3.1%
13.1 Worldwide 188th 4,752 3.9%
13.2 Central East 14th 289 10th 4.8%
13.2 Worldwide 145th 4,404 3.2%
13.3 Central East 39th 252 16th 15.4%
13.3 Worldwide 305th 3,984 7.6%
13.4 Central East 10th 198 14th 5%
13.4 Worldwide 250th 3,191 7.8%
13.5 Central East 11th 183 13th 6%
13.5 Worldwide 205th 2,882 7.1%
Total overall for Central East 13/183 that finished all 5 wod's: 7.1%
Total overall for Central East 13/320 that originally started: 4%
Total overall for Worldwide 205/2882 that finished all 5 wod's 7.1%
Total overall for Worldwide 205/4752 that originally started 4.3%
Age Group: 40-44
A couple of follow up stats from 2012 to 2013:
WOD 12.4 and WOD 13.3 were the exact same WOD - in 2012 scored 190 in 2013 I scored 232 a 42 rep improvement.
WOD 12.5 and WOD 13.5 had the same movements thrusters and chest to bar pullups. In 2012 you had 7 minutes to get as many reps as possible...I got 79, in 2013 you had 4 minutes to get as many reps as possible I got 72. Now, the weight was the same and the pull-up standard was the same, but the rep scheme was different which may attribute to the increase but I'm thinking woohoo I am THAT much stronger and faster than I was at this time last year.
Goals for 2014 that WILL NOT wait until 2014....that means the year before in preparation for....
#1: I will age up. So I will compete in the 45-49 category...I know old lady here.
#2: I will keep my strength and inevitably get stronger over the year.
#3: Most importantly I will train my weaknesses - this is not an all inclusive list of my weaknesses....but in general my endurance - burpees, double unders, toes to bar, box jumps, pull-ups.....and my gymnastics skills.
#4: If the numbers are similar to 2013 I need to be in the top .4% (yes that is miniscule) of my age group to move on from the Open.
I Carole Ann Turnbo, LOVE LOVE LOVE to lift weights and be strong, but I also realize that I can keep my strength and be better at endurance and gymnastics. This will make me an all around better athlete when competition arrives at my door step....pretty much before you know it:0)
Monday, April 8, 2013
Waiting for this WOD made me CRAZY!!!
So, after WOD 13.4 I gained 2 spots in the Central East and went from 16th place to 14th. I was feeling pretty good about that, my original goal was to finish in the top 25% of my division. Not really sure if I had a specific goal for "the world" but 25% in my division was going to make for a good Open.
You all know that quickly changed and I became this competitive crazy lady that couldn't stop talking about the open, the wods, what was next, what I wanted to see, what I didn't want to see....but all in all, I pretty much called 3 out of 4 of these wod's to some point.
So, we practiced thrusters and chest to bar pull-ups last Tuesday...the last Open gathering and I felt like this was what was going to show up for the final WOD. UNTIL.....I got home that night and Mark had sent me this video footage of Dave Castro talking about the announcement of WOD 13.5....This was a bad idea.
I am SO superstitous about watching video's I have NO idea why I watched this one, because it haunted me for the next 24 hours. NO LIE!!!
The video shows Dave Castro saying that we are going to do something we've NEVER done before....and he's talking about how hard the WOD is going to be and how it's going to be hard for the "regular" athlete....but stepping it up a notch and saying the "elite" athletes are really going to feel this one as well. So, Jim watches the video with me...I finish my work on the computer and we head to bed. As we lie down in bed, Jim says to me, "I just had a vision of what the WOD is going to be!" He said, "it's going to be some type of AMRAP with 21-15-9 squat snatches and chest to bar pull-ups".....moments later he was quietly sleeping.....
I on the other hand WAS NOT!! From 10:30 pmish....until my alarm sounded at 4:45 am....I did squat snatches in my sleep!!! It was awful. I went through EVERY scenario of what could be in this WOD that had NEVER been done before!!! I was doing pistols on med balls...HSPU....you name it, I did it in my sleep.....Who does that? Who plants these seeds in my head and then snoozes off to this wonderful slumber where I lay and toss and turn and do squat snatches in MY SLEEP!!!!
The ENTIRE next day, if I thought about the WOD my stomach rolled.....I couldn't wait until 8:00 pm. Lucky for me at exactly 8:03 pm my phone died. I had played Pandora for all three of my classes without charging the battery....and just when I needed it the most I couldn't get my dang phone to work.
Poor Kim, I practically pushed her and Elizabeth out of the gym so I could get into my car and plug my phone in. Little did I know that my phone would be SO DEAD that even if it was plugged into the car charger it didn't have enough juice to even turn on!!! I can't explain the 5 minutes between my phone dying and it receiving enough juice to turn on....I was a MANIAC!!! Like seriously, a drug addict that had run out of drugs.
I was cursing and driving and trying to turn the phone on and screaming.....I mean, really looking back, this was bad!!!
Phone comes back on and I receive a text from Matty...."Say What!?" What do you mean, say what I HAVEN'T SEEN THE WOD!!! I'm going crazy, Brooke is texting me and Matty is texting me....and then I see the WOD and it all calms down from there. My comfort zone, thrusters and pull-ups....I didn't care about the time slot, I just knew that I could do what I was required to do. I thought I can do this, and from there I had set my goal...75 reps.
I had pondered for about 30 seconds on how many times I would do this WOD, I had decided once and I would go balls to the wall and just knock it out. Get it done. And call it a day!!!
I knew I couldn't get the 90 reps required...we just recently did Fran and my Fran time is 4:57, knowing that I didn't have a judge counting my reps and making sure they were perfect along with the fact that those were chin over bar pull-ups and this time I had to get my chest to touch the bar. I decided that 75 was a great score. After watching Matty on Friday evening do this WOD, and get 76 reps, my new goal was 77. I wanted to be 1st place in the CFM Leaderboard.
So, here is was Saturday morning and it's finally my turn. I was nervous, I'm not gonna lie. I had 4 minutes to prove to myself that I could do this. I did all 15 thrusters without stopping....jumped up on the pull-up bar and knocked out 8 chest to bar....what the heck where did those come from? Then did 5 more, then 2. Round 1 done. 15 thrusters without stopping...and that's when I felt it....coming out of round 2 in the thrusters....Fran attack was coming, I had to work and I had to work fast and not let it get the best of me. I started doing pull-ups but it was taking forever...I heard them counting the clock and decided I needed about 30 seconds to get the thrusters done in that last set, so I would do a pull-up or 2 and it was up and down. I had 2 no reps...UGH!! Finally done with the pull-ups I head back to the thrusters with about 25 seconds on the clock.....I was able to get 12. Score 72!!!
Immediately, I knew I had to do this again. I couldn't stop thinking about it....all day, all night, I knew what I had to do to get those extra 5 reps...I had to move through those pull-ups more methodically. Sets of 5 is what I decided. Jim and I talked about it a bit and he thought, "why aren't you shooting for 100 reps?" He agreed to coach me as we went back in after church on Sunday.
I'll just make this short and sweet....kind of like the workout. 55.
Yeah, no lie. That's how many reps I got on Sunday. I know myself, and I know what I am capable of.....
1. DO NOT watch any video. No video is going to tell me anymore than what I already know myself.
2. DO NOT use anyone else's strategy. I cannot use anyone else's strategy. This is my body and my workout and I know what it does best.
I love the open, and I'm sad that it's over. I love the team work and the competition and the constant sit and wait and plan and strategize. I just love everything about the open!!!
You all know that quickly changed and I became this competitive crazy lady that couldn't stop talking about the open, the wods, what was next, what I wanted to see, what I didn't want to see....but all in all, I pretty much called 3 out of 4 of these wod's to some point.
So, we practiced thrusters and chest to bar pull-ups last Tuesday...the last Open gathering and I felt like this was what was going to show up for the final WOD. UNTIL.....I got home that night and Mark had sent me this video footage of Dave Castro talking about the announcement of WOD 13.5....This was a bad idea.
I am SO superstitous about watching video's I have NO idea why I watched this one, because it haunted me for the next 24 hours. NO LIE!!!
The video shows Dave Castro saying that we are going to do something we've NEVER done before....and he's talking about how hard the WOD is going to be and how it's going to be hard for the "regular" athlete....but stepping it up a notch and saying the "elite" athletes are really going to feel this one as well. So, Jim watches the video with me...I finish my work on the computer and we head to bed. As we lie down in bed, Jim says to me, "I just had a vision of what the WOD is going to be!" He said, "it's going to be some type of AMRAP with 21-15-9 squat snatches and chest to bar pull-ups".....moments later he was quietly sleeping.....
I on the other hand WAS NOT!! From 10:30 pmish....until my alarm sounded at 4:45 am....I did squat snatches in my sleep!!! It was awful. I went through EVERY scenario of what could be in this WOD that had NEVER been done before!!! I was doing pistols on med balls...HSPU....you name it, I did it in my sleep.....Who does that? Who plants these seeds in my head and then snoozes off to this wonderful slumber where I lay and toss and turn and do squat snatches in MY SLEEP!!!!
The ENTIRE next day, if I thought about the WOD my stomach rolled.....I couldn't wait until 8:00 pm. Lucky for me at exactly 8:03 pm my phone died. I had played Pandora for all three of my classes without charging the battery....and just when I needed it the most I couldn't get my dang phone to work.
Poor Kim, I practically pushed her and Elizabeth out of the gym so I could get into my car and plug my phone in. Little did I know that my phone would be SO DEAD that even if it was plugged into the car charger it didn't have enough juice to even turn on!!! I can't explain the 5 minutes between my phone dying and it receiving enough juice to turn on....I was a MANIAC!!! Like seriously, a drug addict that had run out of drugs.
I was cursing and driving and trying to turn the phone on and screaming.....I mean, really looking back, this was bad!!!
Phone comes back on and I receive a text from Matty...."Say What!?" What do you mean, say what I HAVEN'T SEEN THE WOD!!! I'm going crazy, Brooke is texting me and Matty is texting me....and then I see the WOD and it all calms down from there. My comfort zone, thrusters and pull-ups....I didn't care about the time slot, I just knew that I could do what I was required to do. I thought I can do this, and from there I had set my goal...75 reps.
I had pondered for about 30 seconds on how many times I would do this WOD, I had decided once and I would go balls to the wall and just knock it out. Get it done. And call it a day!!!
I knew I couldn't get the 90 reps required...we just recently did Fran and my Fran time is 4:57, knowing that I didn't have a judge counting my reps and making sure they were perfect along with the fact that those were chin over bar pull-ups and this time I had to get my chest to touch the bar. I decided that 75 was a great score. After watching Matty on Friday evening do this WOD, and get 76 reps, my new goal was 77. I wanted to be 1st place in the CFM Leaderboard.
So, here is was Saturday morning and it's finally my turn. I was nervous, I'm not gonna lie. I had 4 minutes to prove to myself that I could do this. I did all 15 thrusters without stopping....jumped up on the pull-up bar and knocked out 8 chest to bar....what the heck where did those come from? Then did 5 more, then 2. Round 1 done. 15 thrusters without stopping...and that's when I felt it....coming out of round 2 in the thrusters....Fran attack was coming, I had to work and I had to work fast and not let it get the best of me. I started doing pull-ups but it was taking forever...I heard them counting the clock and decided I needed about 30 seconds to get the thrusters done in that last set, so I would do a pull-up or 2 and it was up and down. I had 2 no reps...UGH!! Finally done with the pull-ups I head back to the thrusters with about 25 seconds on the clock.....I was able to get 12. Score 72!!! 
Immediately, I knew I had to do this again. I couldn't stop thinking about it....all day, all night, I knew what I had to do to get those extra 5 reps...I had to move through those pull-ups more methodically. Sets of 5 is what I decided. Jim and I talked about it a bit and he thought, "why aren't you shooting for 100 reps?" He agreed to coach me as we went back in after church on Sunday.I'll just make this short and sweet....kind of like the workout. 55.
Yeah, no lie. That's how many reps I got on Sunday. I know myself, and I know what I am capable of.....
1. DO NOT watch any video. No video is going to tell me anymore than what I already know myself.
2. DO NOT use anyone else's strategy. I cannot use anyone else's strategy. This is my body and my workout and I know what it does best.
I love the open, and I'm sad that it's over. I love the team work and the competition and the constant sit and wait and plan and strategize. I just love everything about the open!!!
I'm a little behind...so I'll start with WOD 13.4......
As you all know I prayed and prayed for clean and jerks to be in WOD 13.4, I started a prayer chain, and we were very blessed when the WOD was released.
God was keeping my ego in check when, with the clean and jerks he handed down toes to bar!
So, we all know that I've been working towards a goal every WOD and that once that goal was achieved that I would reward myself with a big ol' 6 pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. I was SO confident with this WOD and the goal I set that I even "PRE-BOUGHT" my eggs! Now, I know there is a fine line between confidence and cockiness.....this was confidence. I like this WOD toes to bar or not!!
So, I decided right off the bat that I would do this workout twice. My goal was 75 reps, 3's, 6's, 9's, 12's and 15 clean and jerks!! It's something I love and so I was ready and raring to go on Friday morning. We were lucky enough to have 5 judges for our 5 athletes that morning so we all got to go at once. My only unlucky moment that morning was I had scheduled Jim to get a massage at the same time we were supposed to do the WOD, so I was going for it without my coach:(
AJ was my judge and I moved smoothly through the clean and jerks...then I'd get to the toes to bar and usually was able to get 3 each time. I couldn't wait to get back to the clean and jerks. That was my easy part, and each time I was able to knock them out and then get back to the toes to bar TIME SUCKER!!
I was able to get 72 reps...I had 3 reps left of my clean and jerks and NO room left on the floor. For anyone that was there I started by the pull-up bar and ended by the GHD machines!!
Mary, was our "coach" for Friday and she was in charge of the clock and letting us know where we were. Funny story...during my last set of clean and jerks for some reason I find myself singing along to the radio. I'm singing, "Like a bridge over troubled water....." SERIOUSLY....that was on and it was some awful country version and I was cleaning and jerking and singing like it was nobody's business....thinking WHY IS THIS SONG ON!!!! Finally, Mary realizes what is playing and hits the next button on the Ipod....LOL after that it was SO funny.
So, here it is Saturday morning and all morning I'm nervous ...but not for myself. You see my beautiful son was doing this WOD today and I can't tell you how hard it was to separate my "Mother" from my "Coach" role!! It was TOUGH!!
I knew that 135# for Brandon was HUGE and he has been struggling with a sore back as I have been working diligently on fixing his DL form....and Angela has been working his back. SO, heavy weight, sore back, and nervous mom. For those of you that have been around Bran and I enough you will know that BOTH of us have this strong desire to believe that WE are the only ONE that is right about, well just about everything. So, we tend to argue, a bit, over EVERYTHING!!!
So, I never fully prepared myself for this WOD and I made a huge coaching mistake by putting myself at the same time as Bran...so I couldn't be mother hen....nor Coach Carole, I had to be athlete in my own game....with my beautiful son wodding RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!
I didn't really get to warm-up. Started WODDING and it was feeling really ugly. Instead of doing my toes to bar in sets of 3 they were coming out in sets of 1! (If you can call that a set.)
And then it happened, I was in my clean and jerks working behind Brandon and I saw him get hurt. I was so scared....the fact that he was still standing meant that I had to keep doing clean and jerks. Jim was so busy watching me that he missed Bran and I was trying SO hard to get his attention.
So, I'd do a clean and jerk and then point to Bran...."he's hurt!" and then I'd do another and it took me like 3-4 clean and jerks and in between screaming for someone to take care of Bran, once I knew he was taken care of....I was able to move forward.
I kept hearing the time in the background and I knew that I was going faster than Friday....Jody was counting my reps, Jim was coaching me, and I could FEEL a circle of people surrounding me as I was on my set of 15's....everyone was counting, Shelley was screaming at me to pick up the bar!!!
I was hearing like 68, 69 and then it happened....I've done this before....and my husband was SO QUICK to catch me...LUCKILY!!! Right before rep 70 I quit!
Yep, there you have it. I was DONE!! I hit this wall that sometimes I can't get past by myself. I like to say I have no mental toughness....well, there was the wall and I was stopping! I heard him say, "45 seconds, Carole PICK UP THAT BAR!" So, I did...71, 72, 72, 74, 75.....and then I heard him say 6 seconds left....I made this mad dash to the pull-up bar....
I will tell you what I THOUGHT I was doing....I have this beautiful vision of myself running to the pull-up bar and jumping....hearing 4,3,2....and I felt like I jumped in the air and tried to grab the pull-up bar....and then I heard 1...TIME!! At that moment, I felt my body sliding down the concrete wall.....into a slump on the floor.
Now, I will tell you what really happened .....4,3,2....Carole is running towards the pull- up bar, her arms are NOT extended to reach for the pull-up bar and her feet NEVER leave the ground....she run's smack dab into the concrete wall and slides down as she hears 1....TIME!!!
Video footage of what really happened!!
That my dear, is the cold hard truth. I'll stick with the vision...it's so much prettier in my head that way. Although, I have watched the video countless times and I just laugh every time.
13.4...in the books....hella of a WOD.
In case you're wondering I ate ALL 6 Reese's in a matter of 3 day!!! They were worth the wait and by far my favorite cheat EVER!!!
God was keeping my ego in check when, with the clean and jerks he handed down toes to bar!
So, we all know that I've been working towards a goal every WOD and that once that goal was achieved that I would reward myself with a big ol' 6 pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. I was SO confident with this WOD and the goal I set that I even "PRE-BOUGHT" my eggs! Now, I know there is a fine line between confidence and cockiness.....this was confidence. I like this WOD toes to bar or not!!
AJ was my judge and I moved smoothly through the clean and jerks...then I'd get to the toes to bar and usually was able to get 3 each time. I couldn't wait to get back to the clean and jerks. That was my easy part, and each time I was able to knock them out and then get back to the toes to bar TIME SUCKER!!
I was able to get 72 reps...I had 3 reps left of my clean and jerks and NO room left on the floor. For anyone that was there I started by the pull-up bar and ended by the GHD machines!!
Mary, was our "coach" for Friday and she was in charge of the clock and letting us know where we were. Funny story...during my last set of clean and jerks for some reason I find myself singing along to the radio. I'm singing, "Like a bridge over troubled water....." SERIOUSLY....that was on and it was some awful country version and I was cleaning and jerking and singing like it was nobody's business....thinking WHY IS THIS SONG ON!!!! Finally, Mary realizes what is playing and hits the next button on the Ipod....LOL after that it was SO funny.
So, here it is Saturday morning and all morning I'm nervous ...but not for myself. You see my beautiful son was doing this WOD today and I can't tell you how hard it was to separate my "Mother" from my "Coach" role!! It was TOUGH!!
I knew that 135# for Brandon was HUGE and he has been struggling with a sore back as I have been working diligently on fixing his DL form....and Angela has been working his back. SO, heavy weight, sore back, and nervous mom. For those of you that have been around Bran and I enough you will know that BOTH of us have this strong desire to believe that WE are the only ONE that is right about, well just about everything. So, we tend to argue, a bit, over EVERYTHING!!!
So, I never fully prepared myself for this WOD and I made a huge coaching mistake by putting myself at the same time as Bran...so I couldn't be mother hen....nor Coach Carole, I had to be athlete in my own game....with my beautiful son wodding RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!I didn't really get to warm-up. Started WODDING and it was feeling really ugly. Instead of doing my toes to bar in sets of 3 they were coming out in sets of 1! (If you can call that a set.)
And then it happened, I was in my clean and jerks working behind Brandon and I saw him get hurt. I was so scared....the fact that he was still standing meant that I had to keep doing clean and jerks. Jim was so busy watching me that he missed Bran and I was trying SO hard to get his attention.
So, I'd do a clean and jerk and then point to Bran...."he's hurt!" and then I'd do another and it took me like 3-4 clean and jerks and in between screaming for someone to take care of Bran, once I knew he was taken care of....I was able to move forward.
I kept hearing the time in the background and I knew that I was going faster than Friday....Jody was counting my reps, Jim was coaching me, and I could FEEL a circle of people surrounding me as I was on my set of 15's....everyone was counting, Shelley was screaming at me to pick up the bar!!! I was hearing like 68, 69 and then it happened....I've done this before....and my husband was SO QUICK to catch me...LUCKILY!!! Right before rep 70 I quit!
Yep, there you have it. I was DONE!! I hit this wall that sometimes I can't get past by myself. I like to say I have no mental toughness....well, there was the wall and I was stopping! I heard him say, "45 seconds, Carole PICK UP THAT BAR!" So, I did...71, 72, 72, 74, 75.....and then I heard him say 6 seconds left....I made this mad dash to the pull-up bar....
I will tell you what I THOUGHT I was doing....I have this beautiful vision of myself running to the pull-up bar and jumping....hearing 4,3,2....and I felt like I jumped in the air and tried to grab the pull-up bar....and then I heard 1...TIME!! At that moment, I felt my body sliding down the concrete wall.....into a slump on the floor.
Now, I will tell you what really happened .....4,3,2....Carole is running towards the pull- up bar, her arms are NOT extended to reach for the pull-up bar and her feet NEVER leave the ground....she run's smack dab into the concrete wall and slides down as she hears 1....TIME!!!
Video footage of what really happened!!That my dear, is the cold hard truth. I'll stick with the vision...it's so much prettier in my head that way. Although, I have watched the video countless times and I just laugh every time.
13.4...in the books....hella of a WOD.
In case you're wondering I ate ALL 6 Reese's in a matter of 3 day!!! They were worth the wait and by far my favorite cheat EVER!!!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
I do believe God has a sense of humor....
Here's why.
I'll give you a little background before I move forward.
Last Thursday March 21, marked day 1 of a 40 day challenge within our church. The challenge is called ReMARKable women and is designed to test you spiritually, mentally, physically, and relationally. I am very excited to be a part of this challenge as I seem to have the physical and the mental side whipped...I'm focused and clear and know what I want and know how to set out to get it. But, I really need help with relationally and spiritually. Those are not my forte and it's easy to push them to the side because of my strengths in the other two categories.
I'd compare it to double unders vs weightlifting. I personally see no reason for double unders to exist...although they do, and I am required to do them...I'd rather put them on the back burner and muddle through them when the time comes then to actually take the time to learn that skill. WHY? Because it doesn't come easy to me. Instead, I should get the skill under wraps and become a well rounded CrossFitter.
So, in an effort to better myself I have made this commitment along with many other women in our church but on a more personal level with 5 other girls from our gym. Myra, Shelley, Robin, Traci, Steph and myself have embarked on a new journey to make ourselves better well rounded women.
SO, fast forward to Monday and my blog post...at the end, I asked all of you to pray for clean and jerks in this weeks WOD announcement. It was very hard for me to put that out there. The whole prayer thing. You see I used to think that people would look at me funny if the knew I prayed. And I didn't want them to think I was a "Jesus Freak!" Always talking about God and praying. I've never been bold in my religion...but this time I was like you know what, I love God and I pray and this is why I have embarked on this journey. So, I started a prayer chain in regards to this weeks WOD release.
I'm getting to the point I promise!
Monday night when I was tucking Brooke into bed (yes, I know she's almost 17 BUT she is my baby) I said to her, "Brooke could you add a little to your prayers tonight?" She said, I already prayed Mommy and I said, "Well just close your eyes and ask God for clean in jerks in my workout for Wednesday!" We laughed but I know she prayed. That night as we lay in bed, I said to Jim, "Hon!" Yes Dear? "Have you said your prayers yet?" Yes Dear! "Well, could you add a little for me?" Yes Dear. "Could you please ask for clean and jerks in the workout?" Yes Dear.
There you have it. I was telling EVERYONE to help me out. For heavens sake, Shelley even prayed for clean and jerks in the WOD, knowing that she would be sacrificing for me because she wouldn't be able to lift them.
So, last night WOD release is at 8:00 pm sharp. We are all settled in watching my laptop and it's time for the WOD announcement.
This is where God gets funny.
The announcement is made and I am literally jumping up and down....because I heard CLEAN AND JERKS!! I was SO excited...SO excited. It worked. God loves me, it worked. My prayers have been answered. Woohoo! Celebrate! Yes....Woohoo!! Carole got her clean and jerks and I'm doing this funky little dance in the kitchen.
Well, God needing to take me down off my high horse for a moment...and let me know that he was still in charge....and added toes to bar to the WOD. He knows I struggle with toes to bar...so he said this to me, "Carole, I will give you your clean and jerks - because you love them, and you are good at them, but I will also give you something that makes you have to work hard and prove yourself!"
Wow, that hit me like a TON O BRICKS!!!
You see, you can't always go through life doing what your good at. There are times of struggle and times that we have to work a little harder. But, if we work each day to improve our weaknesses......our double unders, our toes to bar, my spirituality, my relations......pretty soon....you become a well rounded person.
God wasn't done with me yet. This morning I received this weeks assignments for our ReMARKable women's group. This assignment will run from now until next Thursday......I was reading along and all happy....and there were bible reading assignments, and one about doing push-ups, (yeah, got that nailed, hehehe), and one about forgiveness, and THEN I SAW IT....the next one up said NO CAFFEINE for the week, we were to drink WATER only.
I just laughed and literally said to God, "You got me, you funny guy!"
Every day is a test of our bold faith. 3,2,1 GO!!!
I'll give you a little background before I move forward.
Last Thursday March 21, marked day 1 of a 40 day challenge within our church. The challenge is called ReMARKable women and is designed to test you spiritually, mentally, physically, and relationally. I am very excited to be a part of this challenge as I seem to have the physical and the mental side whipped...I'm focused and clear and know what I want and know how to set out to get it. But, I really need help with relationally and spiritually. Those are not my forte and it's easy to push them to the side because of my strengths in the other two categories.
I'd compare it to double unders vs weightlifting. I personally see no reason for double unders to exist...although they do, and I am required to do them...I'd rather put them on the back burner and muddle through them when the time comes then to actually take the time to learn that skill. WHY? Because it doesn't come easy to me. Instead, I should get the skill under wraps and become a well rounded CrossFitter.
So, in an effort to better myself I have made this commitment along with many other women in our church but on a more personal level with 5 other girls from our gym. Myra, Shelley, Robin, Traci, Steph and myself have embarked on a new journey to make ourselves better well rounded women.
SO, fast forward to Monday and my blog post...at the end, I asked all of you to pray for clean and jerks in this weeks WOD announcement. It was very hard for me to put that out there. The whole prayer thing. You see I used to think that people would look at me funny if the knew I prayed. And I didn't want them to think I was a "Jesus Freak!" Always talking about God and praying. I've never been bold in my religion...but this time I was like you know what, I love God and I pray and this is why I have embarked on this journey. So, I started a prayer chain in regards to this weeks WOD release.
I'm getting to the point I promise!
Monday night when I was tucking Brooke into bed (yes, I know she's almost 17 BUT she is my baby) I said to her, "Brooke could you add a little to your prayers tonight?" She said, I already prayed Mommy and I said, "Well just close your eyes and ask God for clean in jerks in my workout for Wednesday!" We laughed but I know she prayed. That night as we lay in bed, I said to Jim, "Hon!" Yes Dear? "Have you said your prayers yet?" Yes Dear! "Well, could you add a little for me?" Yes Dear. "Could you please ask for clean and jerks in the workout?" Yes Dear.
There you have it. I was telling EVERYONE to help me out. For heavens sake, Shelley even prayed for clean and jerks in the WOD, knowing that she would be sacrificing for me because she wouldn't be able to lift them.
So, last night WOD release is at 8:00 pm sharp. We are all settled in watching my laptop and it's time for the WOD announcement.
This is where God gets funny.
The announcement is made and I am literally jumping up and down....because I heard CLEAN AND JERKS!! I was SO excited...SO excited. It worked. God loves me, it worked. My prayers have been answered. Woohoo! Celebrate! Yes....Woohoo!! Carole got her clean and jerks and I'm doing this funky little dance in the kitchen.
Well, God needing to take me down off my high horse for a moment...and let me know that he was still in charge....and added toes to bar to the WOD. He knows I struggle with toes to bar...so he said this to me, "Carole, I will give you your clean and jerks - because you love them, and you are good at them, but I will also give you something that makes you have to work hard and prove yourself!"
Wow, that hit me like a TON O BRICKS!!!
You see, you can't always go through life doing what your good at. There are times of struggle and times that we have to work a little harder. But, if we work each day to improve our weaknesses......our double unders, our toes to bar, my spirituality, my relations......pretty soon....you become a well rounded person.
God wasn't done with me yet. This morning I received this weeks assignments for our ReMARKable women's group. This assignment will run from now until next Thursday......I was reading along and all happy....and there were bible reading assignments, and one about doing push-ups, (yeah, got that nailed, hehehe), and one about forgiveness, and THEN I SAW IT....the next one up said NO CAFFEINE for the week, we were to drink WATER only.
I just laughed and literally said to God, "You got me, you funny guy!"
Every day is a test of our bold faith. 3,2,1 GO!!!
Monday, March 25, 2013
16th place, I'll take it.
Wow, I'm not gonna lie, when they announced WOD 13.3 I had so many mixed emotions.
First thing I thought was way back to last year WOD 12.4 and what it felt like to lift that jump rope up after doing 150 wall balls and trying to do a double under. Which we all know are my nemesis. Second thing I did was think well, at least we'll get the double unders out of the way. Immediately I had set a goal to get all of my double unders and a score of 240 reps.
Last thing I thought was, I wish they would be a little more creative, I've already done this WOD....and know that it's gonna suck. But, (there is always a but when you have a negative thought) in hindsight I know why they did it. So we could see an improvement from last year.
I couldn't for the life of me remember what my score was on this WOD last year so as soon as I got home I started digging in my documents on my computer and found last years scores. Mine was 190.
Trying not to dwell on the negative...I contemplated my game plan. I knew I would want to do this WOD twice, like I did 13.2. I mean you can always have a bad double under day, you know what I'm saying. My plan was to get done with my "Karen" in 8:00 minutes and that would leave me 4:00 to do as many double unders as I could possibly squeak out. I was hoping to start Karen off in sets of 15 and hold that as long as I could...moving down to 10 or 5 if and when it was necessary to keep moving.
Unlike 13.2 I didn't have any wild and crazy dreams about this WOD. In fact, I was uncomfortably content. I think that I immediately conceded that I would drop on the score board. So, to not cause any further trauma to my mental state, I had decided that what drops can only go up. Take this score with a grain of salt and pray EVERY night for clean and jerks to show up for 13.4 and kick some serious ass then...:0)
So, Friday morning I wasn't even nervous. I coached and counted for the 2 Friday morning heats and my plan was to do this WOD alone with Jim in the comfort of knowing that if I did pee my pants on the double unders it was only him and I. I mean, this is the man who will be changing my diapers when I'm old....so a little dribble would be ok.
I briefly spoke with Angela as she was leaving and in the last minute of preparation changed my game plan on the WOD. In hindsight, I know my strengths and I should have gone with what I know I can do.....instead of listening to someone else's game plan. BUT, (there it is again) I didn't and it is what it is. I won't even watch all the videos they do now on, "how to improve your score!" I know my body, I know my capabilities, and I don't need anyone else changing my "Game Plan!"
As Jim got ready to start the clock, he reminded me "Carole, we're just doing Karen here....anything after that is a bonus!"
Deep breathe.
3,2,1, GO!!
I started off like a bat out of hell and I was erratic and crazy. I was getting no repped with airballs and short balls and no balls and messy balls. It was a ball frenzy. I couldn't get a rythm and I was ALL OVER THE PLACE. I had heard "NO REP!" so many times that I actually grunted like a who know what...something that grunts when they are ANGRY.
So, I stopped doing wall balls....and pressed up against the wall with my medicine ball for support and I took like 3 deep breathes. I regained control....because believe you me, I was out of control....and started doing sets of 15 wall balls....and then resting...and eventually moved to sets of 10 and then 5....so the second half of my wall balls were exactly like I had planned. Work and then rest, work and then rest. I finally was in a rythm and could actually hear my hips going into the squat and then pressing out and the ball hitting the wall...I kept saying click, click, boom. Each click was my hip breaking the crease and the boom was the ball hitting the wall.
The second half of wall balls flew by beautifully and at 7:31 I was standing in front of my jump rope. I had none of those feelings that I felt last year. My breathing was under control, my legs didn't feel heavy at all, and there I was just me and a jump rope. Well, that's a little white lie, it was me and 3 jump ropes. You just never know.
I was actually getting my double unders in sets of 7,8, 10 , one time like 15. Now, remember I do a single jump in between so only my actual double counts. So, it' like this single single double....1, single single double....2. I like to make it easier on my judge. LOL.
I was able to get 82 of my 90 reps in my 12 minute time cap. New score 232. I was excited about my score...of course I couldn't remember from Wednesday night what my last year score was so I had no idea I had improved by 42 reps until I got home...then I was more than excited.
I still wanted to shoot for the 240 reps....so, I went back on Saturday and tried again. This time Mark was my judge and counter. My goal was a sub 7 Karin and a score of 240 around the 11 minute mark.......LMAO......
Karen and I had some mixed emotions on day 2. I was SO worried about my legs that I neglected the fact that Karen also makes you throw a 14# medicine ball 4 feet above your head 150 times using your SHOULDERS!!!! Around rep 25 (of the ones that counted) my shoulders were BURNING!! I had another ball frenzy as well....air balls, short balls, no balls, and dumb balls!!! I think Mark started to feel so bad no repping me that he let 1 or 2 slide just so I wouldn't stand there and cry;0( UGH.
Score for this day 218 with a Karen time of 8:30. Yeah, Friday was good...I'll keep that score.
As I prepared for immense muscle soreness from Karen...I also feared putting my score on the web-site. I knew I couldn't stand to watch my score drop drop drop. I was SO freaking scared...that I never even looked at the leaderboard until Sunday to see where the other ladies were scoring. I knew I couldn't handle another day of refreshing the leaderboard and watching my descent.
So, Sunday afternoon I finally entered my score and was validating scores when Mark popped up on my Facebook page. He had Facebook chatted me to see when I would be approving everyone's scores. I shared my fear of the leaderboard with him...so being the nice boy he is, he went and checked it out for me. With my score and about 150 ladies entered, I was in 10th place. OK, so this is what I said...."Carole, you're goal is to stay in the top 25....and you cannot check this again until 8:00 pm!"
8:01 pm.....my belly dropped ....I hit refresh with my son standing over my shoulder.....16th place!!!
Woot Woot!! SOLD. I'll take it. Come on 13.4....give me some clean and jerks.
I am in a 40 day Ladies Challenge at Church, do you think I can add that as a prayer request? I told Brooke and Jim to pray for them....and I was just thinking the more people that prayed the better my chances were for this actually happening. So, any of you reading this that want to help a sister out....this is my prayer.
"Dear God - some heavy clean and jerks would be nice for WOD 13.4. I love you. Amen"
First thing I thought was way back to last year WOD 12.4 and what it felt like to lift that jump rope up after doing 150 wall balls and trying to do a double under. Which we all know are my nemesis. Second thing I did was think well, at least we'll get the double unders out of the way. Immediately I had set a goal to get all of my double unders and a score of 240 reps.
Last thing I thought was, I wish they would be a little more creative, I've already done this WOD....and know that it's gonna suck. But, (there is always a but when you have a negative thought) in hindsight I know why they did it. So we could see an improvement from last year.
I couldn't for the life of me remember what my score was on this WOD last year so as soon as I got home I started digging in my documents on my computer and found last years scores. Mine was 190.
Trying not to dwell on the negative...I contemplated my game plan. I knew I would want to do this WOD twice, like I did 13.2. I mean you can always have a bad double under day, you know what I'm saying. My plan was to get done with my "Karen" in 8:00 minutes and that would leave me 4:00 to do as many double unders as I could possibly squeak out. I was hoping to start Karen off in sets of 15 and hold that as long as I could...moving down to 10 or 5 if and when it was necessary to keep moving.
Unlike 13.2 I didn't have any wild and crazy dreams about this WOD. In fact, I was uncomfortably content. I think that I immediately conceded that I would drop on the score board. So, to not cause any further trauma to my mental state, I had decided that what drops can only go up. Take this score with a grain of salt and pray EVERY night for clean and jerks to show up for 13.4 and kick some serious ass then...:0)
So, Friday morning I wasn't even nervous. I coached and counted for the 2 Friday morning heats and my plan was to do this WOD alone with Jim in the comfort of knowing that if I did pee my pants on the double unders it was only him and I. I mean, this is the man who will be changing my diapers when I'm old....so a little dribble would be ok.
I briefly spoke with Angela as she was leaving and in the last minute of preparation changed my game plan on the WOD. In hindsight, I know my strengths and I should have gone with what I know I can do.....instead of listening to someone else's game plan. BUT, (there it is again) I didn't and it is what it is. I won't even watch all the videos they do now on, "how to improve your score!" I know my body, I know my capabilities, and I don't need anyone else changing my "Game Plan!"
As Jim got ready to start the clock, he reminded me "Carole, we're just doing Karen here....anything after that is a bonus!"
Deep breathe.
3,2,1, GO!!
I started off like a bat out of hell and I was erratic and crazy. I was getting no repped with airballs and short balls and no balls and messy balls. It was a ball frenzy. I couldn't get a rythm and I was ALL OVER THE PLACE. I had heard "NO REP!" so many times that I actually grunted like a who know what...something that grunts when they are ANGRY.
So, I stopped doing wall balls....and pressed up against the wall with my medicine ball for support and I took like 3 deep breathes. I regained control....because believe you me, I was out of control....and started doing sets of 15 wall balls....and then resting...and eventually moved to sets of 10 and then 5....so the second half of my wall balls were exactly like I had planned. Work and then rest, work and then rest. I finally was in a rythm and could actually hear my hips going into the squat and then pressing out and the ball hitting the wall...I kept saying click, click, boom. Each click was my hip breaking the crease and the boom was the ball hitting the wall.
The second half of wall balls flew by beautifully and at 7:31 I was standing in front of my jump rope. I had none of those feelings that I felt last year. My breathing was under control, my legs didn't feel heavy at all, and there I was just me and a jump rope. Well, that's a little white lie, it was me and 3 jump ropes. You just never know.
I was actually getting my double unders in sets of 7,8, 10 , one time like 15. Now, remember I do a single jump in between so only my actual double counts. So, it' like this single single double....1, single single double....2. I like to make it easier on my judge. LOL.I was able to get 82 of my 90 reps in my 12 minute time cap. New score 232. I was excited about my score...of course I couldn't remember from Wednesday night what my last year score was so I had no idea I had improved by 42 reps until I got home...then I was more than excited.
I still wanted to shoot for the 240 reps....so, I went back on Saturday and tried again. This time Mark was my judge and counter. My goal was a sub 7 Karin and a score of 240 around the 11 minute mark.......LMAO......
Karen and I had some mixed emotions on day 2. I was SO worried about my legs that I neglected the fact that Karen also makes you throw a 14# medicine ball 4 feet above your head 150 times using your SHOULDERS!!!! Around rep 25 (of the ones that counted) my shoulders were BURNING!! I had another ball frenzy as well....air balls, short balls, no balls, and dumb balls!!! I think Mark started to feel so bad no repping me that he let 1 or 2 slide just so I wouldn't stand there and cry;0( UGH.
Score for this day 218 with a Karen time of 8:30. Yeah, Friday was good...I'll keep that score.
As I prepared for immense muscle soreness from Karen...I also feared putting my score on the web-site. I knew I couldn't stand to watch my score drop drop drop. I was SO freaking scared...that I never even looked at the leaderboard until Sunday to see where the other ladies were scoring. I knew I couldn't handle another day of refreshing the leaderboard and watching my descent.So, Sunday afternoon I finally entered my score and was validating scores when Mark popped up on my Facebook page. He had Facebook chatted me to see when I would be approving everyone's scores. I shared my fear of the leaderboard with him...so being the nice boy he is, he went and checked it out for me. With my score and about 150 ladies entered, I was in 10th place. OK, so this is what I said...."Carole, you're goal is to stay in the top 25....and you cannot check this again until 8:00 pm!"
8:01 pm.....my belly dropped ....I hit refresh with my son standing over my shoulder.....16th place!!!
Woot Woot!! SOLD. I'll take it. Come on 13.4....give me some clean and jerks.
I am in a 40 day Ladies Challenge at Church, do you think I can add that as a prayer request? I told Brooke and Jim to pray for them....and I was just thinking the more people that prayed the better my chances were for this actually happening. So, any of you reading this that want to help a sister out....this is my prayer.
"Dear God - some heavy clean and jerks would be nice for WOD 13.4. I love you. Amen"
Monday, March 18, 2013
So, What can get your heart rate up faster than Fran?
Hitting refresh on the leaderboard every 3 seconds to see if you're going to hold onto your spot in the top 10. I'm not kidding, I believe I have developed some sort of OCD. It got to the point that my family members took away all of my electronic equipment and wouldn't let me look until the clock struck 8:01 pm.
Gone was my Ipad, my Iphone, and my laptop. I couldn't even sneak into the bathroom and hit refresh...I had to wait from 6:24 to 8:01 pm. Talk about intense. My stomach dropped from time to time as I tried to stay distracted.
So, as you probably already know, I have managed to squeak out another week in the 10th place position. This is all just completely crazy to me as I didn't even know until last week that I even wanted to be in the 10th place position. Now, it's all consuming.
I was going to be happy with the top 25% which means 80th place in my particular category. How did I all of a sudden go from 80th place contentment to 10th place craziness?
This week was a little different than last week. I had a total mindset shift. I like the way Jim puts it when I treat the dogs. Let's go back before I move forward. I am trying to train Theodore to use the great outdoors as his potty, as opposed to my hallway rug. So, every time he does his duties outside I give him a treat. Jim tells me that I am "treating mediocrity!" I am giving him a treat, for what he is supposed to do!
Well, this makes me laugh, but I've also tried to apply it to my life. So, I have decided to always set a goal for these workouts. And if I happen to reach my goal, then I get my treat. You all know that my favorite thing in the world is CANDY!! So, I said "self, if you get 300 reps you can have 6 Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs!" I will not go into detail here and now my love love relationship with Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs.
I set my goal much higher than I ever dreamed I could achieve...I mean it wouldn't be a goal if I could easily reach it right. I wanted something I had to fight for. Coming off of last week and missing my goal by 5 reps, I decided that 300 was a nice even number. That's 10 rounds...or easily put 1 round a minute.
I knew this week that I wanted to WOD twice. In fact, when I told Angela she was like your going to do it on Friday night and again first thing Saturday morning. I was like, yeah. It's only 10 minutes. It's a metcon with those light weights.
Friday night, I just went balls to the wall. I worked for the entire 10 minutes...like I knew I could and should but didn't really have a plan of attack. Just kill it is what I thought I should do. Well, they called time and I looked up at Carolyn and she said 274....I'm not gonna lie. I had absolutely positively NO idea where I was...I was repping, Carolyn was counting, Jim was coaching.....and 274 REALLY!?!?!?!?! I was SO upset, mad, angry....you name it, I felt it. I cried. (I know if Chet is reading this, he'll laugh!) But I did, I cried immediately, in fact Angela came to check on me to make sure I wasn't hurt. I wanted to say the only thing that hurts right now are my feelings!!!!
So, then I spent the rest of Friday evening planning my Saturday morning WOD. Jim said my first 2 rounds were about 40-45 seconds, 3-4 were around 50-55, and by the 5th round I had slowed significantly to 1:10. So, my goal was to stay consistent. Don't take out too fast, and keep moving no matter what.
Saturday morning, at CrossFit 061 I have Holly as my counter, Zach as my pacer and Cathy as my coach. Cathy quickly recognized I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, and when you're ready to do a WOD you can't have any outside distractions. Thankfully, she caught me and made me wipe my mind blank. And thank heavens for Zach is all I can say. He paced me the entire time. I jumped the gun and came out a little too quick and he slowed me down. The only thing I changed on my strategy was on my box steps to alternate the starting leg every other round. On Friday night, I used my left leg probably 85-90% of all the reps...so I wasn't able to keep pace.
Zach had me at a perfect pace, but I just couldn't pick up when he was ready for me to go balls to the wall. I needed to speed up my steps in the 9th round, in order to get all the reps I needed in the 10th round.....I was able to squeak out a few box jumps....but didn't get the 10th round completed....BUT I was so excited to add 17 reps to my workout for a total of 291.
Know your numbers, know your strategy! Lesson learned for this week. Can't wait to see what 13.3 brings. What a wild ride this is. I love the open....and I love my CrossFit Family.
PS: I didn't have any Reese's despite my survey on Facebook. I had a goal. I didn't reach it. Maybe next time.
Gone was my Ipad, my Iphone, and my laptop. I couldn't even sneak into the bathroom and hit refresh...I had to wait from 6:24 to 8:01 pm. Talk about intense. My stomach dropped from time to time as I tried to stay distracted.
So, as you probably already know, I have managed to squeak out another week in the 10th place position. This is all just completely crazy to me as I didn't even know until last week that I even wanted to be in the 10th place position. Now, it's all consuming.
 | |
| Whew, 10th place! |
This week was a little different than last week. I had a total mindset shift. I like the way Jim puts it when I treat the dogs. Let's go back before I move forward. I am trying to train Theodore to use the great outdoors as his potty, as opposed to my hallway rug. So, every time he does his duties outside I give him a treat. Jim tells me that I am "treating mediocrity!" I am giving him a treat, for what he is supposed to do!
Well, this makes me laugh, but I've also tried to apply it to my life. So, I have decided to always set a goal for these workouts. And if I happen to reach my goal, then I get my treat. You all know that my favorite thing in the world is CANDY!! So, I said "self, if you get 300 reps you can have 6 Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs!" I will not go into detail here and now my love love relationship with Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs.
I set my goal much higher than I ever dreamed I could achieve...I mean it wouldn't be a goal if I could easily reach it right. I wanted something I had to fight for. Coming off of last week and missing my goal by 5 reps, I decided that 300 was a nice even number. That's 10 rounds...or easily put 1 round a minute.
I knew this week that I wanted to WOD twice. In fact, when I told Angela she was like your going to do it on Friday night and again first thing Saturday morning. I was like, yeah. It's only 10 minutes. It's a metcon with those light weights.
 |
| Fri - Push Press |
 | |
| Fri - Deadlifts |
Friday night, I just went balls to the wall. I worked for the entire 10 minutes...like I knew I could and should but didn't really have a plan of attack. Just kill it is what I thought I should do. Well, they called time and I looked up at Carolyn and she said 274....I'm not gonna lie. I had absolutely positively NO idea where I was...I was repping, Carolyn was counting, Jim was coaching.....and 274 REALLY!?!?!?!?! I was SO upset, mad, angry....you name it, I felt it. I cried. (I know if Chet is reading this, he'll laugh!) But I did, I cried immediately, in fact Angela came to check on me to make sure I wasn't hurt. I wanted to say the only thing that hurts right now are my feelings!!!!
 |
| Thanks Angela;0) |
Saturday morning, at CrossFit 061 I have Holly as my counter, Zach as my pacer and Cathy as my coach. Cathy quickly recognized I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, and when you're ready to do a WOD you can't have any outside distractions. Thankfully, she caught me and made me wipe my mind blank. And thank heavens for Zach is all I can say. He paced me the entire time. I jumped the gun and came out a little too quick and he slowed me down. The only thing I changed on my strategy was on my box steps to alternate the starting leg every other round. On Friday night, I used my left leg probably 85-90% of all the reps...so I wasn't able to keep pace.
Zach had me at a perfect pace, but I just couldn't pick up when he was ready for me to go balls to the wall. I needed to speed up my steps in the 9th round, in order to get all the reps I needed in the 10th round.....I was able to squeak out a few box jumps....but didn't get the 10th round completed....BUT I was so excited to add 17 reps to my workout for a total of 291.
 |
| Yes, I'm praying!! |
 |
| Sat - CF 061 |
PS: I didn't have any Reese's despite my survey on Facebook. I had a goal. I didn't reach it. Maybe next time.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Sitting in 10th place......
 |
| Pre-Game Face (Praying) |
I sit here today in 10th place. And let me tell you this was a mental battle from the moment I entered my 155 reps.
When I first entered I was in 3rd place, I entered quickly and validated my score quickly because I wanted to seize the opportunity to sit at the top for awhile. I took a picture, posted it on Facebook and said to myself, "wow, this feels good to be in 3rd....even if it's just for a little while!"
You see, my goal for the open was to be in the top 25% of my age group. Which means out of 320 women ages 40-44 in the Central East Division of the CrossFit Games Open I couldn't fall below 80 in rank.
 |
| Burpees - Yeah |
Then, all of a sudden my mindset changed. I was like, "I have totally underestimated myself." My view quickly changed and I said to myself you WILL stay in the top 20. Anything more is unacceptable. I would hit refresh over and over and over. I was in 3rd for a long time...late into Saturday evening. I would gradually move to 4th and then 5th. Each time I would hit refresh, I would feel my stomach drop as I waited for the screen to change.
When I woke up Sunday morning I was in 7th place. That is when I said, "Carole, you have to stay in the top 10!" I can't tell you the inner pressure I was putting on myself. I have NEVER felt the edge of competition like I did just hitting refresh.
Jim was like, "Carole, just wait until 8:00 pm tonight and check, you're going to drive yourself crazy!" And I just couldn't. I was obsessive. I had to check to see if I could hold my spot. With my mind set at being in the top 10. If I stayed in the top 10 then my original 25% goal was now looking towards 3%.
 |
| I love that we had to hit a target. |
Well, now that it's Monday. And I have checked approximately 25 times since 8 pm last night when you had to officially enter your score....I am still #10.
 |
| Masters Women 40-44 Central East Region |
What does that mean for me today?
Well, with a temporary bit of celebration, I am SO ready to keep this going. Each workout will bring new jitters and new things for me to think about and work on. But, I am excited to say that I am ready and raring to go now.
 |
| Snatching 75#. |
This week, I'm ready to hit the ground running. I'm excited to see what the open brings.
I'd like to elaborate a little about how I prepared for this workout.
When the WOD was released on Wednesday. Immediately, I had a goal. Like before I left the gym, I knew I wanted to get 10 reps in the 100# snatches.
With my goal in my head, I would start to work on my strategy. I didn't really have any time allotments for this WOD. So, what I would do is anytime I would lay down to close my eyes. I would envision myself doing burpees and jumping and touching the pull-up bar. Friday night, I actually counted 40 burpees as I did them with my eyes closed lying on my back on the couch. I then walked over to my bar and literally envisioned 30 45# snatches....I got back to the burpees and in my 75# snatches....fell asleep.
So, when I awoke on Saturday morning...my mind had already been through the WOD. What's the WORST part of any WOD? It's when your mind doesn't let you go on. It's when your mind stops your body from doing what it is capable of doing. Well, I've already defeated that demon.
Now, it's time for my body to just do what it can do. Not one single time during my WOD did I stop because my mind told me to.....big accomplishment.
With Jim as my coach and Aaron as my counter I just methodically moved through the reps literally one at a time. Never once thinking of the big picture, always thinking of the next rep.
 |
| The End. I gave you my all! |
Until week 2.......
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