WODs & Well-Being

April 6, 2013 Ever hear that saying; "reach for the moon, if you miss you will land among the stars?" This is one of my favorite sayings and has ran through my head more times that I can even count since childhood. No goal can ever be set to high... and if it happens to be just out of reach, thats ok. Why? Because if you gave it your 110%, worked hard, pushed to achieve whatever it is... than even if you didnt reach your ultimate goal, you are far more ahead than you were when you started. 13.5 was a workout that made me nervous. Yep, look back in my older posts about if I get nervous before a WOD. With this one, it was amplified by about a million. Now, when it comes down to the Open, I knew that I didnt really have to do this one again. There were already 3 scores that were well above mine but for me it wasnt about that. It was about ME. It was about how I felt I did on my first attempt and how I have to learn to not be afraid of these things that seem to hinder me in...

April 4, 2013 This man... is the devil... ... ok ok maybe he isnt the "devil" but clearly he has a sick sick mind! This workout has to be one of the hardest workouts I have partaken in through my entire (albeit not really long) crossfit career. Holy smokes. Watching Camille and Sam go at this workout was super intense... and if it coudlnt get any more crazy, Froning and Khalipa... WOW... just WOW. One thing was for sure. We were going to work our asses off and give everything we possibly had inside. I remember doing the chest to bar and thruster ladder last year. It was the first time I had even attempted to do chest to bar pullups. It was intense and it was crazy... and I did it! This year, with more chest to bars under my belt I was slightly more confident... however still apprehensive, as I know they are not anywhere near my comfort zone or strong suit. But just as any other WOD, I was about to give it my all. No excuses. It was exactly that. Four minutes of...

March 30, 2013 Today was a perfect example of the support, encouragement and motivation that oozes out of the walls at CrossFit Wachusett. You see. There is a trigger point in everyones brains that wants their bodies to stop when they are in pain, or distress... most of the time (when not in any danger) the body can do so much more than the mind will let it. Sometimes it just needs a little reminder to not give up, not give in and fight to the last second. Round 2 of 13.4 was on the agenda today for me. I knew it was going to be a tough one, but lets be honest... they have ALL been tough ones. I had a goal. I was going to fight for it. I was going to push and drive as hard as I could. I had to. I was counting on myself. The Open only has one more WOD after this... and I needed a good score. We had a plan going in. I talked to M and K and watched many more attempts by other people to see what a good strategy would be for the toes to bar. I know what I could do with clean and jerks...

March 28, 2013 What a morning it was. Last night Hubs and I had to work late so there was no sitting around waiting for the announcement of 13.4. When I got home Hubs (who was battling a major cold) was in bed. I quickly made my second dinner, yes, I am a hobbit in case you were wondering... grabbed my lap top and headed upstairs with dinner and a lap top to watch the announcement with him. In awe we watched Khalipa and Spealer go head to head in an epic battle of clean and jerks and toes to bars. They make it look so damn easy... at the same time that they make it look so damn hard! Is that possible? Go big or go home right? Well this morning it was a battle alright. Me and toes to bar are not exactly friends... but I was determined to make this one one of my best performances yet because clean and jerk happens to be one of my best crossfit friends, especially when they are 95lbs. This is what is called a "ladder" workout in crossfit. The sequence dosent have to be t...

March 23, 2013 I woke up this morning thinking... "my legs are FRIED." In addition to that I have been constantly thinking about how poor my double under performance was on Thursday and that there was absolutely no reason why I should not have a better split time than I did on. In fact, I have been pretty stressed about this workout since it was released. I knew for sure that my time would be better than last year, but I am just not confident at all in my double unders and that takes a huge toll on my mindset. After my horrid performance at the Love em or Leave em with the double unders and than my 4 minute frustration session Thursday today had the potential to be a disaster. My legs were all jacked up, but as I started moving I had a feeling they would loosen up. However, in my head I was just so nervous about the stress I was putting on myself and the expectations I had on myself... it was enough to make me sick. Here is where the far above average coaching we are so l...

March 21, 2013 Ahhhhh, well. I guess with the addition of thousands of crossfitters and crossfit boxes around the world it was bound to happen. With the announcement of 13.3 you could almost hear the great big "sigh" of everyone competing. What is it? Well you could just look up last years Open 12.4 and you would find out. Thats right! It was the "repeat" WOD of 2013. It happened last year and "we" (those who competed in the open last year) were all waiting to see which one was going to come back from the archives. Maybe some thought that the combination WOD 13.1 was going to cover the repeat since it was actually a combination of 12.1 and 12.2... but nope. What killed me was reading all the posts on FB (and the like), from CrossFitters world wide complaining that there was no "creativity" in repeating a WOD. That the "constantly varied" motto of crossfit was being put to shame with this workout. Really people?! What kind of a cross...

March 16, 2013 Today was the day. I was going to attack 13.2 for the second time. I talked to M and came up with a pretty good strategy for how I was going to approach this workout. I knew I wanted to get at least 10 rounds. I had to get my mind into the right state and kill this workout. I was trying not to put pressure on myself, but in reality, I couldnt stop thinking about it. The time finally came and I was warming up. My head was spinning. M basically just said "dont stop moving." He and I both new that those shoulder to overheads were easy for me and the deadlifts even easier. What I had to do was make sure that my mind told my body not to stop or slow down at all on those because the box jumps were going to take the longest. When the clock started I was totally in a zone. I could hear the cheers and see the people, but at the same time I couldnt see or hear anything except the one spot on the floor that I was staring at through my bar work and the wall when I tu...

March 14, 2013 The 13.2 announcement was made and excitement crawled right back into my body. I was really excited to get to CFW this morning. This workout was going to be a huge challenge for me, but one I was more than willing to accept. KP and I paired up again and this time I went first. Honestly, I was just pumped to get going on the workout. I knew I was going to give it my all, but I also knew I was going to give it a second shot on Saturday regardless of the outcome. When the WOD was released last night I shook my head and thought... this is going to be one of the workouts that looks like its going to be "easy" on paper, but when you get going, the tank is going to run dry quickly! This is exactly what I didnt want to happen. I knew that I could do the shoulders to overheads without a problem and the deadlifts really quickly, it was the box jumps that were going to take the biggest toll. I was relieved in the fact that it was going to take the same toll on every...

February 13, 2013 I am sitting here awaiting the announcement of 13.2. As I sit cant help but think about what its going to be and try to analyze my approach at something I know nothing about. Not really getting anywhere with that one. So, I was popping around the internet and I came across some words that just totally spoke to me. Now, that is something I can wrap my head around. That is something I can take with me to the gym tomorrow when I face the "unknown." That is something every woman, every crossfitter, every person, should think about herself. Your biggest competition is you. I cant help but think about where I was last year during the Open. Its funny how some things have changed over the last year, but some things have remained the same. I feel like last year the excitement was the "newness" and the simple fact that I was just pretty damn proud of myself that I was competing. I had no expectations and no real big Open goals. This year... the exci...

February 10, 2013

March 7, 2013 Today was amazing. That is all I have to say! I have said it before and I will say it again; CrossFit is a life changing experience. Today was the "first" day of the 2013 open for us on eastern time. The WOD was announced last night so unless you were WODing at 8:00 last night... most people attempted 13.1 (for the first time) today. The excitement in my tummy when I went to bed last night was unbelievable... and when I got up at 4:45 I was practically running to the gym! So, what was so awesome? The pure courage, strength, bravery and overall confidence that exuded from the gym today had it bursting at the seams! By 6:30am, 7 CFW members (including myself) had tackled 13.1. Of those members only 3 of us competed in the Open last year... I am so inspired by all of those who are going into the Open this year for the first time! We all stand under the burpee target set our feet, look up at the target, make no eye contact with anyone and listen for the clo...

March 6, 2013 Hubs and I just sat on the couch in pure anticipation for the announcement of 13.1. CrossFit knows what they are doing and had a nice little intro to the live announcement that made my tummy flutter with butterflies (or nerves)... and than the announcement. Watching Dan Bailey and Scott Panchik perform the WOD live kinda moved that excitement of butterflies up into a lump in my throat. When you add up the two WODs from last year this is killer. A 17 minute AMRAP is a long time... these guys are crazy good and look where they gassed themselves. I am going to have to figure out a strategy for this one!  After letting it sink in... How do I feel? I feel good. I did well last year in the snatch workout and I know my cardio has improved significantly in the year. I will go into this workout the same way I approach all the rest of them. I know what I am capable of. I have to push, I have to believe and I can only do my best. Welcome to the 2013 CrossFit Open!! Yeah...