1/5 - Crossfit Quarter Melville

I was still hurting from a very long week with the ‘girls’ but I’d committed to checking out Crossfit Quarter Melville on Saturday – their opening day.  First it was a good reason to workout in a new box and secondly (and clearly the only thing that dragged my butt out of bed) was getting to catch up with Jane who talked me into this whole thing.

My lovely partner Jane

To say I was hurting when I showed up was an understatement.  I was tired (Friday’s yoga was merely 40 minutes of svasana), my neck was sore from the tightness in my traps/ lats and the worlds worst ass chafing (exaggeration but still) was still healing.

Nevertheless it was a glorious morning and Crossfit Quarter Melville is quite close to my house.

Crossfit Quarter Melville

 I arrived to see Jane’s smiling face at 8am as the first WOD was just kicking off.  It let us see what they were up to at least.

WOD

2x7 minute AMRAP

Teams of 2

One person runs 100m while other does one of:

-burpees

-air squats

-push-ups

-sit-ups

-wall balls

-double unders

-box jumps

*-run again

181/179

We did the WOD twice with two different partners.  The first time they lined us up alphabetically by first name and then paired first and last until everyone was matched up.  The second time they went tallest to shortest and did the same.  I didn’t get to work out specifically with Jane but it was still fun as it was a relaxed environment with no one taking anything to seriously but still getting in an early morning workout.

The WOD was a bit unknown, while one partner was running 100m the other was doing as many reps as possible on whatever movement their card had said – when you’d run back in the door you’d get flashed the next card in the pile and were doing that.  The exception being the ‘run again’ card which meant your partner had double time to do whatever movement they were stuck on.

I was paired up with Jack (not from Cooee) on the first round and we did well.  I was doing wall balls when he had to run again which wasn’t fun but I also managed to pull double unders that round as well which jumped our score from about 110 to 150 on his run versus just getting 10-15 reps or so with the other movements. 

The second round I was paired with Mark – aka the best judge ever and we had ‘fun’.  I don’t know what I started with but the ending for me went – air squats, box jumps, air squats, wall balls, wall balls, wall balls with one of the wall balls being a double run for Mark.  My legs were jelly during the runs but still it was good.

Afterward they had the bbq going and we feasted on bacon and eggs, always the way to my heart.  It was a good morning and though I was still sore afterwards it probably did help to get things moving a bit more.

Thanks Jane for convincing me to come along and to Crossfit Quarter Melville for hosting us all.  It’s great to see another box in the area.

Amy's shirt says it all for me this month

10/5 - 10/7- PINK DAY WOD...

Recap of a fun weekend… slept a lot but am still exhausted. But fun.  But exhausting.  But definitely more fun.

Let’s go back to Friday.  I snuck off for an extra long lunch break to scoot over to Subi and get some work done on my back.  Although I woke up with it feeling less achy than I had suspected it might be it was still really tight and I didn’t want the pain to linger.  I got some extremely painfully good massage (um, hello hamstrings) and then some needles in the extra tender points on my back.  Good thing (I guess) is that she said it was mostly just my lower back that I pulled.  I felt okay, a little worked over (obviously) and confident about Saturday morning though I picked up some rock tape just to be safe.

Saturday morning I arrived at the (not so early) time of 10:15am at The Cell for the Pink Day WOD.  The pink started coming through the door on everyone and everything.  It was an awesome sight to see.

Funny – if not totally awkward story - I asked Jane to help tape my back as I’m (kinda) flexible but not that much… anyway, she suggested I get Coach Adrian to do it as he’d just come back from the taping course (or something like that) and so she introduced me to him and he started the tape job.  No biggie right?  Well it wasn’t until it was time to start taping – now if you’ve never taped a back then you’ll need to know that you apply the tape without stretching to the person who is bent over at the waist.   He applied the tape on my back and then worked his way down and suddenly I hear ‘I’ll need to pull your shorts down’ um… okay? Was there really any other response?  In all actuality it was quite funny and I honestly didn’t care so much – not saying I’m an exhibitionist in any way whatsoever but really, it wasn’t a big deal, I wasn’t flashing everyone just one person.  Awkward laughs, and it was done.  There may have been a point somewhere in my past where I really cared but I’m over it apparently.

So… everyone is getting into the pink fun and Jane and I are set to go just waiting around for warm-up and WOD briefing.  I am so glad we were set to go first.  The WOD had been posted the night before and looked hard but also fun and then they went and snuck in walking overhead lunges (the worst!).  We hear the briefing, went for a bit of a run and a little bit of warm-up, gathered our equipment and were ready to go.

Pink and Ready to WOD

WOD

4 x 50m sandbag run (25/17.5kg)

100 American KB Swings (24/16kg)

4 x 25m overhead walking lunges (20/15kg)

50 push-ups

50 burpee box jumpes (21” tire)

50 push-ups

4 x 25m overhead walking lunges (20/15kg)

100 American KB Swings (24/16kg)

4 x 50m sandbag run (25/17.5kg)

22:13 Rx

First, some bullet points

-it was AWESOME to be partnered with Jane (again) for this workout

-22 minutes felt a lot more like 44

-there was A LOT of pink

-it was hot

-it was fun

-slow and steady works well

-burpees still suck

I loved being partnered with Jane on this.  Although we go into the WOD having an outline of a game plan we’re also able to easily and seamlessly adjust on the fly which works really well for us.  Also, neither of us are super fast we’re just steady throughout which really works for us.  We don’t start out in the lead (nor do we stress about it) but at the end we’re there just because we have a constant speed when others start to drag.

We each did 100m to start – Jane first then myself.  We decided that whoever was finishing a movement would go second on the next movement which meant that Jane was set to pick up the KB as I was finishing the carry.  She did 35 reps to start before we switched over and therefore I knew I had to do 35 as well to match it.  I’m happy it was only a 16kg KB.  She finished off the last 30 reps and I started on the OH lunges which were horrid (as usual).  I try to keep my arms locked out which is a killer on my shoulders.  Also, we were doing this outside and the asphalt was killer on my knees, some of the reps I merely skimmed the ground as it hurt.  Also, 25m is a long way.  We switched out at each end allowing our arms a little break (there was a 10 airsquat penalty if you dropped the plate below your shoulders).  We were mid pack by the time we finished the lunges.

As Jane was nearing the end of the last 25m I got into the box and dropped to the floor ready for some push-ups.  I planned to go with a bit of a wider hand position which was easier on my shoulders and it worked quite well.  Somehow I can now do Rx push-ups fairly well (though never in warm-up, that just seems way too hard).  Anyway, I started and Jane wasn’t yet beside me as I got to 10 reps (that was the plan, alternate every 10) so I kept going.  I think I did 15 reps to start and then we alternated from there out.  I finished them off and Jane was set to get into the burpee box (tire) jumps.  As she got into it I heard her say sets of 5 which was more than good for me.  After both the push-ups and lunges they were quite hard (thankfully there were only 50).  We just alternated back and forth until near then end where Jane pulled out a set of 10 and as it worked out she finished the set off.  And we were back in reverse order to the rest.

I should note that we made up a ton of time on the push-up/burpee/push-up sequence.  We actually surged ahead at this point.  I noticed that towards the end of our burpee box jumps that most people around us were doing step-ups while we were still jumping – I think a benefit of our steady pace – kinda like the tortoise.  Heh.

Push-ups - Photo from The Cells FB page

We blasted through the second round of push-ups I started with 15 again and then we alternated sets of 10 until the last 15 where Jane got out 7 and I needed to do 8 to finish.  Suddenly we were back on the lunges.  This is where I faltered a bit.  Jane did the first 25m and then we switched off.  Once again I was focused on keeping my arms locked out and this was a killer on my shoulders especially after so many push-ups.  Halfway through the 25m I couldn’t help but put the weight down and got right into the 10 airsquats.  Bad idea!  They hurt more than having the plate over my head, I wasn’t going to do that again.  After Jane rocked out her second 25m I was back at it and determined to not drop the plate – I managed to do this by NOT locking out my arms – I know it doesn’t make sense but at that point my biceps were stronger than my shoulders so this got me half way back and then I locked it out and managed to avoid more squats.

We started the KB swings with 25 each though by the end of my 25 I was hurting, a lot.  I convinced Jane in my – come on, do a few more and my I’ve got nothing left voices to do a few more reps.  As the rockstar that she is she got 30 done which left only 20 for me (thankfully as it was all I had left).  100m sandbag carry each and we were done.  We started out the lunges in first or second I think and finished them clearly in second behind a male/female pair.  We finished solidly in second overall in our heat though I have no idea how that compared to the next heat.  It was just a fundraiser WOD and no scores were kept so all in all it’s pretty irrelevant but still feels good to finish so strongly.  Like I said upfront – we work really well together and adjust really well on the fly without much conversation required which is amazing.  I’d partner with Jane anytime - thanks girl!

Thanks to Laila for the support - having someone yelling your name really helps especially in the middle of burpees, it's enoguh to keep you going and thanks to Kayla for letting me know that the lunges hurt her too, I guess it's a little better knowing I'm not alone.  

I got home, showered, ate and headed to a friend’s place to do my taxes (exciting I know).  Managed to stay awake through the entirety of ‘The Dictator’ (funny!) though falling asleep on his couch was quite tempting.  I was in bed at a fairly reasonable hour and slept quite well all night (finally) though when I rolled over on Sunday morning my butt hurt something fierce – those lunges definitely got me.  Sunday was a rest day – I was supposed to go swimming but knew that my shoulders weren’t going to make it.  I did a bunch of walking around and cooking for the week (ginger beef and broccoli, ‘spaghetti’ sauce, breakfast egg muffins).  It’s another short week as I’m at a conference on Friday – Sunday so lots to do but should be good.  I can’t believe though that October is already in full swing and I know if I blink it’ll soon be over.  Crazy!

9/29 - 10/1 - Life in the 'fast (swim) lane'

Catching up…

It was quite a satisfying long weekend here.  The weather brightened up and got (much) warmer, there was swimming and sleeping, wod-ing and beaching… all good times.  From the beginning…

Friday night I got a text from Shonelle asking if I wanted to meet up for some swimming and the bright and early Saturday morning time of 9:30am.  I love sleep so making a choice to voluntarily leave my bed on a long weekend to workout of all things is generally a big deal.  But I did it and it was fun.  Firstly I got on my bike again (after a week of freezing).  As I was uncovering it I realized that my lovely little mailman had hidden a package I was expecting (too big for the mailbox) under the cover.  Even though I knew exactly what it was (a necklace and print I’d ordered from my darling friend Robyn) – I still had to run back inside to open it up and check it out.  Christmas in September.

I met up with Shonelle and Challenge Stadium (and actually remembered my swim goggles and cap this time) and she told me the boys were all still asleep (slackers)… so it was just us girls (rockstars).  We proceeded the long and winding journey to the 10 lane outdoor pools (not the 8 apparently) – seriously if Shonelle hadn’t met me at the front desk I likely would have never found her out there.  We got ready and in we went. 

It was life in the 'fast lane' for me.  We were smack dab in the middle of the pool which was in fact marked 'fast' which I am in fact not.  We were however the only people in it and it worked well.  On my last two laps two girls jumped into the lane so I made sure to stay out of their way and get done fast(ish) while avoiding back stroke where I can't go straight at all (more on that below).
 
It was quite amazing how quickly everything went without the boys  for both good and bad.  The good – we had our workouts done in an hour, the bad – there was much (much) less rest for me without the boys.  I warmed up with some lengths to focus on my bi-lateral breathing.  I finished three and then she let me play around with some backstroke as well.  In my head I figured at least with backstroke your head is above water which makes breathing easier – I was so wrong about the easy part on so many levels.  First, I continually splashed myself in the face as I was inhaling which meant choking on water and secondly if anyone was watching from the sidelines it would have looked like I was drunk – no ability whatsoever to hold a straight line – I was all over that lane.

It should be noted that for every 50m’s I did, Shonelle did 150m.  We met up at one end and she gave me my workout – 4-6 lengths of alternating front stroke and back stroke.  Working on my bi-lateral breathing on the front stroke and trying to go as far as I could – matching or going beyond the previous rep each time.  And off I went.  It went pretty well.  I managed at least 25m on each of the 4 lengths of front stroke I did which for me is great.  I would then finish off the rest of the length with really ugly breast stroke because the pool at Challenge is too deep in the middle for me to stand up in (good thing Shonelle warned me of this in advance).  The backstroke was fun and also challenging.  Lots of focus on keeping my hips high which definitely helps. 

Now here’s the funny story.  In my head I thought I’d done 800m after the warm-up and lengths.  Wishful thinking, apparently I suck at math.  I did 200m on the warm-up and then (in my head)_proceeded to count those 6 laps in the middle (3 front stroke, 3 back stroke) as 600m.  Um, ya, not so much.  It was actually only 300m  But there was a good part to this story – because I thought I was so close to 1000m (in my head) I did another two laps before calling it a day (and I wouldn’t have if I could actually add)… so – all good.  But in the end I managed 600m for the day (not the 1000m I initially told people I did)… still a significant effort for me since it’s technically only swim lesson number 3. 

Sunday was spent being lazy.  Sleeping in, walking around and drinking beer and it was awesome.  There is no guilt here.  Totally worth it as summer slowly starts to ramp up.

Monday was a public holiday here.  We had one Crossfit WOD on the books at 8am and the boys (Jack and Tim) programmed it.   There was a wicked turn out and it was both hard (extremely) and fun (when it was over).

WOD

25 burpee buy-in

5 rounds

Run to KB (at back of building) – approx. 75m

15 KB swings

Run back to box and around to tires – approx. 450m

15 tire jumps

Run back to box – approx. 75m

15 pull-ups

Repeat

25 burpee cash-out

26:58 (14kg KB, Rx pull-ups)

It was the first decently hot day we’ve had this year and the workout was mostly outside which I think affected a lot of us more than we’re used to.  It was hot.  I kept a fairly steady pace throughout but the pull-ups definitely slowed me down.  I managed them all Rx though and loved that I don’t need to find a specific band so I can just jump on the bars where there is space.  I had Jane looking over me for the last round of burpees which helped me push through them with very little rest which would have been harder to accomplish otherwise.

We followed up the WOD with coffee at the Kiosk at Floreat followed by a dip into the ocean and a bit of a lie on the beach.  Good times though the water was FREEZING.  It felt glacial cold.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to get my Canadian status revoked at any time given my inability to deal with cold temperatures now.  Oh well – I love it here more anyway.  Ha.

Busy week this week with Crossfit tonight and Thursday and some SUP thrown in after work tomorrow, and a pairs chipper WOD on Saturday with Jane...  looking forward to it!

GET YOUR PINK ON!

Almost forgot... I was super excited to get the call (facebook message) up from Jane last night asking me to partner with her for The Cell's 'Get Your Pink On!' in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month and to raise funds for the Cancer Council.

I was honored to get the call to be her partner again and I know we will have another fun time doing a chipper WOD at the cell on October 6th.  I'm looking forward to it especially as I love a good chipper!

9/22 - Primal Pairs 2012

Saturday was Primal Pairs 2012 – a crossfit competition hosted by Southern Crossfit (who also hosted Primal Throwdown back in June) for teams of two – either both female/male or mixed pairs.  I was partnered with Jane who I knew only through crossfit circles and not really directly but when we agreed to partner up I figured we’d be a good match in size (most important) though she definitely takes the strength card.  I was a little nervous going into the day – afraid I might not be able to pull my weight, not sure how intense Jane might be, competition nerves – all of that – but right from the start of the day it was great, lots of fun and being clear about the worst that could happen (not that much really in the grand scheme of it all). 

Jane and I had a nice little chat on our warm up jog around the track and we were ready to go.  There were five workouts for the day that were put out the previous day though the order was up in the air.