The Work Week Is Not Complete Until I've Done Friday CrossFit: CrossFit 06/20/2014

Fridays are tough for me for a number of reasons. First of all, I am so damn tired by Friday afternoon that the thought of doing anything other than sitting on my couch, drinking beer and watching some terrible Bravo show seems like a really bad idea. I've never really had a very good track record working out on Fridays, even talking myself into riding is a challenge. The other thing for me with CrossFit Fridays (at least at CrossFit Earned) is that it is "Team Day", which means that we'll be required to do the WOD with partners. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a joiner. Every sport that has ever appealed to me have been ones where you compete individually, I am not a team sport person! The only group exercise class that I have previously stuck with has been Spinning which, while, yes, it's a group class, but you very much can go into your own head (one of the things I've always liked about Spinning!) The other thing about Team Day is, as someone who is pretty far behind the fitness and the ability of most of the class, I am embarrassed that someone has to be stuck with me. To be fair, everyone so far has been so, so nice and it is my own issue that makes me embarrassed, no one has said or done anything to make me feel anything but completely welcomed.

With that all said, when I walked into the "box" (translation: gym) tonight and looked at the WOD on the board, I almost cried. I am not exaggerating, I almost turned around and walked out. Amy, one of the women who has been in most of the group classes I've taken so far, started to chat with me and I just couldn't help but express my dismay at the WOD and also my discomfort with Team Day. After chatting a bit more, she said, "You know what? I want to be your partner tonight." Okay, now I really was going to cry. I didn't, but it was close. As it turned out, we ended up being the only two in the class tonight, so she was stuck with me either way!

Posted Workout for Friday, June 20th:

Warm-Up:

Row for 3 Minutes

What I did: Rowed 600m, was a little over 3 minutes. 

2 Rounds, led by coach:

5 Deadlifts (bar)
5 SDHP (bar)  Translation: Sumo Deadlift High Pull.
5 Med. Ball Cleans

What I did: Same. 

Stretching:

Hip Mobility Complex
Side Lunges
T-Spine Smash
WOD PREP

What I did: Hip Mobility Complex. Couch Stretch. Hamstring Stretch on box. 

Performance / WOD: 

A. Warm-Up Deadlift for WOD

What I did: Worked with Coach Jen on Deadlifts and established the weight (75lbs) for the WOD. 

B. Teams of two, AMRAP 25:00 (Translation: As Many Reps As Possible in 25 minutes)

4x400 meter Runs (2 repeats each partner, alternating)
120 Wall Balls (20lb men / 14lb women)
40 Deadlifts (225lb men / 155lb women)
200 Double-Unders or 600 Singles
40 Deadlifts (225/155)
120 Wall Balls (20/14)
4x400m Runs (2 each, alternating)

Note: Partners are meant to share the workload, so for instance, when the team is on the Wall Ball interval, you have to do 120 total, so you split it up however you need to. Ideally, you want to decide on your strategy for splitting the workout before you start.

(Editorial Comment: Good God)

What I did: I can't believe it now, but I think I actually did okay. Not fantastic, but better than I expected to. Here is the summary:

• 2x400m Run (my share): I ran BOTH of my run repeats WITHOUT walking! I can't even believe it. I was slow, slow, slow, but I did it. AND it included that stupid ass hill. Coach Jen gave me the option of running around the building instead to avoid the hill, but I chose to do the hill. Hills Are Our Friends. heh. 
• 60 Wall Balls (team total was 120): We alternated 10 reps at a time and I am happy to say that I did my part and did all of my Wall Balls. I used the 10lb Med Ball though, not 14lbs. But 60 Wall Balls! Seriously!
• 20 Deadlifts (team total was 40): We alternated sets of 5. I lifted 75lbs, Amy lifted 135lbs. 
• 80 Singles (team total was 200 DUs & Singles combined): We alternated sets of 20, Amy did DUs and I did Singles. Coach Jen is giving me a pass on tripling the jump rope thing for now. She says it's more important that I get the hang of it and have continuous movement. Even with doing just the singles, I crapped out on one of the rep sets and poor Amy had to cover those 20 for me. But STILL I was doing reps of 20 jumps at a time without screwing up! I was so happy about that. Even Coach Jen was surprised at how quickly I've improved on this. 
• 20 Deadlifts (team total was 40): We again alternated sets of 5, but Coach Jen upped my weight to 85lbs. I seemed to manage it okay. 
• Wall Balls. For this set we alternated sets of 5, since we were both pretty spent at this point. I can't remember how many we got through now before the clock ran out, but a few sets each. 

25 minutes on the clock and a shit load of intervals of a lot of really hard stuff. I can't believe I did it. Although, to be perfectly honest, I have to admit I was relieved that we never made it to the 400m run repeats at the end. I didn't know how I was going to get through that. As it was, my arms and legs were shaking when we were done. 

Thanks so much to Amy for being so nice and so supportive! This team thing is such a new experience for me, I really appreciate how wonderful the people at CrossFit have been. Coach Jen continues to be awesome as always. She is very careful to constantly coach my form on everything and is extremely encouraging when I get stuff right and make progress. 

At the end of the workout, Amy actually thanked me because apparently sharing the workout caused her to up her game with her Wall Balls and she achieved her own personal best. She also PRed her Deadlift. 

By the way, did I mention that I worked today? Also, that I rode Ruby? Yeah, it was a pretty full day.