(My friend Chris back in 1990-something)
I lost a very good friend the other day. Chris O'Hare was one of a group of great girlfriends that I had back in NYC in the days when we used to all go out a lot. God, I have so, so many stories that I could tell from those days. I'll just leave that part of it by saying, I'm glad there was no such thing as Facebook or camera phones in those days! On the other hand, it would be fun to be able to look back through those times. Anyway, there was a pack of us and, kind of odd for a group of women, I honestly don't remember any bitchiness or competitiveness, none of that nonsense. We all always had each others' backs. We all had a blast rolling around NYC together. I even remember when a new gym opened up close to work. We all decided to join and would go to the bar before going to the gym! Chris was never the athletic type. I remember her looking at me in horror once at the gym as I worked out on a Stairmaster or something and exclaiming, "you're ... sweating!!!" I had to say, "well, yes Chris, that's kind of par for the course at the gym."
Chris' health began to fail a few years ago. All at the same time she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and heart disease (and had a heart attack soon afterwards). She fought it for the past few years, but finally lost the fight a couple of days ago. Throughout her illness though, we would talk on the phone from time-to-time (not often enough!) and reminisce about the old days and the good times we all had back then. She had recently gotten a little active on Facebook and enjoyed following what everyone was doing. Because we all knew each other in NYC, the fact that I now live in New Hampshire and own a horse had Chris convinced that I live on a farm! She always managed to crack me up somehow.
Over the past couple of years, as I work through my own struggle to get fit, I have been thinking of Chris a lot. I think of what she could not do, but what I can choose to do. Every day comes down to choices. Sometimes I win, sometimes I don't reach my goal for the day, but every day is a new opportunity to get it right. Sometimes thinking of Chris helps motivate me, when I can't quite find the strength or enthusiasm on my own.
Today was one of those days. Chris, this workout was for you. I wish I did a better job.
Posted workout for Tuesday, July 29th:
Warm-Up:
3 Rounds, :30 per station:
1. Jump Rope
2. Lunge w/ Twist
3. Dive Bombers
What I did: I'm so mad, I forgot my jump rope!!! I took one of the gym jump ropes and right away couldn't even do it. I figured it was too long and so I went back to try and find a shorter one and couldn't, so then I tied two knots in the cable and it was too short ... argh! With all my dithering, I didn't end up doing a lot of the warm-up. Stumbled through some crappy attempts at the jump rope, some really terrible twist lunges and some push-ups from the knees. Geez, I was a mess.
Looking at the WOD, I was in a bit of a panic that I wasn't going to be able to do the jump rope at ALL, after my disaster of a warm-up.
We then did a bunch of stretching (especially hip mobility) and then WOD prep.
Performance / WOD:
A. "Blender Bottle"
AMRAP 8:00 (as many reps as possible in 8 minutes):
40 Double Unders
20 Wall Balls (20lbs men/14lbs women)
-Rest 2 minutes-
AMRAP 3:00:
5 Deadlifts (225lbs men/155lbs women)
5 Box Jumps (24" men/20" women)
-Rest 2 minutes-
2 RFT, 5:00 Cap (2 rounds for time, max time 5 minutes):
5 Deadlifts (225lbs men/155lbs women)
10 Box Jumps (24" men/20" women)
15 Wall Balls (20lbs men/14lbs women)
20 Double Unders
(Editorial Note: Apparently Tuesday is now Cardio Interval Day. I can't figure out if tonight or last Tuesday was harder. They both pretty much killed me.)
What I did: I finally figured out that I needed one knot in the jump rope cable to be able to use it. In the last couple of minutes before the clock went off I was able to string out a few at once, so that relieved my panic a bit (imagine panicking about using a jump rope? What is CrossFit doing to me?) I thought I was back at Square One with the stupid thing.
Anyway ...
Round 1 (8 minutes): I actually surprised myself when, after stumbling through a couple of false starts, I was actually able to string 40 (singles) together without screwing up. I did not double or triple my jumps for this WOD because I just knew I was stretched to the limits of what I could do already. I got through ... okay, I've already forgotten! I am pretty sure that I got through three rounds and then. Damn, I can't remember. Sheesh! Anyway, the Wall Balls were tough on me tonight. I struggled. Usually I can do at least 10 at a time before I have to rest a bit, tonight I was only stringing 5 together at a time. And my squats were crappy. Going through round-after-round of this, well, I just kind of completely lost my ability to hold myself together. 8 minutes never seemed so long.
Round 2 (3 minutes): Again, I've totally forgotten how many rounds I got through. That's how delirious I was. I know that I Deadlifted 85lbs for the workout though and a did step-ups on a box (20"), but I honestly don't know how many rounds I did. I went through at least a couple.
Round 3 (5 minutes): I got through 2 rounds of 5 Deadlifts (85lbs), 2 Rounds of 10 box step-ups (20"), 1 round of 15 Wall Balls and 1 round of 10, 1 round of 20 (single) jump rope.
I don't even know what my score was.
B. Plank Holds: 5 holds of 30 seconds, 15 seconds rest in between.
What I did: 5 plank holds, but only the first one was 30 seconds.
Notes:
- As bad as my performance was, I was red-lining it for most of the WOD. I felt a bit light-headed and very loose-limbed and noodle-y throughout. So, that is what I had in me tonight.
- The steps-ups aggravate my left achilles if I lead with my right foot, so I am only leading with my left right now. It's a little cockeyed, but it is what I need to do not cause more irritation. I think the step-ups are easier on it than "box" jumps though.
- The Deadlift repeats at 85lbs were challenging, but doable, so that is good to remember for the next time there are DL with a bunch of repeats (my 1 RM for DL is 125lbs at the moment).
- It's been a while since I practiced with the jump rope. I should spend some extra time doing that (and running) every week.
- I keep talking about a lot of "should dos". I need to stop talking about it and just do it.
- I literally couldn't move for a few minutes once the WOD was done. Actually, everyone else in the class seemed to be in the same boat.
- Planks suck.
- I thought about Chris a few times during my misery when I wanted to quit.
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