And ... another benchmark: CrossFit 08/11/2014

I took a little break from CrossFit because my sore achilles was tweaked badly after a particularly tough workout a couple of weeks ago. I've been hobbling and limping around, afraid to come back too soon before it had a chance to get a little better. I've been resting it, icing and I've been wearing this crazy thing to sleep in. (Laugh all you want, but that Strassburg sock makes it so my achilles isn't so tight when I get up in the morning). Today I wasn't limping around as much, so I decided to give CrossFit a shot. The achilles hurts the most when I go down stairs, but I seem to be walking without too much limp now. Oddly, I've been able to ride okay. It hurts, but I can work through it and the stretching down in the heel is actually good for the tendon. 

We lost a friend from our CrossFit community last week. Patrick was only 22 and was killed in a tragic accident. Our CrossFit members have been reeling from the loss. Shocked and devastated. I am still so new that I didn't actually know him, but once I saw his picture, I realized who he is. He was very often at the box when I was there and often joined my class. Really cute, really enthusiastic, fun, great attitude, he was close to many of the CFE members. I never formally met him, but can feel the deep loss that many at CFE are feeling. Tonight I could just feel the hurt emanating off of everyone. I don't think I really appreciated until now how strong this community is. The caring for each other, the commitment to remembering Patrick and for helping each other through this tragedy is incredible. I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like it. Tonight's session was bittersweet. 

Posted workout for Monday, August 11th:

Warm-Up:

Run or Row for 400 meters

What I did: Rowed for 400 meters. 

Dynamic Mobility:

Inchworms

Knee Hugs

Ankle Grabs

Lunge w/ Twist

And some additional dynamic balance lunges with Coach Jen

What I did: Same, except that I only did a few of the inchworms because we were outside and the gravel was digging into my hands. I think we forgot to do the ankle grabs though. 

Barbell Warm-Up:

5 Deadlifts

5 Hang Power Cleans

5 Front Squats

5 Cleans

What I did: Same, only with a dowel as there wasn't a free 15lb barbell. 

Performance / WOD:

A. Squat Clean -- 12 minutes to build to a heavy single. 

What I did: Coach Jen had me take the 12 minutes to just work on my cleans in general, without worrying about building up to a heavy weight. I started with just the 15lb bar and worked up to 45lbs. I can probably do more weight for this lift, but my form was a bit shaky with the achilles issue and being a little rusty after my CF break so I left it at 45.

B. "Jackie" (Another one of the "Girls" -- Benchmark Workout):

For Time:

Row 1000 meters

50 Thrusters (men & women: 45lbs)

30 Pull-Ups

What I did: 1000 meter row in 5:10. 50 Thrusters with just the 15lb bar (I did it in sets of 20, 15, 10, 5 -- obviously they get harder as you go along!). 30 Ring Rows -- I tried to do the Ring Rows with my back as parallel to the ground as possible, to make it harder. 

My time was my score: 10:39 (which is pretty meaningless since I didn't have any weight on my Thrusters and did Ring Rows instead of Pull-Ups). 

C. There was a Cash Out, but I ducked out!

Some Notes:

• I don't seem to have any trouble with rowing. I think I was among some of the first finished rowing in my heat, and I think I could probably have pushed harder.
• Doing lots of Thrusters will give you jello legs. Yes, even with just a 15lb bar (or maybe it's just me). 
• I wasn't the only one who did Ring Rows instead of Pull-Ups tonight.
• I am not going to feel like a real CrossFitter until I can do some kind of Pull-Ups. Banded or whatever, just something. 
• I am so glad that I went! Thank your CrossFit Earned for welcoming me back.