I mentioned in a previous post that I had signed up for my first individual competition. I wish there was a Master’s Division, but there isn’t, so I am in the same scaled group as all the strong, young animals.
I have been doing Crossfit since August 2012, and I can’t recall seeing Master’s Division Competition except in the Regionals. Heaven knows that this old rack of bones ain’t going to the Regionals.
I signed up for this competition over a month ago, and the WODs have just been announced, one week before the game. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, many of the moves are near my one rep max. It is worth noting that with a small field of athletes, there will not be a lot of recovery time between events. I’m not quite as resilient as my fellow athletes.
The first WOD consists of jumping Single-Unders for one minute, then having five minutes to establish my One Rep Max of a Hang Clean, followed by Touch n’ Go Clean & Jerk. Cleaning from the hang position will be my limiting factor on this, since I haven’t got a strong pop in my hips to get the bar up. Then my Jerk isn’t pretty either, with a present 1RM of 105#. My goal is to get 80-100 points with the rope and I’ll be grateful to get 95-105# on C&J.
The second WOD is a five minute AMRAP, consisting of one 95 pound Squat Clean, two front rack lunges, and three lateral bar burpees. I can’t do a squat clean to save my life, and obviously I am not the only one, since a Clean followed by a Squat is acceptable, though obviously slower and less efficient. Front Rack Lunges have been a challenge for me because I struggle with balance, and I will be loaded with the same 95# barbell. Who would have imagined that my strongest movement of a WOD would be lateral bar burpees?
The third WOD is a killer for this old body. Forty 53# Kettlebell Swings, thirty 145# Deadlifts, twenty 24″ Box Jumps, and ten 95# Thrusters. I am still struggling with popping the hips to snap the kettlebell into motion. My shoulders, elbows and pecs scream in pain when I do high reps at this weight. My arms and shoulders will be wasted as I move to the barbell for the deadlifts. And my legs will be jelly by the time I move to the 24 inch Box. Fortunately I can opt for Step-ups which will be faster for me. Thrusters, at 95# may knock me out of this WOD. My 1RM is 135#, but to pull off 10 at 95# after 90 other heavy moves, will be an enormous challenge. There is a 10 minute cap on this WOD and I will be amazed to finish it.
I practiced WOD 3 on Saturday. It was ugly and it was painful. Back-to-back Kettlebells and Deadlifts grind me into dust. There isn’t much time on the clock, or gas in the tank by the time I pick up the barbell to perform Thrusters.
The icy roads forced me to stay home today, so I worked on Cleans, Jerks, and Deadlifts for two hours. Then I took a 90 minute nap. I wonder if there will be a place for me to sleep between WODs on Saturday.
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