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CrossFit Open

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After being out of the gym for over a month with a strained back it was hard to get back into training mode. I wanted to start small; lower impact skills and lighter loads, but that’s not what happened. I don’t know if it was my competitive personality or the encouragement from my friends, but I decided to join the D-Town team in the largest crossfit competition in the world: The 2013 CrossFit Games: CrossFit Open.

I figured I had nothing to lose because the workouts are designed so athletes of all skill levels can participate and get a taste of what it’s like to compete. I played competitive sports growing up so I’m no stranger to the challenge, but I have to admit, this was a whole new level of hard.

The Open consists of 5 workouts over 5 weeks. This week is week 3.

The first workout: 13.1

WOMEN – includes Masters Women up to 54 years old
Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 17 minutes of:
40 Burpees
45 pound Snatch, 30 reps
30 Burpees
75 pound Snatch, 30 reps
20 Burpees
100 pound Snatch, 30 reps
10 burpees
120 pound Snatch, as many reps as possible

My score: 165 reps.

I only made it through 1/2 of the 75# thrusters before time was up but to be honest, it was better than I had expected to do.

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The second workout: 13.2
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
75 pound Shoulder to overhead, 5 reps
75 pound Deadlift, 10 reps
15 Box jumps, 20″ box

My score: 114 reps.

I went into this WOD thinking it would be short enough to go all out from the beginning. I was wrong. I was extremely tired after only 3 minutes and had to do step ups on the box jumps for much of the remaining time. I know I could have done better on this one, but I did not have time to re-do it before the deadline. Oh well… two down three to go. I’ll keep you posted.

The Third Workout was 13.3
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
150 Wall balls (14 lbs to 9′ target)
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle-ups

My heart sank as soon as I saw what the WOD was. Last week I did a WORd that totalled to 90 wallballs, and I was so sore for 4 days I could barely walk. I knew that 150 wallballs were going to absolutely destroy me! I forced myself into the gym with butterflies in my stomach. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this nervous for anything. When the workout started I felt the burn after just 20 reps. My strategy going in was to do 10 reps, then rest for 10 seconds. This worked well at first, but soon my rests turned into 15 seconds intervals and my rep counts became 7, then 5, then I only could do 3 at a time before dropping the ball. After what seemed like eternity, My counter yelled, “150!” Dropping that 14 lb medicine ball for the last time was such a great feeling. I could not believe I had finished all 150 reps with time to spare! Now for the double unders. Usually I’m good at these, and can easily do 30 unbroken. Today though, the wallballs turned my legs into noodles. I could barely jump off the ground long enough for the rope to pass under my feet twice. I did a total of 16 double unders before the 12 minute time cap was reached.

I curled up in a ball on the floor and closed my eyes until I could breath. I sat up to a room of people cheering me on and walking over to first-bump me and give me high fives. I was just sooo happy 13.3 was done!

My score: 166 total reps with a tie breaker of 11:24

{ AD WALL BALL PIC HERE}

The forth workout: 13.4
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
95 pound Clean and jerk, 3 reps
3 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 6 reps
6 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 9 reps
9 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 12 reps
12 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 15 reps
15 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 18 reps
18 Toes-to-bar…
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

After spending most of the week recovering from 13.3 I was ready to take on 13.4. Ok, I though to myself. This one I can do this one. It was quick, and heavy.

My score: 40 reps. time was up during my set of 12 C&J’s.

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The 10 Principles of Crossfit:

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Flippin’ Fun

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This weekend was one of the highlights of my season; I went to Woodward at Copper for “work”. My job has many perks, one of them being that I get to attend the events I help plan.

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With the help of the amazing people at Woodward, I put on the 2013 Roxy Snow Camp, a two-day freestyle camp supervised by Copper coaches and Roxy pro Erin Comstock. I have looked up to Erin for many years. Her unique snowboard style, her relaxed attitude and her dedication to women’s freestyle snowboarding has secured her position as a legend in my eyes. This summer, while interning in Huntington Beach for the Roxy Snow Marketing department I worked on a project where I sorted through 10 years of her video footage. It took me 70 hours, but I compiled enough footage to make a career restrospective edit for Erin and her family. Little did I know it would be used in Roxy’s national marketing campaign!

Here is the finished project: 

Anyways, needless to say I was psyched to have Erin at the camp I was running. She was awesome. The highlight of riding with her was when I followed her through the trees in 18″ of fresh snow. It was epic! Definitely a day I will never forget. Each morning, before we went on snow we played in the Woodward Barn. Trampolines, foam pits, synthetic snow jumps and spring floors are only a few of the goodies offered at the barn. Backflips are surprisingly easy and super fun! I must have flipped 50 times between the two days. I even learned rodeo 540, a backflip with a half spin.

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All in all, the camp was a success and I became friends with my all-time favorite athlete, Erin Comstock. She and her husband just moved to Denver, and we are going to start doing Bikram Yoga together to get ready for summer! I can’t wait. 537722_10152640072235543_1172896043_n

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Face your fears

It has been a while since I have posted to this blog. Maybe I’ve been busy, maybe I’ve had nothing to say, or maybe I just lost motivation. To be honest, I think it’s a little of each. But a recent wave on inspiration triggered by boredom from a debilitating muscle strain in my back has forced me to stop long enough to reflect on how my life is going and actually see what really matters. I decided it was time to start writing again.

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The two weeks leading up to my back injury were some of the best of days of my life. I spend every possible moment in the mountains snowboarding, sunbathing, and enjoying the beautiful Rocky Mountains life. Sometimes I move so fast that it’s easy to forget how fortunate I am to live the life I love, have the friends I do, and live in such an amazing place.

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As a competitive person, and even more competitive with myself since joining CrossFit, I decided it was time to get over my fears and throw down some new tricks on my snowboard. Not just any tricks, but tricks I’ve been afraid to try for years: riding boxes switch, spinning on and off boxes, and handplants. I’ve attempted handplants several times over the years but always got beat up by the massive 20 foot tall ice-wall they call a quarterpipe.

For some reason I woke up this past Monday morning determined to conquer my fear of getting inverted on the wall. After hiking the feature a few times I got one! Then two… then three. My friend Hilary and I must have hiked close to 20 times before we were so banged up and exhausted that we decided to call it quits for the day. I didn’t care. I handplanted! Screen shot 2013-02-18 at 2.54.00 PMScreen shot 2013-02-18 at 7.29.31 PM

I also managed to learn a few new switch tricks and stepped up my skills on boxes. I dialed in a switch 270 to front board to fakie as well as adding an extra rotation on the exit making it a 270 on 270 out. After this is it was a piece of cake to learn cab 3 (switch front 360). Next step is going bigger and adding a grab! Needless to say, I’m looking forward to being all healed up and back on the hill this weekend for the Burton US Open of Snowboarding championships.

I put together a short video of my newly aquaired skills, but unfrotunatley I am having technical trouble getting the video onto here. I will keep trying.

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#yoLo – Climb Higher to Reach New Heights – My B-day WOD

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Since I started CrossFit in August I looked forward to my birthday. Not just because I turned 25, but because I got to choose a birthday WOD at D-Town CrossFit. For weeks leading up to November 24, I thought about what I wanted to do. I figured that choosing skills I excelled at would be a good idea since I would RX, and get a decent whiteboard score.

As the day approached, however, I thought about what CrossFit is to me, and I realized something. One thing that Crossfit is NOT about is taking the easy way, or simply getting the highest score. So, instead, I decided to do something that would push me to my limits, and challenge me to reach new heights. After all, that is why I started crossfit in the first place – to BECOME BETTER. For  this reason I chose to incorporate my newest skill, rope climbs into my birthday WOD. I had completed my first rope climb just 4 days earlier.

Here was my WOD:

bday WOD

Halfway through the first round I knew I was in trouble. I was huffing and puffing, my muscles were burning, and I was sweating like a pig. The thought of having more than two rounds to go was daunting, and the fact that I had CHOSEN this blew my mind. Finally…. round two was over. Trying not to think about the 5:30 class watching from the sidelines, anxiously waiting for me to finish, I began my third round. Most of my class had already finished the workout and many athletes were curled up in the fetal position on the floor making strange noises. I pushed on.

On my last rope climb, ascent number 6, I almost gave up. I paused, clung to the rope from 10 feet up, and took a deep breath. I convinced myself to forget about everything in my life and everyone in the gym watching me. I HAD to do this and I was so close. I knew I would regret it if I gave up before touching the green line. Those last 5 feet were took every ounce of mental and physical strength I could muster, but I did it!

After touching down following my final rope climb, I felt a renewed sense of energy going into my final squats, burpees, and sit-ups; even though my muscles were on fire and my whole body was shaking. After what seemed like forever, I finished. I dropped to the floor and lay there until I finally mustered up the strength to peel myself up and put away my weights.

Although I got one of the worst scores of the day, I was proud of myself for not giving up and for completing my own challenge as prescribed (RX). As I said in my last post, I CrossFit because each day there is a new challenge, a new opportunity to set, reach, or surpass a goal. I CrossFit to learn new skills and to become more fit inside and out. I CrossFit to BE MORE AWESOME, and today I lived it.

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WOD To Be Better

After a tumultuous year filled with heartache, tragedy, and self-discovery I found CrossFit. And it’s a good thing I did, because it has changed my life in many ways in just a matter of months.

Being able to take the skills I learn inside my “box” (gym) and apply them to life outside the box makes life more interesting. I see the world differently now. I want to climb things, perform pull ups on trees, attempt one-handed handstands in snowboard boots, and sprint up stairs. I’ve proven to myself that you get out what you put in, and that you must earn your sweat. I’ve quickly learned the language of CrossFit, consisting of words like WOD, snatch, thruster, clean, jerk, muscle up, wall ball, and so many more (and even more acronyms). I’ve gained access to a whole new world filled with fun, fit people all dedicated to bettering themselves and their lives through functional fitness and strength. Each and every person at my gym inspires me to do better and to be stronger than yesterday.

Today, before our WOD, we were given a chance to reach a 1 rep max back squat. Basically you keep adding on weights each rep until you fail. 1 Rep Maxes measure progress; one of the most unique aspects of CrossFit training. I was psyched when I shattered my previous record of 135 lbs with a new PR (personal record) of 185lbs! All day long I thought about my accomplishment, and wanted to tell anyone who would listen.My non-crossfitting friends are probably sick of hearing me talk about how awesome it is. They just don’t get it. Even though every muscle in my body aches, I can’t wait to get back in the gym tomorrow to accomplish something else.

I think for me, that’s why I CrossFit. Each day there is a new challenge, a new opportunity to set, reach, or surpass a goal. I CrossFit to learn new skills and become more fit and confident. I’m getting fit for life.

My 185# back squat attempt at D-Town CrossFit on November 28th, 2012

Following the back squat was the WOD:

20-15-9 rep rounds:

Power Cleans (floor to shoulders)

Box Jumps (20″)

Kettle Bell Swings (16kg/35 lbs)

CrossFit Anywhere – I CrossFit at Keystone Resort

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Switch it up

Do your friends like to jib but you don’t know where to start? Try learning how to ride switch. Have you ever heard the term (or actually tried) to throw a baseball with your non-dominant hand? Well, I have and it’s a lot like learning to ride switch. Your muscles are accustom to a certain motion when you are snowboarding, but when you switch around you basically need to re-learn to snowboard.

If you want to do 180’s, 540’s or just become a more versatile rider overall, just follow these tips and you will cruising switch in no time.

1. PUT YOUR WEIGHT ON YOUR FRONT FOOT. Leaning back will make it much harder to gain and maintain control, so if anything lean slightly downhill.

2. LOOK and point to where you want to go. This will help initiate the turn for you. Remember that speed is your friend.

3. Once the turn is initiated, KEEP YOUR CHEST AND EYES UP, shoulders should stay directly over the hips, and heals. Your tendency will be to look at the ground, and you will end up leaning over and falling.

4. Ride switch at least half of each run for the first day or two. By the end of the day you will be comfortable linking turns switch!

5. Now that you can turn switch, you can start your 180’s on flats, small rollers and piles of snow. For a front side 180, ride on your toe edge, and jump a half spin landing on your toe edge again. You will open be spinning towards downhill. Only you will now be landing switch. Swing your arms from one side of your body to the other for extra momentum. Practice this often, and make sure you ride away switch.

6. After you are comfortable popping off your toes in a frontside 180, it’s time to try the backside 180. This time you will be spinning toward uphill. The most challenging part about spinning backside is that you land blind, so KNOW WHAT YOUR LANDING LOOKS LIKE.  It’s best to learn these on small piles of snow, rollers, and hits on the side of the trails. You will start to notice them everywhere. Ride up on your toe edge, and bend your knees. As you push off and leave the ground, swing your arms across your body and rotate your shoulders but DO NOT ROTATE YOUR HEAD! Trust your feet to catch you. You should land looking up hill. These take a while to get comfortable with, but keep trying! Before you know it you too will be jibbing everywhere!

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“Kelly”

Benchmark WODs measure progress and track improvement. These workouts usually have names like “Barbara,” “Fran,” and “Angie” and are feared by CrossFitters around the world.

Today we did a WOD called “Kelly.”

One of the smartest things my gym does is to not post the workouts ahead of time. This prevents cherry picking workouts because you have to show up and commit to doing it before you even know what it will be. This WOD was different. I went snowboarding at Keystone in the morning, then on my way home checked the website. I saw that the day’s WOD was already posted…. and it looked hard. Yes, all CrossFit workouts are hard, but this looked especially scary to me since there was a lot of running involved, and WallBalls are extremely demanding. (See Below for WOD)

I thought about skipping it since I knew what it was and I had already gone snowboarding, but I decided to go anyways. One of my biggest motivations for completing the “Kelly” WOD was that my ex-boyfriend of 7 years is named Kelly. We broke up this past summer and I knew this WOD couldn’t be any worse, or any harder than ending things with Kelly.

So, I went into the gym with a new mentality, a determination like never before. I threw myself into it 100% and gave it everything I had; just like I had done with my failed relationship.

When it was over, I was not only impressed with how well I did, but I felt I had accomplished something amazingly personal… like I was closing a major chapter in my life.

The feeling of personal accomplishment. pushing past comfort zones and going beyond known limits is one of the most rewarding side-effects of CrossFit training. I experienced this on a whole new level following the “Kelly” WOD. It went beyond physical triumph… it was alike an invisible weight was lifted off my shoulders.

Here is what the workout consisted of:

5 Rounds for Time:

– Run 400 Meters

– 30 Box Jumps at 20″

– 30 WallBalls 14lbs

In total I ran 2,000, completed 150 box jumps and 150 wallballs in 30:08.

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Me and Kelly in 2010

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Today was the day! I slipped on my socks, base layers, sports bra and hoodie. Put sunscreen on my face, cooked a quick breakfast and double checked my bag. I had everything… in fact I had two of everything. I always get nervous on my first day of the season, and feel like I’m forgetting something. After double checking my gear I grabbed my snowboard and ran out the door. As I drove the hour and 10 minutes up to the mountains time passed so slow. I couldn’t wait to be there and make my first turns of the season.

Though I drove up alone I was confident that I would run into some friends. I was right. As soon as I got to the parking lot, I jumped out, tightened my boots, strapped my new helmet to my head and was off. I felt a huge smile overtake my face as I leaned down to buckle my ankle strap for the first time in months.

As I made my first turns I was instantly overcome with excitement, joy, and a renewed sense of peace and passion. *Sigh* It had been a long summer; a life-changing summer. Now I was home. Home in the snow.

As if the day wasn’t awesome enough, I ran into different friends every run (it seemed) and before I knew it I had a crew of 10 people with me! I made a point to attempt nearly every trick I learned last year as I slithered my way through the crowd at the top of the park and dropped in. I ended my day feeling accomplished, excited and ready for more.

It’s just the beginning. Let the adventures begin!

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Day 1 – A-basin

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In Loving Memory of Jessica Ridgeway WOD

Today was a special day at D-Town CrossFit. Our gym and dozens of other CrossFit Gyms around the Denver Metro Area participated in a memorial workout of the day (WOD) for Jessica Ridgeway, a 10 year-old girl from Broomfield who disappeared on her way to school and was found brutally murdered last week. Donations were collected for Jessica’s family, and the Crossfit Community statewide showed their respect and support for her young life. Here is the WOD: