Good morning!
I’m sitting at the airport getting ready to head to San Diego – it’s snowing out and I have to say, I’m so ready for sunny skies and warmer temperatures!
I wanted to do a little CrossFit check-in because life has been pretty hectic lately but, good news: I’m trying to keep up with CrossFit! (Trying!) In fact, when I go, it usually ends up being the best part of my day (week, really – since I’ve been going less often), which is why I decided to go ahead and sign-up for the Open! YAY! I’m pumped that the first workout will be announced TODAY! CrossFit peeps: ARE YOU READY?
It’s amazing to me that Capital Affiliate League ended last week and the CrossFit Open starts this week. No rest for the weary, I tell ya!
Registration really snuck up on me so I haven’t thought much about what the workouts will be, but I vividly remember last year’s announcement: doubleunders! WHAT!? UGH! I have a feeling this year might kick off with pull-ups? I’ve seen so many people pumping out beautiful butterfly pull-ups during Capital Affiliate League – I really need to work on my technique! Pull-ups are the bane of my existence, I swear. Please God, no pull-ups! At least not for the first week!
I wanted to also update you on how my team did in the Capital Affiliate League championship tournament last Saturday.
We arrived at the event in first place (woo hoo!) but didn’t make it past Race 4 of the day.
It started early Saturday morning. We all met at our team captain’s house and ate breakfast. He made this wonderful spread – a paleo egg casserole, fruit, coffee, and bacon! Then headed to CrossFit Lorton for a long day of workouts! The first Race was announced in advance but because we were first place we got a bye. Phew! Good thing – this looked like a doozy!
Race 2 was announced after Race 1 Open, Upper, and Masters divisions competed.
I got to be in Race 2, mostly because I thought I’d be strong with ground-to-overhead at 75 lbs; however, I have to admit, this workout was a lot harder than I thought it would be! The burpees really winded me! We traded off so I only did a total of 30 but they wore me down. I didn’t help with the pull-ups because I have two teammates who kill pull-ups, but by the time I got on the barbell, my plan to pump out 25 clean and jerks, dropped down to 10 reps and then a call for relief! Ack!
We ended up losing the workout by probably a full minute which was frustrating because we were all BEAT afterward. The day definitely didn’t start off like we planned. Next up, a Thruster Ladder:
My teammates did AMAZING with the thruster ladder and we won the third Race! Woo hoo! They lifted some heavy weights and moved fast. It was definitely an exciting, quick workout that gave us all a much-needed shot in the arm! We’re still in this!
Race 5:
Station 1: 20 Front-Rack Lunges (95/65)
Station 2: 40 Toes-to-Bar
Station 3: 40 Kettlebell Swings
Station 4: 20 Pistols
My teammates gave Race 5 their very best effort and even though they moved swiftly through each station, the other team beat us by a half a minute. It was deflating to say the least! Everyone was so bummed and we kind of just scattered and started to gather our stuff. It was snowing pretty hard outside so everyone wanted to get on the road home – it was close to 4 o’clock and we’d been there since 8 am!
Even though we didn’t win the season, I really enjoyed participating in this League! I think it revealed a lot about my strengths and weaknesses (squats = strength, pull-ups = weakness) and gave me a lot to work on in the coming year!
I also loved making so many new friends! I loved my team: they’re all amazing CrossFit athletes that inspire me and make me want to be better! Plus they’re all super nice and funny!
The next CAL season starts after the Open in the summer but I doubt I’ll join. But, guess what? Aaron’s interested in doing it now! Ha! So, likely my Saturdays will still be filled with CrossFit!
To learn more about Capital Affiliate League, check out the website!
Have you ever participated in a league competition?
What do you think your strength would be on a team?
[…] Every 10 minutes, I swear! It was the worst during CAL — the day of the final competition I’m pretty sure I peed 10 times within a span of 3 […]