The Open Growth

This year is the third year that I've participated in the Crossfit Open. I'm not anywhere near a Regional or Games qualifier; I do it for fun. I like to challenge myself with the workouts and participate in the community event. Also, when there are repeat workouts, it's fun to see how much I have improved over the last year. 

17.4 was 16.4, and I improved significantly from doing 178 reps on the scaled workout to 207. 

And it's a good thing that worked out the way it did, because if I just look at my worldwide rankings then I get depressed. One is supposed to improve every year, but my rank keeps sliding because fitter people keep joining in the Open. At least, that's my theory, because I am improving. After all, last year at this time, I couldn't do a strict pull up. 

But the biggest thing that happened in the Open for me this year was 17.5. 

10 rounds of 9 thrusters and 35 double unders, 95# for men, 65# for women. 

Of course, that's the Rx (as prescribed) version. And I have always done scaled, which was the same rep scheme with lighter weights (65# for men, 45# for women) and single unders instead of doubles. 

There was a part of me that thought, maybe, just maybe, I could do it Rx this time. I can do thrusters at 85 pounds - though not many of them. And I can do double unders - just not with great consistency. 

On Friday morning, I went ahead and did the scaled version as a test. And I passed with flying colors, going unbroken on all my thrusters and finishing in just over 10 minutes. That's when I knew I had to make a go at the Rx - after all, with a 40 minute time cap, there's no way I couldn't finish. 

And even if I didn't finish, there's no penalty. No one's going to come to my house and beat me up because I couldn't finish under the time cap. The important thing was to try. 

So on Saturday, I tried. I went in with a game plan - split the thrusters 3-2-2-2 and split the double unders 10-10-10-5. Keep breathing. 

By the time I was halfway through, my body felt like it was made of lead. I was dripping sweat and breathing like a bellows. I wanted nothing more than to collapse and forget I'd ever had this crazy idea. But somehow my muscles kept working. I was able to drive that weight overhead, again and again. I tripped up on a few doubles, but kept going, kept getting sets close to my 10s. 

I was the last to finish in my heat. The whole gym was cheering for me by the end. At the last round, I pushed hard and went 3-3-3 on the thrusters and tried to go unbroken on the doubles. I made it to 29 before tripping myself up, but it still felt epic. 

My time on that is not at all competitive at just under 27 minutes. But I did it Rx. And I took that chance because of the generous 40 minute time cap. Even a 30 minute time cap might have deterred me from going for it. I think they wanted people like me, on the edge of being able to push just a little harder, to make that try and see how much they (I) could do. 

I really hope we repeat that one next year, because if we repeat any of the others, I'd have to do scaled to compare myself and I'll probably be going Rx. 

Running Is Hard Work

Last week I managed to meet my mileage goal of 10 miles with 12 miles. This week so far, I'm up to 5.8 miles of a 12 mile goal. I'll be running 3 miles tonight and half a mile Thursday, leaving a mere 2.7 miles to get to this week's goal of 12. Which I'll probably exceed, depending on what I do on Saturday and when.

My body is feeling the exhaustion of adding all of this physical activity into my routine. My mind is tired and fuzzy by the end of the work day. I really want to institute nap time.

But I know that this will pass. My body will adjust. I just need to get through these first few weeks of change.

I had been hoping to take the Lucky Peak trail for training starting in April. It's a nice 11 mile round trip with nearly 3000 feet of gain. Perfect for spring training, except for the fact that the Boise River Wildlife Management Area remains closed to protect the deer and elk still wintering in the foothills.

Okay, okay, I support keeping the deer and elk safe and unstressed by the presence of humans. But it does mean that I'll have to figure out a different training route. I'll probably head over to 8th street and make a route out of the foothills trails up there. I've hiked there before, and as long as the trails aren't too muddy, they'll do. They just lack the simplicity and challenge of the Lucky Peak trail.

Worst case scenario I'll be at the gym wearing a full pack and walking on the incline treadmill. Possibly alternating with the stair climber - not the step machine, but the one that's like an escalator. Heck, I might even try the Jacob's Ladder with a pack, just to see how it feels. That's not actually a bad worst case scenario.

This is going to be the first time that I'm starting out my hiking season with a solo hike, and a long challenging one to boot. Sure, the elevation profile isn't too bad; I'll start around 6000 feet and descend for most of the journey. But I'm going to be pushing my pace each day and the water situation is not guaranteed to be reliable. I'll have about 14 hours of daylight each day, so a pace of 2 miles per hour should be fine, even with breaks and time to break and make camp.

I'm working on researching the route and Ambrose is preparing the gps with the route (fingers crossed that works). I haven't started on food prep yet, though I'll be going no-cook again. I can handle not having hot food. Though now that I write that, I'm reconsidering because instead of traveling in late summer I'll be traveling in early May when the temperatures will tend towards the chilly side. Maybe I will want to have a stove and some drink mix for warmth and comfort.

There's still a lot of work to do, preparation physical, mental and logistical. I'm excited.

Ramping Up

This year's backpacking season is going to start much earlier for me than usual. With a planned hike from the Nevada border about 100 miles north on the Idaho Centennial trail taking place in the first week of May, I need to have my legs and my mind prepared.

March is going to be all about running and planning. I actually hadn't run at all from mid-December until the beginning of February. It used to be that if I didn't run once a week, my right hip would get all gimpy. But one week and then two and three passed and it didn't get bad. So I just let the running slide - partly because of the weather, and, I'll admit, partly out of laziness.

With the return of relatively temperate weather, someone at my crossfit box started up Saturday running, and I did a nice little 2 mile run in 40 degree weather in the rain to kick off my running training on 3/4. Maybe I should place some of the blame for my subsequent cold on that run, but I'm glad I did it. I wanted to get 8 miles that week, but I only managed 4.7, all of which happened last Saturday (3/11), but in two chunks. I would have run more, but my old ITB/hip issues reared up.

I've learned by now though that the best way to get past that pain is to make sure my running form is good and run through the pain. I ran another 3 miles the next day, which was painful, but do-able. I even wore my hydration backpack with 5 pounds of weight in it, just for that little extra something. And yesterday, I ran half a mile, just a little warm up before doing my pull up workout. That didn't impact the hip at all.

Based on my previous solo trips, where I tend to go much faster/harder than when I'm with my husband on backpacking trips, I know that the hip pain can hide. I might not have any issues hauling a 30 pound pack at an easy 1 mile an hour pace, but try 35 pounds at 3 miles per hour and I discover the hip pain.

My plan as I ramp up my activity for the May hike is to delve and discover that hidden hip pain and work it out before I start the trip. I will push myself to run fast in this month of March. I will do back to back, long distance, weighted hikes on weekends in April. I will research and prepare as much as I can for this journey, because 100 miles in 5 days through a desert isn't going to be a walk in the park.

The Best Exercise...

It's the one that you'll do.

Ten years ago, I would never have believed that I would be the kind of person who wakes up at 4:30 in the morning so that she can have just enough time to get dressed, have a bite to eat and walk to Crossfit for a 5 am workout.

I'm not sure I would have believed it five years ago.

But that's what I'm doing. And I like it.

Not the getting up early part. I hate hearing the beep of the alarm and being wrested from sleep. I don't like making myself get up when all I want to do is snuggle hard under the covers and snatch another hour of sleep. But I love the feeling I have by 6 am. And, often, I love the workouts. Not always - I have my nemeses at Crossfit, especially wall balls and that air bike, but I really like lifting. I like getting the techniques down better and better, being able to life heavier and faster.

And I can do pull ups now. Not just one, here and there, but multiples with consistency.

The exercise that I do seems crazy to a lot of people. I know it would have seemed crazy to me all those years ago. But I do it. I get up super early and I throw myself against the challenge of the day's workout and it makes me feel good.

I run to keep my legs in shape for backpacking, but it's harder to get myself running than it is to go to Crossfit. I've got excuses, of course. I'm a slow runner. My shoes are wearing out. But the excuses fade away when it comes to Crossfit. Sure, I'm not the strongest, the fastest, the best at any movement, but I love trying new things and getting better. I love participating in the Crossfit Open, seeing my ranking near the bottom of the women's scaled - but not at the bottom, because I'm completing the workouts.

I've found the work that I want to do with my body, and I no longer lack for motivation.

New Goals and the Open

Now that I've accomplished my pull up goal, I want to figure out a new goal for the board. I still want to work on pull ups, especially kipping now that I have the strength to work on those, but I want to try a different goal for a while - pull ups in some form or other have been my goal for nearly two years. It's time for a little change.

The Open is a goal of sorts, but it doesn't feel like a goal per se. I am competing in the Open, doing my best and enjoying myself. This year, my box is having a Friday night throwdown instead of a Sunday afternoon one. I like the idea because it's more fun to party on a Friday night, but I dislike it because it messes up my routine of doing the workout on Friday and then maybe re-doing on Sunday. I mean, I could still do that, but it isn't an easy set up anymore. And if I do Friday night, there's no way I'll do Friday morning. The Open is too intense for that.

Since last Friday was the last day of my 28 day low carb high fat diet personal challenge (lost 5 pounds and definitely lost more fat than that), I didn't go to the throwdown. I did 17.1 at 5 in the morning (scaled, 211 reps) and my lats were so sore 5 minutes after I finished that I knew I wouldn't be able to do it again in less than 14 hours.

This Friday, I'm planning on doing it in the evening, because I'm coming back from a business trip on Thursday night - no way I want to get up early after that. I know from experience that I won't be well rested after the conference - and I'm introvert enough that spending 4 days with people will deplete me. So I'll be well-rested in a way for 17.2, because I won't have been working out. And exhausted in a way because I probably won't be getting 8 hours of sleep each night. I'm looking forward to seeing how I do.

I'm seriously considering a double under goal for my next. I know that I'm improving on those, but I think some concentrated effort would yield better results - and that kind of work might help increase my aerobic capacity which would be helpful overall. But I'll still be doing my pull up workout, working on kipping pull ups and just trying to get fitter. I like what I've done with myself over the past 3 years of doing Crossfit. The overall goal is just like the one with writing - never stop learning, never stop striving to improve.