Wednesday, October 30, 2019

CrossFit Open 20.1

I didn't sign up for the 2019 Open back in February because I wasn't feeling like I could do my best at that point. I pretty much do worse every year in the Open, rankings-wise. And unless the workout is a straight up repeat of one I've done before, it's really hard to gauge my own self-improvement. I hadn't been running very much at that point in the year, and I also had a cold for a good two weeks during that time.

I decided to do the 2020 Open even though things haven't changed all that much from February for me. Okay, I have gotten stronger since then, what with the Spartan training that I did. And I've been running again, which helps get my lungs in better shape for these challenges. And I have a much better attitude toward the whole thing right now. I'm just going to go out and do my best.

To that end, I signed up for Arbor CrossFit's Open strategy class, Fridays at 6:30. The cost was not exorbitant, and I liked the idea of being in a group of people focused on doing their own bests. Not that that doesn't happen on Sundays, but not everyone at Arbor is signed up for the Open (or even for the Fall League challenge at Arbor), so it's a different energy. Just another workout for some folks, while others are striving to do their absolute best on this test.

I was a bit nervous before the first one, because what if these serious people were too serious for me? But I didn't linger on that worry and I'm glad I didn't, because it was all great people, most of whom I knew well already.

The class went well. I learned a new strategy for bar-facing burpees and did some practicing for the workout. Some people actually went ahead and did the workout that night, but I didn't feel like doing it twice. The workout was 10 rounds of 8 ground-to-overhead (snatches or clean and jerks) and 10 bar-facing burpees with a 15 minute time cap. The Rx weight was 95 for men and 65 for women, with a two foot take-off jump over the bar required. The scaled weight was 65/45, with a step over the bar allowed rather than a jump.

I knew that for me the burpees would be the slowest part for me, and that slowness would carry over whether I was lifting 65 or 45 pounds. A 65 pound snatch is a heavy snatch for me at this point, but I got a chance at the strategy class to try out the weight, and I was able to lift it. By doing one rep at a time, I should be able to do my best for 15 minutes.

I had no illusions that I would finish the workout, but that would have been true scaled or Rx. So I chose to do Rx and test myself that way for this workout. In the strategy class, those of us who were not completing the whole workout went through 3 rounds. In those rounds, I worked out how to do the new burpee strategy, which involves a half turn in standing up and while it does have a two foot take-off, it doesn't always have a two-foot landing (which is okay). I also noted that my time for 3 rounds was a bit over 7 minutes, which gave me a good goal for the real thing.

On Sunday, which was my birthday - thanks Dave Castro for giving everyone burpees for my birthday - I signed in to the 8 am class to go and do my test.

But I wasn't in such a hurry that I went in the first heat. I needed to get someone to judge me, and, luckily, there were a few people there to watch and cheer, one of whom I was able to convince to judge for me. I told her my goal was to get 6 rounds and not stop moving.

I knew I wasn't going to finish; not only are my burpees slow, but the 65 pounds for a ground to overhead is pretty heavy for me if I do a snatch and moderate if I do the slower clean and jerk. But I figured 6 plus rounds would be in my reach if I could keep myself moving for the whole 15 minutes.

Those 15 minutes passed fast! And painfully... but I managed to meet my goal and get 6 rounds plus 8 reps, thanks to some great encouragement from my judge. I stayed on to cheer and watch others do the workout, though no one else needed judging.

And as I watched others doing 20.1 at my gym, I felt a welling of tears in my eyes. My body has done more than I ever expected of it. And I have no reason to be ashamed of my body. If you've never felt ashamed of your body, then you might not understand why this felt so profound for me. I have never had the body that I was "supposed" to have. I've never been thin or skinny. I've never been athletic and toned. I have always been on the heavy side, and curvy, and padded. And my family was more likely to chide me for being overweight than be supportive of what I actually was or happy with what I could actually do.

I tried my best. I did my best. I didn't quit. And that is what matters.
I started with snatches.

But 65 pounds is not an easy weight for me.

I stayed steady on the burpees.

And kept up the snatches as long as I could.

That was a good lockout overhead.

But I had to switch over to clean and jerks around the 3rd round.

Yeah, that's about what I felt like at the end.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

WOW - Bear River August 2019 - Day 2

For the second day of the trip, we planned to split up into two groups. One would work their way up the trail and do general maintenance, as there were plenty of places on the trail that could use it. The other group would go back to the stream crossing and fix up the existing single log bridge into an official multi-log bridge. I was very clear from the start that I wanted to be in the bridge group. I wanted to see how such a bridge was built, what made it work best and how we would direct the trail to the new route. It sounded more exciting to me, so I volunteered to be the group photographer for that group.

Plus, I wanted to get pictures of the beaver eaten trees on the other side of the stream crossing.

We set off at a brisk pace. I probably would have walked a bit slower, but the endurance runner was in the lead and setting the pace. She and her boyfriend had done the Queens River Loop in less than a day, running, and I knew just how much work that would have had to have been.


We weren't going so fast that I missed this benchmark (which I had missed the day before).

It's not like it was easy to miss!
I made sure to get some before pictures of the existing bridge so we'd have proof of what we'd accomplished by the end of the work day (which would be about noon so we'd all have time to get home).

Sure, it's crossable, but it's dicey.

Gnaw marks!

They almost chewed through this one.

They got these ones pretty good.

This is the old bridge, from the other side (it isn't visible from the approaching side).
The first step in our rebuild was to align the existing log so that it went directly across instead of at a slant. That involved clearing out brush and mud to make seats for either end of it. And there was one bush that was particularly pernicious. It had a very thick root dug into the bank, and I whacked away at it with a Pulaski. Another girl gave a few whacks, but then moved on to something else. Swinging a Pulaski is hard work. 

When I got through the initial root, I saw there was more root going in a perpendicular direction. I was more determined than ever to get it out, so I kept on swinging, thinking that this is why I do CrossFit - so I have the strength and stamina to do other random stuff like chop a bush out of a bank. The other women asked if I needed a break, but I told them this bush was my white whale and I wanted to see it out. 

Of course, when I finished, I had to get someone to take a photo of me holding my trophy.

The corpse of my "white whale." Picture by Carrie Holmes. 
There wasn't as much crosscutting to do on this day as the day before, but I persuaded someone to take my camera and get some pictures of me actually sawing.

That's me on the right, using a real crosscut saw. 

We sawed it good.
Once the new piece for the bridge had been cut, all of us picked it up and carried it over to the stream crossing to place it next to its buddy. The log was heavy, but together we were able to get it in place.

Two log bridge - but not done yet.
That's the ticket - the branches have been stropped off and the trail has been redirected. 


After we finished with the bridge, we worked on making sure that the trail from the bridge joined up sensibly with the trail that came from the old bridge. This involved chopping up grass and laying out some branches and logs. We could have spent another hour there getting it just right, but we were running out of time, so we left it with just enough markings to show the way.

On the way back, we came across the maintenance crew and learned the term, "bump on by." It's used to alert someone that you are coming by on the trail so that neither your tools nor their tools injure anyone. Back at the trail head, it remained only to take down tents and head out.

Luxury sleeping conditions.
I chose to join a caravan on the way out since the forest service woman had said that the road was shorter going out that way, if one were headed for Idaho City. I figured staying in a group on an unknown road would be safer with my sedan. We all made it to Idaho City safely, and then, well, I've already written about the adventure that happened next.


Wednesday, October 16, 2019

WOW - Bear River August 2019 - Day 1

I enjoyed my first experience with trail maintenance back in June so much that I just had to do it again. This time, I'd plan on staying the whole weekend instead of bailing out early because of prior commitments. And I'd go in with a little bit of experience in how the whole thing worked and what was going to be expected of me on the trail.

I drove out Friday evening after work. As luck would have it, I had driven out this way for a backpacking trip just the week before, so I knew where to expect the road that I needed to turn on. A good thing, because there were only two signs, and they had to be placed with maximum strategy rather than maximum aid to drivers unfamiliar with the area.

The first part of the drive was one I've taken many times - it's the route we take to the Queens River trail head through Idaho City. So I know the roads well enough to take them with ease. When I got to the turnoff, I almost went the wrong way, but one of the signs showed me that I needed to turn left very soon after getting on the road.

Then came a bit of a scary drive. The road was narrow enough to make me hope that no one would approach from the opposite direction (no one did), but the views were pretty enough to make me want to stop and take pictures (I didn't). I kept an eye on the odometer, but I was still feeling pretty nervous as I continued to drive and didn't see anyone. But as the road descended from the pretty views into a river valley, I finally saw the second sign and a group of cars parked at a not-very-well marked trail head.

I pulled into the line of cars and then went over and said hello to those who had arrived before me. I only knew the trip leaders from last time - everyone else was a first timer. I got my tent set up - this time I took our car camping tent and the air mattress so I could sleep in luxury, rather than the backpacking tent that's easier to set up, but much smaller.

Women continued to arrive as the sky progressed from dusk to dark. Two didn't come in that evening, and we hoped that they weren't lost - it's not as if they could have let anyone know if they decided not to come; there's no cell service out there. We went to our respective beds, after, perhaps, finding a quiet place to answer a call of nature.

Yeah, that was the major drawback of this particular trip. No pit toilet at the campsite.

I was pretty cold that night. I tried to tough it out, but I ended up going to the car and getting the down blanket that now lives in the car because it's too stinky for indoors. Stinky it may be, but it serves as an effective barrier to the cold and boosts the performance of my down quilt.

The next morning, I got up and got myself ready to go. I had packed my day pack before leaving home, so that was ready. I caged some hot water to make an herbal tea and ate my banana and energy bar breakfast. We gathered around for the gear and safety lecture around 8. The representative from the Forest Service had not yet arrived when we finished, so we started up the trail without her.

Bear River Trail is quite pretty.
I got to try my hand at chopping with an ax. I got one lucky blow in, and then I couldn't hit the darn thing again, so I ceded my tool to someone else to try. When we reached a tree that had fallen across the trail, we worked on getting it off and the Forest Service woman arrived with a surprise. Rather than doing general trail maintenance, as had been our plan, we would be going to a specific spot to work on a bridges.

So we set off for those spots - but we ran into a large log across the trail. About half of us stayed back to use the crosscut saw on that while the rest of us continued to where the bridges needed to go. I was in the group that went ahead; the trail itself is pretty nice, and the morning was cool enough that it wasn't a burden to hike along - even in the boots that I hadn't worn since the last trip in June since I switched to trail runners for backpacking.

The first spot where a bridge was needed was pretty obvious. The trail looked like it continued to follow a ridge, but it was actually supposed to turn to cross the river a quarter mile away. I could see how there were already some logs laid across the boggy grasses, but those logs were themselves buried in grass and difficult to see.

The old bridge, buried in the grass and not extending to dry trail.
While a few of us took a break, a few others, including myself, went ahead to the river crossing to see what was needed there. A beaver dam had complete drowned the trail at the river crossing to the point where the original bridge wasn't even visible from the trail anymore. A log downstream of the dam made for a makeshift bridge, which I crossed along with the Forest Service woman. I was charmed and amazed by how many fallen aspens had tooth marks on them (which I at first mistook for tool marks).

The decision was made to reroute the trail at both spots, but we'd focus on the bog bridge first. I started with digging out some bushes. See, rather than try to make the trail be where it had been, curving away from the ridge, we were going to punch the bridge out to the ridge at a right angle. There were bushes in the way, so I and another woman started by trying to clip and uproot them while others worked on digging out the grass where we'd lay more logs.

That day involved a lot of crosscut saw use. The last trip, I didn't get an opportunity to  use the crosscut, but this time I got as much as I could handle of it. We needed so many logs to make the bridge! Once a suitable log was found, it would get cut into lengths, and then we'd carry the lengths over to the bridge and find another log.
Gotta whack these bushes.

Needs more logs!

Yes, like this one.

I did find time to play around with the digital microscope on my camera.
I enjoyed the physical work, and getting to use the crosscut saw. I beat a strategic retreat right before lunch to find a place to dig a hole, and then rejoined the other women trying to stay in the shade. The day had turned quite hot, and we all needed to pay attention to that with how hard we were working.

We finished the bog bridge a bit after three in the afternoon. On the way back, I hung out at the rear of our walking train. One of my new friends was pushing a bit harder just to keep going, and I wanted to make sure she made it back okay. I know about being left behind, and I don't like to let others feel that way if I can help it. After all, she was out there in the woods. That's hard core whether you have to walk slow and take rest breaks or not.
Bushes gone, logs all the way.

Someone kindly took this photo of me - lucky it's so far away so you can't see how dirty I am.

One more view of the completed project.

Pretty, yes. Hot, oh yes. Where are the clouds??

And it was really, really hot.

I thought about going for a dip in the river when we got back, but I ended up just doing a face-wipe bath instead. I didn't want to stand anymore, but I don't own a camp chair, so I brought over the bin I was using for my food to sit on. Slowly, time for dinner came around. And we put out quite a potluck spread.
More flowers.

This is a hole under the trail. It's going to need maintenance sooner or later. 

Almost back to the trail head!
The two women who hadn't shown up the night before had indeed gotten lost, but they found us on Saturday. Dinner was burgers and brats, along with salads and fruits and chips and cookies and banana bread and veggies and all sorts of deliciousness.
This isn't even all the food; it's like the appetizer table.

My luxury tent, front and center.
When someone went to bed, I got to borrow her camp chair, but I didn't stay up too late. Everyone was a bit tuckered out from the work, and the hot day had turned into a chill night.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Queens River Loop August 2019 - Day 8

I was glad that my sleeping pad was holding up. On the night we spent up at the unnamed alpine lake, I noticed that my sleeping pad felt quite a bit less firm in the morning than it had in the evening. So the next day, when we were set up near the horse camp, I examined my sleeping pad. When I blew it all the way full, and then put weight on it, I could hear the faintest hiss. I tracked down the hiss to a tiny little hole near a seam. 

Well, this was exciting. I finally got to get out my sleeping pad's hole repair kit. I took out the small tube of glue and the patches and I read all the instructions - twice. Then I prepared the pad, and marked the hole with a pen so I'd know just where the hole was. 

And then, I unsealed the glue tube, popped open the hole and squeezed with all my might. 

The glue, kind of, sort of came out. 

But it was all in one blob, and not tacky in the least. My poor glue, unused for too long, had set inside the tube. I ended up doing a repair with dyneema tape instead, which held up for the last nights of our trip. 

There's always some bittersweet feelings about the end of a trip, but I think this one maybe had more than most. Sure, we were dirty and tired and sore, but the pace had really been easy so we could have hiked around a lot more. Ambrose was feeling better, and both our packs were so nice and light from the lack of food... okay, so we weren't prepared to realistically stay out longer, but I wished we could have just spent more time. 

But that wasn't the plan. The plan was get home today so I could go to CrossFit the next day (Sunday) and make commitment crew for August. So we got up - stretched - and started on the last leg of our long journey.

Heading out in the early morning in an attempt to get back to the car before noon. 
That's Ambrose - he left the campsite before me, but I always catch him.


Not time to cross the Queens River yet - thank goodness, with the early morning chill.


Got to watch my footing on these rocky, narrow sections.

The sun is coming, but it ain't here yet.

I love when the trail goes through tall plants. It feels like more of an adventure.

There were still a good number of downed trees across the trail.

More tiny flowers.

Oh, what a delightful ripe thimbleberry. Yes, I ate it.

Looks like the river has still abandoned this bed.

I'm glad there are some cairns built up, even though I know the general direction of the trail.

Ambrose crossing the Queens River. 

With today being the last day, I was going to just cross in my shoes, so I waited for Ambrose to be ready to hike on. That way, I wouldn't be waiting around with wet, cold socks and shoes until he was ready to move.

I waited next to this lovely flower. It reminds me of a snap dragon, but those have a different flower distribution.

More tree problems to navigate.

And yet more...

But I was glad to see this particular one had been cleared - it was really hard to get around on either side.

I'm still blown away by how those large rocks are stuck in the root and dirt matrix.

I went ahead and crossed first this time, even though I was planning to wait on Ambrose to cross and get his shoes back on. See, this time, there was sunshine to wait in.

Freezing feet!

A very large tree had been cut here. In the upper left hand corner of this photo is the edge of the log featured in the next photo.

Having now done some work with a crosscut saw, I'm a bit in awe of the job they did on this log. They must have weighted this end down while cutting.

What a shiny, shiny beetle!

The tree problems will never end.

I stayed with Ambrose until the trail went up on the ridge, because the marshy part can get confusing.

I didn't want him to have an excuse to slow down and delay getting to the car.

I went a bit faster once I was on my own, but not a whole lot. I wasn't trying to run, just make it with enough time to rest before I had to make the drive home.

Of course there were more trees down.

I was counting streams to mark my way back.

I thought for a moment that this log crossing was gone, but it's just hiding in the tall grass.

More flowers.

More trees across the trail.

This one is quite the mess.

Almost there; just a couple more stream crossings.

I had to step carefully through here to avoid getting my socks wet - I had put on dry socks after the last crossing.

Some nice definition on this flower's veins.

I passed some day-walkers on their way out. I didn't ask them how far we were from the trailhead, but I thought about it.

Oh, here we go!

Celebratory selfie!

Clover close-up.

The bridge out of the wilderness...

When I got back to the trailhead, I had enough energy to chat with a couple of guys who had come in on ATVs and were studying the map. I told them a bit about the area and gave them an idea of elevations, which the trailhead board map doesn't really show. We were still talking when Ambrose walked up and did some chatting himself. 

Then I made Ambrose some ramen noodles so he would be a happy camper while I drove us to Idaho City for milk shakes. We both cleaned up a bit with wipes and changed into clean-ish clothing. Then it was time to head out.