Rachel has been telling me that 14.5 will be rearing its ugly head once again this Open season. And since she has passed her Level 1 training course and knows the secret handshake, I am inclined to believe her. What was 14.5? To date, it is the only Open workout ever for time. A couplet of thrusters (95/65) and burpees over the barbell with a rep scheme of 21-18-15-12-9-6-3. No clock to save your exhausted butt. Keep going until you've finished all 84 reps of each movement.
I remember doing this workout last year and thinking that it might be a good one for me. I like thrusters. Burpees I suck at, but maybe I could save some time with the thrusters. It wasn't long before the burpee segment had me sucking wind, crippling me to the point that I was crawling around in my puddles of sweat as I slowly (and I mean slowly) finished one burpee after another. After 23 minutes and 26 seconds of agony, I hopped over the bar one last time and finished my 2014 Open performance.
If 15.2 is indeed going to be a repeat of 14.5, tonight's workout was a sneak preview into how it might go. The WOD was 4 rounds long of 3 minute AMRAPs consisting of 10 calories on the rower, 10 thrusters (95/65) and 10 burpees. Between each round was the dreaded 2 minute rest period. My initial reaction was that the top scores in the gym might be over 200 reps, but the monsters that frequent the morning classes posted scores in the mid-180's. That led me to believe that a score of 150-160 would be a pretty good one for me.
After yet another lousy workday, I made it over to the gym for the 7:30 class. It was just me and Matt E. this evening. We did a little bit of a warmup and then it was time to go. As usual, I looked at the whiteboard to see some of the day's scores, but in particular, I wanted to see how Rachel did on this workout. 169 reps. F me.
The goal for round 1 was to get to the burpees a second time. I needed to average more than 42 reps per round and my performance in workouts that included rest tended to follow a pattern of one big round, then a steep drop off, another drop off, and then a final push where my last round beats the second-to-last round. So a first round of 50-55 reps seemed essential to me. The row was fast and I got done with my 10 calories just before Matt. The thrusters is where I would excel. Coach Keith had told us that we should choose our weight such that we would never break up the set of 10. It might not be pleasant, but I could definitely grit my way through 10 thrusters at 95 pounds every round.
The kick in the teeth was the burpees. I knew I could row and I knew I could do thrusters, so my focus was to push hard through the burpees. But my body wanted no part of it. I got through the 10 burpees, but it wasn't particularly fast. A quick glance at the clock showed 1:41. I got back on the rower and tried to pull hard, but this second row was not going to be nearly as fast as the first. It was about 2:25 when I finished the row and started to make my way back over for more thrusters. These were definitely painful. Keith yelled at me to hold on, and I did, but I only got 8 reps in before the first intermission started.
48 reps was not the start I had hoped for. During the 2 minute rest, I figured out that I would need to have at least one more round where I got back for a second set of thrusters and I was not confident about that prospect. Round 2 started and Matt was off the rower before I was. Dammit, here comes the drop off. I went to squat clean the bar and didn't notice it was too close to the rower. As I pulled the bar, the left side hit the rower and fell back to the floor. Awesome. Now I was wasting time and energy that I didn't have. I moved the bar over and quickly went through the 10 thrusters. Burpees were worse than before and the crawling had begun. With less than a minute left, I got back to the rower. I finished the row and then heard "3, 2, 1". That was the end of round two. The mistake with the bar might have cost me a rep, but no more than that.
I tried to rest, to breathe, and to focus on round three. This has always been my worst round. I've tried to pretend that it is the last round. I've tried to go balls to the wall. But knowing there is one more round left is an incredibly tough mental barrier to get beyond. There was no choice tonight though. I needed 82 reps in these final two rounds, so I couldn't have any more drop offs. In fact, I needed to improve on round two.
Round three began and I was once again behind Matt on the row. Having put the bar in a good place this time, I went through the thrusters quickly. I crawled through a good portion of the burpees, but I kept moving. And when I got back to the rower, there was about a minute left. I could get back to the bar, but I needed to pull hard on this row. I hit 10 calories with 10 seconds left in the round. I got to the bar as quick as I could and managed 2 thrusters before time was called.
My mindset changed remarkably after that round. I had improved during what has usually been my worst round. And I knew that if I could complete that second row like I had done the first three rounds, I would hit 170. I was tired, but I was pumped. I could do this. Plus, my last round was when I found that extra reserve. As the final break winded down, I had a lot of positive energy flowing through me. Fast row, fast thrusters, keep moving on the burpees, then give it all you got on the row. Let's go!
It sort of went to plan. Matt beat me on the row yet again, but I still managed a fairly fast row. The thrusters were fast like the previous rounds. I didn't look at the clock, but I knew I was ahead of the pace I needed. Then the burpees happened. I knew there were only 10 left. I really tried willing my body into doing them. But my legs were fried. There were brief pauses. There was crawling. And there was suddenly a genuine fear that I was blowing this. I was in the middle of my 9th burpee when I heard that I only had a minute left. Come on legs, move!
I finished up, got my feet in the rower and pulled. I wanted big pulls, but fast pulls would do. Just 10 calories to go. I was right about to hit 8 calories when I heard "15 seconds" and that was when I knew I would make it. A few pulls later and I had finished the row. With 5 seconds left, I scrambled towards the bar. I managed a squat clean, but heard "Time" before I could thrust it in the air. It would have been nice to cap off the workout with one last thruster, but my 170 reps let me know that even though my odds are incredibly slim, if I can catch the right workout, my bet with Rachel might not be over quite yet.
Will 15.2 suck if it is a repeat of 14.5? Absolutely. But I may need that pain to draw back within 2-1.
Yes! You're third round was your second best - that's awesome! This was a tough workout and you did great!
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