I completely forgot three very important things from my last blog post, so let me cover those real quick:
- A huge thank you to everyone who was at the gym on Monday night at 6:30, including those who urged me on even though they were undergoing what looked like a pretty hellacious workout themselves in the 6:30 class.
- While Rachel's domination of our bet may have some wondering when a "mercy rule" might be established, it is worth noting that she is in the top 10% for women worldwide at the moment. I am barely in the top 50% for men.
- After the workout, I strung together 5 strict pull-ups for the first time! And just like when I got my first one, Jim C. was sitting there watching when I did it. He told me that I should try a strict chest-to-bar pull-up after I was able to string 10 strict pull-ups. So naturally I ran over and immediately tried to do a strict chest-to-bar pull-up and failed. Who wants to wait until they get 10 strict pull-ups? The greed never goes away.
My parents rolled into town Tuesday afternoon, so that meant no attempt at a new clean and jerk PR and no attempt at stringing together more than 15 toes-to-bar. That was a little bit of a bummer, but the announcement that Wednesday's WOD would be Nancy more than made up for it! Why get so excited about Nancy? And probably more importantly, what the heck is Nancy? Nancy is a girl WOD. Girl WODs are generally benchmark workouts that up the intensity a bit from your normal WOD. Nancy is 5 rounds for time of a 400 meter run and 15 overhead squats (95/65). 75 overhead squats? Yes please, thank you!
Of the limited possibilities I have for getting on the gym white board, most involve just rowing or just running. Nancy is the rare workout that includes multiple movements where I have a tiny chance of cracking the top 3 male times. Coming into today, third place on the white board was King's time of 15:18. Was that legitimately possible for me? Well, my running leaves a lot to be desired, but I am fast on my overhead squats. This was the same weight used for 15.2 and I bounced up and down like a kangaroo during those squats. It would be a little tougher during this workout with the run taking some of the breath out of you, but I still felt confident. To have any chance of sniffing that time, I would need to string all 15 overheads in all 5 rounds and be pretty quick on the runs.
My major concern was based on experience. I have actually attempted Nancy once before (6/14/14) and had a similarly optimistic view coming into the workout. I'm pretty sure it was round two (could have been round three) that I noticed the toll the overhead squats were having on my legs as I couldn't extend into a full stride. By the end, I was gimping my way out to the 400 meter turn around point and back. Coach Paul never posted my final time, but I think it was in the neighborhood of 20 minutes.
By the time I got to work this morning, King had already knocked 31 seconds off of his time while further solidifying his hold on 3rd place on the board. An hour later, he was off the board, as his morning rival Pete had finished in 14:30. I thought 15:18 was pushing it, but 14:30 was gonna be really tough. It came down to this: I couldn't drop the bar, I needed 3 solid runs and 2 decent runs. If I could somehow manage all of that, then maybe I could threaten that time.
The 6:30 class consisted of me, Michal, Conn, and Matt E. Conn was furthest from the door, with Matt next, then me. Because I think Michal secretly knew she was going to rock this workout, she decided that she was planting herself in front of me, close to the door. We got going on our first run and I moved at a decent pace, but not one that I thought was draining. Michal yelled at me about how fast I was going. This would be the only time this happened during the workout. I got back first in the 1:45-1:50 range and grabbed the bar. I did a squat snatch and then kept powering through overheads until my first 15 were done. I dumped the bar and headed out on my run. Round 1 of 5: success.
The second run was not as fluid, but I thought I was keeping a solid pace. When I got back and saw the clock had reached 5 minutes, I knew that my pace had fallen off more than anticipated. Same deal with the overheads as I led off with a squat snatch, then methodically moved through the other 14. I was under 6 minutes after 2 rounds, but with my run slowing, I kinda knew at that point that 14:30 was out the window. Went back out for run number 3, but Michal was getting closer and closer on the run. I still made it back for the overheads first, but we got to our bars at about the same time. The clock was near 8:25 when we came back from the run. This set of 15 was harder, but I stayed tight, kept my balance, and finished all 15 without dropping the bar. Just beyond 9 minutes, so maybe 16 minutes was feasible? Staying ahead of Michal was going to take some doing as well.
I tried to push on each run as my legs tightened. I leaned forward throughout the run, never letting my body on my heels. It was not much use. The runs were killing me. And they were also where Michal was gaining lots of time. Midway through run #4, she passed me and left me behind. She had a couple overheads done when I got to my bar. The clock read 11:55. As I completed my third or fourth rep, she suddenly dropped her bar. I kept moving up and down as controlled as I could even though I was very tired. Do not put the bar down! 12...13...14...15. I was done with round 4 and ahead of Michal once again.
For that last run, I leaned and I pushed, but I wasn't going anywhere fast. Michal passed me again near the midway point and once again pulled away from me. And she had no plans of dropping the bar in the final round. In fact, she had turned around to face me for these last 15 reps. I did my squat snatch and started doing one rep after another, trying to pick up my speed when I felt balanced. I was gaining on her. I got to my 7th rep before she looked over and picked up her speed as well. At that point, I knew I was done. I rose for my 13th rep when Michal yelled time. 5 seconds later, I was done, but it only got me second place. Michal finished in 16:12 and I finished in 16:17.
Despite getting beat, I was incredibly happy about this workout. I didn't drop the bar one time during those 5 rounds. Executing the squat snatch after coming in from the run was something I struggled with during my first Nancy encounter, but it went pretty smoothly today. I wish I could have run faster, but with Endurance starting again soon, maybe that will come. I gave it my best today and I was rewarded with a solid time that I can be happy about.
Tomorrow night is the announcement of 15.4. I think the fiasco that was 15.3 has drained me of my enthusiasm for this event, but I still want to help Team Orange take down the Team Competition at the gym, so I'll end up watching to see what awaits us next. Hopefully something Faby is awesome at, as he joins Team Orange for the week.
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