In my year-end recap, I mentioned that I was going to suck it up and try to attend Competitors Class a little more regularly despite being a bit low on the depth chart when considering the roster that attends that class. Competitors is generally scheduled at the wonderful hour of 7am on Saturday mornings, but with New Years Day falling on a weekday, a last minute Competitors Class was set up for 8am on Thursday morning. (An hour more sleep? Yes please!) I agreed to go to the class, even though my legs were still feeling a bit beaten up from the Tuesday workout.
The workout was a partner WOD. In fact, there was really no difference between the WOD we did and the WOD that was scheduled for the normal classes. It was a beast though:
"Remember 2015" - Partner WOD
AMRAP in 40 Minutes:
800 meter run (both partners can run 400 meters at the same time)
50 double unders
50 box jumps (24"/20")
50 pull-ups
50 push-ups
50 sit-ups (GHD or Abmat)
40 minutes of primarily body-weight movements? At least I knew this was going to be horrible right off the bat. What movements do I generally struggle with? Let's see...
- Pull-ups? Check.
- Double unders? Check.
- Push-ups after doing other arm-focused movements? Check.
- Running when I'm winded? Check.
My partner was going to be in trouble. Poor Gordy.
Gordy is one of the newer coaches at our gym. He is in his early sixties, but he is in incredibly good shape. As in much better shape than some 37 year olds who may spend their spare time writing blogs. This year he won the Golfer of the Year award at Merion Golf Club and he has his eyes set on qualifying for the Masters competition at the Crossfit Games. Not some local Masters competition. THE Crossfit Games. Dude is no joke. His partner on this day? His performance merited a few laughs.
The two oldest people in class formed one team, with the other teams consisting of Shane and Jill A, Aimee and Keith, Rachel and Michal, and Giulz and Ashley. Jason Lyons decided to take this on all by himself. (Note: There is usually a mandatory breathalyzer test administered when someone makes a decision this poor, but somehow Jason got around this formality.) Gordy and I didn't really strategize before the workout began. I was going to defer to Gordy and when he told me it was my turn to go, I was going to try and match the reps that he did. Let's call that the "Round 1 strategy". Because after that, it was all "The Gordy Show".
We took off on our initial run and Shane broke away from everyone, including his partner. Gordy and I kept a decent pace mid-pack and returned to the gym at the same time. (Spoiler: this would be the only time that happened over the next 40 minutes.) Gordy picked up his jump rope and fluidly made his way through 25 double unders. I tried to remain calm and knock out a big set myself, but for the most part, it was sets of 5 or so reps. As a result, we were the last team to begin box jumps. Excellent start!
The box jumps went better as I had confidence in my ability to rebound. We alternated through sets of 5 reps each fairly quickly and made up some time before heading to the pull-up bar. At the pull-up bar, I let Gordy know that I was going to suck big time. He proceeded to knock out 10 butterfly pull-ups before turning things over to me. He only wanted me to do 5 reps, and I didn't do too badly in my first go round with a set of 3 and a set of 2. We alternated 10 and 5 one more time, before Gordy dropped down to 5 with me. So I did manage 20 pull-ups in round one, even though they were slow and ugly. On to the push-ups, where Gordy started with a set of 10 and I matched that when it was my turn. From there, we went to sets of 5 each, still maintaining a solid pace. And by solid pace, I mean I wasn't getting nearly as much rest as I was hoping for. Gordy took care of 20 sit-ups, then I tried to be a team player by taking care of the last 30 reps. See, I can be of value! (In round one, at least.) As we headed out the door, the clock showed that about 9 minutes had elapsed. Somehow we were ahead of Rachel and Michal, but we were behind everyone else.
The second run wasn't that pleasant. My legs were sore to begin with and the rebounding box jumps made things worse. I tried to keep up with Gordy, plugging along so that he wouldn't have to wait more than a few seconds for me once we got back to the gym. The double under story in round two was pretty similar to the first round. Things took a turn for the worse during the box jumps, as I bailed on rebounding fairly early in round two. I tried to step down and jump back up quickly, but it was apparent that I was struggling. At one point, Gordy put up his hand as he finished his set of 5, indicating that he was continuing on to do a set of 10. I appreciated the extra rest.
If my box jump form was bad in round two, I'm not sure what level of suck would describe how poor my pull-ups were. We alternated sets again, with me slowly doing 5 "quick" singles and Gordy doing 10 butterflies about twice as fast as I did my 5 reps. I was definitely dragging us down. When we got to the push-ups, Gordy led off with a set of 10 before we alternated sets of 5 reps the rest of the way. Even my sit-up ability failed me, as I only did 15 before tagging out. Gordy did his 25, then I wrapped up the last 10. We headed out the door for another run with the clock showing 21 minutes and change. I was exhausted and we were only halfway through the workout. Plus Gordy looked like he had barely broken a sweat. I was in deep shit.
The third run was worse than the second, as my slow jog made Gordy look like Shane during the initial run. Rachel and Michal ran on by me as I tried to lengthen my stride to no avail. When I got back to the gym, Gordy was there waiting to begin the double unders. I think he had a little more trouble in this round or I tricked myself into believing that I got some extra rest. And then somehow I did a set of 6 reps, followed by a set of 19 reps. The reward for some semi-proficient double unders? More box jumps. Gordy decided early on to knock out a set of 10. He thought he was going to have to do more after watching me not-so-gracefully ram my shin into the side of the box. I was able to brace my fall, leaving some super sweaty handprints on the top of the box. After Gordy completed our 40th rep, I decided that I needed to pick up the slack here, because the pull-ups were going to be a disaster. I did my version of the Gordy wave-off, letting him know I would do the last 10 reps and that he should get ready to do pull-ups.
The unbreakable Gordy calmly swung his body through the air, completing 10 butterfly pull-ups before letting me know that he would save me on the pull-up bar. His idea was to have me do 3 reps, while he would finish each set of 10 with seven more butterflies. Worked for me. And trust me, his 7 reps were still being completed faster than my 3 reps were. Eventually we were done with the pull-ups and crawled to the floor to begin push-ups. For the first 40 reps, we went back and forth doing 5 reps each. Then we each did 3. Then we each did 2. It was unraveling quickly. I did 25 sit-ups, then Gordy did his 25 sit-ups. Time for another run. The clock was at about 34 and a half minutes.
I got out the door first, but Gordy soon went by me. And then he stopped to tie his sneakers. I jogged on by, only to have Gordy blow by me again later in the run. It was like the tortoise and the hare, except the hare was a sixty-something Crossfitting Terminator sent back from the future to carry the tortoise to the finish line. I fully expected Gordy's eyes to glow red at some point while extending his hand towards me and uttering the words "come with me if you want to live".
There was less than 3 minutes left in the workout when I came back into the gym. Gordy got through his 25 double unders, then I bumbled my way through mine. Time was ticking down as we got to work on the box jumps. At least I knew I wouldn't have to do any more pull-ups! We alternated sets of 5 reps again until we got to 30 reps. While I was going, I heard someone yell "10 seconds" and I knew I'd be finishing things off for us. I got 6 box jumps in before time was called. Final score: 3+86.
There isn't too much to say beyond what I've already written. Gordy is amazing. If you had someone watch us do that workout, they would likely guess that I was the one in my sixties. I was exhausted, beaten up by a WOD that was not designed with me in mind. I was ready for some breakfast and a nap. Then it was off to a friend's wedding before ringing in 2016.
2016 preview: Okay, okay, it's not a full year preview. Just a preview of my first workout in the new year. A new benchmark workout where everyone lies about how much they weigh.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.