A confession: I thought that the Festivus Games would be the last Crossfit competition I took part in. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say I was about 85% sure of it. When Diane and Alison asked me about getting the Soukas back together for this year's Brawl In The Burbs, I flat out said no. When other people in the gym asked me if I was doing Brawl or King and Queen, I tended to give a vague "I don't think so" even though deep down the answer was closer to "I'm not interested". (Spoiler: And now I am signed up for the upcoming King and Queen competition. Clearly I give in way too easily.)
Why was I planning on stopping after the Festivus Games? I'm very competitive by nature, but I wasn't competitive at all during these competitions. I've done King and Queen three times and haven't cracked the top 10, even though there are only about 20 male competitors each year. I've done Festivus twice and hadn't cracked the top 10 of the Intermediate division. I did the Masters Of The Universe competition and ended up near the bottom of the leaderboard. I had been part of a successful Soukas team for two years in a row at the Brawl, but it felt like I was the weak link on both of those squads. As Aimee told a member of one of the winning teams after this year's Brawl, "it's so much more fun when you win". She's not wrong. And I haven't been in the same zip code as the people who have won these events.
This year's Festivus Games unexpectedly gave me one more reason to say sayonara. After completely messing up an event that I should have done well in (as I tend to do at least once in every competition I participate in), I actually had a great moment to end the day. I got a PR of 200 pounds on my thruster, getting the barbell overhead with only seconds to spare. When I signed up for competitions, I envisioned having moments like that. Instead, most of the moments were like this:
Crumbling in the spotlight again at last year's Brawl
The thruster triumph was my first really good moment in a competition. And that got me thinking. Perhaps this was a sign that I should go out on a high note. Better move that 85% up to 90%.
A couple Brawl teams in need of a guy asked me if I would like to join them, but I stuck to my guns and declined. I was more than happy keeping score for the event. I love working on spreadsheets. I love trying to find new ways to make them easier for the person inputting the scores. I love trying to find new ways to make them more appealing to the athletes trying to find out where they are in the standings. It's more affirmation that I'm a geek, but hey, you enjoy what you enjoy.
A little over a month ago, I got a message from Cline. He knew how I felt about participating, but Luke had hurt his back practicing one of the Brawl WODs and they were now unexpectedly down a man. He wanted me to consider joining a team consisting of himself, Alison, and Shawna for the Brawl. I tend to feel like an ass when I can help somebody out but decide not to, so I reluctantly agreed to be part of team Maybe Coach Aimee (But Probably Not). I immediately began to think of all the ways I could screw things up during this competition.
What transpired over the next several weeks actually made me feel much more at ease about my new partnership. Cline went to Portugal for several weeks. Alison was also traveling (in the NE portion of the US). And despite keeping a regular schedule at the gym, I didn't bump into Shawna at all until the week of the competition. We didn't get together to practice the workouts. We didn't send messages back and forth about what strategies we were going to use (at least not until a day or two before the Brawl). The team seemed to be supremely laid back about what awaited us on Saturday.
Their laissez faire attitude made me feel less paranoid about how I was going to do at the Brawl. My only real concern was the heat, since the gym was probably going to be even worse than it normally is with 160 athletes and an unknown number of spectators crammed in there. I packed a ridiculous amount of water and Gatorade in my bag to replenish all of the water I expected my body to lose over the course of four events.
Our first event was called the Lyons Den. It was a 20 minute workout where our team would be split into a female pair and a male pair. Each pair had to complete 30 clean and jerks. Every 5 reps, the partner who was working would switch out with the partner who was resting. When that pair reached 30 reps, action moved over to the other pair who then would work through their 30 reps. The ladies started with 55 pounds, adding 10 pounds to their barbell after completing a set of 30 reps. Cline and I started with 75 pounds, adding 20 pounds to our barbell after each set.
Ladies first. Alison and Shawna got things underway for us. Alison was super-fast in the early rounds as this was very light weight for her. Shawna didn't go quite as fast, but she didn't have any troubles either. 30 reps were done and it was time for me and Cline to get to work. I started us off and strung 5 reps. Cline ripped through his too. When it was my turn again, I got a little too excited about cycling the barbell quickly and hit my head with it as I brought it back down to the floor. Oops. I started worrying that I was bleeding because Raj (a member of another KOP team competing) had hit the bridge of her nose with the barbell in the preceding heat and ended up with a bloody face. There was definitely liquid coming off of my head. I hoped that it was only sweat. (Thankfully it was.)
The only hiccup for the guys the rest of the way was that I accidentally pulled the barbell off the floor so quickly for one rep that I basically snatched it and had to fake that it was a clean and jerk. A little while later an announcement was made that all reps required a pause in the front rack. Not sure if that was my doing, but I made sure not to slip up again during the workout.
The four of us might have gone a little bit slower in round two, but it wasn't by much as we didn't encounter any real problems during those 60 reps. The barbell became more difficult to move in round three. I think Shawna became concerned that she couldn't handle the weight so she slowed down her pace, but her form looked fantastic on all the reps she did. When it got back over to the guys, I strung my 5 reps during each of my three sets while Cline let me know he might need to break his up at some point. When he did, he went for a split jerk, but forgot to bring his feet back together before putting down the barbell. He got no repped, but laughed about it and decided to skip the split jerk going forward.
In round four, Shawna kept a similar pace to round three, ensuring that each rep she did was a good one. As me and Cline awaited our turn, I let Cline know that I might need to break up the reps in this round and he let me know that he might do the same. I wasn't worried about the weight (now 135 pounds) as much as I was about maintaining my grip on the barbell, but I was able to hold on for all 5 reps during each of my three sets. Cline finished his last set to give the girls one last chance on their barbell. They completed 8 reps before time was called. Lyons Den final score: 248 (16th out of 21 teams).
Our next workout would be outside as we would be flipping a huge tire in the parking lot. Now I've never gotten a definitive answer on how much the tire actually weighs. I've heard it weighs 1,300 pounds. I've heard it weighs 1,100 pounds. Most people are probably just guessing. But if there is one person who might be an authority on the subject, it is likely Jen S. (That takes nothing away from Alison, who is far and away the queen of tire flips.) Jen is in charge of the tire flip event at the Brawl and she had her bullhorn at the ready to keep everyone informed and motivated. While we awaited our turn, Jen started yelling at a team that was beginning their 5-minute bout with the tire. And during Jen's rant, she let the group know how much she thought the tire weighed:
Our first event was called the Lyons Den. It was a 20 minute workout where our team would be split into a female pair and a male pair. Each pair had to complete 30 clean and jerks. Every 5 reps, the partner who was working would switch out with the partner who was resting. When that pair reached 30 reps, action moved over to the other pair who then would work through their 30 reps. The ladies started with 55 pounds, adding 10 pounds to their barbell after completing a set of 30 reps. Cline and I started with 75 pounds, adding 20 pounds to our barbell after each set.
Ladies first. Alison and Shawna got things underway for us. Alison was super-fast in the early rounds as this was very light weight for her. Shawna didn't go quite as fast, but she didn't have any troubles either. 30 reps were done and it was time for me and Cline to get to work. I started us off and strung 5 reps. Cline ripped through his too. When it was my turn again, I got a little too excited about cycling the barbell quickly and hit my head with it as I brought it back down to the floor. Oops. I started worrying that I was bleeding because Raj (a member of another KOP team competing) had hit the bridge of her nose with the barbell in the preceding heat and ended up with a bloody face. There was definitely liquid coming off of my head. I hoped that it was only sweat. (Thankfully it was.)
The only hiccup for the guys the rest of the way was that I accidentally pulled the barbell off the floor so quickly for one rep that I basically snatched it and had to fake that it was a clean and jerk. A little while later an announcement was made that all reps required a pause in the front rack. Not sure if that was my doing, but I made sure not to slip up again during the workout.
Pretty damn excited about finishing round one!
The four of us might have gone a little bit slower in round two, but it wasn't by much as we didn't encounter any real problems during those 60 reps. The barbell became more difficult to move in round three. I think Shawna became concerned that she couldn't handle the weight so she slowed down her pace, but her form looked fantastic on all the reps she did. When it got back over to the guys, I strung my 5 reps during each of my three sets while Cline let me know he might need to break his up at some point. When he did, he went for a split jerk, but forgot to bring his feet back together before putting down the barbell. He got no repped, but laughed about it and decided to skip the split jerk going forward.
In round four, Shawna kept a similar pace to round three, ensuring that each rep she did was a good one. As me and Cline awaited our turn, I let Cline know that I might need to break up the reps in this round and he let me know that he might do the same. I wasn't worried about the weight (now 135 pounds) as much as I was about maintaining my grip on the barbell, but I was able to hold on for all 5 reps during each of my three sets. Cline finished his last set to give the girls one last chance on their barbell. They completed 8 reps before time was called. Lyons Den final score: 248 (16th out of 21 teams).
Our next workout would be outside as we would be flipping a huge tire in the parking lot. Now I've never gotten a definitive answer on how much the tire actually weighs. I've heard it weighs 1,300 pounds. I've heard it weighs 1,100 pounds. Most people are probably just guessing. But if there is one person who might be an authority on the subject, it is likely Jen S. (That takes nothing away from Alison, who is far and away the queen of tire flips.) Jen is in charge of the tire flip event at the Brawl and she had her bullhorn at the ready to keep everyone informed and motivated. While we awaited our turn, Jen started yelling at a team that was beginning their 5-minute bout with the tire. And during Jen's rant, she let the group know how much she thought the tire weighed:
"Let's go! 1,200 pounds of meat right here!"
Sounded like me and my teammates were responsible for 300 pounds each. As I mentioned, no one is better at the tire flip than Alison. She calls out the cadence and her soldiers follow orders in lifting and pushing the tire when she says its time to go. We made a group decision to have me and Alison in the middle on both sides of the tire. It meant a little more running for me and Alison, but we were the two biggest members of the team, so it made sense to keep us in the center the whole time. Cline wanted to shoot for 30 flips in 5 minutes, but I thought that was a little ambitious since we had gotten 31 last year and it was much hotter this year. The team made sure to prove me wrong. We got off to a fast start, but five minutes is a long time to be flipping that tire.
Team MCA knows what to do with 1,200 pounds of meat
Alison and I would talk after the event was over and we both encountered the same issue (although we might have been experiencing the problem on different sides). For whatever reason, we were finding it easy to flip the tire one way, but having a very difficult time flipping it the other way, a strange problem given that the tire was on a fairly level surface.
Jen announced there was 30 seconds left and we were on 28 reps. We had to get two more reps. Flip #29 was on the easy side for me. Perhaps fittingly, flip #30 was tough, but we got the tire up and over. There was still 5 seconds left, but there was no chance we'd get the tire up in that small window of time. Hitting Cline's goal exactly was good enough for us. Also, I was out of juice. Tire Flip final score: 30 (5th out of 21 teams).
Jen announced there was 30 seconds left and we were on 28 reps. We had to get two more reps. Flip #29 was on the easy side for me. Perhaps fittingly, flip #30 was tough, but we got the tire up and over. There was still 5 seconds left, but there was no chance we'd get the tire up in that small window of time. Hitting Cline's goal exactly was good enough for us. Also, I was out of juice. Tire Flip final score: 30 (5th out of 21 teams).
Cline wondering why Alison continues to flip the tire by herself after time had expired
Two down, two to go. Our third event (Hammertime) would require us to split into pairs again, although we had a choice in arranging our pairs this time around. Each pair would spend 3 minutes at each of four stations. Those four stations were:
- Box jumps (aka step-ups) - 24" for guys, 20" for ladies
- Wall balls - 14# to 10' for guys, 10# to 9' for ladies
- Snatches - 75 pounds for guys, 55 pounds for ladies
- KB swings - 53 pounds for guys, 35 pounds for ladies
One pair would start on the box jumps and end on the KB swings, while the other would start on the wall balls and end on the box jumps. Alison and Cline would make up one pair, starting on the wall balls, while Shawna and I began on the box jumps. I can't attest to how the other pair did during this event since we were working simultaneously, but I can give you a recap of how Shawna and I did. We started with step-ups, doing 5 at a time. It wasn't mandated that we do 5 at a time as was the case in our first event, but this felt like a good number to do before switching off to rest. Shawna went first and never slowed down during our 3 minutes at this station. As for me, I was next to Jill C (representing Crossfit Fairmount) and we always seemed to be doing step-ups at the same time. I began trying to go faster than her, which naturally led to me tripping on my box and looking foolish. Couldn't break my streak of being incredibly clumsy! I tried not to let that deter me, but I probably was not as fast as Shawna on this segment of the event.
Shawna can't figure out why it is taking me so long to do step-ups
I tried to make it up at the next station: wall balls. This was a weird experience for me because I usually use a 20 pound ball rather than a 14 pound ball. You don't want to waste energy throwing the ball way above your target, as I was doing early on. Shawna and I started by doing sets of 10 each, eventually trimming that number to 5 towards the end of the three minute segment. I tried to be more efficient by shooting in more of a line drive fashion, but that ended up earning me a couple of no reps when I hit below the 10' target. Oops. Time to rotate again. Let's snatch!
Shawna might have needed a little break before we got to our barbells because early on she was struggling. We had planned on doing 5 reps each, but when I saw her having difficulty, I told her to do 3 at a time instead. I kept going with 5 per set, although there was one round where I did 6 or 7 because Shawna was grabbing some chalk. As this segment wore on, Shawna got her rhythm back, first doing sets of four before eventually returning to sets of 5. I was definitely starting to get tired as the announcement came to rotate one last time.
At the KB, we once again planned on doing sets of 5, but this was much tougher for me than it was for Shawna. I tended to drop into my resting squat while she did her reps, then hopped up when it was my turn to go. KB swings just aren't my thing. I did all of my sets without failing, but it was a lot more work than it should have been. The clock struck 12 and we were finally done. Shawna and I had carried our team on the step-ups and the wall balls, while Alison and Cline were stronger on the snatches and KB swings. Teamwork baby! Hammertime final score: 585 (13th out of 21 teams).
It was pretty clear at this point that we weren't going to make it to the Championship WOD, so we only had to worry about doing one more workout. It was a two-part workout called Bottle Rocket. In the first part, we had 6 minutes to complete 100 kipping (or jumping) pull-ups and 100 hand-release push-ups. Once again, we had to work in pairs. When one member of the pair was doing pull-ups, the other had to hold a dead hang from the pull-up bar. When one member was doing hand-release push-ups, the other had to hold a plank. In part two of the event, we had to do as many goblet squats as possible (with guys holding a 53 pound KB and ladies holding a 35 pound KB) in two minutes. Alison and I worked together as a pair for the first time, as did Shawna and Cline.
Alison and I led off on the pull-up bar. Our team had a bit of an advantage in this event as Giulz made an announcement that if you had the ability to do kipping pull-ups, you should not do jumping pull-ups. So our inability to do kipping pull-ups morphed into a benefit. Hooray? Alison started our jumping pull-ups while I began in the dead hang. I thought this would be much tougher than it actually was. When Alison reached 25 reps, I wanted her to keep going, but we had decided to split the work equally. I dropped off my bar, took my place on the box we were jumping off of, and did 25 reps while Alison hung from her bar. Then we tagged in Shawna and Cline who did the same routine.
When they got us to 100 reps, they tagged me and Alison back in. Alison led us off with 10 push-ups while I held a plank, then I did 10 as she held a plank. We each did 5 more then tagged in Shawna and Cline. Eventually they tagged us back in, we did 2 sets of 5 each and wrapped up our 25 reps. Shawna and Cline finished off the 100 reps for our team and we were done. Bottle Rocket part A time: 4:40 (7th out of 21 teams).
Compare this picture to the one at the top of this blog. The lesson? As my shirt says, "Keep Calm and Eat Ice Cream".
Not only did we score well in part A, we got 80 seconds of rest before part B. Sweet! For the goblet squats, a male and a female could work at the same time, so Alison and I led things off again. I went until I did 15 goblet squats, then I tagged in Cline. We kept doing this until he tagged me in with about 20 seconds remaining. At that point I did as many goblet squats as I could before time expired. Bottle Rocket part B score: 127 (13th out of 21 teams).
Overall result for Maybe Coach Aimee (But Probably Not): 10th out of 21 teams.
We were done for the day and I think we were all pretty happy about that. (Note: The Championship WOD was a four-person relay version of the workout we had done on Wednesday that included the assault bike, thrusters, and the GHD. No thank you.) I had been reluctant to participate in the Brawl, but I had three amazing teammates that totally made the experience worthwhile. Thank you Alison, Shawna, and Cline!
Just because we weren't involved in the Championship WOD didn't mean that it wasn't worth watching. Especially since I had something riding on it. Pam owed me a drink from an earlier bet we made. Having tremendous faith in her superteam (2 Bars 2 Snatches), I offered double or nothing, betting in favor of her team winning the Scaled division. Pam didn't think it would happen (ye of little faith), so she took the bet. Here is a photo taken right after the Championship WOD:
I like to call this photo "2 Bars 2 Snatches 2 Drinks 4 Dave"
That was a wrap for KOP as we didn't have any teams in the RX division. KOP crowned a champion. The heat didn't whoop me as much as it usually does and I didn't fall apart in the middle of any of the events. And before I forget, this year's Brawl marked my first Megs-a-versary! It was last year's Brawl when I first met Megs. If it wasn't for my "tone", she wouldn't have remembered me. Apparently friendships can develop even if you give sassy directions to someone you don't know.
Here's one last pic of many of the athletes that represented KOP at this year's Brawl:
Look at those smiling faces!
Monday preview: A medium-length WOD featuring a bunch of rope climbs at the finish. You know who is happy about that.
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