Not only did the Brawl go much better for me than I had expected it to, the aftermath went much better as well. I wasn't crazy enough to come back to the gym the next day, but when I woke up Sunday morning I not only didn't feel sore, I felt better than I had when I woke up 24 hours ago. I had been very concerned about doing 4 WODs in the heat. I had been worried about my achy knees not holding up. Yet when I got out of bed on Sunday, I didn't feel dehydrated, nor were my knees bothering me. Maybe my body just needed to get the crap kicked out of it to turn the corner.
My luck continued when I saw what was in store for us at the gym on Monday:
Monday's WOD
1,000 meter row
50 abmat sit-ups
400 meter run
6 rope climbs (15')
There's nothing more exciting than seeing a WOD that looks doable and this appeared to be eminently doable. I could row. I could do 50 sit-ups. I could run 400 meters. And I could definitely do 6 rope climbs. This was definitely a "try and knock it out of the park" day.
I ran into a few people who had done the Brawl on Saturday and they asked me how sore I was. Like the total jackass that I am, my responses ranged from "not sore at all" to "feeling better than ever". Each response got me a stare like I was an alien, which was completely warranted. I can't explain why my body works some days and doesn't work most other days. I'm not sure how four workouts turned my body from sore to limber. But it happened and I wasn't about to question a good thing.
Coach Aimee was leading the Monday 6:30 and started off the class by asking everyone if they had signed up for King and Queen. Since I had not, I didn't raise my hand. Standing next to me was John McHugh and he was not having it. "Come on, Dave. You gotta do it!" Damn it all. I couldn't claim to be too hurt to do it now that my body was feeling better. I didn't even have a crummy Brawl experience to lean on in order to wiggle my way out of King and Queen. Plus John was asking me to do it and when do I ever say no to John? Fine, I'll sign up after class is over.
There were 12 of us attending the 6:30 and only five ropes (four if you exclude the slippery one no one ever wants to use), so I wondered if we'd end up doing a staggered start for this workout. That was not part of Aimee's master plan. We were all going to start together and then share ropes if need be. My typical reaction to this plan would have been disappointment (who wants to wait for a rope to open up?), but with there being 6 rope climbs in this WOD and since they were showing up at the end of the workout, I imagined that the amount of time we'd spend waiting for a rope would probably be less than one might think. Plus there wasn't much chance anyone was going to do all 6 in a row without stopping, so a break or two was going to be necessary anyway.
There wasn't much technical work to do during the warmup. There is a technique to rowing, but I think everyone kinda does their own thing once the workout begins. Sit-ups are self-explanatory, as is running. Aimee went over the S-hook and J-hook for rope climbs, then showed some examples of scales that people could do if they didn't feel comfortable climbing the rope. But that was it for the warmup.
The class got their rowers and abmats set up and then Aimee got us started. Couldn't pace myself on this one. It was go, go, go! I wasn't going insanely fast for the 1,000 meters as there were still three other parts to this workout, but I was rowing a little bit faster than I typically do. To me, this was basically a sprint WOD and I couldn't start it off with a slow row. As the clock hit three minutes, I had less than 200 meters to go. A familiar voice yelled encouragement to me. "Come on, Dave! You got this!" John was rowing at the opposite end of the gym, but he was still rooting me on even while he was finishing up his 1,000 meters. If he was going to spend energy to help me out, then it was only right that I push even harder to complete to the row. When I hit the thousand meter mark, I had set a new PR for myself of 3:36.8, a 3.4 second improvement on my prior best time.
That final push also meant I was the first one on to the sit-ups. I wasn't expecting that to be the case and I figured it would not be long before I had company. A few moments later, several other guys began unstrapping their feet from their rowers. I was trying to whip through my sit-ups as fast as I could right from the start, but that fast row did have an effect on me. I got through about 20 reps before my pace began to slow. It wasn't like I came screeching to a halt, but I certainly didn't move as fluidly as I did during the first 20 reps. Nate was beside me and even though he started 6 or 7 reps behind me, I could sense he was catching up to me. I completed rep #50 before everyone else and headed out the door. I had the lead, but for how much longer?
Answer: About a few more seconds. I knew the run wasn't going to be the strongest area of the workout for me, but I didn't bank on being so much slower than everyone who was pursuing me. Nate went flying by me just after we went by the barrier in the parking lot. I knew there was no way I could keep up his pace, so I kept moving at my own glacial pace, treating the run as a bit of a breather before tackling the final 6 rope climbs. As I hit the turnaround point, I discovered I was in a lot of trouble. Greg and Chris D were not far behind me and there was no way I was going to hold them off for another 200 meters. Borden wasn't far behind them. If all three passed me before we got back to the gym, I was either going to have to use the slippery rope or wait on someone else to come off their rope. I had to pick up the pace. My last 200 meters wasn't fast enough to stay ahead of Greg and Chris, but I did get in the door right before Borden.
Oddly enough, the three guys who got back before me went to the far end of the gym and used the ropes there, leaving the rope in the middle of the gym free. As I got ready to hop on to it, I saw Borden stop on the other side of the rope. We were basically there at the same time, so I asked Borden if he wanted to go first. I think he knew I really wanted to go, so he gave me the honors. I sped up the rope as quickly as I could, then came back down and let him go. He had a little trouble at first, doing a pull or two before coming back down. Then on his second try, he got all the way up to the 15' mark. I made sure to jump right back on the rope once he came down, getting my second climb in before passing the rope back to Borden. His second climb went smoother than the first and it was my turn again.
Having these little breaks while sharing the rope kept me fresh, so my third climb was fast, just like the first two. When I came down, I stepped away from the rope to indicate it was all Borden's, but he was still catching his breath. So I took that as an opportunity to be greedy and get my fourth climb in. When I descended from that climb, Borden was ready to go again. His third climb was similar to the first as he looked like he was having trouble right after his first pull. But he got it worked out and gradually got up to the 15' mark. I eagerly jumped up to do my 5th climb. I was getting tired, but I knew I only had two climbs left and I could handle them even if I wasn't 100%. As I came down from the 5th climb, Borden had that look like he wanted me to just finish up, so I jumped up for my last climb. This one was ugly. I didn't get nice long pulls like I had during my first five climbs. This was more of a scramble in an attempt to get up there as quickly as possible, form be damned. I tapped the 15' mark and slid back down to the floor. Final time: 11:17.
My final rope climb. Not my prettiest.
The rope climbs were my friend as I finished before the three guys who passed me on the run despite having to share a rope. (To be fair, they eventually had to share as well.) I think if I wasn't sharing a rope, I could have finished this workout in around 10:30. The workout had indeed proven to be very doable. And thanks to John's encouragement, I even got a PR out of the deal.
As the class finished up, Aimee asked us for our times. I told her 11:17 for me and she wrote my time next to the name Danielle. Danielle was at the gym, but she wasn't in our class. She was working on strength while the 6:30 was in session. Also, <spoiler> Danielle and I look absolutely nothing alike. (Lucky for her.) I pointed out the mistake to Aimee and she laughed about it before changing it. I told Aimee that if I was now Danielle and if she was now Dave, then Dave suddenly had way more potential at the gym (which is true). Alas there has been no identity swap, so regular old Dave will need WODs with rope climbs or bear complexes (coming soon!) to shine at the gym.
Tuesday preview: More deadlift misery. Plus an appearance by Anne at Dudes After Dark!
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