Growing Apart

Workout date: 4/12/17

When I got home on Wednesday night, I needed to listen to some music.  Perhaps some "Free Bird" would do the trick.  Or maybe a little "Separate Ways".  "Don't Speak" might get the job done.  I needed some tunes that would capture the sense of loss I was experiencing.  I had just been through a tough breakup.  When I first came to KOP, I was introduced to many girls, but I had trouble making a connection with any of them.  Then I met Nancy.  Nancy got me.  She knew that my idea of a fun Friday night involved overhead squats.  And even though she knew I wasn't the best runner, she encouraged me to get better (if only because I sucked at almost everything else in the gym).  It seemed like we were soulmates.  Those happy times feel so long ago...

Do you not remember Nancy?  Here's a description of my ex:

"Nancy"
5 rounds:
400 meter run
15 overhead squats (95/65)

I guess part of what drew me to Nancy was that she seemed to like me more than the other folks at the gym.  She made me feel special.  But the last few times I have made plans with her, she's treated me just like everyone else.  In fact, I've gotten the sense that she's grown closer to several others at the gym while the two of us have started growing apart.  The KOP blog wasn't helping matters.  Earlier in the day I had to read about how Ellie, Andrew, and Josh had great times with Nancy.  Things didn't get better in the afternoon as more and more people pointed out that they had better times with Nancy than I ever had.  The list went on and on: Giulz, Remer, JP, Laura A, Marissa.  It was becoming too much for me to handle.  If things didn't get better during our date at 7:30, we were probably done.

Coach Jenna had six of us in her class, including two people from deep in the heart of Texas.  Tommy and Mariana were passing through on their way to Boston and stopped by for the 7:30 class.  They were being joined by me, Maggie, Julie Foucher, and Ashley.  The warmup for Nancy was pretty basic.  We went out for a 400 meter run so that we could show Tommy and Mariana where the turnaround point was.  We were also supposed to learn something about our two guests during the run and report that back to Jenna, but I indulged in a new tradition that I've started.  Since the coaches know next to nothing about the people that drop in for classes, I realized that I could come back after the run and present an entirely made up fact about the new faces in our class.  After all, what's a better use of that two and a half minutes: pestering a stranger for personal information or coming up with a fascinating (yet fabricated) tidbit that sounds kinda true?

After we got back and I told my tall tale, we stretched out our shoulders and then practiced overhead squats with PVC pipes.  Next we got our barbells and began testing out what weights we would be using for the workout.  I wasn't concerned about how heavy the overhead squats would be.  All I was worried about was how long my legs would hold up during the 400 meter runs.  Typically I'd run well enough during the first two rounds of this workout.  It was the third round where my legs would tighten up and my rounds would start becoming much slower.  I was convinced that even if I could trim my slow rounds from three down to two, I would be able to beat my goal of 15 minutes on this workout.  So round three was going to be where I needed to push, even if I was hurting.

Jenna got the six of us lined up outside at the barrier and then yelled out a three-second countdown to get us underway.  I was surprised to find myself out in front on the first run.  I wasn't sure how fast Tommy or Mariana were, but I knew Maggie and Ashley were fast.  I thought I'd be pacing off of them.  Instead I was the rabbit.  Maggie was doing an amazing Jill Cardamone impression.  I could hear her right behind me as we made our way back to the gym.  My barbell was a little further away from the door than Maggie's, so I think she started the overhead squats before I did.  We both did 15 unbroken reps and headed out for round two.  This time Maggie was out in the lead.  First round time: about 2:35.

The area where we run for our workouts doesn't always feel like the safest place in the world, especially once it gets dark outside.  Behind Frosty Falls, there is a garage and on this evening, there seemed to be some sort of motorcycle rally going on.  Maggie wasn't feeling too comfortable with their presence, so she decided that from round two on, she was going to run to the 200 meter mark twice rather than venture back behind Frosty Falls to the 400 meter mark.  As she made an early turnaround, I kept running ahead.  Tommy was the next one behind me and I had about 40 meter lead on him.  Maggie had extended her lead on me.  (Perhaps she decided to stop running to the 400 meter mark because she knew after one round that she would be out on her own the rest of the way!)  When I came back in, I did 15 unbroken overhead squats again.  I was hoping to see something in the range of 5:15-5:20 on the clock, but instead I saw 5:30.  I've always thought that if I was going to beat 15 minutes on this workout, I'd need to finish the first three rounds in the 8:00-8:15 range.  Unless I put together a strong third run, that wasn't happening.

I headed out for my third run knowing that I needed to go hard, but as is usually the case in this WOD, my legs had begun to tighten up.  I tried to ignore it.  I focused on lengthening my stride.  I tried to lean forward on the downhill.  And I did my best not to let up on the return trip uphill.  My lead had increased to about 70 meters on Tommy, but Maggie was leaving me in the dust.  She headed out on her 4th run just as I came in from my third.  The third round of overhead squats was unpleasant, but I was determined not to put down my barbell.  15 reps later and I was headed out the door for my 4th run.  My initial reaction to completing round three was that I had done it faster than I had in previous attempts at Nancy.  The clock didn't agree.  Time after round three: about 8:50.  I needed to average about 3 minutes per round for the last two rounds, but there was no chance of that if it had taken me nearly 3:20 to finish round three.  Breaking 15 minutes was not happening tonight.

I knew my runs for rounds four and five were not all that fast, but I tried to keep a decent stride.  My lead on Tommy continued to be about 70 meters.  As I tried to push things on my final run, I began to catch up to Julie, who was on run #4.  She made the turnaround before me and warned me as we crossed paths that I better not lap her.  Meanwhile, in my head I was thinking "you better not NOT lap her".  I pumped my arms on the uphill portion of the run and went past Julie as I made my way in for the final set of overheads.

I hadn't put down the barbell in round 4 and there was no way I was putting down the barbell in round 5.  Each rep sent a brief sensation of pain into my legs, but it wasn't terrible.  It was simply mind over matter.  I finished off my 5th set of 15 and dropped my barbell, hoping to see a time close to the 15:35 that I had posted in mid-December.  That was more wishful thinking.  Final time: 16:09.

When I was done, I watched Tommy complete his workout.  I wasn't paying attention to his overhead squats during the earlier rounds, but the 15 that he did in round five were excellent.  His form never wavered and he moved through them quickly.  I started to root on Mariana when she returned to the gym, but then I saw Maggie take off out the door.  She was done long before the rest of us (her time was good enough to claim 3rd place on the gym leaderboard for the ladies), but now she looked like she was about to do another round.  I looked out the door and saw that she was out following Julie on her final round, concerned about her being out near the bikers by herself.  I hustled out the door and joined her.  We ran to the corner just past Frosty Falls so we could see her run to the 400 meter mark and when Julie got back to where we were positioned, the three of us jogged the last 150 meters or so together.  It was incredibly impressive watching Julie complete this workout.  Being 8 months pregnant didn't stop her from running a mile and a quarter and doing 75 overhead squats.

Slightly less impressive was my performance.  Even though I never dropped the barbell and despite thinking I had run a stronger third leg than I ever had, I was more than a minute away from my goal.  I had some back problems when I did this in January, but regardless, this was the second straight attempt where I hadn't come close to 15 minutes.  Everyone else's relationship with Nancy seemed to be getting better, while mine was only getting worse.  Perhaps it was my fault.  Maybe I was just using Nancy, thinking that she might one day get me on the gym leaderboard.  After Wednesday night, it was obvious that would never happen.  Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.  I'm sure Nancy and I will continue to be friends, but we probably won't be anything more than that.

Monday preview: After an unexpectedly long break from the gym over Easter weekend, I get my butt kicked on a cardio-intensive workout.  I also try to clean and jerk at Open Strength on an empty stomach.  That doesn't work out so well.