Rekindling The Fire

Workout date: 3/31/16

I've gotten so accustomed to not seeing the same workout at KOP for long periods of time that when a repeat shows up unexpectedly, my memory tricks me into thinking we had done it only weeks ago.  When I saw that we were doing a workout that included 2,000 meters of rowing and 30 clean and jerks, I thought "hey, we just did that!"  In reality, we had done it in mid-February when the main component of the WOD was Grace and the cash out was a 2,000 meter row.  The format for the last WOD of March was slightly different.  Here's what "Rowing Grace" looked like:

"Rowing Grace"
1,000 meter row
30 clean and jerks (135/95)
1,000 meter row

When we did this in February, there was a break between Grace and the rowing.  But it's also important to note that Grace was first, meaning the row didn't sap your legs of energy needed to do Grace.  In total, the WOD and cash out took about 11 minutes combined.  I suspected this format would take longer and a glance at the times from earlier in the day confirmed my suspicion.  Aside from a couple of guys who are rock star rowers, the solid times for this workout tended to be in the 13-14 minute range.  With that in mind, the goal for the day was to try and stay under 14 minutes.

Speaking of rock star rowers, Cline was one of the 12 other athletes who were taking the 6:30 class with me.  And since we needed space for 13 rowers and 13 barbells, it was a crowded main gym.  We set up two lanes facing the back of the gym, alternating the rowers and the barbells.  That provided enough space for everyone to get the workout done without worrying about hitting someone else with their barbell.  Also in class was Matt E, so I had two people to compete with during this WOD.  They both ended up near the front of the gym with me, so it was easy to see where they were in the workout as it progressed.  I figured they would both finish the workout at around the same time, although in very different fashion.  Cline was going to be the first done with the row and likely the fastest on the second row as well, but his Grace time was not as fast as mine and Matt's.  Matt was more likely to go through the workout at about the same pace as me the whole way, although he might go a little faster than me on the row and a little slower on the clean and jerks.

Keithie and soon-to-be-coach Jill A were watching us as we warmed up on our clean and jerks.  I started my warmup with 115 pounds on the bar and was able to cycle through a few reps without much of a problem.  Then I bumped it up to 135 and did some reps as the coaches came by.  I did 2 quick reps before dropping the barbell and Keithie pointed out that my form wasn't great on the second rep.  I had caught the clean while leaning forward which led to me using more arms than legs when I went to do the jerk.  That might not be a big problem for one rep, but when you had to do 30 reps, that could quickly tire you out.  So I made a mental note that I needed to catch the clean in proper position so that I didn't exhaust myself before the final row.

That was really all there was to the warmup, so once Keithie and Jill had gotten an opportunity to see all 13 of us and make any needed corrections, it was time to go.  My goal for the row was to complete the 1,000 meters at around 4 minutes while keeping my breathing under control.  I was going to ignore Cline's pace because he was going to smoke me on the row unless I poured all my energy into this first portion of the workout.  I completed my first 500 meters in about 1:55 and felt very calm as I got into the second half of that first row.  Just before I got to 900 meters, Cline hopped off of his rower and moved over to his barbell, which happened to be right next to my rower.  I fought the urge to pick up the pace.  Matt was off his rower just before I completed my 1,000 meters, a few seconds under 4:00.

That was great for me.  Even if my second row was closer to 4:30, I had 5:30 to do Grace and I had just set a PR of 2:38 in mid-February.  I should be able to handle that, right?  You would think so, although I nearly blew it.  When I typically do Grace, I like to lead it off by stringing a big set (something in the 6-10 rep range) followed by a couple of small sets (about 3 reps) and then do singles for the rest of the WOD.  This seemed like a bad idea after getting off the rower.  I've done other workouts that began with a row and were followed by a barbell movement.  More often than not, I've underestimated the effect of the row on my legs.  I wasn't going to do that again.  Rather than try and string together a big set with tired legs, I was going to do 30 quick singles.  I wouldn't finish 30 reps in 3 minutes, but that wasn't happening no matter which tactic I settled on.

I began to knock out my singles and didn't check the clock until I had 8 done.  I thought I was moving consistently from one rep to the next, although I may have been spending a few extra seconds in my setup ensuring that I wouldn't lean forward on my clean.  But when I looked at the clock, I saw that about a minute and a half had elapsed since I got off the rower.  Uh oh.  Unless I picked up the pace, I wasn't going to be done in the 5:30 I had given myself for this part of the workout.  Finishing in 14 minutes was now in doubt.

Over the last few weeks, I've struggled to find my extra reserve of energy.  I guess most people would call it their second wind, but I have so many issues with breathing when I work out that it probably doesn't apply to me.  For me, it's more about channeling Mr. Intensity.  It's about letting out that guttural yell that doesn't come naturally to me.  I'm not an aggressive person.  Anyone who has spoken with me knows that I'm much more of a mumbler than a yeller.  But to be successful at Crossfit, you have to be able to change gears when the situation calls for it.  (Note: "Changing gears" is a popular term used in poker tournaments.  It refers to the need for a player to have the ability to sit tight or become hyper aggressive depending on the situation.  If you don't have the ability to play in different gears, you will likely struggle to win poker tournaments.)  There have been times during workouts when it has paid off for me to remain calm (like when I can't do a double under to save my life), but there are also times when it has paid off to scream and push through the pain.  I haven't been able to find that gear recently whether it was due to injury or apathy, but this was finally the workout where I was able to find it again.  The fire inside had been rekindled.

I'm not sure whether this sudden burst of adrenaline made the barbell seem a bit lighter.  Or maybe I was giving too much respect to the 135 pounds in front of me.  But from rep 9 to rep 30, I started ripping through the reps much quicker, doing sets of four or five fast singles before taking a short breather.  Matt finished up his clean and jerks when I was in the mid-twenties.  Cline was still going though.  I knew I couldn't catch Matt on the row, but if I could get on my rower before Cline, I'd have a shot at finishing before him.  I did one more large set that concluded with rep #30.  I was breathing very heavily, but it was the best push I had made in a workout in about a month.

Since Cline's barbell was next to my rower, I could have watched him to see how much of a lead I'd have on the concluding 1,000 meter row, but I've started doing something new when I'm tired and I have to row.  I close my eyes.  Rather than let myself get deflated by seeing the inevitably slow pace I have at the beginning of the row, I close my eyes until I feel like I've gotten into a good rhythm on the row.  Then I open my eyes and go from there.  Is it a little sad that I have to trick myself like this?  Probably, but I'm okay with looking a little goofy if it helps me complete the workout faster.  When I opened my eyes, Cline was no longer at his barbell, so he could have been anywhere from 5-40 seconds behind me.  I needed one more burst of energy.

Truthfully, I didn't really have one.  I kept my pace in the 2:10-2:15 range for 500 meters.  I didn't look at the clock because I didn't want to freak out about whether I was going to finish under 14 minutes.  I just kept rowing, trying to make sure my pace didn't slow down.  With 250 meters left to go, I tried to push the pace a little harder.  And when I got to 100 meters left, I did my best to sprint.  When I hit 1,000 meters, I looked at the clock for the first time in a while.  Final time: 13:50.

Matt had finished exactly one minute ahead of me.  Normally I'd be disappointed that I finished that far behind him when I originally thought we'd be close on this workout.  I'd be disappointed that I had gone slower on those first 8 clean and jerks than I should have gone.  But I was really excited at the end of this workout.  The enthusiasm that has been missing from my workouts had finally returned, if only in a short spurt.  It felt like something I could build on.  (Plus I held off Cline on the row, so I finished ahead of one of the two people who I was competing with internally.)

Weekend preview: After taking Friday and Saturday off, I do a long rowing workout at home before returning to the gym on Monday for some heavy hang squat cleans.  I also may or may not win the "warmup".