A Brand-New Start!: Benchmark Week- PR CITY!!

This week has been absolutely incredible. I don't think I've ever felt stronger than I have this week! It was benchmark week again. That means that we did a bunch of hard, crossfit benchmark workouts and recorded our times/weights/etc. and saw if we have progressed at all since July. These are the workouts we did in consecutive order (M-F): ***If you don't know what these things mean, just Google them- you'll find them!***

Monday: "Karen"- 150 Wall Balls (14lb med-ball throw at 9′ target) For time.

Tuesday: "Diane" 21-15-9 Deadlift (165lbs-rx); Handstand Push Ups

Wednesday: A. 1RM Back Squat
Rest 5 minutes
B. 400m Run for time
Rest 5 minutes
C. 2 Rounds:
L Sit for time
Rest 1 minute
D. 1min. AMRAP T2B

Thursday: "Fran" 21-15-9- Thrusters, Pull Ups

Friday: "The Filthy Fifty" 35:00m time cap
50 Box jump (24/20)
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings(35/26)
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press (45/35)
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots (20@10′/14@9′)
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

KAREN sucks. That's all. She is by far my least favorite of the girls. I wanted to beat my time from July, and I was determined. I told Chris F. that I was going to keep going, even after the time cap, because I wanted to finish. His son, Nate was my judge and biggest cheerleader. My time was 24:05 last time, and I knew I was going to beat it. Last time, I went into it with no plan- just get as many wall-balls at a time that I could. This time, I listened to my girl, Sarah O. who told me to figure out a good breakdown- so I went with sets of 6 or 8, I can't really remember- I sort of blacked out. At one point, I was doing sets of 5. Thank goodness for Nate. He's the best. He counted for me & even gave me rest countdowns, and pushed me to get back on the ball. Since there was only a 12min time cap, I was the only one still going when time was called. Everyone who was at the 9am WOD was at the wall with me- cheering me on- counting down, making sure I finished and didn't give up. I have never felt so much love and support in my life. It was amazing. Even people who I didn't even know were cheering me on. I can't even explain the level of thankfulness and love I have for the people at RCFBC. It's immeasurable. I finished Karen at 21: 14; Almost a full 3 minutes off of my time. AMAZING!! I would've never finished if it wasn't for my bare cove family. Seriously.

Diane isn't so bad. I have long deadlift arms (according to Mike-haha) so it was okay. It took me slightly longer to finish than last time, but I increased my deadlift weight by 30 pounds, and went from using a 20in box for HSPU, to a 24in box. So that's a win.

I skipped Wednesday- I've been having really bad sinus pressure and headaches- and it was really bad on Wednesday; so I made up my 1RM back-squat & 400m run on Thursday. Probably wasn't the best idea, knowing that Fran was on tap for Thurs, but whatever- gotta do what you gotta do.

Thursday. Fran. One of the most dreaded crossfit workouts. I got to the box early because I wanted to do my 1RM back-squat. I wasn't sure I would be able to get more than 135lbs, since I had to dial it back a bit during hatch. So I started out light, and put more weight on as I went on. I was there during the kids class, so Mike sent Sharon over to "watch my butt." BAHAHAHHAHA he is nuts, but hilarious. So anyway, Sharon gave me some good tips about improving my back-squat. She told me squeeze my butt before I squatted, so that my hips were already being pushed forward. It actually worked! I finally got up to 135lbs. Mike was surprised that I was at 135- he said my form looked a little better- still needed some work, but looked better and the strength was there. He told me to put 10 more pounds on, and then shut it down. So, I got 145lbs on my 1RM back-squat. Pretty amazing. Then came the 400m run. I HATE running. But I wanted to see if I improved, so of course I did it. I only improved by a few seconds, but a PR is a PR! Then came Fran. After wall-balls, thrusters seemed like a bad idea- actually, thrusters are always a bad idea. haha. Last time we did Fran, I used a 26lb KB with one arm and did ring rows. This time, I used a 45lb bar, and did jumping pull-ups. Once again, it took me more time, but I used more weight, so I took it as a win.

Then to end this hell week, we had the Filthy Fifty on Friday. AWESOME. Last time we did it, I only got through 10 burpees in the time cap, and I had a bunch of other scaling options because my wrist was still not 100%. This time around, I still used the 16in box for step ups (still completely terrified of box jumps), jumping pull-ups (rx), KB swings (rx), walking lunge (Amanda rx- haha), Instead of knees to elbow, I did candle sticks, Push press (rx), Instead of back extensions, I did supermans, Wall-balls (rx), and I got through 20 burpees in the time cap! I couldn't believe how much better I did than last time! I am so thankful for Mike Eats for pushing me through those last few burpees!

Here's a quick list of the other PRs I got this week as well:
Clean: 1RM 90lbs from 75lbs in August!
Clean & Jerk: 1RM 90lbs from 80lbs in September
Front Squat: 1RM 110lbs from 85lbs in July
Split Jerk: 1RM (from rig) 95lbs from 75lbs in July

I can't even handle it. I would never have got through any of these wods, if it wasn't for the love and support of my RCFBC family. I can't wait for the next benchmark week to see where I stand!

Last week, I stupidly broke my pact with Mike M (We gave up alcohol until Nov.2nd- the end of the nutrition challenge). I went away with my girlfriends for the weekend, and I broke down and had a drink. I've never felt so guilty in my life. I had to tell him right away. Even though I could tell he was disappointed, he told me to forget it and press on. We all make mistakes, and I need to learn that I'm not perfect and things will come up- it's how I deal with them that matters. I'm only in competition with myself- and when I mess up- I only hurt myself.
I can't wait to see what's on tap for this week- I can't believe I would ever find myself looking forward to working out. It's crazy how much things can change.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend, and have a great week! Until next time...
<3 A