the first annual BCS Games were put on by the 3 local bryan/college station crossfit affiliates. initially a way for local crossfitters to come together in friendly competition, it turned into an event with more than 80 athletes competing, with some traveling from katy, denton, clear lake, dallas, etc. to compete... pretty amazing for the first ever event.
i signed up at the urging of my trainers, jordan and danny, along with about 11 or so other athletes from our box. at the time of signing up, i knew very little about this event, other than that it would be comprised of 3 WOD's in one day. the WOD's weren't announced until this past wednesday (women's prescribed weights are listed)...
WOD 1, "the chipper"
600m run
30 box jumps
30 kettle bell swings (35 lbs)
600m run
30 over head squats (42 lbs)
30 push press (42 lbs)
600m run
WOD 2, max dead lift
WOD 3, "the buster"
21-15-9
thrusters (62 lbs)
burpees
i knew as soon as i read them that these were going to be TOUGH. on a daily basis at CF, WOD's and weights used are typically scaled to ability levels. for example, i'm still not all that strong, so i had been doing approximately the following in workouts recently:
25 lb kettle bell swings
33 lb over head squats
42 lb thrusters
at the BCS games, though, if you scale your weights, your scores don't count (plus jordan wouldn't let me). so i attempted all WOD's as prescribed. i knew these would be tough workouts, but i had no idea how tough! saturday, the day of the games, got here and though weather reports had predicted rain, it was a relatively nice day (although a bit warm and humid) i felt good, no soreness, and my amazing husband was coming out for the entire day to support me. there were 6 heats and i was in heat 4. my first WOD started at about 9:15.
WOD 1
i had already watched 3 heats go before me, and i saw how tough it was going to be. the over head squats (OHS) were brutal for many of the women, and the runs seemed hard for everybody. quite a few people were not finishing within the 20 minute allowed time period. i started out strong, the 2nd woman to finish run 1. i flew through the box jumps as they are one of my strengths and even the kb swings at this new heavier weight went more quickly than anticipated. off on my second run, much more slowly than the 1st. took most of the run to really get my breathing back close to a reasonable rate. then, the OHS. i was pretty wiped already, and these were brutal. heavier than i'm used to, and with a judge watching each one to make sure i got full depth. which i didn't, as OHS are one of my weakest lifts. i spent at least 6 or 7 minutes on the squats alone. by the time i got to the push presses, which i thought would be easy, i was so tired i was only doing these in sets of 3 or so. when i finally finished to go on my last run i only had about 2.5 minutes to go, which was not nearly enough time as tired as i was. i finished the WOD about 1-2 minutes after the cut-off time. but, i still finished. there were 16 women in all who DNF, out of 35 women competing. after WOD 1 i sort of wanted to go home and take the rest of the day off. i ranked this WOD as the most difficult one i had done to date.
WOD 2, the dead lift, was the only one i wasn't worried about as i knew that i could actually complete it, and it wouldn't drain my energy like the others. 3 lift attempts and then another break, no biggie. as i warmed up and did a few practice lifts i worried a little. i felt sore and tired after WOD 1, and my practice of 145 felt pretty heavy (my max is 165, and 155 was going to be my starting weight) so i edited my goal for the day. initially i had aimed for a new PR, but i decided i'd be happy just to match my max of 165, and i changed my starting lift to 145. so i got up to do my first lift, and something changed. you are on a platform with everybody, all of the spectators and other athletes, watching you attempt your lift. and adrenaline suddenly enters the scene and becomes your helpful friend! my first lift of 145 was so light i was almost shocked- nothing like my practice. i decided to make my next attempt at my max, 165. i probably should have gone higher. 165 felt nearly as easy. so the judge, another local CF trainer, urged me to attempt 185 for my final lift, 20 lbs over my max. i nailed the 185 and felt like i could have lifted at least 10, maybe even 20, more pounds. but still, WOD 2 was definitely a morale booster that i very much needed.
WOD 3, "the buster", the one i had been most dreading, was up before i knew it. the reason i had been dreading this one so much was because of the prescribed weight. 62 lbs is quite heavy for me... my 1-rep max for thrusters is only 77 lbs, and i typically use 42 lbs for WOD's with thrusters. to put it into perspective, for most of the men, the prescribed men's weight was about 50% of their max or less (depending on the man). this was 80% of my max, for a total of 45 thrusters. i watched a friend from our box, rebekah, compete in the heat before mine and finish with 5 seconds to spare (12 minute time limit). watching her struggle through it made me proud, but at the same time confirmed my fears about how hard it was going to be (she is stronger than me on most lifts/movements). my judge was cal, another athlete who works out at our box. to do a thruster, you clean or power clean the bar up to your chest, squat down to the ground, and then as you stand up you push the bar all the way overhead and lock it out at the top. you can then keep it on your chest and squat down to start your next thruster without putting the bar down.
the first round was 21, and this round started out well. i knocked out 12 or 13 without putting the bar down, which exceeded my expectations. and that's where it all began to go downhill. by the end of round 1, i couldn't do more than 2 in a row without putting the bar down to rest. 21 burpees were over with pretty quickly, and then time for 15 more thrusters. i did these pretty much one at a time, having to put the bar down between each to rest, which meant that i then had to clean the bar back up to start again. this round took me so long. i was frustrated and really thought that the weight was just too heavy and my body couldn't get it done. i took off my shirt near the end of the round so i could use it to wipe off the sweat that was getting into my eyes. the 15 burpees weren't too bad, and then back to the thrusters. at this point the 12 minute time cap passed, so i thought i'd be stopping, but cal had another plan in mind. i remember him yelling, when the guy came on and announced for the next heat to prepare, "don't listen to him, pick the bar up and keep working!" cal was yelling at me like that through most of the workout, which was probably a huge reason i hadn't already quit. i remember throughout the last round (or maybe the last 2) as i was doing my thrusters one at a time i kept saying that it was just too heavy, and he kept telling me it wasn't and i just needed to pick the bar up and do it. motivating, yes, but also slightly infuriating. the whole thing was pissing me off, i wanted to be finished so badly! at one point i kicked my shirt, and i heard someone say "yeah, that's it, get mad girl!" at this point in time, as i'm doing the last 9, everyone else in my heat has finished and every single person at the event is watching me. and cheering for me by name, with donny and all my friends from my box at the forefront. i felt like rudy, seriously. so although i didn't know how the heck i was going to finish, because my body just wasn't strong enough, i knew i had to figure out a way... with everyone watching and cheering i didn't really have a choice to quit anymore. so, i did it. i honestly don't know how, it was by far the most physically difficult thing i've ever put my body through. it was a fight to just clean the bar up to my chest to start each thruster. on the last 3 or 4 thrusters donny told me i was basically screaming/grunting as i pushed the bar over my head each time. when i finally finished i got on my elbows and knees on the ground and was gasping for breath, and crying- it was like nothing i've ever experienced before.
at first, post-WOD, i was embarrassed that it was so difficult for me, that it took me so long to finish, and that everyone had been watching. but crossfitters are amazing and nice, and people kept coming up to tell me how great they thought it was that i finished, and that i didn't scale the weight down (though honestly i probably should have lol!). one person told me i was an inspiration! are you kidding me? people out there putting down amazing times, picking up incredible amounts of weight, doing all-around awesome things with their bodies, those people were inspiration! i was just out of my league. but, in a funny sort of way, i guess my persistence in finishing counted for something. a few people, including some of the trainers, mentioned that they thought it was the highlight of the games. from my point of view, witnessing how awesome it was to have so many people supporting you and urging you on, i would agree that it did encompass the spirit of the games and of crossfit. it made me feel so fortunate to be a part of such an awesome fitness and lifestyle movement. for anyone who hasn't heard of or tried crossfit, i promise it will change your life! you will discover things about yourself, your body, and your strength that you might never otherwise discover, you will accomplish awesome things, and you will meet some of the greatest people. give it a shot!!
today i am so so sore it hurts to move. everything- legs, arms, back, shoulders, neck, feet- hurts. but i don't regret it, and i'll probably do it again next year :)
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