News

First, let me again say thank you for all the support and encouragement throughout this last couple of months...it is impossible to make it far in this sport without the consistent support of solid community.

Many have inquired throughout the weekend about my mindset going into a certain event or how I felt about once an event was finished, so I thought it might be helpful to share it succinctly in one place. So here it is:

Overall, I had little to no expectations for the weekend. Go in, compete well, leave it all out on the floor, and have a great time. I wasn’t anticipating being close to a podium spot, so I committed to going hard every workout, rather than “game planning” and watching what those around me were doing.

Friday

Event One:
500m row
30 bar facing burpees

Mindset: I feel good with rowing and burpees, however I am better at the 10-20 minute time domains. I wanted to row right around a 1:30 avg and then burpee as fast as I could. I rowed a low 1:27 avg...which was probably a little fast as my burpees suffered. I felt fine about the event - considering how hard I rowed, I was hopeful I could burpee fasted after rowing at that speed, but apperantly I cannot. Lesson learned.

4th place.

Event 2:
5 rounds
x3 ropes climbs
x15 front squats (115)
x60 DUs

Mindset: On paper the is not the best workout for me. Rope climbs and DUs are adequate, but not great movements. I tend to be too shoulder dominant on both. Because I am shoulder heavy on the other two movements, I chose to use the “Californias style” grip on the barbell for most of my squats. Not sexy, but probably necessary for me as an athlete. This workout was a "control the damage" type workout.

All in all - I felt good with this event. I finished about where I should have. My coach (Anna) instructed me to always get back to rope and make one climb before chalking. It was good advice and cut down on transition time.

6th place.

Event 3:

6k ruck run
*4 laps with each lap adding weight:
Lap 1: 20#
Lap 2: 30#
Lap 3: 40#
Lap 4: 50#

Mindset: Don’t die. It was about 90 degrees on the field. It was pure carnage after each heat with athletes begin carted off the field for medical attention. I wanted to push the pace on the first run, then find a “low gear” and stay there for the remaining 3 laps. This was an event where you just needed to stay mentally willing to put one foot in front of another. There was a lot time to get lost in your own head or in the pain of the skin that completely rubbed off my back because of the weight in the backpack - it was really important to stay composed. I actually drank water during the run! Certainly, this event was class 2 fun (class 1 fun = fun in the moment...class 2 fun = fun when you think about the situation after the fact), but I was glad they tested us with a grueling event like this one.

4th place.

Saturday

Event 4:
90’ HS walk
35 assault air bike cals
90’ sandbag bear hug carry (200#)

Mindset: This workout was all about the bike. Everyone can HS walk and everyone can carry a heavy bag, the test was how well could you carry the bag after your bike. As we were waiting to go out to the field all the athletes were talking about their pacing strategies…right there I committed, while waiting in the stalls, to ride the bike as fast as I could. I accomplished my goal turning in the fastest bike, but overall paid the price when the lactic acid pooled in my legs and they stopped working with about 20’ left in the sandbag carry. I dropped the bag and spent roughly a minute wrestling that thing until I was able to pick it back up and waddle across the finish line. I was 20’ away from and event win. Strategically, not the best tactic, but I stayed true to my commitment of going all out - so I was actually really proud of the effort.

7th place.

Event 5:
800m run
30 HSPU
30 DB thrusters (30#)
30 box jump overs
30 cleans (185)
30 box jump overs
30 DB thrusters
30 HSPU
800m run

Mindset: Again, don’t die in the heat. I typically like long chippers, this one was really about the cleans and shoulder endurance. I was excited about this event, but quickly figured out it would be the one that hurt the most over the weekend. The first run was at a “warm up” pace. I intentionally broke my HSPU at 20 - then had to break again because my sunglasses came off and fell under my head on the mat. Got to the thrusters and decided I would go by feel. Stay controlled and don’t start getting ahead of yourself. I believe I broke quickly 3 times. Box jumps are a rough movement for me (no spring in my old legs), thankfully it was hot enough that most athletes were jumping up and stepping down. Cleans were tough and gloves were absolutely necessary due to the heat of the bars outside. Slow and steady, one rep at a time. Working my way back through the box jumps, thrusters, HSPU and run was defiantly the toughest part of the weekend. I contemplated stopping a number of times on the way back and especially during the final run, but was able to keep moving. I was reminded after crossing the finish line the human body is incredibly capable as long as you have the right mindset.

5th place.

Sunday

Event 6
5 minutes to establish a 2RM OHS

Rest 2:00

Event 7
12-9-6
Power snatch (135)
BMU

Rest 1:00

Event 8
21-15-9
Power snatch (85)
CTB pull ups

Because these were back-to-back events I will speak about them together.

Mindset: 2RM OHS: when it was announced I though somewhere around 265 to 276 is where I would top out - 5 minutes is really only enough time for 3 lifts at most. Warm up was a little rushed as there was a lot to think about and get ready for with multiple events. I hit a few reps starting at each 135/165/185/205/225/245 - felt decent. Biggest unknown was the fact that we had to lift on field turf. Most athletes decided to open with a “safe” lift, due to the unknown of the lifting surface. I tend to like smaller jumps when lifting and because of the weights they provided - I opened with 250#, then decide to go for the number I was hoping for - 275# and made it. I had about 90 seconds, so I decided to add 10# and see what happened. Made the lift with about :30 left.

4th place.

12-9-6
Snatches and BMUs

Mindset: Not a great pairing for me. Long arms and low grip strength make this especially challenging. I planned to approach this event with good control - drop and reset the snatch break up the BMUs for the sets of 12 and 9. Executed this workout just like I planned, unfortunately most of the guys were faster than I was.

8th place.

21-15-9
Snatches and CTBs

Mindset: Because event 7 took me close to the time cap - I only had :75 rest before the start of event 8. I would typically be more comfortable with this event than the previous, but I did not recover well in the short time. Maybe it was the heat, maybe the accumulation, maybe nutrition…it doesn't really matter. Grip was toast and lungs were on fire. Just tried to stay present and do what I could. Even though I brought in the rear, it was an incredible experience to be in the stadium for the final event. I was happy to end my experience alongside such incredible athletes in that venue.

9th place.

Overall - I left happy with the effort and execution I put forth. Certainly, there are little things I could have done differently, but I promised myself I would not hold anything back and I feel like I followed through.

Competition can be great because of the challenges it presents and opportunities for growth it opens up. There are not many times in adulthood where we are able to test our mettle in a controlled environment, competition is one of those chances - take them when you can get them!

Thanks for following along with me on this journey.