Schedule of CrossFit Athlete Journals:
Mondays – Ingrid Kantola
Wednesdays – Travis Holley
Sundays – Michael Winchester
Ingrid Kantola – Athlete Journal 4/23/12
(Read Ingrid’s Bio here)
When the six brutal WODs of the CrossFit Games Regional competitions were announced on Wednesday, the anticipation was huge. My heart was pounding like I had stopped short of a fender bender! It did not help I had guzzled three cups of coffee on top of about four hours sleep the night before. (The end of grad school will do that to you.) However, as I read through the workouts and their descriptions, I realized that the workouts were all things I can do. There were no skills I haven’t mastered or weights I haven’t handled. I texted the shorthand version of the workouts to my training partner, Whitney, who was stuck at work with no Internet. She didn’t have many questions about the workout, and her calmness was contagious. I settled down to watch the videos and start strategizing!
The workouts are by no means easy. The weekend will test the ten general physical preparedness principals and every athlete’s mental fortitude. The top three will not walk into the Games from our Region for sure.
The element I am least excited about is the 2K row. I like the pistols and feel okay about the hang power cleans, but I’ve never managed to convince myself to love rowing. I know I’ll get through it, but I already wish I didn’t have to! The workout that looks the worst is number four. Three rounds of 50 squats, 40 pull ups, 30 shoulder-to-overhead. This is going to simply zap everyone. I could not be happier that I have been doing super squat sessions with Travis Holley, because I think the focus from those sessions will be vital to this workout.
The element/workout I am most excited about is the snatch ladder. I like that they mixed it up with double-unders to possibly slow down some of the big lifters, but I’m sure all of the girls who have mastered the snatch have also mastered double-unders. I like snatching and I like double-unders. It would be amazing to PR on my snatch at this event. Good workout.
The element I have total love/hate for is the 70lb dumbbell snatch! I have practiced with the dumbbell and I know I can do the move. Not fast, and usually with a few failures, but I am stoked with every rep I complete. This is the kind of challenge that excites me. When I get through this workout, I will know the weekend has been a success!
The workout I have love/hate for is definitely the last one of the weekend. It is basically three couplets, with 3 bonus muscle ups at the end. The couplets are first heavy (225lb deadlift) and high skill (muscle ups), then long (3 sets of 21 wall balls and 21 toes to bars), then heavy (dual 70lb farmer carry) and tedious (28 burpee box jumps). The overall combination is going to be killer at the end of a long weekend.
I could not be more stoked about this upcoming weekend. The competition is going to be fierce and the support crew from CrossFit Central is going to be strong! We have a few more days of preparation, through physically resting and mentally solidifying our game plans. I have been able to watch the CrossFit Central Competitors team prepare, as well as my fellow individual competitor, Karen Pierce, and I am honored to be going into the arena with them on my team.
Make sure to check back in next week for all the details on how the competition goes! Good luck to everyone at the first round of Regionals!
