My first Crossfit competition

So last Saturday I competed in my first Crossfit competition and let me start by saying I did not do well. We placed 43 out 69. Like I said, we did not do well. That being said, we had a ton of fun.

I dragged my butt out of bed at 6:15am on Saturday morning. I had my bag packed already and my boyfriend was volunteering so we packed some blankets and chairs and headed out. We got down to the event at about 7:20am, set up our area, and I met up with my partner. I would like to point out, it was about the dead in winter in south Florida, a very windy 60 degrees. That may seem warm to some of you, but I can promise you it was freezing and my Floridian blood is thin. Our team name was “Where’s The Wine” and the events were in alphabetical order so we were in the last heat every time. Our first workout was at 10:30am so we waited around till then. Our first workout was:

50 hurdle hop buy-in each
20 pull-ups (from a box)
30 meter shuttle run
20 pull-ups
20 kettlebell swings (35lbs)
30 meter shuttle run
20 pull-ups
20 kettle bell swings
20 knees over hips
30 meter shuttle run
20 pull-ups
20 kettle bell swings
20 knees over hips
20 kettle bell goblet lunges
50 deadlifts (85lbs)

We finished in 8:43. I thought that was a good time but not great. Our second event was at 12:15 and was max distance broad jump and max 1 arm snatch. Your score was your max in each thing combined with your partners. This was the most ridiculous event. I can’t even tell you how far we got and I only remember my snatch was 50lbs. We never do one arm snatches in the gym and I think this was an extremely dangerous event to have at a competition. My partner and I agree to not push ourselves too hard before we even got there. Better to be uninjured and lose, than injure ourselves and probably still lose. Again, I want to make this clear, this was the stupidest exercise they could have had.

Our third event was a thruster relay at 1:30. We were the only heat going and everyone was watching our group of 6 teams. It was set up that partner one goes in each section then partner two:

4 facing the bar burpees
30 meter dumbbell farmers carry  (15lbs)
15 dumbbell thrusters
30 meter dumbbell farmers carry

4 facing the bar burpees
30 meter kettle bell farmers carry  (18lbs)
12 kettle bell thrusters
30 meter kettle bell farmers carry

4 facing the bar burpees
30 meter over the head bar carry (45lbs)
9 thrusters
30 meter over the head bar carry

We finished in 6:15. It may not have been the fastest, but I was extremely happy with this time. I am no longer sore from this event and I am really happy I did it. We obviously didn’t make the finals. I wish the one arm snatch wasn’t there, but oh well, it was fun.

Has anyone else competed in a Crossfit event?

The New Year

Ringing in the new year always seems to promise hope of a new tomorrow, and a new way of life. The simple fact of it is though, that the same concerns/issues/setbacks will still be present in the morning. Resolutions are great, as long as you put them into practice.

Today marks exactly two weeks since New Year’s Eve. Last night, I went out for girl’s night where we discussed a couple of our resolutions. 13 days into the new year and they were already falling apart. I refuse to let mine fall apart. 2016 is a new and exciting year for me and my resolutions are part of it. I am doing great at work, started school pursuing something I actually enjoy learning about, and my running has never been better. I don’t have too many resolutions, but they are:

1. Pay off debt (isn’t this everyone’s resolution?)
2. Run the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis, MN on October 9, 2016
3. Run the Space Coast Half Marathon in under 2:10:00
4. Save $7,000 in addition to retirement savings

I wasn’t lying, I only have four. But they will be four that I complete (unless I tragically break my ankle and can’t run, I’ll be running that dang marathon).

So I ask you, what will you do with your “fresh start”?

The Color Run – Ft. Lauderdale

This was my second Color Run experience. The first one was in Miami on October 21 (day before my birthday!) and that was a totally different experience. Miami was over an hour drive from my house and Ft. Lauderdale is under 45 minutes. Parking in Miami was a disaster while Ft. Lauderdale was a breeze. Finally, the Miami course was through a park and Ft. Lauderdale was through the city in the downtown area.

I woke up at about 5:45am on Sunday morning, through my clothes on and ran out the door to meet Ariel to head down to Ft. Lauderdale. We stopped at Burger King for some fuel (of course) and grabbed a parking spot in the first garage we went in. We paid to park, which I thought was outrageous, and headed down to meet our third runner, Nicole. We named the team Running for the Border in honor of Cinco de Mayo. We took our white pre race photos and tried to track down the Runicorn (it was a guy dressed up in a unicorn costume to take pictures) but failed.

We headed over to the starting corral as soon as possible. In Miami, parking was so difficult it took forever for us to get over to the start corral. When we finally did, it took about 40 minutes to get to a group to start. This time, we were in the very first corral! With the Runicorn! Ariel and I took an easy run since we had just run the half marathon last weekend but we still lost Nicole pretty early on. There were just so many people! I made sure to get lots of color this time because I didn’t get much in Miami. We hit orange first, then yellow, blue and pink was last. The course was quick and easy, except one part where we went down into a tunnel and had to run uphill to get out of it. As you all know, I HATE hills.

Ariel and I even snapped a photo on the course.

We finished with a time of about 40:03. It’s not a timed run and we took it pretty easy to enjoy the color, so I think it’s not too shabby. Nicole finished right after we did and met us at the designated meet area. We grabbed our color packets and headed down to the color festival to throw our color in the air. It was then that I found the Runicorn and finally snapped a picture!

I had a fantastic time at the Color Run in Ft. Lauderdale. We headed home after snagging a Nesquik and when I got home, I decided picking up my white cat would be a good idea. He obviously wasn’t very pleased with that.

 

My very colorful hand!

Finish time: ~40:03

Splits: ~

Packet Pick-up: A breeze! I got right in to pick it up on my way to Miami for some fitness workshops. I picked up all three packets in about 5 minutes.

The Medal: No medal here, just color

The Swag: Not a very good picture but there were temporary tattoos, a shirt, a sweatband and a color packet for after the race

The Good: Everything! The course, the organization, the runicorn, the amount of color. Couldn’t have gone any better.

The Bad: Paying for parking! It’s my biggest pet peeve. I already paid to run the race.

The Ugly: Nothing ugly here. I was very impressed in comparison to the Miami race.

Overall it was a fantastic way to spend my Cinco de Mayo!

Warrior Dash – Lake Wales

Warrior Dash – Lake Wales

This was my second Warrior Dash at the Triple Canopy Ranch in Lake Wales, FL. I ran last year with my best friend and boyfriend but this year I went with two guy friends. We decided to camp at the Triple Canopy Ranch. Please note that I was born and raised in South East Florida, and I still live here for the next part of my story. We got in around 9pm and set up camp in the freezing cold. Yes, I mean freezing cold because the over night low dipped below the freezing point. Sleeping in a tent in the freezing cold is not the most enjoyable thing. We work up on Saturday morning, got dressed, made breakfast then headed on over to the packet pick-up. We zoomed right through the lines and headed on over to the concert area to enjoy the live band. The ambiance of Warrior Dash is great. When it was finally our time to run we went on over to the corral. The gunshot sounded and the fire exploded as the runners took off onto the course. Our group set off into the sand/dirt mixture that most of the course consisted of. We tredged through the mud, hoisted ourselves over walls, dipped through nets and crawled under barbed wire. The obstacles were challenging but not impossible and I have quite a few bruises to show for it. When we came up on the 3rd to last obstacle, I was shocked to see that there was a 30-minute wait. 30-minutes?!? That’s ridiculous. It was by far the hardest obstacle and my favorite but I was not pleased about waiting 30-minutes. Right before I started climbing over the nets,a nerdy guy in glasses was at the top of the wall. He was dressed up like Batman and soon the whole crowd was chanting for him. He put on his Batman mask and you could tell this was one of the best times of his life. It warmed my heart. We completed the obstacle, hopped over fire and crawled through the muddy water to cross the finish line.

I grabbed my beer, snapped a few pictures and rinsed off before changing and relaxing the rest of the day.

Finish time: 1:18:19.30

Splits: 26:01 per mile

Packet pick-up: Quick and painless. No complaints

The medal: Pretty sweet medal. I love the fact that it’s a bottle opener. It’s much better than last years.

The Swag: Pretty decent haul. Upon completion runners receive a shirt, warrior hat, medal and a beer. The hat is obviously my favorite part.

The Good: The obstacles were much more challenging this year. I ran the Warrior Dash last year after running the Tough Mudder and the Warrior Dash seemed like a cake walk. This year the obstacles were harder and they have left me sore for days.

The Bad: Not to be a negative Nancy, but the shirt is almost exactly the same shirt from last year. I would’ve enojoyed a new shirt design. The shirt is comfy as all get out though, don’t get me wrong.

The Ugly: The wait for obstacles was definitely the worst part of this race. Warrior Dash is one of the largest and most popular mud runs and a 30-minute wait for an obstacle is just ridiculous. There needs to be smaller waves or the obstacles need to be bigger for more runners to pass through or something, but that was unacceptable.

Classics By The Sea 10K

Classics By The Sea 10K

This was my first 10k. It’s an annual 5K and 10K put on by the Palm Beach Roadrunners (one of my two running clubs). I was nervous about signing up for a 10K and ended up signing up last minute. I have decided that even though they are rough, 10Ks are my favorite distance to race. I can’t wait to run another.  I was feeling pretty stiff miles 1 and 2, which is normal for me. I usually hit a stride right around mile 4, which I did this race as well. I chugged along throughout the entire race, finished 17 seconds over my goal time (I told my mom I would cry if I finished in 65 minutes, which I knew would not happen). I was being plagued by the blister that would not leave during this race but I powered through it. Overall my time averaged out to 12:09 minute miles, which is right at my race pace target for my half in February. If I can keep this pace up, I will finish in under 2:45 for sure!

Finish time: 1:15:17.2

Splits: 12:09 per mile

Packet pick-up: I sent my dad up to Jupiter to pick up my packet. He was headed up that way anyways for a party he had to do so I begged and pleaded with him to pick up my swag early so I could get a shirt in my size. Thankfully my dad decided to be nice and went to pick up the packet. The packet pick up was at a local running store and he said it was unorganized. He said the person distributing packets seemed awfully confused as to what to do when he got up there.

The Medal: Pretty sweet medal.

The Swag: Cute shirt. It’s a long sleeve dri-fit which I love! The design is below. The design was placed on a light teal shirt. And I actually got it in my size so double win there.

The Good: Mile markers were easy to see, the course was beautiful. I liked that the start and finish were at the same place making easy for my mother to wait for me to cross the finish line. The race was also an Accuchip event, which is awesome for recording exact time.

The Bad: Where was the water? It may be December but in Florida, it is warm more often than it is cold. This run was late enough in the day that it had warmed up considerably by the time I was at mile 3 (yes, I am a slow runner but I wasn’t the last to finish).

They also started the 5K and 10K at the same time and the 5K turn around was a little hard to notice. I ran the 10K so I didn’t have to worry about it but I heard many other runners complaining about the fact that the turn around was just a small cone in the road. It was a little disheartening running the 10K when after mile one I was already seeing 5K participants on their way back to the finish line

The Ugly: Nothing ugly about this race. I am excited for next year!