Pump Games Recap: Event 5

Before I knew it, it was time for the last event.  It went as follows: five 35lb dumbbell snatches with each arm, five burpees, and then a 20 meter farmer's carry, then five dumbbell snatches with each arm, 10 burpees and a 20 meter farmer's carry, then five dumbbell snatches with each arm, 15 burpees and a 20 meter farmer's carry, and finally five dumbbell snatches with each arm, 20 burpees and a 60 meter farmer's carry.

I was nervous about getting this done in the 10 minutes allowed.  35lbs seemed heavy for the snatches.  And if you dropped the dumbbell at any point, there was a 20 burpee penalty.

I moved slower than I would have liked through the snatches and the farmer's carries, so I really tried to fly through the burpees.  That was easier on the five and 10 rep rounds.  The 15 burpees felt awful; at least when I hit 20, I knew the end was in sight.  

All in all, this WOD wasn't so bad.  When I set the dumbbell down that last time, I was really psyched to have gotten through all those snatches.  I got no-repped twice, but I never dropped the dumbbell.

-Gym Belle-

Pump Games Recap: Event 4

Sunday was just as beautiful as Saturday had been.  It was sunny, breezy and not too hot.  

WOD 4 was a chipper whose bite was way worse than its bark.  In my division, it went as follows: 50 Russian kettlebell swings at 1.5 pood, 40 20" box jumps (step ups allowed), 30 115 lb deadlifts, 20 65 lb shoulder to overheads and 10 double-unders or 30 singles.

I figured the worst would be the kettlebell swings, and then once I hit the deads, I'd be good.  I was totally wrong.  The swings were just fine and went by quickly.  I did step ups for the box jumps because I'm faster at them and they don't bother my knees as much.  Still, 40 was a lot.  When I got to the deads, my legs were surprisingly shot.  I had to break the 30 up way more than I had expected.  

And then the shoulder to overheads were a slugfest.  At the end, I was only able to string two or three together at time.  

By the end of the WOD, I was completely gassed.  It took about 20 minutes for me to really catch my breath, and my Fran cough lasted for hours.

-Gym Belle-

Pump Games Recap: Event 3

The third and final WOD on Saturday was done against an eight minute clock.  First, you rowed 1000 meters with the damper set on 10.  You then had the remaining time to set a one rep max clean and jerk.  

My friends made all the difference in the world on this one.  Despite the fact that we'd talked about not rushing the row and staying at an easy 2:30/500m pace, I went out too hard.  I started out at around a 2:00/500m pace.  At 4'11", I'm not the fastest rower, and I was anxious about being the last one off.  I could live with one DNF for the weekend, but there would not be another.

If I had kept that pace up, I would have been gassed before the lifts.  The trick was to keep your heart rate down and trust that you could get in at least three solid attempts in three minutes.  Luckily, my friends were right there yelling at me to slow down.  And, luckily, I listened.

I did 75lbs for my first attempt.  I wasn't going to take any chances after the disaster that was WOD 1.  That went up easy.  I added 10 pounds; 85 lbs went up just fine.  Then I let me anxiety get the best of me.  I should have gone for 95 pounds and just made it happen.  Instead, I went for 90.  I cleaned it up, but I wasn't focused and couldn't commit, so I failed on the jerk.

I grabbed my jump rope to do some tie-breaker double unders, but time had been called.  Saturday was over.

When the rankings came out that night, I was very happy to not be ranked last despite my DNF and very much looking forward to the next day.

-Gym Belle-