Patriot Games Recap with MetCon Professional Photos & Videos of the WODS.

May 21, 2013 -
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Hey everyone, I wanted to first start off by saying to #PrayForOklahoma today while they are going through some tough times. Every day we need to be thankful for what we have because things can change so quickly. My thoughts & prayers are with everyone affected.

For today; I hope you’ve got your reading muscles ready because today is a whole post dedicated to my first CrossFit Competition called the Patriot Games!

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Each year, RAW Training holds the Patriot Games on Armed Forces Day to honor those serving & who have served. It is open to any teams of 4 people (2 guys & 2 girls) where your strength, endurance, team work, & cooperation are all put to the test as you are to complete 4 WODS (or 5 if you made it to the finals) in 8 hours.941241_523338794397435_1854818073_n

[Photo Credit MetCon Photos]

Below you will find details of the 4 workouts that we did in order along with how I felt during/after each WOD,  & videos of 3 of them thanks to the boyfriend.

Professional images taken by Chris Nolan of MetCon Photos.

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I’ll also end with some tips if you have any type of athletic competition coming up & some things I did throughout the day that may help you.

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We arrived to the competition early enough to check in & have a meeting where they reviewed all of the workout standards in detail. That morning I made sure to get up early enough (around 630am) to have a substantial breakfast of carbs, healthy fats, & protein to sustain me for a long day where I knew that big meals during the day wouldn’t be the best option.179109_523294791068502_139632331_n

After the morning opening ceremonies that included an awesome star spangled banner, you could truly feel the excitement that was about to take place.

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Looking around the room you saw such a beautiful diversity of people who all came together to work for a goal. If you took the time to look around the turf field we were all sitting on, you could see so many people proudly representing their box or team.

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Not only did you feel the pride for your team, but you also felt the collective pride for our country as you noticed the Red White & Blue themed outfits. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach getting stronger with each minute ticking by towards the first WOD of the morning.

WOD #1 was called “PICK YOUR POISON”:

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Strategy was a huge part of the day because you had to pick workouts that each teammate could succeed at. I looked at the list & immediately was drawn to double unders because I knew that was one of my strengths (credit to when I was a kid and used to see how many times I could get the rope under my feet totally prepared me for these without realizing it then Winking smile). Once I picked that it was tough because the pull-ups and KBS would be my second choice followed by the snatches but they happen to be directly before & after the double unders. I ended up picking the last 2 minutes which was 3 burpees over the bar followed by 5 squat cleans.

Our Stats looked like this:

Al – 54 total Wall-Balls

Justin – 66 total 30lb ball over the bar

*he was 8th out of 47 teams for his total in this one!

Justin – 40 hand release push-ups

Lori – 29 total reps (5 pull-ups/5 KBS rounds)

Kasey – 94 total double unders

*I started out doing 75 unbroken (which I believe is my PR) when I took a break and looked up at the clock, I realized that it had only been 55 seconds. At this point my arms & legs were drained! If we go back to what I studied in college and currently, lactic acid had built up in my legs at this point so jumping rope felt like I was swinging a 30lb rope under my tree trunk legs.

Lori – 34 total (1 arm snatches with a 45lb dumb bell)

Al – 611m Row total

Kasey – 23 total (3 burpees + 5 squat cleans with 65lb)

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*I think the look on my face says it all in this one Winking smile In all honesty I had about 5ish minutes to rest before getting to this part of the WOD but I tell ya, my whole body was shaking after 2 minutes of all out double unders. I’d be lying if I said this was easy to transition between any of these workouts. 2 minutes (before doing the WOD) didn’t seem like a long time until you’re in the middle of giving 100% for that whole 2 minutes. I’ve pushed myself pretty hard before in the last years but this was the closest I ever was to throwing up after a workout. It took me a good 30 minutes to cool down after this one. I needed to refuel but looking at food made me feel more sick so I opted for raisins! I swear they were the perfect way to refuel after this one to bring my blood sugar back to normal & calm down my body. After a few more minutes I snacked on some nuts, seeds, & more dried fruit.

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Pictures below are of other athletes (most from my box) in order of the events.

Between each 2 minute WOD was a 30 second transition into the next one.

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Wall Balls [Jen CFIC ]

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Ball Over Bar [Rosiland CFIC]

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Hand Release Push-Ups

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5 Pull-Ups + 5 KBS [Neen CFIC]

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2 Minute ROW [Rob CFIC]

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2 Minute Row

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3 Burpees + 5 Squat Cleans [Johnna CFIC]

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WOD #2 was called “Load It, Lunge It”

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When the 15 minute clock started, your team had to collectively rep out 80 reps of each exercise. Once you finished 80, 2 people had to lunge that loaded bar to the next station where you added plates onto the bar before beginning the next exercise and so on.

Overhead squats:

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Kasey “Team Powercakes” CFIC

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Sumo Deadlift High Pulls:

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Rosiland CFIC

Thrusters:

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Justin “Team Powercakes” CFIC

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Jen CFIC

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Lunges from Thrusters to Deadlifts

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Al & Lori from “Team Powercakes”

video from the end of the workout

Team Powercakes WOD 2

My favorite part of this video was hearing my grandma say “Now this I can do but not that over the head stuff!” haha love it! Winking smile

Recap of this workout: I knew going into this that Thrusters would be tough for me at 75lbs. I’ve done heavier before in a workout but not after doing reps of the other movements. 75 really isn’t a light thruster weight for me. I repped out as many as I could but my boys & Lori really did an awesome job with these! I promised them I’d make up for it in the other movements –especially deadlifts! They are my favorite.

Our Team finished in 12:30 which was 29th out of 47 teams for that WOD.

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WOD #3 “Meet Me At The Bar”

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This one was a fun one! As a team we had to get those above items around the building (which included a decent up-hill portion in the back), then once we all finished, we could go inside to the bars and do AMRAP of pull ups & toes to bar before the 8min time cap ran out.

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I chose to carry the 30lb sand bag & then when I finished, run back & help out my teammates who needed it. I met Lori towards the end & we both held the kettlebell to get her to the finish. The boys handled the plates & sled!

Meet Me At The Bar Patriot Games

Pictures of others during the run:

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Dameka CFIC

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Hm, I spy a BN SHAPE TANK!!

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I was so excited to see our boy Adrian reppin’ the bnshape tank!

Our team finished with a total of 132 reps on this workout which was 40 our of 47.

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WOD #4 “Sloshed”

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So, this one was a doozy for sure! We were glad to be in the 4th heat so we could see how this one worked. You can watch the video here to see how we did it.

Basically the slosh pipe (that was filled with water so it made it very un-steady) had to stay above our heads (with only 2 hands at a time) while one member from the team had to get the bar ground to over head as heavy as they could. Each pound was a point. If the slosh pipe came below our heads, we as a team, had to do 8 burpees before picking it back up. I’m happy to say that we never had to do burpees! It was a close call though – that thing was not easy to hold! Winking smile

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I was able to do a 105lb ground to over head but ran out of time before being able to do more! It’s exciting to know that I have definitely gained strength with my lifts.

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Our total pounds for our team was 620lbs which was 29th out of 47 teams. Woo hoo!

The next part of the workout was in the soccer field where the team had to do suicide sled pushes. The time ran out before we finished so I didn’t get a chance to go (I was going to be last) but everyone told me how it was way harder than they thought to push the 25lb plate on the turf field. I’m pretty sure that not many teams were able to finish this one in 8 minutes.

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The top 6 teams made it to the finals where they surprised everyone with a tug of war battle! The top 6 teams (which included one from our box) all faced off & it was fun to watch.

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OH and at the end, they gave out a “Most Heart” award for the team that showed the most heart. They called the winning team up to congratulate them & then asked if anyone on the team had something to say. The one girl spoke first, thanking her whole family and friends for coming out to support them that day. Then she passed the mic off to her boyfriend where he began to explain how much he loved his girlfriend…

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before you know it he was on one knee proposing!!!! HOW ADORABLE!

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In the end, it was an awesome day of friendly competition, motivation, cooperation, inspiration, & all finished with some love thrown in! Winking smileRed heart

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Here’s a team Powercakes photo at the end of the 8 hours of workouts – lookin’ sweaty & tired! For the record, Al left before I could grab a pic so the water bottle had to do! Very proud of us! We ended up finishing 40th out of 47 teams. The beauty of CrossFit is that everyone cheers each other on whether you finish first or last in any work out. The whole day everyone was cheering for people that they didn’t know and seeing that was inspirational in itself. There were all different levels competing for the goal of completing the day & it was so awesome to see that happen for everyone!

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So proud of everyone from our box! They all worked hard on Saturday and even though it was a long day full of workouts – we all completed our goal & motivated each other along the way. It was really fun to get back into competing because that’s my true love – being an athlete! I love all types of fitness and CrossFit gives me an outlet to still find that athlete within & compete. I think the beauty of being true to yourself is to do what you enjoy because YOU enjoy it – not because you think you should because everyone else does. I love CrossFit workouts but I also love having an “arm day” at the gym including bicep plate lifts & hamstring curls! I love it all.

Next post I’ll be sharing my TIPS for competing when it comes to proper food & fuel along with a take on an old recipe of mine that everyone seemed to enjoy during the day! I’ll give you an inside look at how certain food choices worked with the timing of the events and tips that may help you!

 

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Red heart Kasey