13 minute AMRAP
55 deadlifts (225/155#)
55 wall balls (20#/14# to 10’ & 9’
target)
55 calories on rower
55 handstand pushups
Wod 4 of the Crossfit Open is now
complete. My score was 199 reps with a tiebreak time of 8:23, which means I
made it through 34 handstand pushups in the allotted 13 minutes & the real
ass kicker…..wait for it….I had 4 minutes & 30 seconds to make it through
the 55 handstand pushups but didn’t. Damn those weaknesses! They really come
back & bite you. Looks like I’ll be spending a lot more time working on
things I suck at this upcoming training season so I won’t be struggling as much
next Open season. I even started a “CF Suck List” last week & let me just
tell you – it’s a lot longer than I initially thought it would be. Now I’m not
saying that I haven’t gotten better from previous Opens because I have, but
this year I definitely feel like my lack of gymnastic movements have held me
back.
My strategy for this wod was a little
up in the air right before I started. I thought about sets of 5 on the
deadlifts & then hitting sets of 20-20-15 on the wall balls. I ended up
switching as soon as the timer started: sets of 7 on the deadlifts and then
21-15-10-9 on the wall balls. The deadlifts felt good until the last set when I
hit rep 4, I quickly thought, “Ok I’m getting sick of these now” – thankfully I
was finished just as I started complaining about them (insert thumbs up). Next up
were the wall balls, which were at a 9’ target instead of my standard 10’
target for training. I knew these would be easier for me because of the height
break but my heart rate was already elevated from the deadlifts so I knew I
only wanted to do a big set in the beginning; shortening the sets each time was
a good mental strategy for me. At this moment I remembered a few people saying
they were going to go unbroken on the wall balls & I instantly laughed to
myself – “Yep, you go on with your bad self…that’s definitely not my strategy.” This wod really
started to suck when I hit 40-45 calories on the rower. My air was gone, my low
back had that burning/tightening feeling & I remember thinking, “Ugh I
still have to do a shit ton of handstand pushups.” One of my box mates came up
to me after the wod & said, “I saw you had your eyes closed during the row
– that’s a great idea! I may have to try that.” For future reference, if I have
my eyes closed mid-wod that’s a sign that I’m hurting & trying to think of
anything else besides rowing. Sometimes it works but most of the time it
doesn’t – it didn’t work that time.
Here come the handstand pushups.
I started out with sets of 5 & ended up making it through 20 reps before I
dropped to sets of 4….then sets of 3….then sets of 2. With 15 seconds left I
attempted 3 but only hit 1 of them. I could hear my judge
tell me, “Come on Dani! Get that last rep for 200 – you can do it!” My mind was
motivated & saying, “Yeah, I can get 1 more rep!” My arms & legs didn’t
want anything to do with it. If you recall in my last post I had hoped my mind
would let me stay with a one & done of this wod; well, it did - no repeating on this one.
The aftermath of 16.4 was mostly
shown in my face, specifically around my eyes. Handstand pushups always cause
blood vessels to pop & leave me looking like I have some issues:
Other movements that cause this
for me are handstand walks & GHDs - the wonderful result of not breathing.
My old coach would yell at me, “Breathe Dani, breathe!” I swear I think I am.
Kaila Drayton Photography was back this week & captured more of our pain from 16.4. Here are some of
my favorites:
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