2010 CrossFit Games: PA/MD/DE Sectionals

Edit: Updated with my results below each WOD

So in case you are not engrossed in the community that is CrossFit, the PA/MD/DE sectionals are Saturday, March 13, 2010 at our very own CrossFit King of Prussia. Over 120 men and over 30 women are registered; only top 20 men and top 20 women move on to Regionals which will be held in Ohio in May. Below are descriptions of the workouts and links to the official Games pages. 

heats and athletes: PDF

WOD 1: (indoor)

As many reps as possible in 3 minutes of:
Floor-to-Overhead (155lbs. for men/85lbs for women)

you may clean and jerk, snatch, squat clean, squat snatch, etc.

At 150 lbs. I was not expecting much out of this WOD. I was not going in with a particular number in mind, but I knew if I got over 15, I would be pretty happy. I ended up with 18, no doubt with help from some awesome yellers in the crowd from KoP. In a sick way, I kind of wanted to do "Grace" after that. (30 reps for time at 135#) For this WOD I was 86th out of 120.

WOD 2: (outdoor)

In 10 minutes as many reps as possible of:

500m run done once
then 1-Arm Overhead Kettlebell Squats (35lbs for men/26lbs for women)

if kb drops below shoulder, must run 200m penalty and resume squats

only total reps count

The WOD I was looking forward to the least. Raining and cold outside, it was miserable. The initial 500m run was a 7 lap back-and-forth run, and then to the grueling squats. I ended up with 93, not a great number, but I was happy that I didn't drop the kb. Between Ditty, Jerry, Ryan (a friend who showed up despite the bad weather), and the judge Micah, yelling at me, I kept that bell up even at minute 7 when I desperately wanted to just drop and run.  For this WOD I was 102nd out of 120.

WOD 3: (indoor)

(35lb for men/15lb for women: vest worn throughout)

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

Row 1000m - This is only done once to start the heat.

Then:

20 Double-unders
15 Wall Balls (20lbs for men/14lbs for women)
10 Ring Push-ups
5 Pull-ups

By the time I got to this WOD it was 10 hours after I had arrived. Legs were shot and I was just flat out tired. Maybe it wasn't the most painful workout ever, but it was easily the most grueling workout I had ever done in my life where I pushed myself past the point of wanting to stop (which incidentally was after the first round). The row went fine, didn't push it hard knowing what was coming. By the end of the first round, that 35# vest felt like 350# and the heat/humidity made it feel like working out in a swampy marsh. Again though, the power of the crowd made me literally crawl to those wallballs and finish 1k row, 4 rounds plus 21 reps in the 20 minutes.  I'm pretty sure my eyes were closed for most of the workout, trying to not fall down. I ended up with 31st out of 120. 

Overall I ended up in 76th place out of 120 men. There were FIERCE competitors who just astounded me with their performances. I couldn't see everyone compete, but people would just TALK about them. "Did you hear about the guy who did 230 squats??" "Did you hear about BQ? He did 32 clean and jerks!" But my favorite part about the Sectionals (and about CrossFit in general) is how humble folks are. You have to literally ASK people what they got; no one is going around bragging. Also, before an event, you hear people SHARING strategies on what to do. "Hey, I heard the vest can be tight after the row, so make sure it's loose enough to breathe." "Hey, it looks like people are getting blown by the wind outside, so make sure you turn your back on those kb squats." Yes, we are competing against each other, but more so, we are huge fans of one another. The COMMUNITY of CrossFit is what is so appealing to me. Of course the workouts are incredibly hard and effective, but to have that crowd there and competitors act more like long-time friends is what keeps me around. Plus, there were a ton of folks having some good old sweet potato post wod fuel!

Congratulations to Aimee, Nikki, Kerry, and Granny of CrossFit King of Prussia for making it on to the next round: Regionals in Ohio in May. Also congratulations to Kim, Kit, Erik, Swine, Sam, Mike, and Tim for working their asses off. I had a blast with you guys and hope to continue our path to getting better.

Rankings and scores can be found at: PA/MD/DE Sectionals scoring

Full description of WODs: CrossFit Games 2010 - PA/MD/DE Sectional WODs 

SCHEDULE
7:30-8:30am - Athlete Registration
8:00am - Spectator Registration Opens
8:30am - Athlete Meeting
8:45am - National Anthem
9:00am - First Heat Begins
6:25pm - Final Heat Ends
6:45pm (approx.) - Awards