The RX that almost wasn’t

I will be the first person to scold others at the box for not taking proper rest days.

I have historically done no more than two, maybe three, days in a row of Crossfit, usually taking off every Wednesday or Thursday and Sunday. I know rest and recovery is just as important as the workouts themselves, and think listening to your body is key.

This week, I had an unscheduled workout on Sunday which is normally a rest day, due to some pre-competition training (Oh! Didn’t I tell you all I’m doing a competition? Must be saving for another post.! ;)) Rather than taking Monday off, I dragged myself in anyway. And then I went on Tuesday. Surely Wednesday would need to be a rest day, and so that was the plan. Until I saw the WOD.

Now, I love Clean and Jerks. And the prescribed weight for women, 95#, is what I would call my “nemesis” weight.

When I did the Crossfit Games Open, I had 7 minutes to knock out three 95# C&Js. That was the first time I established a 1RM of 95#, and in 7 minutes I could only get two. In two separate attempts.

When I did my first competition, I was faced with this weight again. While I had one chance and succeeded at completing the one rep needed, I failed the next clean and jerk at 10# more. For some reason, when I see 95# on the bar I just freak out.

Last month we did “Running Grace”: 10 Clean and Jerks, followed by a 400m run for 3 rounds. I started at 95# but quickly dropped to 85# with much frustration and self-doubt and finished in a last-place 16:43.

So faced with a difficult decision, I weighed my options. On one hand, I needed a rest day. I wasn’t sore, but knowing my body has been in overdrive this week with 5 days of WODs in a row (plus an hour trail run), most in 90’+ temperatures, and that I usually do no more than three days in a row, it was an extraordinary circumstance. On the other hand, I felt a selfish need to redeem myself for the struggles I have had with this weight in the past. It is similar to my struggle with running; I wanted to do it to beat it. I also knew it was going to take me a long time to do and knew that if I had lost my confidence after the first few reps or even become overwhelmed during the WOD, I would probably cry since I’m an emotional being and that I would immediately regret the decision.

I solicited advice on Facebook and had mixed reactions from some of my close blog and real-life buddies. Some told me it’s meant to be done quickly, so don’t do it if it will take all day; or that I need to be patient with my progress and not push it; and others lectured on the importance of a rest day. Another shared a great article on scaling WODs. But this wasn’t that I had an issue with scaling; I had an issue with scaling this one.

Others pushed me to just do it anyway. One Crossfitter I look up to, Courtney, told me: Rock it. Don’t worry about time. Just press through, rep by rep. And others sensed I had my mind made up on what I was going to do before I even asked for advice, but gave their opinions anyway.

After much internal debate, reading all the comments and discussion, and blowing up the phones of my WOD buddies, I turned off the logical voices, chose the latter option, and mentally prepared all day. Then showed up.

Nervous.

Who gets nervous in a regular class?

“Grace” is a benchmark workout, so doing it once establishes a baseline to measure all future progress. When Coach Lynn said she wants everyone to finish in under 10:00 and use a weight that you are comfortable with doing in that time frame, I was internally freaking out even more.  I was hoping to do the WOD under 20:00. My WOD buddy said I’d be able to do it under 15:00, neither of which are within the 10:00 time-cap.

Lynn knew I wanted to go RX so told me if it takes longer it would be okay, but it’s still a crummy feeling holding everyone else up and trying to push Rx almost solely for pride reasons and not for athletic reasons.

I did one test-rep, already sweat soaked from the suicide sprints we had finished in the 95′ box. It was heavy. You only have to do 30, I told myself. 5 sets of 6. 6 sets of 5. 7 sets of 4. 10 sets of 3. 30 singles. Whatever. Get it done.

I managed 5 in the first minute, on pace to finish in 6 minutes. WHAT?! 

As time went on, my pace slowed down and I was at rep 18 as the clock passed 5:00. Overheating. Drained. Exhausted. What were you thinking?!

My good WOD superstar friend, Alexis, promised me that she would yell at me when I started to slack.

And between Lynn telling me to take two to three big breaths in between reps, Alexis telling me to get on the bar, Lynn telling me again I had to finish under 10:00, and then many of the finished athletes standing there watching, I finished those remaining reps. It wasn’t pretty. My splits were ugly. But I did it. 

Under 10:00. 9:35 RX.

I know that what I did may not have been the smartest decision, but I do not regret it for anything. This WOD was just as much mental and emotional as it was physical, and I am so glad that I decided to do it and I far exceeded the goal that I had set for myself.

I am absolutely embracing my rest day today and wearing my WOD scars proudly.

Your turn..
Have you ever pushed yourself against your better judgment?
Have you RX’d any WODs?
Do you have a nemesis lift or weight?