OC Throwdown
Day 1
Woke around 4:30 am. Got up for a little bit and ate some burger meat and sweet potato.Went back to sleep for another hour or so until 6am. The women start at 7am and the men around 8am. Got up, got ready and headed to the venue. Arrived about 7:15 am. They had a nice open athlete area setup for everyone. Most of the other OPT athletes and friends were already there getting setup. Excited to hang out with this crew for the weekend.
Body is feeling good. Not full, or hungry. Just right. Had a few bites of a larabar around 20 min. before the start.
Event 1: 8:00 am 7K run The run is split into 3 legs.
First leg - run
Second leg - pick up 70# bag and run
Third leg - drop sand bag and run leg for a final turn.
My confidence was pretty high going into this. It was taking the women about 40-45 minutes to complete, so I had an idea of how long this might be.
The run was broken into about 7-10 heats. I was the 2nd to last heat. I liked having people in front of me. Gives me something to chase. Anyone you pass is extra points.
First leg I took fairly easy. I was really comfortable when I got back to the start. I think first run was around 12:00. Picked up a sand bag and started the second leg. The sand was hard and the bag split in the middle. More like a bag with two large balls on each end. It actually sat quite nice on my shoulder…for a bit.
I knew this would be a good chance to catch some spots. I have learned with long sessions like this, to excell, you have to kick a notch or two higher than what is comfortable. I am just used to being uncomfortable for this long. I had a smooth trot going with the bag. The only pain was in the upper back. The bag wanted to pull your back down from your neck and trying to resist it made your t-spine pretty tired. Just kept thinking, one more foot in front of the other. Passed a LOT of people during the second leg. At some points I could postion the bag right so I could swing both my arms. Definitely helped stride out a little bit.
Finally made it back to the start again to drop off the back and start the third and final leg. Not sure of the time. Maybe 30:00 in. As soon as I dropped the bag, it felt like such a releif! Running felt AWESOME. I had to remember to lean forward and open up my stride. Last leg, here we go. I still felt very in control.
My goal was to hold a fair pace until the halfway point of the final leg and then go for it with about 4:00 left.
I tend to hold out for a sprint until the last :60 of a race. My goal this time was to treat the last 10 minutes like the airdyne. Just go and hold on!
After the turn, my body felt so good. I was moving at a speed I didn't know I could hold for that long. It felt like a shiny new toy I was opening up Christmas morning. Hunger kicked in like I have never experienced before while training. I could feel everything starting to burn up. But it felt good. Like I had literally some fumes left and I'm approaching the finish line. Efficient.
With about 2:00 left I kicked it a gear higher. And with about 400m left I turned it on and passed like 8 people. Then ended in dead sprint. Hurt like hell but recovered quickly. Legs were smoked.
Event 1 Result:
40:12.81, 22nd place Not a bad time I felt. I did the best I have ever done during a race that long. I felt amazing. Energy is good, legs are smoked. Short rest then Event 2 starts around 11 am.
Event 2: For Time:
10 Muscle ups
+
4 Rounds:
12 C2B Pullups
8 Box Jumps
+
10 Ring Muscle Ups
Event 2 Result:
5:34.89, 7th place Broke the first round of muscleups 6/4.Short breaks. First two rounds of c2b's unbroken, then 8/4, 4/4/4 on the last two rounds. Box jumps steady and fast. Bounded with a slight pause at top. Then quickly into the muscleups. 2,2, then fast singles. Just tried to keep the rest short on this. Was barely winded when this was over. All muscular endurance for me. Felt good.
Had a long rest before event 3. Almost 4 hours. Had a fair amount of food and a good nap on the ground.
Event 3: 3 Rounds of
8 Shoulder-to-Overhead (190/125 lbs.)
14 pistols
+
Then 3 Rounds of
8 Front Squats (190/125 lbs.)
16 GHD Situps
+
Then 3 Rounds of
4 Ground-to-Overhead (190/125 lbs.)
2 Rope Climbs (20’)
Event 3 Result:
15:05:00, 13th place First couplet was unbroken at a steady pace. S2O were easy and pistols smooth.
Second couplet was unbroken and smooth as well. Just took my time but no breaks. Easy breathing. I was feeling good going into third part.
I think I fninshed part 2 in around 7-8 minutes. Last couplet, did the first round of g2o in fast singles
The rope climbs were slow. I could not get my techique down. I was heavily pulling with my arms and starting to panic. Came down to the final round of rope climbs and I was almost shot. With about :30 left I get to about 3' from the top of the rope and can't finish. My grip gave and I had to come down. Very frustrating as motor didn't feel that compromised but my arms/grip were gone. Need a lot of work on rope climbs. This will NOT happen again.
At the end of the day I was extremely dissapointed with my finish. I have the motor but not the skill to do well enough on #3. I was sick at the thought of rope climbs screwing me up again. Had a good meal and spent 10 minutes in the hot tub to loosen up my legs. I only feel sore from the run, not from anything else. I have a pretty bad rope burn at my ankle but other than that I'm good to go.
