So Close...

Mine doesn't have a bow though

Today was exactly the type of workout that I love; heavy metcons. I was pumped to do it when I read it this morning and I couldn't wait until 5:30. Then I talked to some of the people who had already done the workout and I got a little nervous. Jello for legs and a lower back that felt like someone was pushing the end of a baseball bat in it. Great, I have weak legs to begin with and we all know about my problem keeping my back straight in deadlifts and cleans. I all about psyched myself out before we even started warming up. But then I started warming up on the cleans and they seemed to go pretty well. Ricky even gave me a tip to keep more of my hand on the bar so the press was easier to transition to at the top. I tried it with 132# and it felt awkward because it felt like the bar wasn't really resting on my shoulders on the catch. But, when I went up to 154# the heavier weight forced the bar down and then the hand position really helped (thanks Ricky!).

For me the hardest part of the WOD was squatting up out of the clean but that wasn't a surprise. My legs did feel like jello during the runs and my lower back was killing me the last two rounds so no one was lying about that. I pushed through all that and finished third tonight behind Stacy (who has been killing every WOD) and Neil. I finished in 10:04, just four seconds after my goal I thought was a bit unrealisitc. Two rest breaths short of a goal I would never have thought possible a short few months ago.

WOD:
5 rounds for time:
155 lb Clean & Jerk, 5 reps
200 meter run
Rx'd in 10:04


I think I am progressing well, especially with the format we have been doing the past month or so. Upper body strength has always been a, well, strength of mine but my legs continue to be a big weakness; probably a result of my my old workout style in which I had one "leg day" a week and partly because of my knee injuries. Maybe I just need to do some kind of leg work after every other WOD so I can stop complaining about it finally :)

On a side note, I went shopping with my Mom tonight to get some plants for around my house. She has been trying to get me interested in them for a while so I figured I would give it a shot. I have never been a plant lover so I was looking for some plants that I thought were cool but we also pretty low maintenance. I think I did pretty well in achieving that. And actually, the plant I put on my desk in my office at made me smile when I walked in to write this. It's a Bromeliad with a cool red leaf / flower thing coming up from the center of it (similar to the one up top). Who knows, if I don't end up killing the ones I got tonight, I might just become a plant guy afterall.