A prescient workout given that's the WOD from last Saturday. Kudos to 'The Programmer'. Watching Froning and Biggs plow through this bad boy in sub 9 minutes, was quite intimidating. Shit- it's like a repeating Fran 3 times & more! A quick computation and the goal was set for 22 minutes with a stretch goal of sub 20. Slept poorly, ate well and arrived at the gym early. Kristie blurted-'Sweet Jesus' as the WOD was spec'd & reviewed, but that only 1/2 described the religious experience to come. Meg cheerily tossed out- ' yeah this is my kind of WOD- you know- go to your special place and grind through it.'( that too was prescient but I clearly did not pay enough attention) While Ben, taking the paternal coaching role, quickly put to rest any any negative comments- '...you guys have it all wrong. You gotta look at this not like a Fran but something to pace.'
Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth- Mike Tyson
So- I figured, start with a set of X, gauge how I feel and modulate accordingly knowing this one was going to smart (not really a genius deduction). Warmed up quickly and in a parting salute Ben advised- 'work hard to grind through the 2 nd set. Those 18 will be the worst- after that its all down hill.'
Sure I thought & set the spurs to her.
Blasted through a set of 10, then 8 reps. My inner voice piped up 'This aint so bad-lighter weight than Saturday, just burpees and you are fast at those...keep it up' & cranked through the first round. Started the 18 rep round and it all started to fall apart- rep scheme dropped to 5's and things started to burn. I mean gargle bleach burn. Damn-my chest hurts, is this what a heart attack feels like? I cant breathe. Quick- get to the burpees and catch your breath.
Blank
No that's not a typo- that's where I was. My mind was crystal clear while my body, on fire under an Atlas weight mind you, struggled to stay connected to my corporeal presence. WTF is wrong with me when burpees are a reprieve? Shit- this hurts. It fucking burns. The inner voice ran the gauntlet of 'Dammit Meg-I dont have a power animal' to 'what's my name & why am I here?' I struggled badly. Dropping the rep scheme to 4's then 3's, futilely heaving air in & contemplating, seriously contemplating, letting go of the bar- calling it done- and just walk out the unlocked door behind me. Slake my thirst on the cool morning air in the brilliant sunshine. Doesn't that sound nice? No harm no foul, right?
"Go to your place, dig deep. This is it. Finish this round and your 1/2 way through. Its all down hill from there. Get on the bar." - Ben Freiberg
Jesus-where did that voice come from? What was that, I'm 1/2 way done? I can do this?
As arc light illuminates the darkness on a moonless night-a voice echoed in some dark cavern of the reptilian brain. The mind opened for a split moment with metaphysical clarity of vision & understanding that this suffering would pass. On some infinitesimally small scale, the tipping point crossed from failure to the possibility of success by way of understanding - a knowledge- that there was an end to this madness. It felt better. I felt better from my special place.
The realization set in that I was on the tail end of the 15 rep round and had nearly completed 1/2 of the whole damn workout. Dear god-Yes! 1/2 way done! Meg was so totally right- go to your place & keep moving! Don't know where the hell I was prior, but hidden behind a mask of searing pain was some Zen displacement of body & time that allowed one to arrive to the glorious back half of 168 painful reps in a beam of glorious light down a dark tunnel of despair. With 3 or 4 thrusters at a stretch, lots of deep breathing and slow progress on the burpees- success was very much around the corner. The 12 rep round seemed to take care of itself. The 9's were easy -3 sets of 3.Then a quick stumbling sprint to the finish. Time 16:31, a command performance.
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