Tenacity from Creative Improvisation

Spring in the city!

 Excuse the schizophrenic nature of the post- tried to get this down in an understandable format. Recently, in the process of a receiving a particularly painful tattoo(outlines on the elbow during a 2 hour session), I found myself digging deep into my toolbox for help. The pain was excruciating when the buzz of the tattoo gun rattled my bones in the non fleshy areas around the joint. There was no way to displace the sensation or avoid it. There was no special place to go, only the incessant bzzzz. Deep in the recesses of my mind I struggled to find any way to stop the pain without giving up. Suddenly, I remembered a very similar place in the Open WOD 14.5.  During into the long workout- I seemed to have lost everything- my rhythm, my breath, perhaps even  my soul while everything burned like nuclear fire. Out of the air floated down Coach Frieberg's words - 'get back on the bar'. Damn that's it! Why am I treating this experience on the table any different than that of  a really tough workout. I overcame that WOD- I can overcome this.  Breath deep-stay focused-this will end.

Instinctively, I gripped the rope covered steam pipe next to the table as if it was a bar for a thruster or a clean, relaxed my arm under the needle, engaged my core, took a deep breath and boom... it was bearable. Breath, focus and shortly thereafter, it was over. Substituting the lessons of one experience for another to adapt to the situation. Who knew the lessons from a Crossfit workout would apply to everyday life?

No- my arm is not that swollen- its the distortion of focusing so close on the elbow. The redness though- that is real irritation.

We do many things in life that crossover from one field to another. The problem of incongruity is the seed of transformation by the process of overcoming & adapting to adversity. In art school,  we seeded one art medium with another, not as a superfluous challenge just to keep students busy, but as a tool for growth. Tell a photographer to go draw and you get a bunch of bad drawings yet seeded within that freedom of experiencing something new(without the baggage of history)  amazing new ideas.  A new medium for an artist has no rules much less baggage to get in the way which allows creative juices to flow freely. The magic occurs when the artist returns to his original medium, there he has new ideas coupled with experience to produce meaningful artwork.  This transformation is really just a creative improvisation process. Somewhat difficult to teach, but with simple tools and practice it can assist us in everything we do. One can use  simple brainstorming cheats in everyday life to creatively resolve problems. The Marines for example-use Improvise, Adapt and Overcome as a mantra.  We learned in art school SCAMPER: Substitute,Combine, Adapt, Modify or Minify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse, Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.

It is no different than  being in a tough workout and feeling tired & dejected in the struggle. There are right ways and wrong ways to complete a movement or push ones cardio- If it's not right,  the feedback loop is a wall of  pain the body pushes against to continue. When the mind thinks the body has run out of steam from over-exertion or exhaustion, we rationalize easily giving up. The fact that there is a wall(pain or exhaustion) is your flag that there is another way, that a transformation is possible. That point where you rationalize dropping the bar and walking away- that is precisely the point where you need to engage the tools from your improvisation toolbox. You dig deep, to use the preferred metaphor of our gym, in yourself for that nugget of change to keep going. Perhaps it is refining your stance, breathing faster or slower, changing the grip, engaging different or more core muscles, changing rep scheme or cadence,...anything you can come up with to successfully overcome the pain of the moment or the idea of quitting to push through.The more time you practice improvising new ways to push against the wall of pain and exhaustion; the stronger physically and mentally you become, thus allowing you to push past the old thresholds of the limits your mind has placed on a capable body. As we grow our ability to work against the wall- we develop tenacity to adapt and overcome & apply it to everything we do in life. Stronger than yesterday, bad-ass everyday.

Rest day/week recap

Thursday night endurance crew- post 1:100:1 Kickn' burpee ass!

Its been a strong and succesful training week.  Today, is the first rest day in 8 consecutive days of hard training & I feel great. Definitely could keep on going, nothing is hurt or broken but logic would dictate that a rest day is needed. Today's WOD was 'Wood' a super fun looking workout but why taunt a lesson on the nature of hubris with my body, no? In one respect, this is a reflection of regular training 4-6/days per week over the past 9 months and moderating the effort in workouts for a balanced 'push all out' vs 'paced' exertion in the workouts. The gains have been extraordinary-huge jumps in weights, heights and speed not to mention near immediate recovery time.

Last nights' endurance was indicative of the strong gains.  In the 1:100:1 -mile to burpees- I tagged  6:52, 6:44 and 6:45 respectively for each component. (Much faster than I originally thought. I now wonder how fast I can push my 1 mile PR. 6:15 seems so doable warmed up and fresh- perhaps a sub 6 min? Only time will tell. A sub 5min mile wont help 15 miles into a Ultra but would be a nice PR to work towards.) Wasn't nearly as fast as Kris on the runs, but plowed through the burpees almost unbroken and caught up. Should have warmed up longer before starting- but once I was rolling- felt really good.  Interestingly- the heart rate was only marginally lower for burpees than a fast running pace.

HRM from the 1:100:1 workout

Even on tThrusdays Clean Randy  w/ the 1 mile- I almost broke 7 mins after a grueling set of KBS and power cleans. Early in the week post 1 rep max with front squat- there was extensive soreness -epically sore- after the endurance workout which included 100 burpees, 150 tuck jumps & 250 air squats(not to mention 200 situps)- needless to say there was no rest for the quads. However- continuing to train w/ more running- the soreness quickly dissipated with my legs feeling stronger than ever!Also- after 'fight gone bad' I was practicing muscle ups and sort of tweaked my elbow a bit- Been laying off it for a few days- feels good as new now. Nothing listening to the body and paying attention to keep from aggravating a possible injury.


Other intersting notes are:

• Floor presses are really hard- Ravi made them look easy as I struggled- struggled hard- to get a light weight up and off the ground more than 5 reps
• 400m run =500m row 
• 100 burpees=1 mile run
•  'Fight Gone Bad' is still painful and awesome. 298reps
• Dolphin kick kipping on pullups needs work- still too slow on pullups
• 
  

APR-24-14

6:30 pm Endurance WOD:

For Time:

1 mile run

100 Burpees

1 mile run

APR-23-14

50 KBS For Time @ 70/53#

-then-

“Clean Randy”

75 Power Cleans For Time @ 95/65#

-then-

1 mile run for time

APR-22-14

6:30pm Endurance Class:

For Time:

5 RFT:

20 Burpees

30 Tuck Jumps

40 Situps

50 Air squats

-rest exactly 3 min between rounds

APR-21-14

12 min to find a 1RM Front Squat

-then-

For time:

800m Run

30 Squat Snatches 95/65#

50 C2B Pullups

APR-18-14

4×8 Floor Presses – heaviest possible, rest 90 secs

“Squatting Elizabeth”

21-15-9 for time:

Squat Cleans 135/95#

Ring Dips

APR-17-14

6:30pm Endurance Class:

5 Rounds for time:

500m Row

400m Run

-Rest exactly 3 minutes between rounds

The Ship Has Not Sailed

The ship has sailed without me.

 The past few weeks have seen a return to more normal training. Less CF Open craziness and more life stuff. Spring weather has arrived & not a moment too soon. Lots of family obligations cutting into the training not to mention spring cleaning and repairs around the house.  With the warm weather, there have been some glorious runs and the schedule looks filled with more time in the sun.


Finally getting some regular & pleasurable weekly runs in that do not require arctic gear- just in time to prep for the Cape Cod Ragnar less than 3 weeks away. Yikes! ( Looks like I'll have a sub marathon distance overall with my longest leg only about 9 miles.)  The training runs have been good- consistently averaging 7:45-50/mile which feels like a moderate training pace- barely breathing heavy. Yesterday, Paul and I were pleasurably chatting while cruising through our 3 mile run along the lake. Compared to my 5k race pace of 7:30/mile 18 months ago- the training runs are nothing short of blistering fast. Even my heart rate is down by 10-15% on average.

Lately-I have been pondering my age. When the face in the mirror stares back w/ a few more crows feet & the hair- if it grows- tinged heavily with grey, it gives one pause. Particularly after spending a few hours playing with a 2 yr old for perspective. For the past 20 years my mental image of myself has been that near invincible creature ready for any challenge yet in recent months my body has begun to reflect back the wear and tear more obviously. The past 18 months of elevated physical training has been a salve to the normal degradations of the ageing process with PR's and proud accomplishments still being set, but alas- there are finite limits. I know this even as a nagging voice keeps chiming -that sometime, in the near future-that physical & mental plateau will arrive and when it does, my ego will not take that lesson easily. The last thing I want to be is that washed up old guy painfully struggling to do the things a 20 yr old does in order to stroke an overactive ego and misplaced mental image of oneself. The ship of my life has not sailed without me, nor has she settled into port permanently. Rather-in the coming years I think I'll be scaling her down to a more manageable size, less ship more dinghy to keep on moving. But till that plateau is reached, I'll keep pushing my body and mind to new heights.

Now that the doors of the gym are open to the warm sun and cool spring air-the workouts have been exhilarating.  Thus, a few new PR's to add to the books. A 49" box jump(increase of more than 5") and a Front Squat of #245(90lbs more than last August) Thank you Matt for the encouragement.

Post Open Wrap Up

So- the 2014 Crossfit Open is over. Pukie the clown never showed and no one was medivac'd out for rhabdomylosis. There were tears of pain and tears of joy, with lots of gnashing of teeth and writhing in agony. So what did we learn? How did we do?

Dan wrapping up w/ swagger.

First, despite my own misgivings and critiques, I really had a good time. Thursday nights were something to look forward to w/ the DeDomenicas family to catch the pro's doing the WOD at the announcement- a real family affair.

I dreaded and loved the hype and the workouts. The WOD's were killer hard, as they should be. Loved that about them too.

Lessons: An Open WOD is a just a workout. The hype, buildup and release of the workouts caused more mental anguish than any physical discomfort. Folks were all kinds fo amp'd up with anticipation. I too got swept up in the fervor of the moment; what can they throw at us? Can I do it? Jesus, muscle ups- I'm DOA, etc... In all reality- each workout was just another typical long Saturday 'Ben Burner' of  a workout. Unless you stand a chance of going to regionals- the workout didn't really matter, your mindset was much more important.

Ryan hammering the burpees w/ supporting fans!

Second- The do over. I have to say being able to do the workouts a second time to improve your score- not really doing it for me. When you compete- you only get to do it once. I understand if you are sick, have to work, injured, etc...and you must postpone. But if you want to compete- train like it- be on the stage for the gold medal when you perform your best. Dont do it over, its a bad habit for a life that in general doesn't hand you second chances and I assure you, there wont be the opportunity for one in the regionals. If you are going to give it your all- don't do it in the first place. Parenthetically- waiting till the last minute so you have other results to chase kind of rubs me the wrong way- unless you are in a Chase Event in a Pentathlon(different ideal), running after a static score to snipe a lead off the board kind of reinforces the I can't do it on my own- please help incentivize me attitude. It is not building a strong character or helping you push yourself. 

Ramiro w/ the warmup.

Third-The numbers. So running a comp w/ 150,000+ participants posits many crazy challenges, but the scoring system and the display and systematization were pleasantly successful. More than adequate to separate out the real competitors and everyone else while allowing individuals to gauge themselves and their performance. I did find myself at first getting wrapped up in the fervor of number crunching- checking my score- calculating percentiles- gauging my abilities based on the numerous categories available. However, in the end, I started and finished about the same place. Hats off to the programmers for a reasonably successful effort to determine the most well rounded and fit individual in strength and endurance.

 Overall the experience was a roller coaster emotionally and physically.Work travel got in the way- but allowed the opportunity to try another CF gym in PHL- made some new friends in the process!
 

The buildup all week to perform was a mental burden of pressure that was alleviated each Friday monring like an explosive kettle. Workouts played to my strong suit and then bashed my ego pointing out weaknesses. A tremendous learning experience, for starters pointing out weaknesses on many things; snatches, OHS, C2B and rep schemes are too short.  As a metric on level of fitness- except for a super long endurance or super agile event (A 10k or 1/2 marathon event would have been righteous! A man can dream!)- it was pretty well rounded on all aspects of strength and short cardio.  I feel I did very well. Coming in at a strong 299 in the North East Masters 40-44 division. Fuck, I'm old, but still kicking ass!

Worldwide in my division, Top 40%- fantastic having been doing this for only 8 months.

 The real takeaway here was the spirit in the gym- every one who signed up worked hard, supported & pushed each other to new limits and  found new things in themselves.

Some folks kicked out not just 1 rep but 10's of reps of new PR's! How incredible is that?!!! There were no put downs, no smack talk  just encouragement- I have NEVER seen that in any competition. Anywhere. Ever.Will I do it again next year? Probably. Did I have fun? You bet!