CrossFit Competitions: Battle at the Rock

Yesterday, I competed in a CrossFit competition called Battle at the Rock at CrossFit Castle Rock in Castle Rock, Colorado.

This CrossFit competition was all a test of mental fortitude because I had just done Project Uplift the day before. I was sore. I was tired. I was beat.

Let me just stress that I had not planned to do two CrossFit competitions two days in a row. Yesterday, I was a last minute fill in. Battle at the Rock I had planned for a month or so.

Workout number one was just plain fun. It was a 6 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of one clean and jerk and 4 lateral bar over burpees. I chose a lighter weight for 2 reasons:

1. I wanted to keep moving and minimize my pauses. The heavier I go, the more taxing it becomes, the longer the jerk takes, and the less reps I’ll get. There were 2 scores for this workout: reps and weight moved.
2. After yesterday, my arms were already killing me. I didn’t want to strain anything. 85 lbs was a safe bet. Heavy enough for points but not too heavy I’d have to strain.

I got one rep short of 15 rounds. It was fun.

I did the floater next which was 21 calories on the bike followed by dumbbell squats with 35 lbs in each hand. After the bike, I was wiped. This could have been faster.

After this workout, I felt terrible. I went to my truck and sat and rested.

Workout #2 was okay. It was a 24 calorie buy in followed by 30-20-10 of dumbbell snatches at 35 lbs and box jump overs ended by a 24 calories buyout. Normally, this is my cup of tea (except the row). It was all I had just to keep moving.

I had a 2 hour break in-between before the last workout. I took a nap. I ate. I felt much better.

The last workout was normally my cup of tea as well, but I was so tired it was all I could do to keep moving. It was 15 hang power cleans at 65 lbs, 30 step forward lunges with that bar, 15 toes to bar, 30 wall balls (10 foot target but only 10 lbs) and then 15 pull ups. 2 Rounds with a 12 min time cap.

I stricted all the toes to bar and the pull ups even though it’s slower because my hands were killing me, and I didn’t want to tweak anything from my overworked body. Also, I didn’t want to mess with my grips since I don’t use grips on barbell movements and on wall balls.

Well, I got to the 2nd round of wall balls and wanted to die. I honestly just wanted to skip the wall balls and go to the pull ups.

I made it through this CrossFit competition and finished in 2nd for the masters’ women. It was fun, but I am so glad it’s over. I honestly couldn’t have done any more work.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM TWO DAYS OF CROSSFIT COMPETITIONS

• This is 90% mental. It’s showing up. It’s doing the work. It’s grinding through it when all you want to do is sit.
• The rest is overcoming the physical exhaustion your body feels. It’s eating enough, drinking enough, planning it all, so you can perform.

I’m unsure if I’ll do two CrossFit competitions in a row again. It’s physically exhausting. Draining. I feel completely wiped out. I have nothing left.

I’ve gained a whole new appreciation for the CrossFit Games athletes who workout for continuous days as well as other CrossFit competitors who do multiple days. It’s a whole different level I didn’t appreciate until now.

It was fun, but I need a break!