San Francisco CrossFit Throwdown

Bill and I get comfortable on the field after finishing our heat.

Another month, another affiliate cup throwdown. On one of the most beautiful days the Bay Area has seen, we had the immense good fortune to go to one of the most beautiful places in the Bay Area (Crissy Field) and lug heavy shit around. It was a fabulous day.

16 folks from CFEB showed up, which allowed us exactly four teams of four. SFCF was very cagey with the details of the workout, so we had to have our teams picked out AND signed up in advance. Nobody wanted the first slot, but my team volunteered to go second (I like just getting it over with, though there is something to be said for learning from the experience of previous teams). My team consisted of Bill, Jennifer, Doron and myself. We had about 10 minutes of prep time between when they told us the announcement and when we had to go (they released a new team every minute, making this the all-time shortest throwdown I've ever seen).

Here was the workout:

Two-man sled drag, ~150 pounds
One-man zercher pipe carry, ~60 pounds
One man rest

Drag the sled .3 miles. Everyone on the team does 30 burpees. Drag the sled back. The catch? The pipe (they were yellow and affectionately dubbed "french fries") can never, EVER touch the ground, or else incur a 20-burpee penalty for the whole team, and every team member must drag, carry and rest at least twice.

15:04 RX

We acquitted ourselves well, I think. Nowhere near the best times, obviously (the top time was 11:20), but somewhere around the middle of the pack. Everyone was worried about the zercher carry, but it really wasn't THAT bad - and there was always someone to hand it off to in case of trouble. The real pain was the sled - that got tiring FAST, and we really should have switched off more frequently, as fresh legs made a BIG difference in keeping that thing moving. Our burpees were also not terribly fast. It was a fun workout, and a nice change of pace from the weight-lifting orientation of the other gyms. My personal hunch is that the Games are going to be more like this.

Gita and Polly dragging the sled. Team A came in sixth place, with a time of 12:20 (I think)

Afterwards, we grabbed lunch (Blue Barn - one of the best salads I've ever had) and headed over to Rodeo Beach across the Golden Gate, one of Gita's favorite spots (it's where Sandra got married). The place had a good amount of people, but it wasn't terribly crowded, and (since this is what we do), we decided to go for a hill run. Nobody kept time or marked distance, it was very casual, but we figure it was about a mile, and pretty damn steep (several sections were stairs). Truth be told, I found that to be much more tiring than the throwdown. I tried to run as much of it as I could, but wound up walking quite a bit and came in third - WELL after Brandon and Gita. We admired the vista from the top of our hill, then about half the folks ran back down. I hate running downhill - it stresses my knees and makes me nervous - so I walked back down at a leisurely pace with Rebecca, Ynez and Max. Then we had about an hour of lying on the beach in the sun, which was totally great. That night we had the victory dinner for Polly's qualifications to go to the Games, so it was a day almost entirely spent with the CFEB family, and it was fantastic.

Team CFEB at SFCF

CrossFit Santa Clara Throwdown

In the runup to the CrossFit Games this summer, several of the Bay Area affiliates are hosting throwdowns each month. CFEB is a little late to the party, but we sent three teams to last month's party at CrossFit Diablo. I was covering classes that day so didn't go, but thankfully Shira took classes today, so I could go to the meetup down in Santa Clara.

We showed up pretty early to scope out the situation, which took all of 15 minutes, then we spent the next hour hanging out, playing with the toys and watching a beautiful day unfold as we waited for the details of the WOD to emerge. It wound up being a little complicated. It was a team workout, which meant four people, at least one of whom had to be a different gender from the others.

1. 100 Clean/Jerk 155/95 (2 people working) - scaled to 95/65
2. 150 KB Swings 2/1.5P (2 people working) - scaled to 1.5/1P
3. 200 45# Thrusters (3 people working)
4. 400 Squats (4 people working)

Stations are 200m apart (ie, you have to run around the building after each movement). You must complete all reps at one station before moving on. Your team must all move together and only 3 people may touch the ground at any given moment during station transfer. 7 burpee penalty for the entire team if 4 people touch.

Team Bleach - 20:47 scaled

11 people from CFEB came, which made team formation somewhat awkward. Only one team would be able to attempt the workout RX'd, Team Comfort (Max, Gita, Polly and James C). Team Milk and Cookies, the only team fully intact from last month (Alex, Rebecca H, Raphael and Elaine) went in the second heat, followed by Comfort. I don't remember what Comfort got - 24 something, I think, but Milk and Cookies got 20:48. The three of us that were left comprised Team Bleach (Rebecca R, Ynez and I). We didn't really know what to do about the fourth member until it was almost time to go, at which point the organizer conceded that we could have a five-person team, since we were scaling anyway, and take two competitors from our other teams. So Rebecca Hodges and Gita, showing incredible fortitude, stepped up to do the workout AGAIN. For which we are immensely grateful.

I should really be working, and not goofing off in Photoshop making montages like this.

The clean & jerks were heavier than I thought they'd be, which bums me out - getting weight over my head continues to plague me. The KB swings went by very quickly, and we entered the thrusters strong. That's when things headed south. Between 200 thrusters and 400 squats, even spread out among five people, our legs were jelly, and the partner carries were pretty damn difficult - by the last round, we were doing them in 50m shifts, with Polly running alongside yelling encouragement.

We came in 1 second faster than Team Milk & Cookies, but they A) only had four teammates, and B) did 2 pood KB swings for the guys, just because they could. Gita and Rebecca H did an amazing job, considering how tired they were from the last go-round (poor Gita met Pukie afterwards). On the whole the event was a LOT of fun, and it was enjoyable watching the other teams compete as well - though I could wish for more cross-pollination. The affiliates didn't seem to mingle much. I'm not positive, but I think Santa Clara barely edged out Oakland for the #1 spot, and I don't know who came in third. The top RX times were all 20 and something.

Next month is San Francisco, where I've long wanted to try doing a workout. I hope to be able to go!