No shit there I was....
It is 24 hours before the start of my first individual competition since last July and wouldn't you know it, I have a bout of something that makes food not stay in your body so well. I am convinced that it was some form of food poisoning (my clever friend informs me that it was a virus but he went to a half rate medical school so I don't pay him too much mind) Regardless, I loose about 12 pounds in a 36 hour period, I can't keep anything down, I can barely stand up and it feels like I've been hit by a Mack truck. So it is only logical that I would do a competition that entails multiple high intensity workouts in a single day.
The CrossTown Throwdown was being hosted by CF Stapleton. Any one who knows me knows that I often speak highly of this place. I have done workouts here before and I am always impressed by the coaches knowledge and professionalism. That said, I had high expectations going into this event. I hate to spoil the end of this little review for you but those expectations were exceeded. Let's hop right to the meat of this samich...
WOD 1- Run 1 mile.
WOD 2- (Begining within 4 minutes of finishing WOD 1) Clean and Jerk ladder starting at 135#
WOD 3- 4 rounds of- 250m row, 7 thrusters (95#) max rep double unders (in two minutes total) rest 1 minute
WOD 4- 30 snatches (115) 5 rope climbs, 50 wall ball, 30 toe to bar, 25 burpees
FLOATER- Max rep unbroken pull ups
Typically I would discuss my results and where I could improve but I am going to forgo all that and say that I performed as well as could hope for having food poisoning. In fact, less than a minute before the one mile run I was still actively vomiting. (Sorry guy in heat 3 whose shoes I Spackled)
It's no secret, I am a programming geek. So much of how I rate a competition is based off of how it is programmed. Here is why this competition did better than regionals to determine who was actually the fittest athlete there.
How do we determine the fittest athlete? A broad range of tests. The ThrowDown had a heavy pulling and pushing component, a max repetition effort component, a mono-structural component, and interval based metabolic component and an chipper that stressed oxidative phosphoralation. Athletes with proficiency in high skill level movements like double unders, rope climbs and snatches were clearly rewarded but were punished for not having high end strength or capacity. So many competitions (Regionals included) test the same thing over and over again. I understand the logistical restrictions that are placed on competitions but with just a little thought those things can be overcome.
Programming isn't the only thing that makes a competition. Having a (close to) up to the minute online athlete score sheet was an very cool touch. I have competed at other events where this has been used and it is very cool to be able to email a link to your grandma so she can see how fucking bad ass you are!
The throwdown had coffee and water bottles for athletes as well as one of my favorite eateries, The Paleo Wagon, dishing up lots of amazing food that my stomach wouldn't have been able to tolerate given my condition. The shirts...... you knew it was coming! The shirts were very cool. I honestly wasn't expecting to get one since the entry for the event was so low. The flag on the sleeve was a super cool touch. Honestly, as someone who has put these events on I don't think that they made a dime off of there hard work. There was simply too much offered for such a low price.
The only suggestion that I would give for next year is to possibly have a designated athlete warm up area for competitors.
Somehow, despite being sick, I managed to make it to the podium. The prizes were rad, I came in second and got a brand new 30lb slam ball and Rage Fitness speed rope which have both already seen use in my new gym.
WOD 1- Run 1 mile.
WOD 2- (Begining within 4 minutes of finishing WOD 1) Clean and Jerk ladder starting at 135#
WOD 3- 4 rounds of- 250m row, 7 thrusters (95#) max rep double unders (in two minutes total) rest 1 minute
WOD 4- 30 snatches (115) 5 rope climbs, 50 wall ball, 30 toe to bar, 25 burpees
FLOATER- Max rep unbroken pull ups
Typically I would discuss my results and where I could improve but I am going to forgo all that and say that I performed as well as could hope for having food poisoning. In fact, less than a minute before the one mile run I was still actively vomiting. (Sorry guy in heat 3 whose shoes I Spackled)
It's no secret, I am a programming geek. So much of how I rate a competition is based off of how it is programmed. Here is why this competition did better than regionals to determine who was actually the fittest athlete there.
How do we determine the fittest athlete? A broad range of tests. The ThrowDown had a heavy pulling and pushing component, a max repetition effort component, a mono-structural component, and interval based metabolic component and an chipper that stressed oxidative phosphoralation. Athletes with proficiency in high skill level movements like double unders, rope climbs and snatches were clearly rewarded but were punished for not having high end strength or capacity. So many competitions (Regionals included) test the same thing over and over again. I understand the logistical restrictions that are placed on competitions but with just a little thought those things can be overcome.
Programming isn't the only thing that makes a competition. Having a (close to) up to the minute online athlete score sheet was an very cool touch. I have competed at other events where this has been used and it is very cool to be able to email a link to your grandma so she can see how fucking bad ass you are!
The throwdown had coffee and water bottles for athletes as well as one of my favorite eateries, The Paleo Wagon, dishing up lots of amazing food that my stomach wouldn't have been able to tolerate given my condition. The shirts...... you knew it was coming! The shirts were very cool. I honestly wasn't expecting to get one since the entry for the event was so low. The flag on the sleeve was a super cool touch. Honestly, as someone who has put these events on I don't think that they made a dime off of there hard work. There was simply too much offered for such a low price.
Somehow, despite being sick, I managed to make it to the podium. The prizes were rad, I came in second and got a brand new 30lb slam ball and Rage Fitness speed rope which have both already seen use in my new gym.
Based off of having videos posted of all workouts before hand, excellent programming, great prizes, and how smoothly the entire day went, I am giving the CrossFit Stapleton's CrossTown ThrowDown a score of All you can eat steak and potato dinner!
Leo, thanks for a great writeup. You know we are a proud bunch there, and it was great to have you join us and hammer it despite the bug. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDelete