Small Victories

When I got to CF this morning, the side doors of the box were wide open and there were only a few people at class. It was over 60 degrees--again. So weird. But ANYway...

Today's warmup had 400 m of running in it (approximately 1/4 mile). I ran full out the whole way, and did not think about slowing down to walk at all. Now to my running friends who read this, I know that this may sound seriously lame-o, but when I started CF, I could not do the whole run without walking part of it. I'll call that "small victory #1" for today.

The WOD:

snatch work
5 weighted strict pull-ups, scaled: use the lightest possible band

The snatch is a very technical move that I find to be a bit intimidating. There are just so many parts to remember, and if you miss one, you miss your lift. I worked up to 55# and just couldn't pull off 65#. I did get some nice lifts with the 55#.

On the pull-ups, I used only the green band and then tried some with the blue. I managed all five of the pull-ups with my chin fully over the bar with the green, but could only do 1 full pull-up with the blue band. Even that was great--I thought I wouldn't be able to do even one! I'll call that "small victory #2" today.

After all the lifting and bar work, I am getting some lovely calluses. They are badges of honor, supposedly. I might as well forget my dream of being a hand model...

Remember the post in which I complained of my knees hurting? Well, I learned today how to be more efficient in my squats. I knew that I needed to take the weight off the front of my legs and let my weight rest mostly in my hams and and in my heels. Even so, while I was getting lower and a little further back, I have still been throwing my weight too far forward, i.e. not getting my chest up straight enough which means that my knees are still bearing too much weight. With the smaller class today I got Nick to show me more specifically what was going wrong, and I managed a correct squat and felt a huge difference, even though my knees are really sore today. Hmmm... in some ways I feel set back a step or two, like now I need to relearn the most functional, basic movement of CF, but never mind--I'd rather take the time to correct things now and have longevity in the pursuit of fitness than ruin my knees and not be able to continue. Right? Right. I'll call this setback a victory for my knees, so "small victory #3."