Barbara!

I have never done this benchmark WOD before today. I was not looking forward to it, but I survived. It was an excellent opportunity to learn about my fitness levels, honestly. In three days I will have been doing CF for 6 months. What surprises me is that I am able to set a strategy now and stick with it. I am also glad to have seen my pace quicken rather than slow down as the WOD went on. This may not mean all that much to most people who did the workout with me as I was the last to finish, but this is one day when I opted not to compare my score with anyone else's--my goal was to finish. I set a pace for myself and kept it throughout the WOD--sets of ten with a short recovery. I finished in (wait for it...you are sure to be underwhelmed...) 44:04. Yes, it took me nearly 45 minutes to complete the workout. I did not even take the full 3 minute rests that were designated between sets in the last two rounds. It looks like this:

Barbara - 5 rounds for time
20 pull-ups
30 push-ups
40 sit-ups
50 squats
rest 3 minutes
time: 44:04

What was fascinating to me was that the WOD got easier as I went. Is that normal? The first round was by far my slowest and most difficult. By the third rounds my squats were finally loosening up and the fourth round I was popping out of the squats much more easily. I am excited to be able to say that I can keep moving for 44 minutes. It also didn't hurt that a couple of my friends finished the last 25 squats with me. It was hard, but I am so much stronger.

I cannot express how grateful I am for CrossFit Woodbridge, my friends who get me through these tough WODs with their support and encouragement, and the overall feeling of well-being I have now after these six months. It has been an amazing start to what is the rest of my life in this body...