Pride RX

Pride RX Inaugural WOD Social Flyer

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3.13.2013; Insomnia, 13.1, Momentum

It's 4:31 A.M.

I've been awake since 3:30 tossing and turning with no relief.  I had a conversation with Pride RX ally Erin recently about the body knowing/communicating insomnia as a subconscious action, keeping you awake until you identify and address the source of conflict, thusly I am sitting up staring at this screen typing away.  I don’t want to focus this posting so much on the issues that may be the cause of today's insomnia, for they could all just be crutches/excuses.  My honest guess is that the delicious nachos/hot wings/ and two beers I had for dinner last night are contributing to my sleep deprivation right now more than anything else.

A week ago today marked the beginning of the CrossFit Games Open series.  There was a lot of anticipation for the announcement of the WOD 13.1 which was as followed:

Workout 13.1

17 minute AMRAP of:
40 Burpees 
30 Snatch, 75 / 45 lbs 
30 Burpees
30 Snatch, 135 / 75 lbs 
20 Burpees
30 Snatch, 165 / 100 lbs 
10 burpees
Max rep Snatch, 210 / 120 lbs

Total score was 126; 4:30

With week one behind us, and the announcement of WOD 13.2 some 15 hours away several thoughts are floating around my head most of which sound something like "I wonder wtf Dave Castro will throw at us this week."  The amount of energy I spent last week preparing for 13.1 was greater than the effort I put into 13.1, a lesson I will carry forward into 13.2.  I do not want to run out of time with gas in the tank again.  I've been beating myself up over this mistake, and enough is enough.  Last night, I got some sage advice from a dear friend and newbie Pride RXer Roberto , "get over it".  That was followed by an email from another friend and fellow Pride RXer Erich where he attached a link to this video:

  

I love these types of motivational videos.  There is a lot of great words and truths in this one.  the part that stood out most though, the part that made me go back and find this video to post it, the part that made me think "Holy shit, it's so true" is this :

Remember this is the grind, the battle royal between you and your mind and your body and the devil on your shoulder whose tellin’ you 'this is just a game.  This is just a waste of time. your opponents are stronger than you'.  Drown out the voice of uncertainty with the sound of your own heartbeat. Burn away the self doubt with a fire lit beneath you. Remember what we’re fighting for and never forget momentum’s a cruel mistress.  She can turn on a dime with the smallest mistake. She is ever searching for the weak place in your armor, that one tiny thing you forgot to prepare for... So as long as the devil is hiding the details the question remains... is that all you got? are you sure?

"Momentum is a cruel mistress" AIN'T THAT THE TRUTH.  

In the weeks leading into the open I was hitting PRs and achieving skills I had never done before.  Go figure momentum would lead me face first into a wall of suck in the round of 30 snatches at 135.  The notion that getting better could give me a false sense of security, is something I did not account for.  

I will never take that for granted ever again.  

Congratulations to all the athletes who are participating in this 2013 Open series.  We're going to have a great time together and I am looking forward to sharing more tales of success, experiences, and opportunities for improvement with our ever growing and always fabulous Pride RX community.

xxoo

 

 

2.25.2013; Super Spartan Race, Fran-Two-Times, Food Truck Face Stuffing

What have you done lately that has taken you out of your comfort zone?

On Saturday my fellow Pride RXers and I headed over to Oleta River State Park to participate in the  2013 Super Spartan Race, which is an 8.3 mile obstacle course run in and through some tough terrain.  Thanks to my training schedule for the last few weeks, I felt confident that I would be able to get through the course with no too much trouble.  I was also confident that our entire group would finish strong.  I was right on both counts.  There were some touchy moments (as to be expected when you have 8 queens running outdoors in the 1:00pm Miami sun doing burpees in rock gravel and body crawling though rocky mud).  In the end, however, it was cheers and laughs as we all celebrated the accomplishment of finishing.  

(Click here for the "finish line" crossing video)

It's now crossed off the bucket list and filed under "never again".

Do you know what is (not) the best way to recover from an 8.3 mile obstacle course run?  

Doing "Fran".  

Twice.

Sunday Funday got under way at the box with a 1rm Snatch test.  I was still foggy from the day before (that's my story and I am sticking to it).  So my 175# didn't get me on the leader board.  It was somewhat disappointing, but to be expected considering the previous days events.

Shortly thereafter Coach Brad announced the WOD.

"Fran" he says with a sly grin.

At which point a collective "UGHHH" coupled with some serious eye rolling echo throughout the box.  To be honest, it may just have been me.  

3,2,1 Go.  
7:02 later I'm done.  
Another less than stellar performance, but what’s done is done, right?

Wrong.

Right then, as I am writhing on the floor, working on catching my breath, my judge Katie (Sunday Funday WODs are always judged) whispers in my ear "in 3 minutes, you're doing it again".

To quote (now) Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence; when asked what she was thinking when she fell on stage to collect her Oscar "That one four-letter f-word, I actually think I said it when I was down there".

I definitely said it.  

So with the clock still ticking, I went again.

25:37- Final time.

So how do you recover from all of that pile of tremendous SUCK?

You get invited to a South Beach Wine and Food Festival Event and gorge yourself on delicious eats provided by the Food Trucks.  Thank you to Gal and Kali for the invite to the "Trucks on Midtown Tracks" event which was hosted by Andrew Zimmern.  Disciplined diet be dammed.  I enjoyed all sorts of treats including what I considered the hands-down best bite of the day from "Waffleosophy" which was a curry beef with pineapple on a savory waffle, with honorable mentions to Mr. Zimmern's Hot Dog truck, and a fabulous crab cake slider from the Palate Party truck.

 

 

Community Clean Up

Spartan Race Finish Line (video)!

2.20.2013; A Good Day

Today was a good day. 

Let's start with what happened last night.

After a tough "regular life" 9-5er yesterday, I went into the box to get a WOD in and hopefully shake off the meh feeling that was clouding me all day.

2.19.12 
SWOD
6x3 low bar back squats
*185, 225, 245, 275, 295, 315

WOD
7 rounds
150 M sprint
max effort DB snatch (70#)
*100 total 

I finished in a pool of sweat and smile on my face.  It was exactly the way I wanted to end the day.

SO THIS MORNING...
I walk into the box and see the WOD is 2012 Games Open WOD 12.4.  I took 3 attempts at this WOD last year with my highest score being 137 reps.  all three times I felt broken as the time clicked away and I knew it wasn't going to happen.

Today was redemption time.  As I stared down at my wall ball all I was thinking was "get through "Karen" and the rest will follow"

2.20.2013
WOD 
12 minute time cap
150 wall- balls (20 lbs to 10' target)
90 double unders 
30 muscle-ups 

*Total reps: 240!

I finished "Karen" in 9:20.  I banged out the dubs and walked over to the rings.  Time ran out and I wasn't able to get the muscle up.  The 240 reps itself was a major success from last year and proof that I have improved.

Afterwards, Coach Brad, Anna, Carlo, Greg, Ricardo and a few others are hanging out post-wod shooting the breeze.  I don't recall what prompted me walking back to rings to try again.  I feel like it was mostly an "oh why not/ let’s see if this will work" attempt.  So when I missed on two attempts I wasn't too upset.  

Sure enough though, Anna walks over with some words of encouragement.  

"Commit to it" she tells me.  

Now, here's the thing, when Anna Tunnicliffe tells you to commit, you commit.

I walk back to the rings, replay the checkpoints in my head, grab a hold of the rings, and explode- UP into the hold position and yell and scream (along with everyone else at the box yelling at me) as I pushed through the dip into the lock out...

BLAM!!!

My very 1st muscle up.  

Almost 3 years to the day of my 101's at CrossFit Gables, this guy achieved a muscle up.

Today is a good day.

:)

 

 

2.19.2013; Getting Knocked Down, "Kelly", Silver Linings.

What do you do when you are unexpectedly knocked down?  The question is purposefully vague and open to interpretation because that how life is.  

We make plans, strategize, asses, document, save, and prepare for what is to come, whether it is in the box, for a competition, or in everyday life for our future. 

I think that many times we make these plans in order to keep the forward momentum of our lives.  Every so often, life happens and that forward trajectory is stopped dead in it tracks- when the going "get's tough".  

How do you work through it?

I'll be candid; I am not a good example of tenacity.  My gut reaction to adversity is to walk away.  The walls go up and I retreat (usually to my couch, with junk food and an endless loop of streaming television to numb the fact that I feel defeated).

Inevitably, life goes on and it does so with no regard for my feelings of defeat.  It becomes my responsibility to rise above the pouty five year old feelings and keep moving.  The best way I have found to this is always with a WOD.  On Sunday, I woke up early feeling pretty good.  I head to the box for our Sunday Funday WOD "Kelly".  I don't remember the last time (or if I ever have) done Kelly, but I knew it was going to be a doozie when I was judging the 1st heat and the top finisher (and Games focused athlete Anna Tunnicliffe) finished right around 20 minutes.

Kelly
5 rounds for time
400 M run
30 box jumps (24"/20")
30 wall ball shots (20/14 lbs)

40:41 Rx

The rest of my Sunday afternoon and evening was a mix of laughs, art, music, and drinks.  I have recently made a commitment to drink less and WOD more which was going quite well until Sunday afternoon when I made a nose dive right off the wagon.  The consequence was spending all day Monday recovering and contemplating the follies of the previous evening.  The responsibility rested solely on my shoulders and the frustrating part is that I knew better.

So with that said, I am dusting myself off, and getting back on track today.  My bag is packed and I'll be back in the box this afternoon for what I can only anticipate being a suck-fest of a WOD.  There is a silver lining, and that is how much better I am going to feel when I finish. 

 

 

2.13.2013; ABOUT US

As the site continues to develop, I was asked to provide a brief statement to describe what Pride RX is about.  I share this with you all now.

 

ABOUT US

What began as a novel idea one day in 2011 has grown into a patchwork of social connectivity with CrossFit at its root.  Pride RX strives to unite the LGBT CrossFit community through outreach and awareness. 

We have surrounded ourselves with friends and family who, through their own commitment to community, have become our Pride RX allies.  They support and cheer for us in and out of the box. 

Pride RX takes the tenets of CrossFit and applies them in the pursuit of a global social network of individuals, who all live and love to WOD. 

We are the box within a box.  

Despite our different affiliates, we are all one community. 

We are Pride RX.

2.4.2013; Ice Monster, "Nancy", Hairography

Happy Monday Pride RXers.  

The weekend opened early on a gorgeous and cool Saturday morning.  I headed to CrossFit 305 to watch and cheer the athletes competing at "Ice Monster 3" competition.  Congratulations to Pride Rx Ambassador Carlos on his top 5 finish.  Pride Rx Ally James was forced to pull out do to an injury during a very heavy lifting WOD (235 ground to over head is no joke).  Let's send James some good juju for a speedy recovery.  One last shout out goes to Pride Rx follower Philip Chang from South Florida CrossFit Endurance who despite feeling less than 100%, fought hard (taking 2nd in the final chipper WOD) representing his box.  

After an early morning of watching folks WOD, I made my way to CrossFit Thump where I was invited to judge for their upcoming in-house competition.  It always fun for me to check out other boxes in the community and see how the magic of CrossFit brings people together.  It's going to be a fun day of WODs for their members, and I am pleased to be able to help out.  I like how in-house competitions foster a healthy sense of competition and camaraderie within a box. 

Sunday morning was a date with "Nancy"
5 rounds for time
400 m run
15 OHS 95 lbs

16:34 RX

I ended the weekend at a gathering with my favorite Pride RX allies last night to watch the game (by which I mean I hung out in the kitchen eating delicious food [standouts- chicken wings, sweet potato chips, guacamole, and sweet/salty cookies] until Beyonce came out and blew the lights out in the Superdome).  A fun time was had by all.  We took bets on Mrs. Carter's Hairogrpahy (count the hair flip reps).

Unfortunately, there was a discrepancy as to the precise movement standard on what actually counts as a full hair flip rep, so no winner could be crowned.   

J

1.30.2013; Last Night at the Box

Last night's WOD went as follows:

5 rounds for time

200M run
20 ar squats
10 L-sit pull-ups

19:32

I scaled the L-sit pull-up.  The movement should be performed as a strict pull up in the Lsit position which I am unable to do.  The variation i did was kip up to chin over bar, bringing my legs up to the L sit, then slowly lowering myself down in the L-sit position.

I took this morning off and enjoyed the extra 2 hours of rest.  I'll head back to the box this afternoon.  I'm sure Brad (my coach) has something fun worked up.  

Happy Humpday Pride RX!