After I ran the Crazy Krewe 7K, it was time for the CrossFit Open 16.2 workout on Saturday morning, which for me was all toes-to-bar.
I was already running late; I had a bunch of stuff to do and of course not enough time, so I signed up for a heat as soon as I got to the box, and I lucked out because Holly had one scaled lane left.
Since toes to bar were on the menu, and doing RX beats scaled even if I just get one rep, I was determined to RX it – but I knew I didn’t need the barbell. I figured I could get 10 or so toes to bar before I couldn’t get any more – I’ve strung together five. My toes to bar are clunky and slow, but I have them, and if I can RX something, I’m so competitive that I’ll try it. In a fit of optimism, I grabbed a double under rope (I barely have double unders). My judge, Jarrett, was confused that I was in the scaled lane. But yeah, there was no way I was getting to the squat cleans – and if I did, there was no way I could lift it. I knew it, Holly knew it, and that’s why I was going to Hobbit Land, where a bar closer to the ground waited for me.
The 16.2 Open workout actually went better than expected. I knew my hands were going to hurt; afterward, I could barely grip my steering wheel. But I did 23 toes to bar! I got to post a score of 23 RX on the Games site.
During those four minutes, Reene was cheering me on, as was Jarrett. I ripped off my gymnastics grips, chalked up what felt like a million times, and just kept trying to swing my feet up to hit the bar. I remember Renee shouting, “Those hips birthed babies! They can get toes to bar!” At the four-minute mark, I dropped off the bar onto my hands and knees, not sure whether to laugh or to cry, my hands were hurting so much but my heart was swelling with pride.
The end result is that I’m really proud of myself. I could have taken the slightly easier way out with the scaled workout – but I knew, even those squat cleans would have stopped me in the first round. Toes to bar are not easy. The constant movement on the bar rips your hands and gives you gnarly callouses. You have to ninja-kick your legs up and kip, both of which are not quite in my wheelhouse. I was doing some strict toes to bar, which are all core and so not fun.
I was also excited to see my friends doing so well: going past the four minutes and PRing on their squat cleans, basically being amazing beasts.
It will be interesting to see what 16.3 will bring!