Monday, February 8, 2010

Danish CrossFit Open 2010 - WOD 1

The 2010 Danish CrossFit Open is now in the books and I wound up finishing first. My current state of being is happy but broken. I’m sitting on the couch next to the female champion (Sarah-picture right) watching the super bowl on Danish television, unable to move my legs without pain. Every time I have to stand up to get a glass of water or go to the bathroom it’s a struggle getting down the hall. The workouts, programming, and organization were top notch and the crowd was insane! “Atmosphere” doesn’t do it justice. Needless to say, I’m exhausted and a week of rest is needed.

In recounting the happenings of this past weekend, I’ve decided to break the event up and write about one workout per day over the course of the next 5, and do a general wrap up on the sixth. There’s so much to tell, so I’ll start with the day’s first WOD.

WOD 1: 10 minute AMRAP of 20 virtual shovels (40 kg), 10 box jumps (24”), 6 meter rope climb

The standards for the shoveling movement were to raise a bar with a 20 kg bumper over a 24 inch box and touch it down on either side without bringing it around the box in the process. The box jumps required vertical extension above the box, and there were no rules for the climbs. 10 minutes wasn’t a long time, but the shoveling movement was awkward and the ropes were thick and slick nylon so it felt like much longer. Watching the early heats, it became obvious that the competition was strong and skilled. Some of these guys climb ropes like I walk through a supermarket: with no wasted effort or time whatsoever. They have inspired me to change my technique entirely. Last years champion, Rasmus Andresen, was especially impressive. He completed 8 rounds plus 16 shovels before running out of time in the first heat. He’s in the Danish special forces, is extremely mentally tough, and I think he could have gone on indefinitely. This was not the case for me. I was able to edge him at the end with 20 shovels on my 9th round, but I don’t think I could have continued much longer. My arms were pretty tired from my inferior climbing technique and I was losing steam.

My number ended up being the highest, so I walked away from the first event in first place. I was really surprised by this and felt fortunate it wasn’t an 11 minute AMRAP instead. Heading back to Paris tomorrow and I’m expecting a continuation of the delayed onset muscle soreness that I’m feeling now.

Below is a compilation video from the weekend.

13 comments:

  1. Invincible....guess I better convert to paleo too!

    Congrats

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  2. fantastic comp, Blair. Great form in the row. U dominate. How about an ice bath fo yo legs?

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  3. Great video Blair. Say hi to Sarah.

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  4. Thumbs up! Hope you had some energy left for the party on saturday. Impressed that you did a new pb on DL, along with a few others, long time ago since you lifted heavy!

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  5. To bad that because of Sony Music you have used its not available for us in germany to watch the video.
    Glad I was there and it was good seeing you again.

    Take care!

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  6. I did a video of my own, I thought you guys might like it: http://vimeo.com/9296628

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  7. Your blog is going to get me fired from my job! Very entertaining, great vids, and writing, I'm quickly catching up in the archives! Good luck in Aromas this summer.

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  8. Love the video, Bear. Great seeing you there... too bad you couldn't hang for the party. It was a good one. Talk soon.

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  9. Amazing challenge great video and great win.
    I really like your blog and admire your performance.

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  10. Congratulations on the win, Blair.
    You where lethal in the first events but showed signs of being human in the final. It was first at the party later when talking to Frederik that I realized he would have won it by finishing first in the final, and he was beaten by something like half a second by Martin.
    And what incredible finals they where. The church almost exploded... twice!!!

    I can recommend my light WOD on sunday as a light rehab for you once you get your legs moving again. LOL.

    A pleasure, once again, to meet you and talk.

    /Jesper aka Max Power aka The head official :-)

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  11. congrats, great work! could you go in depth a little more on how their rope technique was different? I'm very curious

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  12. Yeah Jesper, that was the first I heard of it too. My fault for not making myself more informed of the possibilities before the final- I thought it could only have been between Rasmus and I. But give it up to those Butchers guys for pushing regardless of the standings... tougher than me I guess, and I respect the hell out of them. Will use it for motivation from now til May.

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