2010 CrossFit Taranis WInter Challenge

Well it was another amazing event this year at the CrossFit Taranis Winter Challenge. The Guys and Girls of CrossFit Taranis never cease to amaze me with all the hard work they pour into their events. It definitely shows in the results. The organization of the whole event ran like clockwork, flowing from one workout to the next. They definitely worked out any bugs they had last year and put on an absolutely amazing event for 2010!
I am extremely proud of both Jesse and Dave. The final results for placings outside of the top 3 aren't up yet but to me they are just meaningless numbers as both Dave and Jesse showed incredible heart in all the workouts and represented Titanium with the grit and determination that is our gym.
Jesse hammered out the WOD's with the same tenacity that we have come to expect from him on a daily basis. The first WOD came up as follows:
10 minute time limit
perform as many pull-ups in a row as possible then in the remainder of the 10 minutes work to your heaviest Squat Clean possible.
Jesse's hook slipped and eventually broke during the pull-ups leaving him short of the rep count he was going for but he came back in the second half of the Wod Squat Cleaning 265 and almost making 275!
After a frustrating 2nd and 3rd WOD Jesse's determination shone through as he smashed the last WOD of the day winning his heat and putting himself in the top 5 for that WOD.
During the awards ceremony Jesse was recognized for his unbelievable heart and determination with regards to his injured hand. No one had realized that he was missing the fingers on his left hand the entire day as his performances were among the top of the field. People were blown away at Jesse's ability to start from a deficit and still finish among the top of the heap.
Dave hands down gets the award for perseverance! Going into the event we were hoping to avoid any 1 rep max for squats, double unders or cleans of any kind. The first WOD was announced (see above) and 1 rep max Squat cleans comes up. SHIT!!! so I offered my sage words of advice "Oh well Dave at least you kill 3 birds with one stone on this one and get the max effort, squat and cleans out of the way in one WOD!"
Dave laughed and asked, "any advice for me on this one?"
"Yeah, get a lot of pull-ups." was my response.
Dave is the last guy off the pull-up bar (meaning he probably got the most pull-ups of the heat) and then goes on to PR the squat clean by about 20 lbs!
WOD 2 is announced:
5 minute time cap:
3 rounds of:
15 Wall Ball
10 Burpees
Great wall ball.... no one likes wall ball.
"So what's the plan on this one coach?" Dave asked.
"Just go for it and don't get frustrated. But if things start to go bad for you just smoke the guy across from you with the med ball so you at least beat one person!" was my joking response.
Apparently when Dave gets tired humour is lost on him and he takes things literally! In the last round Dave was having troubles hitting the small target they had and was getting frustrated. His attempt was for the target but it was a tired attempt that didn't quite make the target but amazingly enough was quite accurate in both hitting the person across from him and knocking his opponent's ball across the gym while Dave's ball came rolling right back to him! After apologizing, Dave made the mistake of looking up at me as I burst out into hysterical laughter causing him to start laughing as well. It was unintentional and our deepest apology to the poor guy who didn't manage to finish that workout.
The third WOD is announced:
AMRAP in 20 minutes of:
20 Backwards Skips
20 Squats
20 Double Unders
200m Run
Dave is NOT happy. "Just get through as best as you can Dave. At least it's paired with stuff your good at!" me trying to be the optimist!
Dave's response, "Dude backwards skips?!!! I can barely skip normally!"
Surprisingly enough Dave ended up being better at backwards skipping than double unders and posted a more than respectable round count!
After Wod 3 Dave was exhausted and feeling a bit demoralized so trying to be a good coach I break out some more sage words of wisdom, "Well Dave those are pretty much all your goats out of the way! I am 99% sure that the last WOD is going to be something you're good at!"
A small glimmer of hope before the last WOD is announced:
10 minute time cap:
5 Rounds of:
9 deadlifts
6 Power Cleans
3 Squat Clean and Jerks
all at 135lbs
SON OF A BITCH!!!
"Squat Cleans again?!!! damn my legs are cramping just doing air squats! And a 10minute cap that's not going to happen!"
But like a champ Dave followed our strategy to a "T" and finished in the top half of the field in the final WOD.
A huge Congrats to both Jesse and Dave! It was an awesome weekend and you were both incredible representatives of our little community. I'm proud of you both and would coach you guys at any event with pride and confidence. Thanks for the great weekend you two!