15.2--Short and Sweet

After 15.1's "nine minutes to achieve four toes-to-bar" debacle, 15.2 was looking mercifully short. 

 In fact, I was pretty sure it would take me just three minutes.

15.2 looked like this:

For as long as possible:

From 0:00-3:00
  2 rounds of:
  10 overhead squats (95 / 65 lb.)
  10 chest-to-bar pull-ups

From 3:00-6:00
  2 rounds of:
  12 overhead squats (95 / 65 lb.)
  12 chest-to-bar pull-ups

From 6:00-9:00
  2 rounds of:
  14 overhead squats (95 / 65 lb.)
  14 chest-to-bar pull-ups

Etc., following same pattern

We had actually done this WOD at SISU two weeks ago.  I was in the middle of my "lower body workout restriction" phase, so I had substitued 55 pound hang cleans for the overhead squats--and had still only achieved 25 of the 40 reps needed to advance past the first three minutes.  Still, I was fairly happy to see this WOD turn up for 15.2.  I can do chest-to-bars--slowly and with a lot of effort, but I can do them--and I was sure I could do the overhead squats at the Rx weight.

Well, pretty sure anyway.  A quick peek at "Wodify" had revealed that my one-rep max for this lift was only 70 pounds, and that was pre-injury, so success was nowhere near assured.

So when I started my warmup yesterday, the first thing I wanted to try was a 65 pound overhead squat.    I haven't done a ton of squats with weight in general since my injury, and no overhead squats with weight at all, as far as I can remember--but when I tried the lift at 65 pounds, I was able to successfully snatch it overhead and then squat it.  Of course, I couldn't do a second squat without putting the bar down, but I figured that the adrenaline of the competition would enable me to maybe complete my 10 reps in three or four sets of 2-4.  Then with any luck I'd still have time to do my 10 chest-to-bars.  I was thinking that I'd be pretty happy with a score of 20...and since my shoulder and hands were still sore from 15.1, I wasn't too bummed that my 15.2 would likely be over in 180 seconds.

Since I had (as usual) arrived at SISU insanely early, I was done with my warmup before very many other of the "Friday Night Lights" participants had even shown up.  So when Coach JJ asked if I wanted to do my workout right then, before the heats officially started, I figured what the heck.  Better to go now than to wait and have to warm up again.  

3, 2, 1, go.  I snatched up the bar, squatted it...and then, to my surprise, proceeded to squat nine more times without having to set the bar down to rest.  Yup, I managed to do the ten overhead squats unbroken.  (Insert small cheer here for "life's little victories.")  Then I went to the rig for the ten chest-to-bars.  I can't link them together so I didn't do them unbroken, but I did manage to do what I consider my version of unbroken: 10 singles in a row without a no-rep (except I did have to let go once before I attempted a pullup and then jump up again, when my initial grip felt weird).  I realized, in the middle of my pullups, that I had made a tactical error--I had chosen one of my favorite (as in, "more grippy") bars on the rig for my pullups, but it was facing away from the clock so I couldn't see how much time I had left.  But when I got back to the bar for the next overhead squats and could look at the clock, it didn't matter how much time I had left anyway...I was so out of breath that I simply had to stop for 10 seconds or so and breathe.  Man, I miss having my "skating cardio fitness!"

When I eventually picked up the bar again, I had to do the squats in sets of two or three.  A couple of the squats were iffy, and I had to do a lot of waltzing around with  the bar overhead before I was finally able to lock out and get the rep counted.  I had a couple of no reps when I couldn't get down without dropping the bar in front of me...and then the three minutes were up.

I had finished with a score of 28--and a big smile.  Three minutes for 28 reps is way better than nine minutes for four reps!