Think Outside The Box

I was very excited when Calvin announced we were doing our Satuday WOD at Hulda Crooks, where I often hike with my dog. But my performance that Saturday at the park was pathetic. I was sluggish during the run; I had a hard time walking up the hill and my pull ups needed major assistance. Burpees were slow and painful but the kettlebell swings weren’t too bad.

Here’s the deal with nutrition. I am still not eating sugar but I am eating a slightly greenish banana and drinking a cup of coffee with milk 45 minutes prior to my workouts. The sweet thing is that I have not experienced a crash in energy during my workouts since I added this “zone unfavorable” food back into my diet. However, I did something very dumb before Satuday's workout.

Forty five minutes before the workout at the park, I ate my banana and drank my coffee with milk as usual. No problem. We arrived at the park at 7:45 but no one from CrossFit was there. I called Calvin to find out where he was. He told me the WOD starts at 9am. Oh, no! My fuel was ready for burning but there wasn’t going to be any burning for at least another hour. I was worried that the banana and coffee were not going to sustain me through the 9am WOD. Sean and I and a friend we brought with us for his first WOD decided it would be a good idea to grab a bite to eat. Our options were limited so we drove to Stells. Sean and I split a jalapeno cheese bagel with peanut butter and cream cheese. Oh, it was delicious, but I was suspicious of how that bagel, now forty minutes prior to the workout, was going to sit with me during the workout. The answer revealed itself in my performance.

Calvin led the CrossFit team on a warm up tour of our course. We were expected to do 30 pullups using the thick bar of the swing set, do 30 kettelbell swings, run the hill and halfway through drop for 20 burpees. Do this 2 times for time. Immediately, I found it difficult just to keep a good walking pace up the hill! My friend’s recurring back injury prevented him from starting the workout and I was more then willing to get off the hill and drive him home. But I stayed and endured the misery of being completely ill-prepared for a CrossFit workout. My lungs struggled for breath, my whole body and legs felt weak, like I was jogging through molasses. I just wanted it to end.

Now, there are many factors that contributed to my weakness that day. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or too many beers the night before. Maybe it actually was the bagel with peanut butter and cream cheese. At least I know for sure that proper rest, proper nutrition and consistent training are key ingredients to a successful workout. Better planning next time.