14.1 Notes

The much anticipated start to the 2014 Games season gave us a 2011 Open repeat of snatches and double unders. I distinctly remember that workout. It was the very first ever Open workout and it was rough! My double unders were decent, but I hadn’t developed the ability to relax while completing them. The snatch weight was pretty light then too, about half my 1RM at the time. I buzzed through round one like a boss only to make it halfway into the next round of snatches before slamming into the brick wall. I broke up the snatches from then on. I tripped a couple of times during the double unders but stayed fairly consistent with them. One thing that stands out to me as I reflect back is how elevated my heart rate was throughout the workout. It was a ten minute intense fight, for sure.

Fast forward to 2014, my double unders and snatches have improved tremendously. The snatch weight is now around a third of my 1RM. Yay for progress and strength! My strategy was to stay unbroken (I know, a novel idea) as long as it felt right. I often have the strategy of play-by-feel and I elected to use this strategy for 14.1. After three rounds of power snatches, I switched to a clean and push press hybrid. I felt (operative word) that I could keep the bar moving quickly this way. It seemed to work, so I stuck with it. I had to break the (now) ground-to-overhead in round five. The 55lb. barbell began to feel so heavy. I kept my breaks brief, though, and was able to register 392 reps. I had about 30 people from CrossFit Chickasaw there to watch, cheer for, and support me. When the clock was running down and the yells got louder and louder, you better believe that I wasn’t going to stop. I credit my getting through the last set of double unders and back to the barbell for a couple of reps to my wonderful friends and fans, the #tribe and #kpc at CrossFit Chickasaw.