WOD

A really nice account of our games from one of Kempies CrossFit NorthEast England members Lee Hill who competed and acquitted himself well:

This weekend Lee Hill and I travelled down to Swansea to compete in the Crossfit Velocity Games. Lee has crafted a great review which will follow in a sec. Firstly though I just want to give a coaches congratulation to Lee. His movement, commitment and heart were a great reflection on himself and us at CFNEE and the Faktory.

9 AM - people arrive at Crossfit Velocity. Momentary wariness of all the other serious-looking dudes in performance sportswear began to thaw once we started realising a lot of us knew each other from the boards. Lots of tactics discussed, but everyone was still a bit cagey.
10 AM - driven to run site, bravado and humour started to kick in. Then the run, which was muddy, wet, unfamiliar and hard. I set out fast, no concept of pacing, and managed to hang on to finish 4th. All of us beaten by a lass from Crossfit Manchester, which was humbling. Once over the finish line, the familiar crossfit atmosphere sprang up – bellowing encouragement to everyone as they staggered up. At this point it became a shared thing, lots of congratulations, back slapping, honest conversations about the remaining events and good dark humour. 11 AM – rush for Tescos and Costa - Saw several athletes trying to cram in a fry up and grande lattes. Back at box, between all the protein eating, there was a load of banter, technique demos and good hearted showing off. Most nerves had now gone and everyone chatted like old mates. 12:30ish – Deadlift event for girls, unanimous roaring encouragement from all. Then the Snatch event. Every attempt met with support and applause, no matter how light or how bad. Lifting in front of a positive audience like that worked well for me, cleared my head and I came away pleased and proud of efforts (Equalled PB). Some more and some less inspiring technique on show, which served to help me assess my own by comparison.3:30ish – Chipper WOD heats start. All audience crammed down one end of the box, roaring advice and encouragement. We all urged on those who broke down or couldn’t get past a movement (HSPU and MU) and felt a shared sense of pride that no-one quit or called it a day. Everyone pushed to the 15 minute cut off point. Some had to sub movements but were cheered on regardless. Some athletes made it look hard (myself included), some made it look easy with better pacing and mental attitude. 4:15ish – presentations and results – huge cheers and applause for all placings. Lots of numbers swapped, mini-muscle up tutorials (several people hit their first over the day) and honest discussion about new training targets/directions. Each event was a revelation, every athlete brought something to the day. I had expected a bit more ego and macho action, but spent the almost the whole day smiling, cheering and laughing like everyone else. I’ve come away from the experience with clear new training goals, a better idea of my strengths and weaknesses relative to other crossfitters and a major rush of new friends on my facebook account. Many people entered this event with no expectation of winning, and I think they got the most out of it. No-one was embarrassed, everyone got more than they had hoped from it. I’d recommend the experience to all Crossfit North-East England members, try one and you’ll see how true a old phrase is: ‘It’s not the winning but the taking part that counts.’ Too right.

Strength:
3 Rounds Max Reps Ring Dips

Met Con:
7 Rounds For Time
7 Overhead Squat
7 Wall Ball
7 Box Jumps

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