Workout 21.2 and The Cough That Lingered
Another week and another workout done! Can I just say that I don’t think I’ve experienced fatigue like this other than during marathon training? I give myself rest after each workout but I think the anticipation and nerves along with the physical demand of the actual workout have me crashing super hard after the workouts. We are in the final stretch and there is only one more workout left in the Open! Let’s talk about workout 21.2 and the cough that lingered.
Check out my recap of 21.1 here!
Workout 21.2 turned out to be an exact repeat of 17.1. There was actually talk of a few past workouts that could be repeated given the small equipment list this year. This was one of the workouts and all my friends had stories from 2017. This is one of those points where I’m glad I’m fairly new to CrossFit. I didn’t have experience with this workout so I could go in fresh.
Jordan and I watched the announcement Thursday night and then watched the pros do the workout. If the male athletes that do this for a living can finish around the 10 minute mark, I guessed that I would finish around the 18 minute mark. In all actuality, I just wanted to finish. By finishing the workout last week, it shot me to the first place spot in the Women’s scaled division in my gym and I wanted that again. I spent the majority of Friday watching strategy videos from athletes who had the done the workout in the past. A few of my team mates did the workout earlier in the day and they were telling me their experience. One thing that everyone touched on was ending the workout dead on the floor and coughing your lungs out.
My Experience with 21.2
Of course when it was time for Friday Night Lights, I blasted my Hype Playlist and did my best to play it cool as my husband drove me to the gym. Friday turned out to be a busy day for both of us for a number of reasons so I think it did help with my nerves a bit. I volunteered to judge one of my team mates before giving workout 21.2 a shot. Just like last week, I went with the Scaled option. I was weary about box jumps on the 20 inch box considering I took a tumble in January. Going with the Scaled option meant that I would do box step ups and also mean that I could stay moving.
My main goal was to get under the 20 minute time cap. My secondary goal was to get 18 minutes or less. The strategy I was going for was to switch hands overhead or in front of my face during the Snatches to avoid messing up my back. Other than not laying on the ground for the Burpee Box Jump Overs, I just wanted to keep moving. I blew through the first two rounds but when I was starting my set of 30 Snatches, I was just so over it. I wasn’t breathing like I should have been and my heart rate went through the roof. It was safe to say, I was feeling it.
Jordan was near by cheering me on and my team mate makes an epic motivator. She’s a mom and always dishes out the tough love which I needed. At one point, I felt like puking and she made sure to tell me that even if I puked, she expected me to finish. Needless to say, I went into the dark place and did everything I could to finish. When my feet touched the ground for the last time, I immediately fell to the ground. My official time was 18:44 and I had FINISHED. My chest burned and I had that metallic feeling in the back of my throat. I quickly understood what everyone meant about the cough. Once the timer went off and everyone else joined me on the ground, all you cough hear was heavy breathing and the coughing.
Y’all, I don’t know what it is. If it’s the motion of moving up and doing repetitively or just the erratic breathing but we were all coughing and wheezing like crazy. Mine last well into Saturday and I kept getting looks because apparently I sounded sickly. It’s not COVID, just 21.2! This workout proved to be a tough one. Again, not many finished and I’m hoping I get a good spot on the leaderboard. I’m extremely proud of myself because I witnessed first hand how workout 21.2 demolished some people.
We are officially in the last week and I’m looking forward to the last workout. I have a few ideas as to what will be in store for us based on the dwindling equipment list. Either way, I’m sure this will be an epic workout to end this year’s Open!
Did you do workout 21.2? How did it go?
