The 2012 CrossFit Games NorCal Regionals are in the books.  I finished 26th against one of the most completive fields in the world.  I am proud of this.  Let me start off by thanking everyone for their words of encouragement and support.  Thousands of athletes signed up for the Open, cure looking for a chance to make it to the next level, page and it’s an honor representing CrossFit Oakdale at the Regional arena.  If you came out to San Jose, more about I hope you had a good time, and I hope the event showed you how hard some athletes are willing to push to get better.
I will share my thoughts on the event one the coming weeks, as I think there are takeaways everyone at CrossFit Oakdale can learn and benefit from.
My biggest learning point:
The events were HEAVY.  The type of heavy you cannot fake.  I learned an immediate, and painful lesson.  Over the past year, I did very little true strength training, while really pushing to get my “engine” bigger.  I never worked from the hang, I mostly worked singles, and I never worked complexes.  I only recently began working at sustained strength levels, like a heavy lift on the minute for 10 minutes.
This hole in my training absolutely crushed me in the heavy hang clean WOD and the dumbbell snatch WOD.  I will adjust the training, but make sure you use the strength sessions to work on perfect form, document your lifts, and keep your new PR’s nervous by constantly pushing them.
Second biggest learning point:
I took 4 10 minute long ice baths from 1pm Friday to 3pm Saturday.  Each time, I was submerged to the nipple in a 110 gallon tub filled with icy water.  It is hard to explain how awful your body can feel on the third day of an event like this, but those ice baths saved me, especially my legs.  If you have something particularly grueling coming up, I would highly recommend a post event ice bath.

100# Dumbbell Snatch

Workout of the Day
Strength/Skill
Snatch
Build to a heavy TRIPLE in 15 minutes.  This means you cannot release the bar between your first and second rep.  If that means you need to lower the weight to hang onto the bar, lower the weight.  Check your ego, make sure your back in engaged and work that grip!
Metcon
4 RFT
10 Snatch 95/65
200 Foot Shuttle Sprint
Like Regional WOD 3, you will have to move your barbell from station to station.  FUN!