And it just about killed me.
Laurel put a post on her IG about having noobs join her at her CrossFit gym in Renton. I had talked to her earlier this week as she posted something else about self-harm and being sad from her brain injury. I realized that at the very least, I could listen and talk to her.
I was quite happy to hear that over the phone, she sounded normal, like I was talking to pre-injury Laurel. It really cheered her up to hear that as well, so it was a win/win for us. The last time I saw her was over the summer, and previous to that was for her birthday party in February, which was only about 4-5 months removed from her accident, so understandably, she was just starting to heal then.
Anyway, Marci and I headed to Renton this morning and showed up first at RCF, Renton CrossFit. New year, new us, I suppose! Laurel told us to dress for activities, bring a towel and water. All of it was clutch, for sure.
Pretty soon, others started showing up, including Josh and Laurel. Great to see them both and again, if I didn't know Lolo had an injury, I wouldn't have known. It's only physically that I can see anything is off with her and even that is slight.
We had a quick hug and catch up and before long, it was time to do the exercising.
We started with some stretching, and then it was onto the circuit. For today's circuit, it was
- Burn 12 calories on the rowing machine
- Perform 9 weighted ball "clean and jerks" and squats
- Perform 6 burpees
- Perform as many weighted ball sit-ups as possible with the time remaining
It took a minute to understand how it worked, and once I did, it made sense but and it was challenging as we went on. Josh and I paired up and we would take turns rowing. Once we hit 12 calories (about 30 seconds?), it was doing the weighted ball stunt. That was hardest for me, coordination-wise. It took a bit to figure out how to get my body to do what the exercise required. Burpees were simple enough, but after about 3, my legs started burning the first few times through. Same with the sit-ups. Josh and I were facing each other. One of us would grab the ball, lay back and touch the ball to the ground over our heads, then swing it up in a sit-up motion, then pass to the other. For most of the time, I'd do another sit-up as Josh was doing his ball turn, and then repeat.
The circuit, I seem to remember, was 7 rounds, 3 minutes each, one minute rest in between. I think through the first 3-4 rounds, I felt pretty good. But then for the last few, I started to fade. Muscles getting tired, breathing getting rough. Despite running 9-12 miles a week for the past few years, this was another animal. The cardio aspect of working all my muscles, vs mainly my legs, was such a huge difference.
Towards the end, I could barely get off the ground on my burpee jumps. And the sit-up ball was brutal. But we powered through and got our score, which was based on the number of sit-ups we'd do at the end of each circuit. Basically, getting through the first 3 tasks meant we'd have more time to do sit-ups. Oh joy!
In the end, I simply lay on the floor. I couldn't move. I couldn't catch my breath. I could hear Marci and Laurel and Josh talking, as well as everyone else, but I was finished. I don't know if it was pushing myself to keep up with Josh, or if I'm super out of shape or what, but it was rough. I think I was flat on the floor for at least 15 minutes or so, and finally had to move when the next group came in.
I shuffled over to a bench by the entrance and tried to catch my breath. I was feeling a little nauseated, so put my head between my legs to try to offset that. Marci bought me a gross recovery drink, but I could barely get that or even water down. After another 10-15 of that, I finally made my way to the car (Marci drove home) and we headed back.
About 3/4 the way home I started feeling better. I had a couple sips of that drink and right past the Shell station, I told Marci to pull over, that I was feeling sick. I got on the median and next to a retaining wall and puked up the water, drink and coffee from the morning. A couple heaves and I felt better. Didn't get my shoes too much, so that was good.
Finally we got home and I was able to get cleaned up. Overall, aside from the breathing and puking, I fell pretty good. My muscles are definitely sore and I am tired. It was great to see Lolo and Josh and we hope to be seeing them for dinner soon.
Will I do CrossFit again? Maybe? I don't know. I don't want to pay for something that I may never go do. But it was good to try and I'm proud of Marci and I for doing so. She's feeling good and stayed under control. We'll both sleep well tonight and be sore tomorrow, that's for sure.
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| Before the workout |
