Crossfit Snatches – Fun for all the family

by Colin McNulty on 12 June 2007

Yesterday was Snatches for max weight in reps of: 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1

Then 3 rounds of:
5 Snatches
15 Over Head Squats
Run 430m

This is the first time for me Snatches have been done in a proper workout and I enjoyed them. Especially pleasing was getting a significant max weight of 60kg. As per usual however, it was the running that let me down in the workout. For the first time ever, I was actually in the lead after the first round! But the gas tank was running on empty and… I… just… couldn’t… run… another… step…. My time of 15:42 with a 34kg Snatch was poor, only because of the runs (or more specifically, the partial walks).

I was chatting with Karen afterwards and explained that whilst running I felt like each breath I took wasn’t getting enough oxygen in. No matter how fast or how deep I breathed, I constantly felt starved of air. Of course Karen pointed out that that’s how she feels every time too, and you just have to make the decision to keep on running!

Is that all it is? Is it all in my mind? Is this the mythical “pain barrier”? Do I “hit the wall” but bounce off? Is there really a utopia of endorphins on the other side?

When my body is telling me: that if I keep running like I’m doing then I am actually going to collapse on the concrete and die of asphyxiation! How do I figure out if it’s telling the truth, or I’m just being a wimp and should suck it up and keep going? I realise that reads slightly melodramatic, but on the 2nd round run yesterday, when I reached the point where I decided to walk, the picture in my head really was, if I don’t stop running now the next person round that corner is going to find me face down in the gutter.

Being a mathsy person (no really! 😉 ), it has always irritated me when people say things like, “I put in 110%”, which is a mathematical oxymoron. However Crossfit is one of those things where I put in >100% most of the time. 100% being the amount of effort I think I’m capable of, and all the bits above 100% being the bits where Crossfit consistently makes me exceed my own expectations.

Yesterday however, I think I *only* put in 100%, and it’s actually quite funny how disappointed that makes me feel in myself!

{ 3 comments… add one }

Andrew 12 June 2007, 2:34 pm

Colin, thanks for checking out my blog. I’ll put a link up to you.

Leve IV training is going well. I’m still working on Level III standards. Slow lifts are going great, still need to work on snatches and metcon stuff.

As for what to do while running – I don’t think there’s a clear cut answer. What I do is 1) don’t go to failure and 2) don’t stop. I think it would be pretty hard to push yourself so hard that you pass out, but why would you want to anyway?

Stay in if for the long game. If you have to walk, do it. Nothing bad will happen. Just make a note of it and strive to improve.

Best of luck!
Antman 13 June 2007, 12:40 pm

Colin,

I am no trainer, but have been in your shoes before. Rather than look at it in the single instance, try to look at it over time. When you feel the “pain of death” coming over you, look at your watch and ask yourself to go one extra minute. Log that time and see if the “pain” comes later in your run next time. If so, extend and extra minute, and so on and so on.

Before ya know it, ya just might be that that much further down the road before ya realize your not dying yet.

Good luck money!
Colin McNulty 13 June 2007, 12:49 pm

Thanks Antman, running is one of those things that I think is just going to get better the more I do it. But setting goals like, one more minute, is a good idea, thanks.

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Crossfit Snatches – Fun for all the family

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