I have no idea what two daisies have to do with the Crossfit Open 18.3 WOD, but there they were on Dave Castro’s Instagram feed. I might have mentioned that I’ve given up on trying to discern what Castro is thinking. So when he announced the CrossFit Open 18.3 WOD in his usual slow, smug manner, I was expecting pretty much anything. It turned out to be this (women’s RX version):

Workout 18.3

2 rounds for time of:
100 double-unders
20 overhead squats
100 double-unders
12 ring muscle-ups
100 double-unders
20 dumbbell snatches
100 double-unders
12 bar muscle-ups

Women perform 80-lb. OHS, 35-lb. DB snatches

Time cap: 14 minutes

Needless to say, the CrossFit Open 18.3 WOD was one I planned to do scaled. That version was no walk in the park, either:

2 rounds for time of:
100 single-unders
20 overhead squats
100 single-unders
12 chin-over-bar pull-ups
100 single-unders
20 dumbbell snatches
100 single-unders
12 chin-over-bar pull-ups

Women perform 35-lb. OHS, 20-lb. DB snatches

Time cap: 14 minutes

The Thursday before the Open workout, I had tweaked my shoulder, too. By Friday evening, it still didn’t feel great, so I fired up a YouTube video, used my FasciaBlaster on it, and then taped it up as best as I could. And that was how I rolled in to Clear Lake CrossFit on Saturday morning. That, and with the intention of going scaled, because I didn’t want to spend 14 minutes whipping myself with a jump rope, nor did I think that would be any fun at all for my judge.

CrossFit Open 18.3 WOD: The Reality

Because I am a bonehead, I kept warming up while Coach Holly was explaining the standards for the WOD. (I was listening, too, but I was also antsy to get started, and I can listen while I swing from a pull-up bar… until I bash my head on a bay door that’s too low, and I’m so embarrassed that I want to crawl up into the rafters.)

Anyway. I went in Heat 1, scaled. The only movement I really worried about were the overhead squats; between my shoulder and my limited hip and ankle mobility, I didn’t think I’d get enough depth. Plus my judge was Christine S., who in my head is “RX Christine,” and I don’t know her very well. She’s one of the RX ladies that intimidates me a little. (She turned out to be an awesome judge, getting me through some tough reps.)

Basically, it went how I expected. I planned to finish at least one round of the WOD before the 14 minutes were up, and the single unders were super-easy. I think I did my first two or three sets of those unbroken. As expected, the overhead squats were definitely challenging. I did get the depth I needed, but I had to break those up into two sets. The bar got slippery in the Houston humidity, and my shoulder didn’t like it much.

But the pull-ups – oh my gosh, those were my favorite part! I think I might be one of the few scaled girls at the box who has pull-ups, and mine aren’t totally ugly. I didn’t do them unbroken, and I had to walk away from the bar a couple times, but I did them! Christine S. was cheering me on, and I vaguely heard some other cheers, but I was so focused. I think I only got distracted when I went to pick up my rope and saw Leslie doing ring muscle-ups.

My final scaled score was 713 reps.

But.

Coach Dana had told me that I should do the CrossFit Open 18.3 WOD scaled, and then try it RX to get the double under score. I said I would think about it. I mean, I was pretty dang pleased with my scaled score. I’m super-proud that I can do pull-ups, even if I can’t do RX weights (YET). With that in mind, I went to drink my protein shake, eat my banana, try not to get run over by cars in the parking lot, and pet Royal the weinerdog. I saw Patti (more on Patti later) and squealed happily. Patti is home! I judged Esther, who did AMAZING. She got her double-unders in under 4 minutes, then beast-moded and got seven overhead squats with the RX weight. I could tell it was hard for her, but she kept picking up the bar. I can’t tell you how proud I am of that lady.

I cheered for Coach Dana and for Roy as they tried to get a ring muscle-up.

By Heat 5, the last heat, there was one remaining spot open. I told Coach Holly I wanted to do 18.3 again, but RX.

“You’re not thinking about getting 80 pounds over your head, are you?” she said.

“Nope, I’m not quite that nuts,” I replied. I told her how Coach Dana had said I should give it a shot to see if I could get 100 double unders, even though I was pretty sure I was just going to whip myself raw with my jump rope.

But a funny thing happened. I kept trying, and I missed a lot of double unders, but I started stringing a few together! Just a few… but I did it! And, eventually, my judge Loraine told me that I had gotten 100! In 9:50! So I plopped my tail down and cheered for Patti, who was completing the WOD right next to me. (And submitted my RX score for validation.)

Patti

You might be asking, who is this Patti? The short answer is, one of the strongest women I know. Almost three years ago, Patti had a stroke. The right side of her body would not cooperate with her at all. But instead of curling up into a ball of self-pity, Patti came back to CrossFit. The coaches had to tape the handle of the rower to her hand, but she kept at it. She kept working on everything. When she moved to Chicago last year, I was so sad. Seeing her keeps me inspired. When I watch her, I think that she is the epitome of everything CrossFit: getting strong, getting functional fitness, overcoming obstacles. I think, “This lady had a stroke, and she is kicking butt. What’s my excuse?”

Anyhow, Patti was doing great in the CrossFit Open 18.3 WOD. I don’t think I’ve seen her jump rope that smoothly, ever. And she has pull-ups now! I was so, so proud, and I’m so blessed to know her. And she moved back to Houston! Seriously, she is so inspiring.

*All photos by Rob Salinas.

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