I wrote last time about how I decided to join the 2012 CF Open, so as I did in 2011, I'll give a quick breakdown of how it went.
CF Open 12-1 - 7 minutes as many repetitions as possible, athlete must touch a target 6" above fully extended arm.
What I thought before join the Open: this is stupid.
What I thought after deciding to join the Open: this is stupid, and I'm stupid.
What I thought after 30 seconds of burpees: I can't believe I haven't lost any conditioning since October.
What I thought after 45 seconds of burpees: fuck.
What I thought after 60 seconds of burpees: abandon the ego and pace this motherfucker.
What I thought for the next 6 minutes: one more burpee.
The result: 65
What I thought afterwards: That was a poor result, but I pulled it off without further injury.
What I think now: My whole shoulder girdle hurts. That was stupid, and I'm not sure I pulled it off. 12-2 next!
Yesterday I tried my first Fight for Air Climb, and while I had significant pre-start jitters, this was one of the funnest things I've attempted. I wanted to at least finish in under 15 minutes, though secretly I was hoping for under 10. It being my first time, I didn't quite know how to tackle this, but it was clear pacing would be critical. I started off with what felt like an easy pace, but when I saw the sixth floor, which because we started in the basement was really something like the ninth, I conceded it was time to slow down and concentrate on not stopping. I did not stop, and I finished in 12:08.
The climb had a very "row 2k" feel to it which was probably why I liked it so much. It felt very balanced to me in that I was never sure if my lungs or my legs would quit first. I found myself just getting into the same mono-cyclical zone of thoughtless moving like on the erg. I think because of the zen like quality of it, I remember almost nothing, but two things stand out. The stairwell, for the most part, was uncomfortably hot, but on a few floors doors were open and cold air was blown in. I remember liking the cold but wishing it were either hot or cold; the contrast was very annoying. The climb felt like a tight series of hard right turns, but somewhere in the forties or so, the stairwell was displaced such that we had a straight, flat run down a hall before rejoining the stairwell and climbing again. From something like the 20th floor to the 50th, I was following directly behind a team mate, and I'm reasonably sure that if I hadn't been following him so closely, I would have taken one more right turn and smashed into the wall.
I thought the event was superbly run. I believe nearly 1800 people ascended at 8 second intervals. As we had all feared the stairwells were tight with just enough room to pass, but I estimate maybe ten or so people passed me while I passed no more than twenty, so the 8 second interval was probably pretty close to optimal with so many people climbing 1,098 steps.
At the very least I'm doing this next year with a goal of breaking 10:00, but if possible I'd like to do a few more of these throughout the country.
The only bad part was the music at the starting line. It all sounded like mush to me with the exception of one standout.
Oh, the climb gave me a very satisfying "Fran cough" that my conditioning didn't allow me to get after 12-1, so it was a welcome Sunday redemption after Saturday's 12-1.
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