Masters End Day With Row-Clean-Burpee

July 13, 2012

CrossFit

After two Events, Masters women are calling it a day.

Masters Women kicked off the afternoon with rowing, cleaning and burpees.

The workout started with a 1,000-meter row, followed by 30 cleans and 50 burpees. The weight increased as ages decreased: 65 pounds for women 60 and over, 75 pounds for women 55 to 59, 85 pounds for women from 50 to 54 and 95 pounds for women 45 to 49. The workout was capped at 15 minutes.

Dee Jones, who finished second in the 60-plus division at last year’s Games, completed the workout in 13:20 in Heat 1.

Her strategy, she said, was to take it “fairly easy” on the rower and then do the cleans in sets of five.

“And the burpees was just get through them,” the 67-year-old said.

The temperature, which rose to nearly 80 degrees by the afternoon, made getting on the ground that much worse, Jones added.

Saturday’s snatch ladder, she said, was making her nervous since she hurt her shoulder in the second half of last year.

“I’m worried,” Jones said.

In Heat 2 — women 55 to 59 — Darlene Price was among the top finishers in the group.

“I got ahead in the row. Cleans, no problem,” she said. “Those burpees were like hell.”

Price said she just tried to get through the burpees one at a time.

As for Saturday’s snatch ladder, Price was confident.

“Chad Vaughn is my coach,” she said with a smile, referring to the former member of the U.S. Olympic weightlifting team.

For the Masters Chipper, Price said her plan will be similar to how she tackled the burpees: Keep going.

“And then Sunday will take care of itself,” she said. “I’m not gonna give up without a fight.”

The 50-to-54 age group included Mary Beth Litsheim, whose performance in the Open was good enough to qualify for a spot at the South West Regional. Litsheim didn’t make it to the final workout of the Regional.

This heat’s race was tight, with competitors finishing within just a few seconds of each other.

The day of competition for Women’s Masters ended with the 45-49 division, which included Lisa Mikkelsen. The 46-year-old was on CrossFit New England’s 2011 winning Affiliate Cup team.

She started the workout rowing methodically. It was part of her plan, she said, after working with CrossFit Endurance’s Brian MacKenzie in the time leading up to the Games.

“I learned that I can’t go all out on the row,” Mikkelsen said.

The cleans were no problem, she said. The burpees were a different story.

She told herself, “Keep moving — even if they’re ugly.”

Mikkelsen said competing as an individual is “a little lonely.”

“Those guys are wonderful,” she said of her CFNE friends. “I’m used to having them there with me. … But it was time for me to move on.”

Still, she only had good things to say about fellow female masters competitors.

“These ladies are so nurturing,” Mikkelsen said.

At the time of publication, Masters men were under way. Visit the Leaderboard for final results.