Ion Manila Throwdown 2013: My first CrossFit competition

What. A. Weekend. After months of preparing for the throwdown (though it was more of a mental than a physical preparation, I admit), it finally took place during the weekend.

I teamed with Jerwin and Ian, and we joined the medium Rx division where the weights and movements were more manageable.

Me, Jerwin, and Ian
(photo grabbed from Johann)

It was a two-day throwdown, and the format is there are 3 workouts on Day 1. There will be a cut and organizers then announce which teams will advance to Day 2 where athletes need to do 4 workouts.


Day 1

WOD 1: Sprint

AMRAP 15 minutes
30 double unders
Sprint half grab bottle
Sprint whole grab bottle

Waiting for the previous heats to finish

I was dreading this workout because I'm not DU-proficient yet. It was a relay workout. That means Person 1 does the DUs and as soon as he's finished he does the 2 sprints. The first sprint is until the half of the WOD area, where the athlete grabs a can of Ion Energy Drink and puts it into the box where his teammate is doing DUs. The second sprint is all the way to the other end of the WOD area, and again the athlete grabs a can and puts it into the box. Meanwhile, Person 2 can start with his DUs even while Person 1 is sprinting. Same goes with the transition between Person 2 and Person 3. I was Person 3 here because I didn't want to go first. I think we got a total of 34 cans.

Our score: 704 reps/23 points

WOD 2: Chipper

AMRAP 15 minutes
30 kettlebell swings
21 box jumps (20")
15 dead lifts (95#)
9 knees to elbows (knees to triceps acceptable)

This one was another relay workout. Person 1 starts with the KBS. When he's done he tags Person 2, who then starts with the box jumps. When Person 2 is done with the BJs, he tags Person 3, who starts doing the dead lifts. After the dead lifts, Person 3 tags Person 1, who then starts doing the knees to elbows.

Ian started with the KBS while Jerwin waited to do box jumps and I waited to do dead lifts. I'm happy about this WOD because I was able to string 4 knees to triceps!

Our score: 425 reps/23 points

WOD 3: Phat Baby Jackie

AMRAP 15 minutes
300m row
21 thrusters (45#)
15 pull ups

This workout was still a relay but team members can choose who will do which movement -- thank God, because my pull ups still aren't worth a damn. Our team's strategy was I'd be the one to row, and Ian and Jerwin will take turns with the thrusters and pull ups. I averaged around 1:15 for the 300 meters, but by the last round I had to really dig deep. I heard people shouting my name and encouraging me but all I could think about was finishing, and finishing fast because I didn't want to let my teammates down. Good thing this was the last workout of the day because my legs were dead.

Our score: 191 reps/19 points

At the end of the day the top teams who qualified for Day 2 were announced, and ours was in, along with Rhona's and Smacky's teams. Rhona's team placed 12th (68 points), our team placed 14th (65 points), and Smacky's team placed 17th (63 points). When our team's name was announced, at first I felt excitement and pride, which were slowly replaced by dread.

Even before the throwdown my teammates and I had agreed that we'd shoot for Day 2 but we didn't really have a strategy for the Day 2 workouts. So when we found out that we were in there was a little bit of panicking.


Day 2

We were all so chipper when we arrived but our good mood was replaced by the jitters again when we found out we were in the very first heat of the day.

WOD 1: Squat Clean Walks

AMRAP 10 minutes
5 squat cleans (95#)
Overhead barbell walk around the course

This workout was only for the boys. The girls had another workout which they had to do simultaneously.

Our score: 153 reps/6 points

WOD 2: Death Row

10 minute time cap
800m row
20 hang snatch (45#)
Max reps burpees to bar

This was the one I had to do. Originally, it was supposed to be a 2000-meter row, and Rhona, Helen, and I were already dreading it. Good thing it was announced that they were changing the time cap from the original 15 minutes to 10 minutes, and they were shortening the row to 800 meters.

Our score: 28 reps/5.5 points

And that was the end of it. We didn't make the cut to WODs 3 and 4 but our team finished 12th out of 36 teams and that's not bad at all! I was just so glad it was over and that I could finally get on with my life. The next day, though, I kept thinking, What now??

The Libeasts