Day 1

The first day went exactly as planned; I knew I needed a big lead going into day 2 because that will be a tougher day for me.  For Wod #1 I wanted to try to get the hspu unbroken because I knew that would be the determining factor which I did and it was.  I knew there would probably be one or two other guys that would do them unbroken so I just ran ahead of the pack so they wouldn't be able to catch me.

The second Wod also went as planned. I hit 245lb in practice and just wanted to repeat it.  This would be a challenge because I was so nervous about shuffling the feet as they are VERY strict on standards, plus we had astroturf on top of sand which made for not good footing.  I was one of the last few to go in this workout all day so there were huge holes where the weights dropped which made the ground slant forward pulling you on your toes.  I knew it would be bad footing so I power cleaned each one, set my feet, then squat thrusted.  I almost lost it forward at about 215lb but luckily made it through it and got up to 245lb.  A lot of big guys lost it forward with the bad footing when they could have got a lot heavier, which made my score even better.

Another side note for all those competing in future regionals, be prepared for anything.  Just like I had to change my plan when I heard the footing was bad, they also changed the schedule on us.  After the first wod I knew I could hold some food down and I needed some calories so I ate more than normal before a wod.  Right after I downed some chicken, sweet potatoes, blueberries, a Lara Bar, and 3 spoonfuls of almond butter, they announced that they were going to start the next wod an hour early and try to beat the rain.  That means they were starting in 20 min, but luckily I was one of the last men to go so it gave me an extra 20 min to digest.  I warmed up and felt fine once I got out there but was nervous because I had about 1500 calories sitting in my tummy.  So even with these change of plans, day 1 went perfectly to plan.  Tomorrow will be a much more difficult day for me, so hopefully I feel great after a cold ice bath and a high protein meal.  I think tomorrow will be the DETERMINING DAY of the top 3, so I have to get after it and leave it all out there.