The first workout was for all 6 team members.  It was a sand bag carry back and forth over a football field with 2 obstacles and 15 heavy bags (heaviest at 200lbs).  We were unfortunately in the first heat which meant we were the guinee pigs.  But we went in with a plan and adapted as needed.  We worked together and never stopped giving 100%.  The mistakes in that first heat, however, gave valuable information to later teams and we ended up with an unfortunately low ranking after that workout.  Those sandbags kicked our butt.  I remember thinking, after clearing the wall at the turnaround, I don’t want to pick up any more heavy sandbags ever again.

The second workout was a 2 part with 2 separate scores.  First, we had 2 minutes for as many rope climbs as possible from all 6 members at their own rope, then we had 2 minutes (no rest) to get a 1 rep max clean.  We did really well on the rope climbs with a score of 41 (tied for 7th overall) but we were smoked on the cleans.  I had no speed left and lost about 30 pounds on my personal best.  Other teams got fewer rope climbs but got higher clean weights.  Two different athletes cleaned 350 lbs!  We creeped up slightly, but not much.

Day 2 brought on a chipper for 4 athletes.  40 muscle ups, 100 deadlifts with a low bar, 100 GHD situps and a relay shuttle run.  This was brutal.  TJ, Gareth, Katie Jo and Aimee did great.  They never stopped moving and they relied on those horrible track shuttle runs on Saturdays for the confidence to keep going.  TJ killed the muscle ups and Aimee did half of the GHDs.  Again, we were bested by some amazingly strong teams.  We actually lost a place or 2 after this workout.  From here, we knew we needed to enjoy ourselves and the moment.  This is the Crossfit Games and we are competing against teams of extrordinary athletes. 

Our last event was the killer cage.  This was a team station workout with each of the 4 members only able to advance to the next element when the member in front of them finished their item: 20 push press @ 135/95, 20 box jumps, 50 feet of monkey bar traverse, 50 double unders, and 500m ride on a Watt Bike.  After all elements were completed by all athletes, do it all in reverse.  Most teams didn’t finish under the 15 minute time cap (like us) but this was a really fun and thrilling set-up.  The stands were packed, the music cranking and lots of different elements in the workout.  How could you not get pumped up for this workout.  We had our struggles, but our training got us through the tough spots and we never stopped trying. 

Overall we finished in 32nd place out of the best 43 teams in the world.  We went to the games with hopes of winning and expectations of a higher finish, but we learned some good lessons along the way.  Having been through this level of competition once, and seeing the competiton we have to overcome, we will be much more prepared next year.  Now we know what it takes and we saw the areas we need to work on.  Rest assured, Team Fury will not be content with 32nd place next year. 

The support from everyone at the gym was great.  We had so many people make the trip to cheer for us, we want to say ‘thanks’.  When Regionals come around next year, and when the team qualifies for the Games in 2012, we know there will always be a whole crew of “F-bombs” screaming as the team works hard to represent everyone at the gym. 

There were a lot of great pictures taken all weekend long.  Only a few could fit in here, but if you want to see more you can go to this link so see pictures from each of the events and some of the Fury support crew.

Any of you who watch the whiteboards or gym record boards these are our best and brightest and we are confident in what they bring to the Games. For everyone but Britney and TJ this is going to be their first experience competing at the Games but fortunate for us they all handle the pressure well and are more then prepared.

If you see any of these six please congratulate them on their hard work, for it has not been easy getting here. Also if you have not picked up your 2011 Games Jersey do so before they run out!

Tremendous respect is due everyone who participated this weekend. The involvement of each and every one of you makes us stronger and better. With less then 30 days until the Games its time now to be more focused then ever. Have a happy 4th of July and remember the holiday hours on Monday!

Also the women’s weight for WOD 2 has been dropped to 105lbs. PEACE!

Friday:

WOD 1: 6 min AMRAP of 10 Ground to Overhead 95/65 and 10 Bar Facing Burpees.

WOD 2: For Time: Run 400m, 7 Snatches 155/115 (power or full), Row 500m, 9 Hang Squat Cleans, Run 400m, 12 Overhead Squats, Row 500m, 15 Push Presses.

Saturday:

WOD 3: With a continuously running clock run 400m for time, at five minutes after start run 800m for time and at 10 minutes after start run 1600m for time. Points will be summed from each event for a final score.

WOD 4: CrossFit Total

WOD 5: For Time 10-15-20 Kettle Bell Snatch 53/35 and Pistol. Reps are per arm/leg.

WOD 6: Immediately following previous WOD 3 min AMRAP of 1 Muscle Up and 1 Ring Hand Stand Pushup.

WOD 7: 3 Round for time: Swim 25m and 25 Pushups.

If you are interested in trying out for the team you must be able to be in Carson, California from Wednesday the 27th through Sunday the 31st. Additionally, if this weekends schedule does not work for you please speak with us on Monday in the gym to discuss makeups, but please try to make this!

Second we are adding a morning version of the Student Athlete class at 9am on Tuesdays and Thrusdays starting next Tuesday the 28th. We hope this helps accomodate everyone while they are on summer break and will get them more prepared for next years season and ultimately college athletics.

Finally the Games are but five weeks away and there will be some changes on our affiliate team. We are planning a small in house competition to determine who will be on the team. Nothing is final or even determined yet but everything will be finalized and released by Wednesday night. Stay tuned and keep training hard!

Next up was Peter in the Run, HSPUs, Row WOD.  He placed 15th with a time of 9:58…despite a high placing, he did get a personal best on this WOD as HSPUs are not one of Peter’s strengths.

The second event of the day was the Team thurster ladder and Aimee was up first.  Going in, Aimee knew she could get 140 lbs but was hoping for 145 lbs. She nailed both and got a personal record of 150 lbs!  Will hit his mark at 245 lbs for a team total of 395 lbs and a third place finish.

Peter’s thruster ladder went as expected as he got 245 lbs, placing him eighth among the men.  Fury finished the first day tied for first and Peter 13th in the Men’s bracket.

Day 2 proved even more exciting as the Team knew they had tough competition trying to creep into the top three spots and Peter knowing he had to place in the top five in both the workouts in order to make it to the final day.  Will and Katie Jo started the day off with the heavy 185/255 pound deadlift and 24/30″ box jump WOD. Katie Jo had an amazing performance as she finished the last set of deadlifts and box jumps unbroken!  Fury  finished with a combined time of 8:55 and 4th place.

Peter hit another personal record finishing his 315 lbs deadlift and 30 inch box jump in 4 minutes flat and placing 5th among the men.

But the day only got more interesting as the team started the 250 workout (250 of pull ups, kettle bell swings, double unders and overhead squats) with a thunderstorm looming not too far away and eventually halted the action only minutes into the pull ups.  After a 30 minute delay, Fury was back on the pull up bar with a fresh start.  They came out hard on the pull ups but the tough kettle bell standard cost them one to many reps and slowed them down.  They muscled through and finished 6th with a time of 28:22, good enough to hold on to second place heading into the final day.

Then it was Peter’s turn.  As we all know, when Peter’s back is against the wall and he puts his mind to something, great things happen and did they ever.  Peter went into his 100s WOD (100 of pull ups, kettle bells swings, double unders and overhead squats) knowing where his strengths were and where to take his rest.  He had a steady pace through the pull ups and kettle bells, hanging out in third place but then he kicked it into high gear and knocked out 100 unbroken double unders and was second to the overhead squats.  He got out a couple of sets of 15 to take the lead and it became a squat race to the finish between Peter and another Games Veteran, Tommy Hackenbruck.  Peter edged out Tommy to take first with a time of 18:09.  Peter was one of only 11 guys to even finish this workout as the altitude really turned out to be a factor as many guys were cramping up and failing badly as they started their overhead squats.

Day three turned out to be bittersweet as Peter finished fifth over all but Team Fury clinched a spot at the Games.  Heading into the last day, Peter knew he had tough ground to make up but the strict muscle up standard, cost him a few reps and a workout he normally crushes took 7:08.

The last workout was a chipper that he put his heart out on the line and despite getting a personal best with a time of 10:53, it wasn’t good enough to capture third place.

Team Fury knew they had to have two strong workouts to hold onto one of the top three spots.  TJ and Britney were up first with the muscle up, snatch workout and they killed it!  They finished in 11:37, just two seconds behind Team Front Range who captured the world record in the workout.  The final workout proved to be Fury’s toughest WOD as they finished seventh out of the 10 teams but their consistency throughout the weekend kept them in contention and they finished third overall!

We can’t thank everyone enough for all their support, text and Facebook messages throughout the weekend but a huge shout out to Big Pete (Peter’s dad), Brandi, Jen, Julie, Stephanie, Lee, Carren, Zoli, Brian, Jessica and Brady for making the trip to Denver and being in the stands to route us all on.

We will get all the photos and start uploading the videos from the weekend on Tuesday. See you in the gym as we now prepare for the Games in the end of July! We will also get ticket and travel info for anyone interested in heading to LA to watch us compete.

As we are all leaving on Thursday, don’t forget the gym hours will be different.  Kelly and Leah will be holding down the fort but with limited classes. All classes will be combined-CrossFit and Basics and will be as follows:  Friday and Monday we will have classes at 6am, 8am, 12pm, 5pm and 6pm. Saturday will will have our Free Intro class at 9am, Open gym for CrossFitters from 9-10am and Masters at 11am. Sunday we will be closed all day.  CrossFit Kids classes will be as scheduled with no changes to dates or times.  Unfortunately, supervised Daycare hours will be limited as we are short staffed.  There will only be supervised Daycare on Friday at 5pm and 6pm and Monday at 12pm, 5pm and 6pm.  The daycare will be available during the other class times but will not be supervised. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We would like to thank our sponsors-MP Enviromental, Lighthouse Fellowship, Wilhelm Automotive, AZ Orthopedic Physical Therapy, 19 Systems and Casler Law Firm. We appreciate your support! See you next week!