This past weekend was Godai Elements Competition put on by Crossfit Central at TSR! According to the description this competition, “This one-day event will feature tests of constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity across broad time and modal domains using the elements of the Godai and the 10 General Physical Preparedness Skills.”. It did just that too! This year was partners and I partnered with the one and only Rach, my BFF! We had a BLAST…we always do!
Let me walk you through the day…I picked up Rach at 5am so we could check in and get a “spot” to set our stuff. We warmed up and got ready for WOD #1!
WOD 1: Water + Earth (45 min cap)
-400m Swim + 5K Run
1) Partner A will swim 400 meters around Goat Island, exit the water and
TAG Partner B.
2) Partner B will then run a 5K.
There was no battle who was going to swim and run. Rach having swam in college and can teach a rock to swim, she swam and I ran. Which is awesome because I’m not a fan of being cold and wet. According to Rach the swim was rough and involved swimming/crawling through clay. However she did a dang good job, finished and tagged me for a 5K run! Having an endurance background this was no problem for me. What I wasn’t use to is the terrain that we ran on. I’m use to asphalt ..none ankle breaking opportunities. We made 3 laps around the facility (each lap = 1mi) on all different terrain. I enjoyed this actually!
FLOATER WOD #1: Trampoline!!
Athlete A had to run across 3 trampolines, back tag athlete B and he/she had to run across 3 trampolines. I laughed the WHOLE time doing this. We called time at 43sec!
WOD 2: Fire (15 min cap)
-HS Walk + Monkey Bar + SandBag Getups + Double Unders1)
1) Partner A will Handstand Walk from the start line to their waiting partner and TAG Partner B.
2) Partner B will cross the Monkey Bars. Partner B MUST use each rung on
the Monkey Bar (no skipping of rungs). You MUST cross the Monkey Bars
without dropping. If you drop, you must return and try again. You will
have 3 attempts to cross the Monkey Bar. When you have successfully
crossed the Monkey Bars (or after 3 attempts) both partners will move to
their work station.
3) At your work station, both partners will complete:
-5 SandBag Getups (90#/60#) & 50 Double-Unders Each
*Partner A then Partner B
-4 SandBag Getups (90#/60#) & 40 Double-Unders Each
*Partner A then Partner B
-3 SandBag Getups (90#/60#) & 30 Double-Unders Each
*Partner A then Partner B
-2 SandBag Getups (90#/60#) & 20 Double-Unders Each
*Partner A then Partner B
-1 SandBag Getups (90#/60#) & 10 Double-Unders Each
*Partner A then Partner B
This was our “worried” WOD. Rach isn’t the best at DUs, however she didn’t back down, she said bring it on and practiced her heart out. I began and walked all 30ft, lifted her to the bars, she flew across them. I was the first on the SB/DU. That SB was awkward and wasn’t easy. I know there were times when I felt like a turtle on my back. However, I knew the faster I moved the more time Rach had to do DUs. After I finished my 1st round, it was Rach’s time! She flew through the SB no problem. Then out of now where she completed 50 DUs!!! She had to break them up but she did 50 DUs. I think she got a total of 20 during the hour she practice before the WOD. We moved through the WOD and finished in 14:45 which means we had 15sec to spare! Not bad for a team who thought they were not even going to get through the WOD!
Floater WOD #2: Keg Carry (90sec cap)
Athlete A carries 3 kegs (1 at a time) from cone to cone, tags athlete B and he/she does the same thing. Every keg carry is a 30sec deduction off your final time. Women’s Kegs were 100-80-60#. You had to carry heaviest to lightest. This was set up on the beach on the opposite side of the comp. I’m glad we did this WOD before we did WOD3…my legs didn’t work well after WOD3. I was up first. I carried all 3 kegs, Rach made it through the 100# and half way through the 80#. Therefore we go 2mins off our final time!! SCORE!!!
WOD 3: Air (10 min cap)
-Sled Relay
Each Partner will take turns pushing the dog sled:
-50 ft. down and back.
-100 ft. down and back.
-150 ft. down and back.
-200 ft. down and back.
-150 ft. down and back.
-100 ft. down and back.
-50 ft. down and back
Humm yea…this was a leg burner for sure! The weight was sled +45#….so however much that was was heavy! LOL! I was really looking forward tot his but it wasn’t as easy as I had hoped for to be honest with you! There was this hill/incline thing!
WOD 4: Void (15 min cap)
-Pull-ups + SandBag Squats + Toes 2 Bar
Teams will complete:
-150 Pull-ups
-150 SandBag Squats
-150 Toes 2 Bar
Oh WOD4…What isn’t written in the description that I posted is that while one person was performing movements the other person had to hold a 60# SB. So while I was doing pullups…Rach held a 60#SB. If she dropped the sandbag, we both had to do 10 burpees before continuing to next rep/movement. We were rocking along alternating between pull ups. We had 20 reps left…Rach is on the bar and she goes to kip and due to a lose grip her feet go in the air, she legs go of the bar and falls FLAT on her back, then BOOM her head hits. I drop the sandbag and rush to her. The medics meet me there to check her out. While they were asking her questions, I did 10 burpees which was the penalty if you dropped the bag. Bless her heart, Rach got up grabbed the bag and told me to finish the pull ups…so I did. She started on squats…we were good at theses so we switched every 25 or so. At the end I passed the bag back to Rach and she started squatting even though we were done. I quickly told her that we were done and she dropped the bag! During our last set of squats they had been counting down the time over the loud speaker so when I said DONE she thought done with the WOD, as if time had run out. I’m sure I could have only performed 1-3 T2B so I wasn’t worried about it. I was just proud of her for keep going after falling off the bar!
Even with a worry on DUs and Rach falling off the bar…we still placed 4th in the whole thing. To be honest, we could have come in last place and been just fine. We had a blast all day hanging out with people and doing some crossfit on that BEAUTIFUL Day!
Thank you Crossfit Central for organizing the event and for TSR for hosting us!
Pumpkin Chili with Orange, Coriander Avocado Cream
“Oh dear Lord, not another Paleo chili recipe!” I know. You’ve seen tens if not hundreds of chili recipes and you’ve probably eaten it that many times too. You’re probably sick of it. But, please, let us explain…
Making this spice mixture yourself is the key to the unique flavor of this chili. No chili seasoning packets allowed beyond this point! We took our chili “base” and pumped it up with some fresh pumpkin (canned would work beautifully, as well). Then for le pièce de résistance, we conjured up the avocado cream–it’s like guacamole, but not, all at the same time. It’s an unexpected, quirky, refreshing boost of flavor that kicks the chili up a level.
Ingredients
For the Chili
2 lbs ground beef
1 large yellow onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 sugar pumpkin, diced (about 3 cups) or 1 ½ c canned pumpkin
1 (28 oz) can diced, fire roasted tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (7 oz) can diced, roasted green chilies
1 c chicken or beef stock
FOC (fat of choice)
S&P
Chili Spice Mixture
2 T chili powder
2 T cumin
1 T paprika
2 t salt
2 t coriander
2 t cinnamon
2 t cocoa powder
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t cayenne
Orange, Coriander Avocado Cream
2 avocados
zest of 1 orange
juice of 2 oranges
1 t coriander
1/2 t salt
Method
For the Chili
Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat with a tablespoon of your F.O.C. Add the beef and let it brown. Try not to stir it too much until you get some color on one side but make sure you break up the pieces. This should take 5-8 minutes.
While you’re browning your beef make your spice mixture. In a medium bowl, mix up all the spices.
We like to brown the beef first so we can use the fat that renders out to cook the vegetables. So, using a slotted spoon remove the beef and place in the spice mixture bowl…leaving the fat in the pot. Add your diced onion and garlic. Let those two saute for a few minutes (3-4) stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened. Add your diced pumpkin.
Cover and cook about another 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the pumpkin begins to get tender (check with a fork). Add the rest of ingredients and the beef/spice mixture. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer to let all the flavors “meld”. When you’re happy with the texture, you’re done.
For the Cream
Add all ingredients to food processor and blend until smooth
I love the mile run Benchmark, and deep down I’m pretty sure its my athlete’s favorites as well! This benchmark creates the most team camaraderie out of all the other benchmarks. It is the shortest yet most effective. The PRs are valued greater…athletes ALWAYS know when this benchmark is. I LOVE IT! My Firebreathers took the cake on this one…EVERYONE that ran that day PRed on their mile run, I’m NOT kidding…if you ran, you PRed!! A few mile benchmarks ago I encouraged my stellar friend Rabah to come out and run the mile with this crew. He ran in college and I thought they could use a little “push”. And he, Rabah, gave that and still does just that. Running under a 6min mile on this VERY hilly course he keeps the crew going not just in the mile but in the other WOD’s as well. This time around, some of the Spiceworks athletes recruited Colin Carroll to come run the mile with them (Honestly I think it was a prank for Rabah, LOL). Colin is a very nice gentleman who runs a 2:30 marathon…and is predicted to WIN the Austin Marathon this year! Yeah, not kidding! That day, Colin ran a 4:59 mi, pushing Rabah to run a 5:37 mi creating a domino effect on the crew with everyone PRing!
Megan 10:56 to 8:27 Marcy’s 1st time = PR (7:53) Jeff 6:30 to 6:16 Judith 7:53 to 7 Cindy 7:49 to 7:45 Katy 7:35 to 6:57 Ted 6:42 to 6:07 Misha walked 800m because she is #PregoFit and we are so PROUD of her for still coming out!! Sally 9:20 to 8:10 Catherine’s 1st time = PR (9:08) Josh 7:26 to 6:46
I am super proud of this crew and the bond they have created! I cannot wait till the next mile! Well done Spiceworks!
1-1.5 lbs chicken breasts, chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 medium sized spaghetti squash (I don’t weigh that sh*t), cooked and shredded
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 can canned coconut milk
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
What you do:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Time to roast our veggggggies! Chop your cauliflower and put it in a baking dish topped with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Then cut your spaghetti squash in half, use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and extra threads, place face down on a baking pan. Add the cauliflower and spaghetti squash to the oven, side by side if possible, to roast for around 25 minutes. (Depending how big your spaghetti squash is, the cauliflower made roast a little quicker, but mine cooked at the same time) You will know your spaghetti squash is cooked when you can poke the outside skin and it gives a bit.
While the squash and cauliflower are cooking, it’s time to cook up your chicken. Pull out either a LARGE saucepan or a large pot and put under medium-high heat.
Add olive oil to it along with your minced garlic. Once the garlic begins to smell, add your chopped onions and cook until translucent.
Add your chopped chicken to the cooking onions, cover and let steam for around 5 minutes.
Once the chicken is about 2/3 cooked through, add your can of pumpkin, half can of coconut milk, and spices directly to the pan. Mix thoroughly. Taste to see if you need any more spices or salt.
Once your squash and cauliflower is done cooking, and chicken saucey mixture is heated up, de-thread spaghetti squash with a fork, running the fork the opposite way of the threads.
Add your spaghetti squash threads, roasted cauliflower, and chicken saucey mixture to a 9×11 glass baking dish and add dish to the oven under the broiler. Cook for about 5 minutes, getting a little dark on the top.
Remove from oven and let sit for around 10 minutes to help the sauce thicken up. Then eat the crap of that deliciousness.
combine cashews, coconut milk, pumpkin, water and agave
and process according to instructions
