Crossfit Open 2014 is now done!  I finished 14.5 today, and it kicked my butt very badly.  I can’t wait to attempt to get out of bed tomorrow!

14.5 consisted of a 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 rep scheme of Thrusters and bar facing Burpees.  For women, the weight was 65#.

65# for thrusters is a bit heavy for me.  55# is challenging and I can only manage those in small sets.  I knew this going in, but I didn’t think another 10# was going to be too bad.  I so was wrong.

65# is heavy, and halfway through the 21 initial reps, I realized this was a poor choice.  There was no time cap for this workout.  It was for time.  So I had to finish what I started.

I slowly chipped away at it.  Mostly 2 at a time, which also meant I was cleaning 65# everytime I dropped the bar, which was a lot.  That didn’t help my poor fatigued muscles.  I actually started looking forward to the burpees.

Slowly but surely I was getting there.  I was frustrated that I was taking so long.  I started feeling bad for my judge having to watch me struggle through it so badly.  I was dripping in sweat, making all sorts of noises and faces I can only describe as not my most attractive.  I swore.  I wanted to stop so badly.

But I didn’t.  Mostly thanks to people like Bernice, Sandra, Steve and Mike.  Just cheering me on, yelling at me to get back on the bar and keeping me from giving up.

It took me 39 minutes and 8 seconds to finish this.  The top competitors did this in less than 9 minutes.  I probably recorded the slowest time in my gym.  I always have dibs on last.

2 years ago, I was doing thrusters with an 18# body bar and really struggled through it.  Today, I just did them at 65#.  That’s what I call progress.

And now I am so sore all over.  My elbows hurt.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats anyone?

I literally threw this together and eyeballed everything.  If you need more structure, I loosely followed this recipe from somethingswanky.com

Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats (adapted from somethingswanky.com)

10oz Marshmallows (I used about 7 oz of mini marshmallows, it was all I had)

1/4 cup peanut butter (I used all natural peanut butter)

5 cups rice krispies (I used 3 cups-ish)

handfull or so of mini chocolate chips

Prep an 8×8 pan.  Lightly spray the pan with a non stick spray then line, sling style, with some parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan (preferably non-stick), over low heat, slowly melt the marshmallows and peanut butter together until it become melted and liquidy, but not boiling.  Stir frequently.

Once melted, add the rice krispies and using a rubber/silicone spatula, toss a couple of times to start coating the rice krispies, then add in the mini chocolate chips and continue mixing until the rice krispies are coated.

Pour into the prepped pan and using the spatula, press into the pan.  Let it cool all the way in the fridge for about an hour to let it set.  Then cut and serve!

I like the use of peanut butter instead of butter.  I also like the addition of the mini chocolate chips.  They melt as you are tossing in the hot marshmallow/peanut butter mixture, adding a swirl of chocolate without being too chocolatey (there is such a thing with me).