Why do I always look like an idiot in pictures? I suppose I could develop some theory involving facial reflexes, JPEG compression and optics. Unfortunately, I think Occam might have something to say about such a theory.

In any event, the photo there is from the CrossFit Championships held last Sunday. The whole gig was graciously hosted by CrossFit Seattle and held at Carkeek Park. The weather was perfect and there were lots of great people/competitors there. The actual competition felt a little bit hokey to me as it was overwhelmingly biased towards runners, with the run component taking approximately half of the total time of the 6-station workout. A couple of the stations (the tire-drag and the d-ball ‘chuck-and-run’) were just flat out silly and too easy.

It was a lot of fun, though, and getting to meet some of the other CrossFitters in the area made the trip well worth it.

On Monday at CFES, we did 1RM deadlifts. My back was sore from the workout on Sunday, but I gave it a shot anyhow and came away with a big PR of 165kg (~364 pounds). That’s 20kg over my previous best, and it lets me check off one of my year-end goals: a 2.5 x bodyweight deadlift. Huzzah! Now I’ve set my sights on a 400 pound deadlift by the end of the year. Wish me luck!