Having a "Helen" Good Time

On May 16th, CompTrain Masters (CTM) programmed Helen.  For anyone who doesn't know, Helen is:

3 Rounds for Time of:
     Run 400m
     21 Kettlebell swings @ 53#
     12 Pull-up

So on that day, I did Helen RX for the very first time.

The results?

15:09

Since it is the first time I had ever done Helen RX, that was a PR.  I'll take it.

Then, one week later, on May 23rd, Helen was programmed at CFD.  I was feeling froggy that day, so I decided to do Helen again, even though I had a different metcon programmed that day (which I did two hours later).  The one kicker? The time cap was 13 minutes.  So I would have to PR the workout by almost 2 minutes just to beat the time cap.  The results?

12:52

So what changed in a week?  I didn't get that much fitter in 7 days.

1. I pushed a little harder on the run.  Running in a WOD hurts, but it doesn't hurt that much more to go just a little bit faster.

2. I committed to only taking one break on the KB swings.  I set it down every time after 11, took 5 deep breaths, and then got back on it and did the remaining 10.

If the CTM programming has done anything for me, it has taught me to #sufferbetter.