Thursday, January 30, 2014

1/30/14. run. crossfit. 5:00am running doesn't get better.

1/30/14.  run. crossfit

got up at about 4:50am and hit my 5K.  was a little rainy, about 42 degrees.  did a lot of puddle jumping in the dark.  yet again, it was hard to get out of bed and go out in the dark and rain for a run. if i was on The Plan already, then the discipline would be easy.  but things are kind of easy going right now, and it would be easy to slide the run another day.  it was hard, but I went out anyways.

i hit 5K in 26:29, felt pretty good.  a little stiff and creaky.  maybe i need to warm up or stretch in the mornings before running.

interesting data.  i weighed in before and after my 5K.  before, I weighed 176.6.  after, I weighed 175.2.  where did 1.5 pounds go?  some sweat.  some dehydration.  some fuel burn.  but 1.5 pounds in 26:29?  that's crazy.  probably mostly water loss through sweat.  but still kind of interesting to check out.

crossfit.   5x5 good mornings.  i went light.  used this as a hamstring stretch, rather than a heavy lift.  death by power snatches and chest to bar pull ups. 

1/30/14. run. crossfit. good mornings. power snatches. chest to bar pull ups. coffee. orange. almonds. greek meatball tomato feta cucumber sandwich. apple. almonds. protein shake. turkey slurry. corn fritters. kale salad. ice cream sandwich.  lots of water.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

1/29/14. crossfit. will run tomorrow AM.

1/29/14. crossfit.

hit the gym for 5:30am WOD this morning.  feeling a little better today than yesterday.  5 min EMOM, 10 wallball shots. stupid wallball.  but the pace wasn't too bad.  slower than my last Karen.  could have kept that up a while.

WOD was Annie: 50-40-30-20-10 double unders and situps.  my DUs were off.  I felt pretty good, thought I nailed it, but was actually more than a minute slower than my last Annie.  I think this has more to do with my general output levels right now, with maybe a little contribution from slowly recovering from last week.  I could barely hit more than 20 DUs in a row, and it fatigued me greatly.

no run today.  recovery this afternoon/evening.  5:30am 5K tomorrow.  gonna give the Boosts another run probably Sat, for the long run.  I would like to slowly work them into rotation, see how I feel about them after both short/fast runs, and long/slow runs.

probably weigh-in tomorrow.  I used to hit this pretty consistently on Thursday mornings.  Weighing in daily is just too much.  constant fluctuations due to diet, hydrations, triaing, etc.  its not worth obsessing over daily weight.  once a week, at a consistent time, nad look at long term trends, like over several weeks.  Will try to remember to hit this both before/after the 5K, see if it makes much difference.

1/29/14. crossfit. wallballs. double unders.  situps.  NOxplode. protein shake. coffee. orange. almonds.  teriyaki beef. rice. broccoli. almonds. apple. Greek meatball pita tomato cucumber feta cheese gyro. Granola. Lots of water.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

1/28/14. Early AM run. Afternoon crossfit.

1/28/14. run. crossfit.

i need more hours in the day.  so i moved my Monday afternoon run to tues morning.  so my running will not cut into my time with my family.  only cuts into my sleep time. we'll see how this works out.

i wasn't feeling so hot this morning.  still run down from judging at Cretus, and feeling fatigued.  when 5am rolled around, and it was time to get out of bed and hit the road, it was real hard.  even so, i pulled off a 26:40 5K, which is just fine for a training run.  didn't feel like i pushed too hard.  was actually warmish.  had laid out my hat and gloves, but when I saw 43 on the thermometer, I went without. Went OK.

Crossfit.  open skill.  Did some assisted dips. Actually hit a few unassisted ring dips too. 15 min AMRAP: 5 HSPUs, 10 burpee box jump overs, 15 kettlebell swings.  glad for an AMRAP today.  Even if i petered out, I could still work to the finish.  I just want to go to bed now.

1/28/14. run. crossfit. Dips. handstand push ups. Burpee box jump overs. kettlebell swings. coffee. orange. almonds. sausage/quinoa slurry. peas.  roasted corn chowder. apple. almonds. Garlic ginger chicken. broccoli. rice. lots of water.

Monday, January 27, 2014

1/27/14. Crossfit. Postponed run till tomorrow.

1/27/14. Crossfit. Postponed my run till tomorrow.

I spent 3 days in a row judging at a local crossfit competition.  Three 12 hour days. I am physically drained. I hit crossfit this morning, was dragging ass. Then after work, I felt tired and almost like I'm fighting off a cold. I'm sure the lack if sleep, 3 nights in a row, has something to do with it.

That and I was missing spending any time with my family. It's hard to work all day, get home, everybody wants to see you, talk to you, and its to do go to and do a few miles. It's just hard.

I need more time. Work is non-negotiable. 8 hours a day, no choice about it. Kids get home by 3:30, getting in bed by 8:30 or so, not a lot of time to waste on the road. So I think I'm back on for the 5:30 am runs tues/thurs, instead of the mon/wed afternoon runs. The only way to make more hours in a day is to sleep less. So we'll give it a try tomorrow. Provided I feel better.

1/27/14. Crossfit. Front squats. Push presses. Power cleans. Toes to bar. Knees to elbow. Hang twist and dangle. NOxplode. Protein shake. Coffee. Orange. Almonds. Steak sandwich. Kale/sausage/pasta. Apple. Almonds. Sausage/kale/quinoa. Pudding. raspberries. Lots of water.

Friday, January 24, 2014

1/24/14. Crossfit. And the Long Run. First time for that combo.

1/24/14. Friday. Crossfit. Long Run.

I was hitting on all cylinders this morning.  I was the Tip of the Spear. I'm judging a 3 day crossfit competition and I knew I'd be working 12 hour days sat/sun, with no time for the long run. I even had an 8 hour day today judging.  So I hit crossfit this morning, then I went home and went on my long run with no real recovery time. I managed to hit a new deadlift max with 3 reps of 315, then I did the WOD of thrusters and burpees, then I went home and ran 5 miles in 44 minutes. Felt great, felt like I could do anything. I was flying high.

First my deadlift. I wanted a new 1RM, and I hit it with 305. Then I meant to grab 2.5s, but I grabbed 5s by accident. I asked T to catch some video of me, and when I lifted it she screwed it up. After some yelling and cursing I lifted it again, while she managed to take a video of my feet. After another outburst by me, I got Coach Jesse to video me, and I deadlifted the 315 for a 3rd time. So a new 1RM, for 3 singles.



I was a little worried about my lower back, so I went light and slow on the WOD. Easy thrusters and burpees.

Then the Long Run. Was a beautiful morning. Sun was coming out, blue skies up high, low lying fog that I ran through. Was really nice. Kept a decent pace for a long run, approx 8:50 min/mile. Got home, feeling like a champ.

After that I spent all day at Cretus Ex Dueleum, judging some awesome athletes. Some great event, a lot of great competitors, and some awesome volunteer staff. Was a blast.

1/24/14. NOxplode. Protein shake. Coffee. Bagel egg sandwich. Trail mix. Beef jerky. Chicken pot pie. Pancakes. Sausage. BBQ chicken taco salad. Chocolate chips. Lots of water.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

1/23/14. Crossfit. no run. not sure about the long run this weekend.

1/23/14. Crossfit. No run.

Not too tough today. I think I scaled it too easy. Warm up was 10 min EMOM, 5 handstand push ups.  Did them with toes on a 24" box, no problem. Should have gone back and at least tried kicking up against the wall 5 times per round, even if I can't kip a HSPU. But it was crowded back there. WOD was 18-15-9-6-3, dips/situps/box jumps. Did the dips with a green band, was too easy. Mental promise to myself - no more dips with any more than a blue band.

No run today. Just another week before I bump it up to 4 runs a week. We'll see how long it takes my body to adjust the the additional output. Still not sure if I'll have time for the long run this weekend, I need to work something out.

1/23/14. Crossfit. Hand stand push ups. Dips. Sitps. Box jumps. Coffee. Almonds. Orange. Chicken pot pie. Turkey jerky. Apple. Almonds. Taco salad. Lots of water.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

1/22/14. crossfit. run. worrying about the weekend.

1/22/14.  Wed. crossfit. run.

tired today.  when the alarm went off at 4:50am, it was tempting to stay in bed. but there's no rest for the wicked.

warm-up was EMOM, 10 min, 2 power cleans and 2 push jerk.  stayed light.  maybe over-protective of the lower back.  having gotten over the issue, i'm now gun shy and second guessing what i am about to lift.  it was easy to go light, knock this out without any trouble.  it will be mentally hard to start adding more weight.  hard to be sure I am totally out of the woods versus just barely staving off an injury.  oh well, maybe i'm just freaking lazy and lifting light was hte path of least resistance this morning.

WOD was Helen+.  3 RFT: 400m run, 21 kettlebell swings, 12 chest to bar pull ups (C2B is what makes it "+").  first time I've done a KB swing with a 53# KB in almost 2 weeks.  didn't feel terrible.  as I got tired and I felt my core weaken, I would take a break, rather than push through and finish the round.  so i pretty much kept it to 11 swings and 10 swings, per round.  now chest to bar pull ups, those fuckers are another story.  grab bar (wrists towards me, as opposed to away from me, actually like a chin-up, not a pull up, which lets me get that last couple of inches with a bicep contraction) do one chest to bar pull up, drop.  repeat.  one. at. a. time.  brutal.  I friggen hate these.  but i touched my chest to the bar, 100%.  I don't care that I was still going while the other had their showers and left.  I did what I set out to do, which was fully hit every rep.

run. 5k. mukilteo loop. nothing out of the ordinary.  cold. dark. here's the thing - T wanted to run with me.  she just back from 2 weeks in India.  her metabolism is all f'd up from white carbs and third world food.  she's still kind of jet-lagged and fatigued and got an upset stomach.  and just 2 weeks without working out made her weak.  so let's just say there were some stomach cramps, some out-of-breatheness and some walking.  actually, quite a bit of walking.  but this is not my training plan yet.  I have no pace or tempo or requirements right now.  if she asks if she can run with me, I will not say no.  just knocking out the miles is OK today.  I've had better, but I've also had worse.  it'll all work out over time.

not sure what I am going to do to get my long run in this weekend.  I am judging the Cretus Ex Duellem crossfit event at Ward's gym in Lynnwood.  Fri/Sat/Sun.  If I WOD Friday morning at 5:30am, then have to judge Fri 10am-7:30pm, then judge again Sat and Sun, all day, I'm swamped.  may need to skip this weekend.  if i was on  the plan and actually training, that shit wouldn't cut it and I would skip judging to get it in.  but since the plan doesn't start until March 10, I guess I can be flexible.  I say that now, but we'll see.

1/22/14. NOxplode. coffee. orange. almonds. pulled pork sandwich. cole slaw. tortilla soup. chicken pot pie.  salad.  lots of water.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

1/21/14. Tuesday. crossfit. I wish I was running in the woods.

1/21/14. Tuesday. Crossfit. no run.

feeling tired today.  kind of glad its not a run day.  although looking out the window, I saw the sun shining, cold and clear, but patches of fog.  My friend Jess emailed about an awesome run in the woods she just had today.  Bright sun burning off the fog, nice steep trails, running in the woods.  makes me wish I was running in the woods right now.

EMOM of toes 2 bar.  these suck so bad.  These are usually pretty intense on the shoulders for me, and somewhat on the abs.  I was a little worried about the lower back, so i didn't set my expectations too high.  After 3 rounds, my back felt a little tight.  so i rested 1 min, then finished the last round. then 5 RFT: 15 pushups and 15 wall balls.  god, that sounds easy on paper, doesn't it?  75 push ups and 75 wall balls for time actually sucks pretty bad.

9.5 hours unil my next workout...

1/21/14. coffee. orange. almonds. turkey jerky. beef pad kee mao. chips. tea. Protein shake  Frittata. Salad. Cookies. Lots of water.

Monday, January 20, 2014

1/20/14. Crossfit. Good run.

1/20/14. Monday. Crossfit. Run.

Ok gym time, fantastic run today.

Supposed to be heavy (90% 1RM) front squats, followed by a 10 min AMRAP of double under and power snatches. Suspiciously like the one that triggered my back issue last week. So I went real light on the front squats. So light I got Some trash talking "I think your 12 year old son squatted more than the last week". Whatever. I'm not hurting now, so I made a good choice. Went slow on the AMRAP, concentrated on form, not speed. Nothing to write home about, but I broke a sweat.

My run was awesome. Snuck out of work a little early, and got to run in daylight/twilight. Wore my Adidas energy boost shoes for the first time. Holy shit, that shoes are rockets! Felt like I was really running. Felt awesome. Went real fast. Avg 7.4 mph. 5K in 25 min. Really cooking. Felt springy and responsive. Really felt the ground through the foam soles. Good grip. The uppers are a stretchy fit, kind of like aquasox, really let my foot flex and grip. We'll see how my feet/ankles/calves feel tomorrow, but I would like to rotate them in maybe once a week for a while, then give them a try on a long run sometime.

Slowly going to ease back on the scaling and hit some weight in the gym, as long as my back continues to feel better.

1/20/14. Crossfit. Run. Front squats. Double unders. Power snatches. NOxplode. Coffee. Almonds. Peppers. Chicken teriyaki. Rice. Peas. Pulled pork sandwich. Cole slaw. Cookies. Lots of water.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

1/18/14. Sat. Long Run. had a good one today.

1/18/14.  Sat. Run.

had a good run today.  I had intended to do an early morning run, but an emergent condition came up at work, and I needed to put in some hours on a problem.  so i didn't run until 2pm or so.  Tell you what, that was an easy fast 5 miles in 42 min.  avg pace of under 8:30 min/mile, avg speed of 7.1 mph.  felt pretty good.  was cold and clear, bright sunshine.  I am torn about when i like to run.  i really enjoy the solitude and peace of an early morning run, but the nicer weather and temp make the afternoon attractive.  I just hate other people on the sidewalk and breathing the exhaust of all the cars speeding by during the day.

today when i ran, i felt like a cheetah bounding down the sidewalk.  until i saw my shadow, looked more like a lumbering drunken fatigued hippo trudging along.  i never want to see video of my running.  i have no style.  no chi running. no POSE running.  nothing graceful or natural about it.  just a non-stop continuous battle to put one foot in front of the other until my miles are done or I quit.  and so far, i have never quit.

day of rest tomorrow.  my back felt pretty good today.  maybe 90-95%.  depends on what what Monday's WOD is, whether I need to keep drastically scaling down or not.  hope the recover continues.

1/18/14. run. coffee. fried eggs. sausage. hash brown. NOxplode.  spaghetti/meatballs. lasagne. salad. cookies. lots of water.

Friday, January 17, 2014

1/17/14. Friday. Crossfit, no run today.

1/17/14. Friday.  Crossfit, no running. 

I would say my back was feeling maybe 90% when I woke up this morning.  I'm pleased with the progress.  strength was 1RM split jerk.  I wasn't feeling ready to take the risk, so I used the bare bar and just practiced form.  get a good push, get under the bar fast, stand back up with it.  felt pretty good.  then the WOD was 10 RFT: 250m row, 10 KB swings.  KB swing done right should really get some oomph from the hip lock out, work the quads, hamstrings, etc.  but its still a risk for the lower back.  I felt it was premature to go Rx weight, so I dropped from a 53# KB to a 35# KB.  went just fine, never felt any twinges of pain, just a little tight.  But felt good and finished in a reasonable time.  I am feeling cautiously optimistic that I dodged the bullet this time. 

We'll see how tomorrow's long run goes.  I am really optimistic that I am out of the woods.  I will know for sure when I roll out of bed tomorrow.  i will say that i am really looking forward to T coming back and doing some yoga, plus some more foam roller action.

1/17/14. NOxplode. protein shake. coffee. orange.  veggie burger. tortilla soup. apple. spaghetti.  chicken teriyaki. rice. peas. tortilla chips.  lots of water.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

1/16/14. Thurs. Run, Crossfit, judge's training.

1/16/14. Thurs. Run, Crossfit, judge's training.

woke up and ran my 5K this morning, at 5:30am.  if this is not something you have ever done, let me tell you, its not easy.  your body doesn't want to cooperate, and your mind doesn't help.  you want to stay in bed, and even if you get out the door its just so much harder to get going.  still dehydrated from a long sleep, joints are creaky, muscles don't want to respond, and all the while your mind says "go back to bed, forget this shit".  I really like this graphic I saw posted by Fleet Feet Sports Seattle.


the good new is that my back was feeling a little better this morning.  I was feeling maybe 75% capacity.  Or, on a scale of 1 to 10, my discomfort/pain was down to a 2 or 3 today (maybe a 3 or 4 yesterday).  Why a scale of 1-10, why not zero?  because a day doesn't pass that I'm not sore/stiff from something.  1 is the baseline. besides, our amps go to 11.  I just need to be mindful of "good sore" from a challenging workout and "bad sore" that could be an impending injury.  right now is the time to be super careful in the gym, and not aggravate my issues.  I will likely scale/substitute my workouts through the end of the week, long run sat, then re-address on Monday.

my run was otherwise pretty good.  it was cold, about 38 degrees.  really dark and pretty foggy.  visibility was less than 200 meters.  I really like the idea of an early morning run.  nobody out but me, the fog was inviting, running from pool of light to pool of light, as cast by the street lights.  very quiet, just overall a good experience.  very calming.  I did continue to run a little slower, and walk down the big hill.  I was also super mindful of the ground (looking for holes, curbs, cracks, etc).  I didn't want any bad steps to jar my back.

crossfit was supposed to be 10 EMOM thrusters, followed by a 10 min AMRAP: box jumps and push presses.  thruster, box jumps, and push presses, all had a potential lower back impact.  so i did 10 EMOM banded dips, and then 10 min AMRAP: 5 strict pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 air squats. 

Had Cretus judges training, last one before the even.  I am nervous, as usual, about judging.  I want to do a good job.  I want to be consistent.  I want to know and understand the movement standards.  i don't want to let any athletes down.  I will try hard to do the best job I can next weekend.

1/16/14.  run. crossfit. dips. pull ups. push ups. squats. coffee. orange. orange. turkey tetrazini. peas. tea. protein shake. 5 Guys burger.  lots of water.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

1/15/14. no run. no crossfit. hope i'm 100% soon...

i normally don't journal on a day of rest.  but today was supposed to be a crossfit day.  didn't happen.  work had a problem, and i needed to get down to Plant 2 (by Boeing Field) by 8:30am for an all day project.  between getting the boys ready for school and heading out for work, I couldn't hit the gym.

and when I woke up, my back was super tight/stiff.  today was deadlift day anyways, so it was probably smart to ease back and give it a rest. 

i forget to mention my hot date last night.  hot date with a foam roller.  my legs/quads/calves/hips/glutes were so tight my foam roller made me yelp.  forget the trigger gridpoint, forget the rumble roller.  just the foam roller was all I could take, with only about 50-60% of the normal pressure.

tomorrow morning is supposed to be a 5:30am run, I hope i feel better tomorrow....

1/15/14. coffee. granola/milk. pulled pork BBQ sandwich. root beer. spaghetti, meatballs.  salad.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

1/14/14, Tuesday. run and crossfit. man, my back aches...

1/14/14, Tuesday.  run and crossfit.

For the first time in over a year, I did my run before work.  I was excited to do this, and i was kind of looking forward to it.  I woke up at about 5am, went out and ran my 5K.  I would like to say this was a fast and easy 5K, but that would be a lie. I had tweaked my lower back yesterday (heavy front squats, followed by some touch and go ground to overhead barbells for time).  I think I got tired, and worried about time on the clock, and my form went to shit.  It was light weight (85#), but I got sloppy.  I know I have upper body/shoulder flexibility issues, and I over-arch my lower back when I press.  I think I didn't hold my core tight and voila, instant teachable moment.  was real stiff this morning, and pretty sore.  not quite pain, just pretty bad discomfort.  quads and hamstrings were super tight, probably to protect my lower back.  was hard to stand up straight.  I was walking around like a baboon.  I thought maybe my 5K would loosen things up and stretch me out and make me feel better.  you know how many times i have thought that in the past, that a run would make my bad back better?  countless.  and it has never come true. but running in the dark, when there is no traffic, is cool.  I was practically alone out there, and i liked it.  fairly warm, 48 degrees, and no rain.  was worth it to get out there.

made a command decision about crossfit. warm-up of hand-stand pushups and double unders, then WOD of rowing followed by 10-1 overhead squats and over the bar burpees.  I decided to try HSPUs and DUs, but skip the squats and burpees.  ovhd squats and burpees are kind of intense on my lower back and I didn't want to agravate it any more. did all the HSPUs with toes on a box.  couldn't string DUs for shit, every jump jarred my lower back.  rowed my 500m at an easy 2:00 split, had a 30 sec rest, then did 30 strict pullups for time.  took about 8:30 for the pull ups.  too slow. 

self-medicate tonight, hope for better tomorrow.

1/14/14. running. crossfit. HSPUs. DUs.  coffee.  apple. turkey tetrazini. peas. protein shake. steak'n'bacon po' boy.  salad. onion rings..

Monday, January 13, 2014

1/13/14. crossfit, stiff back. I re-consider my Open decision...

tough morning in the gym.

did my long run late Sunday afternoon.  I am accustomed to running it Sat morning, which gives me a yoga sat afternoon to stretch out, and then all day sunday to recover.  with just over 12 hours of recovery time, i went into the WOD feeling pretty stiff, and came out worse.  my lower back feels a little tweaked.  sitting in a desk all day at work will not help.  hopefully, some icing, some ibuprofen, some stretching, and a night on the foam mattress will get it back in shape.  I am planning a 5K for 5:30am tomorrow, so I better wake up feeling good.

Been getting some pressure to do The Open, from a couple of Assholes.  I have re-considered, and I am willing.  But here are my conditions...

Asshole 1, lets call him East Coast Asshole, will need to also sign up for the Open, and do it with me (local gym, of course, since he can't be here in person).  In addition, East Coast Asshole needs to do each of The Open WODs wearing the pink howler monkey beast mode t-shirt I bought him for his birthday.

Asshole 2, lets call him West Coast Asshole, will need to run with me for the 5 weeks of the Open.  I'll even cut West Coast Asshole some slack.  It can be either my weekday runs (M, Tu, W, Th) or my weekend runs (Sat, Sun).  I realize 6 runs a week for a non-runner is too much, so either 4 weekdays, or 2 weekends, for 5 weeks.  In addition, West Coast Asshole will need to run in his spandex snake skin print lifting pants, since I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any sexy running tights like me.

those are my conditions.  otherwise, I continue to refrain from The Open while The Plan begins.  And Assholes 1 and 2 can shut the fuck up.  You know who you are.

Crossfit this morning.  Heavy front squat, 3 EMOM for 5 min.  85% 1RM.  Did 175#, was heavy, had to break every set into 2+1.  But knocked them out.  Then 5 RFT: 10 wallball and 10 ground to overhead (for me, this was power cleans and push presses).  Rx was 115, I did 85.  after the long run, then the front squats, then the ground to overhead, my lower back is not feeling good.  will self-rehabilitate for the rest of the day/night, see what tomorrow brings.

1/13/14.  crossfit. front squats. wallballs. ground to overheads. C4 extreme. coffee. brazilian bacon flavored chips.  brazilian chocolates.  apple.  mongolian grill leftovers. apple.turkey tetrazini. salad. cookies.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

1/12/14. Sunday. The Long Run I tried to skip...

1/12/14. Sunday. i really tried to skip my long run this weekend.  really.  i used every excuse i could. I'm trying not to come down with a cold.  I have a bad feeling in nose/throat.  general aches.  really shitty weather.  windy. rainy. flood advisories.  i said I wasn't going to do my long run this weekend and that it would be OK in the grand scheme of things.

I skipped it Saturday. then sat night i had anxiety dreams. dreams that i was getting ready for a race and I wasn't ready.  i couldn't figure out the schedule.  what time the gun would go off, how early I needed to be there to check in, when I needed to leave the house, when I needed to get up.  i had a fitful night of anxious sleep, worried about racing. Then I didn't run sunday morning either.  went bowling with the boys, averaged over 150 per game.  but all day, i had that voice in the back of my head saying "come on fucker.  just do it.  lazy SOB. quitter.  fucking weak.  just do it.  do it.  go do it. now..."  I felt like Jack Nicholson in The Shining.  I might have a fitness related mental illness.

So I did it.  I ran my 5 miles, and did it in under 43 minutes.  faster than intended.  i feel good now.  i can sleep tonight. 

1/12/14. bowling. running. coffee. granola/milk. bacon and cheese omelet. peanut butter toast. grilled cheese. orange.  NOxplode. .mongolian grill. those little danish butter cookies in the big tin.

Friday, January 10, 2014

1/10/14. crossfit. rowing. wall balls. burpees. my advice for damper settings...

1/10/14. friday. crossfit, no run.

actually feet kind of crappy, like i have a cold coming on.  that bad feeling in the back on my throat/nose, general aches all over, stomach not great.  almost decided not to WOD, then rationalized it as probably less than 20 min of output.  no problem.  I am not sure about the long run tomorrow.  that is a different sort of venture.  if I feel shitty, I don't think I am down for 50-60 min of running.  I am trying to be flexible.  I'm not even on The Plan yet.  I need to teach myself that if I feel bad, its OK to take an additional rest day.  I need to acknowledge that The Plan is not written in stone, and its OK to play it by ear a little.  its hard for me, because I have blind faith in The Plan, and if I let down on my end of the bargain, I'm afraid it won't get me to my goal.  its hard to accept that in terms of training, a lost training day is better than a workout that makes you worse/sicker and affects a longer duration of training days.  sometimes I need hit with a big stick before I see the light, though.

we did a 500m row for time, then 30-20-10 wall balls and burpees.  as far as rowing, I know there are a lot of proposals for damper setting.  here is my experience.  keep in mind that I cannot preach to anyone, and I cannot say that my practice is good for anyone but me.  but here it is.  you gotta decide if your row is a marathon, or a sprint.  if its long, say over 1000m, I go with a low damper, 3-4, and get a nice smooth even rhythm that I can sustain for a long time. but if its a sprint (like the 500m), I go with a high setting, 9-10, and its a fight to the death between me and the C2.  I am serious, I pull with everything I friggen have, legs then chest then arms, pulling to smash that rower.  explosive leg extension, slight lean back arm pull until the handles smash into my chest. extend arms, lean fwd, and retract legs.  repeat.  its like I'm trying to break every link in that chain.  unsustainable for distance, but it gets me a much lower 500 split than the lower damper setting with a steady pace.  this strategy was suggested to me by a trainer at Crossfit Confortare in NC (awesome box, by the way).  All I can do is suggest you try it for yourself.  do 500m for time at damper 3-4, smooth and steady.  then 500m at damper 9-10, pull with everything you have.  find the results for yourself.  i know you need to think about what kind of energy you need to keep in reserve for the next portion of your workout (so maybe a slower steadier row makes more sense with the entire WOD in mind), but experiment with your body.  seriously, I wouldn't even say I went full 100% this morning, and I hit 500m in 1:37.8.  Which was a PR for me.  try for yourself sometime.  and then, what is there to say about wallballs and burpees?  sucked, but I did it.

we'll see how I feel tomorrow.  long run may be pushed to sunday, or even off the table altogether this week.  next week, due to scheduling issues, I am going to move my afternoon runs (roughly 5pm on Mon/Wed) to 5:30am runs on Tues/Thurs.  Its been a long time since I rolled out of bed and directly hit the road.  I kind of fear for the worst.  wish me luck.

1/10/14. crossfit.  rowing. wallballs. burpees. C4 extreme.  protein shake. coffee. orange. ravioli. kung pao chicken and ramen. apple. cheeseburger. sweet potato fries. salad. lime chili cheetos.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

1/9/14. Thursday. crossfit. a pic of me prior to crossfit, then 1 yr into it.

day off from running.  just crossfit.

awesome WOD.  not for time, not even AMRAP.  15 min to get a heavy snatch, 15 min to get a heavy clean and jerk.  can i just say i love my lifting shoes?  I managed to turn the 2 oly lifts into 4 new PRs...  New PR on the snatch for me, 115.  And you can't have a proper snatch without a full overhead squat, 115 (2nd PR).  And when you can't squat out the next higher weight, it was still a power snatch, 120 (third PR).  Then a new clean and jerk PR, 155 (4th PR).  Finished out with 3x25 situps and back extensions.  all in all, an awesome day at the gym.  things went well for me, and i feel like i've made some progress.

its nice to have a day off from running (or 2 as the case may be), but I miss it.  These short runs aren't so bad, but I am kind of starting to remember the things I had buried deep and forgotten about.  the long runs during the week, the mental agony of the road, the physical hardship, hell, just the amount of time it takes run run 20, 30, 40 miles in a week.  its kind of a sick excitement to be anticipating doing that again.

the first pic below was me crossing the finish line of my second marathon, 2 summers ago (ran the 2nd marathon 3 weeks after my first one), versus a pic taken last summer at the beach.  I weighed in at 165 that marathon morning, versus more like 180 over the summer.  its a tough call.  its obviously easier to run distance when you are carrying less weight.  but I think its important to be well-rounded, and to be "fit" in multiple aspects.  I know I could stand to lose a few pounds right now, and I have a bit of the "love handles" back, but I'm also stronger than ever.  If I want a new marathon PR, does that necessarily mean I need to get back to my running weight?  I wish I could know exactly what weight I needed to be, to guarantee a great time.  I would do what I had to.



12/9/14.  crossfit. snatch. clean and jerk.  coffee.  orange. granola bar. ravioli. peas.  apple. protein shake. kung pao chicken. rice. potsticker. eggroll. wonton soup.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

1/8/14. Wed. crossfit, and a run home from work...

5:30am crossfit.  Dragged T along, seeing as its her last workout for almost 2 weeks.  really going to miss her.  going to complicate my workout plan, having the extra responsibility of the boys and my dad, meals, school, etc.  plus i'll just flat out miss her.

5x3 deadlifts at 80% of 1RM.  loaded up at 245#, knocked out the 15.  felt real good, except after when my left hamstring keet twinging, like the feeling when you expect a muscle cramp to be imminent.  had to watch that one through the day.  WOD was 15 min AMRAP: 5 chest to bar pull ups, 10 24" box jumps, 15 44# kettlebell swings.  chest to bar is tough for me, so I was real slow and didn't rack up too many rounds.  in fact, I had to reverse my grip (chin up style as opposed to pull up style) so that I could consistently get that last little oomph to tough my chest to the bar.  I am feeling torn about WODs that have time involved (which is basically all of them).  Either its for time, and I get pissed because I am going slow these days, or its AMRAP, and I get pissed because I feel like I don't get enough work done to justify my hitting the gym.  sooner or later, as the mileage racks up its going to come down to programming my own workouts.  A defined set of work or sets, no time limit, just get in, do as much work as I set out to accomplish and fuck the clock.

my schedule was hosed up due to a trip to the airport.  in the interest of regaining some time, i decided it was a great idea to combine my commute from work with my run.  ok, maybe not great, but workable.  so after the airport run, i packed my running gear and got dropped off at work.  wasn't sure up front what the mileage would be, but I ended up stretching it out to 5K. kind of depressing to look out the window as the day goes by, and see the weather getting shittier.  and knowing you are hoofing it, no matter what.  even so, it was pretty cool.  left my clothes at work, and ran. was really dark and rainy, and i had to run on the shoulder of the freeway for a while.  ended up up with my fastest 5K time since I started running again in Nov.  kind of funny.  for how badly my legs felt thrashed (squats and deadlifts), I just pushed harder and ran faster this week.

1/8/14. C4 Extreme. protein shake. coffee. almonds. orange. turkey tetrazzini. apple. almonds. ravioli. meatball. salad. lots of water.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

1/7/14. Tuesday. crossfit. no run.

ah, there it is.  that stiffness I expected from those squats.  my old friend, DOMS, strikes again. woke up a little stiff/sore.  not too bad, definitely not "go down the stairs sideways" kind of stiff, just noticeably there.  glutes most affected, then quads.  I hit the the gym about 40 minutes early so I could roll out.  Lacrosse ball to the glutes, rumble roller to the calves, foam roller to the quads.  I also did some extra calf stretchs (foot extension and retraction).  last time i did any serious running, I sometimes got some pain down the front of my right ankle, into the top of my foot.  I speculate it might be the extensor tendons.  I have experimented with multiple methods of lacing my shoes (to ensure its not too tight across the top of the foot), but i have also read that stiff calves might contribute to this condition.  I am willing to give anything a go, and lord knows I am about as stiff as they come.

no running today.  regularly scheduled WOD.  buy in with 5 strict press EMOM.  started heavy (for me), went to failure, dropped weight.  WOD was tabata of rowing, air squats, push ups, sit ups.  each movement gets 20 seconds on, 10 second rest, 8 times in a row, each.  so its a 16 min high intensity interval training workout. air squats wer tougher than anticipated, what with the pain in my ass.

crossfit. strict press. rowing. squats. push ups. sit ups. coffee. almonds. orange. tea. spaghetti. green beans. apple. protein shake. salad. pizza. lots of water.

Monday, January 6, 2014

1/6/14. Monday. crossfit and 5K. I want to be The Spear.

regular monday.  crossfit before work, run after work.

T came to 5:30am crossfit with me.  she said the only reason she went was to spend the time with me, since she is leaving wed.  was cool.  buy-in was front squats, 3 EMOM for 10 min.  supposed to go 75-80% of 1RM.  my 1RM was 205, so i should have done 154.  I started at 145 for 7 rounds, did 155 for 2 rounds, and 165 for 1 round.  felt heavy enough by the last round. WOD was 15 min AMRAP: 5 power cleans and 10 toes to bar.  power cleans were supposed to be heavy.  went with 135 for the power cleans and i mostly hit my toes to bar (these are always tough for me).  you don't like that?  too effing bad, that's my workout, my training, and my call.

5K run after work.  wore my new "most reflective jacket known to man" nike flash jacket.  micro-glassbeaded exterior coating, 360 degree of 400 candlepower reflective.  that jacket is a serious eyesore. I friggen love it.  running in the pm, after squats in the am was difficult.  legs felt wooden.  but i tell myself "i'm not in pain, there is no risk today, the machine seems to be working fine, running on tired legs is nothing but training to get me where I need to be".  and then, after a half mile or so, its like i broke free.  i felt like i was flying.  ended up with a fairly fast 5K, and i felt great doing it.

still using my building block approach towards getting ready to hit the plan on 3/10/14.  for the last 2 weeks, i have stepped up the mileage to approx 12.5 miles per week.  I will maintain this through Jan.  then come Feb, I will add friday runs.  should hit 13-15 miles per week for february.  then, come march 10, i should be hard enough to start ramping up.  and we will see how long i can keep up with the crossfit 5 days a week.  March should not be a problem.  April and May may start getting dicey.  Come June and later, I play it by ear...

T thinks I'm running too much right now, causing wear and tear that I should save until closer to the marathon.  i don't know how to explain myself.  i don't have a real mileage goal right now, nor a set number of days to run a weak.  I am trying to cultivate a lifestyle.  I am trying to make my body hard. i am trying to make my legs iron.  i am trying to re-build my engine.  my goal is not to finish at Berlin, its to run further and faster than ever before.  sometimes I wonder what it would be like if i could give myself to this full time.  if i was a real athlete.  if i could hit the gym anytime i wanted.  if i had a professional sport specific coach.  if i could get a sports massage every day.  if i could focus myself with laser intensity, doing nothing that wasn't value added towards helping me achieve my goal.  100% full on, kill it every day.  as Hank puts it, if i was the point of the spear.  I realize you can't live as the spear all day, every day, forever.  but for the next 37 weeks and 5 days, i think i would like to be the spear.

crossfit.  front squats.  power cleans.  toes 2 bar.  5K run.  C4 extreme.  coffee.  orange. almonds. chicken parm.  spaghetti with mizithra.  peas.  tea. apple. pork chops. cabbage. green beans. salad.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

1/4/13. Sat. long run, yoga, beautiful day for a run...

did my long run early today, hit the road by 9:30am.  was difficult to get motivated, being at home, on a saturday, kids still in their pajamas.  but the weather was beautiful.  pretty chilly, about 35 degrees, but the sun was so bright I needed the tinted lenses in my sport frames.  they say that if you get out the door and feel comfortable, then you are probably wearing too much.  believe me, i was not comfortable.  I saw the sun, and left the hat and gloves at home.  I intended to do 5 miles today.  but when i hit the turn back point, that little voice in my head said "don't stop, WTF? are you lazy? you did 10K last week.  you can't do less than last time.  always try harder, don't go backwards".  So i did 10K again.  stopped by the YMCA to take a leak.  was so sunny, and there were so many cars out, i thought I ought not pee on the side of the road.  and since it was 35 degrees, i decided not to just drain the ballast while i was running.  discretion was the better part of valor for today.  real good run, but  was glad when it was over. how am i possibly gogin to do more than 6 in a go?  i can't believe the typ of mileage i used to pull.  will be tough to get there again. 

does anybody else have crazy shit run through their head during the long run?  i wish i had a mic and recorder to catch a stream of consciousness conversation with myself.  a common thread is when i plead with my brain to go on autopilot.  I say to myself "come on fucker, we both know how this will end, X minutes from now, X miles from now, we're gonna be back home.  every time the same.  so just go on autopilot.  sleep mode.  wake me when we get home."  seriously, I have run the same run hundreds of times, for thousands of miles.  the outcome is always the same.  i do it.  so why do i have to endure it?  the mental challenge of running is tough.

was so awesome to hear from my friend randa the other day.  she's training for her first full.  to hear her say "i'm so glad it a short run this weekend, I'm only going to do 13" was friggen awesome.  that a half marathon! which up until a few weeks ago, had been her longest run ever.  So baddass.  I'm proud of her.  and so proud of manuel for supporting and helping her.

after the run, headed over to the gym.  T teaches a yoga class on saturdays.  I feel so stiff and creaky after the miles, I think the 30 minutes on a foam roller and then 60 min of yoga greatly speeds up my recovery time.  what will i do while she's in india and not teaching?  i will suffer, as will the rest of the "stiff as a board club".

Sat. run. yoga. coffee.  ham and cheese omlette. peanut butter toast. NOxplode. chili. cornbread. weak gatorade. cubano sandwich. cottage cheese. orange. cheese and crackers.  shrimp souvlaki.  salad. pie.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Day 8. 1/3/14. Friday. crossfit, and recording my list of 1RMs.

just a crossfit day, no running.  but seriously, talk about about fucking up your morning, get up at 4:50am, look at the WOD for 5:30am, and see its Karen.  Somebody at HQ must have been burned in the past, just tragically had their heart ripped out and thrown on the floor by a woman named Karen.  Because 150 wallballs, 20#, 10ft, its just mean and sadistic.

warm up was 10 min EMOM, 10 push presses.  started with 65#.  able to run all 10 in about 35-40sec, for each of the first 7 rounds.  then dropped to 2x5 every 30 seconds for the final 3 rounds.  should have gone heavier, and then allowed myself to fail a round. I had staged this with some 5's laying on the ground, but T took them before I was ready.  then there was not enough time between rounds to go get more, or even grab 10's.  lost opportunity.  that's 10 minutes I'm not going to get back, 10 mins I wasted on some light weight that's not going to make me get stronger.

Karen.  for the 2013 Open WOD 13.3, I got 150 wallballs and 10 double unders before the 12 min time cap (my 150 wallballs took 11:41).  this morning I took 12:51 for my 150 shots.  so I'm a minute slower than ayear ago, which is fine by me, because I'm not competing.  I realize I cannot push myself in a competitive contest environment every single day. that's a sure path to over-training, and a subsequent crash and burn.

I want to record my 1RM lifts, because I feel like I am at a stable point right now.  my capability will likely drop as I run more and lift less.  All I can hope is that I can get enough quality time in the gym to slow down the loss, and minimize the amount of time it takes to get it back.  not like I'm some kind of fucking superhero. I know these numbers are shit, but they are what I have right now, and they are better than they were a year ago.  I know I'll get here again, and further, but it just sucks to lose ground.  but that's my choice.  I know I can't do everything, to the best of my ability, all the time.  running distance and lifting can be mutually exclusive.

                                   1RM

hang power snatch      75
power snatch              105
hang snatch                 65
snatch                         110
   
overhead squat            75
front squat                  205
back squat                  225
       

hang power clean      115
power clean               165
hang clean                 125
clean                          175
clean and jerk            150
   
press                          120
push press                 145
push jerk                   135
split jerk                    155
   
deadlift                      300
   
Crossfit Total, 1/4/13    620
         press                     95
         back squat            225
         deadlift                 300

Friday.  crossfit.  push press. wallball.  PRE. protein shake. coffee. orange. almonds. ham/swiss lasagne. green beans. apple. chicken. stuffing. salad. cauliflower. chis and salsa. lots of water.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Day 7. Thurs. 1/2/14. crossfit. why I will not compete in the Open this year.

no running scheduled until Saturday.  I figure, maybe in Feb, I will bump it up from 3 days a week to 4 days a week.

my right ankle is a little sore, I remember turning it on a wet rock yesterday on the trial.  doesn't seem swollen just feels a little funny.  kind of one of those self-diagnostic procedures where you are always aware of what's going on with your body, what seems out of whack, what need taken care of, etc.  I tend to get a little hypochondriac, though.

crossfit today.  warm-up, 10 min EMOM: 1 hang snatch + 2 ovhd squats.  Kept it light so I could work on my form, I honestly think those were my best ovhd squats ever.  WOD was 21-15-9 handstand pushups and burpees, with 25 double unders after each round.  Sometimes I can be fiercely competitive, although I usually try to bury it deep.  in the gym, when there is a timer running, i feel some pressure to perform faster.  I find myself tempted to make decisions that will get me done quicker (like using a lighter weight).  I try to keep good form, but sometimes getting tired and feeling rushed, I am sure my form can get sloppy.  This is just one of those days where I need to stop myself from taking the easy way out, and take time to work harder.  Like saying that I will mod my handstand pushups by putting my toes on a 24" box, instead of my knees on a 24" box.  Its harder, and will take longer.  I may be the last one going, but its better for me.  but i hate it when people come over and start fucking cheering for me.  just leave me alone.  are you rubbing it in that you are done and i am last? let me suffer in anonymity.  you're making me go slower and you're pissing me off.  leave me alone in a corner, and let me beat my body until I can't feel it anymore.  but save your cheering for the ladies.

registration for the crossfit open starts 1/15/14.  I have decided I will not enter.  I feel bad about it, and its kind of melancholy.  I had a real fun time last year.  Competing in the Open built some camaraderie around the gym (i enjoyed working out together with others, along with a little friendly competition), and it added some excitement to my life (watching for the each WOD to be announced live, watching the live demo throwdown, etc).  I had a good system.  WOD announced Wed nights, then we did it once as our Thurs WOD.  I used that first time to figure out what I could/couldn't do, how to pace myself, what to concentrate on.  Then I'd come in on Sat and go balls out, trying to beat my prelim time.  every week, my Sat was stronger/better than my Thurs.

But not this year.  I have long run on sat.  every sat.  I cannot increase my running mileage, and continue my training, at the same time as doing my best in the open.  If I can't do my best, I'm not going to enter.  its not about the $30, or whatever it is this year.  forget that shit.  i could drop $30 in the street and not even notice.  it's about not being able to give it my all, about not being able to try my best in the gym, and about placing my priority on my training.  I'll still do the open WODs on Thursdays in the gym, and I'll judge if wanted, but you won't see my name on the leaderboard this year.  and i feel bad about it.

1/2/14. crossfit.  power snatch, overhead squat, handstand push ups, burpees double unders.  coffee. orange. almonds.  pizza.  apple.  protein shake.  ham and swiss lasagne.  salad.  cookies.  lots of water.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Day 6. 1/1/14. Wed. Trail running and crossfit. trail running is a metaphor for my youth

Was able to change things up to today.  its new year's and the gym should be closed. our good friend Robyn is a trainer and wanted to work out, so she planned a WOD at 3:30.  wasn't an "official" posted workout and only a few diehards came in today.  since the WOD was in the afternoon, I was able to do a trail run in japanese gulch to satisfy my 5K (something I haven't had the time/opportunity to do in at least 6 months or so).

How can I describe what trail running means to me?  after all the miles on the road, seeing the same shit, getting strafed by cars, sucking exhaust, pounding the pavement, running trail is like being reborn.  I seriously don't have words to describe how I feel when I hit the woods.  the incredible smell of the trees and leaves and dirt. the sounds of the water in the brook.  the flashes of sun through the trees.  the patches of cool fog left in the hollows.  I seriously don't care about pace or time or sometimes even mileage.  i just run.  and the anticipation of what's around each bend, incredible.  I can't think about life, or business or anything else, I need to watch the trail, look for wet roots and rocks, watch my footing, earn my steps.  I seriously have no route - every fork or split in the trail, I just gamble and run whichever direction looks best..  no idea what around the corner, living for every step, the pure exhilaration of every step, coming to every fork in the path and just going which ever way strikes my eye.  no consequences, no plan, no goal, just incremental triumph and step by step.  I wish my body wasn't so weak.  I wish I could start running on the trail and never come back.  But just that short time in the woods restores me, makes me feel better about my life, and makes me happy.  I cannot tell you how stoked I am to have the japanese gulch almost in my back yard, just a short walk through my neighborhood gets me to the trailhead.

WOD was a chipper, approx 30 each of KB swings, wall balls, jumping pull ups, sit ups, overhead squats, back extensions, hang power cleans, box jumps, push ups, burpees, double unders, and front squats. Bare barbell for the ovhd squats, cleans, and front squats. This was more of a calorie burner or cardio activity today. Not really what I am interested in right now, but it can't hurt my training at this point.

5K trail run. Crossfit.  coffee. peanut butter toast. meatball/carrot ragu on wheat. chili. cornbread. tea. protein shake. pizza. salad. lots of water.