Sunday May 17, 2009

I thought I would sleep like a baby after Saturday's torture. Perhaps it was the ice coffee I had at 3:45 before my row, but I was pretty amped most of the night. Heading into the finals in the last position with a workout that ended with 30 snatches only 7lbs less than my present 1RM. Yikes.

I finished dead last, but worked my way through it. It was a mental barrier for me. Mostly, to not get pissed that I was last. The old me would have been cursing up a storm, and thinking how much I sucked over and over. This time, I was proud to be out there. I think I was the only one left working for something like the last 7 minutes of the workout. All the ladies gathered around the crowd cheered for every rep that I caught and pressed out to overhead. (this is NOT how you snatch for those unfamiliar).

Above you can see a video of a few of the reps.

30 reps Clean and Jerk @ 95lbs (~5-6 mintes), 400m run and 30 reps snatch at 75lbs. Overall time ~19 minutes. The cut off was 20 minutes so at least I made it!

Back at it!

Wednesday May 20, 2009:Sleep 6hrs

Strength/Skill Work:

Shoulder press 3x 56, 65, 75, 80, 85, 90(3 rep PR), 94F, 85, 85, 85lbs

L-sits (I hate) 29secs, 33, 29, 25, 26seconds

Good day back. Nothing too intense, but a good work set on the shoulder press. Gonna break into triple digits for my one rep here VERY soon! I'm finally getting through some solid work sets as well. Something I've always neglected.

Thursday May 21, 2009 Sleep 6hrs

Friday May 22, 2009 Sleep 4hrs Ouch.

1 legged box jumps 24"

30 burpee pull-ups for time from 7.5ft pull-up bar

3:40

Saturday May 23, 2009 Sleep 10 hrs

WOD

4 rounds 400m run 50 squats

10:50

CF Regional Review WOD 3

Chad Caden also from CrossFit Asheville and I after the completion of our first day.

Saturday May 16, 2009 WOD 3 (4:00pm):

Row 2,000m for time.

8:28
After the second WOD I crashed on a blanket in the grass for a solid hour. Corey went to buy more water, honey and a coffee to get me ready for the last workout. We decided honey would be the best option about 20 minutes before to give me a lift and avoid feeling weak and dizzy without filling me up causing me to want to hurl.

I didn't do a whole lot to warm-up for this one. I was set to be one of 9 to go on to tomorrow's regional assuming that I could row 2,000m in under 10 minutes. I did a 2,000m row solo back on April 25th in 8:28 so I was hoping to go under 8:15 today. However, I also had the idea of just maintaining on this workout and save a little extra energy for whatever they are going to throw at us tomorrow. I was a solid 5 minutes behind and being that not only am I short but a smaller build, rowing is NOT my forte.

Rowed 8:28 holding 2:07s for essentially every 500m. I won't complain when I equal my PR after the havoc on my body from earlier today.

They announced the workout for Sunday after the completion of the last round of men's rowing. I was hoping for like a 10k run and maybe 100 overhead squats at 65lbs. haha Anything endurance favored people?? Give me a shot for a dramatic come from behind. haha

No such luck instead...
30 clean and jerks at 95lbs
450m run (no 10k)
30 snatch at 75lbs
For time.
20 minute time limit

Glad I got my snatch up over 80lbs on Monday. Too bad it's not up over 100lbs, but I know I will be able to complete it.
I'm glad to be in the finals and looking forward to ending with a solid effort.

CF Regional Review WOD 2

Saturday May 16, 2009 WOD 2 (1:00pm)

5 rounds for time of:

7 double kettlebell thrusters (35lbs each)

11 burpees

Time 10:31

I was feeling pretty good after the first work-out. My roommate from undergrad, Dawn, and her husband were passing through Columbus from Baberton on their way to Indiana. We were able to go out to breakfast to catch up for a bit between work-outs. I felt like a freak ordering two over-easy eggs while the rest of the group chowed down on pancakes and sausage. When the waitress asked if I wanted toast I was tempted to accept to avoid looking like one of those "carb-free idiots" but hate wasting food and passed. What she didn't see was that I had eaten a pear, banana, cashews, almonds, mango, and string cheese beforehand. Oh well.

After breakfast we went back to the venue and I caught a 20 minute period of shut eye. I can't say that I slept, but I relaxed as much as possible while visualizing myself moving through the second workout. I was quite pumped as I definitely saw it as my time to move up in the standings. I don't mind thrusters and can knock out burpees for days if I need to (not that I like to:). Yes, I was a bit concerned with the fact that the thrusters were with two 35lb awkward as hell kettlebells and not a straight forward barbell or even dumbbells. I was shooting for about a 5-6 minute time.

Corey pulled out the table and worked on my mid and low back a bit after my nap. It felt great and certainly seemed to help out. The one part about the warm-up which was particularly significant to me was when I actually gave the KB thrusters a try. I was in the practice gym and did a set with the 25lbs KBs. Not too bad. Then, I picked up the 30lb KBs and struggled just to get them up into the front rack position. From there I also worked fairly hard to thruster with them. Corey was watching from as far as he could get at the door. He was all positive for me telling me I looked strong and what not. However, what he didn't realize is that I still had to go up a total of 10lbs. I didn't even pick up the 35lbs before I went out. I didn't feel it was necessary. The 35 thrusters I had to do out there would be MORE than enough.

My judge this time was a big guy named Dan. He was pleasant and very helpful even asking how I wanted the KBs positioned in between rounds. Plus, he recorded my splits for each of the 5 rounds. (I love knowing splits and seeing where time was lost/gained.)

3,2,1...Go and again we are working. I can't remember how many thrusters I did straight but it must have been at least 4 followed by a set of 3. It took me a few rounds to really get the clean down with the KBs and I ended up essentially curling the bells up each time I had to put them down. I finished the first set of thrusters and hit the burpees.

I tried to move through relatively fast to make up ground. I finished that first round in 56 seconds (right on pace, haha) and then it hit me. I didn't feel hungry at all going into the workout, but during those burpees I started to feel weak and dizzy. Corey was right in front of me through the fence and I made eye contact thinking "oh boy, not sure if I'm gonna be able to do this." The bells were heavy and awkward as hell but I just tried to stay as focused as possible not missing any reps. I would usually get sets of two out every time I picked those suckers up and every once in awhile I would squeeze out a 3rd before dropping them. Every time I put the bells down it seemed that devil was screaming from my shoulder that I couldn't do it and that I would never make it out to the final. Once I picked them up I more easily gained focus but it's like once you drop them the last thing you want to do is pick them back up and all the negativity sneaks in.
My pace on the burpees had slowed significantly. Dan kept yelling at me to "Just drop!" to the ground rather than lowering down and doing a push-up to ensure my chest and thighs touched. I appreciated his advice but I was feeling so out of it that one time I even knocked my chin on the ground and was concerned that dropping too quickly would cause me to rock my melon on the ground.
Rounds 2 & 3 were the worst and then it seems by the 4th I started to see the light and feel hope that maybe I would finish. It helped that I could see and hear the other ladies around me all struggling as well. Although once again I felt as though I must certainly be in dead last place and kept having that feeling of wanting to press some sort of "escape" key to allow the ground to open up and I immediately disappear from the scene without having to walk past everyone to throw in the towel. Yes, I had MULTIPLE thoughts of quitting.
If this had occurred during my college years I more than likely would not have finished. Thankfully, I finally have gained a bit more patience and maturity to focus in and get the job done. It feels good to be able to put a plug in that evil devil on my shoulder. It is a constant challenge and I hope eventually I can compete with a purely positive mindset, but for now it is a big step personally.
My time was 10:31. The slowest of those who finished, but this time 1 of 9 to complete the event and have a chance to move on to Sunday's finals. All that was ahead of me was the row.

CrossFit Midwest Regional Review WOD 1

I wanted to write down some of my thoughts surrounding each work-out of this past weekend. Overall going into it I was certainly a bit nervous and anxious but definitely not anything compared to how I've felt in the past with running races. When it came time for the work-outs I felt fairly cool and collected and just went in with a "well, let's see what I've got" mindset.

Saturday May 16, 2009 WOD 1(9:00am):

21-15-9
185lb Deadlift

chest-to-bar pull-ups

Time 11:22

Thoughts: First, I found it interesting that almost exactly a year ago (May 14, 08) my 1 rep record for the deadlift was 185lbs. Thus, there is NO way that I would have completed this workout within the 15 minute time limit. My husband Corey joked that I would have been on my first set of 21 deadlifts within that time period and he's probably right. I was hoping to finish a bit faster, but I think I paced myself well. Both ladies in front and behind me pulled the first 21 deadlifts consecutively and went straight to the pull-up bar. THAT in and of itself was a bit intimidating. I will completely admit that I felt like I was going to be the last one done with that workout and had the fight the devil on my left shoulder questioning me why I thought I belonged in this kind of competition. While Sarah Dunsmore (winner of the Regional) was the lady right behind me, the girl in front of me did exactly what I was afraid of and burnt herself out on that first set of 21 to the point that I'm not sure she made it within 15 minutes. Those heavy deads were well, HEAVY!

The plan Corey and I had was to pull until I started to slow. At that point rest. Put the bar down, take a few steps away and come right back. The idea was to not completely wipe myself out trying to muscle out too many and not be able to do any in the rounds of 15 and 9. It really worked well for me. I pulled 5, rested and then started pulling in sets of 2 and 3. During the 15s and 9s I continued that 2-3 with an occasional single.

The pull-ups were my strong suit, and I made up some ground on people there for sure. It is evident that many do not do chest to bar pullups on a regular basis. Every since they required chest to bar at the Games last year that's literally all I've done. At first it was really hard and now it's no big deal. I make all my clients strive for chest to bar as well. Sometimes I know they hate me for it, but it will get them more prepared for the muscle-up as well.

After those 21 pull-ups I came off the bar and saw from my judge's clock we were at 5 minutes so I felt far more confident from then on out. Just move through and finish with something left over for the other work-outs to come. This sweet lady named Heather was my judge for this first workout. I dont' remember much after that first round except for her encouragement and positive voice. It made a big difference as I was in the back corner and couldn't really hear Corey or Laura too often. Although I particularly remember making eye contact during some of my rest periods during that first set of 21. I recall thinking, "Help me, here." haha

12 ladies finished this first work-out. I had the 10th fastest time. They take 10 to the finals on Sunday so I was where I needed to be at this point to get into the finals.

Tuesday May 12, 2009 Sleep: 5.5hrs, 20 min nap

Deadhang Pull-ups (7,5)

Strength/Skill work:Thrusters 5x 75, 88, 2x98, 1x103, 1x111, 116F

Just some light weight sets to feel a bit of a load without wearing me down.

WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:

~200m run (longer than shorter but probably pretty accurate. Uphill out, downhill back)

10 single arm dumbbell push-press

5 chest-to-bar pull-ups

7 rounds + ~120m run

Time to focus on getting some stinkin' sleep. Wednesday and Thursday either my dogs will not be spoiled and get their afternoon trip to the park or my husband will do it solo so I can get some more sleep. The work-outs are said to be posted tomorrow (today wednesday the 13th). C'mon Rogue update your page! Curious competitors are anxious to know the tasks that lie ahead.

Weekend Zzzs & another Snatch PR

Saturday May 9, 2009 Sleep: 9 glorious hours

Did the warm-up with the class which included 9 consecutive deadhang movements.

Played around with a little tumbling but other than that rest, rest, rest.

Sunday May 10, 2009 Sleep: 8hrs

Active Rest Day with a two hour hike (see pics) with friends who were in town from NY. The hike wasn't challenging but I was exhausted before we started. Goal of the week...lots o' sleep

No pull-ups it seems I am a day ahead anyhow.

Monday May 11, 2009 Sleep: 7.5hrs no nap

Hitting a bunch of drills to include double and single leg broad jumps as well as some bounding today to demo the warm-up for 3 classes.

10 (6,4) pull-ups in a.m. and a couple sets of 10-15 push-ups and squats

Strength/skill work: 8pm

Snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

45lbs, 65, 75, 79, 84F, 84F, 84F, 82.5F(used the 15kg bar with 10kg bumpers and 2 1/4lb plates), 82.5F, 82.5!! PR(Laura even caught it on video below.), 84F, 84F enough.

Although it may appear that this session would be quite frustrating recording all those failed attempts, but they were solid attempts. I kept getting it over head but unable to stand up with it. Until FINALLY I did. When I did these a week ago Sunday I couldn't even get 84 to my eyes (mostly because I'm a headcase and knew how much was on the bar). Now, I'm close to standing up with 84. Triple digits in the snatch before the year is out! It was a solid session. I was mentally in a MUCH better place than last week.

The Jerk

For those times when water fails you rest assured there is now a "Dry Mouth Spray" on the market. Experience "Instant Moisture". Oh, the things they feel the need for in our society.

(Yes, I actually saw this in an Asheville grocery store and just so happened to have my camera in my purse.)

Friday May 8, 2009 Sleep: 6hrs, no nap. Really dropped the ball with my efforts to get more sleep this week. There has been a lot going on and I have a presentation to give this coming Tuesday for this business class I'm taking. I don't feel horrible, but keeping my training as smart as possible. Next week I KNOW I need to squeeze in some extra sleep.

Warm-up

Line drills with "quick feet" work

12 overhead squats with PVC and push-ups

26 deadhang pull-ups to meet my "buy-in" for Matt's Pull-up Challenge

Mobility work for hips and shoulders

Strength/skill work:

Push Jerk 5x44lbs, 65lbs, 75lbs, 88lbs, 98lbs, 104lbs x 4, 104lbs x 5, 110lbs x4 F on 5th

It was stupid that I didn't get the 5th on that last one. Lack of focus. I was going to re-do it but I started using the back rack position today in prep for the regionals next week. I saw this done in a video of another regional where they had to do multiple overhead lifts. It is easier to avoid the temptation to put the bar down while holding in the back rack position (so as if you were about to back squat) than the more traditional front rack. However, the re-rack between reps can be punishing when I don't get the my scapulas "back and down" fast enough in order to best absorb that weight on my traps. So, while it is easier in some regards it is more challenging in others.

Moving a bigger bell...

Wednesday May 6, 2009: Sleep 7hrs, no nap

CFE Row: 2pm

3 rounds of

5 seconds on 10 seconds off,

20 seconds on, 10 seconds off,

10 seconds on, 10 seconds off,

30 seconds on, 10 seconds off,

25 seconds on, 10 seconds off,

15 seconds on, 10 seconds off
This is the version I did which is slightly different from the version written on the site, but still works for the same amount of time per round.

Distances after each round were

1) 538m

2) 1075m (537m)

3) 1617m (542m)

Strength/Skill Work (6:30pm)
Overhead Squat: 5x45, 75, 85 and 4x95 failed on 5 moved onto DL

Deadlift 5x132, 3x176, 1x196, 206, 220, 230F, 230F

It's been quite awhile since I pulled over 200 for anything (months actually) so I wanted to at least match my PR. It may be 225 I'm not sure to be honest and wasn't writing down back in Jan when I hit it. Until I do it again, 220 it is.

WOD: 3 rounds of 1 minute max burpees immediately followed by 30 kettlebell swings (45lbs) 30 sit-ups. The next round starts at the start of the 4th minute. So, the 2nd starts at 8 minutes. The last round in completed for overall time.

Burpees: 23/19/16 Overall time 19:23This was the first time I have used the 45lb KB. It felt good. I did 20 straight the last two rounds. I could definitely swing the 53lb or whatever the 1.5 pood is if I needed to.

Thursday May 7, 2009: Sleep 6hrs, closed my eyes for a 10 minute nap. Man, I didn't want to get up.

WOD

3 rounds of
50 double unders

10 handstand push-ups

8:42

Those double unders kill me. However, I can do upwards of 10-15 at a time. Two weeks ago I couldn't do 3. All in time, all in time. At least my fear of them coming up at regionals has forced me to work on them. Oh, how it is easy to focus on our strengths.

10 minutes in time

The above picture is centered one my main work-out partners, Laura. She will be coming to the regionals with me as support and next year we are going to get her to the regionals working towards her own spot at the 2010 Games!! She is motivating and supportive. I love working with her everyday.

Monday May 4, 2009 Sleep: 7hrs, no nap
Unplanned rest day. Didn't get the workout in before my evening class and by the time that was over around 7:45 I was done. I tried a few front squats around 85lbs and called it a day. Honestly, I was content with it too. I mean obviously I'd like to get in a workout but I'd much rather listen to my body at this point.

Tuesday May 5, 2009 Sleep: 9 straight hrs! This felt great, but it was one of the fastest 9 hours of sleep I've had. I definitely could have slept close to 12 if time allowed.

Strength/skill sets: Thruster-jerks 5x 75lbs, 88lbs, 95lbs, 100lbs, 105lbs
This is a new movement for me that I wanted to give a try. Some of the regionals recently have had full squat clean to overhead anyway you can get it. So, thruster is faster at getting the bar overhead push it overhead straight out of the squat rather than standing with it, resetting the feet and redipping to put it overhead. However, the jerk (when you use the legs to accelerate the wght overhead and then catch with bent legs or on the re-dip) saves energy over catching it in a fully extended thruster. Any non-crossfitters here are probably more than lost. But I've never done it and wanted to practice the technique. It felt good and I enjoyed it. I could have gone heavier, but it was the weight with which I was doing my work-out so I decided to just get started with it.

WOD: Max reps in 10 minutes of muscle-ups and power cleans at 105lbs. Must complete at least 10 of each.
I did muscle-ups first and then went back and forth as the numbers show...

3 2 2 2 2 1 Total Muscle-ups 12

5 5 5 5 10 19 Total Power cleans 49

Total reps: 61

I just found out that Candace Hamilton (pictured below) of CrossFit Oakland was the winner of this work-out at the NorCal Regional this past weekend with 101 reps! Incredible!

Mental Set-back then Snatch PR

Saturday May 2, 2009: Sleep 7.5hrs, 3.5hr nap

As I believe I've mentioned in earlier posts I had told myself that I wasn't going to go to the CF regionals this year as my life can be quite hectic between my husband and I in our first 6 months of business for two separate businesses. However, here I talked about the change of events which now has me competing in the regionals. When I signed up I knew I was going to show up and compete but more than anything I wanted to just keep my training focused yet relaxed and go have fun. Well, Saturday I had a bit of a set back.

You see, I have a history of being quite a headcase regarding training and competing. I was a collegiate distance runner for Kent State University from 2000-2004 and ended up quitting the team with eligibility left in cross-country and track for 2005. You can read more about my youth athletic experience here but mostly I was by no means ever tagged as a "natural talent" growing up and through much of high school. However, by my senior year I had trained consistently enough that I was winning races and earned a college scholarship.
Long story short I became wrapped up in the idea that "more is better" for training and spent much of my collegiate career battling injuries and left in the pool or riding the elliptical machine like a maniac. When I was healthy enough to race I would get myself so worked up that I had to prove myself that by the end of it all would run faster in practice than competitions and completely break down pretty much having anxiety attacks and screaming negative things about myself out loud in the middle of 5 and 10k track races. I was an embarrassment not only to myself but most importantly to my team. Thankfully I do have some positive memories from those times, but in the end my perspective was completely warped and I didn't know what else to do but walk away. I spent my last 3 semesters of college living the more "typical college life" and while I've completed a marathon, half-ironman and some dinky road races since I haven't taken part in any "serious" competition since; particularly not any at which I had a shot to do well.

Recently some of the compulsiveness started to sneak back in. As you may have read my training has been fairly lax over the past few months and yet I continue to improve week after week. (Oh, the beauty of CrossFit training.) However, especially since I'm trying to focus my training towards skills I have only recently started doing consistently (muscle-ups and double-unders) as well as adding in some heavier stuff since a distance running background doesn't exactly prepare you for heavy anything, the majority of my workouts are done on my own. On days that you've been up since 4:45am and coached at 6,7,8, and 9am, stayed through 1pm for open gym and back in the evening for more classes talking yourself up to train can sometimes be a challenge. I love CrossFit and I love to train, but I am human and sometimes lack personal motivation. When this happens I tend to get frustrated at myself and it can be a downward spiral.

Saturday after putting on the morning workout I wasn't feeling up to working out myself so I told my husband Corey that we'd come back later. Well, I went home and slept for nearly 4 hours that afternoon. When I woke up I cleaned the apt and kept fighting to find motivation to get back in the gym. I never did. Instead, I completely melted down and took much of my personal frustration out on Corey. I yelled at him for not being more supportive and motivating me when I feel lazy. (He is MORE than supportive of all I do and was unable to read my mind to know my lack of motivation, as I expected of him. I'm sure other significant others out there are nodding their heads at this point.) I also got mad at him for not giving me more guidance with my training even though, 1) Again, I never asked and 2) I have been doing my own programming as well as the gym's for quite awhile now.
In the end, we had a good discussion and I got a lot off my chest that I had been internalizing. I never did workout, but I went in Sunday with a much fresher perspective. It's now Wednesday that I'm catching up on this and I can say that I've been in a much better place since.

Sunday May 3, 2009: Sleep 8.5hrs
Strength/Skill Work: Snatch Didn't keep exact track of weight/reps at each but started at 45 and worked up to 79lbs. This is a 4lbs PR. I hit this weight 3-5 times. Then went up to 84lbs. I had about 5 misses here. I'm a head case. I snatched 79lbs easy every time, but I couldn't get my head wrapped around the 84lbs to put it overhead. Next time...

WOD:
5 rounds of
185lbs deadlift, 3 reps
20 double unders
5:39

Felt solid. Need to hit some heavy deads this week.


One of the blogs I follow, Rizzzzo's World, had a pretty cool post about athletes having a good support system. I can't emphasize enough how supportive my husband, co-owners and clients of CrossFit Asheville oh and my old trainees back in NY. (I haven't forgotten about y'all and miss you much!) Even though my family doesn't really understand this whole CrossFit thing they are great. My mom and sister are both coming to the regionals so they will get a true taste of all the CF madness. I can't wait to hear what they have to say about it all. haha Looking forward to it and thank you to all!

Box Jump Again

Monday April 27, 2009 Sleep 7.5hrs, 1hr nap

WOD:

21-15-9 of:

66lb squat snatch, chest to bar pull-ups

Time: 12:43

Missed 2 of the snatches. Went a fairly conservative pace with them. First set of 21 pull-ups did 16 and 5 then 15 and 9 straight.

Tuesday April 28, 2009 Sleep 7 hrs, 1hr nap

RUN: 5pm Tabata hill intervall 8x 20sec on/10sec off

Ran with Lloyd on leash. He wasn't too much of a problem just made it a little slow on some of the starts. Ran hill in dev. next to my apt. Aster Way or something like that. I did hill repeats on this a few weeks ago with James. This time I made it just over the crest at the top (probably 20m past) during the last 20 second run. I ran a couple strides and walked the dogs for warm-up and cool down. Hoka ran too but doesn't bother the neighbors' dogs so was off the leash. Lloyd is a dane mix and a little more intimidating if he sees other dogs to go sniff.

I'll call it a half mile for today.

WOD: 8:30pm

"The Hilt"

21-15-9

100lb squat cleans,

burpees

14:20

Did this one solo. A 3 second improvement with a weight 2lbs heavier from when I did this WOD on 3/24/09. It's minimal, but I'll take it. I remember it seeming MUCH harder last time as well. When I do work-outs by myself I tend not to push as hard, but try to just move steadily through it.

Wednesday April 29, 2009 Sleep 6hrs, no nap TIRED

2hr hike in afternoon with dogs. Easy pace. Mild hills to climb.

Strength/Skill Work: 8:00pm
Shoulder press 10x 45, 5x65, 75, 3x80 1x95, 1x99.1lbs PR then back down to 5x75, 75, 75lbs

WOD 8:30pm

As Many Rounds As Possible in 10 minutes of

200m run, 20 Knees to Elbows

5 rounds plus about 30m run

I probably did about 5-8 extra knees to elbows. I was being really strict with myself. If I did not make contact with my knees it didn't count. I don't want to get into the regional and be pissed off because someone tells me a rep didn't count. I'm a strickler on form with myself and clients as it is, but want to be extra certain here with just over 2 weeks to go!!

Thursday April 30, 2009 Sleep 7.5hrs, 1hr nap

Rest Day!

I don't feel horrible, but am making myself rest after 3 work days and sub par sleep. I did a few handstands and maybe like 3 muscle ups but other than that it was a strict rest.


Friday May 1, 2009: Sleep 6hrs

Strength/Skill Work Noonish:

Double under practice

Light Push Jerk practice 5x 45, 65, 75, 86, 95, 100lbs

Skill Work 5:30pm : Jumped in with my class for some max effort box jumps. No falls this time and I hit 39.5" this time. If you see the video from below I wiped out pretty just under 2 weeks ago at 39". Two inch improvement. I'll take it. Next time...40!

Would still like to get in a WOD tonight. Need Corey to work on my hamstring. Want to do the double under and heavy DL WOD but it may wait until tomorrow. Maybe I'll do running and double unders tonight. TBC...

Can't make them all...

Sunday April 19, 2009: Sleep 10hrs. Yes!

Rest Day! As the day went on the soreness from Saturday's workout crept in. I cleaned my apt and did laundry.

Monday April 20, 2009: Sleep 5.5hrs, 3hrs afternoon nap.

Back Squat 5x 45, 75, 95, 115, 125, 135, 140, 135, 130, 130lbs

Muscle-up practice

Tuesday April 21, 2009: Sleep 5.5hrs, 1 hr nap

Sore from yesterday's back squats. This is the most soreness I've had in sometime.

"Angie"

100 chest to bar pull-ups

100 push-ups

100 sit-ups

100 squats

20:19

Double under practice! Need lots of work!

Wednesday April 22, 2009: Sleep 5hrs, 2 hr nap

Rest Day

So sore and tired after back squatting and then the 100 fast squats with Angie really put me under. Played around with double unders and a few muscle ups but other than that, rest!

Thursday April 23, 2009: Sleep 6hrs

Strength work: Deadlift 5x 135, 155, 175, 185, 185, 185, 185, 190lbs

15lbs under my 5 rep PR but I wanted to get in some work sets as the last time I maxed out for a 5 rep DL my posterior chain was done for days. Not the ideal stimulus when getting ready for regionals. I already put myself under a but too much for my liking with the squats earlier this week. More double under practice, slowly being able to link them a little better but other than that still weak.

Friday April 24, 2009: Sleep 6hrs

Variation of WOD from Mid-Atlantic Qualifier this weekend

800m run

21 overhead squats (3okg/66lbs)

21 box jumps (20 inches)

400m run

15 overhead squats

15 box jumps

200m run

9 overhead squats

9 box jumps

Total time: 10:13

Note: The runs are NOT exact and I'd say 800 and 400 are definitely short. However, adding up these runs relative to the same WOD done at the mid atlantic regional (400m run per round) and this is 200m more in distance so it probably comes close to equally out. Now that I'm posting this late and I've seen the times from that WOD I'm pretty pleased with the effort. I felt like I had dogged it stepping down from all box jumps except for the last set of 9. Good stuff. Definitely didn't feel fresh either which other than the first WOD I will not feel fresh at the midwest regionals.

I strung about 10 consecutive double unders today! This is a big deal for me. Slowly but surely I will conquer that dang jump rope.

Saturday April 25, 2009: Sleep 7.5 hrs

2k row: 8:28 (1k split was 4:12 so slowed down 4 secs over the final 1k)

I was trying to hold a pace that I allowed me to feel like I could get off the urg and go into a second part of the work-out. I did some box jumps...well box step ups as soon as I got off and while I could have done something I definitely respect that dang urg.

Sunday April 26, 2009: Sleep 7hrs

Rest Day

Rest, Snatch, Run

Thursday April 16, 2009: Sleep 6 hrs, 3 hr nap!! Nap felt amazing!

Rest Day!! Did minimal agility work and a few muscle-ups. Was almost able to string 3 in a row. My wrists are pretty ripped up.



Friday April 17, 2009: Sleep 5.5hrs, no nap. :(

Strength/skill work: Noonish

Snatch practice: Did 3-5 snatch balances at each of the following weights, rested 1-2 minutes and hit 3-5 snatches per weight. 45lbs, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75lbs. The snatches at 75 were not the prettiest. I did 5 singles with about a minute rest b/w each. All were caught pretty much completely upright and would have to press to lock out. This equals my PR only I wasn't able to power snatch it (catch standing rather than in the squat) when I hit it before. Was feeling tired so called it quits before heading out to run.

RUN 2pm Trails at Bent Creek 3-5 min walk warm-up, 2 strides 10 squats. Started at first trail sign about trees growing high? (sorry this means nothing to u) on wolf lodge trail. 60sec on, 60sec rest, 60sec on, 50sec R, 60sec on 40sec R, 60sec on, 30sec R, 60sec on 20sec R, 60sec on 10sec R, 60sec on (turned around at 10 min which was 30sec into this 60sec on...turned at gate by lodge) 20sec R, 60sec on 30sec R, 60sec on 40sec R, 60sec on 50sec R, 60sec on 60sec R, 60sec on 60 sec R, 60sec on...hit start point at 20:25. The way back had some substantial uphills that I hit on the running portion of the way out so hard to say if it was just more challenging home or how much I slowed. Felt fairly consistent.
Total run: ~2miles

Had plans of hitting a WOD in the pm but without a nap I was feeling quite sluggish. Just b/c I'm focused on the regionals now I still need to stay smart to allow proper recovery.

Videos are of standing box jumps off padded carpet. The first (sorry for the sideways shot) was at 37.5" and the 2nd is a miss at 39". As you'll see I get both feet up there but unable to stand it up. Next time...

CrossFit Midwest Regional

Tuesday April 14, 2009: Sleep 6 hrs, no nap

WOD: 3 Rounds of

4 Handstand push-ups

8 Chest-to-bar pull-ups

12 Deadlifts, 135lbs

16 Box Jumps, 20" box

Time: 5:07

I have been contemplating over whether or not I should go to the CrossFit regionals located in Ohio in mid-May. I would obviously love to compete with other CrossFitters. However, with my husband and I both young grads and trying to get two business up and running (Stay Active Clinic and the CrossFit box) the budget is a little tight. However, one of our partners with CrossFit Asheville has been trying to convince me to go. So, Tuesday we had a deal breaker...

There was a video posted in the CrossFit Journal recently with the women's winners from the past two years and two other girls from Ohio all going head to head at the work-out listed above. Of the 4 girls their times were 5:14, 5:51, 6;23 and 6:27. The top two times were of the two previous winners so I agreed to do the same work-out as the girls in the video and if I could break 6 minutes then I would go. There is such constant variation in the work-outs that it is difficult to tell how one would do in advance. Long story short I did it last night and to my own surprise finished in 5:07. (See above video...and my apologies for the amateur camera man. He meant well, but forgot that you can't simply rotate various portions of the video [at least I don't know how to!] as you can with the photos)

Today I officially registered. One month to pump up the training intensity a bit...mostly hit some big weights especially with squatting, get more rest, eat well, etc. Most of all I want to go in relaxed and just have as much fun as possible. It is going to be completely different from anything I've EVER done.

What will I have to do there??

There will be three events on Saturday announced and one final event Sunday. The work-outs for Saturday will be announced May 1st and Sunday's work-out is announced on Saturday. The whole idea of the CrossFit Games is to determine the best all around athlete as CrossFit itself is described as, "the sport of fitness". Thus, they don't allow people to know too far in advance to avoid skill specific training.

Wednesday April 15, 2009: Sleep 6hrs, 20 minute pm period of shut eye. Didn't really fall asleep but felt better after.

Strength/skill work:

Overhead Squats

5 x 45lbs, 65, 80, 85, 90, 95, 95lbs

100 x2, 100x 1, 105x1

Muscle-up practice. I did my first muscle up back in Feb the first week we opened Stay Active CrossFit. I've been bad about working them very often these days especially because we were without pull-up bars to hang them from for the past 3 weeks while we moved the pull-up system during our merger with CrossFit Asheville. However, they are now up and I have no excuse not to get on them! I felt good today hitting them and even was able to string two together without coming down from the rings for the first time.

Feeling tired today. Definitely need get more sleep somehow. We close the gym at 9pm and reopen at either 6am (M/W/F) or 7am (T/R). That's makes it very challenging to get home, take care of the dogs, cook food for the next day and get a full night of sleep. Going to have to really maximize on afternoon naps.

Single Arm Snatch

Monday April 13, 2009: Sleep 6hrs, 2 hr nap

Warm-up

Agility drills then

2 Rounds of
10 ring dips

10 chest to bar pull-ups

10 supermans

10 overhead squats with PVC

Dumbbell snatch practice.

WOD: As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of...

10 single arm snatch, 25lb dumbbell (5 each arm)

10 knees to elbows

8 rounds + 5 right arm snatches

Burpees and Hills

Wednesday April 8, 2009: Sleep 4hrs, nap 20minutes Ouch.

Rest Day!

Thursday April 9, 2009: 7.5hrs sleep

WOD: Complete 5 Rnds for time of

10 Sumo Deadlift High-pulls (55lbs)

20 Box Jumps (20")

20 Kettlebell swings (35lbs)

Time 11:27

Friday April 10, 2009: 6hrs sleep

WOD: 100 burpees for time

First 50 in 2:58 then 100 in 5:50

I did this workout on July 5th, 2009 and did 100 burpees in 8:58.

Burpees are brutal! Give them a try and then tell me if you still don't understand what I do for "cardio".

Satuday April 11, 2009: 7.5hrs sleep

Strength work 11am:
Working towards 1 rep max of the following

Back squat: 5x95lbs, 3x115lbs, 2x132lbs, 1x142lbs, 1x147lbs, 152lbs F, 1x 152lbs

Shoulder Press: 5x65lbs, 3x80lbs, 1x88lbs, 1x93, 1x94, 1x94, 94F

Was planning on deadlifting as well but ran out of time so called it a morning.

Back squatting and shoulder press are my two lifts that I have been at a standstill at for some time now. I've back squatted 160lbsx1 before a good 6 months ago now. To be fair to myself this is the 2nd time I've back squatted this year and the first time with squat stands. (without stands someone else racks the weight onto your back and for me it is mentally far more challenging to not walk the weight off the rack yourself.) As for the shoulder press I was having some stiffness in my left thoroacic erectors after the burpees yesterday and my pressing felt off as a result. I've been stuck between 93lbs and 98lbs for a 1 rep max shoulder press since last fall. Again, it seems I'm a head case to get my press into triple digits. Just need to work the press AND back squat a bit more consistently! All in time.

See videos below of my 93lb shoulder press and 152lb back squat.

Run 5pm:

Ran a 0.85 hilly loop in a neighborhood near my apt. Worked on the uphill which is the portion I timed and recovered on the downhill portion. Ran a total of 3 uphill climbs and hit 20 minutes about 30 seconds after the last climb so walked the remainder down with Corey and our dogs.

1st climb: 1st street in 1:30, hit top in 3:43

2nd climb: 1st street in 1:27, hit top in 3:21

3rd climb: 1st street in 1:29, hit top in 3:18

Total distance: 2.25 miles

Sunday April 12, 2009: Sleep 7.5hrs

Rest Day: Hike 2 hrs at Bent Creek Went super slow and feeling very sluggish. The fact that I'm quite dehydrated didn't help matters.

Estimated weekly mileage: 2.25miles

Total estimated mileage 2009: 34.25 miles

Thrusters 104lbs x 5

Monday April 6, 2009: 7 hrs sleep, afternoon nap 3 hrs! Felt great to sleep.

WOD:

100 feet walking lunge

30 push ups

30 sit ups

100 feet walking lunge

25 push ups

25 sit ups

100 feet walking lunge

20 push ups

20 sit ups

100 feet walking lunge

15 push ups

15 sit ups

100 feet walking lunge

10 push ups

10 sit ups

100 feet walking lunge

5 push ups

5 sit ups

Time 9:30

Tumbling practice

Tuesday April 7, 2009 Sleep: 7hrs

Strength work: Thrusters 5x 45lbs, 65, 75, 85, 95, 99.1 (20kg bar), 104lbs x 5 New PR! If it works you can see video of the 104lb set below.

Some tumbling then...

WOD: 30 Turkish Get-ups with 25lb kettlebell in 6:56

Sunday March 5, 2009: 7hrs sleep. Still not enough.

Active Rest: 7 mile hike causal pace, a little over 3 hours. My legs are really tired and heavy. I felt sluggish just walking. May take tomorrow off as well if this doesn't improve. Beautiful day!

Track Intervals

Sunday March 29, 2009: Ahh, day of rest. 9 hrs sleep.
Active Rest. Short hike due to unexpectedly cold weather near mountain tops. Probably about 30 minutes.

Monday March 30, 2009: 6 hrs sleep
AM: consisted of random gymnastics work and I got my gymnastics kip on the low bar!
PM WOD: 10 rounds of 200m run (estimated) and 10 burpees: 15:36

Tuesday March 31, 2009: 6 hrs sleep, no nap
Noon RUN: On local middle school track. Warmed up with some squats, push-ups, lunges, a few strides and stretching particularly quads and calves. Then:
5 minutes on with 400 splits of 93, 98, 97, 4:48 for 1400m
2:30 rest
4 minutes on with 400m splits of 94, 97, and 3:56 for 1k
2:00 rest
3 minutes on with 400m split of 89/91 for a 3:00 800
2:00 rest
2 minutes on 400m splits of 87.6 and ran about 530m
2:00 rest
1 minute on started at the 300m mark, covered 300 in 56.7 and finished out the 3+ seconds
Total estimated distance: 3 miles
Stretch, hit some squats and walk to car for cool down.
I was pleasantly surprised with my run today. I had some heavy legs from last nights 10 200s and burpees but still felt very relaxed during the run. Looking forward to next time.

PM Strength work:
Some brief deadlifts with 5x135, 155 and 3x175, 198, 201 Felt tired and didn't finish work set.
Handstand work.

Wednesday April 1, 2009: Only about 4 hrs of sleep last night with an hour nap. YIKES!
Strength work: Push jerk 5x 75, 85, 95, 100lbs and then cut short as classes got busy. Felt good.

Thursday April 2, 2009: 7 hrs sleep
PM WOD: 5 rounds of 10 sand bag cleans with ~60lbs, 30 sit ups time: 7:38
20 minutes of tumbling, bar and ring work. Hit a round-off double back handspring tonight. This is the first time I've done this stuff in about 12+ years. Lots of fun.

Friday April 3, 2009: 6 hrs sleep
Light evening strength work: Power cleans worked up to 100lbs and then cut it off as I was doing a group run 30 minutes later.
RUN: Was expected to be a 5k but James and I didn't make up the route yet were leading and made a wrong turn. Who knows how much farther we ran but ended up running 24:18 total at tempo effort. Very HILLY! Legs were heavy and felt really hard.
Estimated distance: 4 miles

Saturday April 4, 2009: 7 hrs sleep
WOD: As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of 200m waiters walk holding 45lb plate overhead, 15 box jumps 20" and 10 clapping push-ups. Did 4 rounds + ~150m waiters walk. The weight was so tiring to hold overhead. By far the limiting factor. Fun workout. It was a beautiful day out.
Afternoon hike for 2+ hrs.

Estimated weekly mileage: 7 miles
Total estimated mileage 2009: 32 miles

Tuesday March 24, 2009: Feelin' good.

Strength work: Single leg support clean and jerk. (As in the linked video except with TWO hands. :) 1 x 44lbs, 54lbs, 66lbs, 71lbs F on R, 71 F on R, 71lbs Bilateral, 76lbs B, 76F on R 3x!

It's incredible what you learn about yourself when you are forced to support on only one side at a time. I would have assumed my right side to be stronger as I am right leg dominant as far split jerking and running. Surprise, surprise.

WOD: "The Hilt" 21-15-9 of squat clean and burpees for time.
Used 98lbs for squat cleans and manged not to have any failed reps. Time: 14:23.

Wednesday March 25, 2009: Poor sleep, wired until about 1am and up at 5. Ouch! Strength work: Shoulder Press 5 x 44, 60, 70lbs 2x 80lbs, 1 x 88lbs, 1 x 93lbs, 93F, 93F, 1x88, 88, 88, 88, 88lbs

WOD: "Lynne-like" "Lynne" is a named CF work-out which consists of 5 rounds during which you do max bodyweight bench presses immediately followed by max rep pull-ups. Rest as needed between rounds. Since we do not have any benches in the gym the sub was bodyweight ring dips. Ouch!

Round Ring Dips Pull-ups (chest to bar)

1) 10 13

2) 11 13

3) 7 14

4) 6 10

5) 6 10

Totals 40 60

Feeling the lack of sleep.

Thursday March 26, 2009: 7.5hrs sleep

RUN: 20 minute tempo at Carrier Park. 8pm

Well, I last did this same run on March 11th. As I said then I don't know the exact distances for the loop but there was significant improvements this time out. Last time I did two loops in 19 minutes and finished out the final minute about 50m past the start of the bike track.

This time out I went through the first loop in 8:57 and was feeling smooth. I ate a banana with almond butter within an hour before running and my stomach was turning just a bit during the 2nd lap. I focused on staying relaxed and pulling my feet up off the ground. I went through the 2nd loop in 17:45. Passed the white shed in 19:35 and hit 20 min at the far end of the woodchip straight away just before the right turn. (Means nothing to you I know.)

Now while over a minute for two loops in 2 weeks there are multiple factors which may have contributed to this improvement. 1) I wasn't tugging Lloyd on the leash with me this time. 2) I didn't hit a 5 rep max in deadlifts 2 days prior this time. These are the two main contributors in my opinion. I enjoy running this loop for tempos so we'll continue to see how things go. I'll probably do at least one more at 20 minutes before I up it to 25 or 30. I hope to hit the track for my next interval work. Distance: 3 miles

Friday March 27, 2009: Poor sleep again. In bed at 11 but then my dog Hoka woke me up at 3:45 with an ear infection and by the time I found her ear drops I was wide awake and unable to sleep knowing that the alarm was going off at 5.

Morning Strength work: Muscle snatch-snatch balance-overhead squat Find max muscle snatch and do 3 work sets across. 1 x 33, 44, 55, 60, 60, 60, 60lbs. The video is me providing an example of this lift sequence.

PM strength work: was doing laundry in the club house and spent about 20 minutes in the fitness room doing the following:

Push-ups: 4 sets of 25

Dumbbell Turkish Get-ups: 5x 10bilateral, 5x 25B, 5x30lbs on the right, failed on the left.

Squats: 200 in the following sets 25, 25, 25, 50, 25, 50

I need to work on push-ups more. I used to do sets of 20 or more daily and I've gotten away from that. Now I rarely do more than 10-15 and I can tell the difference.

Saturday March 28, 2009: Much better sleep, ~8hrs.

WOD: 5 rounds of 50' overhead walking lunge (used 10kg/33lb bar) and 21 burpees.

First round 2:20, 3 rounds 7:40, 4 rounds 10:04, Total time: 11:59

Can go heavier on the overhead walking lunge weight.

This is a main page work-out and it is the first crossfit workout I ever did. The first time I did it with Corey I used the 30lb bar and struggled to do it. Plus it was my first time doing burpees and I couldn't believe how much was heart was pounding. At that point I only ever associated an extremely high heart rate and discomfort with running hard. I quickly learned MANY new ways to push physical and mental barriers. Now, it's just a matter of making myself cycle through the burpees faster. The first time I did this workout it took me 18:10.

Estimated weekly mileage: 4

Total estimated mileage 2009: 25

90, 400s, 200s

Sunday March 22, 2009: Active Rest. Ended up walking 7+ miles around property of the Biltmore House. Spring is here!

Monday March 23, 2009: Good sleep and afternoon 40min nap.

RUN: Original CFE WOD was 6 x 90s on 90s off. I was anticipating to hit about 400m for each round. Now keep in mind I did this at Carrier Park so it is not definite that the splits are accurate, but I felt pretty smooth. On the first interval I hit the 400 in 1:15 and continued through for the remaining 90s. At this point I knew I had the option to either slow waaay down or modify the run. I felt good at that pace so I decided to go with it and continue with 400s. I ended up running 4 total and could feel my form start to break on #4 and some "reaching" going on with the stride. So, I finished with two 200m. Here were my splits and rest times:

1) 400 in 1:15 ran through til 1:30, 1:30 rest

2) 400 1:15, 1:45 rest

3) 400 1:15, 1:45 rest

4) 400 1:16, 1:44 rest

5) 200 0:34, 2:26 rest

6) 200 0:36

I'm happy with where I am. This is the first time in my training that I feel like I have some speed from the start and instead have to build up the strength endurance to make improvement. I remember a workout I did spring of 2000 about a month before I ran 5:05 for the 1600. I did 8 400s between 74 and 76 with 2 minutes rest. While I did end up running a 62 split in the 400 later that spring I remember it being harder to hit 75s. Again, exact distance today is questionable so I'll really know how I feel when I get on a track. Hopefully within the next week!

Training Recap March 15-21

Sunday March 15, 2009: 2hr 20min hike at Bent Creek. Lots of uphill. Did a total of 200 squats in sets of 30-50 intermittently during hike.

Monday March 16, 2009:

Strength Sets: Front Squats 5 x 88, 98, 110, 115 2x120 (F on 3) 1x120, 125F, 125x1, 130F These need work! I've done 130x1 in the past.

WOD: 7 Deadlifts, 9 box jumps, 5 deadlifts, 15 box jumps, 3 deadlifts 21 box jumps for time: 2:30

Deadlift was 75% of my 1RM(220lbs), 164lbs and box jumps were 20"

Felt good can pull faster on deads. Jumped on and off boxes, can inc turnover.

Tuesday March 17, 2009: Rest Day

Wednesday March 18, 2009: Tired. No nap.

RUN: 60sec on, 90s off, 45s on, 90s off, 30s on, 90s off, 15s on, 90s off, 30s on, 90s off, 45s on, 90s off, 60s on.

At "200m track" of local apt complex. Who knows the accuracy of it. It's paved but there is some rolling to it. The sign said 8 laps to the mile. Felt good was rolling through the laps between 36 &38. Equaled the distances of 1st set when finishing and covered slightly more distance for some. We'll see how accurate the track is when I get on a real track here soon. Felt great. I feel powerful and explosive off the ground which is something that has never come naturally to me. Thank you CrossFit.

Approx 1mile run.

Thursday March 19, 2009:

WOD: 100 Broken Thrusters
10 thrusters @ 88lbs 1:40
20 thrusters @ 71lbs 2:46
30 thrusters @ 55lbs 1:55
40 thrusters @ 44lbs 1:51
With 5 minutes rest b/w each round overall time was 23:27
Felt good, can push harder on 10/20. Pushed really hard for last 40. A burner.

Friday March 20, 2009: Rest Day

Saturday March 21, 2009:

RUN: 12 minute tempo run at Bent Creek. Walked with Corey and dogs to trail head, walked the to the end of the trail (just over 0.5m??) from there I did a couple squats, one stride and started. Hit the trail head in 4:46 turned and hit the start in 9:04 (more downhill in this direction) then finished the 12 minutes at the 3rd blue hash before the stream. Approx 2 miles run.

Estimated weekly mileage: 3 miles

Total estimated mileage 2009: 21 miles

Training Recap March 8-14

Sunday March 8, 2009: Rest Day. The usual Sunday hike about an hour.

Monday March 9, 2009:

Strength work: Deadlift: 5 x 132, 160, 175, 190, 190, 203 (5 rep PR!) Then 3 x 154, 154
If you've ever done a really heavy 5 rep max on the DL you know how it takes so much ou of you. After that you can't come close to picking up the weight again even once as your spinal erectors and whole posterior chain are totally fried. Feels great.

WOD: 3 Rounds of max rep knees to elbows immediately followed by a 400m run. Rest as needed between rounds.

Round 1) 33 K-E, 1:28

Round 2) 26 K-E, 1:27

Round 3) 20 K-E, 1:25

Nothing like the feeling of a dead core or exhausted posterior chain when you are trying to run fast. Its good though as it forces me to really focus in on maintaining run technique when tired. The 400m course is not exact and is an out and back on the road. There is a slight uphill from the start and then you go downhill a bit just before you turn. I'd hit the turn around and just feel like it was so hard to pick my feet up to run fast. Overall, great day with the run and deadlifts. Total miles: 1

Tuesday March 10, 2009: Rest Day! My body is sore after yesterday. Time to recover.

Wednesday March 11, 2009:

RUN: 20 minute tempo effort at Carrier Park. This is a surface which is half paved half woodchip trail and I do not know any distances specifically. There are some 200 and 400m markers along the way but it was too dark to catch the splits.

Two loops in around 19 minutes and then finished at about 50m past the bike track.

Ran with my dog Lloyd which will NOT happen again on a workout. I thought it'd be good for him to burn some energy and maybe even pull me along a bit. Instead I was tugging him as he didn't appreciate my pace which was clearly slower than his run but faster than his walk and he was trying to walk the whole time. I looked like I was abusing him. haha Next time I'll know. Estimated total distance 3+ with warm-up.

Thursday March 12, 2009: 7.5hrs sleep, 30min nap Feel pretty good.

WOD: 5 Rounds of 30' Mofo variation (hang clean, alternating step lunge, front squat, repeat) 20kg bar and 9 jumping squats

1st round 1:44, 7:44 overall. Go heavier next time!

Friday March 13, 2009:

RUN: 40 minutes thresholdish effort with 20 squats every 5 minutes during run. 3 20sec strides after. At Bent Creek with James. Felt good. 5.5 miles as a rough estimate

Saturday March 14, 2009:

Lite WOD:

Some dumbbell turkish get-up work and 1/2 tabata squats 18, 18, 17, 18

Estimated weekly mileage: 9

Total estimated mileage 2009: 19

Training Recap March 1-7

Sunday March 1, 2009: Good sleep. 10+ hrs. 2hr hike with Corey and dogs.

Monday March 2, 2009: Sleep only 5hrs. Ouch. 4:45am just comes way too early.

Strength Work: Back Squats 5x 45, 77, 88 3x98 Then 21x98 Can go up for the next 20 rep! Felt great.

WOD: 15 Thrusters 10 Wall Balls 10 Thrusters, 20 WB, 5 Thrusters, 30 WB For time.

Did the thrusters at 83lbs and used 10lb ball for 10' target.

Time: 8:44. Moved well. Felt good.

Tuesday March 3, 2009: Tired.

Strength sets: Barbell Turkish Get-ups 11, 22, 33, 44, 44, 50, 55lbs on the right side only, failed 2x on L. This tied my PR for a dumbbell TGU! It is much harder with the barbell as you have to stabilize the bar.

WOD: 21-15-9-6-3 of Sumo Deadlift High pulls and Push-Jerks Used 65lbs. Time: 8:47

Wednesday March 4 and Thursday March 5, 2009: Rest Days

Friday March 6, 2009: Sleep is ok ~7hrs last night. Not enough this week in general.

Strength work:

Clean and Jerk: 77, 88, 98, 105, 110, 115, 120F on jerk, 120F on jerk, 110, 110, 110.

115 is my approximate body weight and a PR!

WOD: "Jeremy" 21, 15, 9 Overhead Squats and Burpees Used 66lbs for OHS Time: 7:37

PM RUN: 7 minutes on, 3 min off, 5 min on, 2 min off, 3 minutes on. 2 min rest and then did 1/2 tabata squats with 16 squats per interval. I did this run at Bent Creek on the trails and have no way to really quantify but it was more to just get me running again. Felt good. Approx 2 miles.

Saturday March 7, 2009: Rest Day

Estimated weekly mileage: 2

Total estimated mileage for 2009: 10

Training Recap Feb 22-Feb 28

Sunday February 22, 2009: Sleep: 10+ hrs. Felt SO good!
RUN at Carrier Park. 60 seconds on, 60 off, 45s on, 45s off, 30s on, 30s off, 15s on, 15s off, (I turned around at this point and headed back to see about where I could finish relative to the start.) 15s on, 15s off, 30s on, 30s off, 45s on, 45s off, 60s on, Done. I walked the "off" portions. Finished my last 60s run right where I began so I technically made it slightly farther on the way back or however far I walk in 60 seconds. So, this was 5 total minutes of running. I only did a couple strides and squats for the warm-up, but for simplicity we'll count today as a miles towards the total.

Monday February 23, 2009: 7.5hrs sleep.

Strength Work: Front Squats 5x88, 93, 193, 108lbs Then, 3x108lbs The front squats need work. They are my main limiter to improve my cleans.

WOD:"Grace" 30 power clean and jerk for time. I used 77lbs. I did this solo. Here is the breakdown of splits.

10 1:48

15 2:40

20 3:35

30 4:58 (PR!)

This is not only the heaviest I've done this WOD (used 65lbs before) but it is also a PR and it felt relatively easy. I conserved far too much early on. It's the distance runner mentality and it drive my husband Corey nuts sometimes. haha Overall, I'm pleased.

Tuesday February 24, 2009: Rest day

Wednesday February 25, 2009: 7hrs of sleep, no nap. Feel tired.

Strength Work: Push Jerks 5 x 66, 77, 88, 88, 88, 93, 93lbs

WOD: 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 Snatch with 30 feet of overhead walking lunge b/w each snatch set.

Used the 15kg/33lb bar. Took 5:40 and felt good. Can go heavier next time, but the overhead walking lunge is the limiting factor with the weight.

Thursday February 26, 2009:

Strength Work: Snatch practice but was cut short. Hit 60lbs easy.

Friday February 27, 2009:

Strength Work: Thrusters 5 x 66, 76, 88, 93.5 , 98lbs (5 rep PR), then 1x 103lbs

I was timing tabata intervals for others and cooled down way too much after the 5x98 so I wasn't ready for the 103 set. Next time.

WOD: Half Tabatas (to 2 minutes of each exercise working for 20 seconds and resting for 10) No rest between intervals.

Wall Ball (10lb ball, 10' target) 9, 8, 8, 9: 34

Box Jump (20") 11, 11, 12, 12: 46

Push Press (20kg/44lb) 10, 10, 12, 11: 43

Burpees 6, 6, 7, 8: 27

Total score: 150

Again, I am too much of a pacer. Corey had to yell at me to push through each interval during the last two intervals of each. It's sometimes hard because tabata is often scored by your lowest round of the 8 (or 4 today) intervals. However, the overall number also says alot.

10 skin the cats broken up into: 3, 3, 4

Saturday February 28, 2009

WOD: 3 Rounds of 5 sets Bear Complex (Pwr Clean, Frnt Sqt, Push Press, Bck Sqt, Push Press)

Immediately followed by Max Ring Push-ups

Round 1) 66lbs, 16 Ring Push-ups

Round 2) 77lbs, 20 RPU

Round 3) 88lbs, 13 RPU

The bear complex is up 11lbs from when I did it on Feb 7th and I while it was hard I can go heavier next time. The hardest part about it is not putting it down during the 5 cycles. Your grip is just dead. Overall, it was a good mental push.

Estimated weekly mileage: 1
Total estimated mileage for 2009: 8

Training Recap Feb 15- Feb 21

Sunday Feb 15, 2009 Rest Day

Monday Feb 16, 2009 6 hours of sleep, no nap.

No strength sets.

WOD=FRAN. Fran is one of the infamous benchmark workouts. It consists of 21 thrusters 21 pull-ups, 15 thrusters, 15 pull-ups, 9 thrusters, 9 pull-ups for time. It never seems too bad on paper, but you can't image the degree to which thrusters jack up your heart rate until you experience them. The women's weight is prescribed at 65lbs and due to the fact that we have kilogram bars and plates I did it at 30kg/66lbs. I didn't do this workout until we closed at 8pm and all day I had a feeling of anticipation very similar to what one feels on race day.

Pull-ups were all chest to bar and I completed it in 7:28.

This is my first time under 10 minutes even with chin over the bar. I have been hitting some heavy thrusters a couple times over the past couple of months and they felt MUCH better. This was my rep breakdown for each round:

Round Thrusters Pull-ups
21 15/6 12/7/2
15 9/6 6/5/4
9 9 9
One chunk at a time. I hope to be under 5 minutes before the end of the summer. I just need to get myself in the right situation with someone beside me who doesn't put the bar down or come off the bar. All in time.

Tuesday Feb 17, 2009: 6 hours of sleep, 30 min nap.

Rest Day.

One thing that I have drastically changed in my training is focusing on rest and recovery as the primary importance towards training. For anyone who has known me for awhile this is a HUGE change in my mindset. I was the psycho doing a minimum of one hour of the elliptical on EZ days and upwards of 2.5hrs on my insane days. And I used to wonder why I was constantly injured. I didn't understand the fact that more is NOT always better. On top of that I did lots of bull shit lifting of isolated muscle groups.

One of the CrossFit Journal articles that really hit home with me was from the CFJ issue 29 in Jan 05 "What About Recovery" by Coach Greg Glassman. You can view a free PDF copy here. My favorite part is where Coach says, "I want to ask someday, 'Who are those amazing athletes?' to which the answer comes, 'the new resters.'"
Now, I admit that it has taken me nearly 2 years of CrossFitting to FINALLY begin to embrace this idea. I do less training now than I have since I got serious about athletics back in high school, yet I'm constantly making gains. Especially as a distance runner to do a WOD that is less than 10 minutes and call it a day can be mentally challenging. However, over time I've truly come to appreciate the idea of quality over quantity with quality equally high intensity training.

I'll touch on this more in the future.

Wednesday February 18, 2009 4.5 hours of sleep. Yikes. What did I just say about recovery?? The first month of business continues to be challenging as far as shutting the mind off at night to sleep.

Strength sets: Overhead Squat (OHS)5x 45, 66, 71.5, 77, 82.5, 87, 92lbs (5 rep PR!) 1x97lbs F on 2, 1x102 (New 1 rep PR) I had only hit 100lbs once prior to this. I'm really happy with 92x5. It felt good.
WOD: 30-20-10 knees to elbows

3- 6- 9 Overhead walking figure 8s 20 feet (boxes were set 10' apart so you had to walk around one and come back around the other to cover 20' for each set.

Used 80% of my OHS 5 rep max or 72lbs which was WAY too heavy. As a result I flew through each round of the K-E as I finally learned the kip and struggled desperately on the Overhead walking portion. My overall time was 31:50.

28 second L-sit (as pictured above). I need to work on this. Some people can hold this for 3+ minutes! Give it a try. Need some parallettes? You can make your own inexpensively. They will serve you much better than any swiss/physioball. Here's how.

Thursday February 19, 2009 Decent sleep, but still not ideal. 7 hrs + 30min nap.

Strength sets: Weighted Ring Dips: body weightx5, 3xBw+5lbs, 3xBW+10lbs, 3xBW+10, 3xBW+12.5, 3xBW+12.5, 3xBW+15(PR), 1xBW+10kg/22.5lbs (PR)
WOD: 150 feet walking lunge (took me 45 total steps), 21 burpees, 50 squats Total time: 3:19.

Short little burner. Felt good. Lunges good be faster without concrete floor and turning every 30 feet. Burpees were straight through but always could be faster. Squats were 50 straight.

Friday February 20, 2009: Rest day. Not enough sleep.

Saturday February 21, 2009: Good sleep, 9 hours!

No strength work.

WOD: 5 OHS (50lbs), 10 tuck jumps (TJ), 10 push-ups(PU), 4 OHS, 15 TJ, 15 PU, 3 OHS, 20 TJ, 20 PU, 2 OHS, 25 TJ, 25 PU, 1 OHS, 30 TJ, 30 PU. Overall time: 9:03.

Could have gone heavier in OHS. Did this one with Brutal and Eric. It was fun.

Total weekly mileage: 0

Total estimate mileage for 2009: 7