On the way home to Motown after lunchtime, there were no less than 4 cars STRANDED on Route 78. i felt like i was driving through a disaster movie - i mean who literally leaves their car (overnight mind you) on a US expressway?!?!?
When i got to my abode, i was greeted by this lovely gesture:
please note the mountain of snow directly in front of (and therefore blocking) my driveway. its not a snow drift. Merry Christmas to you too neighbor...
got to the box early to wod before the 630p class but it wasnt early enough. luckily Krissy was able to wait around for me to do the wod after the 715p class before she gave me a ride home (thanks again). Did:
21-15-9 SDLHP, 75# HSPU
Rx for the SDLHP was 95# but i had been shoveling snow at my parents all day so i didnt feel like throwing out my back for the week. also, i still need to use bands for the HSPU. Finished in 7:58. though not a stellar time - i was glad i did it.
Finally fixed my BSOD by doing a clean install of xp sp3. SO... i should be back to posting regularly (as i made a commitment not to do too much CFM or CFME stuff at my first 9-5 anymore).
finished in 20:28 as rxed - slow but it was the best i could do for today (still frustrating though). ripped up my left hand (but i did it actively working on my grip strength) and had to deal with a 23 person class (again). Long day but i went home to see my mom for her birthday (I love you mami) after coaching and had a delicious almond, coconut cake with cream cheese topping. looking forward to bed!
went out with the endoers for dinner/drinks and played trivia at Sona 13 until after midnight last night (crazy!)
Did an endu wod today: teams of 3 - one person does 200m at a time - each person must complete six 200m sprints - it didnt end up being timed but it felt good to be on the track again. did the pullup iso holds in the gym after - very humbling - i was shaking like a polaroid picture.
While i didnt get the opportunity to take pictures at the wedding (lighting was way to dim for my droid) i can assure you it was an awesome time with plenty of dancing.
did the wod today:
100 Double unders
90' bear crawl
80 Air squats
70 box jumps, 20"
60' Rope Climbs
50 1 arm KB swings, 55#
40 Sit ups
30 Burpees
200m run
10 HSPU
Took me 25:27. i didnt check the clock but i swore i was done with my run before the 20 min mark which means my 10 measly HSPUs (which i tried rxing but ended up with one of the "thinner" white + blue bands for a few reps and then some without bands but head to two abmats) took over 5mins :/ hopefully i can get in a good wod tomorrow but i just found out im coaching the 615a class in bville so it looks like a long day – Where in the world is Manny Rolon?
last night at the rehearsal dinner for a friend of mine whom i've known since grammar school, the almost newlyweds put on slide show. i need to get that incriminating picture of me from them. think of a st. pattys day green sweatshirt and sweatpants ensemble on me when i was maybe pushing 85#... oh the horror.
told myself i was going to wod this am but my back is still sore from the improper deadlifts - i may show up at the competitors wod on sunday as ive really slacked this week. just got back from the beautiful wedding ceremony where I was asked to be a reader - everything went great. off to the reception now - ill post pictures later if i can.
Went to Jodi's surprise 40th party last night and had a great time seeing and chatting with everyone (literally) outside of the crossfit box - especially all the bville people that i havent seen in a while. took the day off from wodding as i was still sore since my 8:07 Wednesday wod:
5 rounds
15 deadlifts, 135
15 box jumps, 20"
my deadlift form went to crap fairly quickly as i was trying to bang out the 15 deadlifts unbroken - i think its bringing the weight back down that throws me off so i should practice negatives. Griffin is the man as he finished the wod in 4min and change - i think he weighs 135# soaking wet!
Can't believe its been over a month since i last posted. Nothing terribly new to report - my sister is doing great in Nicaragua, my enduers did awesome at the Philly half, finally getting settled into a 5day work week again. looking forward to completing the CF Motown 25day challenge (and telling myself to keep the posts short so i blog everyday).
Good times all around on Saturday evening - definitely made up for Wednesday night about ten-fold. Went to church with the fam on Sunday and we all went out to lunch at one of our usual Colombian spots in Elizabeth. i specifically ordered the platter with the rice and beans. Not sure if this article had to do with my recent string of poor nutritional choices, but i hope to be better motivated so i can perform at my best during the wods.
I think my rating system for movies that are already out on dvd is going to adhere to the following: buy it, rent it, wait for cable, avoid at all costs. I determined this as i watched Rob Zombie's Halloween II. My rating - rent it. while it was very good, i just couldnt give it a buy it rating due to the brutal way most of the victims in the movie "bought the farm" - watching once is fine but its not something that i would want to own to watch over and over and over again.
Mon 10/25/10
Got to work early with the intent not to leave until i finally got this project (which involves requesting a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection for a routine culvert replacement) that has been sitting on my desk for months submitted for review. Mostly administrative stuff but it needed to get done. Left the office at 545p.
due to some new guidelines at the box, i did not have the requisite amount of time prior to class starting to do the wod - so i was going to have to do it on my own after everyone left. Great.
15-12-9
Thrusters, 115#
Clapping Push-Ups
Watching everyone go through it revealed that the wod was a lot tougher than it looked. Double Great. After the last class, I warmed up really well - and I guess should sport a goatee more often as I had a small audience to cheer me on (thanks for staying everyone) - then 3,2,1.. go and banged the first 15 thrusters unbroken. i was feeling really good. the next 15 clapping push-ups smacked me from the small pedestal i had just put myself on. Push-ups are such a goat for me - i just fatigue so quickly. I had to do sets of 3. Overall i finished in 6:54 and that was with two missed lifts, a fall down, and doing 1 clapping push-up at a time in the third round. the last few push ups did not have the greatest form either as my shoulders were coming up before my hips - but it is what it is. Even though the fastest times were sub 5 minutes, I never deceived myself that i would get below 5:45 - so i was extremely happy with my effort.
Went shopping after my wod - unfortunately Walmart rolled back its rollback price for its no sugar added applesauce from $1.50 to $1.78 - but i found some skirt steak at the supermarket that i made immediately when i got home. Delish!
Glad i had a friend come over after the miseducation of LM on wednesday night who was able to bring to my attention, on thursday afternoon, that i (among other things - dont ask - really) threw up around 330a that morning. a proverbial light bulb finally turned on and it reconciled why i felt so awful while at work that day with the events of the previous night- i was working on a completely empty stomach and less than 5 hours of sleep. Thank you for being, to quote my alleged repeated phrase from the hennessey, jack, vodka, and gin session, "so good to me" and for cleaning up so i wouldnt have to the next morning - i owe you HUGE.
Needless to say Thursday was not the most productive day at work, i skipped the wod, and barely made it co-coach my endu class with Jared. It was the endoers new 1RM day and i was excited for them as they had been doing really well during the louie simmons powerlifting series. everyone posted gains of at least 10# in their back squat and 10# in their deadlifts - which is awesome - everyone except one llocfme. she was fighting a huge mental battle that cost her any gains that day. as a coach i should have been prepared to handle that scenario that day and i should have intervened sooner but i wasnt thinking properly since i was handling my own scenarios (which i had determined by that point that my scenario has never actually happened in real life and only occurs in rom-coms and so effectively it didnt really happen to me). My life needs to have its ducks in a row at home in order for me to be the best that i can be for the people i'm servicing - and i like to provide quality full service that people can depend on. moral of the story: i learned not to be an idiot and set myself up for drama, especially mid week.
Friday 10/22
Woke up refreshed, ate well throughout the day, finally got word from my sister and noah (YAY!) that they are settled in their new home in Nicaragua and thats its nice and warm down there. the prospect of a vacation in the near future is extremely high! decided i was healthy enough to do the wod at the 545p class:
For time: 1000m Row 200 Double Unders 1000m Run
i finished my row in 3:44 and i was able to string mostly 15 doubles unders at a time but could/should have gone through them a little faster. i didnt check my time as i left for the 1000m run but it felt fast and i finished with a time of 14:36. im happy with that considering the best time for the day was 13:16. went home - had some organic chicken breasts and relaxed the rest of the evening.
Sat 10/23
Met the endoers who weren't going to The Hunt for a wod at the track and they all went at max effort. Spent the day at home doing various chores and looking forward to a fun evening out in NY.
Had a crazy day at work on Tuesday so i couldnt get to the lunchtime wod and i barely got to the gym before the 545p class that i had to coach so i didnt get to wod. Classes went well (it seemed as if everyone liked the new 800m run) but for some reason my onramp ran very late and i didnt get started with the endu class until 850p. right there i knew that getting up early was going to be tough - even though i had to get up early because i need to take a long lunch from my regular 9-5 to see my sister off at the airport the next day.
Next day: I get to my parents house and my mom is crying. Not a good way to start the trip to the airport. Got to hold Noah and put him to sleep before helping my sister zipper close all of her bags. it was surprising that she only had 6 pieces of luggage considering she was leaving for the year but then i remembered that only a little less than 2 months ago the fire in their apartment pretty much destroyed everything - then i was really surprised that she had 6 pieces of luggage to take. It was mostly noah's stuff though. did my best not to tear up - but it happened anyway. Im not going to lie, i thought i was going to be the tough guy but it went a lot worse than expected as the whole family was helping her bring all the bags into the airport. i was consoled by the fact that she was happy/excited about starting this new chapter in her life - and that i saw the econfirmation ticket for her return in mid january.
didnt get a chance to wod because i took a long lunch and stayed at work late. I was looking forward to a nice evening (rented Minority Report on bluray) but then got schooled in my own kitchen - subject: douchebaggery. Night did not end well at all. i drank with the hope that today goes better. just got up and finished typing this blog. note to self: the day will not be better when you finish a whole bottle of hennessey and you have to work the next day...
Well official results are still not posted online for the 5k from saturday - but based on my playlist, i did not PR. Its not as heartbreaking as i would have originally thought as it was very windy and i didnt properly hydrate the night before / day of (so part of me wasnt expecting a PR), but I probably could have gone a bit harder in mile 2 - i dropped off my targeted pace by over 30secs - i dont know what happened so that's my only regret. I'll post the time once i know exactly what that was. The endoers took the nifty little surprise (after the 5k, rest 4min then run 2miles, rest 2min then run 1 mile) like champs. i felt bad when they said they thought the nifty little surprise was that they were finally going to get their shirts - to quote coach mike, sadface. read here for more on the 5k.
After the 5k, I went to my church in Hillside for Cecilia's baptism (she didnt even wake up when the priest was pouring the holy water on her head) and her party (below is a picture of us dancing there).
I love her - she is so easy to hold! Saw the new Bruce Willis movie Red - it receives a designation of wait. Sunday i went pumpkin picking with the family and had them over my place for an impromptu bbq. It was bittersweet because it's probably going to be one of the last family functions - where the entire family is there - for a while since Rebeca is leaving on wednesday for Nicaragua for a year - and she is of course taking my godson Noah. Im going to miss them both very much and im not looking forward to wednesday at all.
after the family left, i went out to watch football and drank more than i was planning - being hungover is not the best way to start a Monday in case anyone was wondering. I skipped out of work early today - in part due to my lackadaisical attitude stemming from my hangover - to do my CF Total and went up 20# in my back squat but went down #20 in my deadlift for a total of 715#. (In comparison, i watched a video of Dave Lipson get a total of 1400#.) I should have gone up in the deadlift but i didnt check my previous 1rm and went way too heavy on my first attempt. this just further motivates me to start the louie simmons powerlifting so that next time i can break the 750# mark. Everyone in the classes i coached did really well. Then i did a short little metcon wod at the coaches meeting:
10-8-6-4-2 Front Squat, 115# Burpee
First one to break three minutes with 2:54. I was happy with my time and effort and most importantly that it was a productive coaches meeting. Was given some more work to do in terms of organizing the program for a incoming group of cyclists - which is cool but only adds to the list of things i need to do. now all i need are more hours in the day :)
Thursday started off well enough - productive at work, i was fairly good nutrition wise, and i was excited about doing the wod.
5-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5 Muscle Ups Deadlifts, 315#
I wasnt underestimating it - i was definitely nervous about doing 29 muscleups and i had already decided that i wasnt going to Rx the deadlift and go for just 285# - i was excited because it was going to be a good, challenging, technique intensive workout. I also "liked" the fact that the 9 rounds descended down the ladder only to ascend it at the end - a very different component that we dont usually encounter. one of the many great ways to constantly vary things.
I wanted to go to Bville to do it because i hadn't seen Griffin in a while but decided that in order to help Jared out for onramp at 715p (so we could both be on time for endu at 820p) that i needed to do the 630p motown class. I get there and its a full house - about 13 people and we only have 4 sets of rings where muscle ups (for taller people) can be performed. i decided to do the bar muscle up to not further clog the rings up. first two rounds went fine - i was really paying attention to my form on the deadlift as i ended up doing 295# - got to round three of the muscle ups and i just couldnt get that third one done. I must have had over 10 failed attempts. very frustrating to see people get two, three, four rounds ahead of you and i seriously contemplated stopping once i got to round 5 (the 1 muscle up / 1 deadlift round)...
i figured no one would notice - i would be way more coherent when helping jared coach - and i did at least half the workout - which, according to the rationalization that was going on in my head, was nothing to be ashamed of. luckily i reminded myself of the only time that i quit during a wod (first month of crossfitting in bville - did 4 rounds of something instead of 5) and how much i still regret not being able to say that ive never quit a workout. i thought about leading by example and how disappointed i get when im coaching and people just stop putting in the effort. i decided to drop my deadlift weight to #275 after round 5 - and i ended up going to jumping muscle ups in rounds 8 and 9 - but i kept on truckin through the wod and while everybody was wrapping up their cool down stretching and jared was starting his onramp class - i finally finished with a time of 24:42. i was as happy with not quitting as i was appreciative that most of the athletes stayed to cheer me on until i finished. and im pretty sure it was 24 minutes and something - i wasnt really paying too much attention to the time as i was tired. oh, that and during the jumping muscle ups i clocked myself in the face with the rings and gave myself a slightly blackish eye
For the remainder of the onramp class and the endu class - i was walking around with a cold beer can compressed to my face. since then ive come up with better stories that sound believable and are more masculine in nature than getting roughed up by gymnastics rings - clearly not to be confused for the more user friendly gymnicetics rings that i should have been on... Had a good time at Tashmoo after.
Friday was terribly unproductive at my other 9-5 as it was the first official friday back at work and i was still on "fridays off" mode. came home took a nap (awesome!!!), went to the box to get one of the llocfme caught up on her speed powerlifting (tight form = great job), had some chipotles for dinner (always good times), and i am looking forward to getting a PR in the 5k tomorrow. im also anxious about the nifty little surprise jared and me have in store for the endoers afterward...
A) Mountain Climb - make sure your belayer is paying attention though
B) Get Married - that's just akward on so many levels
C) Wods that have 6 rounds in them
Holy moly was the lonely component a factor for today's wod:
Other components included getting less than six hours of sleep the night before, not eating for over six hours before the wod, thinking about the heavier SDLHP all day - but it was the fact that i was by my lonesome that made it so easy for me to rest that much longer in between sets as I didnt have anyone to directly compare my effort against - especially with this type of wod where there needs to be a certain level of pacing involved (and pace i did). However, i was happy that i didnt do sets of less than 5 for anything - and i was really happy that i was able to hang onto the bar for the T2B in sets of at least 5 and that i further vaired my workout time as i took a late lunch and did the wod (did i mention by myselft?) at 130p. Finished in 28:49.
Went to a lululemon design meeting after my other 9-5 and that was very informative and it was refreshing to see a company that actually listens to the people who are buying their clothes. Visited my nice and nephew. Tried to get a picture of Noah smiling but this is the best i got:
told my sister that Cecilia looked like a movie star
paint her green and she is a shoe in for Yoda - that didnt go over too well.
Had a great dinner with Jared talking shop to finish out the evening - glad to have you around buddy!
Got to church late, had lunch and played games with the fam, picked up a three piece suit, and ended up at home last night without further plans so I sifted through my entire DVD collection and chose to watch Serenity. If you like sci-fi and/or Joss Whedon then definitely rent it. (Geek out alert - Im so glad he is at the helm for The Avengers.) Minus getting to church late and the lack of plans - it was a good end to a good weekend.
Got to work this morning and there was carrot cake in the kitchen. the carrot cake never stood a chance. I had to restrain myself from going for a fourth piece (in my defense, as im sure anyone who works in a cubicle will attest to, Monday mornings and cake are a dangerously tempting combination) as the wod was a 3000m row and on top of never having rowed that distance, i knew i really wanted to get sub 12min. luckily i reasoned with myself that having carrot cake did not amount to a nutritionally valuable fuel source and followed up my dessert after my regular bfast with a solid salad for lunch.
Stayed a bit longer after work and finally photoshopped the images for the CFME shirts and sent them to the shirt printers (resized and at the right resolution) and so i got to the box to coach right before my first class. as expected only a few people showed up. either crossfiters must really love Chris of ocean blue fame or they saw the wod and thought "i dislike rowing, its a long row, im choosing today as my day off". i have a strong suspicion that it was the latter - which is disappointing from a coach's perspective mainly because it goes against one of crossfit's three main components - that i know we hammer home every day to our athletes - "constantly varied". By training in a broad, general, and inclusive manner, we become better prepared for the unknown and/or the unknowable - it puts us in a more capable ready state to be able to mentally and physically handle whatever life throws at us. so anyone reading this post that skipped out on today's wod for the aforementioned reason (and you haven't named any of your daughters Nina, Pinta, or Santa Maria) - i urge you to get comfortable with being uncomfortable next time. i promise i'll help you.
i wodded after the 715p class and after chatting with coach Mike (who apologized for being sleepy and leaving early on friday night) - much later than usual for a monday but in a prime example of my constantly varied diatribe above - life happens. ive got to thank Pat and Chip for all the great pointers they gave us at that rowing seminar back in August - i paid attention to my s/m and my feet were never strapped into the erg and i finished in 11:40. Sweet! I worked on some grip exercises after and it wasnt until i was pulling into my driveway that i realized that i missed a good opportunity to start my Louis Simmons powerlifting / do any Bergener skill transfer exercises - boo to me. Overall solid day.
Finally, a big up top to my llocfme who rocked longer distances this weekend - way to crush it!
I couldnt fully extend my left arm - it was as if my bicep was sore but i really hadn't done anything bicep intensive. This was my much needed day off. Co-coached onramp and had the endoers do their second speed strength day as well as what i dub the Crazy 8 wod. Had a delicious cobb salad topped with a buffalo burger to finish off my day.
Fri 10/08
Still really couldnt extend my left arm but Jared said he was going to the 1215 class so i couldnt not go. wod was:
20min to find my 1RM for the snatch then
3Rounds 5 clapping pushups 15 wallballs, 20#,10'
let's just throw this out there from the offset - I can't even begin to express my love for the snatch. with that being said, i only got to 115# - which was disappointing because i had previously done 125# (and that was after 5 sets of 3 reps each) and i was shooting for 155# and would have settled for 135#. i think it boils down to me thinking way too much about not being comfortable with that weight overhead. i was still a little nervous about tweaking that transition point in my spine. so i cleaned 125#, snatch grip push jerked it overhead and attempted to squat it thinking that if i could overhead squat it - i should be able to snatch it. well the overhead squat didnt go as smoothly as i wanted it to and in typical mind over matter fashion, i failed on three separate attempts to snatch 125#. i would really like to start implementing the louie simmons weight training outline again (with the focus this time being the OHS) as it worked so well for me during the Be Crossfit Challenge. Additionally, i know that implementing the Bergener skill transfer exercises would be helpful as well - i just need to commit to a schedule and do it - so ill start posting about when i do that and how thats going from this point forward. the short metcon went really well - 1:48 which was third fastest at that point of the day (im moving on up in the world).
Met up with some CF peeps at the Frog later that evening and that was a lot of fun. I always tell myself to take pictures - whether its during wods or when im just out with friends - so considering both those worlds combined at the Frog, i actually remembered to (although i wish i got around to more of the people there) and got this (rather adorable) shot of Jodi and me. i appreciate her for her honesty and accordingly she's becoming a consistent sounding board in my CF life. that and she's a lot of fun to hang out with.
BTW - that was post car bomb.
Sat 10/09
Ugh. drinks are so good during but not the morning after - especially if you dont hydrate before you go to bed. literally shuffled into the box at 820a for the 800a endurance class. the endoers are doing really well during their wod when i see Lynn shuffle in. Lynn very awesomely came out with us hardcore partiers to Sona after the Frog - and even though i was barely comfortable standing up - i decided that if she managed to make it there, i have to do the reg wod.
3,2,1 go and im off. Completed 5 rounds (and 10m of the run on the 6th round) and it felt surprisingly good! i kept up with Billy and Derek (to their credit they were using a weight vest and the ghd respectively but i think that only makes the playing field a bit more level anyway), my runs didnt feel as sluggish as they normally do, and i did butterfly pullups for each round so i was extremely happy with my performance - and im not even making reference to the fact that i did it hungover - it was a solid performance due to my unbroken effort throughout. good way to start my day (except for waking up so early).
Just hung around the rest of the day - my sister and her bf came over and i get my lawn mowed (so it no longer looks like im living in a jungle) - played some video games - got some house chores done (like putting that first coat of paint on the spackle around the sliding door to my deck that i built... last summer) - went food shopping - played some more. it ended up being a very good saturday.
Sun 10/10
Hopefully the llocfme finsihed their tempo runs by now. Heading to church and going to spend time with the fam for the rest of the day.
Wednesday is workout-with-Jared-day and the third day of my beginning of the week 3on wodding cycle. while we rxed (something i was apprehensive about when i saw the snatch grip requirment for the deadlifts) and finished with sub 14min - i really feel Jared would have had a faster time with a different partner - and that just shouldnt be the case. my grip was nonexistent and id like to blame it on the kb swing workout from last week but thats just lame. you cant lift what you cant hold on to and in my case during this wod i could not lift my toes to the bar more than three times consecutively because i could not hold on to the bar - and that really slowed each one of my rounds down. new goat of mine: grip strength. if i dont get motivated to get better for me - i should do it so i dont let my partner down in workout scenarios like this.
work was very productive, nutrition was good (minus the maggie moos ice cream i had as an undeserved consolation prize), and i watched gladiator on bluray - i was entertained for the day.
Did the 20kb swings every min for 10min. Rx was 2 pood but i chose 1 pood and was happy that i did as every set was unbroken and i got all 10 rounds in. My forearms are still a little sore even today - so i cant even begin to imagine what they would feel like had i held on to even a 1.5 poodkb. After the evening class that i coached, i had my smokehouse Arthur's burger (you know how i feel about Arthur's burgers) and saw The Town - which was phenomenal! a very good evening indeed and i need to have more just like it!
SAT 10/02:
Xiomara is a member of her school's cross country team. She needs a bit of help in the running department so i was going to run this 5k that my dad was helping organize through his Souls for Faith running group with her - hopefully looking to get her to her first sub 30min 5k. I get to the park and she informs me that she would not be running. So here i was mentally preparing myself to coast and now my reason for coasting has backed out last minute - constantly varied at its finest. im not a big fan on running 5ks all willy nilly so i knew i wasnt going to PR (although im really hoping to on 10/16 with my endoers) but i get a good warm up in, trot over to the starting line and go to start my ipod only to find that its dead. grr. i do my best to keep a solid pace once the race starts but unfortunately my knee started to bother me at the beginning of mile 2 and i finish in 24:59. respectable considering the circumstances and im happy that i didnt keep myself in a mental funk throughout the race but still off my PR by about 2 min. my dad was happy that i was there supporting him so it made it worthwhile.
I was supposed to participate in a cornhole tournament with my sister in the afternoon but my mom hurt her back that morning and was unable to babysit for my sister so after visiting with my niece and nephew i just end up just going home and doing some much needed house cleaning for the rest of the day saturday.
SUN 10/03:
Finally rebuilt my massive desk in my basement and then headed off to church with the family. i wanted to do a new CF total in the afternoon but never got around to motown until much later in the evening due to a groom's party (bridal shower for dudes) for a friend from grammar school and an impromptu house warming party. nutrition was very poor due to all the parties (and my inability to turn food/beer down).
MON 10/04:
Couldnt wait to do the 10min amrapwod as soon as i saw it posted:
however due to my poor nutrition the day before, lack of sleep and poor nutrition the day of, i decided that going for the rx weight was unwise; so i only set up my squat cleans for 115#. i feel that not rxing is sometimes a suitable punishment for poor nutrition - and consequently i find it very motivating to get my nutrition back on track by rewarding myself with the privilege of rxing a workout. I was able to wod before the 630 class with one of the llocfme and finished with 4 rounds + 4 squat cleans. my last set of double unders were atrocious as i couldnt string more than 2 together at a time but i was able to string at least 4 butterfly pullups in each round - so i would consider the pro/con assessment of that wod a wash. highlight was not wodding by myself for a change. coaching went well and after class i watched the The Fourth Kind - i wouldnt spend any money to rent it.
TUES 10/05:
4 Rounds:
500m row
9 ring dips
12 shoulder to overhead, 135#
15 box jumps, 24"
i saw the shoulder to overhead at 135# and immediately thought no way. the middle of my back - on the transition point between the lumbar and thoracic regions of my spine - has been hurting recently. ive been to the chiro the past few weeks and have determined that it gets aggravated during heavier cleans and gets overloaded when i do heavy overhead work as i tend to overextend my back to compensate for not maintaining a stable mid line due to fatigue during a wod. i felt that 115# was still a challenging weight that allowed me to maintain proper mechanics while not setting me up to tweak my back.
Karianne was hanging around all class and coach mike is about to start the wod when suddenly she decides to throw her hat into the ring and wod with us lunchtimers. hot diggity dog! i was feeling good from my wod yesterday, ate well the night before and this morning, the shoulder to overhead weight was no longer uber heavy so it wasnt going to slow me down tremendously, and while one of karianne's stronger movements is the box jump, this wod also had a row in it - something clearly in my favor. so as Karianne was taking off her shirt - to reveal an even more form fitting shirt with the slogan "throwing up isnt just for supermodels anymore" - all i could think about was rick moranis. let me explain with the following video:
we start on the row and as expected i get off the erg first. finish my dips first. finish my push jerks first. get done with box jumps and im out the door first to start round 2 before her (as we had to alternate 500m rows with 400m runs because we only have 4 ergs). head over to round 2 of the rings and we get done at the same time. she ends up finishing the second set of push jerks before me and heads onto the box jumps. As expected, Karianne gets to the rower first to start round 3 but i am not worried. about 20 seconds later i hop on the rower and overtake her to head over to the dips. im a quarter of the way done with the third round and im still ahead of Karianne! Im thinking this is my one time.
i have 3 push jerks left by the time Karianne gets to the box jumps on our third round - and she just takes off. if you havent seen her do box jumps - its amazing. think about how quickly you lift your feet up when you're walking on hot sand and she's even quicker getting her whole body up to the top of the box - jump after jump after jump. now it was my intent to jump off the top of the box instead of step off but the push jerks took a lot out of me. by the time i start my fourth round with the 400m run - she is 300m ahead of me. She finishes in sub 19min (she was also using a 24" box) and i finish with 20:28. my runs were terribly slow and my fourth round of push jerks was broken into sets of 2 but overall i was very happy that i kept up with Karianne through about three rounds. next time (especially if there are rows involved).
i had a larger, challenging group when i coached in the evening but i managed, the onrampers this month are a great group, and i got to post on my blog today - good past few days.
I actually was not late for a change on Monday and was able to do a good dynamic warm up and some rolling out before hitting the wod which was:
20min AMRAP: 400m run 10 burpee pullups 400m run 10 burpee pullups 15 squat cleans, 95#
i Rxed and finished with 2rnds+50m. the burpee pullups were consecutive and i didnt let go of the bar during the squat cleans and every run was brutal for me but i felt that i went at max effort - so i was happy with the wod. coaching went well and had the privilege of a 1on1 with one of my llocfme and she did not disappoint as it was very fulfilling for me as a coach to see her get PRs on her 1RM for deadlift and back squat! Tuesday's wod was:
originally this was slated for 7 thrusters at 155# and that had me thinking that i would have to scale it to 135# anyway so i was happy to see the change once i got to the lunchtime class. i Rxed and finished in 10:37. i did the heavy thrusters unbroken once again - which is huge for me - and im fairly certain i was consistently rolling out to the same spot everytime - so i was happy with this wod as well. i followed that up with a clean at 185# - heaviest ive done so far but i was concerned about my form. however Mike D said i was getting to full hip extension and my turnover was quick - so while i could have gone heavier i didnt feel the need to do that at the risk of ruining my mechanics. Coached the evening classes (Mark put up a 225# clean - impressive!), got to give my intensity speech to the onrampers who are graduating this week and endu was fun as usual. Wednesday's wod was:
2 Rounds: 2 min each, Max reps/ Calories/ Climbs: Back Squat, 195/125# Rope Climb Row Rest
i knew the back squats were heavy for me but i wanted to Rx and i was going to wod with Jared before the 630 class so i figured i would tough it out. i only got 14 the first round and 10 the second. my rope climbs were solid as i got my foot technique down and my row was solid as well - i didnt even have to strap into the erg. total reps/calories/climbs was 97. (i know im not in the same league as Jared but by comparison he got 136 - i wanna be like him when i grow up)
i was happy i finally got to wod three days in a row after such a long CF wod drought - great start to the week. got chrio-adjusted soon after the wod, went home to see my niece and nephew and friends, and had a relaxing evening. basically a happy ending to my first 3on in a while. taking thursday off to recover was going to be my gift to myself.
Today i got to coach the lunchtime class and had another fulfilling moment as i got to see Brian get his muscle up and rx the entire wod. took a nap after work (clearly a good day if you get a nap in) and helped out with the final onramp for this month. endu class went well and I am very excited to see everyone get new 1RM on their deadlifts and box squats in the coming weeks.
also excited about finally getting to post about this week's activities and to see that Jared is going to keep up with his blog as well! ok jared - now you've got the millions of people who read my blog made aware of the existence of your blog - don't let them down - how's that for accountability?
If i start writing a blog and save it as a draft, the post date will show as the date i started the draft - so i need to cut and paste in the future when i save drafts and post them days later - hence the fuzzy math of wishing my sister a happy bday after 5days - since i actually posted it this morning (9/27) - when it shows i posted it one day after (9/24). i think ive done that before but didnt remember.
also, in another fine showing of lack of intelligent comprehension - i did not roll out after FGB and im certainly feeling it today. i would have liked to have done todays wod before starting tonight's coaching duties but im leaning more toward taking the time to work on recovery. its frustrating bc i want to start wodding again after basically two weeks of tapering (for the half and FGB) and start the week off on the right foot with a good wod but i should listen to the advice i give all my athletes and keep in mind that recovery is why you get better - not more work (and especially not more work when you can't perform at the required intensity). hopefully, i can do both - but im usually late to everything so im not holding my breath.
im still waiting on the final numbers to see how i did (no pressure Karianne) but i think the SDLHP and box jumps are, to quote Kings of Leon, why "my hamstring's on fire..."
Happy Birthday Xiomara! (9/23) You're such a beautiful little lady at just 14 years old. I love you!
And im not a bad brother and telling her happy birthday 5 days late - im just finally getting to post about it. In this picture, we were both a little tired after having long days, respectively. Her with school and birthday festivities and me with my first CF wod in close to two weeks. 3 rounds of 3min on 2 min off. 3min on was an amrap of 3 burpees, 6 HPC @ 135#, 9 air squats. i modified it to 3 burpee box jumps (24" box), HPC @ 95#, and 9 wallballs all while being done with a 20lb weight vest on. in general, if i know what the prescription of a wod/wodding event is going to be beforehand, i find that going heavier in workouts prior to the big event makes those weights that i would be lifting during the big event feel light. considering FGB was the next day (ill post about the results when i get my final numbers), i was hoping my strategy of doing heavy fight gone bad a few weeks ago and this wod (that i modified to be heavy components of FGB) would work mentally (and physically) for me. I ended up with 7rounds+3burpee box jumps+1HPC - i was happy with my effort and the results.
I've got the rough draft of my half marathon day antics set up. i did start writing it as soon as i just got back from NY traffic court where the judge dismissed my 2 point ticket for "allegedly" driving on the shoulder. she told the cop it was being dismissed because he filled out the ticket wrong (i love the smell of burnt bacon in the morning) - and the best part was that i didnt even have to say a word - so i was pretty stoked at the time! but now im realizing that ive been building up this "half marathon post" like it was the second coming when in fact it is just going to be a regular post... so don't expect much but do expect it to be posted soon.
Past few nights, ive turned on my computer with the intent to type about the events on 9/19/10 but got sidetracked reading current event articles online - next thing you know its midnight and i tell myself that i really should be getting to bed. i'll be in traffic court tomorrow so i'll probably have a lot of spare time on my hands - i'll try to write a draft while i wait.
im in philly watching the history channel (awesome sniper special) in room 420. definitely tired and should be sleeping within the hour. am i nervous? not really. im more anxious. anxious to see what the feeling is like as im waiting in the corral. anxious to see how i feel after mile 8. anxious to see if i want to take a break from distance running or do another half marathon next weekend after im done. stay tuned...
CF: I did a 20min tempo run at lunch where i tried to hold 75% RPE but i rushed out too fast and covered my first mile in 7:50. I'm kind of concerned as i really can't do this come Sunday. I need to start my playlist off with the perfect song (and unfortunately i forget which song one of the llocfme told me to get - cave something...?)
Personal: My sister is a champ! 36 hours of labor and 15 minutes of pushing - out popped Cecilia Lucia Marques!
And now my dad shares his birthday with his first granddaughter! Happy Birthday Papi!
CF: Decided against doing any wod today because at this point I feel that its too close to the race to be productive to my taper week. But i did have some grass fed skirt steak from Mini Mac farms and it was delicious!
Personal: Well my other sister's water broke today but the baby is just not ready to come out yet. So it looks like it's going to share the same birth date as my dad. And since i'll prob be posting pictures of my newest niece or nephew tomorrow - here is one more of Noah:
I cant believe i have posted since before my last 5k. Here's an uber brief (sorry) recap from what i can remember:
09/09
PRed the 5k by 5 seconds to 23:03 - but it may have been a 13 second PR as i heard rumors that the clock was delayed for 8 seconds at the start. Whatever the case - it felt good - but i need to come up with a group warm up next time for my endoers (just made it up while i was typing and im trademarking it). arthurs was fun afterward.
09/10
Actually worked on a friday - and out in the field no less on a nice day! Came home after a long day of watching contractors work at a snails pace and watched Legion. Just realized i wanted to designate it a 'wait' in my movie rating system - but that specific designation really only applies to movies still in theaters (wait = wait for it to come out on dvd) so i need to come up with more correct nomenclature for movies. ill work on that rating system and include it in another post (or maybe i'll just start that darn website already) but my final verdict is that i wouldnt spend any money to rent it. only good thing was that i used frozen berries as the ice in my jack (had hennessey but thought that it wouldnt mix well with the berries) and it was delicious!
9/11
do you remember when we all would observe a moment of silence at 8:45am and 9:03am and silently think about all those lives that were lost when those planes hit the towers? while i was cognisant that it was 9/11, im ashamed to say that i only realized that i didnt stop at those times until after the fact.
endurance cert went well - did death by 10m wod again and got a PR of 19 rounds*. while that was a PR by two full rounds, i didnt have to touch the line everytime - hence the asterisk.
came home after a long day very tired, got hoodwinked into constructing some furniture and finally got to bed at 2am.
9/12
second part of the cert went well. afterward, went to church and heard a solid homily (which is always cool), went to my parents house, stuffed my face with rice and cake (not physically at the same time but might as well have been) and got this gem of a picture of Noah while he was sleeping on my mom's lap:
went back to my 9-5 office to get plans, concepts, reports printed out for my project managers (since i knew i was going to be out in the field again all day monday) and finally got to bed at 2am .
9/13
lack of sleep definitely catching up but i knew i had a long night ahead of me before i even started my day - i was going to the Home and Home tour (the first concert at the new yankee stadium).
after a very very long day inspecting contractors, driving into the Bronx during rush hour, standing for over 4 hours in the yankee outfield (concert was amazing though!), driving back to nj and dropping everyone off , i finally got to bed at 2am (slept at my parents house for the evening.)
9/14
i was so tired from the past three nights that i did not feel like waking up this morning. (im sure knowing that tuesday's are my long coaching nights didnt help much either.) due to the length of the wod programmed for today, i didnt feel i had enough time to do yesterdays wod prior to class starting. im trying to determine if i should try and get the wod done at lunch tomorrow even though it goes against my taper schedule big time...
I wish i had more time to explain the "kinda" from my droid does post below and my movie rating system [again, id like to apologize for my non-descript daily recaps. i would love to elaborate more on my days, but i need to get to bed tonight at a reasonable hour.] but just know that my first blog from my phone literally posted like this:
And that clearly not going to work because, depending on how you look at it, im either compulsive or consistent - and that topic will most definitely be the subject of another post at a later date and time.
First post (kinda - more on that later) from my phone. Its been another crazy week - I havent been in bed before 2am the past 3 nights and I should be tapering and recovering. Ill do my best to post a recap blog later. Here's one reason for a 2am evening...
I did Tuesday wod which consisted of two parts: first part was 3-3-3-3-3 power snatch. i started at 65# and wanted to go up 20# each set to end up with 125# but a failed attempt on the first rep of the last set had me stay at 115#. this was unfortunate bc i had wanted to use the rx weight of 115# for the overhead squats in the second part of the wod and would have been very comfortable with it had i snatched 125# three times. the second part of the wod consisted of 10min to do as many OHS after first completing 15-12-9 T2B + 200m run. got the couplet done in less than 5 min (which i was very happy with) but struggled big time with the OHS at 105# mainly due to my wrists being on fire from not being set up in their proper neutral position. Only ended up with 20 reps. although it wasnt as a high a number as i was shooting for, i am happy that im now mentally comfortable with snatching and OHS 105# in a high rep scenario.
i usually do the endu wod at night but with the new endu session starting, ive decided that i can no longer wod with the class or the llocfme :( so i had wanted to do the wod prior to coaching the newbies at their first endu wod but the track was being used by the morristown high school football team at 5pm (the nerve) and i was way too tired to do it after the endu class so that unfortunately meant that i would have to do it by my lonesome. on a positive note - there were a lot of new faces there and im very excited to see everyone make great strides (...) in their running as the session progresses.
wednesday i took my sister to the track by my parents house so that she could be my personal timer while i did tuesdays minute ladder endu wod. we get there and this track has zero lights. the wind is really picking up and my sister was cold so i had her stay in the car but she was having a hard time making a loud whistle - something i needed as i would be, at times, a whole football field away from the car. running in to a head wind by myself in the pitch black while not being confident that i would actually hear exactly when my rest started and finished didnt exactly make me feel like doing it - but i finished with exactly 7 laps - and i was happy with that. my pose was off but my intensity was consistent throughout. another positive thing that happened wednesday was that i went to the chiro beforehand and apparently i was way out of whack. i do feel a little better and hope that all the adjustments made will help me get a 5k PR later today.
Wow - what a crazy week - Jared and I were working hard putting the finishing touches on the new endurance session and it seemed as if the emails just didnt stop. here's a quick wod recap for last week:
MON
Got to the gym early and was mulling over whether to do 90% (which would have been 305#). looked on the whiteboard and saw Pete R started with 305# and went down to 285# - so i just did 285#. then waited only 1 min and did the second part of the wod which was 3rounds of 20 KB swings, 5 KB squat cleans with the left arm, 5 KB push presses with the left arm, 5 KB squat cleans with the right arm, 5 KB push presses with the right arm - rx was 1.5 pood but i did it with 1 pood and finished in 6:18. I was very happy with my time and my all out effort considering the non-existent wait between the strength (deadlift) portion and the met-con (kettlebell) portion of the wod.
TUES
4 person team wod of 5rounds of 120' sled pull (135#), HSPU, Box Jumps (20"), Push Press (95#) with the sled pull being the time keeper. The sled pull got old real quick since your legs were shot from everything else - including getting up for the HSPU - but i had an awesome team at the 545p class and i was glad that i got that wod in before the endurance wod of Death by 10m. I completed 17 rounds and got to 16 in round 18. Great dinner afterward!
WED
Off from wodding but came up with some sweet, perfectly appropriate slogans for CFME during the day and then at night i visited my abuelita who had just flown in from her vacation in Colombia and was staying at my parents house - so i got a good home cooked paleo meal - cauliflower mash is amazing!
THURS
Only did the endurance wod but in my defense it was Tosh. my splits for each of the three rounds were:
I was really happy with the consistency. big thanks to jared for keeping the pace throughout.
FRI
Did HEAVY FBG (95# for the barbell weight, 24" box, and everything with a 20lb weight vest) and was shooting for a score of at least 200. Ended up with 205 so i was really happy with that. my effort throughout was all out and i felt as if i wasnt as fatigued as the last time i did FGB in february - and i'll chalk that up to CF endurance.
SAT
I became an uncle! Say hello to my first nephew Noah Luis Gallic
Please note that im exposing him to CrossFit at a very early age.
SUN
I became Noah's godfather! Here are all of his stats!
Went to my friend Bean's "surprise" birthday party in Toms River where many non paleo mixed drinks were consumed. ("surprise" = both the birthday boy and the guests were surprised to find out it was a surprise party.) so much for doing my tempo at 8am sunday morning
MON
Visited my nephew/godson again. i tried getting a shot of him with his eyes open - since now he is looking around a lot - while holding him but this is the best i got. i think he was doing his best elvis impression
I was supposed to run a 60min tempo at 75% but i averaged a 9:55 mile which meant i ran it at more like 67%. The silver lining was that i went out and did the run period - since i was not in the running mood by the time i finished mowing my lawn at 745pm.
An overall solid week for my wodding and personal life. nutrition was good during the week but then fell off for the weekend - so i need to focus on that these next two weeks prior to the half marathon. Found out that this month's on ramp has 8 people in it - and right after will be the start of the new endurance session - looking forward to a good tuesday!
took the day off on friday - didnt do much but go to the beach and relax. but i follow the boy scout motto so i did end up thinking of crossfit in so far as i told myself that i need to purchase an extra set of headphones for my run since my sweat caused a "Johnny 5" on my previous backup set of favorite running headphones - and please tell me that someone gets that...
Saturday i was determined to do last mondays wod (800m-50 pushups-800m-100supermans-800m-200situps-800m) since i wasnt going to go to the box. did my first 1/2 mile in: 4:14. hmm that was a bit slow. again pushups are a goat of mine and i struggled after 30. next 800m split was 4:30. really? supermans must have looked funny to the couple who saw me doing them face down on the lawn as they walked out of their house. finished everything in 39:17. ouch. i rechecked my distance and it was over 900m but i think the fact that i had laid in the sun for about 2 hrs prior to wodding and did the actual wod in the high noon heat were what played a role in my subpar time. im happy i did the wod, i wish the time was a better reflection of what i thought my effort was during the wod.
sunday was my 10k time trail. i started at 8am - as im going to do for the next few weekend tempos. i want to prep myself for running the half marathon first thing on a sunday morning - clearly earlier than i want to get up and therefore clearly out of my comfort zone. ill spare you the inner monologue but my mile splits were 7:42, 8:00, 8:08, 8:13, 8:15, 9:12 and the home stretch was 2:01. i thought i kicked it up a notch during the last mile and home stretch so i was surprised with that low a split but i was really happy with my overall time of 51:31. i felt really good after that tempo and now i know i can easily get under 50min for a 10k and that is very encouraging for my half marathon prospects.
had my favorite arthur's burger when i got home - as an aside, if anybody ever wants to go just let me know and ill be there, i can have their smokehouse burger multiple times a week - and looking forward to this upcoming week.
here's a muñoz fun fact o' the day that i cant help but share: found out this weekend that my dad has pitbull and will smith on his ipod on-the-go playlist. that's right - a) he's got an ipod and b) he has "i know you want me" and "getting jiggy with it" among other atypical songs any father would have let alone on a playlist that he specifically made for being in the car. im incredibly impressed that he knows how to make a playlist and im ok with the fresh prince - even though its a little dated - its the fact that he likes blasting pitbull - and sings along to it. now we all know pitbull isnt the most couth artist (and i quote: "mami got an (gluteus maximus) like a donkey") - and although my dad only sings along to the spanish chorus - im not sure if my dad picks up on the nuances of pitbull's flow nor how uncomfortable it is for me and my sisters to hear him signing along period. i can only imagine that its a similar feeling to when you were younger and sang the lyrics to "oh what a night" and your parents had to suffer through you singing about a one night stand before you had even gone through puberty - again this is only speculation but still uncomfortable nonetheless and therefore i just felt the need to share - enjoy.
Didnt have a great sleep last night (probably due to the sugary confection that was sangria) so i got up early this morning, wrote my blog, went to work and immediately proceeded to kick myself for not bringing a pillow with me bc i could have easily passed out at my desk. luckily gmailsations kept me going in the morning, lunch was provided as we went over better drafting techniques in our monthly ACAD meeting, and i got out a little early to do todays wod - 3rounds of 5 rope climbs, 21 dips, 50 air squats. coach mike was there and let me know how that wod fared for him. taking his advice i decided to not waste any excess energy/time on the dips and focus on doing just one at a time - which definitely helped as dips (or pushups for that matter) seem to be a goat of mine. the rope climbs got hard at the end of round 2 but i finally figured out that i needed to lock my bottom foot in the im-letting-off-of-the-gas-pedal-to-shift-my-manual-transmission position so that my other foot can press down on top of the rope, which would then allow me to use my legs more during the ascent. finished with a time of 19:14 and im happy with the performance - i just wish i figured out the heel-toe thing a little earlier.
endu wod (8rounds of 30sec on 20 sec off) was fun - one of the llocfme brought her cousin to try her first endu wod (and she did an absolutely stunning job for a newbie) - and in four minutes i ran 1220m - and all of us were within 75m plus or minus of that. Two solid days in a row!
I was able to get out of the office and be the intrepid engineer inspecting as-built conditions at a somewhat contentious development in Bridgewater - so the work day went by rather quickly which is always a nice thing. I also ended up getting a pity wod out of my post yesterday - wasn't expecting it but it was definitely appreciated. So Jared and I attack Tuesday's reg wod - partners alternating 155# thrusters, 5 weighted box jumps AHAP, 5 weighted pullups AHAP for 5 rounds each. I choose 135# for the thrusters, 45# for the weighted box jumps, and 25# for the weighted pullups. Jared - being the beast he is - 155#, 55#, 35#. I ended up going first, which is a huge mental plus for me, and while i was originally concerned with the heavy thrusters, i was able to do each set unbroken. only truly struggled on the last pullup and i felt the weighted box jumps were the toughest. We both finished with a time of 16:28. The wod wasnt easy but I'm not sure if i was feeling really strong bc i was able to channel some of my frustration from tuesday into the wod on top of it going really well at work or if i could have gone heavier on weight. Based on what everyone else did for that wod though - I'll just say its a 80/20 combination of the two. overall, I felt very happy with my performance - and great job Jared - you move heavy heavy weight as quickly as guys lining up to meet CLB.
While my original dinner plans were canceled due to mysterious circumstances - i was then able to meet up with my best friend from home. so i get in my car and the first three songs of the car ride are throwbacks to jersey shore summers! i may not be the best singer but i was belting out those tunes like my life depended on it (luckily it didnt). throw in good conversation with a couple of pitchers of sangria to top off the evening and im happy to report it was a really good day!
So Monday night, the coaches had a preview of the upcoming rowing seminar to be offered by two of cf motown's members who are expert rowers: Chip and Pat. i chose not to do the reg wod for the day - even though it was something i was interested in doing - bc i knew that there was going to be a wod during this seminar. I take a relatively nonchalant approach toward rowing - that is, i dont especially love doing it but i dont dislike it either bc as someone who is not vertically challenged, rowing ends up being a movement im relatively efficient in. well when Pat announced the wod for the evening - 11min of rowing - i nearly sharted myself. in the end, it didnt end up being that bad and i rowed over 2700m - which i was happy with seeing as the farthest i had rowed prior to yesterday was 2000m. after all is said and done - i get home at 1030p - a fairly full day. do i regret not doing the reg wod - we'll get back to that later.
i had this grandiose idea to try and wake up extra early and wod during the 6am class today bc i knew i wasnt going to make the lunchtime wod. surprise surprise - that didnt happen - so i was mentally preparing myself all day to do the reg wod during the 545 class. there is a small contingent that shows up to this class and im sure they wouldnt have minded if i sneaked in a workout with them. i had who i was going to be paired up with in my head but unfortunately an even number of people showed up so i was relegated to strictly coaching duties. the 630 class strolls in and i chose not to wod with them either - even though its was a smaller class with an odd number of people - bc its just getting too close to the endurance wod that i need to do bc im training for the half marathon. recovery is why you get better - not more work - and i need to focus my energies on giving these endu wods the intensity that they demand so i can perform well for my first half marathon. do i regret not doing the reg wod - we'll get back to that later.
both classes did great and i finished the on-ramp class early so i was actually going to get to endu on time when a prospective on ramper shows up. so i send bryan to get everyone started at endu and get there late myself. im already second guessing my choices not to do the reg wods two days in a row and trying not to think about how that affects my final three weeks of training and also trying to not worry so much about being a bad example and showing up late when one of the first things that gets brought to my attention after showing up is general disappointment that i didnt do today's wod - not what i wanted to hear right then and there. sure i could have gotten up early, or sure i could have been productive at work the week prior and gone to the lunch wod today, but i just dont think that very many people realize that as a coach, i make time for cf motown above and beyond what the schedule shows and bc of that choice - and the fact that i do have another job and i try and have a life outside of that and crossfit - sometimes i have to choose whether or not i realistically have the time to do all the wods that i would like to do or just do the wods i need to do to keep up with my training and still function at an acceptable level day in and day out. do i regret not doing the reg wods? quite simply, yes - but for pete's sake i definitely dont need reminding of that. what makes today's scenario even more ironic is that i was just speaking about being positive in everything you say bc negative words/thoughts have a way of sticking with people... unfounded disappointment is definitely not positive.
trudged along through the endu wod, 4:15, 4:17, 4:27, 4:25 for my 1000m splits - i was happy with staying so consistent with my mind not focusing on pose. get home after 4 classes at 945p - a fairly full day and i still need to go food shopping and write my blog. tomorrow is another day.
So i calculated that a run at 75% meant i had to maintain a 9:20 pace. here were my splits (and my stream of consciousness at the time of each split):
Mile 1 - 8:30 (whoa - slow down buddy - and you thought you were crawling - i know it was downhill but still - SLOW DOWN)
Mile 2 - 8:54 (ok, you were skeptical of the llocfme when they said it was hard to slow down and now you can see first hand how hard it is. better but still you need to try and hit that pace.)
Mile 3 - 9:21 (i do believe a fist pump is in order due to being right on the money (and i proceed to fist pump). feeling real good and strong - then next 5miles are nothing.)
Mile 4 - 8:58 (hmm - maybe im just in that great of shape that physics will not allow me to go any slower than 9:20...)
Mile 5 - 9:54 (wonderful - thats what you get for stroking your ego. not only did i lose sound from my left headphone - no doubt due to it being water logged with sweat - now you have to make up some time too.)
Mile 6 - 9:11 (good - way to bring it back down. dont think about your calves tightening up and keep that pace)
Mile 7 - 9:53 (not again - and now i have the last mile coming up and its uphill - fight for it)
Mile 8 - 9:15 (good job - strong finish uphill at the end - half marathon is very very doable)
Total time 1:14:01 with avg 9:15 (flippin sweet! i was shooting for sub 2hrs for the half and now i can say thats very doable - but my right nipple is feeling a little raw - next run im putting on bandages - but i've got hair on my chest - taking them off is going to hurt - ill need to manscape first...)
im feeling good (minus my slightly raw nip) so i check what the qualifying times are for the boston marathon. 3:10 for a full marathon. so that means a 7:15 pace for 26 miles. wait - a 7:15 pace?!?! baby steps leonardo, baby steps.
So my Friday was fairly productive - i went to work and finally got our CFME flyers designed :) decided to do the reg wod at 545p which consisted of as many rounds as possible in 25 min of 5 deadlifts @ 225#, 10 db cleans @ 45#, and 20 double unders. i ended up with 10 double unders shy of 9 complete rounds. when you're that close to the next round you immediately go back and review where you could have made up for lost time. the db cleans were brutal as Coach Mike D said - but i was happy that after the first two rounds - i only broke down the set of 10 into no more than two sets of five. i knew that my grip would suffer from the dl and db cleans, but i underestimated how much that would affect my double unders. so they could have gone better but overall i was happy with them as well - it was the deadlifts that got to me. again it was a mental thing - the rx weight isn't entirely light for me - i consider light less than 50% of your 1rm and 225# is 65% of my 1rm. i knew i was going to rx but since i was going more for the strength aspect of the workout i knew my total rounds would suffer. first two rounds were good as i did 'tap and go' with the dl - again something i rarely do bc i feel as if i cant focus on my form as much when i 'tap and go' - but after that i broke down each set of 5 dl into 1-1-1-1-1 - a lift and drop essentially. had i kept my hands on the bar, i would have easily broken 9 rounds - next time.
saturday morning i did thursday's endu wod (9rnds:1min on – 1min off) - got a total distance of 2510m. (fyi – I wouldn’t wish doing endu interval wods alone on anyone!) averaged 300m the first 3min - 275m that next 4min and 250m the last 2min. while the drop off wasnt what i was hoping for, i was happy with my effort as i knew i was going as fast as my legs could move for each round. updated my FGB5 page and went to a bbq in the afternoon - complete with 4 beer pong tables (yes, my team from last week and i redeemed ourselves), an ice luge (didnt partake as i like being disease free), and a pig roast (so amazing i didnt care i was literally pulling meat off of a carcass). all would have been fine if not for my ex-gf showing up blitzed beyond what i deem medically possible. I forgive my reconnaissance team for letting me down big time. I immediately thought i would have rather had a simultaneous case of diarrhea and vomiting while traipsing naked through a poison ivy patch than to have been there to witness her in that setting. I did some LSB and that intense feeling wore off and im glad I stayed at least a little while longer and im happy that she is happy.
heading to church now. ill update how my tempo run goes later.
something was just off all day. even though i did have more gmailsations than yesterday, my regular 9-5 was horrendous - so unproductive that i told myself before lunch that i needed to come in on my day off to finish work - maybe that's what started it. or maybe it was that my legs were immobile all day. I get so mad at myself for not stretching out properly after working out - recovery is why you get better not more work - it was one of my goals during the Be CrossFit challenge and i still havent learned. i dont hate very many things but i hate it when im not at 100% - physically or mentally. i think most guys are the biggest babies when they are sick or injured - and im no exception. (in fact, i think im on the far end of the bell curve in that scenario.) i tried talking myself into doing the endu wod, especially bc i got out of work late and couldnt warmup, stretch, do the reg wod - and i started with the llocfme and bryan but there was no way that the way i started out round 1 was anywhere close to the intensity that cfe requires so i stopped - ugh. (and as i type, i just realized i didnt give my endu wodders a riddle to think about during the wod and now i have to do the wod tomorrow by my lonesome- double ugh.)
but i think my biggest problem today was that i did not think that i was a 1480. i should always focus on thinking positively instead of negatively. there are so many things that i should be thankful for (i.e i have a job that pays me well, i am in the best shape of my life, i have wonderful gmailsations, etc) that there is no need to beat myself up about anything - missing wods, or needing to go into work on my day off, or anything. so much of life is mentally positioning yourself in a better place considering the situation you are given - it just plain works out for the best if you do that. sounds a lot like the advice i gave myself yesterday - "i make note of this to make sure that from now on i should remember to set up my stations in the optimal positions to get the best time during the wods"
I was trying all day to figure out a way to tie in blogging about my daily activities to the following video (a big thanks to my endurance co-coach Jared for finding this for me - and, no Jared, i do not have a man crush on batman) but i think after reflecting on today (and listening to some Jackson 5) - it can be best summarized like this: Today was supposed to be as easy as 123. as simple as do re mi. its my friday for crying out loud - but instead of ABC it was the exact opposite - it was XYZ. something was just off all day - but just because something was off, doesnt mean that i should have let that dictate how the rest of day progressed. XYZ doesnt have to be bad at all. in fact, XYZ should be viewed as the exact opposite - absolutely awesome!
So i was waiting until the 19th of the month to register for the philly half bc they have this "Brotherly Love" promotion where you win something if you are one of the first 19 registrants on the 19th day of the month - well guess what - today is the 19th and the prize for august is a PF Changs gift card - ok, im game. i got all the online forms filled out and waited until my computer clock hit 12:00 (i even double-clicked on the clock so i could watch the countdown via the secondhand) and hit the submit button. next page said 'this may take several minutes'. Fiddlesticks! there will be hundreds of people registered in a few minutes - i mean who wouldnt wait until midnight to sign up for something free - i've been out and about on black friday - people are insane like that! suddenly the webpage refreshes - ive signed up within seconds not minutes. i laugh at the City of Brotherly Love's Mainframe and its erroneous estimation of time only to realize it shows me as registered on 8/18 at 9pm - the registration system appears to be on west coast time - something that clearly could have been brought to my attention yesterday! i try to console myself by saying i was going to be up anyway as i had planned on seeing The Expendables later in the evening (LM rating: between solid and wait but closer to wait: 2.25 stars) but i know deep inside that had i not watched The Expendables, i would have set an alarm. City of Brotherly Love's Mainframe: 1, Last Cup Leo: 0
Let's go back to better times. I went to go post Tuesday's shenanigans on Tuesday night but my computer was acting up and i got lazy and went to bed - hence the double dose y'all get today.
Tuesday is a double session day. go to the lunchtime wod and reaffirm that the wod should be sub 5min. 5rounds with each round consisting of 1 power snatch, 2 ohs, 3 push jerks, 6 ring pullups. now i love me some snatch but im leery of the heavy snatch - and the rx of 125# is heavy for me. decide to go 95# and feel good about it. finish with 5:37. eh. snatch felt real good but i should have positioned the bar closer to the ring pullups - i lost a lot of time in the transition going back and forth. speaking about transitions, as a quick aside, for those from bville who post on the cfmotown blog that our run is easier - please note that on top of our run also being uphill one way, our run is automatically 30m more than the bville run bc its 15m from the pullup bars to the door and another 15m from the door to the pullup bars - everytime. i make note of this to make sure that from now on i should remember to set up my stations in the optimal positions to get the best time during the wods.
The endu wod was 10x100m on the minute. i knew better than to underestimate this short workout as i thought it would get hard starting on minute 3. it was hard after minute 1. the three of us consistently kept it under 17 secs/100m for each of the 10 minutes. i dont normally feel like puking but this is the first time in a while where i felt like it. i probably would have if i ate something - but i hadnt had anything since lunchtime. Karianne finally got back to me about my nutrition and pointed out that i am very inconsistent with my eating habits - her response to a review of my food log, and i quote "Some days you barely eat, others you are chowing down." owwie.
i hadnt gone food shopping so i had nothing at the house but i was determined to eat. after taking a 20min shower (bc i could barely lift my legs into the tub let alone the requisite movements to take a shower) it was past 10p and all normal restaurants were closed. i open the fridge again - surprisingly nothing materialized within the past 20min - but i was still determined to eat something before i went to bed. so i go driving around and ended up at a diner. looked at the "food" choices and settled on a bacon omelet. i think about it for a second - i didnt have to leave, i have eggs at home. Last Cup Leo: -1
Wednesday morning had the potential to get hump day off to a great start - an early morning wod - but alas the wod was not meant to be. since i wasnt going to wod, i decide that sleep is more important bc i had a dream where i needed to be somewhere at a certain time to impress someone with my punctuality so of course i keep waking up hourly during the night to make sure im not late (i.e. i did not have a good night's rest). i finally get back to bed at 715a but unfortunately that means i got to work after 9a - im in for hectic day as i need to get stuff done in the engineering world bc im clearly not impressing my bosses with my punctuality. unfortunately, getting actual work done means that i cant have my gmail conversations that i normally have during the day. i genuinely missed them yesterday as they always do a good job of putting a smile on face. (here's hoping that today is full of gmailsations)
anywho, I take the day off from wodding, eat well (and consistently), pick up an outdoor bar for my patio (party soon - who's in?), go see The Expendables - and here we are back at the beginning of the post. Memento much?
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