The perfect hangover cure

Went to the Dave Matthews concert Saturday night. Had a couple too many beers and woke up Sunday in a fog. Drank lots of water trying to flush the system - went to the gym still a little in a fog to do the 4 x 400yd swim @ 80%. Went too hard on the first (finished in 6:44). Remaining three were done in 6:54, 6:56, 6:59.

The next workout was 21 squats @135#, 500m row, 15 squats @135#, 500m row, 9 squats @135#, 500m row. I am not very fond of this workout and almost quit during the first set. Then I thought about what I would end up writing in my blog about that - I kept going. Who knew a blog could be so damn useful. I finished in 16:03 a new best (by 13 seconds) and almost 3 minutes better than the last time - who would have figured.

So when both workouts were all said and done I felt great. The sins of the prior day had been erased!

Painful circuit/good bike

Last night I did a circuit that was new to me. Run 400m, 50 squats, 10 burpees times four. The squats really hurt - could be because I did 100 yesterday as punishment for skipping 3 sets of weighted max squats. I should have done the three sets, I would have been less sore.

The first round went fairly well - did 40 of the 50 squats pretty quick and then I started feeling it and realized that I needed a pacing strategy. Burpees went better than I expected and off to do the rest. The only split I took was my last 400 because I was curious - it felt like I was running slow as molasses. Completed it in 1:49 - faster than I felt like I was going.

The entire workout was completed in 17:50.

Biked 45 minutes for distance early afternoon (warmed up with some yard work). Considering that I started out pretty sore from the squats from the prior two days, I think I did pretty darn good. Completed 16.1 miles in the 45 minutes (avg speed 21.47).

Other than some soreness in the legs I feel pretty darn good.

I'm weak

Second workout today was max squats times 7. I did not feel overly strong with my warm-up at 135 pounds, but sometimes I have my best workouts when I don't feel strong in my warm-up. Went to 185 and it felt heavy but I got it up. Put five more pounds on for my set and got that one up. I then did two sets at 195 and figured this is where I was going to hold the weight as I was barely able to get it up. I failed on the fifth set (third at 195). I had the crash bars set pretty low so is was hard to lower the weight down. I decided I was done with weights for the night and finished up with 100 squats for time (to punish myself). Finished in 2:33.

I'm still feeling the effects from Tuesday's run. Drinking lots of water and minding the diet - expect full recovery by Sunday.

Lake swim, shoulder presses and bike intervals

Met Erica at the lake yesterday for a swim around it. Water was nice - probably could have done it without the wetsuit, but love the flotation it gives you. We did not swim as hard as we should have, but it was nice to practice open water swimming and sighting, etc. I also practiced bilateral breathing. I did a few pickups so there was some hard swimming involved - even did a little butterfly - wetsuit makes it easier to do butterfly. Quite honestly, after Tuesday's long hot run I needed a day to relax and not take the training so seriously. ONE DAY, that's all - I'm back to it.

Did presses last night at home - did all five sets of five with 100 pounds. Last set felt easier than first - weird.

Bike intervals this morning - five minutes on, two off times four.

1. 2 miles (slight downhill to flat) 24 mph
2. 1.85 miles (mostly flat) 22.2 mph
3. 1.45 miles (lots of uphill) 17.4 mph
4. 1.75 miles (moderate - mostly flat) 21 mph

Had to turn my leased car in this morning - rode bike home which is why the terrain varied so much.

Worse run ever

Don't worry, this is not a pity fest. Ran 13.1 miles today. I had planned to hammer the first half and just see if I could hang on for the second half. It became evident very early on that the strategy was simply not going to work. It was very hot out and this old body is not used to the heat yet. This run was more of a mental test than a physical one. I wanted to quit so many times during this run, but every time that thought went through my head I kicked myself in the ass and just kept going. The realization hit me that I was probably feeling pretty good compared to how I was going to feel during the run at IMLP.

If it could go wrong it probably did on this run. I ran with my running belt and I had 32 ounces of water and five gels. I lost two of the gels early on in the run so had to ration three. 32 ounces of water would have barely lasted me for a two hour run, but this turned out to be a two hour and twenty minute run so I ran out of water too.

I'm not sure if it was the heat or Sunday's race (or a combination of both) that kicked my ass, but man! this was a hard one.

On a brighter note, my crossfit workout was 10! of squats, burpees and situps. I completed that workout in 7:07 vs. 8:20 a month ago.

Helen

13:40. Last time 13:05 - BUT, my runs were about .32 miles vs. .25 so I ran about a quarter mile too far. I wish I could do this workout at the track but there's no where to do pullups.

I ran with the metronome set to two beats (one for each foot). It is much easier to stay with this way - thanks for the suggestion.

13.1 tomorrow - plan to run the first half hard and see if I can hang on after that.

I think I went hard enough yesterday

The day after is often a good time to assess your effort level for an event. I'm not sore, but my legs are definately fatigued - I especially feel it walking upstairs. I'm tight as well which is either an indication that I went hard or I should have done a cool-down. Helen is on tap for tonight - I think she will actually help me loosen up.

Shamrock Du

Anyone who reads my blog knows I can be pretty hard on myself so let me say before anyone starts reading into the comments to follow that I am pretty happy with my overall result. My overall time was 1:47:36 which is almost exactly 11 minutes better than last year. Goal was 10, obnoxious goal was 15. I shaved everywhere including the transitions.

I'm not real happy with either run - both were faster than last year, but I truly thought I was going faster than what the overall times came out to. run 1 was done in 25:22 (27:01 last year) and run 2 was done in 27:34 (29:40 last year). I had a real hard time getting my HR up on the runs - it was humid which seems to prevent me from getting my HR up, but I always wonder if I am not making myself suffer enough. I even played head games with myself on the second run to try to get myself to go faster - there was one particular guy I was trying to beat and I knew I was in front of him since I passed him on the bike. I kept telling myself on the run that he was going to catch me - I still could not get my HR up - it was barely over 150 and sometimes under. By the way I beat him by about 30 seconds.

The bike course is relatively hilly and there is a lot of cornering so it is pretty technical. This favors me as I notice that a lot of people are tentative on the downhills and the corners - I take a lot of time here. I averaged about 20 which I feel is good considering the terrain and technical aspects of the course. I definately felt yesterday's TT in my legs, but once again this is a minor race so I will not question the Masters motives.

Here is the thing that really aggavates me - I was 196th on the first run, 174th on the second run and 64th on the bike - This really frustrates me.

Running drills tomorrow!

45 minute TT

I always hesitate to go all out before a race, but it was on the program so I did it. I have to keep the big picture in mind and the big picture is Lake Placid, not the Shamrock Du.

I rode the same terrain as Thursday. I completed 16.00 miles in the 45 minutes which equates to 21.33 mph. I am extremely happy with this as I was wondering if I was going as fast as I did on Thursday - I would say yes. Considering I had to come to a full stop for traffic to clear before I could make a turn (the only left hand turn on my course) I would say that this was a fair outing.

I can't wait for tomorrow - this is a much anticipated race for me - a true test of where I stand fitness wise. Short enough that I can really hammer and long enough so that it is fairly taxing. I finished in 1:58:35 last year - my goal is to take at least 10 minutes off this time and as many as 15.

I learned two things

I went to the track this evenening for the 10 200s at 5k pace. It was starting to cool down so it was quite comfortable - slight breeze blowing as well.

The two things I learned is that I don't understand all of the markings on the track and that I don't know how to "feel" my pace. My 5k pace is about 7:50/mile so I should be running these somewhere between 55 and 60 seconds. I averaged somewhere around 45 seconds which equates to about a six minute pace (I wish!). I tried to slow it down, but honestly I did not feel like I was going all out.

I thought I understood the markings on the track as far as how to run 200s - one would take me 48 seconds and then the next one would take me 40 seconds - I moved to the center of the track and they got more consistent so I think they were more even.

Question - what lane do I need to run in if I don't want to make any corrections - i.e. what lane is exactly 400 meters starting and finishing on the same spot? Thanks.

What a way to wake up!

I ended up postponing yesterday's Xfit workout until this morning. I woke up feeling stiff and dehydrated - must have shorted my hydration on the bike last night. I had some water before I went to sleep, but apparently not enough. I started hydrating as soon as I woke up - I'm a slow waker so I putzed around for a few minutes before getting in the car and heading to LAF.

Since it was morning and the workout wasn't following another workout I made sure I warmed-up and stretched before I got going. As soon as I got going I felt pretty good. 21 burpees, 500m row, 15 burpees, 500m row, 9 burpees, 500m row. Finished in 10:25 - 35 seconds faster than the last time I did this workout. Not bad!

Good bike result

I was going to bike in the morning but wussed out - wet roads and fog. I would have went (I can say that now), but I knew it was going to be a beautiful day so I went after work instead. Workout was 4 intervals - 3 mile, 6 mile, 9 mile and 12 mile with rest of 1 min, 2 min & 3 min. I seemed to get faster as I went - Did a loop course and did the loop twice so the terrain was very similiar throughout except the first interval had a disproportionate amount of uphill. Results:

3 9.40 18.62 mph
6 16:42 21.22 mph
9 26:43 20.21 mph (the longest hill on the loop hit this interval - good result considering)
12 34:17 21.00 mph

My perception was that I was not riding strong, but I am happy with these results.

I'm not sure if I am going to make it to the gym tonight for the rowing/burpees workout - will either substitute a workout or do it in the morning which is where I am leaning.

Yesterday beat me up

O.k., it sounds like the jury is in and that Cindy is 5 pullups, 10 pushups and 15 squats vs. 15 situps. I think I could have got one or two more rounds if I did squats vs. the situps, but maybe not - my abs are really complaining today. Seems like there has been a lot of ab work lately, not that I'm complaining as core strength is critical.

First workout today was an 800 yard swim TT. I warmed up a little more than usual as I am tight from yesterday's abuse. Total time was 14:05 which is not my best time, but considering how tired and tight my muscles are, it is a good result. Warmed down with an easy 400 concentrating on long pulls.

The next workout was row 500m, 50 kb swings w/20#, row 500, 40 kb swings, row 500, 30 kb swings, row 500. Again, I did not feel my strongest, but put forth my best effort. Total time was 14:27.

I did some running drills in between swimming and rowing (rowing machines were in use (hardly though)). I find it hard to keep time with the metronome - could be because I have no rythm (trust me - can't keep time to music and believe me, you don't want to see me dance). I am going to keep at it as I am determined to get this licked!

Good thing I read Blogs

I was getting ready to do my workout and I was psyching myself up by reading other people's blogs. I read Erica's and she said she did Cindy which consisted of AMRAP 20 min of 5 pullups, 10 pushups and 15 situps. I said to myself "wait a minute, I thought I was supposed to do 5 pullups, 10 pushups and 15 squats." So I looked at the list of workouts and it was Chelsea who caught my eye this morning - I always liked brunettes.

O.k. so now that Erica set me straight it was off to the basement to get it done. I was feeling pretty good and just started banging them out. I completed 17 full rounds, all the pullups and pushups on round 18 and 7 into the situps when I hit 20 minutes. I finished off the situps since I was already in position. Two weeks ago - 15 and 3 into the pullups on 16. I can sleep with a smile on my face tonight.

Best 10k ever

It was wet and the air was heavy and damp, but I was bound and determined to have a good run. I decided to start hard and just try to hold on. I finished the first mile in 7:33 which is pretty close to how I start a 5k. Miles were as follows:

1 7:33
2 7:55
3 8:02
4 8:11
5 8:39
6 9:03
6.2 51:15 average pace 8:14

I know this strategy does not work well for most people, but I have my best times when I overcook the first mile. In my log I have one recorded time that came out better than this, but that was when my GPS was not synchronized - I am fairly sure that this is my best 10k yet. I would love to get under 50:00 and if I ever get this pose thing figured out it is certainly not out of the realm of possibilities.

I have Cindy to do tonight after I taxi my daughter home from gymnastics and I plan to PR that as well - there, now I said it so I have to do it.

Badly needed rest day

A whole day of yardwork

Having a big yard looks good on paper, but it takes a lot of work to maintain. I neglected my flower beds last year and I'm trying to get them in decent shape this year - too much pride to let them go. I feel like I am always behind because of what I do for a living - I probably don't get out into my yard until three to four weeks after my neighbors.

So I spent the whole day in the yard yesterday and pretty much the whole day today (and I'm still not done - probably another whole weekend just to get the clean-up done).

According to my plan, today was supposed to be a race day. That's because when I did the plan I had to estimate when some of the races were and missed Shamrock by a week. I just flipped next week's workout to today - kind of. Did one of the workouts yesterday and I did yesterday's WOD today.

First workout was swim 20 x 50 w/ 15 sec rest. Keep 50s within 3 seconds of each other. I was not too motivated after spending all day in the yard, but the water felt good when I jumped in. It was a little cooler than usual which perked me right up. 49, 50, 49, 51, 51, 49, 49, 48, 49, 49, 48, 49, 49, 50, 49, 48, 52, 50, 49, 48.

Second workout - 30 deadlifts and 1000m row. 5:20. Quite frankly I am shocked by the time. It is only one second slower than last week and I felt good last week - today I was wore out from the yardwork and the swim. My row was 10 seconds slower than last week which means I picked it up on the deadlifts and the transition (gym was not crowded - ran from deadlifts to rowing machine - don't care if I look like a dufus).

Last four workouts

Thursday evening:
Tabata box jumps, pushups, lunges, situps. Had my daughter do the timer on these - she was aweful - she did good about telling me when to stop, but she was not good about starting me up again - she had an extremely short attention span. numbers were effected by this as you will see.

Box jumps 10, 8, 10, 10, 9, 9 8, 8
pushups 13, 15, 14, 7, 10, 8, 8, 9
lunges 12, 12, 13, 12 , 13, 12, 13, 13
situps 15, 15, 15, 16, 16, 15, 15, 15

You can probably tell that I took over the stopwatch on the lunges

Friday:
21 situps, run 200m, 18 situps, run 200m down to three situps, run 200m. finished in 8:36, last week was 8:47. Lungs were about to burst when I finished and HR hit 172.

Sat morning:
20k bike TT. 35:11. Best time so far is 34:14. I had to come to a full stop once at a traffic light and three of the last four miles were into a headwind. All in all, I would say that this was my strongest ride so far this year. It was so nice out (other than the headwind) that I kept riding, plus I had someone to ride with and he was not going hard today so we enjoyed the early morning nice weather and chatted - we completed 40 miles before you knew it.

Sat evening (after a full day of yard-work):
50 step-ups, 40 box jumps, 30 situps, 20 pushups, 10 burpees x 2 for time. 15:31. This is the first time I have seen this on the schedule (it's actually on for next week, but I'm shuffling since I was not going to drive to the gym for a 6 minute workout - I'll do today's workout tomorrow after my swim since I will already be at the gym).

Everyone seems to have an excersise that they dislike (despise might be a better word). I am not very fond of box jumps - perfer to to burpees over box jumps any day.

Morning bike session

Cold toes and cold fingers - but it was well worth it. 6x 5k @ 60 cadence on three minutes rest. I did not get much sleep last night (pensive) but it did not seem to effect my riding. I felt strong and consistent throughout - times vary due to terrain, but intensity was consistent.

11:02 (hill)
9:58
8:38
8:36
9:29
9:23

Rode old bike as TT bike is in for a tune-up. Wow, it felt weird. Who would think going back to the bike you rode for ten years would feel weird.

Ordered Zipps yesterday. Getting Sub 9 for the back and 808 for the front. This is a really expensive sport (but next year will be much cheaper!). Hopefully I will have them by Shamrock.

I'm a dufus

Anyone who read my prior entry is saying "yes you are!"

This is actually about a workout. I did my 1000 yard swim TT after work today. I stretched and warmed up out of the water as I wanted to try something new - I did the 1000 with no warm-up. I wanted to see how my body reacted to this. Unfortunately I never turned my stop-watch on. I thought about doing another 1000, but that would really defeat the purpose, go off plan and I told my wife what time I would be home and really wanted to make it.

Unfortunately I don't have a time, only perception of how I think I did. I don't think it was my fastest 1000, but certainly not my slowest either. My back muscles were really feeling it probably due to workouts done earlier in the week. My breathing was good and my stroke felt decent, just not the most powerful it has ever felt.

I postponed my Xfit workout until tomorrow for two reasons - one you probably already guessed (appeasement), and the other because I am feeling really run down from yesterday's run and Xfit circuit done shortly thereafter.

I'm glad my wife does not read my blogs. Jen, if you're reading this how much do I owe you to keep this to yourself?

In trouble

I'm in trouble with my wife. She thinks I put training above all else - I don't agree! I do find ways to fit it into my day. I think that the only thing that would make her happy is if I miss a workout - I really don't think that's fair.

Let me give you an example. On Tuesday's I generally drop my daughter off at Gymnastics. After I drop her off I go for my run and if there is a second workout I do that as well. After my workout I watch my daughter in gymnastics for the remainder of the practice (she practices for 3.5 hours). I consider this using time wisely - depending on the length of the workout I see anywhere from 1.5 - 3.0 hours of the practice. That is more than most parents do - they generally drop and go.

So, I don't know how I go from Sunday where she is making arrangements to help me get my workout in to today where she thinks I'm a selfish bastard. I was actually calling her to tell her that I was not going to travel on Sunday to do a ride like I had planned because I thought I was being selfish but after I got the cold tone from her, I decided not to tell her. I'm somewhat prideful - I could not let her think I was reacting to her mood.

Here's another thing that bothers her - I often workout twice a day. I'm sure many of you do as well. At least one of the workouts usually takes 20 minutes or less. I squeeze this workout in whenever I can, but I do not put it in front of everything else going on in my day.

With the exceptions of Wednesdays and Sundays (pool days) I am very flexible in when I can and do workout.

I often think this is jealousy - she is jealous that I have something in my life that I am passionate about. I'm probably off base here though, I generally get this stuff wrong.

I just don't get it - can someone please help!

Tuesday's 2nd workout

100 ft walking lunges, 10 burpees, 25 situps times three. My last reported time was 6:42. Last night's recorded time came out to more than twice that amount - my perception is that I may have been a little slower due to the proximity of the run, but I should have been close to my previous time - I suspect that I did not hit the off switch.

Best run ever

On tap for today was a 15k run. I warmed up with some running drills - mostly posture related. I stretched a little and then off I went on a rolling rural route. I decided to keep splits this time but decided that other than the 10k split, they don't mean a whole lot due to the rolling terrain. For example mile 5 was completed in 9:38 and mile 6 was completed in 9:03. The difference was the terrain - average pace for whole run was 8:49 (first mile done in 8:03, last mile done in 8:08 - both those mile were flat to slightly downhill).

Enough with the play by play - here's where it gets exciting. I finished the 10k portion of the run faster than last week's stand-alone 10k (54:05 vs. 55:09) and completed the entire run in 1:22:14. I have only covered this distance once back in January and it took me about 1:30.

I'm off to do my second workout - just could't wait to post this, plus a few minutes rest can't hurt.

Date with Fran

Fran took me 13:09 - last recorded (and prior best) time for Fran was 14:22. Did it with 80 pounds which is the same weight as last time.

I was irritable today

Woke up this morning and since it's mother's day I drove to Dunkin Donuts to get coffee and breakfast for my wife. daughter and myself (out of food again - I must eat a lot). Carol gets a glazed stick (irritates the hell out of me - all bad carbs, no protein), Alicia gets a coffee cake muffin (slightly better, but not much), and I get a ham, egg and cheese on a crescant - not Paleo, but it does fall into the zone. Did some chores around the house that my wife usually does and then we all went grocery shopping together (I have to go or they won't buy me the foods I need plus I can get my daughter to eat slightly better if I get certain foods). All is fine until I realize that I will not be able to get my workout in before we have to leave to the in-laws for dinner. I played Wii with my daughter until we had to leave and then was very quiet at dinner - my wife sensing my mood suggested that I high tail it to L.A. Fitness after dinner so I did not miss my swim. I took her up on this - ate light at dinner so as not to spoil my swim.

This workout is turning into one of my favorites - it hurts, but it is a great sense of accomplishment to finish it. Swim 200, 10 pushups seven times. I finished in 27:51 vs. 29:58 Feb 14th (Valentine's day - some kind of theme here?). I was definately stronger on the pushups this time which is where most of the time shaving comes from.

I suspect that most of my recent good results are coming from the fact that I am catching up on my rest. Unfortunately it takes more than a couple of good nights sleep when you abuse yourself for a prolonged period of time.

I have a date with Fran tomorrow.

I have to earn the title

David's been calling me "The Hammer." Personally I think he's talking about himself, but I will try to live up to it. It was a quick workout today - wish I had a rowing machine at home, it's tough to convince oneself to drive to the gym for a workout that is going to take less than ten minutes to complete. My wife was trying to convince me to skip as well since we were going out and she did not want me to screw up the plans (this only strengthened my resolve to get it in). I promised her I would be quick and off I went. I was running so short on time that I did not warm up, but I figured that it was a pretty light weight on the deadlifts that it could serve as my warm-up to the rowing. Oh yeah, the workout was a short circuit of 30 deadlifts at half your bodyweight followed by a 1000 meter row. I completed the entire workout in 5:19 compared to 8:35 in January. The 1000 meter row was completed in 3:38 (3:41 in Jan). My legs felt like they were going to explode after the row - it took me a while to walk this one off. I hopped in the shower (yeah, I worked up a sweat in my five-minute workout), got dressed and headed out the door. The woman at the door had greated me less than 15 minutes earlier and now she was saying goodbye - how strange is that?

20k indoor TT

Had to ride the trainer again. I'm not opposed to riding in the rain, but the thunder storms convinced me.

I rode the TT in 39:19. My prior best on the indoor trainer was 40:30. Incremental improvements - that's all I'm looking for. As long as this is the direction I'm going, then I am a happy man.

Haven't seen one of these in a while

One of what? A PR, that's what. Did the 21 situps, run 200m, 18 situps, run 200m down to 3 situps followed by 200m run. Finished in 8:47 vs. 9:02 last time. I ran these in my running flats - forgot I even had these - purchased them years ago when I was going to do some corporate track meet which I never actually participated in. They have never been used - it's almost like running barefoot. I did my best to run with good posture and strike mid foot - could really feel the ground with these on. I warmed down by running a couple of laps barefoot as well. I feel tightness in areas I don't usually, so I definately did something different - I can only hope it was right.

Tabata bike

First, let me clarify. I only like the Tabata bike workouts - I'm not fond of the rest of the Tabata workouts. This is a workout best done on a trainer, but who can ride a trainer when it's so nice out. I stayed close to home and did most of the workout on two streets - back and forth - they are long streets so I did not have to turn much. Strong headwind going one way which of course means tailwind the other way. I started with the tailwind and did not realize how strong it was so of course I'm thinking that I am superman (until I turned around). Managed 5.63 miles and one hell of a burning sensation in my legs. Please sir, can I have some more. I soft pedalled home and was happy to do so.

Lots of pollen out tonight - I'm still coughing a half hour later.

Deadlifts

Five sets of three. Warmed up on ERG - 500 meters.

1 225 x 3
2 235 x 3
3 245 x 3
4 255 x 3
5 265 x 2

Without looking back I believe my max on this movement is 270.

Decent swim

Unfortunately I have to go back to the old adage of they can't all be PRs. Last night I did a 500 yd swim TT. Squeezed it in before the pool was overtaken with a class - figured that would give me an incentive to swim it real hard so I could finish before I got kicked out.

I warmed up with a 200 pull and rested and stretched for about two minutes. I set my watch and off I went. I tried to swim each 100 like it was the only 100 that I was doing - swam hard from start to finish. I was fairly well convinced that this would be a PR as I felt good and my stroke felt strong - finished in 8:26 which is 5 seconds off of my best time. Some of my turns were lousy, but I doubt it was five seconds worth of lousy.

I'm not beating myself up - I know effort wise I gave it everything I had - it hurt from start to finish and I did not let up even though my body was telling me to. Overall, this was a good effort.

Tonight is Tabata bike - a short but painful workout - it's one of my favorites so I am looking forward to it.

10 k run TT

I was feeling very tight and beat up before this run - stretched real good before getting started and actually felt somewhat loose when I started the run. I did some wall drills before I started and tried to pay attention to posture. As I was running I tried to keep posture and pulling with hamstrings at the top of my mind. I know that my form has a long ways to go, but I am trying to be real cognizant of my body position.

I am fairly sure that I was still flexing my foot rather than relaxing it - I don't know how I am going to get myself to relax the foot/ankle.

No matter how hard I pushed, I could not get my HR over 154. I'm not sure if it was the humidity or if I just did not have it in me today. I ran until my GPS told me I did 6.2 miles. Total time was 55:09 which equates to an average of 8:52 pace. I feel looser after the run than before it, but now I have a pain in the middle of my back (between shoulder blades). Don't know if that has to do with trying to keep the hips forward or if it relates to something else. Took two Advil - hopefully that helps.

Tomorrow - 500 yd swim TT and running drills.

Another morning workout

This is a pleasant way to start the day - AMRAP for 20 minutes, 4 burpees, 8 pushups & 12 situps. I'm still sore from Sunday, but feeling less beat up. The last time I did this workout was February 9th where I completed 19 full rounds and the burpees and pushups on the 20th. I finished today just about even with February 9th. I went back to February 9th's blog post and it looks like I had a great day and a great mental attitude that day. I thought I worked it hard today, but after reading my Feb post, I wonder if I left something on the table.

I have a 10k for time tonight and I don't plan on leaving anything on the table.

I was right, but this morning was good

Last night's workout was done in 16:16 back in January so I was right about the dismal time. I am still happy with the rowing though - very weak on the squats. I am sore this morning - I knew I would be as I was very tight last night. I have a busy day capped off with a dinner tonight so I did today's workout this morning.

Today's workout was Cindy - AMRAP 5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats in 20 minutes. I got off to a slow start - feeling pretty beat up and legs are tight - pushups were my saving grace - banged them right out. I finished either 14 or 15 full rounds plus 3 into the pullups. I lost count as I was trying to motivate my sleepy head daughter to get ready for school at the same time I was working out. As a point of comparison I completed 13 full rounds in January - I was pleasantly surprised as I was really not feeling it this morning.

Swim intervals and squat/row

4 x 400 swim intervals at 80%, each within four seconds. I am about to find out how I did as I have not looked at my watch yet - here it goes:

1. 6:53
2. 6:57
3. 7:02
4. 7:02

If they had to be 4 seconds from the first then I failed - if from the prior then I came close. I took two minutes rest in between.

Squats and rows - squats were really hard - did first set with 140 pounds, second and third with 135 AND YES, the five pounds made a difference. I don't remember this being so difficult last time I did the workout and I doubt my times are going to even come close to comparing. My legs actually felt like they were going to cramp during the squats. They didn't, but holy crap, it hurt! I did a decent amount of yard work today and I was squatting quite a bit - I think that played a large role in why I had such a difficult time. My time was 19:00 and I am not at the computer with my workout log so I don't know how it compares yet, but I suspect it's not good. On the plus side the rowing was good - managed to get all of the 500's in around 1:50 and did the final one in 1:48. I could barely stand when I finished and it took me a while to catch my breath. It's a great feeling!

Disturbing running session

I had another running session with Max yesterday. I was hoping that the session would confirm that I have made significant improvements in my running. Unfortunately this was not the case. I asked Max to video me running (I really did not need to ask, he was planning on it). I could see it right off on the play back that I am running practically the same as I was the first time I did a running session with Max. Max had me run barefoot and although not perfect it was a significant improvement from running with shoes on.

I'm going to throw my Chi running book away - I think it is confusing me more than it is helping. For now on, Max is my only source of information on running.

On the plus side I got some really good feedback. I am going to get some flatter running shoes and slowly convert to them. Don't want to have the problems Ariel had.

I think one of the problems that I have is that I have been trying to fix everything at once - I asked Max what the number one thing that I should concentrate on - the answer "Posture." It is practically impossible to push your hip too far forward - so that is what I am going to continue to work on. Secondarily is pulling with the hamstring which I thought I was doing, but the video does not lie. Third is supple foot - I'm still flexing which is especially going to haunt me on the long runs.

40K bike time trial. This was a good ride - rode to my running workshop. If you're familiar with the area you will understand why the ride was so enjoyable. I started going hard at the corner of 191 and 140 in Broad Brook. I went all the way down 140 to Windsor Locks and turned right on route 159 and then took the left fork at Suffield Road. Went up Suffield Road and took a left up a road that I can't remember the name of - basically rode some of the back roads in Suffield and eventually weaved my way to Route 168 which takes you past Congomond Lake to Route 10. Those Suffield back roads are unbelievable - I think I only encountered one moving car the whole time I was on those roads - at least eight miles of riding traffic free. There was one decent hill on 168 which I rode well. Turned left on Route 10 and finished the 40k right around where 10, 20 and 189 converge. Finished in 1:14:42 which equates to about 20 mph average. Not bad considering I had to stop at two intersections and had a significant slowdown on Route 10 due to a traffic issue. After I got by there I was flying - Route 10 is very fast. Between warm-up, 40k and ride home I got about 60 miles in. Feeling the effects of being out in the sun for too long today though.