Friday, August 03, 2012

CrossFit Badass; Easy Run

2012-08-03, Friday
Today's plan calls for an Easy Run. Wait. That was actually yesterday's plan. Oh, well.

DC Bike Path: 1/2 Marathon Training, Easy Run. Dist: (3.11)mi. Pace-avg: (15:06). Speed-avg: (4.0)mph. Speed-max: (7.3)mph. Burned: (364) Calories. HR-avg: (156)bpm.


Plan: Run (3.0)mi. @ an avg. pace of (17:58) for a total time of (53:55)min.
Actual: Run/walk (3.11)mi. @ an avg. pace of (15:06) for a total of (46:56.08)min., followed by an unrecorded cool-down walk.
Fuel: Pre-run: 1x glass Gatorade (Orange); Mid-run: (water); Post-run: Dinner! Some new experiment in turkey-veggie burgers.

Splits: (13:51); (15:29); (15:55); last (0.11)mi. (15:41).


Other News: More CrossFit bad-assery! I met with my trainer at the gym before my evening run in the park, and we had a really great session today. After all the warm-up exercises I worked on the jump-rope some more. Today I was able to execute a total of (175) single jumps, through (3) sets, over a period of (90) seconds. These jumps were not continuous, but I'm getting there. :-)

Next up: We worked on Dead Lifts. Now, the last time we did Dead Lifts was w-a-a-a-y back in June.
From my Notebook:
June 6th: Dead Lift: 2x reps @ (105)lbs.; 8x reps. @ (85)lbs.; 9x reps. @ (85)lbs.; 7x reps. @(95)lbs.

This was part of a round of sets: Back Squat, Dead Lift, Shoulder Press. We were doing a reverse pyramid series starting at (10) reps., then (9) reps., on down to (1) rep. at the end. Once we got down to the 7's I started to flake out, i.e. I was confused, dizzy, seeing stars, and feeling like I needed to hurl; plus, I was really sweating bullets, profusely. My trainer got hold of a local firefighter-paramedic who was working out in the gym and he came to check on me. He said my color was very pale compared to when he saw me walk into the gym earlier and recommended I quit for the day; I agreed.

Now, fast forward two (2) months and I was able to knock out some good weight with multiple reps:
Aug. 3rd: Dead Lift: 5 reps. @ (75)lbs.; 5 reps. @(85)lbs.; 6 reps. @(95)lbs.; 10 reps. @(105)lbs.; 10 reps. @(135)lbs. [that's right, a (30)lb. jump]; 3 reps. @(155)lbs. (video); 3 reps. @ (165)lbs. (video); 5 reps. @ (170)lbs.; 3 reps. @(180)lbs.(!!!)

You know, I didn't really think I had it in me, but it turns out I totally did!!
Now, as the notes indicate, I have video of some of those lifts (and also a 4th set of rope jumps), but my system appears to be having issues getting those converted in iMovie so I can post them, so I will have to do that later. I may just post stills, but I do want to get some video clips in here, too.


UPDATE: Added a video montage of my dead-lifts from Friday. Notes for improvement: I need to suck in my gut more, and keep my core more fully engaged during the lift; I think that may make a difference. Also, it looks like I need to work on sitting lower on my hips, same as when executing a squat, i.e. shut the car door with your butt. And finally, I need to pinch my shoulder blades together. I think that may help me keep my back straighter in the line between my head, my shoulders and my hips.

Another side-note: I didn't feel as wrung out as the June workout, but after each set I did get a bit of a head-rush and had to walk around a little bit, drink some water, and wipe down my head and face (I was sweating pretty hard).

-Lancer!!

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Tuesday Moonlight Easy Run


2012-07-31 Tuesday

Today's plan calls for an Easy Run.

DC Bike Path: 1/2 Marathon Training, Easy Run. Dist: (3.11)mi. Pace-avg: (14:38). Speed-avg: (4.1)mph. Speed-max: (5.7)mph. Burned: (327) Calories. HR-avg: (159).

Plan: Run (3.0)mi. @ an avg. (17:58) pace for a total time of (53:55)min.
Actual: Run/walk (3.11)mi. @ an avg. (14:58) pace for a total of (45:23.39)min. followed by a cool-down walk.
Fuel: Pre-run: Honey Stinger Chews (Orange Blossom); Mid-run: (water); Post-run: dinner!

Just imagine it's night, with a near full-moon shining bright...


Splits: (14:18), (14:36), (15:19), (11:55) for the last (.011)mi.

Other News: CrossFit training is still going well. On June 30th I was able to execute several sets of Shoulder Presses @ (55)lbs. [From my notebook]:
10 reps.@(45)lbs.; 7 reps. @(45)lbs. 5 reps. @(45)lbs.; 5 reps. @(55)lbs.; 5 reps. @(55)lbs.

Today I was able to max out at (65)lbs. on the Shoulder Press [From my notebook]:
1 rep @(65)lbs.; 5 reps. @(55)lbs.; 5 reps. @(50)lbs.; 5 reps. @(50)lbs.
Here I focused on trying to keep better form with my elbows out front and closer together throughout the movement; I definitely felt the difference during execution.

Back on June 30th I was able to Back Squat (95)lbs. several times [From my notebook]:
8 reps. @(95)lbs.; 10 reps. @(95)lbs.; 10 reps. @(95)lbs.; 10 reps. @(95)lbs.

On July 28th I was able to PR @ (135)lbs. [From my notebook]:
 5 reps. @ (95)lbs.; 5 reps. @(115)lbs.; 3 reps. @(125)lbs.; 5 reps. @(125)lbs.; 5 reps. @(135)lbs.

Jump-rope work has improved a good bit: 
May 8th: (44) continuous jumps in a row, double-bounce between rope revolutions. HR pegged @ (172)bpm.
June 30th: (82) continuous, break/trip on rope, then on to (100). Still double-bounce between revolutions.
July 31st: (10) jumps, rest, (27) jumps, rest, (40) continuous jumps w/ single bounce between revolutions.

For me, that's really big. I was able to get the rope spinning faster and faster towards the end, with my elbows in and my wrists a little closer to my hips. I also discovered that to keep my breathing rhythm I had to exhale on landing, and inhale on lift-off. My earlier effort the last couple weeks with the single-bounce jumps had me flummoxed because I could not maintain a useful breathing rhythm. Also, practicing the jumps without the rope beforehand, to try and get the bounce rhythm was very useful. I soft of figured that out on my own, and my trainer has encouraged it. This effort is geared towards eventually executing Double-Unders, i.e. executing two revolutions of the rope between jumps. Still looks a little tricky, but I am getting there.


-Lancer!!