Friday, April 22, 2011

running and stuff

Last night I went in for endurance which was 3 rounds of tabata running...(8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest) with 4 minutes rest in between.  Erin promised that this would make us faster if we tried hard, I did.  We were running on the grass behind the gym so it was easier on the joints, but I worry about my knees as there are uneven patches of land so I worried about a misstep but I am still alive.

This morning we had a large 11:30 class due to the holiday...and it is sadly probably the last 11:30 I will make in a while cause I have to do this silly thing called work.  The warm up was pretty tough, 10 GHD situps, 10 GHD back extensions, 10 pull ups 5 ring dips...2 rounds.  Pull ups are easier when I am warm so they take me forever when part of a warm up, So I got through most of the warm up before we started the wod.

4 rounds
500m row
15 sledgehammer swings
15 box jumps
15 abmat situps

We went in two heats, so I went in the first heat so that I didn't have to do it after hollow rock to supermans.  I claimed an end rower to stay out of other's way, but ended up between Greg and Jack, and that is probably the best way to feel slow.  I ended up the last person in my heat, by kinda of a lot...but not the slowest for the day.  My rowing splits were pretty good for me in the beginning but slowed, but my box jumps got better.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

freakin mondays

When I cheat I go all out because when I eat well it is super clean...and like Liz Lemon says, "I was gonna go to the gym later so I deserve a treat." So I have been cheating like crazy and decided I would get back to clean eating Monday...

I woke up to find that during my binge fest the scale crept up ten pounds. For sure not ten pounds of muscle...and really not sure how it creeps cause I know what Im rating and should know the consequences but still I'm surprised. So the day starred out rough but I packed lunch and snacks so that was good.

I have a newish schedule so I will probably be hitting up evening classes. I started with endurance to find it was a two mile time trial...gross! We did all our warm up stuff then started the run. I opted for four 800m loops. 1st loop I thought man I feel pretty weak this is tough gross...lap two okay maybe I got it then I got lapped and got sad and thought I might ask Erin if I could quit...third lap sucked till the second half when I realized I was pretty much done. Then I got lapped by the last set of everyone... and I got sad. I still pushed the last lap but it still wasn't fast enough. I finished in 22:50 which is I guess kinda good for me...but it was just defeating to be a good five minutes slower than everyone else.

I tried to redeem myself with the regular wod. We started with tire flips so I flipped the biggest one. Bench is also rough cause the hills are for some reason comparatively weaker in bench... my max set was 85 and I managed two. The wod was amrap 12 minutes 5 deadlifts and 10 toes to bar. So the dreads were supposed to be 1.5 bodyweight...instead I used 175 which was still heavy. Murphie and I went head to head so I spent a lot of time just watching her lift (it was awesome). I got through 5 rounds but it was the first time I managed all my toes to bar rx. I was satisfied with my score but it didn't quite make up for the run....
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Sunday, April 17, 2011

open wod + PAINSTORM

This week's open wod was quite the experience... I mentioned it in my last post and completed it on Friday, as I was planning to be out of town on Saturday.  I got to the gym a bit late, so I didn't get the chance to warm up like I normally would as I had to get started before class time, but could count on the 60 burpees to get going.  So I hit my head on the first burpee.  Not too bad, but it did hurt and therefore did each burpee far enough away and maybe too far because I would have to step to the bar, then jump over it.  My limiting factor was how slow I do burpees...I got through them in 9 minutes and change, and had time for 2 overhead squats which actually didn't feel that bad.  I wish this wod was 10 minute time limit, any order you like, 1 point per burpee, 3 per squat, 5 per muscle up.  oh well...I just need to get faster.

Yesterday as we did not end up traveling I went just to cheer, which is more fun than doing sometimes.  It was a good wod to watch, but also frustrating to see people get defeated.

Today we had a painstorm programmed...3 7 minute rounds, carry 1/2 bodyweight 400m then for the rest of the 7 minutes 2/3 bodyweight ground to overhead amrap.  So...I usually factor off 150# which is more or less what I weigh...kinda...sometimes.  With the sandbags I used 50 which was heavy...I did learn to put the heaviest bag on top, closer to midline. I used 95 for the ground to overhead.  I didn't take my time really...but the 400m took me on average 5 minutes, and ended up with 17 ground to overheads which I was happy with, though everyone else basically tripled my score but whatevzies.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

AND I WAS RUNNING!!!!!

Following all that running on Monday, Wednesday was so wonderfully a running wod...

Run 1600m (that's a mile yall)
rest 3 min
run 1200m 
rest 2 min
run 800m
rest 1 min
run 400m  

Yes 2.5 miles. It was gross though manageable.  I finished the mile in 9:57 so go me! for making it under 10...I finished the 400m in 2 minutes flat...so obviously had some pacing issues/kept a bit of gas in the tank, as last week's 400m time trial was 1:52...I will get this running thing figured out!

Last night we also had a social at Wheels...Durham's local roller rink.  So yes I do own my own skates (best $5 purchase ever at Dicks sporting goods) so no I don't regularly skate, I went once maybe 2 years ago...or was that three? and before that...8th grade? I was thinking about not going as I don't feel that great about being on rollerskates but I am glad I did because most people aren't that great...and we were the only people there aside from the regulars.  So Amy is pretty awesome...she can skate backwards, and roller dance...and the wind blows through her hair as she goes... There were also regulars who can moonwalk, dougie, spin, etc... it was pretty interesting because this is like their gym...they have their own skates...carry a gym bag...and hit the rink on a weeknight. I did get a good workout in I feel.

Tonight because of all of our hard work at the rink (or the 4.5 miles we have run this week) Erin gave us a bit of a break at endurance.  Row 5 minutes, then 20 seconds on 40 off for 5 minutes, row easy 10 minutes then repeat intervals.  It was still challenging, and good to just move and focus on form.  

Tomorrow I am going to do the open wod...pretty scary. 60 (!!) bar facing burpees (so drop to the ground push up hop up...then over the bar) 30 overhead squats with 90(!!) pounds and then 10 muscle ups.  Like I told coach Jack...I have this splinter in my palm that will hinder my muscle ups...though my dream would be o just finish the squats.  My max is about 95... from the rack. I will just give it what I got!

my little sleepopotamus did the wod today...he got through a muscle up...and now he's all tuckered out! (he is quite impressive as he has only made it to the gym to do the open wods because he works to make us $$)

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

somebody had a case of the mondays...

I skipped Sunday's workout...as it was a ton of running...and laying in bed watching movies with my husband sounded better.  We then hit up brunch at Weathervane which is likely to become a Hill family Sunday tradition... then I kicked off my summer ladies luncheon habit at Milltown where fries were just the starter, and then my husband decided he was too hungry to wait for me to cook so he got takeout from Nantucket, and I being full from the day decided ice cream was perfect for dinner.

When Monday rolled around I surprisingly had no desire to get back on track.  My breakfast was not so bad, though not the perfect preworkout meal, and my workout was just so so.  We worked on bench and I did pretty well.  The wod involved hang power cleans and pushups with your legs on a box.  I can barely do regular push ups so I just did that, eventually ending up on my knees and scaled the cleans because trying to push yourself when already lazy is not the easiest.  However after the workout I was ravenous...I ate lunch, dessert, and then got another snack (from cookout i don't know if you can call it a snack).

So I didn't wanna go to endurance...but I needed to.  And when I got there I didn't wanna do it...but I did. (one day i am going to get a prize for it.) But it was tough.  We warmed up with an 800m run, and running drills...then the worst running drill ever was our work out...a ladder...
200m rest 1 min
200m rest 1 400m rest 2
200m rest 1 400m rest 2 800 m rest 4
200m rest 1 400m rest 2
200m
When I say it, it doesn't sound as bad, and it doesn't even look that rough on paper...but it was TERRIBLE. if you think of each piece as an all out effort...and it was 1.5 miles of all out effort blah.  I finished it and for that I am proud, because I almost didn't make it...however I know I haven't replaced my water, and I didn't sleep well last night, so I skipped working out today, though it is a wod I would like to make up, double unders and pull ups...

Saturday, April 9, 2011

why i love crossfit...

Following Monday's endurance wod, I planned a post on how much I loved crossfit, but Amy beat me to it with this... This is the start to why I love crossfit, though it may be much less eloquent, witty, and/or grammatically correct....

1. Monday's endurance wod involved running 100, 200 and 400m sprints.  Some of us are better at some sprints than others (my 100 was 0:16, 400 1:52), but everyone is so supportive of everyone, and everyone cheers for everyone, and everyone does a good job, because everyone expects everyone to do  a good job, and that good job is relative.  I now look forward to endurance, (though I had to skip Thursday cause my legs still didn't work)

2. Wednesday I walked into the gym to my biggest fan vaccuming (I cannot figure out how to spell that...is it a word?), the two old men working out, while gospel music blared, Gabe benching like a million pounds, and I found Ashley in the corner...she too was surprised as to what she saw.

3. Tuesday Tripp chose music to lift to and his choice was Hank Williams...

4. Saturdays have been dedicated to the crossfit games open wods. Today I walked into a very serious heat, it was quite fun to cheer for....pretty sure I like cheering more than doing but who wouldn't?

5. I surprised myself by getting 13 reps in the open wod (5 minutes as many reps as possible of squat clean and jerks (165/110))  My previous 1 RM was 120, Wednesday I did the wod and got 9 reps though my legs were quite sore, today I squeezed out 13...

6. Also before the wod, I witnessed some impromptu swing dancing, it was awesome...there has also been break dancing, and what Troie does to pump himself up (dancing?) all of that makes me happy.

7. Today while driving I saw so many people running...(so many is probably 15)...Only one of them looked happy, but he was probably the only person that seemed to be good at running.  I wanted tell all the others to go to crossfit, because although we may be in pain...and whine some (who...not me?) we all have a good time and like being there.

that's all.

Monday, April 4, 2011

hi again...

So it has been a while...my internet has been weird, I have been working, I have had little motivation...there are several excuses for not having posted in a while.  But all quite valid... I use a mifi card to connect to the internet at home, and it just died, there were cell phone salesmen in my home last week and none could figure it out, so theres one excuse.  I did join the library today, so go me!

I temped for the past week and a half at a 9-5ish job...so my normal morning workouts were not happening, my afternoon motivation is not quite as strong, because #1 I get ravenous, and if I have not packed a snack it gets bad, #2, I get tired, and was able to talk myself out of it a few days.  Last week I did make it to endurance on Monday and Thursday (let me know if you need my address to send me my trophy/cookie/parade) but on Monday instead of doing the 7 pm wod like I'd intended, I warmed up, had no place to lift, so sat that out, warmed up my lift for the wod, and packed up and left.  Thursday I didn't wanna stay but I did, then Friday I did wod #2 for the crossfit open.  It was a rough one AMRAP 15 minutes, 9 deadlift (100#) 12 pushups, 15 box jumps.  This wod was tiring but the limiting factor is pushup ability, (mine is poor).  I made it through 2 reps shy of 6 rounds. I was proud of myself as that is the most push ups I have done in a while.

I have been working on my push ups, yesterday and today I did a ladder of 1-10 push ups.  We also had push ups in the warm up, and the strength work was bench, so I am preparing for soreness.  This is a new Wendler week.  I kinda didn't make it all the way through the last cycle, press is the only thing I did, so I increased that number, but I will just start everything over again, so I worked bench off a 90 1RM and got 5 reps on my as many as possible round which I was happy with.  The wod involved push press and L pull ups.  Push press I went down to 45#, and then L pull ups are near impossible, you must hold your body in an L position and pull, I attempted but it wasn't happening, so I subbed knees to elbows, I actually got a few in, but most were KalmostTE.  It took me a long long time.  This afternoon I plan to go back for endurance, and it is a glorious North Carolina spring day (which means it is HOT) so SUNS OUT GUNS OUT!