March 16 - Warrior Up

I'd like to report in that I am feelin' fine and resting easy after my second run of the Warrior Dash today. But alas I have to confess that I feel more like the conquered rather than a Warrior. LOL.

But even through the scrapes, the bruises, the cramping muscles, and the mud that seems like I'll never be able to wash it all off .... I'm a happy camper.

I survived another Warrior Dash. My better half (& favorite work out partner in the whole world) & I ran our first WD back in November. And we had such a good time doing it that we immediately signed up for the next one scheduled once we were done.

The first time around, we really didn't train much for it. We stuck to our normal workout routine, but we really hadn't gotten into crossfit yet. And aside from our soccer games, we were only getting in about 1 neighborhood run per week (at best).

This time, we really have been hitting it hard to get ready. We are doing crossfit workouts about 3X/week and running about 3X/week as well. We've upped our distance to around the same distance as that of the WD (which is somewhere near a 5K distance, depending on the exact course). So honestly, I felt good going into this one. I felt like I should be able to perform a little better than our fist showing.

I was W-R-O-N-G.

But saying that, I'm still fairly happy with myself.

The course was fun. We scaled walls, hopped through a tire course, pulled ourselves through and out of soupy mud pits, and ran up and down the rather steep hills of the Rocky Hill Ranch mountain bike park. In the end, we had managed to make it through 12 obstacles spread over about 3.5 miles of the Ranch.

I must confess, those hills are much more thrilling on the back of a mountain bike than they are on foot. ;+) But the park is a really great spot for anything 'outdoorsy.' And I would go back in a heart beat to do it all again (though I would like a month or two for my poor aching body to recover first).


Maybe next year I'll see an improvement in my time. But honestly, I'm not too fussed about it.

I had fun. I trained hard. And I was able to do every single obstacle without assistance.

I'm good.

Now to go find a spot on the couch until tomorrow (soccer game!).

March 13 - WOD

Today's WOD was pretty simple, but in true crossfit style, I am already starting to hurt.

Overhead squats. Need I say more?

Five sets. Only 3 reps each set.

I've made it no secret that I have struggled with this exercise. For my first set, I stuck with using the PVC pipe. But I finally graduated to the weight bar for my last 4 sets.

It might not seem like much. But I am so pleased with myself for using the bar for this exercise finally. I have a long way to go but at least I am seeing some progress. That's good enough for me for tonight.

In other news, we also got our run in yesterday. Just a quick couple of laps around our street before judo class. Since we were short on time, we pushed the pace. It sucked (or at least I sucked wind doing it). But at least we worked it in before time to run to judo.

This Saturday we have the Warrior Dash. Despite the fact that this is a run (which we all know is not my thing), I am really looking forward to it.

Confession Time

You might have noticed that I haven't been blogging about our runs as of late.

It's not that we haven't been running. We have been keeping to our schedule. We run at least 3 days a week (on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and at least once on the weekends).

But I have to confess that these runs have been tedious, plodding events. And THAT is why they have been missing. I figure I whine enough on here as it is. I guess I need to find a way to log the activity without the commentary.

In some other news ... the scale is starting to move. Not fast like I would like, but better than that is that I am seeing the results in more practical ways. I am noticing clothes fit better. My recovery time is getting faster and faster. And in general, I am feeling better than I have in years.

All in all I would say I am feeling OK with this journey so far.

March 10 - Crossfit Open WOD

So the Crossfit Opens have begun. This is a month of weekly workouts that lead to regional competitions.

For the super fit who can actually compete, you have someone take a video of you doing the workout and you send it in by the weekly deadline. You earn points based on your performance and at the end of the month, those with the most points for each region come together for in-person competitions. And you try to advance from that point through the various levels until you reach the finals of the Crossfit Games in California.

For mere mortals, like the two of us, it means a month of killer workouts to humble you and make you question your fitness goals.

OK, that's a bit harsh, but I am hurting tonight after giving this first open WOD a try.

So are you ready to see what I'm crying about?

The 13.1 Open WOD consists of:
40 - burpees
30 - snatches
30 - burpees
30 - snatches
20 - burpees
30 - snatches
10 - burpees
As many snatches as you can in the time remaining

The goal is to see how far you can get in 17 minutes.

I managed the first four sets and then 19 reps (out of the 20 I was shooting for) of the 5th set in the 17 minutes. That means I did 89 burpees and 60 snatches.

Why, when I type that out does it seem so .... Insignificant? This WOD truly kicked my TAIL. I don't know what else to say? I am totally wiped out! And I can tell already that I am going to hurt for some time to come!

March 8 - WOD

Today's WOD is a good mix of cardio and strength work. And while I know I am going to be hurting, I enjoyed this WOD.

We did 2 rounds of the following and recorded our times:
400 M run
15 hand stand push ups
400M run
30 pistols (alternating legs)

I am still using a box for assistance on the hand stand push ups, but these were probably my best effort yet. I feel like my shoulder is finally getting stronger.

This WOD took me 18 minutes and 51 seconds to complete. I felt a bit sluggish during the run portions, but that seems pretty much par for the course these days.

I finished the WOD and my time wasn't terrible. I can live with that for today.

Nice & Easy

Got in a run during Wonder Boy's soccer practice tonight. As much as I enjoy watching him at practice, I have to say I particularly enjoyed tonight's run. I didn't make note of how long I ran, but I just felt GOOD while I was running. It was like a deep breath you take before settling down into a familiar routine. I dunno. The words are failing me here.

It's not like it's been a bad day. It's been busy, but not at the kind of pace where I feel like I'm drowning. And while I did (and continue to) have to do some after hours work, it's not really difficult work, it just has to be done during off hours. So I don't have anything much about which to complain.

But this run ... it just ... I don't know ... settled me down. I had some good tunes on my iPod. I had nice open sidewalks (only passed a few folks/dogs). The weather was a touch cool (around 55F at start time), but I like to run in that kind of weather. I was able to clear my head. And I spent much of the time thinking about my family.

Good times!

In addition to the fun run, I got my planks, squats, and burpees in for the Planks A Lot challenge. 1 min 5 seconds for each side plank. 2 minutes 5 seconds for a regular plank. 100 air squats and 6 burpees. I *hate* burpees. But I'm doing them. I hope someone, somewhere cares. :+P

March 4 - WOD

Monday workouts are never easy. And today is no exception to that little rule. But we pushed though it and all in all, I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Today we did 3 rounds of the following:
** 20 Kettlebell Swings (25 lbs)
** 100 Jump Rope revolutions
** 20 Push Ups
** 20 Goblet Squats (25 lbs)
** 10 Bent Over Rows, Right and Left (25 lbs)

I managed to finish in around 14 minutes and 19 seconds. And I was seriously huffing and puffing by the time it was done.

This morning, I did 1 minute side planks on both the right and left side and followed that up with a 2 minute regular plank. Then I did 100 air squats. And when I got home from work I added 5 burpees. All of this is for the March continuation of the Planks A Lot Challenge over at One Tough Mother Runner.

I haven't had the chance to publish this next thought here on this blog, but (for the record) I *despise* doing burpees. *sigh* Burpees are NOT my favorite. But burpees I will do for the next month. Too bad she didn't add these back in February (since it's the shortest month of the year).