Everyday is a Fun Day

Backlog of workouts - first couple weeks of January

2011-01-03T20:53:00.005-05:00

I said I'd post my workouts, so here they are. I'll be rolling them out slowly, but I am consistenly working out. Erg sprints is this weekend, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. At this point my goal is to top 7000 meters, and everything else - total meters, 500m split - is gravy. Jan 3rdPower cleans3-3-3-3-3On the minute, every minute, for 15 minutes: 5 push ups10 sit ups15 squats**

Still on track, and loving my training

2010-12-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

Two months after my last post, and it's pretty cool to look back and see what I planned to be doing. So far so good!I'm still on track to participate in the Erg Sprints in January. I even went as far as to create an 8 week training plan for anyone looking to participate in the 2000m row. My own training is based off of this model with a few modifications due to the length of my event. Compared to

Recovery and moving on

2010-10-21T16:30:00.000-04:00

It's been over 3 weeks since Grindstone and things are getting back to normal. It took awhile to get enough sleep and feel fully rested, and it didn't help that I went back to Michigan the weekend after GStone for Homecoming, so I was playing catch up for awhile. While back home I participated in a low key 5K where I took 1st in my AG. It helps when most of the participants are 18-24 years old.

100 miles in the bag

2010-10-05T13:45:00.001-04:00

It took just over a day and a half, but I completed the Grindstone 100 in 36:32. The accomplishment hasn't really sunk in yet as I'm still pretty tired from a lack of sleep as far back as Thursday when I was up until close to midnight packing with the alarm set to go off at 5AM. I was able to nap on the drive down to the race site, and then again in the tent before the race, but being awake for

What am I up to? No, seriously.. what have I been up to?

2010-09-23T15:25:00.000-04:00

I feel like I need to read the past couple posts to see what I've done and what I said I was going to do. Here's what I'm going to do next week - Grindstone 100. With the race coming up quickly, I'm doing a good job of staying pretty calm. I've been on the course a couple times and have probably covered only 25 miles. My longest run before the race will have been 35 miles. Am I worried? Not

Another two months between posts

2010-07-01T12:25:00.000-04:00

I sense a theme.. an unintentional theme. I keep thinking I need to update this thing, but just don't get around to it. As I said before, I've been busy, and the past two months have been no exception. Took a much needed vacation out west to South Dakota and Wyoming with stops at the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Devils Tower, and Bighorn National Forest where we crewed/cheered on

Two month layoff

2010-05-04T15:50:00.000-04:00

I have a couple of posts in draft form that would seem silly to finish. I had been talking about my training and getting out for some long runs, and then preparing for the Bull Run Run 50 miler after 4 weeks of run training. That race came and went with me dropping out at mile 16. I knew within the first few miles of the race that it was either going to be a long and miserable day, or a short day

On the up and up

2010-03-24T15:30:00.000-04:00

My calendar the past few weeks if full of completed workouts, and that's a good thing. One thing I like to see is the addition of a few runs. They might be short, but they are pain free, and that is a great thing. I've added in some running drills while wearing the Vibram Five Finger shoes (VFF's) and noticed a difference immediately. My calves were pretty sore the next day, too but I'm sure

Not much of an injury update

2010-03-15T14:40:00.001-04:00

I've been to a couple different doctors and finally had an MRI done on my lumbar and pelvis, focusing on the right hip to see if there's a stress fracture. I guess the good news is there's no fracture and my back looks fine. The bad news, per se, is he can't see anything else wrong. So I'm still hurting, but they don't know why or the root cause of the pain.The new prescription is "2 weeks of

Injury update

2010-02-23T15:42:00.000-05:00

The short version - Don't do anything that puts the hip joint in a "closed-packed position". The long version.. aka.. wtf does that mean?- No running, no squatting (full range), no dead lifts (from the ground), no erging (full pressure, from the catch). I went in yesterday for a second assessment from a physical therapist regarding my hip. After an hour of being poked, bent, twisted, stretched,

January workouts - catching up

2010-02-04T14:35:00.000-05:00

I'm a little behind, so here we go with the rest of my January workouts for those who are interested. My workouts the first week of February will be posted this weekend. Thursday, January 20thAM10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1KB clean R/LKB jerk R/LKB split squat R/LPull upHere's the breakdown:10-9: 20# KB/body weight on pull ups (green band for assistance)8-6: 25# KB/15# on pull ups (with green band)5-1: 35

Erg Sprints in the books

2010-01-30T21:25:00.001-05:00

What a long, tiring, but fun day. A short post to report on the Mid Atlantic Erg Sprints where I participated in the 30 minute row and 4 person mix relay (2000m). Goals going into the event were to cover over 7000m and come within 500m of the overall winner. Whether or not I'd attain that many meters, I was hoping to have a split of at least 2:10/500m. There were a total of 4 preregistered women

A decent run

2010-01-27T20:30:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I ventured out to Bull Run Marina with my GF and a few friends to get in some time on the Bull Run Occoquan Trail. Since none of us are particularly fast, nor in shape enough to cover too much distance, we settled on an out-and-back run. That way any of us could turn back at any point in time. And the fact that it was raining kept us from running too far away from the car.

So why all the erging?

2010-01-25T16:15:00.000-05:00

This is a question you may (or may not) be asking yourself. If I plan to do a 100 miler in less than 16 weeks, I should focus on running, right?Well, since I've been on the IR for a bit, I wanted to spend more time working on overall cardio and fitness without the pounding of the road. I'm no too keen on setting the bike up on the trainer or rollers as I have some fudging to do with the gears and

Running sucks when it hurts

2010-01-20T16:45:00.002-05:00

First off, here's a brief recap of my workouts of lateFriday, January 15thAM500m row40 air squats30 sit ups20 push ups10 pull upsTime - 6:44 (I think)Testing out a workout to see how long it would take. Push ups are my weakness as my reps were similar to this - 5-4-3-2-3-2. I used the green band on pull ups. PMErg10 x 250m; rest is 5x what it took me to row 250m. My times were :56-:58 throughout.

Wed - Thurs Workouts: Consistency

2010-01-15T15:10:00.000-05:00

Wed, January 13thPM4 RFT (rounds for time)7 KB cleans7 Jumping squats (no weight)7 KB squat cleansTime - 6:44Many ways to vary this (weight and time), but I just wanted to test out the squats. I used two 20# KBs and didn't go to full depth on the squats. Thurs, January 14thAMErg - 20 min tempoTotal - 4626m - 2:09.7 - 24 SPM1. 5 min - 1146m - 2:10.8 - 242. 5 min - 1150m - 2:10.4 - 243. 5 min -

Backlog of workouts

2010-01-13T10:35:00.001-05:00

To piggyback on my last post, her are my workouts from last week up until this point. I'll do my best to list distance, time, weight, etc, and be as transparent and honest as possible with my workouts. January 5thErg2 x 8 min on 2 min rest1. 1776m - 2:15 - 242. 1728m - 2:18 - 22This was my first erg for an extented period of time in a looong time.Breakdown is total meters, 500m average, and

So I guess I should update this thing

2010-01-12T16:50:00.000-05:00

Where have I been? What have I been up to? Is that the $1,000,000 question?I've been laying low. I've been getting fat. I've been in Seattle. I've been in a mental funk.I'm still dealing with back problems, which a doctor 'diagnosed' as a Piriformis issue. My Physical Therapist seems to disagree, as do I, so we continue focusing on my back and core. I got a look at my x-rays and my lumbar region

A string of threes

2009-12-17T17:00:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to throw my arms up and ask aloud 'why me?' Things - good and bad - happen for a reason. Sometimes I wonder why now, why this month, why so close together, and why not something else.I was involved in an accident while biking home from work on December 3rd. It was my fault and I wrote about it in my previous post. It made me think twice about zooming to catch that yellow light, but

It's not a matter of "if", but "when"

2009-12-04T12:45:00.000-05:00

Rain or shine, I bike to work. I bike to the boathouse for Crossfit, I bike a mile across town to physical therapy. I bike the 3 miles home. I don my cold gear, my rain gear, my helmet, my red and white lights. Good to go. My route doesn't change. Creature of habit. I know the lights at rush hour and cross on red if I have an opening. Keep to the right and very rarely weave in and out of cars;

Offseason on Injured Reserves

2009-12-03T15:10:00.000-05:00

Results from the x-ray were not very promising. Arthritis and degenerative joints were the verdict. Basically my L1-L5 are mad at me. Knowing there might be more wrong with me, I took advantage of a 'free injury screening' offered to the peeps in my tri club by a physical therapy place in town and schedule an appointment. I was able to get in this Monday and went through a series of walking,

The waiting game

2009-11-18T21:15:00.000-05:00

I've been fortunate to avoid injury most of my triathlon and ultra career. Even with the hint of soreness, I'd bust out the foam roller or TP massage ball. Most of the time, stretching and rolling would suffice. About a month ago I felt the usual DOMS post workout and it never got better. Foam rolling, massage, heat, and NSAIDS didn't seem to help. I took a week off of running and tried to start

What I've been doing.. because you're lost not knowing

2009-11-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

I look back and I realize it's been over a month since my last post. I started this post at 9am and it's now 12:30pm. I look at my drafts and see a handful of half written updates. I read the contents and remember the events, once fresh in my mind, that are now a distant memory. Even now I can't recall all that has happened between now and that last post, but will do my best to give you a 5

Back of of the pack

2009-10-01T16:30:00.000-04:00

Here's my long overdue report from the Women's Half Marathon back on 9/12. I started it soon after and had to change the first line from 'this past weekend' to 'last weekend' to 'a couple weekends ago'. I'm not changing it anymore. Enjoy!A couple weekends ago I completed the Women's Half Marathon for the second year in a row. It's a great event put on by the VHTRC and is used by many as an

Roller coaster of a run that ends in a derailment

2009-09-10T15:50:00.000-04:00

I stopped at mile 56. In the next breath, or under my breath, I'll say I failed at mile 56.Around 2am Sunday morning, I wobbly stood up out of my chair, steadied myself, and was about to continue on before hearing, "Why are you going on? You're hurting and you're not having fun."So I sat back down and finished my PBJ.She was right. My feet were hurting me. I could feel the hot spots across the

The Ring - version 2.0

2009-09-03T14:55:00.001-04:00

This coming weekend will mark my second attempt at The Ring, a 71 mile circuit run of the Massanutten Trail. Completed last year in 28 hours and change I'm hoping for something a little faster this year. My training, if you want to call it that, has been dramatically different than last year. Since MMT, the farthest I have run at one given time is 6-7 miles - a couple times on trails and once on

Getting calories no matter the food source

2009-08-12T15:00:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I was in Avon by the Sea, NJ for the IKFF CNT level 1 course put on by Steve Cotter and Ken Blackburn. Top notch guys. We spent Saturday and Sunday outside in the sun on concrete swinging, cleaning, jerking, snatching, and squatting kettlebells. It was a great time, but all that time in the sun made this homegirl hungry!I prepared for the weekend away by grilling and packing 3

Not-so-annual check up

2009-08-06T13:30:00.000-04:00

I went to my "hey, you really need to go to the doctors" appointment this week as it has been... oh, since January 05 since my last annual visit. I'm bad about making appointments and was nagged more than anyone can tolerate being nagged (I say that with a lot of love!<3) and finally called in April or so to set up an appointment with a new doctor. Her website shows a 2-3 month waiting period for

Time for changes

2009-07-30T16:30:00.000-04:00

I think this is week 3 of Zoning, and things are still going well. I've been more consistent eating than I've been working out. I've yet to hop on the scale this week, but I don't think it has budged much. I'm fine with that. I've been fairly consistent logging in what I eat every day into my FitDay "Diet and Weight Loss Journal." I don't look at it that way, and instead of a way to track what

Two weeks of cheating?

2009-07-23T11:30:00.000-04:00

I guess I haven't been following my plan as prescribed. Writing everything down and logging it into FitDay.com? Apparently I've been 'hiding' a few things. I chew gum and pop the occasional Altoid. Also, some of my vitamins contain a few calories. There. It's out there and I've fessed up. Phew! Sooo much better. That's about the extent of my cheating since I don't record the plethora of vitamins

And so it begins..

2009-07-21T12:30:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I signed up for The Ring, a 71-mile circuit run of the Massanutten trail. I completed this run last September in a time of 28:17 and limped in with considerably sore feet. I hope to improve on my time as well as the state of my feet. This is a fat ass style run, not so much a race, so there is no entry fee, limited aid, and no cut off times. If you finish, you're lucky if one of the two

First week check up

2009-07-16T16:09:00.000-04:00

It has been a little over a week that I've been strict Zoning and I feel great. At first I would look at the clock every few minutes to see if it was time to eat again, and it's to the point that eating is becoming a chore. I did have some hunger pangs those first few days, but having a Nalgene full of water (and BPA!) next to me helped hold me over until it was time to eat again. I try to keep

When one streak comes to an end and another starts

2009-07-09T14:55:00.000-04:00

It was a weekend in February, 2001, when I last ate meat/fish/poultry. I was out bridesmaid dress shopping with my mom and older sister and we went to Red Lobster for lunch. That year I made it my New Years Resolution to become a vegetarian. There wasn't too much thought into why, I just thought it would be cool to do. I'd give up meat for Lent and figured if I could do it for 40 days/nights, I

Skip a little rope, do a few sit ups. For time. Go.

2009-06-26T09:54:00.004-04:00

The past couple weeks I've been warming up with the jump rope before workouts and working on my double unders. It's quite a skill to have and a great workout when you can successfully string them together. Combine them with some sit ups and you've got yourself a nice little metcon workout affectionately called "Annie"50-40-30-20-10Double UndersSit upsI was able to knock this out in 9:37. The

10K - FAIL

2009-06-24T14:20:00.003-04:00

I'm teaching myself to run all over again, and it ain't pretty. For the past couple of weeks I've been 'cherry picking' some Crossfit Endurance workouts do to get back into the swing of things. I have a decent schedule set up with 2 swim, 2 bike, and 2 run workouts each week. Most of the workouts are interval based while one is a time trial (TT) and one Tempo. I have Tuesday and Saturday as my

Finding my gills

2009-06-18T13:10:00.000-04:00

Getting to the pool in the morning is tough for me. I'm fortunate that it's only a 4 block walk, but having to be at work by 8:00AM limits how long I can swim since it opens at 6:30AM. If I don't go in the morning, it's likely I'll do everything to avoid going in the evening. With a busy Thursday evening ahead of me, I packed most of my lunch Wednesday night, grabbed my bag that's been packed for

When I'm not working on a race report, I'm working on my workouts

2009-06-15T15:15:00.000-04:00

Right now my MMT report is not a huge priority. Sorry if anyone has been waiting with bated breath to read it. Let out the air cuz it will be awhile. It's coming together in bits and pieces. Think of a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of the white. Or in more modern terms, think of a Sudoku puzzle and the instructions are to 'do it' with no numbers given. Yeah. So that's where I stand right now. I had

The MMT specs - behind the scenes planning

2009-06-02T11:15:00.000-04:00

I plan to get a REAL report posted soon, but in the meantime, here's a 'behind the scenes' look at my training and planning that went into this years race. A few things 'failed', but I'll get into that in the full report.After my DNF last year at MMT, my goal this year was to finish. Just finish. As I trained, completed races, and watched my name slowly creep up the wait list, I started to think

Reports forthcoming!

2009-05-28T16:31:00.002-04:00

Thanks for all the replies (and views!) recently. After the race I was off to Chicago for 5 days with a 6th day spent back in DC resting and recoving from the long drive. I can't complain too much about a two day work week, but there's still a lot of unpacking and reorganizing to do. We're still unpacking from the move to the new place back in April, so with MMT in the books and free weekends (

MMT is finally in the books

2009-05-19T13:30:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post to report on my race this past weekend. In a nutshell, it went very, very well. I finished in 32:20:54, which is a PR by nearly 3.5 hours. I was one of the last few runners two years ago and followed up that performance with a disappointing DNF last year. Not sure how I can top this years race, but another 3.5 hour improvement is probably out of the question. I'll get into

What it all comes down to

2009-05-14T12:25:00.001-04:00

No time to second guess my training and wonder what I could've done more of, could've done differently, etc. This is it. Over the past few months I have had a finish time in mind. I jokingly say 'anything under 36 hours,' which is the time limit. But seriously, I'll take anything under 36 hours. I made it with 15 minutes to spare two years ago and hope to greatly improve on it this year. This

Weekend Plans - CFE Cert; the secret to my so-called success (so far!)

2009-05-07T10:15:00.000-04:00

I alluded to it earlier this week, but the reason my workout for this weekend is still TBD is because I'm participating in the Crossfit Endurance Run and Endurance Certification at Potomac Crossfit in Arlington, VA. I've been following the website since the start of 2009, watching the videos, reading the CF Journal articles, and reading all the past blog posts archived up until April 2008. It's

Weekend, Review, and Final workouts

2009-05-04T15:50:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I was lucky enough to join 4 other runners in an 18 mile jaunt in George Washington National Forest. I had been on these trails before, nothing new to me, but running some of them at night was new to me. I started off in the back of the pack and stayed there most of the night. I was in no rush as the group split, regrouped, split, regrouped, then split for good until the finish,

Heading to the mountains

2009-05-01T14:30:00.004-04:00

I'm still in a bit of a funk, but I know some time on my feet in one of my favorite places should do the trick. A handful of people are getting together tonight for an 18 mile run of the Massanutten Trails and surrounding area in the George Washington National Forest. The plan is get in some good headlight time, good time on our feet, and some good rocky climbs before the 100 miler in two weeks.

Mourning

2009-04-27T10:58:00.004-04:00

My aunt passed away over the weekend. It came as quite a shock to everyone to get the news. My older sister called me Friday night, which I missed, and knew something was wrong when the message was a dry "call me as soon as you get this." I got her voicemail on a return call and knew she must've been on the phone with another family member, possibly relaying some bad news. Minutes later she

Hockey is part of proper recovery

2009-04-23T10:34:00.003-04:00

Even with short, interval runs scheduled this week, I haven't been very motivated to get out there and do them. Part of the reason.. yeah, okay, the main reason is that the 2009 hockey playoffs have started. And since moving, we have acquired the same cable company of the owners above us since that is also included with the rent. I can't help that we get NHL Center Ice with access to all the

Getting back into shape

2009-04-21T11:40:00.003-04:00

I know it's because I just did a long race over the weekend and the body is still tired, but, damn, do I get winded just walking up the escalators! So it's time to get back in shape!Since moving, I've had to figure out a new route to work. The first few days it was nice enough out that I walked the 2 miles to the office. I've caught a couple different buses recently and I have to walk upwards to

Clicking on all cylinders - Bull Run Run 50-miler

2009-04-20T14:20:00.001-04:00

It's hard to keep it a secret and actually say it out loud, but everything is slowly coming together. The training is paying off, the resting is paying off, the running is paying off.. and when you put them all together, you have a good run. I've had mixed emotions on how to tackle the Bull Run Run 50-miler. With MMT four weeks away, do I push it and go hard, or enjoy a casual day on the trails

Annnnnd.. NOW the training starts

2009-04-14T14:08:00.003-04:00

Last Monday, I finally got the good news that I'm officially IN as an entrant of the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile Run. I have been planning/plotting for this race since last year, but having to wait since January to finally get in. As I sat on the sidelines the earlier part of this year, I devised a training program that I have deviated from many times. I've added a lot more strength

How to keep your sanity, and your relationship in tact

2009-04-07T13:57:00.000-04:00

Moving sucks. No matter the distance of the move, it just sucks. Packing makes you realize how little boxes actually hold and that you have a lot of crap. The past few weeks have been spent packing and getting rid of stuff via craigslist and FreeCycle. But we still have a lot of stuff. Our condo association doesn't allow moves (in or out) without prior approval, but this mostly pertains to people

Things are finally coming together on the trails

2009-03-30T16:15:00.000-04:00

There are very few runs where I feel really good as soon as I finish - mentally and physically. I don't get the endorphin rush of 'runners high' that I've heard so much about, nor am I out to find it with any run I may do. If it happens, it happens, but I'm not going to be all "OMG!!" about it. I've had some ups and downs so far this year with my weekend long runs. There have been a handful of

Marathon weekend in review

2009-03-25T11:10:00.000-04:00

On Saturday I ran the National Marathon here in Washington, D.C. I figured I would finish somewhere between 4:00 - 4:30, but secretly hoped to run a sub-4 marathon. I knew the course was very runable, but wasn't sure how doable a sub 4 would be since I wasn't training exclusively for this race, I usually include walk breaks (re: 1-2 mile hill climbs), and I'm not great at pacing. Unspoken goals,

Ready or not! Marathon time!

2009-03-19T12:43:00.003-04:00

I have been less prepared for other races; this is, by no means, a first for me. On Saturday, I'll line myself in corral #6 for the start of the National Marathon. My goal is to finish somewhere between the Boston Qualifiers and 6 hours, when the course closes. Perfect! The only way I can be called a 'bagger now is if I happen to finish with a BQ time of 3:45.. and THAT ain't gonna happen!I'm

Recent Changes

2009-03-17T17:09:00.001-04:00

The past few weeks have been very busy for me and I haven't been keeping up with my Wednesday night workouts as I had hoped to. I did get in a few short workouts last week including a Tabata workout on the erg, consisting of 20 seconds of sprinting and 10 seconds of rest, repeated a total of 8 times. It's a killer 4 minute workout. I also did a kettlebell version of the Dumbbell Bear - Every

Tuesday Night Trail Time

2009-03-05T16:20:00.001-05:00

I was finally able to join a small group last night (re: 3 people including myself) for a nice (ahem.. illegal) run through the trails of Rock Creek Park. The trails were still snow covered (ya!) after a "snow storm", but also had a nice layer of ice on them (boo!) from other runners and walkers using the trail. If I could remember the route we took, I'd tell you, but then I wouldn't want anyone

Home cookin'

2009-02-27T10:35:00.000-05:00

I'm a creature of habit and tend to eat the same thing week in and week out. My weekends are usually centered around a long run or two and grocery shopping. I am a perimeter shopper, rarely straying down the middle aisles of Safeway for the tempting goodness of Pop-Tarts (crack), White Chedder Cheez-It (crack on crack), Pringles (low grade crack), or Hint of Lime Tostidos (cracks brother).. to

Passing the Test and Exceeding Expectations

2009-02-25T14:44:00.000-05:00

I have very little to be disappointed about with my performance at this weekends Reverse Ring. The weather was perfect day and night and I finished about 5 hours ahead of schedule in 23:30 (6:30am).I was the last one trudging up toward Signal Knob Saturday morning. I stopped part way to take my jacket off and put it back on so it covered my Camelbak, which was already starting to freeze. I didn't

Next Big Test - 71 miles

2009-02-20T12:30:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I'll be one of 22 people to toe the invisible line at the start of the Reverse Ring. The Ring is a 71-mile circuit run of the entire orange blazed Massanutten Trail in George Washington National Forest. The Ring is held in September when participants run the trail in the clockwise direction. The Reverse Ring is its evil winter step sister, and is run in the counter clockwise direction.

At home workouts - part 3+

2009-02-18T12:57:00.000-05:00

I think I missed a few weeks of write ups, but I've continued doing my Wednesday night workouts. 5 rounds of:250m row30 squats15 KB push jerks (20#)I think this took me something close to 17 minutes. I finished it up with a 15/15 power wheel workout of knees to elbow and leg curls. Another workout I did was one my sister did in class last Monday might. I shortened it considerably since I putzed

Erging Irks

2009-02-12T11:29:00.000-05:00

As I've been using an erg for a good part of my workouts - warm-up, main set, technique, etc - I have become more aware of my form. I don't focus too much on time, distance, SPM or 500m split, but I do try to keep my SPM around 22-24 while trying to keep my 500m split around 2:00. And if either of them drops, I'm not too concerned; and if they improve - great!What I do focus on the most is

First race of the year - in the books.

2009-02-11T09:55:00.001-05:00

I'm a little behind on posts (I get too wordy) and have a few in the works, but wanted to get this short report out there.This past weekend I was down in Asheboro, NC for the 18th running of the Uwharrie Mountain Run. It's a trail run that a friend of mine in NC first told me about back in 2003. I ran the 20 miler in 2004 and have since run the 40 miler in 05, 07, 08, and again in 09. It has

At Home Workouts - part 2

2009-01-29T14:56:00.003-05:00

I'm continuing with my trend of throwing together some workouts for Wednesday nights after work. It's such a great and easy way to get in a high intensity workout in a short amount of time. I try to keep it between 30-45 minutes. Here's what it looked like:Reps of 10, 9,... down to 1 alternatingHandstand push upsJump negativesRestReps of 10, 9 .. down to 1 alternatingJungle Gym Leg Curls (

In the long run...

2009-01-26T10:14:00.003-05:00

I got in a couple good runs this weekend right before starting a rest week. The build up of weekend long runs was thwarted a little be Jan 17-18 when I said 'enough' at mile 22 of MMT Training run #1 (Buzzards to Camp Roosevelt). It was my longest run so far, and the thought of 9 more miles (2.1 part of the ridonculous climb out of Habron) wasn't too pleasing. A warm car and clothes, and copious

At Home Workouts

2009-01-22T10:22:00.005-05:00

I try to plan Wednesday nights as my night 'off'. Maybe some stretching or something at the abode, but no CF workouts.. nothin. But with not a whole lot getting done in the way of workouts in a week and a lack of internet at work (productivity was slightly up for the 7.5 hours I couldn't get online), I put together a quick workout to do at home. Not including set up and breakdown time, it took a

Two Runs, Twice the fun.

2009-01-15T11:19:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to keep up with posting more frequently and wanted to report on this past weekends happenings without getting too far behind. I wanted to put something out about a couple runs I got in over the weekend on both Saturday and Sunday. I wanted to get in a couple good long runs to work on building that base mileage. I'm not trying to go crazy with trying to cover X distance in X time. Right

New Toys for Training

2009-01-13T10:39:00.001-05:00

Often times I've heard that buying something new will help to encourage you "get out there" and train more. You should see all the swimsuits and goggles that I have still in their packaging as well as all the other STUFF. I should run a gym out of my basement, but I digress. My latest purchases were a pair of New Balance Wind Blocker running tights that I snagged from an REI Clearance sale for

Easy on paper, tough in action

2009-01-09T09:49:00.001-05:00

A 15/15 workout is about as simple as you can get - two workouts, 15 seconds of work with 15 seconds of rest between each one. 1 round = 1 minute, and you can do as many rounds as you want. The key is to maintain the same number of reps throughout the workout. You don't want to come out of the block ripping out 12 push ups in 15 seconds to end that last round with 4. You're better off at 8-10 the

New Year Firsts - workout and long run

2009-01-08T10:21:00.006-05:00

It's amazing what a couple weeks away from structured workouts will do to ones level of fitness. I can't speak for everyone, but Monday night's workout was a nice wake up call. Some push ups, sit ups, and squats and a lot of walking while in Michigan did keep me from only gaining 2lbs, but I did notice a loss of strength. 3 rounds, 2 minutes each workout, 1 min rest after each roundBack squat -

Bidding adue to 2008

2008-12-31T15:50:00.000-05:00

I don't plan to do much of a wrap up, but I figured I'd try to get in one more post before the end of the year. Good thing it's a slow day at the office (slow = I'm choosing to not do much work today) and I have the time to get a few quick thoughts together.For many, this past year sucked because of the economy and the job market. I was fortunate enough find a new job in May and still have it at

The Holiday's and Time Away

2008-12-22T12:54:00.000-05:00

I'm excited about leaving tomorrow for Michigan and hope my trip is better than last years debacle. At least I got a couple vouchers out of it and was able to use the second one to pay for 3/4 of this years ticket. I haven't seen my nephew's since July, my cousins since last Christmas, some college friends since January, and high school friends in years. It will be great to spend a little time

Doing too much after not doing enough

2008-12-18T11:05:00.000-05:00

I'll be the first to admit that I'm human. Surprised?It should be a given, but some people think that I'm super human. That I eat the healthiest foods and am SO GOOD about working out. If you want to know what I eat, here's a skewed sampling from the weekend. Bag of mini Pringles (split)Pint of Peanut butter Zig Zag non-diary 'ice cream' (split)Pizza Boli's medium cheese with pineapple and green

A challenging and fun workout and a return to the trails

2008-12-10T16:02:00.000-05:00

It seems as if I'm losing some fitness even though I feel like I'm doing more. I drop back on something like push ups and burpees, but my push press and overall Fight Gone Bad score improves with little specific training. That, I am happy about, but want to see improvement everywhere!My focus is not on the now, but on the five months from now when the 100 miler is scheduled. As it was earlier

Catching up on some posts

2008-12-03T16:45:00.001-05:00

Things have been busy to the point that I don't get to post as often as I would like to. Looking back, I have 3 potential posts still sitting in "draft form", and they would be really outdated if I finished them. So now I'm looking to get some new material up including why I've been so busy, some workouts I've been doing, and my up coming ultra plans/schedule. First off, I spend a couple mornings

Fighting Back

2008-11-25T14:25:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, I attended a Women's Only Self-Defense Course at CrossFit Northern Virginia. I stumbled upon the class when on the CrossFit main site and saw a link to a picture in the affiliate blog about a kettle bell certification course at their facility. I went to their site, and, lo and behold, read up about the up coming event. It was good timing as it fell 3 weeks to the day after I

Dating a junkie

2008-11-13T16:30:00.000-05:00

There was no intervention that came to this realization, just a simple email to my girlfriend:"You're now one of the deal junkies who know us best, so we'd be stoked to hear about your buying experience. Simply answer two quick questions – it's a step towards Steep and Cheap bringing you more and better deals, not to mention aligning the universe's gear deal karma."I've mentioned before how

Christmas in November

2008-11-10T09:49:00.003-05:00

A number of weeks ago, my girlfriend and I started to discuss the holidays - how much time we were going to take off from our respective jobs, how much time we'd spend together and with our respective families, and how much we were going to spend on presents for each other. Last year we set a budget of how much to spend on each other and did a good job of staying within that budget.This year we

Successful Weekend

2008-11-05T11:42:00.003-05:00

Aside from Saturday's assault, there was some good that came out of this past weekend. I was off from work on Friday to attend the 3-day CNT Course Level 1 that was held in DC and taught by Jon Hinds and others from the Monkey Bar Gymnasium in Madison, WI. For 8 hours Friday and Saturday, we learned the progressions of certain movements - for example, vertical upper body pulling and horizontal

Victim of a random act of violence

2008-11-03T10:45:00.001-05:00

Saturday night around 11pm, I was punched in the face from behind. While walking home from a friends house, a mere 4 blocks away, I became the target for a group of kids sitting around, bored, at a bus stop, with nothing to do but challenge each other. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was less than a block from home when a girl, who was with a group of kids, crossed the street and

What a difference a couple weeks makes

2008-10-28T15:56:00.004-04:00

I posted a week ago today about starting the one hundred push ups training program. I was already on Week 2 at the point of that post, which means that I'm on Week 3 of the training program.Looking at my progress so far, I'm sticking with it to a tee even though I'm following the lowest (simplest??) of all three levels. I'm not completely sold on the idea of being able to do 100 push ups in 4

Doing more to suck less

2008-10-21T13:31:00.000-04:00

I started the one hundred pushups challenge last week, and so far things are going well. I've followed the program as written... and still can't do 100 push ups. :( That's fine since I still have 4 more weeks to go after this one, but at least I'm up to a max of 8 reps. It's not much and I probably could've knocked out more, but I would've shortened my ROM (range of motion) and didn't want to

When a good fight goes bad, just put up a good fight

2008-10-17T14:55:00.001-04:00

.. that's what I did during my first attempt at Fight Gone Bad on Wednesday. Fight Gone BadTaken from the CrossFit websiteIn this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. We've used this in 3 and 5 round versions. The stations are:Wall-ball: 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps) Sumo deadlift

A good day, and a good way, to start the week

2008-10-16T12:10:00.000-04:00

There are days when things finally come together, and that day was Monday. As I mentioned in my last post, I had Columbus Day off for the first time ever, and took advantage of the time by getting my hair cut. I also moved my Pilates workout to the morning (which was a good thing cuz my legs were sore and I needed as much recovery time as possible!), but kept CrossFit at the usual PM time. I knew

A weekend of 'firsts'

2008-10-15T11:30:00.001-04:00

A review of sorts...1. Saturday - attended my first home opener of the Washington Capitals. Fortunately, they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2. It was an exciting match even if I missed the first 1.5 periods and spent the remainder of the game yawning and sitting on the end of my seat. That exciting of a game, eh? Yes and no, but I leaned forward mostly because of the kids behind me that

An 'a ha!' moment that lasts as long as it takes to say 'a ha'

2008-10-10T15:10:00.000-04:00

All these push ups that I struggle to do and sit ups that I seem to rock endlessly back and forth on seem for naught. Even the squats that I can knock out pretty quickly and the burpees that have more 'urp' than substance to them have a purpose. But that is exactly can take some time to figure out. At the start of rugby practice on Tuesdays, we've been including some CrossFit type workouts in our

Hard core to the core

2008-10-07T15:05:00.000-04:00

I saw this power wheel challenge the other day when browsing the Monkey Bar Gym for workouts. What’s the Power Wheel Challenge?Do the Power Wheel crawl 100 yards on a football field without dropping! Pass the Challenge and Win over $300 in MBG Training DVDs and get listed on our Power Wheel 100 Yards Club! (*video proof required)We do a lot of workouts that use your bodyweight - push ups, situps,

How to save $500

2008-10-02T09:26:00.003-04:00

Cancel your gym membership like I did yesterday.You don't need it. Heck, you probably haven't been to the gym in over a year. So long, in fact, that they've overhauled the elevators and you can't figure out which button is the 'up' button. That's just a generalization and has probably never happened to me.. umm.. I mean you.When I moved to DC in February 2003, one of the first things I did was

One-on-One Training

2008-09-30T14:50:00.004-04:00

I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I was the only one that showed up to CrossFit last night. I knew my sister wouldn't be there, and one other guy has been sick since last week, but I wasn't sure about the few others that make up our small group. The trainer and I waited a few minutes to see if anyone else would show up before getting started. Warm Up:200 single unders20

Small gains

2008-09-26T13:20:00.000-04:00

You have to start from somewhere, and even small gains are nice even if they aren't that noticeable.I like to do races to see where my fitness/training level is at and use that as a gauge to see where I need to improve - uphills, technical sections, downhills, etc. The same goes with Crossfit workouts. I haven't been doing CF workouts as long as I have been running, but I'm noticing the

Oh happy day in Detroit

2008-09-24T11:50:00.003-04:00

I'm sure I'm one of many Lions fans who exhaled "FINALLY!" (or something a little more vulgar, yet exuberant) after hearing of the dismissal/firing/letting go/ of President and GM Matt Millen.And in the next breath came the words "Super Bowl"We can call dream.

The fly on the wall - aka the Facebook Dilemma

2008-09-23T14:20:00.000-04:00

The nest emptied years ago when I was the last of three to leave. In 2000, I finally moved out of my parents house and got my first job out of college. I lived there for only a semester post graduation, but when I moved out, I still came home to do my laundry even though it was a 3 hour drive. Since moving further away (12 hours by car), I've had to find other places to launder my clothes as well

Start of the matrix season

2008-09-19T16:30:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow marks the start of the rugby season for our D2 side, and I'm really looking forward to my first match!With a good showing at Pumpkinfest and vs. Washington last week (from what I heard since I did not attend/participate in either due to previous commitments), we have some momentum on our side as we square of versus Norfolk. We're lucky to have such great coaches as well as the ability to

Short races hurt..

2008-09-17T09:30:00.000-04:00

..but at least they're over quicker! I'm more of a "marathon and beyond" kind of runner, but I couldn't pass up a chance to participate in the women's half marathon trail run because it's 1) a trail run, 2) put on by the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club, and 3) so close to home. I didn't run after The Ring last weekend and only did Crossfit on Wednesday and Pilates on Friday as my workouts of

An unwelcome surprise

2008-09-12T15:25:00.000-04:00

Having spent the last few weekends in the woods either hiking or running trails, cuts and scrapes and bug bites aren't uncommon. I'll go days with razor blade like swatches all over my legs that make me look like I enjoy self mutilation. Not like that, I don't.Come to find out, a few days after being entrenched in the woods for 28 hours, I have a wonderful case of poison ivy. It really is pretty.

The Ring - Revisited

2008-09-09T16:58:00.006-04:00

For a free race, we definitely got our moneys worth, and then some! When it was questionable if aid would be provided at two early locations, it was there, and where we knew it would be, the volunteers when above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of. Instead of a 'report' from mile to mile, I'll break it up by events and other things that might be TMI or WTF or of no importance

It's just a little wind and rain..

2008-09-05T15:25:00.000-04:00

This projected path of Hanna (as of 2:40pm) could make things interesting this weekend. So far, I know that The North Face Endurance Challenge and The Patriots Half Ironman were cancelled. Other events in the area are hoping to go on and trying to adjust start times to work around when Hanna will strike.My big event this weekend, The Ring, is still on!This event will go on – if it does turn out

Post vacation fatigue

2008-09-04T16:23:00.000-04:00

I seem to be more tired when I get back from vacation even though I slept a lot every day. Our first day in New Hampshire was a recovery day since we got in on Saturday around 8pm. We left DC a little after 5am (up between 3:30-4am) and stopped in Massachusetts to see some friends of mine just outside of Boston. After dinner, we completed the drive up to the seacoast. Along the way, we had

Some downtime in NH

2008-09-02T08:30:00.004-04:00

Not much time to post as I'm on vacation in NH and the wireless connection is spotty, but I'm just not online as much, either. Been visiting my GF's friends and family mostly and doing things without much of a plan in mind. Yesterday we took her nieces (11 and 4 year old) on a 5k hike of Mt. Willard. They were troopers and loved it. Here's a view from the top. It was a long 3hr drive home and we

I love you even though your feet and hair stink

2008-08-26T10:16:00.013-04:00

It's as romantic as fake flowers. I don't divulge much about my girlfriend or our relationship, but this statement made me realize how lucky I am.. how she is.. even though she says my feet and hair smell at times.When we went on one of our first dates last year, I did a long run that morning with my sister out in George Washington National Forest. On the way home, we passed a cemetery where a

Does time fly when you're doing Crossfit?

2008-08-25T16:23:00.005-04:00

53:25 felt like 20 minutes. "That's it?" I asked when I finished the following workout Sunday:5 rounds AFAP1000m rowBB thrusters - 20 repsRing rows - 20 repsThe row was fine. The thrusters.. notsomuch. My form was crappy as I kept leaning forward too much. 'Head through the window' I kept thinking, and 'fully extend the arms'. I started with reps of 10 before eeking out reps of 7 on the last

Putting in the final run touches

2008-08-25T10:55:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was my last time out at George Washington National Forest to cover the last 1/3 of The Ring course. For the last few weeks, I've covered all but about 17 miles of the course - the first 8.7 from Signal Knob out to Veach Gap, and then about 8 miles from the top of Short Mountain across, and down to Edinburg. The latter section took me over 5.5 hours during MMT when my feet were