Almost there

Well, I've almost made it thru the whole month without a day off. I will get the WODs done tomorrow morning before work. Then there is 3 weeks until Timberman from Sunday. Bought some new sneakers today. Tried a bunch on and settled on the Saucony Kinvaras. Felt really comfortable on the treadmill, looking forward to testing them out soon.

Thought I had recovered okay from the 10K and 250 squats from Tuesday night. That is until Wednesday night when I attempted the dreaded tabata run again. Conversation with Max went like this. Me "Am I an idiot for asking for this workout?" Max "ya think". It is so incredibly hard. Hard to imagine more dread about a workout. Finished wheezing, not able to catch my breath, then went on the stationary bike for my next workout while barely being able to breathe. 5 sets of biking 3 miles with a rest of 1 minute in between. Finished in 59:34. I know the slow time is directly correlated to the tabata, so I am not upset about it.

Last night was back squats, read my plan wrong and did 5 sets of 3 reps instead of the rx'd 7 sets. Went 185lbs., 205lbs., 225lbs.x3. Hopped in the pool for an 800 yard time trial immediately after. I think I did an extra 50, but since I am not sure my time is 20:23. I was so inspired by everyone, but I just can't imagine myself doing the swim at an Ironman at this point in my career.

This morning's WOD was run 400m, 100 squats, run 800m, 75 squats, run 1200m, 50 squats, run 1600m, 25 squats. Finished in 26:33. I am slow on the squats.

Another tough one

Last night's WOD was run a 5K, 250 squats, run another 5K. Was outside playing golf with a client all day. Had a great time, but it was hot. Nancy and I went to the West Side Highway path together (she had a 5K for time). I knew the distance for a 10K, but not the breakdown to a 5K.

Here are the results, ran 3.92 miles in 30:34 (7:48s, avg.HR 156). Felt like I couldn't get my heart rate up.

Stopped at 14th Street to do the squats. These killed finished the 250 in 11:13. Then attempted to run the rest of the 10K. Actually turned out to be 2.28 miles. Finished in 18:25 (8:04s avg.HR 157).

At least I know if Timberman will be hot, I'll have trained plenty in the heat!

Back in the swing

First off, let me say how proud I am of all the Trimax competitors yesterday. I was so excited for you throughout the day. I am happy to be associated with such strong willed, great spirited people. I cannot wait to read all the race reports. Each one of you has inspired me.

For some more mundane things, I return to the results of my past few WODs.

30K Bike in Central Park (Each loop is 6.02 miles, did 3 loops)
Loop 1 18:23 avg. HR 150, Loop 2 19:09 avg. HR 148, Loop 3 18:59 avg. HR 148
Total time 56:32 for 18.06 miles for an average speed of 19.17mph.

Tabata Work (4 exercises, 8 sets each, 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, lowest score counts)
Pullups (unassisted) 8,7,6,6,6,4,4,5 score = 4
Squats 17,15,15,15,15,15,15,15 score = 15
sit ups 11,10,9,8,8,8,8,8 score = 8
push ups 14,14,12,12,12,12,12,11 score = 11

5K row for time 20:39, best time so far!

10 Pullups, 20 Pushups, 30 Squats, 500m row 3 rounds for time. Finished in 11:55.

20K bike time trial (done inside) Finished in 37:43 which is more than 3 minutes faster than about 10 days ago.

Past few WODs

Switched up some of the WODs for logistical reasons

Yesterday morning did 2500m row with 2 burpees every 2 minutes. Again, burpees not so bad as they broke up the rowing. Finished in 12:10

Last night's WOD was an 8 mile run. Went to Central Park with my friend Gerrit who is doing the Queens Half Marathon this Saturday. Nancy came along for a fun run (off day for her). It was 87 degrees when we started and I got a cramp in my side about 5 minutes in. It lasted until about mile 4. Finished 7.73 miles in 1:02:03 for an avg. pace of 8:01/mile. Felt like I was running slow. Just can't seem to find the extra gear. 84 degrees when we finished. Was feeling sorry for myself and thought I would give myself an off day today (none so far this month). Got home, ate dinner, got over myself and went to sleep.

Got up this morning and had 1000m row, 50 thrusters at 75 pounds (did 25 w/35 lb. dumbbells and 25 w/40 lb. dumbbells) and 30 pull ups. Finished in 11:56.

Planning on getting up at dawn to get my 30K bike done before the park gets crowded.

Shoulder presses and a AMRAP

Yesterday's WOD consisted of 5 sets of 3 reps of shoulder presses. Used dumbbells instead of a barbell. I find I like dumbbells better for some reason. Results were 50lb x 1 and 60lb x 4.

Tonight's WOD was extremely hard on me. It was an AMRAP of deadlifts (70% max weight, which was 225lbs) 5 reps, 10 burpees, 15 squats in 15 minutes. I can't believe I am going to put this into words, but as I was dying on the deadlifts I was looking forward to the burpees. I was amazed during the workout that this was going through my head.
Finished 3 sets in the first 5 minutes and was only able to get through 3 more in the next 10. Got a lot of sideways glances in the gym, but was happy to be done in 15 minutes. Took most of the walk home to come back to myself.

8 miles tomorrow night in the heat! At least I'll be ready for all kinds of weather.

Results not indicative of effort

Thursday night I worked late, came home and did the 300 squats for time. With tree trunk legs, finished in 11:14. Best previous time was 8:53. Pushed as hard as I could, legs were just not working like I wanted them to be.

Last night did the 20K bike for time. Finished in 40:49, again tired leg syndrome hit at mile 4 on the bike. Not sure of my previous best, but it has to be better.

Today was a 4 mile race in Central Park with the NYRR. Finished in 29:28, good for 88th out of 325 in my age group and an average pace of 7:22. My fastest pace in a race has been 7:07s for a 10K. First mile was 7:30, avg. HR was 165. 2nd mile was 7:12 avg. HR 173. Missed the 3rd mile marker, but you can see I was pretty consistent, 14:46 last 2 miles with an avg. HR of 175. 84 degrees and steamy at the start.

Legs aren't really sore, just fatigued and I only really feel them when I am trying to exercise. At least tomorrow is a break for the legs. I am getting really excited for Team Trimax with Lake Placid just over a week away.

Just found out the other day that I got into the ING NYC Marathon this year! It'll be my first marathon ever and I am really thankful to my friend Natalie who made it happen. I am really, really excited about it.

And the Beat (down) goes on

The Sonny and Cher song has been going through my head today.

So no residual pain from the run the other night. Still sore in the legs though better than I was for sure.

Last night's WOD was 5 sets of 7 reps of thrusters. Results were 95,115,105,95,95. Really felt every rep, but was glad it was a short one.

Tonight's WOD was 21, 15, 9 reps of 35lb. kettlebells (used a dumbbell), half body weight squats (used 95lbs. because I was too lazy to try and figure out what 87.5lbs would be), burpees for time. I was reading Erica's blog and she used the word loathe to describe her feelings towards burpees. I wholeheartily agree. Finished this workout in 7:28.

Then went immediately to do my 700 yard swim time trial. Who knew you needed to be able to use your shoulders to swim. I could barely lift my arms and finished in 16:52. I think this is a new level of slowness for me, but I believe it is directly attributed to the workouts the past 2 days.

I have never run this far in my life

Last night's WOD was going to be a 13.1 mile run Time Trial. To work it out in Central Park, so that I would know the exact distance it ended up being 13.75 miles. On the way home from work, I stepped off a curb and my leg buckled, that's how sore I was. I had no idea how I was going to get this done. Luckily, my running partner Gerrit came along to keep me going.

It was 90 degrees when we started at 6pm. I brought my 4 bottle fuel belt, which I have to retire as it is too big (I bought it when as Max likes to say I was woefully out of shape). Needless to say it bounced around.

We finished in 2:04:29 for an average of 9:03 minute miles. First 6.02 was covered in 50:13, second 6.02 was covered in 57:32 and the last 1.71 miles took 16:43.

Was able to wring out my clothes when we were done. I was cooked. Amazingly, my legs feel so much better today than yesterday. Who would have thought? No other aches or pains from the run either. I am cautiously optimistic about my expectations for Timberman.

How am I supposed to do a half marathon when I can barely walk?

So basically I can hardly walk and I look on my schedule tomorrow and it says 13.1 Mile Time Trial. I think this is what I meant about the beat down.

Friday night I did a tabata run. I can't believe I actually asked Max to try this WOD. You set the treadmill at 12% incline and set the speed for 30 seconds slower than your fastest 5K time, which for me worked out to 8.4mph. So here I am thinking how bad can it be? Run 8 times for 20 seconds with 10 seconds of rest in between sets. Boy, it annihilated me. Nancy had to come to the gym to time it for me, because I wouldn't look down for fear of falling off. After the 2nd one, I thought it would be hard, but that I'd get through it. Then after the 4th set I was hanging on for dear life praying it would end. When it was over I had to lay down. Mind you, my hamstrings were sore to the touch from the deadlifts earlier in the week when all this started.

Due to weather and technical difficulties switched yesterday's workout with today's workout.

Yesterday was 150 wall ball shots (substituted 150 barbell thrusters with the 45lb. barbell). Finished in 10:46. Feels like I've been sweating for a week. Worked on some drills in the pool after as I was having trouble catching my breath while actually swimming after this workout. I am hopeful that one day I will be able to swim without thinking.

Today with really sore legs, went and did a 45 minute bike time trial. Finished 13.8 miles in Central Park for an average speed of 18.4mph, which considering how my legs felt, I was surprised it was this fast. Then came back home and did the AMRAP of 5 pushups, 10 sit ups and 15 squats. Finished 22 full rounds. I am literally hobbling around the apartment like I am 80.

This brings me back to my original question, how am I going to run this 13.1 miles tomorrow. Completion is the goal. Effort will be my metric as speed probably won't be a good indicator.

4x5K Bike Intervals and a tough circuit

Last night's WOD was 4x5K intervals. Went to the gym instead of fighting the crowd in Central Park.

Times are as follows 9:43/9:26/9:57/9:40. Waited 2:17 between sets 1 and 2, 2:34 between 2 and 3 and 3:03 between 3 and 4.

This morning went to the gym for a circuit of run 800m/30 sit ups 4x for time. Finished in 18:22. Treadmill was between 9 and 10mph. Had to wait a bit for the treadmill to get up to speed or I might have been a bit faster. Literally was sweating for a full half hour when this was over. All 800s were between 3:10 and 3:20. Amazing how hard a situp is when you can't breathe.

Deadlifts, burpees and swimming

Yesterday was a double workout done back to back at the Bally's where I swim.

WOD #1-Deadlift your body weight 50 times, with 2 burpees on the minute until all deadlifts are done. This was a workout I was really dreading as the 100 body weight deadlifts for time was one of the hardest WODs I've ever done. Luckily for me I weigh a little less than I did then, so I was able to do 175lbs. Finished this workout in 7:36. Thrilled with the time. Full body sweat by minute 2, sore all over today.

WOD #2-Swim 1650yds for time. Had a lane for a half hour, which I knew would not be enough, so I started in the shared lane right after the deadlifts. Had to ask to go ahead of a few people who were resting. Got into my own lane and finished in 41:41. Not so thrilled with the time. One of these days maybe it'll click.

Boy it's hot, even in the gym!

This morning I went over to our gym and they said the AC was broken and they didn't know when it was going to be fixed. I came home for about 45 minutes and decided to give it another try. AC still down, decided it was better than outside, so off I went.

First WOD was 4 rounds of 10 pullups (unassisted), 10 wall ball shots (substituted thrusters 20lb. dumbbell in each hand), 10 pushups for time. Finished in 4:43.

Hopped on the treadmill for the 2nd WOD, a 5K run for time. Finished in 23:21 which is slower than my best, but considering everything (I stopped 3x to get some water, yes, I added this to my overall time) I am okay with the time. Felt like I had nothing left at the end. Glad I am indoors the rest of the day, although I'd rather have heat than cold.

Back from the bike

Spent the long weekend at our good friend's Sunny and Emily's house in Amagansett, NY. This is about 10 minutes from the start of the MightyMan Half in Montauk that I signed up for on 10/3. Since I had no access to the gym and I would have no idea how far I could swim in the ocean, Max gave me 3 straight days of biking. I didn't do the exact course, because I have no bike GPS and did not want to grip the instructions in my hand. I was able to do a good portion of it and outside of some possible wind, the course was not bad at all.

There were a ton of people there and we hadn't seen our friends in a while so I had to modify the distances Max prescribed.

Day 1 I was supposed to do 56 miles, but finished 47.5 in 2:38:55 for an average speed of 17.93 mph. Considering how sore my legs were from the workouts leading up to this, I was fairly pleased.

Day 2 was supposed to be 28 miles, but it is 15 and change from the house to the lighthouse at Montauk so I went there and back. Total mileage was 31.4, finished in 1:40:06 for an average speed of 18.82 mph. Was surprised this was so fast as I was feeling a bit beat.

Day 3 was supposed to be 56 miles, but my friend Sunny wanted to go for a ride yesterday, so I went out for about an hour and finished 19 miles in 1:03:41 for an average speed of 17.90 mph. Then Sunny and I went out for a 20 mile ride, we didn't really push it and I didn't time it. It was good to be out with him. We hit some good speeds every now and then.

I find that my gearing on the bike leaves a lot to be desired. I feel I am always in the wrong gear when I get to the harder part of the uphills. I am no longer fearful of downhills, but wish I could get this gearing thing down as I am sure I lose valuable speed and momentum.

Back in the NYC today and it is hot. At the time of me writing this (8pm) it is still over 90 degrees. Went to the pool for the 500m swim/50 squats/400m swim/40 squats/300m swim/30 squats/200m swim/20 squats/100m swim 10 squats. Could not get a lane, so I had to share with 7-8 other swimmers who were actually slower than me (I know, I was shocked too!). I had to ask at almost every length if I could go ahead of people. They were nice and everyone said yes. I finished in 43:39. I still have the goggle marks from keeping them the whole time, even while squatting.