Friday, April 30, 2010

push ups & bike fun

This morning: 100 push ups for time - 6:28 (knees) first 40 were easy, then by 10s, then by 5s and 10s

This evening: 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 mile bike intervals with same number of minutes rest.

I had to shorten the rest intervals to get the whole mileage done as I was running out of daylight. Really hammered these — maintaining 19-21 MPH for most of the sets. It was a great evening to ride. Glad I got out there. Finished in the dark.

Managed 29.51 miles with average speed at 18.84 with rest intervals. Rest was just soft pedaling and taking in fluid.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

AMRAP & 1000yard Swim TT

5 burpees, 10 push ups, row 500M

I did . 3mile run instead of row

Completed 5 reps plus 5 burpees, 10 pushups, .2mile run in 21 minutes

1000 yards Swim TT = 19:26

Been too long out of the pool so was glad to get this one done tonight. This swim was scheduled last week but I wasn't able to fit it in.

Been battling muscle spasms in my neck and shoulders for a few months now. Thought it had resolved itself but its been back in full force this week since I woke up Monday morning. Likely the result of hanging around in damp clothing on Sunday after the race - in the cold. Nothing that a good massage, some stretching, attentiveness to posture, some moist warm heat and huge reduction in stress wouldn't take care of according to my doctor. So that's all good. Swimming felt good tonight. I felt good in the water. I swam next to a guy who tried to go at it with me during my TT. Motivated me to swim faster. I dropped him like a bad habit. Understand people that this doesn't ever happen to me at the pool. Most people are swimming circles around me :). So the swim loosened up the muscles a bit, but of course-- they are tightening up as I'm sitting here typing this. Need to go get busy with my foam roller...

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

rowing and thrusting

Row 5K for time: 23:19

Thrusters:  5-5-5-5-5
I  did 45# (too much), 36#, 36#, 41#, 41#

Okay, its been a tough week so far. Work's been long and stressful and the cold weather coupled with a stiff neck has sucked my motivation away. Two days was too much to lay off though, so forced myself to get back at it today. Hit the gym after work to do the 5K row. This was my second attempt at using the rowing machine and a much more successful one too! I went at that machine like I owned it this time.

Thrusters in the basement when I got home. 45# still too much. I unloaded to 36 and felt like I could work my form better at that weight. Did two sets at 36 and then added another 5 lbs. to bring it to 41. Form still felt good with 41 so maybe next time I'm taking it to 45 and feeling good...

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Not what i had hoped for...

but, probably about what I would have expected...

6.2 Miles | 53:07     10/35 40-49    8:33 pace

Did the Simsbury River Run 10K today. Not the most pleasant day to run, but what's a little rain right? Been there, done that too many times to count so won't use the weather as an excuse.

I felt nervous for this race (which is ridiculous when you think about it) but, I knew that stringing together 6.2 consecutive miles was going to be a struggle for me today. I think its a pacing issue. I don't know how to assess my pace right now. Mile one I ran in 7:47. I felt good, but this was probably too fast to get started. Second mile was 8:30 so I lost a lot there. In the 3rd and 4th miles I stopped and walked for a few seconds like three different times — not good! Miles 5 and 6, I tried really hard to manage my pace so I wouldn't feel like I had to walk. Really tried to pick it up in the last half mile, but i didn't have much to give at this point.

Did this same race 2 years ago with a result of 49:20, which — interestingly — gave me a 10th place finish in the same AG. So some of the fast people stayed home today :). At that time, I was 4 months into training for my first go at LP so had some good mileage under my belt and was actually feeling good with my run at that time.

So, today's race wasn't terrible. I just expected more from myself. But, that's why I keep doing this stuff. Because good enough never is...

Saturday, April 24, 2010

kettle bells and 20K TT

CF WOD: Run 400M, 21 kettle bell swings (25#), 12 pullups   x3 for time.
I did Run .3miles, .3miles, .2miles instead of 400M as my t-mill only does 0.0.

Total time: 11:29

20K TT
Total time: 38:35 (19.44 mph)
Given this was only 12.5 miles, I wanted to push hard and break the 18 mph rut that I'm in. Love doing these rides on my street as its seems like a mini AZ bike course. The wind was minimal today, but it was still there and still a factor at times. Tried to push hard through the spots where I normally slow down due to wind or a slight grade. There's no coasting on these rides. It all pedal, all the time. I 'spose I should find some hills tho so I'm ready for Rev3 in a month and change...

Friday, April 23, 2010

like this?

CF WOD: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1  burpees, squats, situps for time
Total time = 9:07

Run 1 mile | Rest 8 minutes  x4

M1 7:23
M2 7:36
M3 7:42
M4 7:45

Okay, I'm pretty happy with these splits. Ran outside this evening. I thought I might die after each one of these...Really tried to do the last one a little faster than the 3rd, but it didn't happen. Set my Garmin to interval workout. Couldn't see the time, only the distance. To go sub 8 on all of these was a pleasant surprise :)

Thursday, April 22, 2010

quad busters! dead lifts and standing bike WOD

Bike: 2 minutes standing, 1 minute sitting
Total time: 35 minutes | 10.55 miles

CF WOD: 5-5-5-5-5 dead lifts
I did 158-158-158-138-138

Getting pretty strong with the dead lifts. Might have done better had I not done this immediately after the bike workout.

Did the bike workout outside on my tri bike. I usually make an effort not to stand on my tri bike - even on the hills, so this was something totally different for me. This got pretty tough after the 4th or 5th interval, but it was kinda fun! The neighbors pretty much have me pegged as crazy :)

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

dead lifts and an easy run for my head

WOD: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 max weight 1 rep dead lifts

138, 188, 188, 158, 178, 178, 198(FAIL), 178

So I started easy at 138. Took a big jump to 188 and was able to do this twice, but not a third time. Back down to 158 was easy. Up to 178 two times. Let's try 198. NOPE! One more at 178.

Before the dead lifts, I went for an easy run. I needed this. For my head. Long day at work and just needed to see if I could just go for a run. And breathe. And let go of the day. It was good...

But my run is not there. Running a 10K on Sunday. I have no idea how that will go or even if its a good idea...

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

is this anything...?

CF WOD: 100 ft. walking lunges ( I did 40 standing lunges), 10 burpees, 25 sit ups  x3
Total time: 10:26


IDK — I know I'm getting stronger, and this wasn't particularly easy — its just done so quick that it doesn't seem like much...

Monday, April 19, 2010

5K TT

25:08 (last time 26:16)

M1 8:11
M2 8:25
M3 7:45 

AHR 152 MHR 179

ugh! on the brink of hyperventilating the whole way! I don't know how to run and breathe anymore...

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Saturday, April 17, 2010

feelin' good in the pool!

Made up the 800 yard TT today

Total time = 15:09 (1:53/100)

40K TT (25miles) 1:23:00 18.1 MPH @6:00PM Little slower than last time — no real wind tonight, but kinda raw.

So sometimes when I'm at the pool and there are other folks swimming in the lanes on either side of me, I feel like they're listening to elevator music and I'm listening to the Scorpions — "here I aaaaaammm, rockin' like a hurricaannnne!). I wonder if they're annoyed by my raucous swimming. I don't think I'm very graceful in the water...

Additonally, I did:
300 WU (6:10)
4x50 DR Catch Up
8x25 DR Catch Up w/PB
100 Hard (1:44 post TT)
100 Breast stroke and stretching

I felt good during the 800. After the TT, I rested for 4 minutes and, just for hahas, wanted to see what kind of number I could pull on a 100. Was pleased with 1:44, but made me wonder if I didn't work the 800 hard enough. But really I think it was all about form. I can feel when my form is on because it feels effortless. That's how I felt during that 100. This is why I do that catch up drill that Max prescribed over a year ago in every workout. Puts me right every time.

Feeling like I can actually make further improvement with my swim this year :).

Friday, April 16, 2010

more kettle bell...

CF WOD:
40 KB swings(35#), 40 sit ups, 40 squats x3

Total time = 13:07 minutes

Wow! This was way harder than I thought it would be...

Thursday, April 15, 2010

10K TT

10K TT | Total time: 52:50

M1 8:15
M2 8:36
M3 8:29
M4 8:46
M5 8:40
M6 8:16

Ran outside @ 7:00 a.m. Should have felt better but I gotta tell ya, every step of this run was a struggle. Seems that the net/net of the training so far is that I am stronger and thus my pace is faster, yet my aerobic system is not prepared to handle that increased pace... Does that make any sense at all?? Felt like I was on the brink of hyperventilating the whole time and had a hard time figuring out how to slow the pace to get my breathing under control. Really had a hard time breathing! Maybe its the pollen...?

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

lift, jump and run!

CF WOD: 5 dead lift (108 lbs.), 10 box jumps, row 500Meters   x3
I ran .3 miles instead of rowing because I couldn't get to the gym
Total time: 10:21 (total run time was 6:37)

Was supposed to swim 800 tonight but couldn't get to the pool with enough time to swim so I'll make this up another day this week.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

FRAN...oy!

Total time 8:37

Okay this workout was an unpleasant reminder that my upper body is weak!

Coach allowed me to downgrade weight for the thrusters to 45#. So I started with that. First time up over my head, I was reminded that my left shoulder has an issue. At that weight, this was not gonna work for me. I had no trouble with 25# the other night so I know I can get the shoulder to cooperate up to a point. Decided to lose 10 lbs on the bar and try it with 35# so as not to be a total wuss. This did not aggravate the shoulder so I went with it. Was a real struggle getting through that first 21 and then every additional one after that...

This workout not fun!

Monday, April 12, 2010

dead lifts!

WOD: Dead lifts 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1

138, 158, 178, 178, failed at 188, 178, 158, 158 lbs.

Ran 1 mile at just under 9 minute pace to warm up. Ran another 2 miles after at avg. 8:50 MPH. Legs felt strong and the run was comfortable.

Lots of procrastinating before I got this workout under way. Felt really good once I got it done :)

Sunday, April 11, 2010

You're working too hard...

or so the guy in the lane next to me thought...

8x100 @ 4 minutes rest
1:41, 1:43, 1:43, 1:44, 1:46, 1:46, 1:47, 1:49

I told him I was just following my coach's orders :)

I was pretty much shocked to see 1:41 for that first 100. My best time last July was 1:40 and I haven't come close to that yet this year. In fact, I hadn't broken 1:50 yet this year. So that was pretty sweet. I felt the power coming from my triceps. They're definitely getting stronger!

In addition to the 100s, I did 300 WU and 400 drills and some drilling between the 100s to keep my form on track. I didn't have much left after the 100s, but managed 50 breastroke and stretching to wrap up the workout.

I swam each on of these 100s like my life depended on it. Happy to have kept that last one under 1:50.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

you really can teach an old dog new tricks

CF WOD: Row 500M, 21 box jumps, 21 push ups, Row 500M, 15 box jumps, 15 push ups, Row 500M, 9 box jumps, 9 push ups

I did: Run .3 miles instead of Row 500M

Total time: 11:32  really pushed hard on this!

2nd WOD: 30 mile bike TT
1:39:00 (18.18 MPH)
I had thoughts about putting this off until tomorrow given the chill and brisk wind, but convinced myself to suck it up. With the weather, you get what you get on race day. Think IM Lake Placid 2008. It rained. It rained heavily. It rained at the start. It rained at the finish. It rained pretty much every moment in between. It wasn't a gentle rain in warm temps. It was a heavy, cold, beating rain that made you wonder what you'd done to piss mother nature, or god or the great spirits off that day. So I sucked it up. After all, the sun was out. The temp was pushing 60. And the wind... well, the wind will always be there.

Did my usual main street loop x 3 for this ride. The wind was pretty much coming from every direction today. It was never really at my back and seemed almost always to be coming at me head on. Sometimes it came from the side, threatening to knock me over. Made every mile of it a real effort, but I tried not to let up until I got the 30 done.

Friday, April 09, 2010

4 miles, 1 at a time

WOD: Run 1 mile, rest for 8 minutes x4

WU .9 miles

M1 = 8.23
M2 = 8:07
M3 = 7:57
M4 = 7:52

Pleased with this effort given that I did it AFTER work when my motivation to run, let alone run fast is low. My goal was to achieve negative splits. Each time I started at a slightly faster pace than the last and just kept hitting the button to ensure I came in under the last recorded time. Pushed hard to get that last one in under 7:57. Challenge was also in getting the treadmill up to speed in the least possible amount of time.

CF WOD: 100 pull ups for time
Finished in 9:34

haha! umm, yeah right!

I did this with my basement bar setup using the rubber bands to offset my body weight. Still incredibly difficult. Had to chunk em up as I went. 20, then10, then 5 and mostly just sets of 5 til i got to 100. I hope someday to actually be able to do 1 or 2 real complete pullups... : )

Thursday, April 08, 2010

fun! and not so fun...

Bike Tabata: 1:00 work/:30 seconds rest x20
Total Distance: 8.7 miles (19.33 mph)

Okay, no way I was doing the bike tabata inside on the trainer so I set out to do it on my tri bike. Set up my Garmin for an interval workout not really sure if it was a good idea to ride on the road and try to watch the Garmin for these short little bursts. But once I got going with this it was really fun and a really good workout. Warmed up for about 6 minutes, then hit the lap button and the Garmin told me when to work and when to rest and how many intervals were remaining. Pretty sweet! During the rest intervals I just stopped pedaling and coasted on the bike, pedaling just enough to stay upright and even pedaling backwards. On go I got out of the saddle and hammered it, pedaling hard for the full minute.

CF WOD: 21, 15, 9 reps of 25# thrusters and dips
Total time: 8:18

Okay, I really can't do dips... and didn't really have the right equipment to do them as they should be done so ended up doing bench dips. I got 'em done but they were really hard and felt awkward. Felt good with the thrusters. The 25 pounds was challenging for sure and I struggled with the last few in each set, but got 'em done and felt pretty strong with these. If I don't ever see the dips again in a workout, I won't miss them.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

mediocre swimmin'

800 yards (15:45 158/100)

Plus:
300 WU (6:10)

4x50 DR Catch Up
8x25 DR Catch Up with PB

100 CD (Breast Stroke and stretching)

Slower tonight than I was with the last 800 TT. Happy to have gotten it done anyway...

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

10/10 run

7:00 a.m.
10 min. = 1.23 mile
10 min. = 1.26 mile

7:20 p.m.
250 sit ups for time
8:10

Whew! Couldn't be done with that fast enough!

Monday, April 05, 2010

back squats 7-7-7-7-7

65, 80, 85, 90, 100

I feel a little guilty... went back to look at what i did last time when it was 3-3-3-3-3 and I see that I didn't do any more weight tonight than I had done on Mar. 26. This is not to say that I felt like I could, just that maybe I didn't try hard enough...

I'll make a point to refer back to this day next time these come around so I can make a point to try and push this a little bit—even if its just a couple pounds.

Sunday, April 04, 2010

ugh!

CF WOD: Tabata :20 work/:10 rest x8     45# squats, burpees, lunges, push ups

#45 squats (11, 10, 10, 7, 8, 8 ,9, 9)
burpees (5, 5, 5, 4, 5, 3, 4, 4)
lunges (8, 10, 11, 10, 10, 11, 11, 11)
push ups (12, 12, 10, 7, 7, 7, 8, 6)

my husband worked the clock and counted my reps for me :)

Additionally, I ran 2.4 miles before the tabata. This run sucked. Pace was fine, I just felt incredibly fatigued. Initially thought I might run 4 or so miles just because its a while since I've done a nice easy run outside. About 300 yards into it, I knew that wasn't gonna happen. My Garmin was set to Kilometers instead of miles so I couldn't really get a sense of my pace. I was probably running faster than my body was up for and might have had better success easing into it a bit. Pace ended up being 8:54 MPH, which is bizarre because I felt like I was running through quick sand... Given the hard effort on the bike yesterday and the swim too, I guess its okay that I couldn't get through a four mile run today.... or not.... IDK???

Saturday, April 03, 2010

swimmin' and bikin'

Swim: 1x400, 2x200, 3x100, 4x50 (rest as long as it takes to do each set)
Did total 2200 yards beginning with 300 WU, 400 DR (Catch up & catch up with PB)

1x400
(7:44 (100/1:56))
Long rest period here so I did 100 breast stroke super easy and 50 Catch up drill.
2x200   (3:49, 3:53 (100/1:55 best )
3x100   (1:53, 1:53, 1:55)
4x50   (:54, :54, :57, :55)
50 CD breast stroke

Not too happy with these times, but maybe I'm fatigued from yesterday's swim... last year at this time I was pushing low 1:40s on my 100s so I've got some work to do. Think I need to do some supplemental swims just to get a bit more frequency and get back to better form.

40K bike TT on tap for today too!

40K Bike TT: 1:19:30 (18.8 MPH)

Happy with this effort. The street I live on is perfect for a TT. Its about an 11 mile loop if I ride one end to the other and back so roughly 6.5 mile each way. Its relatively flat, but has some spots where you have to work a little harder to maintain speed. What makes it really tricky though is that there's almost always a headwind coming out of the north or the south. Today it was coming out of the south. So those 6.5 miles heading south were really tough, but the 6.5 mile heading north were giddy-up. This route seems like it might be a mini IMAZ bike course...

Friday, April 02, 2010

run intervals and burpees

CF WOD: Run 800M, 21 Burpees, Run 800M, 15 Burpees, Run 800M, 9 Burpees
Completed in 18:22

Run intervals: 3:58, 4:08, 4:07

Run times not very impressive, but it takes time to get the treadmill up to speed and there's lots of button pushing. Lame excuses I know :)

2nd WOD: Swim for 15 minutes. Record distance.
Result: 850 yards in 14:56 ( 1:52/100)

I am pleasantly surprised and pleased with this result. When I got into the pool and began my 300 yard warm up my thought was that I had let too many days go by without a swim. Wanted to break after the first 100. But, I pushed through that negative thought and finished the 300. Then I did my catch up drills that I'm addicted to. These also felt awkward and difficult at first but got better as I worked through them.

I felt pretty good during the 15 minute swim. Better as I got into it. My arms felt a little fatigued from the burpees this morning, but also stronger some how. This prob makes sense now that I'm into week 4 of my plan.

I plan to swim again tomorrow since the pool is closed on Easter Sunday.

Thursday, April 01, 2010

dead lift, run, sit ups

CF WOD:
21 deadlifts (78#)
run 400 M  (.3 miles)
9 sit ups
15 dead lifts (78#)
run 400M (.3 miles)
15 sit ups
9 dead lifts (78#)
Run 400M (.3 miles)
21 sit ups

Total time: 15:18

Run intervals @ roughly 7:30 MPH each time, but I was ramping the tready up to well under 7MPH. Took time for it to get there each time.Again, my treadmill only gives me 0.0 so had to go up to .3miles rather than the .25 that is closer to 400 Meters. On the last run interval, I seriously thought I might puke and fly off the end of the machine... FUN!

2nd WOD: 4 x5K Bike Intervals
10:24 (17.8 MPH)
9:39   (19.3 MPH)
10:19 (18 MPH)
10:34 (17.6 MPH)

Did these outside on the tri bike. Finished up just as it was getting dark. Legs definitely were feeling fatigued. Tried to push hard anyway. My route relatively flat with a some false flat areas so whereas it should be an easy ride, there's no free downhill speed and a few places where you have to work a little harder -- so its steady hard work.