Post Big Meal Beat Down

Ahhh. So full from Thanksgiving but you gotta get up off your butt to beat the winter metabolism slow down. Every time winter comes around I have the urge to eat more carbs for some reason. All the more reason to push the bumper plates around more. Its been awhile since I've been on here cause I've just been logging all mystuff on paper and on the website beyond the whiteboard which rocks if you got the time to get on and maintain it regularly. It graphs all your workouts, meals, avg power output, power output per wod, and ranks you against everyone on there. Good stuff for a small fee. Today was a good day cause even with the 15lb weight gain over the past couple months I PR'd Linda today with a 24:55 and I deadlifted 1 3/4 BW and used DB's for the clean portion which sucked. Its feels good going heavier than prescribed and getting a PR.

Why Deadlift, Why?

I've been out here just over a month now and I'm happy to see that some of my strength is getting back to where they were pre injury in July. I've noticed a significant drop in my stamina on met cons though which is quite irritating. I don't know if its the dust in the air or if I'm just plain old lacking intensity. In wanting to keep with the strength side of the house and still work my met con weakness, I decided to change up the main sites Cindy WOD. On top of that its already earned itself a girls name cause this morning at breakfast we all went over to the mils chow hall and I happen to be wearing a Crossfit shirt that my boy Rex gave me, and the boys were talking about how many dead hang pull ups I did with my kit on. We had some eavesdroppers cause when I said I wanted to be to do 80 kipping pull ups and some Navy EOD girl said thats impossible.
There was complete silence for a half second before everyone was chiming in, "who the F**K is that", among other Alpha comments. I told the girl I can already do 65 if she wants to put some money on it. Not believing me, we all walked out of the chow hall to pull up bars next to some tents and I cranked out 77 chin over the bar. Mindy, that is for you, so eat that along with your fat army chow. Thanks god for the butterfly kip. 80 is just around the corner. In honor of crushing Mindy spirit, I will name todays WOD after her.

WOD: "MINDY"
AMRAP 20 Minutes

4 HSPU's
6 Deadlift 245
8 KB Swings 1.5 Pood

RDS Completed: 10

Definitely need more hard metcons. That was a kickass wod, and I'll be doing that one again before I leave to see the change.

Bad Weathers A Brewing

Today weather was epic to say the least. Its always awesome to see how powerful mother nature can be. There isn't a man made thing on this planet that good ol mother nature can't tear down if she's feeling a little grumpy. I walked out my pod this morning and watched my roof fly right off followed by some serious wind. I wanted to run back in my room and put my jacket on backwards and just button the top and button and cruise on a bicycle or something. It was insane. I was just hoping I could throw some steel around as easy as she through my roof.

Burgener Warm Up X 2 rds with 45lb bar

Heavy Snatch Single
1. 135
2. 135
3. 145
4. 145
5. 150

Heavy Clean & Jerk Single
1. 175
2. 185
3. 185
4. 195
5. 195

My focus today was to go heavy but only as long as I was shrugging the shit out of the bar (my weakest part of my lift) and receiving the bar at the bottom of the squat instead of catching it in a power stance and squatting down which I tend to do under heavy load. I'm getting back on track and I'm feeling my strength start to come back a lot quicker the last week or so. Incorporating the Performance Menu's Oly session with the main sites wods has been working out pretty good.

Feeling good I've started to up my mileage on this short and monotonous 1/3 mile track but its better than nothing. I pumped out a 5k today and it started at a reasonable 7 minute pace for the first 2 until the dust storm from hell came out of nowhere and antiqued my ass from head to toe. Mix that with a little sweat and you got the same concrete the locals use to make their bomb proof houses out of. My beard was so heavy that it was pulling my bottom lip and jaw down leaving my mouth open for more sand. Pretty miserable and I will for sure be getting a weather report before anymore runs.

5K: 23:01

NEED BUMPER PLATES IN AFGHANISTAN

AM Session

Snatch X 1 Reps X 4 Sets - 120/135/135/135
Snatch Pull X 3 Reps X 3 Sets - 135
Snatch PP X 3 Reps X 3 Sets -135/145/145
Back Squat X 2 Reps X 4 Sets - 235/235/245/245

Things are looking good. I changed my squat technique a bit and I'm weaker but it will make me stronger at oly lifts. Less posterior chain (don't hate crossfitters) and more quad. Sorry Low bar back squat but you gotsta go.. I may keep you around for my CFT's though.

Noon Session

AMRAP 20 minutes
12 Power Snatch @ 65lb (no bumpers which made it a mid shin pwr snatch)
10 Push Ups

Completed: 11 rounds plus 3 power snatches.

As I have little time to post because of a lot of changes at the gym during my absence. I find myself quite busy doing computer stuff for the gym from overseas with internet connection speeds slower than an intermittent dial up connection. I have to stay up when everyone goes to sleep to get this stuff done which is taking a toll on my much needed rest for recovery. I hope all this stuff makes for the better of the gym.

WOD
Pull Ups with continuous 1 minute clock
1-14: No problems
15: Callous Tear
16: Pushed through
17: Broke it in two sets

I could have made it to I'm guessing 19 or 20, but whats the point in going all that way with injury when there is no competition. The good new is some of my pull up strength is coming back. When I first got out here, I had trouble doing sets of pull ups higher than 12. Its amazing how a lower body injury can mess with your mind enough to where you don't want to do anything and become weak all over.

4 X 15 - 30" Box Jumps for a warm up.
2 Mile Run: 13:30

500M Loops is not the deal.

Slower Than Sprinting, Faster Than Yogging

Thank got for the big helo pad to run on. It made things much nicer than the large gravel run I was planning to do my 800M Runs on. I felt pretty good and not too sore from the Halloween wod. I know I'm definitely faster but dust and altitude play a part in this I'm sure. Not to mention I haven't been training on the running side of the house in a long while.

WOD: 800M Run X 4 - 2-3 Min rest between runs

1. 2:34
2. 2:38
3. 2:36
4. 2:33

Body Weight O'Fun

Its Halloween in good ol Afghanistan and there is no need for costumes. My beard alone could get me past any of my friends without know who I am. Not to mention my hair is almost as long as JC's himself. People of the old days used to say the their power emanated from their hair and its length. I'm going to go ahead and say its a flat out lie cause I felt like poop on both of my workouts today.

Heavy Single Snatch - 140
Heavy Single Clean - 175
Back Squat 77% - 2 X 4 - 205
Now I know I could have done more but not having bumper plates or a rubber floor for that made my decision easy.

Metcon
25-50-75 Reps Each For Time.
Air Squats
Sit Ups
Push Ups
Pull Ups

Time: 30 Minutes. Pathetic :( I think I need people hear to suffer with me to bring some competition. Either that, the age factor is starting to settle in.

My Eating Is Killing My Rest Days

I can actually say that eating right is my downfall as an athlete. Its probably my one true addiction that I have a hard time controlling, but not for the same reasons as a hooker to cocaine&meth or an disgruntled old man to whiskey. Being overseas doesn't allow a zone/paleo diet and when I'm home its about the taste of life and I want to taste and experience everything. I know, I'm selfish but I like to enjoy myself. But I can actually say I have been dry on the spirits (by choice, I know) for over a month now. I haven't been dry this long since I was probably 5 or so. Either way, proper diet is my downfall and the part of my life that is full of excuses and needs a complete mental fortitude overhaul. As for my workouts. I can't complain cause I'm seeing gains but I'm sure it would be a little more drastic if my diet was on point.

I should have had a rest day today but with all the carmel holiday popcorn I ate yesterday, thats a no go.

Snatch: 115X2 X 3 Sets Then 135X1 X 3 Sets
Snatch PP: 135X4 X 3 Sets
K2E's: 12 X 4 Sets

Then

3 RDS For Time
50 Yard Shuttle Sprint
10 Dead Hang Pull Ups
12 Half Moons W/65lb Sand Bag

Time 4:30

Ohh, Annie!

I thought today would be redemption cause Annie has always been good to me. I've always been good with the rope and don't usually get too tired on sit ups but I guess thats only when you do them regularly. Today was far from what I wanted. I missed on every once on every set on the rope, and paused twice during the situps. Well, there is alway tomorrow or the next to get better. And I will!

"ANNIE"
50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Sit Ups

Time: 6:50

STRICT PRESS 5X5
1. 135
2. 135
3. 135
4. 135
5. 135

WHERE'S MY STRENGTH AT?

Walking into the gym yesterday feeling pretty good and my injuries seem to be all healed up I did a couple rounds of the Burgener warm up and a light row. Our gym here is bare concrete flooring with two 2'X2' chunk of 1"inch pads that we use to drop our weights on. Accuracy on the movement, and more so if your gonna drop the weight. Quite scary actually.

Front Squat 5X3
1. 180
2. 180
3. 180
4. 185
5. 185

Back Squat 5X3
1. 225
2. 225
3. 225
4. 235
5. 235

Being that I don't have a spot rack or no bumper plates, there is no room for drops so I couldn't push my self as much as I should have. I did focus on deep butt to calves depth which made these quite difficult in the last couple of rounds. I definitely feel stronger but definitely got a long way to go to get back to normalcy.

Is That Weakness I Smell?

Man, its been a long time since I been on my blog journal. Between injuries, being extremely busy, and some occasional laziness. I figured I've got the time now and its always good to keep track of what your doing on the daily when your are in a recovery status. Today was a nice little run at Nate but since I didn't have rings for the muscle ups, I suffered thru doing pull ups and Dips. Definitely easier to less Muscle Ups.

"NATE"

AMRAP in 20 Minutes:

04 HSPU's
06 Pull Ups & Dips
10 KB Swings with 53lbs

RDS COMPLETED: 14 @ 6000ft elevation.

In the evening I completed my 20 Rep back squats and gained another 5lb and could have easily went up another 15. Then for shits and giggles did some OHS's and cranked out 20 in a row no problem at 135lb.

20 Back Squats @ 150lbs
20 OHS @ 135

Tuesday, July 14th

AFTERNOON WOD
Snatch high-pull + muscle snatch - 70% (of MS) x 4 sets 95LBS

3-position snatch (floor, knee, mid-thigh) - 70% x 5 sets 125LBS

Power jerk + jerk - 75% (of jerk) x 4 sets 185LBS

Single Heavy Snatch: 165LBS

EVENING STRENGTH BIAS

20 Back Squats 160LBS

20 Deadlifts       225LBS

Wednesday, July 15th

EVENING WOD

"Nancy"

5 Rds For Time Of:

400M

21 OHS @95LBS

Time: 13:24  

I felt strong except for my hip flexor which slowed me down on the run.  OHS felt strong.

Road To Recovery

Recovering from an injury is never an easy thing to accomplish especially with a type A personality. I always want to go go go and put injuries to the side. Well this time it was a no go. Ever since I got back from Iraq, I've been plagued with injuries left and right. First it was the dirt in my lungs which I still have. Then I put two stress fractures in my right foot from the Wasatch Steeplechase. Then I tweeked my back and got some serious tendinitis in my right elbow. So far i've heeled and mended all my injuries except for the elbow tendinitis. The good news for me is that I've been able to finish wods again with minor irritations. I'll keep doing my thing and pushing myself till the point and back off and just keep all my training around the 85% mark which is really hard.

Friday, July 10 - WOD

4 Rounds For Time Of:

400M Run
15 Bench Press 165lbs
15 Knees to Elbows

Time: 22:47 Felt ok. A little week in the chest dept and had some discomfort in my rt elbow.

Saturday, July 11 - WOD

500M Row: 1:40
250M Row: 45 Sec
250M Row: 43 Sec
250M Row: 49 Sec

10 Rounds not for time:

3 Pull Ups 45lbs
5 Strict Pull Ups
7 Kipping Pull Ups

Pull Ups felt a little tired after the 5 round. Most like from the 250 Sprints earlier. Elbow had no discomfort.

Sunday, July 12 - WOD

Snatch
60% X 2 90lbs
65% X 2 95lbs
70% X 2 100lbs
80% X 3 115

Clean & Jerk
90% X 1 185lbs
80% X 1 165lbs
70% X 1 155lbs

Straight Leg DL
155 X 8
175 X 8
185 X 8

5 Rounds For Time Of:

30 GHD Sit Ups
25 Back Extensions

Time 14:01 Felt pretty good today. Abs were a bit sore from doing the ab roller the other day. But I'm still happy about today. I'm healing up just nice:)
75% X 3 155lbs

I don't even no where to start its been so long since my last post. Life is great but my training has been in the suck hole due to some serious yard excavation labor. After doing some seriously functional movements such as shoveling, boulder moving, wheel barrow rolling, axe swinging, tree pushing, my low back and elbow have taken a toll for the worse. Its been a few days and my back feels better but the tendinitis in my right elbow is hellacious and holding my training up to Nth degree.

Since my last post, I've started a 8 week 20 squat repetition program where you find your 5 Rep Back Squat max and do 80% of that for 20 repetitions twice a week, and go up 5lbs each time. Right now I'm on my 3rd week and all is good since my tennis elbow isn't involved.

Week 3 - 20 Rep Back Squat

Completed - 150lbs


Wednesday WOD: NATE

AMRAP in 20 Minutes of:

2 Muscle Ups
4 Handstand Push Ups
8 KB Swings @70lbs

Total Rounds: 13
PR: 17

Overall: Felt great minus the elbow issues. There was a lot of discomfort in the dip position of the muscle up. I guess I'll be doing the R-rest I-ice C-compression E-elevation along with some hot and cold contrasts. Well its back to the grind.

Another Friday Beat Down. Man, this one was a definite test of my mental fortitude. The duration of this WOD crushed me to my very soul to say the least. When completing this WOD, my body was completely wrecked, but my mind came out with total satisfaction. It was a complete boost to thee old brain. I was totally proud of Grant and Alli for coming to not only represent, but crush me. It was an awesome sight to behold. Out of the 90 repetitions, I missed 4 catches, and 1 press.

WOD: For Time.

30 - Snatches 135lbs
800M Run
30 - Clean & Jerks 155lbs
800M Run
30 - PC & Jerks 165lbs
800M Run

Time: 58:12

WOD: 5X3 Front Squats & Bench Press 5 X 1
1. 185X3
2. 185X3
3. 185X3
4. 185X3
5. 195X2

135 X 10
165 X 10

1. 225X1
2. 225X1
3. 225X1
4. 230X1
5. 235X1

After a nice weekend off and having my brother in town for the weekend. I got a nice monday 6am wod with the Crossfit801 crew. It was a killer on the forearms. They have some real athletes in their morning crew. My body is feeling pretty good and is starting to loosen up and get back to normal.

WOD: For Time

21 - OHS w/95lbs
42 - PULL UPS
15 - OHS
30 - PULL UPS
09 - OHS
18 - PULL UPS

Time: 8:30 something.

PM WOD:

Run 1 mile as fast as humanly possible.
Rest: The amount of time it took to run the mile
Run 1 more mile till cotton mouth, rib cramping, and gasping for air sets in.

Drink beer till cottonmouth subsides, and a smile returns to facial region.

Time
Mile 1 - 5:04
Rest - - 5:00
Mile 2 - 4:51

The Re-Adjustment To Getting Crushed

It is a true eye opener to train with some elite level athletes in the gym. It puts a huge twist of competition back in view. It is what i've been missing in my training overseas and I'm glad its back in my life. It just sucks to have and then not, and then back again. A rollercoaster.
Today we have started a new Friday monster mash WOD for our Trainers and clients that want to partake in the action. It will be a long duration Metcon style WOD that will test the soul of yourself. Todays was a good one. We had 6 participants and it crushed us all and almost killed Mike.

WOD: The Moreland Speciale

10 Rounds For Time.

25 Calorie Row
15 Hang Power Cleans 95LBS
10 Push Press 115LBS
05 Back Squat 185LBS
05 Muscle Ups
01 Deadlift 275LBS
20 Ball Slams 20LBS

TIME:
1. Justin "The Juggernaut" Dickson - 1:19:03
2. Vi "The War Baby" Diamond - 1:29:10
3. Alex " The Mighty Mouse" Murray - 1:29:44
4. Jason "Going The Distance" Moreland - 1:39:29
5. Rich "Upper Level Gumby" Mrazik - 4Rds 1:13:00
6. Mike "Come A Long Way" Sickle - Killed in Action. 4 Rounds

Its been a few days since my last post and its been a rollercoaster of feelings to say the least. I ran the Wahsatch Steeplechase on Saturday morning and started off on a pace that was too fast to sustain throughout the race. The elevation was I bigger issue than I thought it would be. I knew I would be winded, but being winded turned into intercostal cramping before getting to the top which in turn, turned into hamstring, quad, and calve cramping about 5 miles to the finish. I will definitely make this race an annual thing to see my progressions and see how my game plans change. It was a blast to see all the people from the gym getting at it.

Steeplechase Time: 3 hours 31 minutes

Sunday: REST DAY

Monday: Nasty Girls

3 Rounds For Time Of

50 Air Squats
7 Muscle Ups
10 Hang Power Cleans

Time: 9:30ish

Feeling: I felt like shit basically, still being sore in the calves from the run on saturday. Muscle ups felt solid for the first 2 rounds and then my grip shit the bed on the third round. The HPC's were killing the grip. I will have to start working some grip drills in the coming weeks. I'm kind of bummed, ok more like depressed that my other job is interfering with new found ultra marathon hobby. I was totally stoked to run the death race, but got sideswiped by my other job with some lame training re-certification. All in all though. Its a great feeling to get back into the gym and get at some WOD's with other people other than myself. The competition is a good feeling. Its really good to see the trainers and client surpass me. I feel my dream job is taking affect on the others around me. I love it.

Its almost that time. Just 1 day till the Wasatch Steeplechase 17 mile hill run. It should be fun working the already difficult terrain with the crazy thunderstorms and climactic weather. Should be a fun little jaunt thru the mud. I didn't want to go completely lazy before the run tomorrow morning.

WOD: 10k Row "NOT FOR TIME"

Here are some pictures of the parts of the race trail. EPIC!

Ahh, what a glorious day. Its been over 2 months since I've been in my gym it was a sight for sore eyes. My friends and trainers have done wonderful things in there and there are also so many new fresh faces. Not that the old ones aren't fresh. I love all you guys and gals. I'm still a little down from Jetlag and it usually takes a week or so for me to get back into the groove, so I just tooled around in there and did some heavy deadlifts. Overall, I felt pretty strong.

Dead Lift 7 X 1

1. 315
2. 315
3. 315
4. 315
5. 315
6. 325
7. 335 missed.

I know its been a while since my last post but be assured that I have still been hitting it regularly.  I've been on quite the busy side lately.  Its all good though.  I must say that I'm quite excited to be rolling out of the Sandbox of Iraq and finally get home for a bit of rest and kind of relaxation.  So today I gave myself a good going away WOD off the mainsite with a little bit of extra time added to it.  I'm sure i'll be tossing and turning on the plane with restless leg syndrome.  I'm feeling the soreness set in already.  Bodyweight metcon's rock though.

Warm Up

15 power snatches 45lbs

15 ohs 45lbs

5 X 1 Power Snatch 105

5 X 1 Clean & Jerk 145

WOD: MARY "AMRAP in 1 hour"

05 HSPU's

10 Pistols (Alternating Legs)

15 Pull Ups on a crappy angled bar.

RDS in 20 minutes: 10

RDS in 60 minutes: 24

Here is some insane parkour by Damien Walters.  This kid is the real deal.

As I wait in angst for my left hammie to heal up a bit, I stand in the gym confused cause I want to work out with it so bad.  So this morning I did a run, swim, run doing 20min. per movement.  It was pretty fun although it was a 115 degrees and a little hotter at some points in the trail.  After that, I cranked out 100 HSPU's.  I stretched my hammie out and its starting to feel better.  I'm hoping fully recovered by Monday.  Only time will tell though.

Run 20 minutes: Distance 3 miles

Swim 20 minutes: Distance 1500M

Run 20 minutes: Distance 3.3 miles 

Rest Day

Well, I've decided I'm gonna take a much needed rest day.  I think I may have pulled a hammie but I'm not quite sure.  I just know its really tight and aches.  I'll just have to learn to watch my food intake till I get back to training.  Here are a few photos of a crossfit stud and level 2 trainer.  The Boz.  This guy has some serious athletic ability as you will see in the following photos.  Please don't try this unless you like bruised up shins.

Thats what I call taking flight!

Knowing that I should be taking a day off but also knowing that I've been eating like shit the last two days cancelled out my day off even though I know my body needs it.  I decided to do a wod but keep it light and fairly easy.  Just enough to work up a sweat in the hot sun.

WOD: 10 Rounds For Time.

05 HSPU's

10 Push Ups

10 KB Swings w/53lb

15  Ab Mat Sit Ups

Time: 21:23

Why do I hate rowing so much.  Because there isn't an even playing field.  Size and height do matter in the  game of rowing.  It hurts but its true.  But like a dog, I will keep trying for the unattainable.  That ever humbling extra second to be shaved off.  I've got one month to do it.  So onward I move to the ever painful erg.

WOD: Finish For Time.

500M Row

30 Bodyweight Bench Press

1000M Row 

20 Bodyweight Bench Press

2000M Row

10 Bodyweight Bench Press

Time: 21:20 w/165lbs

I believe my plan to get rid of some soreness worked.  So the other day my quads and hammies were a bit sore from a heavy squat day and I thought I'd hit legs again the following day to get rid of the soreness.  I believe it worked cause I did a 50 rep Grace yesterday and I woke up today a little less sore than the day prior.  Todays WOD was good for me cause the last time I did it was back in November and I did it in the low 9 minute time frame.  This time I beat it by 2 minutes and I did it after 2 prior days of crushing my legs.

AM WOD:  Swimming

1000M Freestyle 

NOON WOD:  21-15-09 For Time.

225LB DEADLIFT

HSPU

TIME: 7:07

Sometimes to get rid of soreness, you have to hit again.  Atleast that was my mindset going into it.  I'll let ya know if my plan worked out tomorrow.  I was feeling a little like Grace today but with a little more time added to the mix.  So I did a 50 rep Grace for time.  Oh it was a joy to behold.  Something I believe all my little gym rats might come to endure in the near future.

WOD: GRACE +20 For Time.

50 Power Clean & Jerks

Time: 6:20

Strength Day

WOD:  5X5 Front Squat & Back Squat

FRONT SQUAT

1. 185X3 FS
2. 185X3 FS
   
3. 185X3 FS
   
4. 185X3 FS
   
5. 185X3 FS
   

BACK SQUAT

1. 225X3 BS
2. 225X3 BS
   
3. 225X3 BS
   
4. 235X3 BS
5. 240X2 BS

Finish with 100M walking lunges.

I saw the WOD posted at my gym yesterday and thought that would be a fun one, and oh how I was wrong.  The days prior were mild and cool weather wise with light drizzle and clouds keeping it a comfortable 80 degrees.  Today, not so much..  I went outside to set up some equipment and it was 104 degrees.  I didn't have a 20lb medicine ball around cause it went missing so I subbed the wall ball with some SDHP's cause I need a lot of work on them anyways.

Warm Up

500M Row

500M Swim

WOD:  For Time

10-9-down to 1 of:

Box Jump Burpees w/30"

Ab Mat Sit Ups

SDHP w/95lbs

Strict Press w/95lbs

Time: 20 minutes of suck and hurt.

I didn't think it was gonna be too bad, then the next thing I know, sweat is pouring from my eyebrow and I'm gasping for air.  It felt good after I finished though.  It was the strict presses that wrecked my time.  I only knocked the first 10 straight and the rest were broken in two sets.  Pathetic.  I'm in need of a rest day I think or less drinking.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be.

Lou Holtz 

Man it has been a busy few days.  I haven't posted but I have been working out.  Being that its my Bday today and I know I'm gonna be a alcoholic piggy, I decided to burn some calories prior to my eatathon.

WOD 1: AMRAP in 20 Minutes.

05 Muscle Ups

30 Double Unders

Total:  10Rds

Swim:  500M Crawl in 5:13

WOD 2:  4 Rds not timed but as fast as humanly possible.

25 Box Jumps @ 33in

10 HSPU's

250M Pool Sprint (Crawl Stroke)

I had a hour or two of rest and then went on a 7mile run doing laps around the compound in 45minutes.  I feel a little whooped but ready to eat and drink everything.  Lets get it on.

Since my forearms are still toasted from the tire flip work out last week.  I know its a long time, but that was a fucking heavy tire.  I couldn't do Helen like I would have liked to, so I modified the workout a bit.  It was still a man crusher for sure.

WOD:  3 Rds For Time.

30 KB Swings 53lbs

400M Run

21 Burpees

Time: 12:00  It definitely seems slow, and I attribute it to me running it by myself in the high heat at high noon.  Or I'm just being a pussy.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Integrity is shown when no one is looking.

THE ERG BEAT DOWN

It was a long day on Limo duty and working out didn't seem so fun but I had to get something in.  Feeling a little under the weather from cinco de mayo or something.  I needed to find something other than a metcon.  After lunch I decided to do Psuedo heavy shoulders.

6X3 Strict Press

1. 120 X 3
2. 125 X 3
3. 125 X 3
4. 125 X 3
5. 130 X 2

3 X 10 Push Jerk

1. 135 X 10
2. 155 X 10
3. 155 X 10

After dinner I feel like I needed to burn off all the crap food i've been eating lately.  The food out here has been such crap lately that the only thing worth eating is bread and heavy carbs.  Such a lame excuse, but for once its actually true.

Evening WOD:  4 X 500M Row w/ 4minutes rest.

1. 1:33
2. 1:39
3. 1:41
4. 1:44

I hate the erg.  It makes me want to vomit and pee at the same time.

COMPLETE DUST OUT

Nothing new to report other than a complete dust storm that ruined my day of sprints.  What a suck day.  I ended running for 2.5 hours and running 14.8 miles.  ON A TREADMILL!  WTF!!!

FORGING THE COMBAT CHASSIS

Although I'm not in the military anymore or in a combat status, I still live by the creed that you must always train harder than your enemy. You must impose your will upon your enemy and your training. Todays wod was a definite test of my will and fortitude. I got this wod from my friend Tony's site at Crossfit Wilmington. He is a freakish machine and breeds some real power houses out of his box. I couldn't pass this one up, but after I finished, I wish I had.

WOD: 3Rds For Time.

26 Tire Flips (Jump in, Jump out on each flip.)  Tire Weight 500lbs.
26 Sledge Hammer Swings
400M Sprint/Gasping Jog

TIME: 25:10 ish

BUMPERS IN BAGHDAD

I'm as happy as a clam that the crossfit equipment that we ordered has finally arrived and we are stoked as can be. I can finally go heavy and not worry about breaking anything. We still don't have our Oly bar but that is cool and we can manage.
After a long move today I felt like I was dragging but and needed a latté to give me a little pick me up. I still felt like I needed another rest day, but decided to walk into the gym to see if I could change my mind and I did. I little warm up to get the blood flowing and the joints warmed up until I decided what I was going to do. I wasn't feeling the metcon so much so I decided to do something heavy and I'm glad I did cause I PR'd and I'm even more stoked.

WOD: 5X3 Squat Cleans

1. 165 X 3
2. 165 X 3
3. 170 X 3
4. 175 X 3 PR
5. 175 X 3 PR

1. 185 X 1 PR
2. 185 Miss
3. 185 X 1
4. 185 X 1
5. 190 X 1 PR
6. 190 Miss
7. 195 X 1 PR
8. 195 Miss
9. 195 Miss
10. 195 X 1 PR

I'm so stoked that I had such a big PR and that I did it for multiple reps. Its been a while since I've had such a big gain. Who knows what tomorrow holds, but I'm gonna sit on top of this mountain for as long as I can cause it feels good. Watch out Jason, Grant, & Justin. I'm gonna break 200 before I get home.

REST DAY

1000M swim

CLOSING THE GAP ON GENETICS

So on my rest day while swimming laps in the pool, I was thinking about how genetics plays a huge part in competitive fitness.  There are people that don't train as hard as the next and can rock it all day.  There are people that excel more than others in jiu jitsu cause of natural flexiblity or longer limbs.  No matter how you cut it, some people get dealt a better hand and there is no doubt about that.  Lance Armstrong, case in point has a 10% larger lung volume than the average man and if he didn't train for months would put the whoopin on pretty much everyone still.  

Can the human mind control what is going on there at all.  Can a person train hard enough to rewire what their brain thinks to allow the brain to perceive a different reality and possibly a different outcome.  

Some one sent me a youtube video of a man who ran a half marathon in the arctic somewhere in norway or somewhere and he did it in the middle of winter at -26 degrees with just shorts on.  No shoes or warmies.  He said he wills his body to heat up and his body temp stays hot enough to do this crazy feat of human performance.  Is he just different?  Or has he figured out how to control his brain to a certain extent.  If that is the case can one will their mind to be stronger and do things that just don't seem normal to the rest of society.  If not, then at a bare minimum, your fitness will definitely carry over to your next generation as long as you show them and pave the way for your bloodline to get stronger over time.

Life Aquatic

Ahhhh.  I finally got my gills wet.  Its been a while since I've done a swim beat down and it felt horribly awesome.  I love the water. I can't wait to do it again.

Warm Up 

500M Crawl

500M Breast

500M Side Stroke

10 X 50M / 30sec rest between

10 X 25M / 15sec rest between

1000M Crawl cool down

4mile run - Time: 26:45

Outdoor Desert Punishment

This morning before my first shift at work I decided to do 500 pull ups for time.  Why, I have no idea.  I did it in just under an hour.  About 59: 20 something.  My hands are in some serious pain but not too bad.  A lot of blisters but no tears which was good.  I did them in pyramid sets starting at 1-10-1 X 5.  I felt pretty damn good afterwards too.

This afternoon after the Dust Storm settled, it was time to get outside for some of the good stuff.  I had my crossfit newbie who has literally never run outside, so I had to break her of such a horrible habit.  I had to get rid of the treadmill/elliptical regimen that world and worst of all the American Heart Assoc. thinks is healthy.  My goal is to instill and bring back hard work in the gym instead of this low to no impact crap.  Minus some minor running problems, she did awesome and pushed herself harder than I thought she would.  For her 1st outdoor WOD I had her do the following.

3Rds for time of:  

500M Row

800M Run

50 Sit Ups

I did the same wod but kept rowing till she finished, ran with her, and did V-ups instead of sit ups and jumped on the rower right away.

Snoops Time:  19:41

My Time was the same but I did the following.

1000M - 1500M - 1500 Rows

800M Run

50 V Ups X 3

OH, The Horror:(

Let me start off by saying WTF.  I did Jeremy Thiel's workout from the crossfit mainsite video or atleast I thought I was.  So instead of doing thrusters, I started doing clean and presses.  Either way, that shit put a hurtin on me like no other.  I did it outside in the 90 degree weather which has been a complete dust storm for the last two days which made it feel like a super inversion day X10 in the Salty.  I should have worn a mask or respirator.

Gasping for air thru each and every squat clean and press. I struggled to gut thru them and get them over with.  Burpees have never been a problem for me.  I've actually gotten faster at them for some reason.  I just changed my mechanics a bit and I've just been killing it.  I guess mechanics are everything.  After finishing, I just layed on the dust and sand covered concrete and made mud angels.  The time that Jeremy put up on that is ridonckulous.  I am gonna do it again next week and actually do thrusters to see if it will improve my time which I think it will.  I'm hoping by atleast 3-4 minutes.  These movements are so much harder when you don't got bumper plates.  Boo Hoo, I know I'm whining.  I got cheese to go with it.

WOD: 3Rds for time

10 Squat Clean & Push Press @135

10 Burpees

Time: 10:14

I conned a newbie into doing this wod with me and she toughed thru it like a champ.  It was hard to get her set up because they don't have the lighter trainer bars out here and no bumpers making it miserably low.  Other than that, we rocked it.  Great Job Snoop!

WOD:  5Rds For Time

21 SDHP @ 95/40

21 Ring Dips / Jumping Dips

TIME:

Vi-12:47

Snoop-17:41

Just in case you were bored of looking at the same old stuff.  Here is a pic of my favorite crossfitter and complete firebreather Jolie Gentry.  So if you are a female.  No!  You don't become large and manly if you lift heavy doing crossfit.  You become stronger and more fit than you were previously.  So hit it hard and don't be scared of being too big because it won't happen.

Today was a strength day and I felt pretty strong for the most part.

WOD: 5X3 Bench Press

1. 195 X 3

2. 205 X 3

3. 205 X 3

4. 205 X 3

5. 210 X 3

WOD2:  Heavy Pull Ups 5X5

1. 5 w/53lb KB

2. 5 w/53lb KB

3. 5 w/53lb & 20lb KB's

4. 5 w/53lb & 20lb KB's

5. 5 w/53lb & 20lb KB's

6. 4 w/53lb & 20lb KB's

I definitely feel a little stronger in the upper body but my lower body is still feeling a little off but not injured in any way.  All in all, I feel great though.

Not much to say cause I am so tired from all huge dog and pony show.  I saw Hillary D-Bag Clinton today and she looked as haneous as ever.  I basically drove the sweetest hopped up ford excursion ever today and when I got done, I was fired up to do some speed work.

WOD:

500M Row For Time:  1:32

5k Run For Time:  18:09

5K Bike For Time:  13:43

30 Power Clean & Jerks For Time:  3:56

Wassup Annie...

Being that my lower back was quite sore from the last wod and the work day seemed to just keep dragging on, I decided to get a quickie with Annie.  She loves it fast, bouncy, and with rhythm.  So thats what I did.  Hahaha.  I hope no one reads this.  My mind is in the gutter.

Warm up w/ 3 rounds of:

20 Push Ups

20 Sit Ups

20 Air Squats

15 Pull Ups

Then 500M Row.  1:55

WOD: "ANNIE"

50-40-30-20-10 of,

Double Unders

Sit Ups

Time: 5:14

Finish with 500M Row.  1:48

THE TRUTH ABOUT TRAINERS 

Here is a great article about high priced running shoes and how they've caused more injury than not.  Check it out.   ARE RUNNING SHOES A WASTE OF MONEY? 

PUMPED ABOUT FLYING

Today was a pretty exciting day for me all in all.  I got to cruise the countryside hanging out of a little bird aka Helo and get a birds eye view of the city which was cool.  My NVG's broke off my helmet and I caught them which was the luckiest thing that could happen to me.  I almost pooped my pants at the thought of losing them.  I got backed pumped and just want to get a quick workout in before I put some beers down.

WOD:

4 rounds of :

7 Deadlift @ 275

30 Air Squats

7 HSPU's

Time: 20:18

Everything was easy except for the DL's.  I just had no juice left.  Another day...

Sleeping in:)

Well, today was the first day that I've slept in, in such a long time and it felt so so good. I woke up today, and it was supposed to be a rest day, but instead I did a crossfit endurance WOD on the C2. I felt pretty good albeit a little slow. The front of my legs have been so tight that I have been a little worried as of late about them. Just grabbing my foot while standing is actually so tight that it is painful. I think they might have a little strain to them. I think i should have given them an actual break after the Moab race.

WOD: 3 X 1500M Row w/ 2min rest between rounds.

1. 6:06
2. 5:33
3. 4:51

HSPU's 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 

with the movements below between each round of HSPU's

20 - Sit Ups

20 - Hip Extensions

No Time Recorded but it felt pretty fast.  I'm guessing around 15minutes.

I FEEL MUCH BETTER NOW

Today was a day where I sat on my ass in a vehicle for 9 hours straight literally. Its one thing to drive nine hours, but to sit in one with full kit for nine hours is a complete misery on the back. There is no comfortable position at that point. After finishing that, I had to do something to feel like I accomplished something. On top of it all, I devoured a huge piece of cheesecake. I felt the need to crush myself with double wod back 2 back. I have never been known to be the best with my diet but I have never had a shortage of ways to crush myself.

WOD: AMRAP in 20 Minutes.

20 - 30in Box Jumps
20 - Push Press 115lbs
20 - Burpees

Total: 4 Rounds

Finish with 4rds max effort of:
50 Double Unders/ Then 1min of jumping mixture.
25 Sit Ups
250M Row

Today I felt a little tired. I'd ate too large of a steak and potatoes dinner before my WOD, and I was definitely sluggish because of it. Still a fun WOD all the same.

5 rounds for time:

10 - 155LB Power Cleans

50 - Air Squats

Time: 15:11

I was thinking of taking another day off cause my legs have some weird soreness to them that has been there a while now.  Maybe a strain, but not quite sure.  So I couldn't just sit around cause I'll just eat, so I went on a nice long run.  I felt pretty good but my feet have been killing me lately.  They have a sweet pain to the touch feeling just above the arch and I'm wondering if I put a stress fracture in it again!  It wouldn't surprise me, but the train stops for no man.  I'll play it by ear and may stop running and sprinting for a bit.  I think I may just focus on strength wod's for a couple weeks and then revisit the foot issue with a run.  Other than that, the training has been pretty good out here, minus a lot of equipment issues and lack of creativity.

Time: 85minutes

Miles: Approx. 10 miles.

DOG MENTALITY.

Today I realized that I'm not actually human, and that I am an actual pack animal, a sport dog of some sort.  Not sure.  People say why do you train so hard all the time.  What are you proving.  Then I hear people say screw this, screw that, I'm too old for this or that.  Like a dog, I got nothing to prove and have no excuses.  My mind is more like a dogs and is cued up on doing.  For all you dog owners, you know what i'm talking about.  A dog could be in a complete exhaustive state passed out and if you woke them up and asked them to go play, hike, wrestle, or swim.  They are always game.  To be a part of something and make their owner/pack leader happy, and to prove themselves till their last breath is what they live, are born, and bred to do.  On a dogs last breath, they will still go for that long walk with you no matter how old or painful it may be.  Because its their life quest in being happy.

I believe I have similar DNA.  I'm not forced to do anything.  I choose to do them.  I choose to do all the things I do,  no matter how crazy it may seem to most, because it is bred into my personality or DNA.  For me, its just a thing that keeps me living.  Take these things from me and I cease to exist as a person.  I punish and push my body to limits cause I enjoy finding out things about me I didn't know before I put myself under such stresses.  It forces me to be a better person in all aspects of my life.  I'm not a thrillseeker, its just about me knowing everything about me, my limitations physically and mentally, and enjoying my entire life.  Learning, and knowing yourelf completely frees you and allows nothing but growth.  Hold yourself back from things and you widdle away.

Since opening up the box a short time ago.  Last September to be exact.  I've met clients that I see as friends and seen them grow mentally in a way that they may not see yet!  Pushing themselves harder in a single workout than they have their entire life.  I've seen people hit their mental limit and think about stopping and then someone tells them they can do and then they continue to push with everything within them.  Its hard to imagine but I've seen it.   If you happen to know me when I'm beyond ripe and just a wrinkled, old  and grouchy man telling stories.  Ask me if I want to go ride, hike, swim, skydive, board, surf, or do a WOD.  You'll probably see a grin on my face as I get up to lace my shoes and say lets do it.

WOD:

7X3 Back Squat

1. 205

2. 225

3. 225

4. 225

5. 245 X 2

6. 245 X 2

7. 245 X 1

Dead Lift

135 X 10

225 X 10

245 X 10

275 X 5

305 X 1

Peeled Blisters, and Alcohol Soap. WTF!!!

I woke up today with some tight legs and the first thing that came to mind was all upperbody.  Such a baby.  So I did a good warm up and decided to do 30 muscle ups for time on a pull up bar cause we have no rings out at this location.  Good idea gone bad.  In my gym I could do them all day but out here not so much.  The bar I used had old tape all over the bar with wind blown sand stuck all over it.  I started off pretty good, knocking out 10 in just under a minute.  With that came a massive blister that ripped right off after number 12.  I finished in discomfort and a appalling 12 minutes.  The good news is the the blister is on my palm which heels faster and still allows me to do pain free pull ups.  

From there I went into the gym and did a pull up / double under WOD, followed up by a tabata row fest.  I finished all this work off by polishing off 5 pieces of delicious Baklava and a Latte.  By the way.  Do not wash your hands with the anitbacterial alcohol rubbing soap with open blisters before eating.  The cursing and whining that ensues shortly after puts all eyes on you making you look like a complete douche.  Yup, that was me.

WARM UP:  3 rds of.

10 push ups

10 sit ups

10 overhead air squats

10 supermans

Finish warm up with 1 mile run.

WOD 1:  30 Bar Muscle Ups 

Time: 11:58

WOD 2: 10 Rds For Time.

10 Pull Ups

30 Double Unders

Time: 10:04

Finish with Tabata Row: 20sec work/10sec rest for 8 rounds.

Forced Rest

Ok, I'm actually gonna force myself to rest today cause body is not happy.  My lower half and midline is sore as can be.  It must be from the sprints the day.  I'm not quite sure.  With this rest in mind.  I'm really gonna have to focus on eating good cause with boredom, I tend to start eating everything in site which is why I hate resting.

WOD:  5 Rounds Not For Time of.

Doing absofrickinlutely nothing!!

Rest Not Beer Needed..

I miss my little red gym monster and the daily morning wet wash wake up call she likes to do to me so much.

Man, everytime I get time off to rest it gets all screwed up by beer.  My rest days are more like recovery days from boozing and not restful at all.  The last few days has been pretty cool though cause I've picked up a crossfit newbie out here and showing her the ropes.  There is a heavy lack of equipment out here but more so for females which makes it challenging for programming but shit is getting done.  Its nice cause it keeps my training up to speed and keeps things in perspective for me.  Todays WOD is gonna be a strength day.  I'll keep you posted on that shortly.

5 X 3 Bench Press.

1. 185 X 3

2. 195 X 3

3. 195 X 3

4. 195 X 3

5. 205 X 3

After that pathetic performance, I will be ordering benches for the gym Fo Sho!

30 Squat Cleans @ 155

Time: Too slow to post.  7:55 + 4 minutes of feeling sorry for myself.

Who is this Jeremy character.

With my legs a little or a little more than a little tight from the sprints yesterday, especially after racing Musky on the quad for a 75m sprint.  I couldn't think of anything so I looked at my catalog of WOD's on my computer and found good ol Jeremy.  It was a lot tougher than it usually is for me.  Normally, I breeze thru anything with OHS's in it.  But today I had a problem keeping my shoulders activated even after watching the video on shoulders with Kelly Starett.  I finished in a reasonable time but by no means a PR.

WOD:  "JEREMY"

21-15-09 For Time of:

OHS w/95lb

Burpees

Time: 6:04

Evening workout:  13 mile run

Time: 88 Minutes

Things that make you Yak:(

This is seriously probably the only bodyweight movement that I can think of that can cause you to be nauseous, utterly parched for air, possibly break ribs from the lungs expanding too quickly, and vomit with violent intent.  I'm talking about sprints.  

So I'm out at high noon here in the sandbox, and I know its not peak summer but its pretty F#$%ing Hot!  Why I decided to sprints I have no idea but the guy that told me the pool would only take 10 minutes to clean was off by 45 minutes which pissed me off.  So off to sprinting, and there the pain train began.

Warm Up:  500M Row @ 1:42

5 X 100M Sprint - Walking back to starting point for rest.

1. 14.20

2. 14.03

3. 13.74

4. 13.65

5. 13.67

6 X 50M Sprint - Walking back to starting point for rest.

1. 6.20

2. 6.70

3. 6.72

4. 7.08

5. 7.01

6. 7.14

Finished with 20 X 30in box jumps.

Today, it was time to get it on.  My lower back has still been a little off so I did some upper back. Nice..

5 Rds of:

3 - Weighted Pull Ups

5 - Dead Hang Pull Ups

7 - Kipping Pull Ups

Followed by 21-15-9 of:

KB Swing 53lb

Box Jump 30in

HSPU's

Time: 7:05

REST DAY.. Kinda..

Well, today was supposed to be a rest day but ended up being some light oxidative training with a 6mile run, some admin paperwork interuption, 30 minutes on a stationary bike maintaining 95 RPM's and traveling 13.8 miles, and last but not least; A little Annie for time. 5:25 A little slower than pr but not bad.

Not having bumpers is scary.

Its been 2 full days since I did Linda and my back is Ripe full of soreness.  WTF...

So I did a heavy (In my mind it was heavy, but its all relative) shoulder day, and it wasn't looking great.  You never really appreciate stuff till you don't have it.  Everything is harder knowing you don't have bumper plates cause you can't drop it without looking like a total toolbox which was almost the case for me on a few separate occasions on this mildy heavy day.

Strict Press  5 X 3

1. 115 X 3

2. 115 X 3

3. 120 X 3

4. 125 X 3

5. 125 X 2 - 1 MA

Push Press 5 X 5

1. 125 X 5

2. 130 X 5

3. 135 X 5

4. 135 X 5

5. 140 X 5

Split Jerk 5 X 1

1. 140 X 3

2. 155 X 1

3. 165 X 1

4. 170 X 1

5. 180 X 1

2k Row - 8:02

Sore and Whooped!

Man, I have to say that I feel like a whooped bitch with a super sore lower back, tight upper back, painfully sore cheeks on the lower half.  Linda just beat the piss out of me.  All I could muster up today was a slowwww 3 mile run to loosen up the legs and back, then row 2k with a time of 7:13 which was good but I still feel like shit.  Sitting in a vehicle all day didn't help much either.  I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better training day for me than today.

Back on the Wagon!

I got my 1st WOD in since touching down in the Sandbox and it was a wrecker.  Probably not a wise decision on my part, but I've never been one to do the normal or easy.  It started off pretty good but then my legs said F#$% Off and by the time I got to the 5's my lower back was in Eat a D*&# mode and when I finished, it was like a horror movie.  I couldn't speak and kept falling down as if the bad monster was chasing/walking after me and catching me.

WOD:  "LINDA" aka "3 Bars of Death"

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of each Movement For Time:

.75 X Body weight Cleans - 95lbs

1.0 X Body weight Bench Press - 155lbs

1.5 X Body weight Deadlift - 225lbs

Time: 25:16

Summary:

I definitely need to put some serious strength work in while I'm out here.  My bench press felt good but not for high repetitions.  My legs might have been a bit weak still from the run or the jetlag.  Not sure, but I'll fix'em soon enough.  There is no place to run out here except for the treadmill so I am gonna have to train my brain to run on one of those things.  We shall see how that goes.

CAN AN 18 HOUR FLIGHT FEEL LIKE 2 HOURS?

It was an easy nonstop flight to DC, but right at landing I had to meet up with the company and burn my brain doing some random psych tests, and a test where I felt like I was on the show "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader". The two best questions on the psych test were do you ever wake up feeling evil, and do you have superpowers that other people don't know about. I walked out of that room feeling like the shortbus was there to pick me up.

Instead, I had a friend Mari take me out to dinner. I had Lobster Bisque, 2 large crab cakes (Amazing), and a grilled chicken and roasted beet salad with avacado with a few Blue Moon's and buzz to follow. I love this job cause I have friends that live all over the world, and they are always happy to see you.

So the question is; Can an 18 hour flight feel like 2 hours? Well it did for me. I got on the plane with a bit of a buzz and dog ass tired for some odd reason. Probably from my brain overthinking itself about the wifey, the gym, and future plans. "The Usual". Before the plane even took off, I fell asleep and didn't even wake up for the refueling. I woke up up with 55 minutes before landing in the sand box and all was good minus the knot I got in the middle of my back from over stretching with a yawn. All is good:)

Now its time to put on the game face and get my train on. I'll keep you posted on my adventure.

Legs in the hurt locker

Today was a bit disappointing to watch my front squat get really weak and my form go to crap.  I'll have a couple of months to work on it though since there won't be bumpers, it will be a lot the standard gym lifts.  I'm excited to get this show on the road and get back to do the Steeplechase with the boys.

WOD:  FS 7X3's

1. 185 X 3

2. 185 X 3

3. 185 X 3

4. 185 X 2 + Dump

5. 185 X 2 + Dump

6. 185 X 2 + Dump

7. Box Squat 135 X 3

2000M Row For Time:  7:31

Rest, rest, rest!

Why can't a rest day be just that.  It always ends up being something else, such as errands, finishing taxes which was a relief to put it lightly, putting up molding.  Getting that thing done was like a never ending fight gone bad WOD.  

Tomorrow is looking like a good strength day with some Rowing that I'm actually excited to do.  I might even get some crosscountry skiing in in the am.  We shall see.  1 more day till wheels up and back to being a nomad.  I'm gonna miss all my new found friends from the gym and training the way I want to.  Soon it will be training with minimalist equipment which can be a bit painful.  Life goes on.  I may be gone but this blog will keep rocking.  So stay in touch everyone.

Back on track..

Still feeling a little tight in the hammies and the calves this morning but still pumped as can be.  I got to witness like 10 people in the gym PR Grace today.  They got me so pumped and inspired, I had to do it.  I started out a little slow but picked up the pace and finished in 4:16 which is a PR for me and I know I could totally do it faster with some truly fresh legs.  Its all good though, and I'm completely stoked.  

Its No Sub 3 minutes, but I'm a happy camper.  I leave in 3 days and I'm pumped for that too.  It'll be a fast one.  Then I get back and start racing again.  The fun never ends.  I love my new life and I'm so happy I took a right on the Y in the road of my life.  Fun, Friends, and Fitness all forged into one.  I'm living a dream.

WOD:  "GRACE" RX'd

TIME:  4:16

Post race day two.  I felt pretty good.  I managed to run the WOD for my noon class and they all got me pumped up feeling good.  

I had decided I was just gonna do the warm up and then said fuck it and did the WOD too, which was a quick one and a good one to ease myself into.  I felt pretty good and not to sore the next day.  My legs still feel a little slow and rickedy upon waking up.  

Warm Up: 3 Rds

250M Row

15 Air Squats

25 Sit Ups

WOD:

50 Wall Balls #20

40 Double Unders

30 KB Swings #53

20 Lunges (Per leg)

10 Box Jumps 24in

Time:  5:44  Post 64mile run mind you.  Not too bad.

A HUMBLE PIE WITH AN EXTRA PIECE OF FAILURE

Well, I got back from the Moab 100 this weekend and it was a failure to say the least.  I thought I had trained enough which I still believe I did.  I just had too many things slash excuses in my brain.  It started off really good for me as I was completing the 5.34 mile loops in roughly 1 hour 10-15 minutes per.  My knees are still trying to adjust to the slower pace and longer distances.  Running a marathon is nothing like running a 100 miler in so many ways.  A definite learning experience and now the fire inside is an inferno with anger cause I hate not finishing something I say I'm gonna do.  I feel like I let everyone I know down, but more so myself.  

When the 12 hour Mark hit or 12 hour and 10 minutes hit, I had hit the halfway mark of 50 miles and then my GPS watch died.  I did my 11 lap in the dark with all kinds of pain in the knees, feet, and toes.  My wife took the car into town to visit some friends and I grabbed everything I needed except for my socks for the sock changes that I would need (bad bad, idea).  The loop that we were running was about a 1 mile of soft sand s-turns with the rest being harder than concrete sand stone with grooves, holes, ruts, and loose rock everywhere, and all either uphill or on a downhill grade which sucked the most.  Not quite what I  had expected for the run.  The worst part of it all was when my excuses got the best of me was around 10 PM when I was on the other side of the butte and the supposedly glow stick marked trails were no longer marked due to the glow sticks failing.  Falling in to potholes and cracks in the middle of the night with fresh legs is one thing, but doing it after 13 hours of running  was like jumping off a building while keeping your knees locked out.  I started to get worried about injuring myself right before I leave for work overseas and starting worrying about money which at this point I have none.  You be amazed at how the brain can take over and consume you with these bad thoughts.  

Well, I didn't finish but I now have a new game plan for this same race and many others.  Make sure you don't have to work 4 days after your race is finished.  For all of you that were praying for me and wishing me luck.  I apologize deeply and I won't let it happen again.  I PROMISE YOU THAT!!

vi

2 more days till fight night and this guy is feeling good.  I just want to hurry up and get it on so I can get back to normal training.  This tapering business is for the birds.  I'm packed up and ready to roll.  I just got to grill up some chicken and make some hardboiled eggs.  Lets do this so I can do other WOD's other than handstand pushups already.

Just counting down the days and trying not to get sick or injured before gameday. I just tried to keep my stoke focused on the clients in the gym. Watching everyone tear thru the Filthy Fifty just pumped me the F$#* up. I wanted to get in there and do it so bad. Now I just gotta bottle up that firedupness and do what I do.
So I get home and the smoosh faced monster is staring me in the face with the look of "WalterTerryFrank" Vi. "We better be going somewhere or I'm gonna get ridiculously annoying". So, I couldn't deprive the little monster of her exercise. I took her down to a local park by the house with a 1mile dirt loop and did an easy 3 lapper which was good cause my feet felt kind of weird but it all subsided after the first mile. Thank goodness.

Total Distance: 3.3Miles
Total Time: 27minutes slow slow slow.

Tapering?

I should be tapering but I just couldn't take it anymore and I'm sure I'll be feeling it tomorrow morning or the next day.  Either way, I'm stoked to do this race and delve into the unknown and see how my game plan works.  

This morning I just did some Handstand Push Up holds using just one arm.  It was fun and now that I got it down, its time to start working on the 1 arm hspu.  Could be a bit before I get it, but it will be done.  Around noon, and losing my mind, I broke down and did a WOD.  

Marcum / Modified w/row instead of run.

400M Row

21 Box Jump Burpees

400M Row

15 Box Jump Burpees

400M Row

09 Box Jump Burpees

Time: 6:25

So after taking a bit of a break from doing WOD's and trying to stay injury free for race day.  It happened.  I was playing with my wife and slammed my knee into a countertop.  Yup, it hurt and it bruised a bit but it works.  Just to make sure I rode my bike home from the gym today which felt great and the weather was amazing.  About 2 miles away from the house, I was crossing an intersection and thought I had rolled thru a CSI crime scene but with ducks...  I had to swerve 3 seperate times cause there were dead green mallards all over the road.  2 were missing heads, a couple were feather pancakes.  It was pretty gross and it makes me wonder where they came from and what the hell happened.  

Total Miles biked:  16 Miles

Total Time:  40 Minutes

Ahhhh Yesss. I feel good...

I gotta say that doing yoga in the early AM felt great.  I can't thank you enough Nicole.  I felt so good throughout the day.  My calves which were sore the last couple of days feel great.  It was also a good showing of people for a 6am class.  The 801 6am posse are some serious athletes with total dedication which I truly love.  They would definitely mesh well with our 6am crew.  1 day down and 9 to go.

WOD:  Absolute Rest with stretching.

Race day is a coming

With like a week left before race day and the complete unknown.  I'm just tapering my runs off doing some short ones before go time.  I have a great feeling about it all even though i don't know the outcome.  Its weird that I train so hard but still don't know how I will perform under the pressure.  I've been under intense stress and pressure many times before and every time it feels very similar with minor detail changes.  This feels very much the same and i feel the outcome will be amazing minus the feet and joint pain.  

After work, it was such a warm sunny day here in the cold Salt Lake City that after work I had to go for a run.  So I headed out to hogle zoo and hit up the Bonneville Shoreline Trail for a good little 6 mile run.  I kept a good slow and easy pace.  I felt pretty good but my calves were still sore from the 5k sprint a couple days before.  Other than that, things went off without a hitch.   Tomorrow will be a rest day filled with Yoga with Nicole.  I can't wait.  My body is begging for it.

Days Closer to Moab 100..

As race day comes closer (11 days) and my butterflies get a little stronger, my stoke is even stronger than that.  I love the unknown and how it makes me feel.  I've got my food and drinks that I'm taking down.  My gear is prepped and I feel ready to go and get it on right now.  Its hard to taper off on my runs cause I always feel I should be doing more.  Today I kept it fairly easy.  I just did some max lifts along with a couple hundred ring dips scattered throughout the day.  The long road and the stepping stone is a coming and I am a ready.  Lets Get It On!!!

DL:  315 

Strict Press:  140

Back Squat: 295

I love Snatch(es)

I woke up feeling groggy but just looking at my dog this morning feeling like I looked made my day.  Once I got to the gym this morning, it was a fun day just focusing on the snatch.  Such a fun word. 

A picture of me waking up Bella at 5am to the sound of my espresso machine. 

Rds:

1. 115 X 3

2. 115 X 3

3. 115 X 3

4. 135 X 3

5. 135 X 3

6 135 X 2 rest 1 minute + 1

7 135 X 1 Rest 1 minute + 1 Rest + 1

New Shoe Break In Miles..

So I'm walking into REI to return some Saucony Trail shoes.  Not because they were bad, but I liked the Brooks Cascadia's better.  So I returned the Saucony's and picked up another pair of Brooks and while I was there I wanted to give the new Salomon Trails a go.  The last pair I had were super comfortable but they loosened up on long runs.  These ones stayed pretty snug and were comfy as heck.

I started out thinking I was only gonna run a couple miles, but it turned into a full on 4 mile hill run up Millcreek canyon, back down and then uphill again thru pipeline trail to the top of Grandeur Peak, and back down to Wasatch Blvd going south to the Wing Coop parking lot where I strategically parked so that when I finished I could have a dose of Honey Habenero wings and a tall glass of Galandé amber ale.  Best idea i've had all week.  It was delicious and the run was great.  It was sunny and the view was spectacular especially since there was no smog at all in the valley.  

Total Distance:  12.2 miles

Elevation gain:  2500 vertical feet.

5k Friday..

Well, just as I suspected.  I planned a 5k for the gym in hopes that people would run but without fail, they just never showed.  Everyone has their excuses why they weren't their but it all boils down to one thing.  Dedication.  Dedication to your training to be better.  

So I as I got to the gym thinking I was gonna have some running company, there was no one.  But life goes on and my laces get tied.  My first lap felt pretty good, and the second felt even better.  By lap four and five, I felt like I was flying.  On the 6th and final lap I pushed it as hard as I could get my body to work and it felt good.  I got to the door of the gym in 17:15 which is 40 seconds better than my last.  Can't complain about that.  I will complain that I am slowly getting weaker in my legs and losing power as I train for this 100 miler.  Life goes on though..

Monday-Thursday WODs

Well, I got home on Monday the 9th tired as all heck from the worst driving conditions i've ever been in.  The only workout this body is gonna get is Sleep and sleep I did.  For 20 straight hours.

Tuesday 10MAR2009

WOD: Almost Fran

Everytime I started to do Fran, someone would come into the gym early so I got off the 21 portion twice and gave up.

The second part of my work out came in the evening with Jason.  We did the following

12 Rounds of:

02 - 135lb Sumo DL High Pull

02 - 135lb Thrusters

Wednesday 11MAR2009

WOD:  "TREVOR" For Time

300 Pull Ups

400 Push Ups

500 Sit Ups

600 Squats

Time: 2hrs 10min 58seconds

Thursday 12MAR2009

10 Cleans 135lb

250 Row

9 KB Swings 70lb

250 Row

08 Cleans

250 Row

07 KB Swings

250 Row

06 Cleans

250 Row

05 KB Swings

250 Row

04 Cleans

250 Row

03 KB Swings

250 Row

02 Cleans

250 Row

01 KB Swings

250 Row

Time:  18:00RX

Back off Hiatus

Sorry for not keeping up with the log but Tax season is keeping the man down.  Well, After leaving mom's back in washington I headed south to Portland to visit my good friends Trevor and Kat.  Although I didn't get in any WOD's their I did manage to have the Tackle the Tower part two up in the out of bounds area of Mt Hood at the Ski Bowl.  After having a few beers for a late lunch around 4pm.  We went out to get in 1 to 2 more runs.  Not knowing where I was at, I decided to make a jump run into the trees thinking it was gonna spit me out on a cat track.  Well, lets just say that didn't happen.  I make it about 2000 meters down in the trees where I have know where else to go but in a creek.  I stop and make a phone call to my boy to tell him not to call for help just yet or till atleast 6:30pm.  I said moving, and started making my way up the hill and tracing my path in some crazy snowfall.  I had to reach it before dark or it was going to get ugly.

I'm literally trudging in a bear crawl position with my snowboard using it to dig into the powder.  know my Iphone is going to die, I turn it off to conserve.  I trudge on.  Pushing on for about 45 minutes, I notice that I'm sweating profusely and take my beanie off.  I trudge on thru the snow and ever disappearing light.  I make one more phone call to Trev cause I found my first crash point near the beginning of the run and I start to see the lights from the night skiing runs in the distance.  It is now 6:15 and I hear something and call out Trev.  I get the reply I want to hear.  I move on with a big sweaty smile and frozen solid hair.

I make it out at 6:30pm on the money and we laugh in hysterics and make way to the car and get home to devour some Salmon Cakes and Beer.  It was a good night.  Indeed...

A couple photos from the Tackle The Tower Event Last Weekend.

Murray was so fast they had a hard time getting him in the frame.

I got up this morning a little tight but not too bad.  I think I stayed up too late watching the WEC Fight Night and watch a few sweet fights and knock outs.  I hit the foam roller for a little bit and got dressed and ready to go.  

When I started, it was pretty sunny and about 50 degrees so I dressed down going gloveless, and rolling with a buttpack with 2 bottles of water a zone bar and bags of power beans, and also a hand bottle with water.  All was good and my pace felt smooth.  I was running for the first time with these new Brooks Cascadia trail shoes.  They felt great.  I was going to go for 30 miles and had it mapped out and the roads looked nice with soft grass and trails everywhere.  I was feeling great and about 6 miles into it, it started to rain which was too shocking and I was prepared for that.  But shortly after that, it dropped down about 20-25 degrees and that I was not prepared for.  I ended up doing 16.5 miles and cutting my trip in half due to being so cold I was jackhammering.  It pretty much snowed (wet, icy, and sticky) till I got home and is still snowing as I stare out the window wanting to find the weather guy on tv kick him in the shin for getting the weather completely wrong.  How do you go from partly sunny all day to effing snowing for 2 1/2 hours.  

Besides all that, I actually kept in the pose/chi position and the midfoot striking felt good in the new shoes with the laces only coming undone once.

Total Miles: 16:57

Time: 2hrs 24minutes, nice and slow.

So today, I actually ventured away from a bar and went to Crossfit Tacoma this morning.  Let me back up a second though.  I had a tossed a few back last night but wasn't too drunk, but when I got home I decided to do my Iphone yoga and fell asleep in the corpse (savasana) pose.  I woke up confused as all heck and then giggled my way to bed.

Back to this morning.  On my way to the gym, I decided I needed a triple shot latté(nectar of the gods).  When I pulled up to the drive thru and the window slid open, A nice set of boobs in a bikini popped out and asked me what I would like.  In a split second I was gonna say boobies as I was staring at them and they fell out of her bikini top.  I stared so long that I was in awkward mode and felt obligated to leave a bigger tip since I got such a show.  As I rolled away she said have a great morning and I said you know I will.  "Good Show"!  I went to Crossfit Tacoma and busted a move there after meeting some cool trainers there.  For doing a bit of drinking, I felt fairly good, but by no means fast.

7AM

I did a warm up for about fifteen minutes and then did,

3 sets of 5 weighted strict pull ups with 40lbs 

Rested 3 Minutes.

3Rds for time of:

250M Row

10 HSPU's

05 Sumo DLHP's

Time: 6:03  Pretty slow but definitely fun...

Noon:  

Light 1.5mile run with Bella & Ronin.

Here is a video from the tackle the tower event last Saturday.  I get a quick run by on the camera.  Nothing crazy but I wouldn't have been able to interview anyways cause I was in the zone.  44 trips is no Joke!!!

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

I didn't get to a box like I'd hoped today but I guess thats what hanging with mom will do to ya.  I went on a quick 1.5 mile jog with Bella and Ronin our possible future second dog.  I ate a bunch of good food with mom and then proceeded to a couple of hole in the wall bars and had some beers.  I kept the bar food to a grilled chicken ceasar with avacados.

When we got home I felt guilty and did an hour of yoga and found myself sleeping on the floor in the corpse pose.  That pose is my favorite.

Sunday was all packing and getting ready to roll for my trip.  Half is for family and half is for friends and fun.  Loaded down with boards and quivers of all kinds.  Snowboards, and surfboards.  I crashed in Boise and did a little 7 miler with Bella towing me all over Ann Marie Park chasing down Geese.  It was fun for a bit but the novelty wore off quick.  

I pulled into my brothers pad right around 6pm and realized AT&T doesn't work too well in Tacoma.  Well, its late and I have to get up for a long walk with the dogs and a bodyweight WOD of some sort.  We shall see.