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.