Approaching Race Day...

Less than two weeks until race day! Woo hoo. I'm so excited about putting CrossFit Endurance to the test. I've stayed injury free, besides that neck strain I had the first week of training and I believe that was because of sleeping issues!

Two things that have seen me through, besides my coach of course, are the mobility wods and respecting rest and recovery. My longest run has been six miles and my longest set of interval runs were 800 meter runs. Less distance, more intensity, and getting stronger! That's what the focus of my training is all about.

Shoulder Press:

* I did the wrong weights for this. I should have increased the weights, but I accidently followed last month's cycle.

5 @ 45

5@ 50

5 * @ 57 + 4

Should have been 47, 54, and 61.

Conditioning:

12 Minute AMRAP

5 Hang Power Snatch 45#

7 Wall Ball 14#

9 Burpees

Rounds: 6 + 2 snatches

I did the full hang snatch with a squat. I believe my form and depth was pretty decent. Hitting the red line on the wall balls each time was questionable. I have the hardest time reaching that freakin red area! I thought I maintained a nice steady pace throughout all the movements.

Scores:

Soreness: 2

Fatigue: 2

Mood: 2

CFE WOD: (3 hours later)

8 x 200 meters, 1 minute rest

44, 43, 42, 42, 43, 42, 44, 44

5K repeats...

I'm amazed at the results of yesterday's 5K repeats! My route was definitely a "rolling" course and I felt great on the first one. I believe my effort level for the first 5K was about 80-85%. The second one was pretty tough especially after the first mile. My effort level for round 2 was about 95%.

I had to cut my rest to about 8 minutes because of time constraints and getting back to the babysitter.

Round 1:

23:52

About 8 minutes rest

Round 2:

24:40

On December 4th I did a 5K time trial and it was 25:28! CrossFit endurance rocks!

Scores:

Fatigue: 3

Mood: 2

Soreness: 2

Monday, January 31st

Dead Lift

5 @ 110#

5 @ 125#

*5 @ 140 + 4

Conditioning WOD:

5 rounds

3 minute AMRAP

1 minute rest

3 65# thrusters

6 ring dips

9 squats

Round 1: 3 + 1 thruster

Round 2 : 3

Round 3: 3 + 1 thruster

Round 4: 3

Round 5: 2 + 3 thruster + 6 ring dips + 2 squats

The ring dips were the hardest part for me. I used the red band.

Scores:

Fatigue: 2

Mood: 2

Soreness: 2

Motivation...

I'm working on getting back my mojo. I lost it last weekend which was not only physically draining, but mentally draining as well. For the first time during this training cycle all my scores reached to the 7-9 range! I think that is just another reason why CFE is a safe and smart way to train. I'm getting my motivation and confidence back, and looking forward to a fabulous weekend with our Capital family and Royce Gracie! I'm sleeping better too.

Catching up:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Swim

Wednesday:

Dead Lift de-load week.

5 @ 65

3@ 80

1 @ 95

* VERY easy!

7 rounds for time:

5 Dead lifts (I can't remember the weight, maybe 95#???)

10 Box jump

15 double unders

Time: 10:14

Surprisingly, the box jumps felt challenging, but not the dead lifts. Still working on stringing the double unders. I get them done faster with one single, one double.

Endurance:

2 2K Row:

8:51

8:38

Thursday:

500 m row

30 Overhead Squats 55#

20 elevated push ups

Time: 18:14

Friday:

Back Squat de-load week

5@ 50

3@ 65

1@ 75

VERY easy

Conditioning:

21-15-9

75# Front Squat

Burpees

Time: 8:01

Had to break of the first set of squats three times. Perfect weight to make that an intense workout.

Scores:

Soreness: 2

Fatigue: 2

Mood: 4 (Still a little distracted.)

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday:

Strength:

Strict Press:

5 @ 75% 50lb.

3 @ 85% 60lb.

1* @95% 65lb. + 4

Conditioning:

30 Back Squats 85#

2K Row

Time: 12:15

I broke the back squats up 10, 10, 10. I am starting to develop a new found love for rowing. I've learned not to freak out on the rower and keep my cadence low as I recover on the return.

Scores:

Soreness: 2

Fatigue: 1

Mood: 1

Today:

60 minute time trial

Distance covered: 6.4 miles

Average Pace: 9:22

I'm not thrilled with this result. I think I may have day dreamed and lost focus the first three miles as I didn't have to pay attention to mileage for once. The other variable to consider is the new route I took today. It was a pretty hilly one! I felt like I had a lot of climbing to do which is great since I have been doing most of my runs on the track and at Burke Lake. Around mile 3 and 4 I felt my body kicking up the pace naturally! I believe my effort for this run was about 70-75%.

Scores:

Soreness: 3

Fatigue: 1

Mood: 1

Monday, January 17

So less than three weeks until my first half marathon. Some training days make me believe that the half marathon will be a piece of cake, and some training days have me worried that I will hit a wall after 6 miles since that has been my longest run. What I am learning is that having good days and bad days is NOT a bad thing. Once again, that should not be confused with over training. There are days in CrossFit when a 45# bar feels like a balloon and there are days when the bar feels like 1,000 pounds.

Yesterday was a tough aerobic day for me. 45# overhead squats are a piece of cake, and I usually don't struggle with burpees, but I was huffing and puffing. My endurance wod was slow too. I thought my 85% tempo run was faster than my four minute intervals. Hmmmm. However, I know I'm getting stronger because I did great on my dead lifts. Coach Kari said my form has improved in all the lifts! That is nice to hear because I usually don't have someone watching me!

Strength:

5 75% 120#

3 85% 135

1* 95% 150 +4

Conditioning:

5 rounds for time:

5 Overhead Squats 45#

9 Lateral Burpees

12 Double Unders

I did single, double, single, double without breaking them up. It always take me a few seconds to get set up for the overhead squat. Like I said, I felt my cardio being tested in this wod, but the weight did not feel heavy.

Time:

9:07

Endurance WOD:

4:00 on, 2:00 off x 3

I felt slow! I've noticed that I always feel slow on the interval days, but that is probably because I am doing them after some heavy lifting!

I walked/jogged on the off.

Covered: 1.7 miles

Scores:

Soreness: 3

Fatigue: 3

Mood: 1

4 mile tempo run

Today, my four mile tempo run at 85% effort was probably one of the most relaxing workouts I have done in the last two months. I can't say it was as fun as the the day I did cleans, push ups, and squats, but it was a great run. I felt strong today. The only negative part about this workout was dropping my brand new i phone on a rock and cracking the screen! GRRR.... And, JMac, I was not talking on the phone. I carried it in my fuel belt to practice for New Orleans. I forgot to zipper the pouch and out flew the phone right onto the rocky path!

4 mile temp run @ 85% effort:

33:13

Pace: 8:18

No calf pain, blisters, or soreness! I really tried to focus on the mechanics and avoid the toe running.

Scores:

Fatigue: 1

Soreness: 1

Mood: 1

Decisions, decisions...

Innov 8s or Brooks? I have recently learned that I am most likely a "toe runner." So which pair of shoes will fix this problem? My innov 8s have the least amount of support and cushion that most running shoes have. They are a flat, flexible shoe which allows my foot to land naturally. That being said, I still need to work on my mechanics because I get pretty severe calf pain when running longer distances in those, BUT I don't get the huge blister on the fore front of my foot that the Brooks give me. Hmmmm..... I know what my CF endurance coach will say. ;-) Maybe I should just wear my sketcher shape ups for the half marathon. (hahahaha!)

Friday:

Strength:

Back Squats

1x3 70% 90

1x3 80% 100

1x3 90% 115 + 5

Once again, I love doing doing back squats. That being said, they did feel pretty heavy yesterday.

Conditioning:

Diane

21-15-9

dead lift 85#

Handstand Push ups

Time: 4:12

I used the red band for the hand stand push ups and I did not have to break them up at all. I think I could have made a harder combination of bands. The dead lifts felt fairly easy too, but I did have to break up the first set. I spent a lot of time getting set up for the hand stands in this workout.

Scores:

Mood: 2

Fatigue: 2

Soreness: 3

CFE DAY

Strength:

Strict Press:

1x3 @ 70% 47lb.

1x 3 @ 80% 55lb.

*1x3 @ 90% 60lb. +4

The strength training component has actually become my favorite part of the workouts. I am becoming more and more confident with ALL the lifts and I feel a difference in some of the movements I am doing in the wods. For example, I have struggled with good rowing form in the past, but today as I was rowing I envisioned my body going through the movements of a back squat! Hopefully, this is right, but it really helped me to improve my power output on the rower!

Conditioning:

3 rounds for time:

50o Meter Row

21 Box Jumps

15 Thrusters 65lb.

Time: 15:40

As always, the 65lb. thrusters were challenging. I tried not to geak out like I do in Fran and broke them up into sets of 5. This was just enough challenge so that I did not fail or collapse on the next one.

The box jumps were easy! Love box jumps!

As I mentioned above, rowing felt great today.

CFE

2:00 on, 1:00 off x 6

This was miserable. I had just stuffed down my lunch as I was starving! I realized I had 20 minutes until Laura's bus arrived so I broke out a of couple squats and sampson stretches to warm-up and then I took off. I almost left I pile of throw up at the bus stop! My lunch obviously had not digested, my legs were spent from the thrusters, but I did it and got it over with! I walked/jogged on the off. Covered 1.7 miles.

Scores:

Fatigue: 2

Soreness: 4

Mood: 1

Fun stuff...

Today's conditioning wod is now my new favorite workout. Doing power cleans with a manageable weight is really fun! What I loved about this workout is that it was just enough that I did not have to break any of the movements up. ;-) Thanks, Coach John! Can I do this again?

Dead Lift:

1x3 @ 70% 110#

1x3 @ 80% 125

* 1x3 @ 90% 140 +4

Once again, the dead lifts felt challenging especially at 140lb. I had to reset after each lift at 140, it was not touch and go. I hope that still counts. I do believe I am becoming more confident with this lift. Three months ago I was scared to clean 65 pounds. I could do it, but the lift made me nervous. (I'm a wimp) When you do a power clean you start in the dead lift stance and essentially dead lift the weight off the ground and clean it. Today, cleaning 65pounds was light, fun, and I believe I had perfect form! So spending time on improving the dead lift is definitely carrying over into other movements. ;-)

Conditioning:

AMRAP

3:00, 1:00 rest

3 Power Cleans 65#

6 push ups

9 air squats

1) 4

2) 4 + 3 cleans

3) 4 + 1 clean

4) 4 + 1 clean

5) 4 + 2 cleans

20 rounds + 7 cleans

BEST workout ever! I guess that means this wasn't a huge challenge for me.... so maybe I shouldn't announce that.

Endurance WOD:

Today I had to do the CFE WOD 30 minutes after the CF WOD.

8x200 meters 1:00 rest- do not deviate more than 2-3 seconds.

I did this in Loudoun so my times might be a bit off compared to the last time I ran 200 meters at the track.

46, 46, 47, 46, 48, 47, 47, 47

My quiet, snowy run..

I took this right after I finished my run! I love Burke Lake.

Friday, January 7

Back Squats! LOVE back squats. For whatever reason, I feel confident, safe and strong with this movement. Unfortunately, now that I coach mid day I have to do most of my wods by myself so I do not have someone watching form or pushing me through the conditioning. However, I believe my back squat form is good.

1x5 @ 65% - 80lb

1x5 @ 75%- 95lb

*1x5@ 85%- 107- + 8

Conditioning:

15 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)

5 push press 65#

10 wall ball 14#

15 double unders

7 rounds + wall balls + 3 double unders

The most challenging skill for me on this wod was the double unders. I was only cranking out 2-4 at a time, and I can usually stay within the 5-10 range when doing a wod. I felt great during both workouts. The push presses were very challenging, but I did not have to break them up. I did not reach the red line on the wall balls every time, and I broke those up around rep 7 or 8 each time.

Scores:

Mood: 1

Fatigue: 1

Soreness: 2

Saturday, January 8

10 K Time Trial ;-)

6 miles: 51:41

Coach John, I love how you program my time trials and tempo runs in the most wonderful weather conditions. ;-) I left my house at 7:00 A.M. and arrived at Burke Lake right when the heavy snow started. The first two miles were miserable as I was adjusting to the visibility factor, my frozen fingers, and warming up. I just wanted to get it over with! However, around mile 3 after my bitter fingers and body warmed up I enjoyed the serene beauty of the lake! I wanted to stop to take pictures with my phone. It was such a fluffy, gorgeous snow fall. Of course, right when I finished my six miles the snow stopped! To be honest, I didn't feel that strong until mile 5, and the running conditions were a bit slick. At the end I felt like my pace was starting to improve, and I definitely had energy left in the tank for at least another mile or two.

Scores:

Fatigue: 3 (another bad night of sleep)

Soreness: 2

Mood: 2

Today, Sunday

REST DAY

Scores:

Fatigue: 2

Soreness: 1

Mood: 1

CFE Endurance Day

*I love how the image above shows how landing out in front and heal striking actually applies an enormous amount of stress to the knees and beyond. Landing flat footed and heal striking is like putting the breaks on. Ouch. During my endurance wods I focus on fast cadence, landing under your center of mass, and pulling into the figure four. I know that my form breaks down as fatigue kicks in as I can hear the heavy pounding on the ground.

Today I felt strong during the conditioning WOD and strict presses. On the last round I attempted to do as many reps as possible and was able to press 4 before I felt like the next one would fail. I've noticed that core positioning and staying tight helps me to get the weight overhead and lock out!

On the other hand, the endurance wod was tough today. I went to the High School track and had to dodge the track team. My first 800 meter was cut a tad bit short. My legs felt heavy and I was struggling. I think I went out a little too fast on the first 800m and I was distracted by the track team. Around 400 meters my garmin showed about 6:10 pace, which is not where I needed to be. I definitely need to work on pacing!

Results:

Strict Press

1x5 at 65% 45#

1x5 at 75% 50#

1x5 at 85% 57# + 4

Conditioning:

12-9-6

front squat 75#

Burpees

Time: 4:09

Endurance WOD:

3 800 Meter Runs 2:00 rest

3:30- cut short by 50-100 meters

3:39

3:40

Riptide Masters

I LOVE SWIMMING! I love being in the water, I love the smell of chlorine, and it brings back warm memories of my childhood. I lived at the pool when I was younger. I woke up at 4:30 A.M. throughout high school, spent my Friday nights in the warm, indoor recreation centers all over Northern Virginia, and spent my summers being a pool rat as I never went home after morning practice. I cross my fingers and hope my girls will embrace this social, active, and healthy environment when they get older. In my opinion this sport attracts great, self disciplined kids!

After high school and college I stopped swimming, but that is not to say I didn't miss it. When I took my toddlers to the recreation centers for lessons I wanted to jump in to see if I still remembered how to get across the pool. Well, last year I decided to join the RipTide Masters team with Coach Florence and it has brought back all those awesome, priceless memories, and more. Getting back in the water felt great and Coach Florence is amazing! A great teacher/coach knows exactly how to address technique, break it down, and allow you to apply what you've learned with multiple drills and skill work. We do this in CrossFit everyday. Thanks to Coach Florence and RipTide Masters I get to feel like a fish again. I can still smell the chlorine on the back of my hands from today's practice! ;-) Love it.

Workout:

200 warm up

I.M. Kick drills

125 x 4 IM

Paddle Drills

Scores:

Fatigue: 3

Soreness: 2

Mood: 2

5-3-1

I am very excited about this new cycle of training. I will be focusing on strengthening the dead lift, strict press, and back squat. The dead lifts at 135 were not touch and go. I had to let go of the bar and reset after each lift. By round 6 I started to feel the back round a little and decided to stop at 9 to avoid failure and poor form.

Dead lift

1x5 @ 65% (105#)
1x5 @ 75% ( 120#)
1x5+ @ 85% (135#)* + 4

Conditioning:

3 rounds for time:

500 Meter Row

12 Box Jump, 24 Inch

15 toes to bar

Time: 14:20

Scores:

Fatigue: 4 (I have had trouble sleeping at night.)

Soreness: 2

Mood: 2

Ending 2010 with a victory!

When it comes to New Year's resolutions I feel like mine started at the end of 2010 when I started this CrossFit Endurance training cycle.

In 2010 I became Level One CrossFit certified, and CrossFit Endurance certified. I completed four triathlons and one ten miler! We opened a brand new 10,000 square foot facility and added new programs to make Capital the best training atmosphere in Northern Virginia. As a mother of two young girls, a business owner, and now a CrossFit coach I am very happy with the goals I accomplished in 2010. Not to mention I had the opportunity to beat Jeremy in "Filthy Fifty" on the last day of 2010! It truly was a fabulous year!

In 2011 I would like to continue to train, learn, and study CrossFit Endurance!

Friday, December 31st

"Filthy Fifty"

For time:
50 Box jumps 24 (inch box), 20 (inch box)
50 Jumping pull-ups,
50 Kettlebell swings (1 pood), 25#
Walking Lunge 50 steps,
50 Knees to elbows,
50 Push press (45 pounds),
50 Back extensions,
50 Wall ball shots (20 pound ball), (14 pound ball)
50 Burpees,
50 Double unders.

Time:

26:57

The most challenging areas of this workout were the wall balls, double unders, and knees to elbow. Another New Year's resolution is to master the kipping movement, break 200 in the dead lift, and improve double unders! Reaching the red line for my wall ball shots was definitely not happening after about 20 of them! (Don't tell Jeremy)

Thank you Coach John for pushing me!

Scores:

Fatigue: 3

Soreness: 3

Mood:2

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Back Squat: 140# *PR

Strict Press: 74# *PR

My CrossFit total score has increased 20 points since August! My Back Squat has improved by 10 pounds, and my strict press by 2 pounds. I felt like it was possible to add another 5 pounds to the back squat, but I did not having anybody watching to make sure I was getting low enough!

TABATA RUN!

20 seconds on, 10 seconds off x 8

That was horrible!!!!!!!!!! By round 5 it was so hard to get my legs moving again.

Distance covered: .48 mile

Scores:

Fatigue: 4

Soreness: 3

Mood: 2

* Note to any mothers: I did this workout in the parking lot at Lake Braddock High School. I put a movie on in the car, gave them snacks, and ran around the car! That worked out perfectly!