It’s How You Finish | Forerunner 25 | Labor Day Pains

Whilst you may pause briefly between reps, you may not rack the bar.

I had planned on working out at 8:30 but as there were 14 in attendance, well, we ran out of racks. I planned on then working out at 9:45 but as there were 18 in attendance that didn’t happen either. Jeff did work out the so that he would be available to coach at 11.

Yup, I worked out at 11 and there were just 8 in attendance.

I love back squats but was concerned about the strain high bar back squats would strain my neck. I warmed up with low bar but then completed 2 sets of 10 reps of high bar back squats. Squats felt great today!

I warmed up and completed a set at 190. As the weight felt manageable I rested 3 minutes and successfully completed a set of 10 @ 205#. That’s 80% of 1RM, and matches previous 10RM PR. As this is baseline, I’m confident I’ll be able to achieve PR at the end of strength cycle.

Metcon (Time)

Use 2 dumbbells or KBs for farmer’s carry.
* 10 burpee penalty for each time DBs or KBs are placed on the ground.

I used 26# KBs, a little more than 35% of bodyweight. This was challenging and kinda sorta possibly fun. I knew that I’d be unable to complete PCs as quickly as others, and this was indeed the case. D & E were the two other males working out at the session, and both got a head start on the farmer’s carry. I planned on completing first round of farmer’s carry as walk/run, i.e., walk 10 or so meters and then run the same distance. However, as soon as D saw me run, he took off. Ha! I had a plan in mind and I stuck with it.

I  need little recovery so I was able to complete 9 power cleans relatively quickly. I was now neck and neck with D. I still stuck with my plan. For the second round of farmer’s carry I walked 25% and ran 75% of the time. I was now in the lead. I had completed 6 power cleans before D had even begun. Still sticking with plan, I ran the entire 200m for the third round of farmer’s carry. Another 3 quick PCs and I was on my way. I completed another 200m farmer’s carry, running most of the distance, entered the box and called “Time!”

I never set down the KBs, so no burpee penalties for me!

Time = 10:23

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

SUN SEPTEMBER 04, 2016 | 12-MILE RUN

For the third consecutive Sunday I completed a longish run on the American Tobacco Trail. Unlike the previous two Sundays, I ran at 7 am instead of 6:30 pm. I much prefer running in the morning hours.

The weather was a cool 64 degrees. Mike, Liara, and Heather C. joined me but didn’t run with me. It was just me and my brand new Garmin Forerunner 25! I wore NB shorts, sleeveless Nike shirt (a little too tight around the neck), Altra shoes and low rise socks, glasses, and a hat. I carried a water bottle and bag of Bee Stinger blocks (that I consumed by the 7-mile mark).

There were numerous people on the trail, many of them slogging through LDS (long slow distances).

I’ll first state that I think the distance measured was a little off. Here’s my proof. I ran a little past 6 miles from the start (and what would also eventually become the finish) to the turnaround but had to run about .2 mile past the finish to clock 12 miles.

Uhm, I had forgotten how obsessed I can become with running data. The update Garmin Connect software is quite exhaustive. For example:

• 12.01 mi = Distance
• 7:49 min/mi = Avg Pace
• 7:45 min/mi = Avg Moving Pace
• Time = 1:33:06
• Moving Time = 1:33:53
• 1,373 Calories
• 4:09 min/mi = Best Pace
• 190 spm= Avg Cadence (total steps, i.e., left and right combined)
• 224 spm = Max Cadence
• 1.08 m = Avg Stride Length (3.54″)

I didn’t stop during the run, although I slowed down two times, once to turn around and another time to discard empty gel pack. Uhm, so I either ran a 7:49 or a 7:45 mpm pace. I’ll split the difference and say I ran a very consistent (over the past three weeks) 7:47 mpm pace. I ran 93 minutes and about 17,670 foot strikes (again, left and right combined).

And now for the somewhat inconsistent splits:
1 = 7:55.6
2 = 7:44.2
3 = 7:44.4
4 = 7:59.6
5 = 7:38.5 (I was pissed that I had run a slow previous mile.)
6 = 8:01.3 (I suffered the consequences for running a too-fast mile.)
7 = 7:41.7 (I was once again pissed that I had run a slow pervious mile.)
8 = 7:48.7
9 = 7:26.7 (Some dude thought he’d catch and pass me. I surged and didn’t allow him to do so. And then I dropped him like a bag of dirt.)
10 = 8:14.7 (The entire uphill mile!)
11 = 8:06.2 (Still traversing uphill. Dammit.)
12 = 7:31.7 (My fastest mile! I always like to finish fast.)

And now for a pretty chart:

I captured a post-run selfie.

Next Sunday I’m running a half marathon, i.e., 13.1 miles. Should be fun!

I coached the 9:30 WOD and then Jeff and I took Luke for a 2+ mile walk around Lake Pine. I’m enjoying the cooler weather but despising everything pumpkin-flavored.

MON SEPTEMBER 05, 2016 | LABOR DAY PAINS

Metcon (Time)

Team of 3 or 4
Complete the following activities:
100 deadlifts (185/138)
100 pushups
100 box jump overs (24/20)
100 pull-ups
100 back squats (135/98)
500 double unders
50 deadlifts (185/138)
50 pushups
50 box jump overs (24/20)
50 pull-ups
50 back squats (135/98)
250 double unders

Team members may complete in any manner, i.e., no minimum or maximum reps.

Italicized activities weren’t announced until the first team began double unders.

Marni was kind enough to volunteer to lead the 9:45 session so that Jeff and I could work out together. Thanks, Marni! In addition to Jeff, I asked Dianne and Einer to be on my team. ‘Twas a tremendous amount of fun!

We decided to go in alphabetical order, and this worked. For a while, at least. I encouraged teammates to complete as many reps a round as they could and not merely 5 or 10, and this worked. For a while, at least.

There was very little time to rest and I certainly can’t recall the exact number of reps any of us completed. I do know that I completed 20 and then 15 deadlifts for the round of 100; yes, more than 25%. We were pretty evenly matched on pushups, although Einar probably did more reps both rounds, and we all took turns completing box jump overs one rep at a time. I did more pull-ups both rounds. Again, we all completed our fair share. I began first round of pulls-up by completing 15 and second found by completing 10 unbroken reps. I completed fewer back squats both rounds, completing 2 sets of 10 and one set of 10 the first and second rounds, respectively.

I completed at least 200 double unders (if not more) the first round and at least 125 (if not more) the second round. I was able to string together as many as 60 or so a turn.

During the very last round I began with 60 reps. Einar, Jeff, and Dianne each took a turn, completing between 10 and 20 reps. I took a lengthy turn, let them know I was finished, and waited for someone to begin.

And no one did.

So I did.

I completed up to the 230th rep and let Jeff know he had just 20 left. I could’ve completed the last 20 but, you know, I wanted others to have a turn.

Time: 28:10

C