Mediocre Runners

I completed my first WOD at the local globo-gym.  I recently cancelled my membership at the local CF box and have begun my experiment in CFing on my own.  So today’s globo-gym WOD was:

Warm up: 10 minutes on the elliptical

10 sets each of bicep curls, lat pulldowns, and  tricep presses.

Just kidding! I did an honest to goodness CF WOD there and it was a breeze despite the personal trainers and towel service.  The WOD was as follows:

5 Rounds for time:
Row 250m :56. :56, :57, :56, :58. 1 min rest between rounds
Rest 5 minutes
“Tabata Mash-up”
4 Alternating rounds of each exercise:
Push-ups
Situps

I’m pretty sure I was supposed to do 8 alternating rounds rather than 8 rounds total. My high for the pushups was 19 and my low was 13.  For the situps I did a consistent and mediocre 10. Cool down is typing the post with a very warm cat on my lap nibbling my arms.

Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.

Pretty well said.  I think that’s about what we here at MR would like to do?  But how can we adapt this motto to fit MR even more?

And the Gods of Crossfit will probably curse me for it.

But I have an explanation. It was getting very hard to commit to the schedule at my local box.  I was finding it harder and harder to show up in Clarendon for a pre-scheduled WOD. I also never really clicked with the crowd there, especially the dudes in brown flip-flops “teaching” POSE running techniques.  I will maybe try to fit in a few more WODs over there before the end of the month. I am also going to a what I hope is a real POSE seminar at the box this weekend.

So why the globo-gym? The fact that it is across the street really helps.  Also, their training philosophy is pretty sound to my mediocre mind.  The foundation of their regimen is good nutrition, followed by an emphasis on general cardio, then strength training.  This is topped off by stretching and recovery techniques. I doubt I will ever do personal training with them. Their general philosophy is something I can agree with.

My goal with the globo-gym is to try CF-style workouts in a mainstream gym setting. I may also take a few yoga classes here and there to improve my flexibility.  I’m scheduled for a fitness “assessment” with a trainer on Saturday. I’ll let all you MR fanatics know what that is like.

Are we cool here at MR?  Well of course not!  What about crossfit?  Is that cool?  Well don’t take our word for it, take a look at what a very popular celebrity thinks.  I know I voted for her, twice!

Well today’s WOD was Hanging Power Cleans 5-5-5-5-5, which means you do 5 sets of 5 reps at your max.  Usually you build up to your absolute max.  This was eerily similar to the WOD from July 20 where I started with 85# and did a complete set of 3 at 115#.  Today’s aim was to at least tie that if not beat it.  Now in my experience, 3 weeks isn’t a lot of time between workouts to notice a significant improvement but I was willing to give it a shot.  So today I started at 85# and went up by 10s (85-95-105-115).  The last set I decided to go for it, but in a mediocre fashion.  I got 120 up 3 times, so not enough for a complete set, however this would have been good for July 20.  Soooo, this is a round about way of saying I’m improving.  Granted in a mediocre fashion.

On Thursday I went back to try my failed WOD from Tuesday. I was originally going to do 4 rounds of of 800m run + 20 squats + 20 pushups, but decided to add some knees to almost elbows for some extra flavor.  I don’t remember my times exactly, but I think my best was 3:32 and worst was 3:37. I think I will call this WOD a “Tar-Tar.”

I’ve been taking it easy because of a nagging ankle pain. I went for a short run yesterday, but had to cut it even shorter. I’m taking today and tomorrow off to give it some more quality rest and ice team. But I really just want to get out there and run!

Truer words haven’t been said.  Today’s WOD was a tough one called 500 or “Filthy Fifty,” which involves:

• 50 Box jump (24″m, 20″w)
• 50 Jumping pull-ups
• 50 Kettlebell swings (35#m, 25#w)
• Walking Lunge, 50 steps
• 50 Knees to elbows
• 50 Push press (44#m, 33#w)
• 50 Back extensions
• 50 Wall ball shots (20#m 15#w)
• 50 Burpees (yay burpees!)
• 50 Double unders

I will say I’ve been sick the last few days.  So much so that I missed work on Thursday.  I haven’t worked out since Tuesday because of it.  So the Filthy Fifty was a perfect debut to bounce back, except I still feel like someone with the plague.  I knew it was going to be a long one going in, but I finished in just over 40 min.  I fought off pukey a couple times during the burpees (yay burpees!).  I had to sub high knee raises (note: I did not say scale) for double unders because I am mediocre and not coordinated enough yet.  I’ll get there.  All-in-all it sucked.  I really think I could have finished around the 35 min mark, but I’m sick.  And it was my first day back in 4 days.  And I was groggy from the nyquil.  And I haven’t been sleeping well.  And I haven’t been eating a lot or well.  Excuses are what makes us….mediocre!

Yesterday was a classic example of a mediocre WOD.  I walked over to the track with the intention of using my fly Nike Frees to do a great WOD:

4 rounds of 800m + 20 pushups + 20 squats. It was going to be a variation of 20090725’s WOD.  Alas, when I got to the track it was closed for renovations. So instead I went for a jog to test out the Frees.  After about .5 mile I came across a swing set and though “pullups.”  I jumped up, missed my grip, and fell on my ass. Hard. I did manage to bust out 5 mediocre pullups on the nearby monkey bars.  I did finish up with about a 1.5 mile run.

A few thoughts on the Frees. They still feel great. It took my a while to get a good stride going. Once I did, I could really feel my legs working, but in a good way. It feels different than normal shoes and my legs felt more tired than normal the next day. The best thing was that after a while, the pain from my shin splints faded away. I also woke up today with no pain from my shins. The Frees must be physical therapy or something.

Today’s WOD was pretty good. The local box was a little on the annoying side, but I did enjoy the WOD:

Deadlift: 5-5-5 – 135, 145, 165 (yay PR!)
For time: 50 Burpees – 3:01 (yay burpees!)

The burpees were actually awesome. I felt pretty damn good about that time and Pat says I need to apologize, because that time is actually decent, not mediocre. Sorry.

Last week was a great week as far as Crossfitting goes. I logged four Crossfit workouts.  Wednesday was a tough one:

15-12-9
Thrusters, 65#
Kettlebell Swing, 35#

As RX’s it was 135# and 2 pood (whatever that means).  While I was struggling with my very scaled workout, the pros at my box were thumping away with the heavy weights. But who cares? I got a great workout out of it.

Then on Saturday I did a Crossfit main site WOD called Nicole:

Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
Run 400 meters
Max rep Pull-ups
I completed: 8 rounds with 1-3-2-2-1-2-1-2 pullups respectively (those were dead hangs, but still mediocre).

I was still pretty beat up from my Wednesday workout, but felt good about the running during Nicole, especially since it was my first real use of my new Nike Free 5.0s.  I’m going to do a do an in depth review of these shoes once I get some more time in them, but my first impression was very good. Great even – despite a nagging pain in my right ankle, which could be related to some shin splints I was having last month.  I took today and Sunday off to give the ankle a rest and some quality ice time, but I can’t wait to get out there and really run in these Frees.

did 40 min. on the stairclimber (actually mobile machine, where you are physically climbing up) and it reminds me of Iraq!! I love the machine because you know you’ll always get a really good workout, espec. if you throw some crazy intervals in there. Going to try the fartleking tom. morning (such a funny name…) but had a question for you two guys: I’m running the VA Beach 1/2 marathon on 6 Sept and figuring in a week of rest in-between, do you think I would be ready to do the Tucson Marathon on 13 Dec.? I feel like I have a pretty good base to begin with and if I committed myself to it I could, but afterall, I am a mediocre runner and wanted my fellow comrades’ advice. What say you? Oh and PS – MEDIOCRE RUNNERS team officially signed up for the Baltimore Marathon relay, 10 October!! Woo woo, more info to follow, but def mark it down on your calendars…