Mediocre Runners

A first for this mediocre runner: a WOD as RX’d.  I went to the track for this one, which was similar to Saturday’s.

4 Rounds for time:
Run 400m
40 Squats

I did it in about 13:45. My fist 400m was 1:37, then 1:50, then 1:52. I forgot to time the last one, but it must have been 2:00. Those squats really kicked my ass. Now it is time to ice my shin splints.

I must be on a rib thing right. After last nights success with lamb ribs, I grilled up some boneless beef short ribs.  I made regular bone-in short ribs a couple of weeks ago that were paleo-licious, so tonight I aimed for some refinement by ditching the bones.  Before grilling the ribs, I made a spice rub of approximately 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1 tsp ground pepper, salt and 1/2 tsp green chili powder. I also squeeze some lemon on the ribs towards the end of the cooking time.  I serve these with slices of lemon and a green salad with real vinaigrette  (1 part vinegar to 2 parts oil, chopped shallots, salt and pepper, 1 tsp of Dijon mustard).

I’m a big fan of the “lesser” cuts of meats. I’ll take a skirt steak over filet mignon, or my personal favorite, hanger steak over a New York Strip.  You can also find wonderful grass-fed beef at your local farmers market or even Whole Paycheck.  And grass-fed beef is high in Omega-3 fatty acids so it is even really good for you. Our cavemen ancestors would be pround

I made a seriously paleo dinner tonight : grilled lamb ribs seasoned with zatar, lemon and chili powder. I served it with a cucumber, mint, tomato and watermelon salad. You don’t get much more caveman than charred meat and bones.

Check it out:

I didn’t have a chance to go to my local box to do a WOD today, so I adapted a workout from Gym Jones and scaled it to account for my mediocrity. (By the way, don’t tell Mark Twight that I used one of my workouts. He may punch me in the face while doing a Turkish get up).  The GJ workout calls for 8 rounds of 400m run + 25 pushups + 25 squats.  After warming up with a mile run @ 8:05, I scaled this workout to 400m run + 10 pushups + 10 squats and through in some pullups here and there for some flavor.  Here were my times:

1:38, 1:39, 1:38, 1:42, 1:39, 1:43, 1:39, 1:40

I was totally spent after this workout and even almost puked on the last run.  But boy did those endorphins come rushing in on my walk home.  Another thought: one of the nice things about these kinds of workouts is that you don’t need a local box or gym to perform them.  I just ran down to the local trail which has some monkey bars, measured 400m with runningahead.com, and did my workout.  Now the only problem is that my ankles and calves are killing me. I think I’ll go out and buy a foam roll tomorrow.

Fun WOD today!

5-5-5 Front squat: 75#

3x 500m row: 1:46, 1:55, 1:55

I’m still working on my squatting form and my wrist flexibility. But I think I’m getting it. I also worked on getting my stroke count down on the row. For my 1:46 time I was at 40 strokes/minute.  I’m trying to do fewer but more powerful strokes to keep up the pace.

My legs are still trashed from Friday’s WOD, so I reached into my mediocre WOD and did a “Lynne” today.  Lynne as RXed is:
Five rounds for max reps of:
Body weight bench press
Pull-ups

I did this WOD 0n 20090626 and was able to pull this off this scaled version using dumbells:

1 set  70# + 2 pullups

2 sets  90#  + 2 pullups

2 sets  100#  + 2 pullups

1 set 100# + 2 pullups

Today was an improvement:

1 set 90# + 3 pullups

2  sets 100# + 3 pullups

1 set 100# + 2 pullups

1 set 120# + 3 pullups

I warmed up with a short .5 mile run practicing some POSE running.  I ditched my normal Asics for my beat up pair of Montrail Streaks (great shoes), which are a little less structured than my normal shoes.  The running felt really good and I think I am getting some of the techniques down.  I’m going to keep practicing POSE once or twice a week and hope to eventually use it for my tempo and speed workouts.  I’m also looking at getting a pair of minimalist racing flats like Saucony Kilkinneys.

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