Travel Day - Rest Day

Back to my old routine of resting on the travel team.  Left the house at 6am and arrived home at 10pm.  Almost easier than a day when I am working from home.  In NYC City for work and here are a few shots from the conf room I was sitting in.

Recovery Wod...Really???

I totally messed up the "Glenn Waters" warmup when I wrote about it yesterday.  I do think that it is a very good warm-up and it forces me to get to the gym early so that I can get through it before class begins.   So the true Glenn Waters is as follows:

1.  5 DL'S
2.  5 pc
3. 15 bs 
4. 10 ohs
5.  3 x 5 thrusters 1 min rest 

Warm Up 

Airdyne
21 Burpees
15 Squats
9 hand to elbows


Team WOD

30min AMRAP
In groups of 3
Partner 1 - Row 500m
Partner 2 - Plank Hold
Partner 3 - Kettlebell Swings  

On paper this looked ok but in reality it was brutal.   I teamed up with Mark Johnson and Sara Callahan. I started with the KBS and was happy to get onto the rower.    The Plank hold for 2 minutes was brutal.   I stayed on my elbows for the first 3 rounds and then had to rotate to hands and elbows.   It was a complete sweatfest and I have to say that I have never been so happy to do a 500m Row. 

Good Consistency on the rows - 2:01 to 1:55 with most in the 1:57 range.

HSPU practice and wod

Short and simple today.   Get upside down and then do Deadlifts and Burpees.   I thought about not doing strict HSPU but work on my kipping HSPU because I suck at them but decided to go as programmed.  I really need to work on my HSPU kipping  as I fail way to early to be able to power through a wod with them in the workout.  I would have been doomed had I made the games when they started with 30 HSPUs.   Add it to my goat list.

HSPU

5,5,5,5,3,3,3,3,2


The on to the Deadlift - Burpee WOD

5:08

Felt good,   Good ROM.   Good pacing.


POST WOD

20,10,5 - Wall Balls

Increasing the workload and checking the systems

Weather was not nearly as nice today.   Overcast and misting but Eric Klein and I were not slowed down one bit.   I was definitely feeling my legs from yesterdays ride.  I was hoping with all of the work I did earlier this summer that I would start to feel fresh as a daisy but it hasnt happened yet.  I might be imagining how hard I used to be able to ride but I dont get the sense I am any near close. 

Wish I had all of the old data electronically.  Its in log books that who knows where they are. 




A few photos from the ride courtesy of Eric Klein.

I was not fresh after the ride and by the time we went to Church and Brunch I was in serious need of a nap.   That plan went out the window as the Crossfit Games were on so I got sucked into watching that for awhile.  Headed to the gym determined to do a wod regardless of how tired I was.   This is one of those times that it was as much a mental need for the workout versus the training need.    I wanted to test my wrist and see how my foot is holding up.    I knew that I would pull the plug if I was over tired or I had trouble with either.

I did the "Glenn Waters" Warmup today which is at the other end of the spectrum from the "Bill Malcolmb" warmup.   Once upon a time Bill would roll into the gym and hit the wod straight up.  I was always amazed he could go from cold to red line in 1 seconds and perform well.   The Glenn Waters warm up is a set of barbell movements that hits every part of the body as well as jacks up your heart rate.   On paper it is 5 deadlifts, 5 power cleans, 15 backsquats and 5 thrusters - its 3 rounds @135lbs.   I like it but need to scale it so that I do 45lbs, 95lbs and then 135lbs.   I think that the Waters warm up is excellent.


Strength:

EMOM for 14 minutes
3 Clean & Jerks @155 odd minute
1 muscle up even minutes

Wrist held up nicely thru C&J's and Muscle-Ups.  Foot felt ok - still can tell its not 100%. Probably 60-70%.  

I was pretty fatigued when i did this so really tried to focus on my form and be as efficient as possible.  I limited the Muscle_ups to be smart.  I havent done any since 13.4.  Last round I did 3 straight and felt fine.


Took a 10 minute break and then did
21-15-9
Wall Ball & Pullups

Crushed the fist round. Just a little over a minute but it crushed me right back and I had to break up the wall balls into sets of 3-4.  My legs and shoulders were junk by this point. 

time of 4:45.


Rolled out on the orb and I was out of there.  

New Bikes & Saturday Wod'ing

Rode with Tom Gormley and he was doing his first ride on his new bike.   He just got a 2013 Cannondale SuperSix EVO Red.   Good looking bike:

I was not feeling great when we started and on a climb out of Westwood towards Medfield he dropped me pretty easily.  Felt better half way through.  We saw a lot of riders today including a pack of 25-30 at one point.  A little scary when we came upon one rider who some how passed out after a hard effort up a hill and was lying on the side of the rode.   He was scraped up a little and he thought he may have rebroken his collar bone.  We waited around till he called for someone to pick him up.  Other than that a good ride at a good clip.  Sun came out just as we got back into Dedham. 


Now off to Crossfit.  Arrived just as the 9am class was finishing.  Glad that I opted for the 10am class as it was much smaller.   Nice to see Anthony and Jim Costa in the 10am.   Good mobility warm up and then a fun old school WOD.


15min AMRAP
Run 200m I opted to Airdyne 1minute
10 KBS 53/36
10 Pik Situps
10 Pushups

This was a good wod for me as it was all about keeping an even pace.

7 rounds and 3 reps.

Rest Day

Rest Day - Nice to have the family back.   Had dinner with Craicstina and Niko at Blue on Highland.  Always a nice time with them. 

ROWIT ROWIT REAL GOOD

WOD -   2000m Row  - Rest 15 minutes - 2000m Row

When this wod was posted yesterday I was really fired up to do it.  When I woke up this morning I was still excited but knew that trying to PR on limited sleep first thing in the am was going to be a pretty steep challenge.   Jarrod gave us a good overview of how to plan and he showed us a slightly different way to start that I decided to try out - 3 quick pulls and then 10 hard pulls before settling in.   I can confirm that it is a quick way to start and I was really moving for the first 800meters but I never was able to settle into a rhythm.   I kept creeping into the red and having to back down significantly.  Jarrod even commented that was the most up and down row.   In the end I was only slightly off my PR by 5 seconds.

 

A nice 15 minute break and then we were back at it. 

First 500m was solid but then I started really falling off the pace.  I picked it up in the 3rd 500 but then paid to big of a price and lost any time I had made back.   

This is the kind of WOD I need to do more of.  Probably smart to do multiple 1000m rows.   Maybe 5 x 1000 or 6 x 750 with shorter breaks

Craic Back

A1. 5 TnG Power Cleans
A2. 5 Push Press
Build to a max for the above complex

Rounds - 95, 115, 135, 155, 175


B. 15min AMRAP
Run 400m subbed 2min Airdyne
10 Deadlifts - you pick the weight
10 Pushups

5 rounds  plus 1min airdyne

The Road Home

Left NEH at 6am and the drive went by rather quickly as I had conference call after conference call.   Arrived home and continued the work grind until the 7:30 class.

Partner Workout
30min AMRAP
Partner 1 runs 400m
Partner 2 AMRAP Turkish Get ups - you pick the weight

I subbed a 2min Airdyne for the run

First 3 rounds I did 3 reps each side at 53 and then did 2 rounds each side at 70lbs and then last 2 rounds 1 rep each side. Good sweat.

Rest Day

Back to the grind of work.   I had a long sleep but still woke up pretty worn out.  

Triple WOD

Woke up to another perfect day.  The high temperature has finally broken and its another sun filled sky.    Glenn and I did Brown Mountain - via Goat Trail to home.


 

When we got back we decided to do a little WOD.   We stretched out a bit and then did Baseline WOD:

Row 500m
40 Squats
30 Sit-ups
20 Push-ups
10 Pull-ups

Glen went first and absolutely crushed the wod.   Started with a 1:41 Row and ended up with a 3:36. 

I went next and felt great on the row and cranked out a 1:37.   This was controlled with the first 100 being fastest but the last 200 holding steady at 20sec/per100.  Got off the rower and started the squats and stopped when Susie called 30 thinking thats all I had to do.  Lost a lot of time there.  Pushups were ok but not exceptionally fast and by the time I got to the bar I was way behind.  Ended up with a 3:58.  Which isnt bad considering my training for the last 2 months. 

After the Water's left we headed over to Champlain for a family hike.  We hadnt done Champlain in 3 years and it was great to see how easy it was for the boys compared to the first time.

Recovery Day

Got a solid 4-5 hours of sleep and felt pretty good considering.  I was very excited to have Glenn and Kristin Waters with us for the weekend.   We did a morning hike in perfect weather even if on the warm sides.   We did Bald and Parkman to show them the views and in the afternoon we went out on the boat.  

Unflappable when headed to Maine

Pounded a few RedBulls to get through a days worth of meetings.   I had booked the flights for Jack's friend Charley and myself and I drove the car to the airport so I would have a back-up.   I checked the flights and the weather and discovered the weather was predicted to stay nice and that the 2:30 flight had been canceled.  This would mean the 6:50 flight would be full.  We checked in and heard that there was a mechanical problem with the 2:30pm but it would be fixed in time for our flight.  At that point I should have gone back out to the car and driven.  Instead we checked in had some dinner, I took a short nap and waited around till 9pm to discover that the plane would indeed not depart.  We loaded up the car and did the 5.5 hour drive.   Since I had adjusted to West Coast time I wasnt as tired as I would normally be.  We arrived at 1:30am at the exact time Jack woke up and started getting sick.   So by the time I cleaned up that mess it was already 2:00am.   No problems I was in Maine and it was great to be here regardless of time or a little mess to clean up.

Power Outage

Did the easy walk over to the YMCA for today's workout.  Nice to only have to walk across the street.   Excited to do the Craic wod of 3 x1000M row with 3 minute rest.  This looks simple on paper but its much harder in real life.

WoD 3x1000m with 3minute rest 

Round 1 - 3:37
Round 2:  3:50

Halfway through round 2 the power went out in the building which was no big deal.  The folks on the treadmill were bumming but it had no impact on me at all.  I was half way through round 3 and they said we had to leave the building. 

Round 3 Incomplete 2:04 for 519meters

Lalanne Day 2

Same scenario as yesterday - woke up late and had to run to Lalanne.  I also would have a good test for my foot and wrist based on what was programmed today.

Warm-Up

50 Double Unders
2 rounds
10 Frog Jumps
10 Lunges
10 No jump/No Push Burpees
10 Mountain Climbers
10 Squats

Hang Squat Clean and Push Jerk

7x3 on the 2min
 @135lbs


WOD - "Tabata"
DB Thruster @35lbs - 6 reps
Wall Ball Sit-Ups @20lb - 6 reps
DB OH Lunges - 3 reps
Knees to Elbow - 5 reps

Brutally hard wod.

Lalanne Fitness

Back in the home away from home.  Huge test for my foot today as I woke up at 5:45 and class started at 6am.   My hotel was 1.5 miles away so I was forced to run over to the gym to make it on time.  The run wasnt pretty and didnt feel great but I made it to class on time. 


Warm-Up
25 Dislocates
2x
10 Pushups
10 Shoulder Press
10 Air Squats

Shoulder Press (7X5) @115lbs

WOD -

GI Jane

150 Burpee Pull-Ups!

This is one of the those WODS which you wonder if it really does more damage than good.  Had to go slow on my Burpees as its tough on my foot especially in the position where all the weight is on the top of my toes and the foot is getting stretched.  It will be nice when I dont even notice it.

Rest Day

Long first day back at work

Travel Day

A tough Sunday as the vacation was ending and I had to fly out to SF.  The first leg was from BHB to Boston.   Here is a shot of the ground speed early in the flight.  I was amazed that a little prop plane could do 320MPH.

So here is the route that the plane took as well.  Notice that we turned back right over Dedham.

Parkman

Quick hike with Jack before I have to re-enter the crazy world.  Beautiful day. 

Missed Connection & Brilliant Hike

I had planned on sleeping in but woke up to a text from Henry and Adam that they were on their way over so I jumped out of bed and started to get ready.  Got to the waiting area and hung out for 20 minutes waiting for them before deciding to leave.  In the end they had sent the text while at the corner and waiting for me who was taking my time since I though they were still in southwest.   Solo ride to Cadillac and back. 



After the ride I asked Jack what he wanted to do for a hike and we decided on Penobscott.   Jack wanted to do multiple peaks but I knew it was going to be hot and we would have everyone waiting for us at the pool.  We did the Jordon Cliffs to Penobscott which was excellent.

 

West Trail to Cadillac

Perfect weather as we hit the trail about 8am, sunny blue skies and 80's.  First ascent of Cadillac on the West Trail.

Recovery Ride in the Fog

I was glad to have Henry announce that today would be an easy ride.   Its a good thing as I didnt think I was going to be able to make it as far as the Asticou with out getting dropped.   Seems like everyone's legs were shot.  It wasnt raining but the roads and air were quite wet so we stayed off of Cadillac. I did convince everyone to ride down to the parking lot at the end of the park and then come back up before we did the Park loop road.    I felt the best I have felt on the final climb out of park up to the turn to Seal Harbor.   I also took the opportunity to hammer down to Seal Harbor and keep it going as fast and as far as I could.  Managed to make it to 198.  Not sure that is possible if Henry is in ride mode versus rest mode even with a lead.

In the clouds

Every morning I wake up and think that Im too tired to ride or its raining out but I have pushed those thoughts out of my mind and have been glad that I had when I am finished.   Met Henry and his friend Adam who is in from California.  No rain to speak of but boy was it foggy.   Felt pretty good today but annoyed that some guy who was riding in a t-shirt passed me before the Cadillac climb.  I caught and passed him but then he caught and passed me with a mile to go.  That said I shaved minutes off of my time and I think I can do a little bit better if I am rested.

Time in the saddle

Another damp and dreary morning.   Tom and I planned to go at 7am and then he tried to bag and I said no way.  Henry and gang had gone out at 6:30 so I had already missed them.   We opted to head over to the quiet side which Tom hadn't done before.  Starting to feel more comfortable on the bike even though my legs are tired. 

I signed up for Strava today at the recommendation of Kev Wilers.   It is a very neat tool and It has the same leader board watching addictive quality.




A few photos from today's ride.