Round Two

Carved out an hour to get round 2 workout in before I had to fly to NY. We did the regular mobility warmup but then got a surprise 50 KBS at weight you can do without breaking. I did 1.5 Poods. Next time I shoot for the orange bell.

Strength
Clean and Jerks - I have focused on improving this and it's coming around. I was able to 205 much easier than last year at the throw down. I need to get to 240.

Sara AMRAP 12 - 5 C&J at 115 and then 7 box jumps
8 reps plus 5 reps

10 second rest and then 1 minute max pull ups -24. I like these little challenges thrown in.
Definitely spent

Success

Congratulations to Johnny Irish and Fireman Bill for their performances in the Crossfit Relentless Throwdown in Hartford on Sunday.   John took 3rd and Bill placed 9th.  This wods were brutal - Fran, 1 rep max Clean and Jerk, 5k Meter ROW (Ackk!) and 1 rep max Deadlift. 

I also want to say congrats to my wife who has just started doing crossfit and nailed her first double under on her first try.   That is just not fair considering how long it took me to figure out how to do them!

Im trying to get in a double today.  John and I conferred and as much as I wanted to lift he felt it was better if I did an endurance wod in so that is what i did.   I have always been a bit resistant to outside coaching but I have put my trust in John to get me ready for qualifiers.   There is a lot to work on - clean and jerks, dips, HSPU's, burpees, box jumps etc...

TOSH 3 rounds of
250m - 48, 55, 52
500m 1:42, 1:52, 156
750m 2:50, 2:55, 2:53

Guest Crossfitter

One thing that I have found in common across all the different crossfit gyms that I have visited, regardless of size of gym, number of members, how long it has been opened is that every owner or coach has been enthusiastic in their response as to whether I can drop in.   Upon arrival they have been super friendly and helpful ( i have gotten rides back to my hotel, suggestions of where to eat and things to do).  Today was no different when I visited Crossfit Westchester.   Chris G the owner was fantastic, he treated me like anyone of his regular members and even shared his future plans for the box.   It got me thinking just how many boxes have I visited so I decided to create the visit.

1. NYC Blackbox - I got to help lay down the rubber floor- damn those are heavy
2. Crossfit Performance - BK made it fun for sure.  Looking to visit his new box.
3. Crossfit San Francisco - KStarr, Boz and Angel - top notch coaches and what a view.  Probably the best view from a crossfit gym anywhere. Who doesnt love to train outside under a tent?
4. Crossfit Sydney -I think I was the only one in the class without Vibram Five Fingers
5. Crossfit San Mateo - Small world Brendon Mahoney is a Innov8 sponsored athlete and is friends with Lisa8 of CFNE.
6. Lalanne fitness powered by Crossfit (San Fran) - Close to my favorite hotel in SF.  Coach Mike Perry grew up in Massachussetts
7. Crossfit London - First gym I was in that had parallel bars. Locted Bethnal Green, in heart of London’s colourful and historic East End. What this means is that the neighborhood is a bit sketchy.  
8. Crossfit Vegas - One of my favorite gyms - located inside a stadium.  Great layout.
9. Crossfit Affliction (Fort Lauderdale)- Been to their first box and to their new box.  Coach Steven Bowser is a lot of fun to train with and to ride your ass while working out.
10. Crossfit Richmond - Cool gym in an old building.  All I remember is a rowing, burpee brutal wod.
11. Atlas Crossfit (Chicago) - Great gym.  Big space and a separate area for rope climbs and muscle-ups.   The think that I remember about this gym was that I was taking my time setting up my equipment for the wod when I realized there were no more 55lb Kettlebells left so I was stuck with a 70 lb'er for the WOD.
12. Crossfit Chicago - This is the home box of one of my colleagues.   Its in an industrial park and has a nice gritty get down to work feel to it.   Really big space but needed a bit more equipment.

CrossFit Westchester WOD:

Part A:
2 minute Max Overhead Squats (95/65)
2 minute Max Pushups
2 minute Max Situps

First time - 35, 65, 95 = 195

Part B:
AMRAP 6
6 Deadlifts (225/155)
12 Box Jumps (24/20)

6 Rounds plus 12 reps

This is a goat with a strength.   Felt pretty good. Chris let me join the next class to do the 2 minute warning again.

Second time - 44, 63, 81 = 188
Pretty happy that I was able to be fairly consist

Dragging

Still trying to recover from the West Coast trip and the daily grind while I was there. I'm still more sore from the trip than I was from a week of wods.

Today's WOD
15 minute AMRAP
5 Sumo Deadlift High Pull 95 lbs
7 box Jumps 24 inches
9 Situps

This doesn't look bad on paper but In reality it's not a walk in the park. After making a chalk line to help me count my rounds I preceded to wipe it clean during my sit-ups. I lost count as to whether I was finishing 3 or 4 which really pissed me off. In settled into a pace of a round a minute from that point onward. Final 15 rounds plus 1 rep, it may have been 16 but I'm rounding down.

I was considering doing the power clean and HSPU wod I saw posted on CFNE a few days ago but after a warm up at the prescribed weight of 185 I realized that the wod and travel had taken their toll already.

I really want to get that online Masters WOD in but it won't happen this weekend as we are on the road to the in laws. Something to look forward too today.

Delayed Soreness

Being on the road my diet isnt as strict as it at home and I think that it is impacting my recovery.   Last night I got a massage and was surprised how beat up I was.   Back, Shoulders, IT band, left hamstring and glutes were screaming throughout the whole thing.   I was hoping when I woke up this morning I was going to feel fresh and I actually felt worse than i did after 6 straight days of crossfit. 

I had planned to do 3 rounds of 15 OH squats at 135, 20 KBS at 55lbs and then 30 GHD's.   The YMCA SF is definitely not set up for a crossfit type work out with the low ceilings and tiny space for lifting.   I decided to just do the workout but not focus too much on the pace.   I modified the OHS to 110lbs so i could use the welded bars.   Not a great workout but better than nothing before getting on the flight home.

Running in the Basin

There was no way to do a crossfit work today between the 7am meeting and the typical substandard hotel gym.  So I met up with Dean Five Fingers and Dave Dempsey to do an early 5 miler.   Now I havent done a run that wasnt in the middle of some other crossfit workout in a long time.  It felt great to start the run not feeling beaten down or out of energy.    I convinced the boys to head towards the China Basin versus Fisherman's warf.  I really like to go in the direction away from the normal path.  I wonder how much it will change when our company starts construction on our new campus.

Dave Dempsey Race Commentator at the Dublin Marathon 2010

I have been following Dean's training and knew he was rounding into form for the Big Sur Marathon.  He also told me the training plan called for an easy 5 miler.   The wild card in this group was Dave.   I had no idea that he was an avid runner until the night before.  When I finished my interrogation I had learned that Dave had been a guest pacer in the Bay to Breakers and escorted the great Rod Dixon to a 4:20 final mile and new course record and that his marathon debut in Boston was a blistering 2:40.  Clearly Dave was a force to be reckoned with on the roads.   I have become so used to running in the discomfort zone I found myself gradually moving into that place.  This gradual increase in pace was easily matched by Dave which I guess perpetuated the acceleration.   Now at this point Im sure Dean was thinking these guys are nice turning an easy 5 miler into some kind of harder training run.   I finished hard to the Ferry building and did a nice cool down back to the St Regis.   It was a great way to start the day and the legs felt good aside from a slight tightening of my right hamstring. 

Rest Day

Not a lot of sleep last night.  Landed in San Fran just before midnight PST time and then woke up around 5am.  Long work day just wrapping up and now off to a work dinner.   Add that to a day in which I succumbed to the afternoon snacks and it wasn't an ideal rebuild and recuperation day.

I will try to do a 5X800 meter running wod tomorrow and then some other body weight exercise.