I've been working late and eating at work all week, so I felt crap and really had to force myself out of bed this morning. I got Dave's text at 6am to confirm he was coming, so I was committed.
We did 2 rounds of a slightly modified Games WOD 10 (final workout) as follows:
- 20 calorie row
- 30 thrusters with a 10kg dumbell
- 20 toes to bar
- 30 tuck jumps
- 20 SDHP with a 25kg dumbell
- 30 burpees
- 20 push press 50kg
We rested a few minutes between the rounds and did abs after.
Both rounds hurt, and took just over 10mins I think. I started this first rounf on thrusters, finishing on row, but did the prescribed order for the second round. I think that rowing first was harder. The push presses killed me - I need to work on my shoulder strength.
Friday, 30 September 2011
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
I wish I'd slept in
I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning. Like, really didn't. BUT, I'd committed to Dave that I'd do gym so I rolled out at 6am. Unfortunately, Dave slept through his alarm, and by the time I found this out, I'd already started the workout! Oh well, it's probably a good thing. I can sleep Friday.
I did the Crossfit North Manly session from today (that Annabel, Mom, Dad & Angus did in Sydney at the same time!). It was in two parts:
21-15-9 reps of supine ring rows and walking lunges with 20kg dumbells
then,
"Annie" which is 50-40-30-20-10 reps of double unders and situps
The first part took me 6:40, so was hard but quick. That is about as heavy as I'd want to go for walking lunges. "Annie" was a bit more challenging as my skipping was completely out of kilter this morning. I felt completely unco-ordinated, mainly because I WAS completely unco-ordinated!!! I did 3 skips per double under and the first set took me ages because I just couldn't get into a rhythm. Fortunately, I worked through it by the thrid set and was fine from there on. I also did GHD situps which are a bit harder than normal situps.
A weird problem I'm having from working late every night is that I never have time to go grocery shopping! Woolies shuts at 9pm so I left work early last night to get there just as it was closing. That meant I could feast this morning on a brekky of smoked salmon, poached eggs and baby spinach with my usual smoothie and coffee. At least that partly makes up for not sleeping in.
I did the Crossfit North Manly session from today (that Annabel, Mom, Dad & Angus did in Sydney at the same time!). It was in two parts:
21-15-9 reps of supine ring rows and walking lunges with 20kg dumbells
then,
"Annie" which is 50-40-30-20-10 reps of double unders and situps
The first part took me 6:40, so was hard but quick. That is about as heavy as I'd want to go for walking lunges. "Annie" was a bit more challenging as my skipping was completely out of kilter this morning. I felt completely unco-ordinated, mainly because I WAS completely unco-ordinated!!! I did 3 skips per double under and the first set took me ages because I just couldn't get into a rhythm. Fortunately, I worked through it by the thrid set and was fine from there on. I also did GHD situps which are a bit harder than normal situps.
A weird problem I'm having from working late every night is that I never have time to go grocery shopping! Woolies shuts at 9pm so I left work early last night to get there just as it was closing. That meant I could feast this morning on a brekky of smoked salmon, poached eggs and baby spinach with my usual smoothie and coffee. At least that partly makes up for not sleeping in.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
AMRAP
Did an AMRAP with Dave this morning and it hurt like hell. I haven't done one in a while but I think I'm going to start doing more as they're such an effective workout. I wish I'd had my heart rate monitor on.
The session was - AMRAP 20minutes of:
10 reps x Pullups
10 reps x Situps
10 reps x 40kg thruster
10 reps x ring pushups
It was great to have Dave there pushing me - we both almost caught each other once or twice (he was a lot closer to my heels than I was to his!!!). His thrusters were solid, whereas I found them a little heavy!
We got 9 full sets and 3 rounds of 10 (i.e. 9 plus 10 pullups, 10 situps, 10 thrusters for me). Afterwards, Dave did 50 box jumps and I did 2 hill "sprints". Not that I could really sprint after! My head went into a spin on the first hill and I battled up the second but called it a day when I saw Dave had done his box jumps.
Full gym this morning - the usual two ladies, the cougar, the little bloke in the hat and a few other dudes I've never seen before. Good start to the morning, although I'm going to need serious amounts of coffee today. I also need to shop - my smoothie was basically only chia, berries and milk this morning as I've run out of everything else!!!
The session was - AMRAP 20minutes of:
10 reps x Pullups
10 reps x Situps
10 reps x 40kg thruster
10 reps x ring pushups
It was great to have Dave there pushing me - we both almost caught each other once or twice (he was a lot closer to my heels than I was to his!!!). His thrusters were solid, whereas I found them a little heavy!
We got 9 full sets and 3 rounds of 10 (i.e. 9 plus 10 pullups, 10 situps, 10 thrusters for me). Afterwards, Dave did 50 box jumps and I did 2 hill "sprints". Not that I could really sprint after! My head went into a spin on the first hill and I battled up the second but called it a day when I saw Dave had done his box jumps.
Full gym this morning - the usual two ladies, the cougar, the little bloke in the hat and a few other dudes I've never seen before. Good start to the morning, although I'm going to need serious amounts of coffee today. I also need to shop - my smoothie was basically only chia, berries and milk this morning as I've run out of everything else!!!
Monday, 26 September 2011
Hurt Locker, rainy run and Monday
I won't have much time to blog this week due to work. A quick summary of the weekend in Sydney:
Saturday
I went to Keith's gym for a workout with Annabel. It was great! The session was a Games WOD:
Pullups, 100 reps
Kettlebell swings 24kg, 100 reps
Double unders, 100 reps (I did 300 skips)
Overhead squat 40kg, 100 reps (I only did 30kg)
My time was a bit of 32mins. I finished 1 second behind a girl who had done the same OHS weight as me (but lower KBS)!! I clearly have work to do. I thought it was a good workout and I learned a lot, including how to properly do a kettlebell swing! Apparently I've been going too far down and not using my hips enough. Keith also showed me some muscle-up progressions, which I'm going to practice.
Sunday
I picked up my new Suunto Quest from Northside on Saturday, so took Bo for a run to test it out. It was pouring with rain but we met Rochey for the 12km Seaforth loop. Had a great run despite the wet - Bo was fantastic and Rochey and I were going at a really good talking pace. The Suunto said 12.5km so I need to calibrate it for that 400m gain. Total of 54minutes (approx. 4:30min/km pace), including warmup and cleaning up after Bo!!
Monday
Back to Brisbane last night for what is set to be a hectic week at work. I did a modified WOD as follows:
21-15-9 reps of
Power clean 60kg (it was meant to be bodyweight, but I'm not up to that yet)
Ring dips
Burpees
I'm very glad that I got the cleans out. They weren't overly pretty, and I need to get under the bar more, but I still got em out! I did 4 sets of 10 toes-to-bar afterwards, as well as some muscle-up progression practice.
I also confirmed that I'm getting better at skipping! I think I'll try to start each session with skipping / DUBs practice and end with MU progressions until I get it right!
Back to work now.
Saturday
I went to Keith's gym for a workout with Annabel. It was great! The session was a Games WOD:
Pullups, 100 reps
Kettlebell swings 24kg, 100 reps
Double unders, 100 reps (I did 300 skips)
Overhead squat 40kg, 100 reps (I only did 30kg)
My time was a bit of 32mins. I finished 1 second behind a girl who had done the same OHS weight as me (but lower KBS)!! I clearly have work to do. I thought it was a good workout and I learned a lot, including how to properly do a kettlebell swing! Apparently I've been going too far down and not using my hips enough. Keith also showed me some muscle-up progressions, which I'm going to practice.
Sunday
I picked up my new Suunto Quest from Northside on Saturday, so took Bo for a run to test it out. It was pouring with rain but we met Rochey for the 12km Seaforth loop. Had a great run despite the wet - Bo was fantastic and Rochey and I were going at a really good talking pace. The Suunto said 12.5km so I need to calibrate it for that 400m gain. Total of 54minutes (approx. 4:30min/km pace), including warmup and cleaning up after Bo!!
Monday
Back to Brisbane last night for what is set to be a hectic week at work. I did a modified WOD as follows:
21-15-9 reps of
Power clean 60kg (it was meant to be bodyweight, but I'm not up to that yet)
Ring dips
Burpees
I'm very glad that I got the cleans out. They weren't overly pretty, and I need to get under the bar more, but I still got em out! I did 4 sets of 10 toes-to-bar afterwards, as well as some muscle-up progression practice.
I also confirmed that I'm getting better at skipping! I think I'll try to start each session with skipping / DUBs practice and end with MU progressions until I get it right!
Back to work now.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Hectic week
Having a hectic week at work. Was in the office til 3:30am on Tuesday (after waking up at 5:10am) and just generally getting slammed. I forced myself home early tonight to a) get a decent dinner and b) sneak in a quick workout. Dinner was stuffed roasted capsicums, paleo style, with steamed broccolini. Nice and clean - exactly what I needed. While the capsicum was in the oven I went for a super quick gym sesh. I did:
Tabata squats - 18 reps for each round. Not sure how I could go any faster!
Then, "Lynne", which is 5 rounds of max reps bodyweight bench press and max reps pullups.
You're meant to take as much rest as you need between sets, but I didn't have much time so didn't do it properly. My sets were as follows:
Bench (70kg) - 15 / 8 / 7 / 5 / 6
Pullups - 20 / 15 /12 / 12 / 13
Then, 25 GHD situps.
In and out in 25mins. Perfect.
My work computer just crashed so I'm blogging. Back to work now ...
Tabata squats - 18 reps for each round. Not sure how I could go any faster!
Then, "Lynne", which is 5 rounds of max reps bodyweight bench press and max reps pullups.
You're meant to take as much rest as you need between sets, but I didn't have much time so didn't do it properly. My sets were as follows:
Bench (70kg) - 15 / 8 / 7 / 5 / 6
Pullups - 20 / 15 /12 / 12 / 13
Then, 25 GHD situps.
In and out in 25mins. Perfect.
My work computer just crashed so I'm blogging. Back to work now ...
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
PCRG
It's after midnight and I'm sitting at work waiting for a report to be finished. How sad. I woke up at 5:10am this morning to do the Pat Carroll Running Group (PCRG) session. Pat himself was a freak runner (2:09 marathon) and now sells his services as a running coach on Tuesday/Thursday/Friday mornings around Brisbane. The first session is free so I thought I'd check it out.
Pretty massive turnout - there must have been 50 people of all different shapes, sizes and running speeds. From the QLD Premier (not kidding) to ironman triathletes, they were all there! I arrived late and tagged onto the two fittest looking guys. After a seriously long, seriously slow warmup, we got to the Botanic Gardens for the session. Basically, for 20 minutes Pat pointed to a hill and we sprinted up it, and jogged back down! Every now and then, he'd change the hill. It felt like there was a lot of variety, even though we were running up a lot of the same paths for most of the time. Each sprint was between 100m and 400m, on both paths and grass, with nothing too steep.
There were 2 guys who were pretty quick, and one tiny girl who was threatening to put us all to shame! I stuck in the second group for the first 10mins, then moved up to run with the leader. i ran with him for most of the next 8mins, until the last 2 efforts, in which I overtook and held my lead. Happy with that.
It was nice to be running with people again, and to be doing some speed work. I think the session was too short, with way too much warmup/warmdown (if you include my run to/from home, I reckon I did about 8-10km of easy jogging!!). I'll probably go back again next week.
Cracking morning and day in Brissy again. Not sure if I'll be able to wake up tomorrow for the gym.
Pretty massive turnout - there must have been 50 people of all different shapes, sizes and running speeds. From the QLD Premier (not kidding) to ironman triathletes, they were all there! I arrived late and tagged onto the two fittest looking guys. After a seriously long, seriously slow warmup, we got to the Botanic Gardens for the session. Basically, for 20 minutes Pat pointed to a hill and we sprinted up it, and jogged back down! Every now and then, he'd change the hill. It felt like there was a lot of variety, even though we were running up a lot of the same paths for most of the time. Each sprint was between 100m and 400m, on both paths and grass, with nothing too steep.
There were 2 guys who were pretty quick, and one tiny girl who was threatening to put us all to shame! I stuck in the second group for the first 10mins, then moved up to run with the leader. i ran with him for most of the next 8mins, until the last 2 efforts, in which I overtook and held my lead. Happy with that.
It was nice to be running with people again, and to be doing some speed work. I think the session was too short, with way too much warmup/warmdown (if you include my run to/from home, I reckon I did about 8-10km of easy jogging!!). I'll probably go back again next week.
Cracking morning and day in Brissy again. Not sure if I'll be able to wake up tomorrow for the gym.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Powerful Owl
Brisbane last night seemed to be a mass of screaming people with weird accents in green jumpers. Must have been a rugby match on?? I had a bit too much red wine to drown the Wallabies' sorrows.
I wanted to do a long run today, but decided that checking out Mt Gravatt would mean too much running through suburbia, so went back to Mt Coot tha. It was a perfect day - warmer than we've had in a while - so I was shirts off! At Mt Coot tha, I went up the Powerful Owl trail, which I haven't done before. It was brilliant - a very steep fire trail that reminded me of the Pluvio on the Six Foot Track. I was tempted to run down it as well, but my ankle tweaked just near the top and I figured I didn't want to aggravate it.
I tried to start slow and finish fast today, and it worked. I felt brilliant at the end, pulling out 4min/km pace along the river on the way home. Despite the steep trails, I did a total of 25km in 2:00 hours (average 4:48min/km). I'm feeling strong, so just need to keep it up, not get injured, and try to get even faster before the Six Foot! The mapmyrun course is below:
I love the forest up at Mt Coot tha. It really feels like you're in the middle of nowhere. There were lots of people out and about today, walking or running with their mates, dogs, spouses, babies, etc. Great to see the Queenslanders getting out and about!
Due to lack of both milk and eggs in my fridge, I had a very healthy post-workout meal of milk-free smoothie and simple tuna salad (baby spinach / rocket / baby tomatoes / tuna / feta / onion / lime juice). Very lazy afternoon recovering.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Staying in Vegas
Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for work. I hate working the weekend, and would rather do whatever it takes during the week to keep my Saturdays/Sundays free. Unfortunately I had to work this Saturday, and therefore had to stay in Brisbane, rather than heading home. I had been really looking forward to going back down South as well - next weekend hopefully!
One of the things I wanted to do in Sydney was to check out Keith's gym. Since I couldn't be there, I did the session myself. It was a modification of a mainsite WOD from this week (and July). The Crossfit North Manly version was as follows:
Back squat 40kg x 50 reps
5 rope climbs (I subbed 5 towel pullups for each climb - i.e. this round was 25 towel pullups)
Back squat 50kg x 40 reps
4 rope climbs
Back squat 60kg x 30 reps
3 rope climbs
Back squat 70kg x 20 reps
2 rope climbs
Back squat 80kg x 10 reps
1 rope climb
It took me 19:45. Good modification of the original workout. 50 squats @ 40kg is pretty hard, and towel pullups aren't anyone's favourite exercise. I'm happy with my squat technique, though could potentially get deeper when it gets heavy (for me, 80kg is heavy!).
I did 5 sets of toes-to-bar at the end (total of 60reps). I also warmed up with skipping. After a minute or so of frustration, I made a breakthrough! I changed the way I jumped and got 75 skips in a row!! I'm stoked - now just have to remember what I did!!
Annabel made a breakthrough as well today - she did 4 Crossfit workouts this week and is feeling much fitter. She also found out she's good at rope climbs! I cant wait to get down to the gym and check out her progress.
One of the things I wanted to do in Sydney was to check out Keith's gym. Since I couldn't be there, I did the session myself. It was a modification of a mainsite WOD from this week (and July). The Crossfit North Manly version was as follows:
Back squat 40kg x 50 reps
5 rope climbs (I subbed 5 towel pullups for each climb - i.e. this round was 25 towel pullups)
Back squat 50kg x 40 reps
4 rope climbs
Back squat 60kg x 30 reps
3 rope climbs
Back squat 70kg x 20 reps
2 rope climbs
Back squat 80kg x 10 reps
1 rope climb
It took me 19:45. Good modification of the original workout. 50 squats @ 40kg is pretty hard, and towel pullups aren't anyone's favourite exercise. I'm happy with my squat technique, though could potentially get deeper when it gets heavy (for me, 80kg is heavy!).
I did 5 sets of toes-to-bar at the end (total of 60reps). I also warmed up with skipping. After a minute or so of frustration, I made a breakthrough! I changed the way I jumped and got 75 skips in a row!! I'm stoked - now just have to remember what I did!!
Annabel made a breakthrough as well today - she did 4 Crossfit workouts this week and is feeling much fitter. She also found out she's good at rope climbs! I cant wait to get down to the gym and check out her progress.
Friday, 16 September 2011
45min run
Boring title for today's post, but I literally just ran for 45mins! Woke up late so didn't have the full hour to play with. Went through the gardens to the GBB then back along the Story Bridge. Put in a few surges when I felt good - getting down to 3:30 or so pace. Generally felt great and loved being out there!! The GPS said 10km (including the hill sprints), so it could be anywhere between 10km and 12km! It felt like I was going a fair bit quicker than 4:30 pace. I can't wait for my Suunto to arrive.
I had a quick chat to Pat Carroll and may join his group on Tuesday to see what it's like. They go at 5:30am though so it would mean a bit of an earlier start than I'm used to! Some of them look quite quick though, and it'd be nice to train with a group every now and then.
I got back to the Marriott 5mins early, so I did 3 hill sprints up the evil little hill. There are always people doing sprints up the hill, and you can tell the ones who do it regularly ... because they look fit!!! Good on them I say - it's a tough little beast. My times up the hill today were 33s-36s-30s. Not very consistent, but with no rest.
I am currently booked to fly home tonight, but still waiting to see if I have to work this weekend, which could force me to stay in Brisvegas! Arrrrghhhhh, certainty would be good.
I had a quick chat to Pat Carroll and may join his group on Tuesday to see what it's like. They go at 5:30am though so it would mean a bit of an earlier start than I'm used to! Some of them look quite quick though, and it'd be nice to train with a group every now and then.
I got back to the Marriott 5mins early, so I did 3 hill sprints up the evil little hill. There are always people doing sprints up the hill, and you can tell the ones who do it regularly ... because they look fit!!! Good on them I say - it's a tough little beast. My times up the hill today were 33s-36s-30s. Not very consistent, but with no rest.
I am currently booked to fly home tonight, but still waiting to see if I have to work this weekend, which could force me to stay in Brisvegas! Arrrrghhhhh, certainty would be good.
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Squats
Worked til 11:15pm last night, ate out 2 meals yesterday (lunch of baked salmon with potential clients and dinner with the team of eye fillet and salad), and was seriously doubting whether I would get up this morning. I'm glad I did.
I had decided to do Tuesday's mainsite WOD, which involves:
1-1-1-1-1 Overhead squat
1-1-1-1-1 Front squat
1-1-1-1-1 Back squat
Increasing the weight each time (i.e. for each of the 15 rounds).
Given how shite I am at overhead squats, I started light at 30kg. I increased the weight in 5kg increments, and actually survived! i.e. Worked up to 50kg overhead squat (my one rep max by 20kg!), 75kg front squat (again, my new one rep max) and 100kg back squat.
The weight started to get heavy by the end. I think I could have managed heavier but was tentative as I couldn't drop the weight to fail (as there are apartments below the gym). I'm really happy with my OHS and front squat maximums though - showing much more flexibility and range of motion than 2 months ago!
I then did Tabata ring pushups and Tabata pullups. Results as follows (from memory as I didn't write them down) ...
Ring pushups: 10-10-10-10-9-8-8-8
Pullups: 10-10-8-8-7-6-6-6
Pretty happy with that start to the day! The guy from a few apartments down, who has run 17 Boston Marathons and 5 marathons this year alone, had a pacemaker put in this week! Crazy - he was walking down the street and just blacked out. Just shows how careful you have to be, regardless of how fit you think you are.
I had decided to do Tuesday's mainsite WOD, which involves:
1-1-1-1-1 Overhead squat
1-1-1-1-1 Front squat
1-1-1-1-1 Back squat
Increasing the weight each time (i.e. for each of the 15 rounds).
Given how shite I am at overhead squats, I started light at 30kg. I increased the weight in 5kg increments, and actually survived! i.e. Worked up to 50kg overhead squat (my one rep max by 20kg!), 75kg front squat (again, my new one rep max) and 100kg back squat.
The weight started to get heavy by the end. I think I could have managed heavier but was tentative as I couldn't drop the weight to fail (as there are apartments below the gym). I'm really happy with my OHS and front squat maximums though - showing much more flexibility and range of motion than 2 months ago!
I then did Tabata ring pushups and Tabata pullups. Results as follows (from memory as I didn't write them down) ...
Ring pushups: 10-10-10-10-9-8-8-8
Pullups: 10-10-8-8-7-6-6-6
Pretty happy with that start to the day! The guy from a few apartments down, who has run 17 Boston Marathons and 5 marathons this year alone, had a pacemaker put in this week! Crazy - he was walking down the street and just blacked out. Just shows how careful you have to be, regardless of how fit you think you are.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
First run after Coastal Classic
It was a cracking morning for running this morning - sunny but not too hot. There were loads of people out and about too. Since the Coastal Classic, I've had 2 days off and a Crossfit session, but no running. I aimed to do a tempo-ish run, just seeing how my legs felt after the Coastal Classic. They've been stiff, and I did deadlifts yesterday so was expecting to feel sluggish.
Amazingly, after a very easy first few kilometres, I started to feel OK and decided to carry on up the river for 30mins before turning. I got to my furthest point again (see "We've got a bleeder!"), meaning that I did about 15km. The GPS stopped working part way*, but based on the time of day I know I was a bit under 59 minutes. So, that's an average pace of about 3:56min/km and the same, if not faster than a few weeks ago. Given that I raced 29km on trails 4 days ago, I'm pretty happy with that! My legs actually felt really good for most of the way, and I got into a good rythm.
Mom, Dad, Angus and Annabel all did Crossfit this morning. I can't wait to join them this weekend. Annabel is even talking about ramping up to every day as she is starting to feel a lot stronger/better. How good is that!
*Re: the GPS - I cannot wait for my new Suunto Quest to arrive. So excited and impatient!
Amazingly, after a very easy first few kilometres, I started to feel OK and decided to carry on up the river for 30mins before turning. I got to my furthest point again (see "We've got a bleeder!"), meaning that I did about 15km. The GPS stopped working part way*, but based on the time of day I know I was a bit under 59 minutes. So, that's an average pace of about 3:56min/km and the same, if not faster than a few weeks ago. Given that I raced 29km on trails 4 days ago, I'm pretty happy with that! My legs actually felt really good for most of the way, and I got into a good rythm.
Mom, Dad, Angus and Annabel all did Crossfit this morning. I can't wait to join them this weekend. Annabel is even talking about ramping up to every day as she is starting to feel a lot stronger/better. How good is that!
*Re: the GPS - I cannot wait for my new Suunto Quest to arrive. So excited and impatient!
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Make up a WOD
I wasn't sure what to do this morning, so decided to make up a WOD depending on what equipment was available in the gym! Pretty much everything was available, so I did five rounds for time of:
- 15 reps, 80kg deadlift
- 15 reps, pushpress with 15kg dumbells
- 15 reps, towel pullups
- 15 reps, GHD situps
Took me 28:29. I tried to minimise rest between sets, but my forearems were blowing up like crazy so I had to split the last few rounds of pullups into 2-3 sets. Deadlift and towel pullups is a mean combo!!
I then did 4 sets of bench press as follows:
- 60kg x 10 reps
- 70kg x 8 reps
- 70kg x 6 reps
- 70kg x 6 reps
All up, a good session to start the week.
Annabel did a Filthy Fifty yesterday at Keith's gym. I'm stoked for her - it's a great session! She enjoyed it and sounds like she went really well.
- 15 reps, 80kg deadlift
- 15 reps, pushpress with 15kg dumbells
- 15 reps, towel pullups
- 15 reps, GHD situps
Took me 28:29. I tried to minimise rest between sets, but my forearems were blowing up like crazy so I had to split the last few rounds of pullups into 2-3 sets. Deadlift and towel pullups is a mean combo!!
I then did 4 sets of bench press as follows:
- 60kg x 10 reps
- 70kg x 8 reps
- 70kg x 6 reps
- 70kg x 6 reps
All up, a good session to start the week.
Annabel did a Filthy Fifty yesterday at Keith's gym. I'm stoked for her - it's a great session! She enjoyed it and sounds like she went really well.
Monday, 12 September 2011
I made it ... and came 12th!
Big relief - I made it through without falling over from cramp or fatigue!! I also came 12th overall and missed the previous course record by only 4 minutes! Stoked. Official place - 12th (2nd in my age group) and official time 2:34:32.
My prediction for 1st place was bang on - Tucks won in 2hrs 17mins (13 mins ahead of last year's winning time). Somehow Terence, who was with me for a few km's before and after Wattamolla, had an incredible second half and came in 4th. Poor Tiger (the mad bastard) limped home in 3:17)
What an incredible race though. It was a perfect day and the track was in pretty good condition. SO hard though - picture the most difficult terrain types you could think of, and they're all thrown into this course. You couldn't stop concentrating at all, meaning that it's mentally draining as well. Despite the steep hills, steps and soft sand, I found running through the long grass the toughest. You just couldn't get a rythm, and were constantly at risk of falling into a hole and spraining an ankle. There were a couple of guys absolutely flying along these sections though, so clearly I just need more practice. I didn't mind the metal walkways, though I was careful not to slip, and I really enjoyed the rocky sections that reminded me of the top of North Head.
I started in the 10th wave of 2, but caught a lot of people up the first hill. I followed the Tiger down the palm jungle, and took my first (and only) stack. After the palms, I lost a few spots through the grass, but picked up some more up the hills/stairs leading to Era. I actually didn't mind the downhill-beach-uphill-rocks cycle, but it clearly took it out of me. Around 20km, Terence and some sponsored dude left me, and I felt like I just got slower. The last 4km were torture - mostly on soft sand. With 500m to go, there was a little steep uphill, and my legs felt like they were starting to cramp, reminiscent of 6 Foot Track. Thankfully, I made it to the finish and smashed some salt tablets to get rid of the cramps!
Mom, Dad and Annabel were brilliant. Dad even ran along the course to give me water bottles! Fantastic day out, and definitely one to do next year.
Some photos and the link to results:
http://www.multisportaustralia.com.au/RaceTecResults/Results.aspx?CId=1&RId=575&EId=1
My prediction for 1st place was bang on - Tucks won in 2hrs 17mins (13 mins ahead of last year's winning time). Somehow Terence, who was with me for a few km's before and after Wattamolla, had an incredible second half and came in 4th. Poor Tiger (the mad bastard) limped home in 3:17)
What an incredible race though. It was a perfect day and the track was in pretty good condition. SO hard though - picture the most difficult terrain types you could think of, and they're all thrown into this course. You couldn't stop concentrating at all, meaning that it's mentally draining as well. Despite the steep hills, steps and soft sand, I found running through the long grass the toughest. You just couldn't get a rythm, and were constantly at risk of falling into a hole and spraining an ankle. There were a couple of guys absolutely flying along these sections though, so clearly I just need more practice. I didn't mind the metal walkways, though I was careful not to slip, and I really enjoyed the rocky sections that reminded me of the top of North Head.
I started in the 10th wave of 2, but caught a lot of people up the first hill. I followed the Tiger down the palm jungle, and took my first (and only) stack. After the palms, I lost a few spots through the grass, but picked up some more up the hills/stairs leading to Era. I actually didn't mind the downhill-beach-uphill-rocks cycle, but it clearly took it out of me. Around 20km, Terence and some sponsored dude left me, and I felt like I just got slower. The last 4km were torture - mostly on soft sand. With 500m to go, there was a little steep uphill, and my legs felt like they were starting to cramp, reminiscent of 6 Foot Track. Thankfully, I made it to the finish and smashed some salt tablets to get rid of the cramps!
Mom, Dad and Annabel were brilliant. Dad even ran along the course to give me water bottles! Fantastic day out, and definitely one to do next year.
Some photos and the link to results:
http://www.multisportaustralia.com.au/RaceTecResults/Results.aspx?CId=1&RId=575&EId=1
Running into Garie - supersupporter Dad in the foreground
Running out of Garie - lonely on the soft sand!
10 metres from the finish!
Friday, 9 September 2011
Pre race
I love this pre-race period, when you know you've done the work (well, hopefully) and all that is left is to get to the start line and give it your best shot.
Did my standard pre-race routine the last 2 days - resting Thursday (I had a swim and a spa before work which was fantastic!) and an easy 3km run this morning. The only spanner in the works was the hangover! My boss called yesterday and informed me he'd be in Brisbane for one night only and was keen to catch up for dinner. I had more wine than I should have and got to bed an hour after bedtime!!! I then had an early meeting this morning so the prep is not exactly ideal.
One more sleep until race day - how exciting. Hopefully I can have a snooze on the plane tonight.
Without knowing the full field that will be lining up tomorrow, my predictions are:
Did my standard pre-race routine the last 2 days - resting Thursday (I had a swim and a spa before work which was fantastic!) and an easy 3km run this morning. The only spanner in the works was the hangover! My boss called yesterday and informed me he'd be in Brisbane for one night only and was keen to catch up for dinner. I had more wine than I should have and got to bed an hour after bedtime!!! I then had an early meeting this morning so the prep is not exactly ideal.
One more sleep until race day - how exciting. Hopefully I can have a snooze on the plane tonight.
Without knowing the full field that will be lining up tomorrow, my predictions are:
- Tucks
- Brendan
- The guy who won last year
- Fats?
- I'm getting hazy now, but I reckon the guy who won the Tough Bloke (Lachlan?) will be up there
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Easyish tempo run
Wow, my legs are STILL stiff from the Curtis P's! Maybe that wasn't the best idea. Or, maybe my grand plan will work and with a day of rest tomorrow I'll feel amazing and fresh on Saturday! Fingers crossed.
I just did an easyish tempo run this morning. The same 9.5km route I did on Monday, but without the hydration belt. I went out very easy, increasing the pace gradually throughout and getting to the bridge before Monday's time. I had to make a pitstop at Southbank, but felt pretty good after that and put in a few hardish efforts along Southbank and through the gardens. I didn't feel very comfortable at all, but I didn't feel bad either.
Let's hope the race organisers make the "right" decision today and let us run! I have officially missed out on entering both the Bridge to Brisbane and the Blackmores Half Marathon, so unless I enter the marathon, the Coastal Classic is the only race I'll be doing for the next few weeks!
I just did an easyish tempo run this morning. The same 9.5km route I did on Monday, but without the hydration belt. I went out very easy, increasing the pace gradually throughout and getting to the bridge before Monday's time. I had to make a pitstop at Southbank, but felt pretty good after that and put in a few hardish efforts along Southbank and through the gardens. I didn't feel very comfortable at all, but I didn't feel bad either.
Let's hope the race organisers make the "right" decision today and let us run! I have officially missed out on entering both the Bridge to Brisbane and the Blackmores Half Marathon, so unless I enter the marathon, the Coastal Classic is the only race I'll be doing for the next few weeks!
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Stuck in a lift
You know how after the gym you are more prone to sweating? Well wearing a blue shirt today proved to be a bad choice after I got stuck in a lift with no aircon for 20 minutes! The sweat just kept coming!!
I had a great massage last night but was seriously tight after the Curtis P's so it hurt like hell. I also haven't had a massage since June so my calves and ITBs were terrible. I've booked in again for 2 weeks time.
I had a relatively "easy" gym session this morning and did lots of stretching both before and after. I did 5 rounds of:
- 15 pullups (first round was 20), surprisingly these felt the "easiest" of the exercises
- 15 x 60kg bench press
- 15 deep dips
- 15 GHD situps
I also had a good chat to the marathoner from my floor - apparently he's done 17 Boston marathons IN A ROW!!! What a machine! He's also done 5 marathons this year already and is doing another next weekend. Makes me feel weak as piss not even doing one in 2011.
Coastal Classic decision day is tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
I had a great massage last night but was seriously tight after the Curtis P's so it hurt like hell. I also haven't had a massage since June so my calves and ITBs were terrible. I've booked in again for 2 weeks time.
I had a relatively "easy" gym session this morning and did lots of stretching both before and after. I did 5 rounds of:
- 15 pullups (first round was 20), surprisingly these felt the "easiest" of the exercises
- 15 x 60kg bench press
- 15 deep dips
- 15 GHD situps
I also had a good chat to the marathoner from my floor - apparently he's done 17 Boston marathons IN A ROW!!! What a machine! He's also done 5 marathons this year already and is doing another next weekend. Makes me feel weak as piss not even doing one in 2011.
Coastal Classic decision day is tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
Monday, 5 September 2011
Short ultra
It's becoming a Monday morning routine - wake up at 4:30am, take Annabel to the airport, get back by 6:30am for a run/gym before work. I managed to get lost on the way back from the airport so didn't give myself much time for exercise this morning, but after the Curtis P's last night, my legs were in no state for anything too fast or too long.
One of the requirements of the Coastal Classic is that you carry your own water. I haven't run with my Nathan hydration belt for a little while, so I decided to fill up both bottles and practice running with it this morning. it bounced around a bit at first, but I tightened the velcro as small as it would go, and the bouncing stopped. It's a very well-designed belt, with an elastic strap, and you hardly notice it's there when you're running. Only thing is that I must have looked like the biggest try-hard, running less than 10km with a hydration belt! Like a super-short ultra marathoner.
I ran out for 20 minutes, past Southbank to the Gobetween Bridge, then back. Not fast, just a comfortable pace. Total of just over 9.5km in 38:52 (approx. 4:05min/km). I feel tired from the gym session last night and the early start, but there is just something so refreshing about a morning run.
I'm now looking forward to a massage tonight!!
One of the requirements of the Coastal Classic is that you carry your own water. I haven't run with my Nathan hydration belt for a little while, so I decided to fill up both bottles and practice running with it this morning. it bounced around a bit at first, but I tightened the velcro as small as it would go, and the bouncing stopped. It's a very well-designed belt, with an elastic strap, and you hardly notice it's there when you're running. Only thing is that I must have looked like the biggest try-hard, running less than 10km with a hydration belt! Like a super-short ultra marathoner.
I ran out for 20 minutes, past Southbank to the Gobetween Bridge, then back. Not fast, just a comfortable pace. Total of just over 9.5km in 38:52 (approx. 4:05min/km). I feel tired from the gym session last night and the early start, but there is just something so refreshing about a morning run.
I'm now looking forward to a massage tonight!!
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Curtis P's
First, let me say that Brisbane's Riverfire last night was AMAZING! We had the boys from work (and Lia) over for dinner and had the most perfect view of the fireworks, both from a barge on the river and the Story Bridge. Anyone who thinks that Sydney's NYE fireworks is unrivalled needs to see Riverfire.
Annabel and I had a very lazy day today, and by 4pm we both needed to stretch our legs, so decided to hit the gym. I follow a blog called No Meat Athlete. Now whilst I'm far from vegan, I really like some of the stuff (and recipes) that this blog has. I also like the way that he writes and thinks about running. Last week I was intrigued by a post he put up that mentioned strength training for runners. He referenced a workout called "Curtis P's", originally from a website called Mountain Athlete. It's basically just another barbell "complex" (similar to the Bear Complex I did a few weeks ago). The workout is as follows:
100 reps @ 55% (I used 40kg) of bodyweight of: Hang squat clean, left leg lunge, right leg lunge, push press. No dropping the bar between each movement.
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get the full 100 out, especially after my first set only managed 7 reps! Needless to say, I did it, all in sets of 5 (and two sets of 7). This was a seriously tough workout - each movement smashes you in a different way. I actually found it hurt my wrists to do the push presses as I had "racked" the bar on my shoulders for the lunges.
I was really happy with my power in the cleans, and with how deep I was getting on the front squat. If I'm honest, I didn't hit my knee to the floor on every single lunge, but all in all I think my form was pretty good given the number of reps.
By 50 reps I was hurting a lot. Annabel didn't think I'd finish, but I got there in the end. The last 2 reps were very satisfying!!!!
I did a few hundred skips as a warmup, practised my kipping pullups, and did 3 sets of 10 toes-to-bar at the end. Long workout, but a goody.
My plan for the week is:
- Monday - easy morning run and massage in the evening
- Tuesday - upper body bodyweight gym sesh (i.e. pullups/pushups/dips)
- Wednesday - tempo run
- Thursday - rest
- Friday - short, easy run
- Saturday - race!
Annabel and I had a very lazy day today, and by 4pm we both needed to stretch our legs, so decided to hit the gym. I follow a blog called No Meat Athlete. Now whilst I'm far from vegan, I really like some of the stuff (and recipes) that this blog has. I also like the way that he writes and thinks about running. Last week I was intrigued by a post he put up that mentioned strength training for runners. He referenced a workout called "Curtis P's", originally from a website called Mountain Athlete. It's basically just another barbell "complex" (similar to the Bear Complex I did a few weeks ago). The workout is as follows:
100 reps @ 55% (I used 40kg) of bodyweight of: Hang squat clean, left leg lunge, right leg lunge, push press. No dropping the bar between each movement.
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get the full 100 out, especially after my first set only managed 7 reps! Needless to say, I did it, all in sets of 5 (and two sets of 7). This was a seriously tough workout - each movement smashes you in a different way. I actually found it hurt my wrists to do the push presses as I had "racked" the bar on my shoulders for the lunges.
I was really happy with my power in the cleans, and with how deep I was getting on the front squat. If I'm honest, I didn't hit my knee to the floor on every single lunge, but all in all I think my form was pretty good given the number of reps.
By 50 reps I was hurting a lot. Annabel didn't think I'd finish, but I got there in the end. The last 2 reps were very satisfying!!!!
I did a few hundred skips as a warmup, practised my kipping pullups, and did 3 sets of 10 toes-to-bar at the end. Long workout, but a goody.
My plan for the week is:
- Monday - easy morning run and massage in the evening
- Tuesday - upper body bodyweight gym sesh (i.e. pullups/pushups/dips)
- Wednesday - tempo run
- Thursday - rest
- Friday - short, easy run
- Saturday - race!
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Mountain repeats
It was a cracking morning in Brisvegas today, and I felt like a trail run. I convinced Annabel it would be a good idea to head to Mt Coot-tha to do some hill repeats. To cater for her needs, I chose an easy trail - the JC Slaughter Falls summit track. It's very well maintained, is tar and good steps in places, is nice and wide, and has a lot of foot traffic. Not overly challenging from a technical trail running perspective, but also very little risk of twisting an ankle a week out from the Coastal Classic! Mt Coot-tha is also a beautiful area, so close to the city, that I had really wanted Annabel to see it.
I wanted to do at least 2 or 3 repeats, whilst Annabel was going to do one then check out the summit view. I ended up doing 3 in total, cutting it short there mainly because Annabel was finished her workout (yep, I'm blaming her for stopping early!!!). All three took me exactly 15 minutes - 9 mins up, 6 mins down. I'm very happy with that consistency. It's meant to be a 2.2km track from where I started to the top, and it's pretty steep in places. I felt very strong both up and down the hill, so am quite confident I'll be able to handle the hills next weekend. I really don't want a repeat of the 6 Foot Track (where I cramped up after 25km because of the downhills).
So, a total of about 14km or so in just under an hour (including warm up / warm down). Annabel did about 6.5km or so, but declared that she really prefers trail running to road running - I might make a trail runner of her yet!
It's Riverfire tonight so we've just shopped up a storm and have a huge array of tasty looking goodies for the boys from work who are coming over to watch the fireworks.
I wanted to do at least 2 or 3 repeats, whilst Annabel was going to do one then check out the summit view. I ended up doing 3 in total, cutting it short there mainly because Annabel was finished her workout (yep, I'm blaming her for stopping early!!!). All three took me exactly 15 minutes - 9 mins up, 6 mins down. I'm very happy with that consistency. It's meant to be a 2.2km track from where I started to the top, and it's pretty steep in places. I felt very strong both up and down the hill, so am quite confident I'll be able to handle the hills next weekend. I really don't want a repeat of the 6 Foot Track (where I cramped up after 25km because of the downhills).
So, a total of about 14km or so in just under an hour (including warm up / warm down). Annabel did about 6.5km or so, but declared that she really prefers trail running to road running - I might make a trail runner of her yet!
It's Riverfire tonight so we've just shopped up a storm and have a huge array of tasty looking goodies for the boys from work who are coming over to watch the fireworks.
Friday, 2 September 2011
Modified Mona fartlek
Worked late last night and picked Annabel up from the airport at 9:30pm so slept in and didn't have much time this morning. What to do when you want a run, your legs are hurting from jumping lunges and you don't have much time? The Mona fartlek of course!
After a warm up, my version this morning was:
2 x 90 seconds on, 90 seconds float (not easy)
6 x 60 seconds on, 60 seconds float
8 x 30 seconds on, 30 seconds float
I turned the last effort into a hard run right along the Story Bridge - about 90 seconds. I was totally wrecked by the end of it. Total of about 8km in 36mins according to the never-reliable GPS (including warm up, warm down and floats that's an average of 4.5min/km). I think it was a good use of the time available!!!
Very busy day at work today.
After a warm up, my version this morning was:
2 x 90 seconds on, 90 seconds float (not easy)
6 x 60 seconds on, 60 seconds float
8 x 30 seconds on, 30 seconds float
I turned the last effort into a hard run right along the Story Bridge - about 90 seconds. I was totally wrecked by the end of it. Total of about 8km in 36mins according to the never-reliable GPS (including warm up, warm down and floats that's an average of 4.5min/km). I think it was a good use of the time available!!!
Very busy day at work today.
Thursday, 1 September 2011
First day of spring
Brisbane certainly knows how to turn on spring weather - it's an absolutely cracking day here. Pity I'm stuck in the office. Oh well.
I started the day off with a series of Crossfit WODs as follows.
Warmup of 3 rounds 10 pullups, 15 pushups, 15 bench dips, 15 squats. All fairly easy, no rest.
Then, yesterday's mainsite WOD, which was eight rounds for max reps of:
35kg push press, 20 seconds
Rest 10 seconds
Alternating jumping lunge, 20 seconds
Rest 10 seconds
So, it was like doing a double Tabata with different exercises. Pretty tough 8 minutes - I was sweating up a storm by the end, and failing on the push press. My reps were:
Push press - 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 17, 15, 15 - Total 142
Lunge - 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 17 - Total 129
Not bad scores compared to the benchmarks, but I think I need to get more extension on my PP's.
I then did a modification of today's Crossfit North Manly (my mate Keith's gym) WOD:
18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3 reps of:
DB bench press, 20kg
Renegade rows, 20kg (I assumed that one rep was both arms, i.e. 18 reps on each arm for the first set)
The first few sets were torture, but I love these descending workouts because generally you can do the whole set but descend in reps quickly enough that you're failing at the end of each set. I had to partition the renegade rows, then wipe up a huge volume of sweat from the floor after!
I finished with a set of abs - the usual 7 minutes special with clapping pushups at the end.
The whole workout took about an hour and felt like I'd earned my breakfast. What a start to the day!
I started the day off with a series of Crossfit WODs as follows.
Warmup of 3 rounds 10 pullups, 15 pushups, 15 bench dips, 15 squats. All fairly easy, no rest.
Then, yesterday's mainsite WOD, which was eight rounds for max reps of:
35kg push press, 20 seconds
Rest 10 seconds
Alternating jumping lunge, 20 seconds
Rest 10 seconds
So, it was like doing a double Tabata with different exercises. Pretty tough 8 minutes - I was sweating up a storm by the end, and failing on the push press. My reps were:
Push press - 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 17, 15, 15 - Total 142
Lunge - 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 17 - Total 129
Not bad scores compared to the benchmarks, but I think I need to get more extension on my PP's.
I then did a modification of today's Crossfit North Manly (my mate Keith's gym) WOD:
18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3 reps of:
DB bench press, 20kg
Renegade rows, 20kg (I assumed that one rep was both arms, i.e. 18 reps on each arm for the first set)
The first few sets were torture, but I love these descending workouts because generally you can do the whole set but descend in reps quickly enough that you're failing at the end of each set. I had to partition the renegade rows, then wipe up a huge volume of sweat from the floor after!
I finished with a set of abs - the usual 7 minutes special with clapping pushups at the end.
The whole workout took about an hour and felt like I'd earned my breakfast. What a start to the day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)