TD 52 - The Race For Tomorrow

as i stated in the last post, i took friday off...  my body felt great the morning of the race and i felt a little soreness in my lower back.  nonetheless, that soreness didn't hinder my performance and i was able to run up and down camelback mountain without fear of risking injury.  i'm labeling this a training day because i conducted the race with AM and TT (even though he's not an official 4TWC member, he has trained with us before).  we were in the 4th heat (last) at 11:30am , so we got to watch everyone go.  i'm thankful i went skydiving last weekend, because my nerves did not play a factor at all when it was our turn to bat.

so basically the format was split into two parts: (1) "the pit" and (2) a 7 mile run.  before you entered the pit, race officials went over scoring the first part and how the actual running course was.  when i gathered a better SA of what the run was really going to be like, i thought it best to slightly hold back in the pit.  read on & you'll see why...

the pit consisted of 4 stations.  you had a 90sec prep time to get to your first station.  mine went as such:
(1) kettlebell swings (50lbs)
30sec recovery
(2) burpees
30sec recovery
(3) thrusters (75lbs)
30sec recovery
(4) box jumps

here is a vid of the first heat ever conducted in the history of the CMC:

my total score was 102.  AM's score was 106! and TT's score was 112!  i felt that i conducted the exercises at a challenging pace, but i definitely wasn't taxed for the run (thank God).  we then had 3 minutes to recover, then conducted a 7 mile run through camelback mountain:

to be honest, the up-mountain was unforgiving.  we were barely able to get a jog on the incline.  we were expecting to negotiate the run and obstacles in less than 90 minutes (from what i remember, i believe the fastest time ended up being 1hour and 23 minutes)... that was wishful thinking.  we didn't receive our official times yet, but i estimate it took us about 130 minutes possibly a little less.  when we get the race results, i will be sure to share.

anyway, i'll have to say that the run portion was way harder than toughmudder tri-state last year.  in englishtown, it took about less than 3 hours to complete 12-13 miles... so you do the math... i was really surprised and definitely plan on doing another CMC when it returns to the east coast!  i'm going to have to incorporate heavier squats and more hills to train for a course similar to camelback!  a truly humbling experience and when we crossed that finished line, we definitely felt that we earned our t-shirts haha.

the finish line. 

me & AM. we started together. we finished together.

we hung out for a beer, i bought the Murph Hero WOD t-shirt, then rushed back to nj to drop TT off and make it to my friends' wedding reception:

congrats Carrie & Joe!

life is a beautiful thing.

all in all, saturday was another lesson that emphasized to always keep striving to get better.  it showed me that when you settle and think that you're in shape, are you really?  i'm glad for kicks in the pants like these; for opportunities to learn more about myself and to share the experience with like-minded individuals who understand hard work and welcome challenges... i believe in these people and because of them, i believe in our country.  that's basically the short of what went down on 9-10-11.

get involved w/or donate to the Wounded Warrior Project

cheers,

-DV _ level ^ fitness

TD 51 - the last training day before the CMC

i'm basically catching up on posts because it was such a hectic weekend (rehearsal dinner, then driving to camelback for the CMC the night before, conducting The Race For Tomorrow, then driving back to the wedding reception, then the first sunday of football).... yes, a lot of excuses, i know.  so although this is dated for thursday, september 8th... i'm really writing this on monday, september 12th.

moving along, i would like to call this training day, "the lost training day," since i can't find the piece of paper our results were written on.  so here goes... i believe HD and i split that morning up into 4 parts: (1) basketball set shots, (2) helen @ 70%, (3) muay thai pad work, then (4) light jog on the treadmill.

warmup
we conducted 60 set shots in under 5 minutes.  i believe i hit about 50% of my shots... i will continue to state this until it gets done, that i wish we had a third party to shoot this drill... not that we're anything special, it's that i want to show the rest of you how we warmup.

then, helen @ 70%
you really can't quantify then actually perform exactly at 70%, but basically, we didn't time it.  we did perform our rounds unbroken, didn't stop moving, and just a slightly lower effort than our max speed:

run 400 meters (we measured 50 meters in the gym, so we did 8 laps)
21 kettlebell swings (25lbs)
12 pullups

then, muay thai pad word
we did a ten minute round each, focusing on the following combination:
1, 2, 3, right leg kick, reset, 2, inside leg kick

and to finish, treadmill work
10mins @ 7mph, 1.0% incline
total: 1.16 miles, approx. 140 calories burned

i took friday off.  my lower back was a bit suspect, but by race day morning, it didn't fail me.  on to writing about saturday.

get involved w/or donate to the Wounded Warrior Project

cheers,

-DV _ level ^ fitness

opted for a rest day

this morning HD and i decided to rest and take it easy.  i honestly think it was beneficial and i could feel my body responded well to the rest.  here's some food for thought:

i can't wait!  this is television worth watching.  moreover, my books came in the mail today!

i am more than ready to start digging in. hmm, what else?  2 more days until the CMC!

that's all for now.

get involved w/or donate to the Wounded Warrior Project

cheers,


-DV _ level ^ fitness

TD 50!

haha i wish training day 50 was as provocative as a 50th of anything should be... however, it wasn't.  boo tapering!  i honestly can't wait until next week to get back after it.  i guess the light training this week is really getting me hungry for saturday.  anyway, HD and i split up the session into 3 parts: (1) light treadmill work, (2) muay thai pad work, and (3) swim.

warmup - treadmill
for 10mins @ 7mph, 1.0% incline
total: 1.16 miles, approx. 140 calories burned

next, muay thai pad work
10 minutes each
focused on the following combo: fake right leg kick into switch left knee, 2, 3, 2 rear kicks

last, swim
250m

we intended to conduct "helen" at 70% this evening, but the weather wouldn't allow for it.  we'll try and sneak it in tomorrow morning if possible.  at the end of the day, my back feels a little better.  hopefully it'll continue to do so and will be close to 100% by saturday.

... here's some more great info from Whiteboard Wednesdays @ CrossFit Endurance pertaining to programming:

it's really interesting to see a template for people who are unable to do the 3 days on 1 day off due to work or family obligations and are in need of a set schedule.  so far this journey has been sort of a science experiment where HD & i are the lab rats and i'm loving every second of it.  i'm hungry to continually learn and get better.  yesterday, i invested in "Fit" by Dr. Lon Kilgore and "Practical Programming for Strength" by Mark Rippetoe and Dr. Lon Kilgore.  i also ordered a couple paleo diet books, along with the new Thomas Friedman book and Dick Cheney memoir...  i'm really anxious to see what they all have to say and the books should get here tomorrow... thank God for amazon prime!

sorry for not having that much for you guys to look at.  will have good stuff up from the weekend and next week- that's a promise!

get involved w/or donate to the Wounded Warrior Project

cheers,

-DV _ level ^ fitness

TD 49

on this labor day, HD and i split the session up into 3 parts: (1) slow elliptical work, (2) lifts, and (3) abs.  since it's a holiday today and i didn't have to work, it definitely would've been ideal to squeeze in a lot of exercises and movements.  however, i have to stick to tapering off as best as possible without overdoing it... i tend to be pretty stubborn and pay later.  all in all, i think we managed to do a good job this morning.

warmup - elliptical
10mins @ level 4
total: 1.52 miles, approx. 101 calories burned

next,

as you can see, i've PR'd on the bench press three times today.  i figured since i put up 245lbs 6 times last tuesday, i'd try to shoot for 265lbs.  it went up 3 times and i told HD that i feel like i have a 4th rep in me.  on the 3rd set, 4 went up and it still felt like i had more gas.  so for the 4th set, HD told me that i might as well try 275lbs.  if i worked out by myself, i would've never taken myself this far and i'm so grateful to have a buddy that i can trust to go to the gym with.  lo and behold, i set another PR.

with that said, it kills me that my legs are weaker than my arms.  i wish i had worked out legs in high school and college.  haha it's really upsetting, but eventually if i stick with it, my legs will catch up.  as opposed to last wednesday, 215lbs felt a lot smoother going deep then pressing back up.  squats just remind me of things that i would've done differently in the past, like maybe took up wrestling and gymnastics instead of waste my time with basketball... at least i ran cross country.  in the end, regret is pointless and, for me at least, it's all about what can i do today to make progress and get better?

last, we did abs
3 continuous rounds
15 weighted situps (20lbs... perhaps we should bump it up at least another 5lbs?)
30sec modified straight plank
15 bicycles

and that's basically it.  was thinking about squeezing in a tabata, but held myself back.  maybe i might go for a light jog around noon today, without overexerting myself, just to keep the blood flowing.  would that be a bad idea?  anyway...

although today is a holiday, i have a lot of catching up to do with work and knock out some reports, so haha that is how i'm going to spend the next couple of hours before my jog....  CMC in 5 days!  my lower back is a little stiff, but overall, i feel good.

get involved w/or donate to the Wounded Warrior Project

cheers,

-DV _ level ^ fitness

labor day weekend skydive

it wasn't my idea to jump today, but i'm glad i got invited to do so.  earlier this afternoon, i had the opportunity to conduct my first tandem jump in long island.  definitely a smooth experience and i plan on returning for more... perhaps taking on the advanced freefall program.  who knows?  if you have the funds, if you have the time, i recommend checking out Skydive Long Island.  below is the video of my first jump:

now back to business... there are 6 days left before The Race For Tomorrow.  based on the multi-sport taper suggested by CrossFit Endurance, i plan on conducting something similar to the following schedule this week:

monday: heavy lift 5x3, back squat @ 70% of 5x3 max
tuesday: swim in the morning, Helen @ 70% effort in the evening
wednesday: rest
thursday: brick run-bike-run 800m/1.5mile/800m
friday: rest
saturday: The Race For Tomorrow

i'm pretty anxious to get back at it, even though it's going to be a fairly light week.

get involved w/or donate to the Wounded Warrior Project

cheers,

-DV _ level ^ fitness

TD 48

just got back home from a very disappointing playoff game.  my company's basketball season is over.  oh well- definitely had a great time, but the way we lost was really bad.  haha despite that, welcome to september!  we are in season and my first series of adventure races (out of three) is next saturday.  i'm not sure whether to be excited or afraid... i have a pretty eventful weekend lined up as AM, TS, and i are participating in the 31heroes WOD this saturday and i am skydiving on sunday.  this labor day weekend should make up for tonight's loss.

this morning, HD and i split up our workout into 3 parts: (1) set shot drills, (2) lifts, and (3) light bike work.  i'm going to have to digress for a second (because sportscenter is on) and talk about Kerry Collins... i can't believe the man is 38!  i remember him talking to the media about how there should be a playoff system to determine the ncaa national champ when he was at penn state... wow, a time before the bcs.

warmup
the usual 50 shot drill in under 5 minutes.  i shot 60% in the morning and shot poorly in the game.  i did score a few points and make all my free throws... haha there's always next season.  another digression... anyone check out Aquille Carr?  this young man is about my height, but just commands the games he's in.... and is only 16!  these young athletes are getting so elite early and are really inspiring:

next,

performed dead hang pullups and didn't kip... felt really strong & perhaps it's about time to start working on my form with kipping pullups.  i felt that i could've done more with deadlifts, but was too scared to overwork myself before the game.  i probably should've tried to beast like HD did.  he hit 225lbs 11 times in his second set.

lastly, we hit the bike
10mins at level 5
total: 2.14 miles

and that's that.  we're talking about taking a rest day tomorrow... i may run with MV in the evening.

again, welcome to september!

get involved w/or donate to the Wounded Warrior Project

cheers,

-DV _ level ^ fitness