Mind Over Matter

Tonight was a Crossfit workout and then off to the gym for a quick 3 miler.
I wanted to run a little longer, but the gym was closing and I really wanted to get some calf stretching in. The have multiple "wedges" that you can stretch your calf muscles out.

I think all I need to do is keep stretching my lower legs and out and my foot will start feeling a lot better. So far, I have not had any real trouble with it while running.

Needless to say, I am sore. This is a good thing because there is only one thing to do about this and that is to adapt.
I am getting stronger at certain things from these short few weeks of doing CF.
I've noticed my endurance increasing and muscle strength in my legs is increasing. The best of all, I have noticed my mental toughness increasing.
This is one of the main reasons I wanted to sign up for CF. My main focus is running, and all the other cross training I do is to benefit my running.
I noticed long ago that it is sometimes just too easy for me to stay in my comfort zone and just say: "I've had enough" and stop running.
CF will break me of this.

Anyway, tomorrow may be a day off for rest and then back at it on 1/1/2009. Can you freaking believe it? Time flies.

Happy New Year Everyone.

Remember to include my blog(s) in your New Years' Resolutions list. - That is, to read it regardless of the boring content.

Totals:
Crossfit WOD
3 Miles treadmill....easy

Never an easy day in Crossfit

I asked myself the question: Wonder if it will be an easy day at Rogue?

Why would a question or statement like this ever pop into my head? Why would I want that?

The truth is, I don't want that.

I think 1/10th of my brain wanted me to stay home and watch TV all night. The rest of my brain knows what will happen if I do: Regret, disappointment, and the fact of knowing I will just pay for it later.
I was talking to Coach Eddie tonight about being sore all the time. He laughed because it seems this is a good thing because I am pushing myself each and every workout.
This is the guy who got me through my Elements and the majority of the CF workouts:

Warm up: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Push ups
KB Swings
Squats

Skill:
KB Clean

WOD:
10 KB Clean & Jerk

5 Pull ups
10 Box Jumps
AMRAP in 15 minutes

My total: 7 Rounds.

After this I went to the gym and put in 3 miles on the treadmill.

Never an easy day in Crossfit

I asked myself the question: Wonder if it will be an easy day at Rogue?

Why would a question or statement like this ever pop into my head? Why would I want that?

The truth is, I don't want that.

I think 1/10th of my brain wanted me to stay home and watch TV all night. The rest of my brain knows what will happen if I do: Regret, disappointment, and the fact of knowing I will just pay for it later.
I was talking to Coach Eddie tonight about being sore all the time. He laughed because it seems this is a good thing because I am pushing myself each and every workout.
This is the guy who got me through my Elements and the majority of the CF workouts:

Warm up: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Push ups
KB Swings
Squats

Skill:
KB Clean

WOD:
10 KB Clean & Jerk

5 Pull ups
10 Box Jumps
AMRAP in 15 minutes

My total: 7 Rounds.

After this I went to the gym and put in 3 miles on the treadmill.

Effortless running????

This was something I was pondering tonight while halfway through my treadmill run at the gym.

Even though my pace was much slower than normal due to some testing of my foot taping, I felt as if I was gliding along with no effort.

It's been a couple of weeks since my last run, and I am thinking that Crossfit has kept me in shape in between runs.

I still have some pain in my foot, and that may never go away. I will see here in the weeks to come as to the true healthiness of my foot.

Here are some shots of my foot taping with Duck Tape:

Athletic Tape and Duck Tape:

Just Duck Tape:

Totals:

5 miles...treadmill...time is too slow to print.

Get out the old Soreness.....

....and put new soreness in.

I was a tad sore form yesterday's F50, but truly not as bad as I thought I would be.
Last night, I just slept like I was in a coma.

When I woke up I told myself, no excuses. I was going to Crossfit, and that nothing could have been worse than yesterday. -Ha Ha.

Warm up:
20 Squats
20 Push ups
20 Pull ups
1000m Row

Skill:
20 Thrusters
50 Push ups
750m Row

WOD:
15 Push ups
7 Thrusters
500m Row

AMRAP in 15 minutes

My Score: 4 Rounds total

Then we had to do:
100 Abmat Situps

Get out the old Soreness.....

....and put new soreness in.

I was a tad sore form yesterday's F50, but truly not as bad as I thought I would be.
Last night, I just slept like I was in a coma.

When I woke up I told myself, no excuses. I was going to Crossfit, and that nothing could have been worse than yesterday. -Ha Ha.

Warm up:
20 Squats
20 Push ups
20 Pull ups
1000m Row

Skill:
20 Thrusters
50 Push ups
750m Row

WOD:
15 Push ups
7 Thrusters
500m Row

AMRAP in 15 minutes

My Score: 4 Rounds total

Then we had to do:
100 Abmat Situps

Dead Tired

In the past 3 hours I managed to get a sick, sick Crossfit workout in and a 10 mile Bike Ride.

The last couple of days have been disappointing in terms of trying to get a workout in. With Christmas, and a small project that needed to be completed before Christmas. I just had no time to put into anything.
Well, I am hopefully back at it and in a groove.
I'm planning a run with Pink Panther tomorrow.....Stay Tuned with this one.

I redeemed myself today with a Crossfit workout called the Filthy 50. I did this workout a while back and thought I was going to die. I think my time was around 50 minutes. I'll have to look back and see.
My time today was 26:02. Most people in the class had great times. One guy got around 14 minutes which is awesome.
I came home and decided the weather was too great to not do something outside so I went on a Bike Ride. I didn't care how many miles I got in.
I ended up with 10.02 for 47:07.

Totals:
Crossfit WOD: Filthy 50...time: 26:02......(See my other blog)
Bike Ride: 10 miles...time: 47:07

Filthy 50

I was a little suspicious of our Skills session and what was to come for the WOD.

Today, the instructor "J" was bound and determined to kill us:

The final times were phenomenal (to me anyway). I think one guy finished in something like a little over 14 minutes.
My final time surprised me as I remember when I first did the Filthy 50 my time was like 47 minutes or so. (I'll have to look back and see for sure).

I had a little trouble doing some of the moves because when I come down on the ball of my foot, I had searing pain shooting throughout my foot. I had to a little modification, but the exercise was still effective. I ended up doing 100 jump ropes with one foot. When I did the jumping pull-ups, I landed on one foot, etc. You get the idea.

Anyway, my total time for Filthy 50 was: 26:04

Warm up:
30 Squats
30 Push-ups
100 F-Kicks

Skills: Squats
Push-ups
Abmat sit-ups
Box Jumps
Double unders
KB Swings
Push Press w/dumbells
K2E (Knees 2 Elbows)

Filthy 50:
50 Squats
50 Pull-ups
50 Push-ups
50 Abmat sit-ups
50 Box Jumps
50 Double unders
50 KB Swings
50 Push Press w/dumbells
50K2E (Knees 2 Elbows)
50 Wall Balls

Time: 26:04

To be honest, I nearly threw up on the way home.

Filthy 50

I was a little suspicious of our Skills session and what was to come for the WOD.

Today, the instructor "J" was bound and determined to kill us:

The final times were phenomenal (to me anyway). I think one guy finished in something like a little over 14 minutes.
My final time surprised me as I remember when I first did the Filthy 50 my time was like 47 minutes or so. (I'll have to look back and see for sure).

I had a little trouble doing some of the moves because when I come down on the ball of my foot, I had searing pain shooting throughout my foot. I had to a little modification, but the exercise was still effective. I ended up doing 100 jump ropes with one foot. When I did the jumping pull-ups, I landed on one foot, etc. You get the idea.

Anyway, my total time for Filthy 50 was: 26:04

Warm up:
30 Squats
30 Push-ups
100 F-Kicks

Skills: Squats
Push-ups
Abmat sit-ups
Box Jumps
Double unders
KB Swings
Push Press w/dumbells
K2E (Knees 2 Elbows)

Filthy 50:
50 Squats
50 Pull-ups
50 Push-ups
50 Abmat sit-ups
50 Box Jumps
50 Double unders
50 KB Swings
50 Push Press w/dumbells
50K2E (Knees 2 Elbows)
50 Wall Balls

Time: 26:04

To be honest, I nearly threw up on the way home.

UltraRunning for Nintendo Wii

Okay, I am not sure UltraRunning for Nintendo Wii exists, but wouldn't it be cool?

Actually, I take that back. It would kinda suck to have to run in your livingroom or office in one place. Unless you had a treadmill.

Anyway, My wife and I got a Nintendo Wii for Christmas. Her brother had ordered it from China and got it delivered just in time for Christmas.

Here's my wife and here brother going at it in Boxing:We had so much fun playing the sports games on Christmas Day. They were all tired and I wanted to keep going. Hmmm. Wonder if it's becasue I am in slightly better shape?????

My Wish List for Wii Games (If they had them)

UltraRunning or Trail Running

Crossfit Wii

Wii Cycling

I created my Mii likness. It's kinda scary, but it does loook like me. Okay, I did trim it down a little on the waist, but you get the idea.

My wife got me the TV for Christmas. -I'll let her use it once in a while.

Old Fezziwig Ale

Since I didn't get a chance to run again today or go to Crossfit, I figured I would drink a beer or two and get some work done.

This could constitute as training right?

I bought a Sam Adams Holiday 12 pack since I've been wanting to try some of these seasonal beers that I've never tried before.
Old Fezziwig Ale was in my sites as I let the bottles cool down a bit.

This is a very good beer, but was a little dissapointed that I didn't taste more of the Cinnamon and Ginger. It's supposed to taste like a Christmas Cookie.
Oh well, it's still a good quality beer that was drinkable.
My next sites are set on the Cranberry Lambic.

Rob, I know your reading this so I will have extras to give to you since I will not drink all this beer anyway.

Row like a dog is chasing you!

This is exactly what I did tonight during the WOD.
I didn't think rowing could hurt so bad. Apparently this is nothing compared to some of the rowing challenges they put you through.

When I was done with the WOD, my chest hurt so bad that I started coughing. I know this will hurt tomorrow for sure.
The coughing was uncontrollable and unstoppable. The only thing that stopped it was a sip of Coke.
Anyway, I am fine now.

The skill aspect of it was something of frustration as I seem to be not getting the "technique" aspect of dead lifts either. I know they seem to be a no-brainer, but it seems I am trying to unravel years of bad habits since no one really showed me the proper way of doing them.

The WOD was a 3000m Rowing Relay. We paired up for this and took turns every 500m.
Me and the guy (Jason) whom I paired up with, won to challenge. Then again, it was no real competition.
I pushed so hard on this, and should feel it in the morning.

I'll post some pictures later that they took.

Warm up:
30 squats
30 pushups
10 Strict Pushups
1000m Row

Skill:
Push Press: 3,3,3
Front Squats: 3,2,2,1,1,1
Dead lifts: 5,5,5,5,5

WOD: 3000 m Row Relay; 1 person Rows 500m, the other coaches

Time:
11:17

Row like a dog is chasing you!

This is exactly what I did tonight during the WOD.
I didn't think rowing could hurt so bad. Apparently this is nothing compared to some of the rowing challenges they put you through.

When I was done with the WOD, my chest hurt so bad that I started coughing. I know this will hurt tomorrow for sure.
The coughing was uncontrollable and unstoppable. The only thing that stopped it was a sip of Coke.
Anyway, I am fine now.

The skill aspect of it was something of frustration as I seem to be not getting the "technique" aspect of dead lifts either. I know they seem to be a no-brainer, but it seems I am trying to unravel years of bad habits since no one really showed me the proper way of doing them.

The WOD was a 3000m Rowing Relay. We paired up for this and took turns every 500m.
Me and the guy (Jason) whom I paired up with, won to challenge. Then again, it was no real competition.
I pushed so hard on this, and should feel it in the morning.

I'll post some pictures later that they took.

Warm up:
30 squats
30 pushups
10 Strict Pushups
1000m Row

Skill:
Push Press: 3,3,3
Front Squats: 3,2,2,1,1,1
Dead lifts: 5,5,5,5,5

WOD: 3000 m Row Relay; 1 person Rows 500m, the other coaches

Time:
11:17

Chilly Willy

The temperature outside right now is a sweet 12 degrees (and dropping) with a Wind Chill Advisory. This is a little cooler than this morning, but still very miserable outside with the wind.
To me, it was a good day to go for a run, but there again is that anomoly called : Wind
This usually forces me inside on the treadmill, but not today.

I wasn't able to make it to the gym today either for a run as I have way too much stuff to do leading up to Christmas.
I was however able to make it to Crossfit. Please see my other blog "The Workout From Hell"
for some pictures taken during the workout.

I am not sure if I'll make it out for a run tomorrow or not. I am volunteering at a Homless Shelter tomorrow morning, then wait, YES! I will have time to make it to the park before Crossfit.
I need to try out my new iPod Nano I got with the Nike + chip.

Cowboys From Hell

Row Fatboy Row! (Me Red Arrow)

Me, Sucking Wind, in the corner.

Today was my first Crossfit "Class" with the other athletes. I was a little nervous being a beginner and all, but once we finished the introductions and got going on the session, that feeling quickly faded. Pantera's: "Cowboys from Hell" was blaring in the background during the first two rounds which helped a little in pushing hard.

Everyone was really cool, and they all assured me there was no presure. -They wouldn't make fun of me too much.

Warm Up:

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Push Up

Slam Ball

Skill:

Wall Climbers

Dive Bombers

Row

WOD:

5 Wall Climbers

10 Dive Bombers

500m Row

AMRAP in 20 minutes (as many rounds as possible)

My total: 4.5 Rounds which only 4 Rounds count

Then:

50 med ball situps w/partner (see me in blue below)

Cowboys From Hell

Row Fatboy Row! (Me Red Arrow)

Me, Sucking Wind, in the corner.

Today was my first Crossfit "Class" with the other athletes. I was a little nervous being a beginner and all, but once we finished the introductions and got going on the session, that feeling quickly faded. Pantera's: "Cowboys from Hell" was blaring in the background during the first two rounds which helped a little in pushing hard.

Everyone was really cool, and they all assured me there was no presure. -They wouldn't make fun of me too much.

Warm Up:

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Push Up

Slam Ball

Skill:

Wall Climbers

Dive Bombers

Row

WOD:

5 Wall Climbers

10 Dive Bombers

500m Row

AMRAP in 20 minutes (as many rounds as possible)

My total: 4.5 Rounds which only 4 Rounds count

Then:

50 med ball situps w/partner (see me in blue below)

Quack Quack

I picked up some Duck Tape or Duct Tape, which ever you want to call it. Earlier in the night I had stopped at a Sports Store to pick up some athletic tape for my foot.

If you haven't bought athletic tape before, the price alone is enough to shock you. Maybe it's me, but this stuff just seems really expensive. I ended up buying a six pack (too bad it wasn't Sam Adams) of tape at the hefty price of $16.00 which included tax.

One roll of this stuff will last me for three tapings.

So, back to the Duck Tape, which is what I am calling it, becasue that's what it says on the package!

I was looking online for some tips to taping, and ran across a website: Happy Feet "Taping for your Feet" which talks about using Duct Tape as an alternative to athletic tape. It warns about irritation from the adhesive.

I think I paid $2.49 for 20 yards of Duck Tape. If I split that roll in half, well you get the idea that I will double my roll.

I told myself that the Red Duck Tape has healing powers and will make me run faster.

Anyway, I taped up my foot with athletic tape and headed to the gym for a quick test to see how my foot would hold up on the treadmill. To my surprise, it felt really stable, and I had no pain.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna tape it up with DUCK TAPE, and see how well it holds up.

BTW, I used to be in Sports Medicine back in the day in my early college years, and plus you can get any instructional footage off of You Tube. All this taping came back to me in a flash.

In my search for Duck Tape (Duct Tape) pictures and other information I ran across these sites and pictures. Check out the dude with Duck Tape underwear on the Uses for Duck Tape blog.

I'll set up some pictures tomorrow of my tape job and let you see my handy work.

Totals:

Crossfit WOD: See other blog

Run: 1 mile easy

Elements Day 3 – Over thinking it

Today was tough. Need I even say that? Nevermind. I guess from here on out I need not worry explaining that the Crossfit WOD was hard.

On my way home, I almost threw up. I had that real quesy feeling that nearly ends not so good.
I quickly grabbed some 7-Up and I was fine.

Today was my final day of Elements, and now, I have graduated to the regular classes, which I can begin immediatley.

For some reason I am having a Mental Block with the Olympic Lifts. More specifically, I am having problems with the Power Cleans.
I beleive I am simply over thinking the progressions of this move. I do have some work cut out for me on these. It seemed the more I worked through these the worse I got.
Once I break that mental block, I'll have these down.

Warm Up:
500m Row
20 Pushups
20 Rollovers

Skills:
Press
Push Press
Pushjerk
Power Cleans

WOD:
7 Push Press
10 Slam Ball
250m Row
4 Rounds for Time
Time: 11:19

Thought I was going to die.

Elements Day 3 – Over thinking it

Today was tough. Need I even say that? Nevermind. I guess from here on out I need not worry explaining that the Crossfit WOD was hard.

On my way home, I almost threw up. I had that real quesy feeling that nearly ends not so good.
I quickly grabbed some 7-Up and I was fine.

Today was my final day of Elements, and now, I have graduated to the regular classes, which I can begin immediatley.

For some reason I am having a Mental Block with the Olympic Lifts. More specifically, I am having problems with the Power Cleans.
I beleive I am simply over thinking the progressions of this move. I do have some work cut out for me on these. It seemed the more I worked through these the worse I got.
Once I break that mental block, I'll have these down.

Warm Up:
500m Row
20 Pushups
20 Rollovers

Skills:
Press
Push Press
Pushjerk
Power Cleans

WOD:
7 Push Press
10 Slam Ball
250m Row
4 Rounds for Time
Time: 11:19

Thought I was going to die.

Rigor Mortis has Set In

I don't think I've been this sore in a long time. For the Crossfit workouts they've combined both upper body with lower body.
I am okay with the lower body stuff, but my upper body strength is like that of Mr. Monty Burns.

I was really sore on Wednesday when I went in for my second day. I wondered how I would be able to do anything at all. When it came time to do the warm up, I had a little difficulty, but it wasn't too bad. Seems I worked out the old sorenesss and put new back in my muscles.

As I am sitting here trying to type on my laptop, the pain is unreal. I can barely lift my arms up to scratch my chin.
My wife loves it when I am this sore because she can poke and prod at me and I am usually too sore to fight back.
I'm contemplating on going to the gym, but unsure I can get dressed to go.

Been Busy and/or Lazy

Which ever you believe, I can tell you I am sore as can be from Monday's Crossfit workout.
The pushups are what got me, and I've not been this sore in a while.

I picked up a copy of The Paleo Diet For Athletes. So far it is interesting, but I will report more on it later once I have read through it more.

Foot:
My foot seems to be slowly getting better. I need to go out on a run soon to test it out a little.
I've been taping it with athletic tape and it seems to be helping a lot.
I used to be in Sports Medicine in my College days, and it all came back to me when I started taping it. I kinda wish I would have stuck with Sports Med but, unless you get in on the professional level, there really isn't any money in it.

Sorry for the boring post, not much to report.

Elements Day 2

Warm up:

20 Squats
20 KB Swings
20 Pushups

Skills;
Deadlifts
Cleans


WOD:
10 Wallballs
7 Deadlifts
250m Row
12 minutes -As many rounds as possible.
I ended up with 4 full Rounds.

Today was another day of Elements at Rogue. As expected, I was sore as can be from Monday's workout. It wasn't so much the leg/back aspect of the workout, it was my chest and triceps from the pushups. That just tells you how weak I am with my upper body.
I guess it is a good thing my lower body wasn't sore, as I have always worked that area more than the upper.
The skills part of the workout was more difficult than I would have thought. I've never done Cleans before, and if you over think the proper way to do this, then it can be a little more difficult.
At any rate, I had a little difficulty in "racking" the bar onto my shoulders. Seems to be a flexibility issue.

Needless to say after the WOD I was about dead. Today was a success since my lungs are now raw.

I picked up a copy of The Paleo Diet For Athletes. I will report on this later once I have read through it more.

Elements Day 2

Warm up:

20 Squats
20 KB Swings
20 Pushups

Skills;
Deadlifts
Cleans


WOD:
10 Wallballs
7 Deadlifts
250m Row
12 minutes -As many rounds as possible.
I ended up with 4 full Rounds.

Today was another day of Elements at Rogue. As expected, I was sore as can be from Monday's workout. It wasn't so much the leg/back aspect of the workout, it was my chest and triceps from the pushups. That just tells you how weak I am with my upper body.
I guess it is a good thing my lower body wasn't sore, as I have always worked that area more than the upper.
The skills part of the workout was more difficult than I would have thought. I've never done Cleans before, and if you over think the proper way to do this, then it can be a little more difficult.
At any rate, I had a little difficulty in "racking" the bar onto my shoulders. Seems to be a flexibility issue.

Needless to say after the WOD I was about dead. Today was a success since my lungs are now raw.

I picked up a copy of The Paleo Diet For Athletes. I will report on this later once I have read through it more.

First Day of Crossfit. It was mainly an introduction plus a workout. Please see my new blog:

http://theworkoutfromhell.blogspot.com/

I'm resting my foot as it seems I've had another little setback. I stopped PT because I think they were causing more problems than helping.
My foot had been feeling fine, but they started having me do stupid things that eventually caused more pain in my foot.

They had me doing Suicides, and cutting back and forth for what? Seemed rediculous to jepordize my foot and it's healing process.

If I am not better in a week or two,my doctors beleives I'll be looking at an MRI and possibly surgery.
I'm having a lot of inflamation in my forefoot too. That nerve is so inflammed right now.

I'm taking donations of Celbrex. : )

I'll check back in a few days for an update.
Anyway, I'm going to take it easy and just start back over and keep plugging away at it.

First Day of Crossfit a success. Meaning, I'm not dead.

I arrived this morning kinda nervous not really knowing what to expect. Once we started, all that quickly went away.
My introduction was very much hands on and straight forward. The instructor went over the Crossfit workout of the day process, and how they incorporate their own spin on the workouts.

He told me that 3-4 days per week at what they prescribe would be all that I needed.
Since I am a runner, I wouldn't want to Crossfit everyday. At least I don't think I will.

Safety was a major conversation point during the introduction as it should be.
The emphasis was on doing the excersises correct, and not trying to keep up with someone else whom you may not be able to keep up with to begin with.

Once all that was out of the way, we started on a simple Tabata workout. Below is what we did.
I was laughing so hard at one point because it showed how out of shape I was. I was doing the last part, which was pushups, and I got half way through the pushups, and couldn't do anymore.
He then told me to go to the modified ones. I am glad I did this because I got more out of the workout than trying to play tough guy and do them the wrong way.

One thing I got a reality check on were the Kettlebell swings.
They do them the Russian Style, which emphasizes trying not to bend at the knees too much and producing more thrust forward by poping the hips on the extension.
I found this slightly more difficult to do, and have a little work to do to break my bad habits.


WOD:
3/4 Tabata: 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 6 rounds

Squats
Kettlebell Swings
Pushups

First Day of Crossfit a success. Meaning, I'm not dead.

I arrived this morning kinda nervous not really knowing what to expect. Once we started, all that quickly went away.
My introduction was very much hands on and straight forward. The instructor went over the Crossfit workout of the day process, and how they incorporate their own spin on the workouts.

He told me that 3-4 days per week at what they prescribe would be all that I needed.
Since I am a runner, I wouldn't want to Crossfit everyday. At least I don't think I will.

Safety was a major conversation point during the introduction as it should be.
The emphasis was on doing the excersises correct, and not trying to keep up with someone else whom you may not be able to keep up with to begin with.

Once all that was out of the way, we started on a simple Tabata workout. Below is what we did.
I was laughing so hard at one point because it showed how out of shape I was. I was doing the last part, which was pushups, and I got half way through the pushups, and couldn't do anymore.
He then told me to go to the modified ones. I am glad I did this because I got more out of the workout than trying to play tough guy and do them the wrong way.

One thing I got a reality check on were the Kettlebell swings.
They do them the Russian Style, which emphasizes trying not to bend at the knees too much and producing more thrust forward by poping the hips on the extension.
I found this slightly more difficult to do, and have a little work to do to break my bad habits.


WOD:
3/4 Tabata: 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 6 rounds

Squats
Kettlebell Swings
Pushups

Best of Luck Stuart

Stuart: aka: Quadrathon will be running a 50 miler this weekened called: Twin Peaks 50 miler

Send him positive vibes.


Thanks for the Book Stuart.

Kipping Pullups

Initially when I was introduced to Crossfit, I discovered what a Kipping Pullup was.
This strange sounding and strange looking pullup had me question why was there so much movement. I mean, I thought a pullup should be strict.
Little did I know that all this extra movement created a lot of power thus increased your fitness level beyond words.
The real kicker though was, could I ever do them?

I am a tad overweight, and way under strong. Not a good combination for attempting pull-ups.
I would not be discouraged though.

I built a nice pull-up bar and installed it in my garage, and the rest was history. -Not quite.

I ended up stressing my left pectoral muscle to the point I couldn't do pull-ups any longer.
So, as I start my Crossfit on Monday, I am a tad worried that this may flare up again.

I found a few links on pull up progressions. regardless if they are kipping or not, I think you still need to have the basic pull up down.
I'm not sure what my trainer will prescribe for me, but I may end up giving this workout program a try. Check out the links below.

Recon Ron
Pull-ups-From Zero to Hero
Mistressing the pull-up

Kipping Pullups

Initially when I was introduced to Crossfit, I discovered what a Kipping Pullup was.
This strange sounding and strange looking pullup had me question why was there so much movement. I mean, I thought a pullup should be strict.
Little did I know that all this extra movement created a lot of power thus increased your fitness level beyond words.
The real kicker though was, could I ever do them?

I am a tad overweight, and way under strong. Not a good combination for attempting pull-ups.
I would not be discouraged though.

I built a nice pull-up bar and installed it in my garage, and the rest was history. -Not quite.

I ended up stressing my left pectoral muscle to the point I couldn't do pull-ups any longer.
So, as I start my Crossfit on Monday, I am a tad worried that this may flare up again.

I found a few links on pull up progressions. regardless if they are kipping or not, I think you still need to have the basic pull up down.
I'm not sure what my trainer will prescribe for me, but I may end up giving this workout program a try. Check out the links below.

Recon Ron
Pull-ups-From Zero to Hero
Mistressing the pull-up

Happy End

Okay I reported earlier this week of a Black Lab I rescued not too far from my house.
I got an email today from a guy who was looking on Craigslist for his missing dog. Turns out, it was his.
Long story short, I asked the guy to please get him Micro-Chipped to prevent further problems if he lost him again. Apparently, his tags had been ripped off of him.
The guy said he likes to wonder off, but always comes back.
I was laughing because I probably picked him up when he was on his way back home.
Here are a couple pics of him at his home, and one of him with my dogs.

The guy gave me a really old bottle of French wine and a $100.00 in cash.
In reality, if he would have gave me nothing, I would have been happy he was home again.
Not to sound like a dork, but this really made my Christmas.

On another note, I wasn't able to get much in with regards to a workout tonight. I went to PT for the final time tonight, and then headed off to the gym for some pull up progressions to ready myself for Crossfit on Monday.

Totals:
1 mile : Physical Therapy
Cross training: Pull ups, core work

This was my view tonight while on the treadmill:

Tonight's workout consisted of a run on the treadmill and 50 laps down the frogs' tongue.
It was much too wet to run outside so I opted for a run indoors.
My foot is feeling good, and with the increasing mileage, I should be back on track by the first of the year.
I'm so itching to get to Mohican.

My doctor put me on some steroids to help with my headaches, and I am hoping they won't make me put on weight. I believe they are helping out with the inflammation in my foot but not totally sure.

Anyway, does anyone have any experience with the Paleo Diet? Thinking about giving this a shot for the first month or so while doing Crossfit. Not sure how I would do with trying to put in mileage and doing Crossfit at the same time. I need me Lucky Charms ya know!


Totals:
5 miles easy pace with walking 52:31
Frog Slide: Not really. But I would really, really like to do it just once.

Dog Rescue

I was planning on a nice slow run at Slate Run again this afternoon, but instead, I found myself rescuing a Black Lab.
I saw him out in a field while sitting at an intersection, and thought it was a little odd. I pulled over at a church, and yelled at him to come to me, and he charged at me full steam.
He was very friendly as most labs are. He seemed very excited to get into my wife's car.
At that point, I'm mad because I'll most likely miss my chance to run, and secondly, I had no place to put him. I opened the door to the car and he jumped right in and curled up on the back seat. I got in and turned the car around and looked back to see him sound asleep.

I drove up and down the road and knocked on people's door, but no one answered. I kept having the thought run through my head that my wife was going to kill me. I told her once that it was my dream to find a Black Lab along side of the road and bring him home with me and add him to my collection. Now this has come true, and my wife would certainly never believe me.

Skip forward through the phone calls and stuff, he is at a Vet's office to be checked out and boarded until we find his home. I made up a bunch of signs and took them back out to where I found him. He had a collar, but no tags. WTF. Who does that? They only cost a few $'s
My dog's are micro chipped, tagged three different ways, fenced in, and never out of my sight when outside.
Oh well, things happen though and dogs get away and lose their tags and or collars.

Alright, now that I am off my animal rant, I hope everyone else had a great day.


I'll post a picture of him when I get him back.

"We got ourselves a Ninja"

"No, I'm not a Ninja, just a white boy from Pickerington".
This was the statement I made to a guy who sounded like he was from Southern Ohio who was just transplanted into the Columbus area.
I ran at Slate Run today for a little bit. I am on call this week and didn't want to stray too far from my car in case I had to leave in a hurry. I got to the park, I realized I left my Garmin at home, and figured I would have to run this one without it.
I found out when I was out on the trail that my pager was not working so I only did a loop. When

We got a little bit of snow the past day or so and I thought what a perfect day to go run at Slate Run. By the time I got there it was late afternoon and enough people had came out that could pack the trail down a bit or, so I thought.

I ended up running about 3 miles which was good enough as I didn't want to be out too long away from work. I'll go out for a longer run tomorrow afternoon when I am off-call for a few hours.
I am looking forward to running out here a little more next week when I take some time off of work.

Tired tonight

A little tired tonight for some reason. I had the goal of getting in 5 miles, but I was so dog tired.
I reduced my speed down on the treadmill and took it easy, but just wasn't feeling it. Instead of wasting my time on a run I wasn't "feeling", I went and did a few Crossfit moves that really kicked me to the floor.

I came home and my wife had dinner waiting on me, just like every woman should...Just KIDDING!
I ate until my eyes filled with Pasta and Red Sauce.
I've been hitting the Zone principles since Thanksgiving, and today was the first day I felt really fatigued.

Anyway, I am changing my Blogging for now. I am going to enter my daily workout or training to the right of my Blog.

Totals: 3.53 miles ran/walked: 38:05
Quick cardio workout

New Blog

This will be my first post on this blog.


My goal here is to not clutter my main blog up with information not pertaining to running.
I will be starting Crossfit at Rogue Fitness in Columbus on December 15th. This will for sure be a life changing event for the next year or more.


Crossfit will take me to a whole new level when it comes to my fitness. I am a runner. Not a good one, but still a runner.
For me to do the things I want in life, I need to be a stronger runner. This is where Crossfit comes in.

I've done some of the Crossfit WOD (work out of the day) on my own and I can tell you, it took everything I had to stay in it, and on it.

New Blog

This will be my first post on this blog.


My goal here is to not clutter my main blog up with information not pertaining to running.
I will be starting Crossfit at Rogue Fitness in Columbus on December 15th. This will for sure be a life changing event for the next year or more.


Crossfit will take me to a whole new level when it comes to my fitness. I am a runner. Not a good one, but still a runner.
For me to do the things I want in life, I need to be a stronger runner. This is where Crossfit comes in.

I've done some of the Crossfit WOD (work out of the day) on my own and I can tell you, it took everything I had to stay in it, and on it.

Smokin at Blacklick

Mostly Cloudy with a Slight Chance of Hell.
This was the forecast I saw when I left to put in a few "test" miles at Blacklick Woods this afternoon.
I stopped at my local Columbus Running Company store to pick up a Sugoi Balaclava for the wind and rain/snow hell coming down when I left. This thing saved me from eventual frostbite.
When I was leaving, the guy told me to have a good run, and I told him "Run? What Run? I am going to go rob a bank" -There was silence.

Okay, so I didn't go rob a bank, but what I did was more astonishing:
I got to Blacklick and decided to run the loop regardless of what was coming down and how cold it was.
I need to work through this winter cold to emerge stronger and more ready to run a few Ultras I have planned for 2009.

I haven't been out to Blacklick for a while and have seen a lot of changes they made over the summer/fall.
They are putting in a paved section of bike path that will eventually link up to other trails close to my house. WOOHOOO! About time!

As I was running down the trail, I was nearly knocked down by a deer leaping out onto the trail just feet from me. No big deal. We invaded their territory and I was merely a visitor. I wasn't able to catch a picture, but was able to snap one of a Doe towards the end of the run.

I finished the run in a decent time and had no foot issues. For someone who came out of a cast about two weeks ago, I'd say I did really well.

I fired my camera man when I got back to my Jeep. Didn't take too many good pictures.

Here is the link to all my pics he took: Blacklick Run.

Notice the "Crop Circle" in one of the photos.

Totals: 4 miles: 38:30 time, 9:38 pace

Ave HR: 168

Raining hard here all day kept me inside

I think I am learning a thing or two about staying indoors when it is cold and rainy. I don't need to be sick, and neither does anyone else that comes around me.
I was planning a "long run" today by my injury standards, but the rain just kept on coming down.
Off to the gym I went and I ran 3 miles on the treadmill. After that I hit the legs hard, followed by some BOSU ball squats. I am definitely getting stronger as my legs aren't wobbling like they used to.

My new shoes: Nike Lunar Trainers were freakin awesome during my run. No wonder these were nearly sold out everywhere, even online until the first part of December.
I got lucky with mine by buying a pair of size 13's.
I will do a shoe review after a few miles and throughout their lifetime.

Totals:
3 miles treadmill
Leg workout: Leg press, leg curls, calf raises.

Crossfit here I come.

I did it. I signed up for an ass kickin.

The thing is, will I be able to survive the beating I'll get over the next year from these guys? I see this type of training as a necessity to my running. I need this more than you can imagine. As you witnessed during my fall marathon, I didn't quit. I am not one to give up easily.

When I was doing my own Crossfit workouts in the Summer/Fall, I noticed a huge difference in my strength and endurance. I also noticed my body fat levels were dropping. This is actually what I think helped me get to 3rd place in the Worth It's Weight Loss Challenge.

I told the main instructor at Rogue that my goal was to lean myself out and get down past 190. Not sure if that will happen, but we'll see. I'm in a huge slump and cannot figure out why.

My official Mohican 100 training starts December 1st. I need to set up something different on my Blog to track my workouts and progress. We'll see how that works out in the coming weeks.

How many pairs of shoes is too many. -For a man?

Okay. So, I bought another pair of shoes today. A nice pair of Nike Lunar Trainers -the Livestrong version. They ROCK!
Anyway, I called my wife and told her about it and she said: "Another pair? How many pairs of shoes do you have"?
At the time, I had no idea. I thought I only had about 10 pairs.

When I got home, I gathered up all shoes. Not just running shoes, and lined them all up.
Well, let's just say a got the one-fingered lecture about how she only had 3 pairs of shoes. Upon first sight of the pile, her jaw dropped and there was a long pause.
She counted 20 pairs, and I’m not 100% sure that’s all of my shoes. I have at least 3 pairs of working boots and a pair of yard shoes. That doesn’t count the roller blades, snowboard boots, etc. I can see I am digging myself deeper so, I’ll shut up.

Thanksgiving aftermath:

After eating a plate that resembled something like this above, I ended up looking something like this:
No, It's not me. I swear! But, I did feel like this all night though. So, I did what any person would have done. I packed up my gear and went to the gym when they opened and worked out for 12 hours straight. After that I ended up looking like this:

Okay, I'm kidding. Somewhat.
I went to the gym today for a quick workout. I did feel like a bloated Beluga Whale after yesterday.

I put in a hard 20 minutes of elliptical, and some core work and leg stabilization exercises.
After that I was warmed up enough to go to Chestnut Ridge Metro Park nearby.
This is a nice park with lots of hills.
It showed how out of shape I really was because I was sucking wind so bad.
That’s what happens when you are in a walking cast for weeks on end.

I ended up running 2 miles. My foot felt fine with no issues. I feel it is getting stronger, but I still need to heed some caution for a little while.

I am thinking of going and signing up for Crossfit sessions tomorrow or Sunday. I really need to get my sorry self in shape for the 2009 season.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

There are so many things to be thankful for. Be thankful for what you have and not for what you want.

Bad things are happening all around us, but don't give up hope for those who cannot share in this time of thanks.

On a selfish side note, check out my slide show to the right. These are pictures over the years. I'll up date them periodically.

Quick post of yesterday's workout:

10 minutes of stairmaster
Leg and abs workout



No running. My feet are sore form the POSE running the past two days. I think I'll go back out when it feels right. Just want to stregthen at this point.

The workout for today went really well. I decided to do a little running, and some elliptical work. I started out running without warming up my foot. Bad descision. I was about a mile into my run, and "The Twinge" came back in my foot. I decided I was going to stop at that point and walk a little bit. Not wanting to push it, I decided to hop over to an elliptical. This seemed to help loosen things up a bit as I cranked out 30 minutes.

Since there is an indoor track close to the ellipticals, I decided to end my gym visit with some POSE running. The track is only a 1/10 of a mile long, but still kinda nice to get some running drills in. I ended up doing about a half mile in POSE form.
My foot at that point did not bother me.

I went to my PT appointment, and they ended up letting me run a mile. Wow, two plus miles in 1 day? I'm moving up in the world.

So, I guess you are wondering why do I have a picture of Nelson on my blog? Don't know. I just thought I would upload a picture of him.

Rehab Totals:
1 mile treadmill
30 minutes elliptical
1/2 mile POSE running
1 mile treadmill (PT)

Who's the Dork in the Bright Green Jacket?

Okay, if you must give up on trying to guess, it's me.

I finished out the day with a short Ride around the 'hood. It was about 44 degrees out when I took off which is a lot warmer than this mornings' temps in the low teens. I put the aerobar on my bike, and nearly wiped out on a downhill. It's gonna take some time to learn to control my bike while ridding it.

I wasn't able to get a swim in today since I got to the gym way too early and the pool didn't open until noon.

My workout went really well. My foot had a few twinges in it. I'm putting these "twinges" off as nothing more than achyness from immobility the past month or so.

I started out on the elliptical and went straight into leg work. After that I decided my foot was feeling really good and I went back up to one of the treadmill areas for some POSE running. I didn't do much running as I just want to do a little bit of POSE running each time I go to the gym. Mainly to build up strength in my feet, but it seems wise to not over do anything new right now.

POSE running if you don't know, has you forefoot striking on the balls of your feet.
I practiced putting pressure on that part of my foot while on the elliptical and noticed the pain in my feet went away.

SIDE NOTE:
Congrats to Stuart, aka: Quadrathon on his 1 year anniversary of Ultra running. He ran the PCTR Pt. Mugu 50k today. I am assuming he did well, and will be waiting for a race report soon.

Also, a big congrats to Kim, aka: The Trail Goddess who ran a grueling 50k herself. The elevation changes on this course are nothing to laugh at. Can't wait to read all about it.

Rehab Totals:
30 minutes on elliptical
3.44 mile ride through the hood.
.5 mile POSE run on treadmill

Leg/core workout

Keep the milestones rollin in.

I went to the gym again for a workout. I was eager to hop back on the treadmill to test the waters. Seems all is well with my foot during the run. A few minutes ago it was stinging a little, but I just went and rubbed some dirt on it and now it seems to be fine.
I think my next run, depending on how I feel will be early next week. I wanted to go hit the trail over at Chestnut Ridge. Not sure it will happen or not. Must resist the overwhelming need to go run.


Good luck to Kim who is running the Slim Pickins Double Marathon in Ohiopyle PA.
Apparently there is a major winter storm headed that way for the race. Send good vibes her way, as well as all the other runners out there.

Totals:
Swim: 20 minutes
Run: 1 mile at 10:00/mile (I'm rehabbing my foot damn it)

Started out tonight with plans to go to the gym for a quick workout consisting of time on the elliptical and some leg work. It's getting harder to drag myself out the door since it has gotten colder and darker sooner.

I ended up doing 30 minutes on the elliptical followed by......a run on the treadmill.
It wasn't much, but I was able to run without any issues with my foot. It was a very slow mile, but still a mile. It felt good to finally do a little running. At least build a some confidence in my foot.

I finished out the workout with some leg press, calf raises, and 1 legged squats with the flat balance disks.

The P.T. is going good. I bought an e-stim device to help with rebuilding my foot. It seems to help a lot.
I still feel I am a ways off from trying a long run on trail or road. But, I am getting antsy about hitting the trail this weekend.
I keep telling myself I'm going to wake up early and go for a walk on a trail nearby but, by the time I wake up, it's too dark outside.


By the way, does anyone out there have any good resources for swim training/technique?
I have had issues getting the breathing down while doing my laps. It's not as easy as it looks.

If I can get the swim part of it down, I am thinking.......of doing something I said I would never do.....a Triathlon???? We'll see.

It's that time of year again.
I woke up tonight to let my dog out, and I saw this scene:

I guess, if it's going to be cold then let it snow.

My wife and I got back from a round trip to Tennessee last night. We started out at 5:00AM, and didn't get back until 9:00PM last night. If you've never been to Tennessee, you've got to go. It's so beautiful down there. We went to a town called Peytonsville which is south of Nashville to pick up something off of Craigslist. After the white knuckled, grey-headed drive back with a heavy load on the trailer, we made it one piece. I really enjoyed our drive through Kentucky as well. From what we saw it was really beautiful as well. Actually, I take that back. They need to tax all that Bourbon they make down there and fix there damn roads south of Louisville. I thought for sure we were going to wreck on the way back.

Took my bike out this morning for it's first ride, only to find it pouring down rain.
I went anyway, and rode a quick loop around the 'Hood.

I'll tell you, this bike is fast. According to my Garmin, I maxed out at about 19 mph, and that wasn't on a downhill.
Actually, I wasn't even trying.
Now, maybe some of you may laugh, but I could never acheive this on my MTB even on a decent downhill.

By time I got back which was less than 6:00 minutes, I put in 1.37 miles, and my chest felt like it was bleeding. Now, this is what I was in need of.
I stopped because the rain was relentless, and I was soaked from head to toe.

Foot update:
My foot where I injured it, is doing a lot better. For some reason, I've developed Morton's Neuroma on the same foot. My P.T. unofficially diagnosed this.
I think it is from not wearing a shoe for the past few weeks, and now all of a sudden it's getting irritated from new shoes.
If, you've never had it, just hope you never get it. It hurts nearly as bad as my injury did at it's worst point.
Apparently, it is a highly irritated nerve in your foot that is caused from flat feet. I can tell you, I don't have flat feet. I just think it is from this damn walker boot I have been wearing.

Isn't it illegal to hold someones hand while they're in a car and you're on a bike?

Hey! You're number 1!!!!!

Got my bike today. I was so excited to see what I have been missing all these years.
I need a name for her. Any suggestions?

The bike weighs in at 20 lbs dry which is less than half the weight of my MTB.
I added the Bento bag, and the Saddle bag for spare tools, along with the Profile Design Aqua Rack. I saw this on SLB's bike and thought, hey, I need to get me one of those for those long rides next summer.
I need to take it in to have the tires filled with air. The valve stems are so small. I've never seen anything like it.
The Specialized shoes with the clips are going to take some getting used to. Now all I need is a helmet and I will be set.

Anyway, I was telling my wife that I wasn't able to swim today because the "Arthritis Class" took up the entire pool, and she said "That's not nice, you need to call it something else" -Well, that what the damn class was called.
My workout went really well. I did my typical rehab stuff with the BOSU and balance disks thrown in, along with some leg press. I even hopped on the elliptical for 5 minutes.
As long as I progress cautiously, I will look forward to a run here in a couple of weeks or so.

Update time.

I have had ups and down the past week or so with my foot.
Right now, I am on the upswing of the rehab and things are looking better.
I've brought myself to understand I'll probably not be doing any real running until after the first of the year. In the meantime, I'll spend more time on the bike, and a lot of time on the elliptical, and in the pool.
I've been swimming, and working my upper body, and trying to stay off my foot. As long as I do this, I will be good to get back on track with training.

One thing I have been utilizing a lot is my BOSU ball. Just standing on it has increased the strength in my foot and legs.
Once I heal fully, this thing in itself will get a workout. I plan on using it a lot.
This piece of equipment is so versatile.

Tonight I went to the gym for some swimming and a little weight lifting.

I swam for 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes of just walking in the water so the buoyancy would help take the weight off my foot. Seemed to help a lot. I also used one of those balance disks tonight to help rebuild my feet.

For everyone in the weight loss challenge, I have some coupons for free fast-food to (Names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent)Mac Donalds, Pizza The Hut (Yuck) and Dairy Scream below.

Eat up everyone!

Who can resist a Big Smack, Fries, and a cold frosty Coke?

Pizza The Hut may not be great pizza, but when you are starved nearly to death from a weight loss challenge, you'll eat anything. Give it a try today!

Finish off that fat-food I mean, fast-food binge with a cool, creamy dessert from Dairy Scream:

Quick upper body workout and a 5k row at home. Nothing major.

Foot has set me back a little the past few days, but my doctor said it would be like that for a little while. He believes it is a bad case of tendonitis at this point.
I definitely did some damage, but not to the extent that was originally thought. There is still some weakness in that part of my foot, but hopefully it will rebuild soon. Tendonitis is hard to fully heal since there is really very little blood supply to tendons.

SLB has been so gracious to host another weight loss challenge called: Swap Beat BRING IT!

I am gonna start the smack talk and let them all know I'll take them all down even with one leg!


This will keep me motivated regardless of the foot issues.

Great job Robin!!!!!!!
(Hope you don't mind me posting this)

I just checked the live results and saw that Robin, aka: "Gotta Run" did finish MMTR.

Check it out: http://www.eco-xsports.com/livestatsrunner.php?demoid=1231&race=2&year=2008


Rest up Tough One!

I signed up at midnight.

Will be a great one for sure.

Check out the site: Forget the PR - Mohican 50k

The race director is this crazy man: Rob.

He's just Tough as Nails, and really fast. Oh, and he likes beer. Good Beer.