Weekly workout recap – squats, rope climbs & running is trying to break me

Hello!!

It’s finally the weekend!

source

This week of workouts started out great but didn’t end so fabulously. I’m thankful for the weekend so I can rest.

Monday

I kicked off Monday morning with a run. 🙂

I had to go to work so I definitely needed the kickstart.

It felt really fabulous!

I opted out of CrossFit. I’m not really training for anything so I don’t need to do doubles. Besides, I’m still coming back from my injury and I’m not trying to over extend myself. 🙂

Tuesday

Since we had the day off, I decided to take advantage and get another morning run in. #winning

I’d mostly been sticking to the streets in the neighborhood right behind my house but this time, I ventured back out into the town. Felt good to run in old familiar places again!

Again, I opted out of CrossFit because I ran.

Wednesday

No running today.

Which means…

6pm CrossFit!

I was really excited about this workout because of the back squats.

The last time we worked on them was October 23rd and we were working towards our 3 rep max. I got to 115# but am pretty sure I could do more weight.

*side note – if I wasn’t recording my workouts, I would most definitely not have that information right at my fingertips! Write it down!!

After a warm up, we got down to work.  The idea was to stay at the same weight, something pretty close to your 5 rep max so the weight wouldn’t be easy and would likely still be difficult by the time you got down to the final rep.

I loaded 115# on the bar – honestly, I was thinking this might still be a “warm-up” and wanted to see how it felt. Did my 5 reps and decided that was the weight I was sticking to.

I knew my 3RM was higher than 115#!

I had some moments during these squats where my form faltered and my chest dipped forward. I really focused on making sure to drive my knees out and keep my chest up so the movement would be more fluid.

Then, we hopped on the rowers for the WOD – a 1,000m row for time.

Holy smokes, was that tough after all those squats!!

I finished in 4:06.

OH! I forgot to tell you!! During the warm-up (row, run, or bike, 15 GHD sit-ups, 15 GHD hip/back extensions, 15 pull ups, 15 ring dips), I got 4 strict pull ups in a row! PR baby!! 🙂

Thursday

Dude, it’s cold and I did NOT want to get up and go for a run. Plus, my legs were smoked from yesterday so I hit the snooze and snuggled with my fur babies a little longer. 🙂

6pm CrossFit

I almost skipped this workout.

My legs were super tired from yesterday and running and rope climbs both require legs. Well, except for the legless climbs, but still.

Seriously. I almost drove home after work instead of to the gym.

But, I went.

I was pretty nervous about all those rope climbs. It was just so many!!

I certainly don’t have legless rope climbs so I scaled those.

Hell, not too many people actually have legless rope climbs. Those things are super hard!

For each legless, I did 2 from the plank position (#2 in this video).

Finished the first part in 13:21.

After the 5 minute rest, I started the 2nd half of the workout.

I got through the first 2 rope climbs and headed out the door for the 200m run.

I should add it was FREEZING and it had started to drizzle a little. YUCK!

On the 2nd round, I got through 1 rope climb and had a HUGE raw spot on my ankle from the rub so I scaled back down to the pulling from plank position. Still did 2 pulls for each 1 climb.

I really need to learn how to do the climbs like this so there’s no rubbing. OUCH.

I finished 3 rounds and was heading out for the 4th run and my foot started to hurt.

My left foot.

The OTHER foot!! GAH!!! 😦

So, I quickly headed over to the air dyne bike and finished the last two rounds on that.

My total time was 30:21.

My foot. I don’t know. I felt it a little when I was coming back in from the 3rd run but it definitely wasn’t like what happened with my right foot.

I did drop funny off the rope on my first set of climbs but I didn’t feel anything until the 3rd run so I don’t know if it was that.

It felt more like a cramp than anything.

I could put pressure on it which was different than the last time but it definitely still hurt.

I came home, rested, and took some ibuprofen.

Friday

I had planned on either running or going to CrossFit but didn’t do either because of my foot.

It’s not swollen and I can definitely put more weight on it than I could with the stress fracture in my right foot but I still limped around the office.

Luckily, I only worked half a day so I was able to come home and just rest.

Saturday

Obviously no running today. 😦

My foot still hurts but it’s not as bad. There’s still no swelling and no real bruising. I suppose it’s possible that it’s another stress fracture (seriously, can I catch a break, please?!) but I’m not sure.

My plan is just to rest it for a few days and see how it feels.

If it gets worse, I’ll definitely be calling the doc for an appointment.

Good thing I still have the boot from the last time. Those things are interchangeable, right?

Now, I have to try and figure out the WHY. I wasn’t wearing my running shoes – I was wearing my CrossFit shoes (Inov-8) and those don’t have the same support. They’re not old by any stretch – maybe 5 months? – but maybe that’s the issue. I eat pretty well and take calcium and vitamin D supplements as recommended by orthopedists. Hopefully, this isn’t a sign of early osteoporosis.

Talk to me: How did your week of workouts go?

– jennifer

Weekly workout recap – running and squatting and rope climbs, oh my!

Hello!!

Happy Saturday!! 🙂

It’s definitely been a tough week as far as workouts are concerned but I did get some running in so I’m not complaining.

My big news of the week is that I registered for a 10k on November 23rd!

I’m super excited – it’ll be my first race since my injury and I definitely have time to get ready. Plus, it’s local and I don’t have to drive very far to get there! #bonus

I’ve got about one more week of easing back into the running and then, I think I’m going to start back with CrossFit Endurance.

I mean, I’ll still slowly add mileage because that’s the safe thing to do but I won’t necessarily have to run just 3 days a week, taking at least a day break between runs.

I’m totally looking forward to getting back to a set schedule and making gains and improvements. 🙂

Monday

AM run

Wow, that’s so nice to say that!

I had planned on running at least 2 ½ miles. I know I ran over 2 but I don’t know exactly how far because …. My knuckle lights were really dim, I encountered an unknown “something” in the middle of the road in the dark area between street lights and I quietly backed up and went the other direction and, at some point during this event, I hit a button on my Garmin and it stopped recording my run.

I’m not sure the lack of distance really matters because my heart rate increased substantially after I backtracked from the “something” and a bird decided to freak out in a wooded area and, thus, freaked me out! Pretty sure all that adrenaline burned some extra calories. And, I’m pretty sure I looked ridiculous as I was trying to “sneak away” from whatever was in the road (honestly, it could have been a trash can but because my knuckle lights were lacking in power, I’ll never know) while simultaneously trying to get away from the crazy bird in the woods. The only thing that would have been more perfect would be if I’d run through a spider web at some point. Picture that craziness. Yep.

Tuesday

6pm CrossFit

Man, oh man, I did NOT eat enough today.

I felt okay throughout the day but I discovered I was really hungry on the way to CrossFit and my protein bar didn’t quite cut it.

I made it through the warm-up and had to grab a Chia bar from my purse. That’s NOT a good sign.

This is what we had on the schedule today:

It was a really big class – surprising for a Tuesday at 6pm – and my group didn’t make it through all the push jerks. I did 65# (10x) – 75# (10x) – 85# (8x) – 95# (8x) … we didn’t do the 6 – 6.

I finished up the 85# and Coach came over to talk about my form and I realized that I was absolutely STARVING. I mean, I was literally shaking. I grabbed some almonds from my purse and tried not to inhale those.

I never eat at CrossFit and now I’ve just eaten twice?! In less than an hour?! So not good.

I managed the 95# but was thankful we ran out of time because I knew I didn’t have the energy to do more and then try to do the WOD.

For the WOD, I scaled the weight down to 65#. Normally, I would have had that at about 80-85# but I knew my body wasn’t fueled enough for all that. I also grabbed the 12 inch box because I’m still getting back into this jumping business and I knew I’d never make it over a 20 inch box. Not even if I was fueled properly.

I managed 5 rounds (don’t ask me how) and felt like I was going to die the entire time. I was so thankful to be done!

I went home and had 2 bowls of chili (thank goodness for crockpots!!) and made plans to NOT eat too little during the day. I’m not sure what happened. Generally, I make sure to eat enough.

Wednesday

6pm CrossFit

Got to the gym and was signing myself in and one of the Coaches was heading to the grocery store. He asked the other coaches if they needed anything – they said no. He made his way to leave and then came back and asked me if I needed anything. LOL! I told him I ate plenty today so I was all good. I’m glad he asked, though. That was really cool. 🙂

I was sort of looking forward to this workout because it had running but I was also a little nervous about this workout because of the rope climbs and the pistols.

I didn’t realize that I needed to be nervous about the warm-up!

Coach had us do 3 rounds, not for time, of run 200m, 10 leg raises, and 10 kick outs.

Those leg raises. Not toes to bar but leg raises. We basically hung from the pull-up bars with the vertical bar at our back to prevent swinging. Then, we had to lift our legs to parallel with the ground. So NOT easy.

This isn’t exactly it but it’s the closest video representation I could find.

Then, the kick outs. Basically, we got into the bottom of a squat and then we were to alternate legs and kick out to a pistol squat. Coach wanted us to do them without holding on to anything. Yeah, right! I had to hold onto the bar otherwise I would just be sitting. Haha

For the WOD, it was supposed to be a 400m sprint but I just ran. I’m not quite at the point of sprinting yet so I didn’t want to push it. Of course, I was the last one to finish but I don’t care. 🙂 For the pistols, I had to use box assistance because it’s been so long since I’ve done them that I lost the little progress I had made.

Basically like these except I used a 24” box and went into a full pistol. The goal was to not touch the floor.

And then, the rope climbs. Ugh. It’s also been some time since I climbed the ropes – a little hard to do that in a boot. 😉

I completed everything in the first 2 rounds with barely any time to rest. I was definitely the last one climbing. Then, the last 2 rounds, I only managed 1 in the 3^rd round and 1 ½ in the 4^th round. I was trying!

Thursday

I thought briefly about getting up and running but decided against it because of the running last night and tonight’s WOD also had running.

I didn’t want to push it with my foot.

And, I don’t know what it was but my shoulders were SORE from yesterday! I think it was those leg raises combined with the rope climbs. Even woke me up when I shifted in my sleep!

6pm CrossFit

I was actually pretty stoked about this workout!

It’s been a while since I was able to do heavy back squats because of the boot. I was looking forward to throwing on some weight and seeing what I could do!

I warmed up with just the bar (10 squats), then we threw 85# on there. Knocked out 5 of those and got down to business. I was sharing a rack with 2 other people and we were all at different levels so we kept pulling plates off and putting plates on. I did 3 at 105# and then did 3 at 115#. I know I could probably go higher but we ran out of time. I’m cool with 115# though – especially since I was so beat up from yesterday’s WOD.

Then, it was time for the WOD. I was definitely looking forward to the running but not the 200 air squats. Finished in 16:31 on jello legs. 🙂

Friday

REST DAY!!!!!

Saturday

Running!!!

I’m up to 3 miles in my rebuilding so I decided to knock out a 5k.

It felt so good to be out running and my miles got progressively faster – 9:29, 8:58, 8:40.

For some reason, my Garmin didn’t record the run.

This isn’t the first time that it’s failed me and I’m starting to get really frustrated by it. I just don’t get it. It’s not like it’s a new watch and I don’t know how to use it.

And, it’s not like the data bank is full because, once it reaches so many runs recorded, it starts deleting the oldest when you save a new one. There’s no way for me to erase all recorded runs without doing them one by one and I just don’t have the time for that.

Regardless, it was a beautiful morning and I got to watch the sun rise. #winning

 

Talk to me: How was your week of workouts? Did you do anything new or difficult? Did you remember to fuel yourself properly?

– jennifer

50k training – week 4 recap (or that time I kinda got chased by a bear)

Hello!

Week 4 of my 50k training is in the books and boy, oh boy, did it end with a BANG!

Monday

Monday was track work – 5x1000m at 4:30 with a 400m rest interval.

I did a mile warm-up and enjoyed the beautiful sunrise. 🙂

My times looked like this: 4:30, 4:30, 4:30, 4:34, 4:25.

Not sure what happened on the 4th one but I made up for it on the 5th!

I actually felt really, really good. Physically, I probably could have done a couple more! But, I didn’t.

Did 3/4 mile cool down jog and about 5 minutes of good stretching.

No CrossFit tonight.

Tuesday

I’m officially at the 6pm class at CrossFit. My work schedule has been changed (accommodates my running without me having to bounce back and forth between two different schedules!) and the 4pm class is out of the question. Hard to be in 2 places at once!

So, Tuesday, I didn’t know ANYBODY. Not even the Coach! It was a little awkward but at least next time, the faces will be a little familiar. 🙂

We started off with an EMOM workout of rope climbs.

Every minute on the minute, we had to do 2 rope climbs for 10 minutes. 10!

I tried to get 2 climbs done on the first minute but I only managed 1 1/2 before I realized I wouldn’t have any rest before the next minute.

So, I scaled back and did 1 climb every minute. Which was really, really hard.

I can climb okay but I’m really slow and I need to work on my kip so I make the motion more legs and less arms. The coming back down part is where I struggle. I’m a little afraid of heights so I don’t trust myself to let go of my legs and just go hand over hand using my feet as a guide.

Can you say rope burn?

Then, we followed that up with a 5k row.

Finished mine in 24:38. When I got up, I felt like I’d been riding a horse. Haha!

Wednesday

Tempo run day!

I really wasn’t sure how it was going to work out after having rowed a 5k just last night but I was going to give it my all.

I had 6 miles – 1 mile warm-up @ 9:32, 4 miles @ 8:12, 1 mile cool down @ 9:32.

Um, yeah.

My tempo miles looked like this: 8:01, 8:11, 7:58, 8:08.

I was pretty much all over the place! Whenever I slowed down, I felt like I was going too slow. Clearly, I wasn’t but I was having a really difficult time judging my speed.

And, honestly, I didn’t think I had a 7:58 in me because I was so darned tired!

Wednesday night CrossFit started with overhead squat work. 5 sets of 2 reps.

I started with 35#, moved up to 45#, tried and sucked at 55#, and went back down to 45# to work on form.

You wouldn’t think 10# would make such a big difference but it really does. I couldn’t even get to parallel with 55#.

Then, the WOD was a 10 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of 5 snatches (full squat snatch) and 10 burpees over the bar.

Coach wanted me to work on my squat more than the snatch so he modified my workout to weighted squats – I held a 10# plate out in front of me and squatted. Then, I dropped the plate and did my burpees and jumped onto the plate.

I made it through almost 6 rounds – was 4 burpees shy of finishing the full 6.

Holy. Sweaty. Mess.

Thursday

I was so blissfully happy that I didn’t have running on the schedule for today! I had just done 3 tough workouts in a 24 hour period and my body was begging for a little break!

Sleeping in (until 5:45!) was blissful. 🙂

Thursday night CrossFit started with deadlifts – 3 sets of 5.

I started with 125#, then moved up to 175#.

That may have been a little aggressive.

I tried 195# but could only manage 2, dropped down to 185# and knocked out 2 more and called it. Oof!

Deadlifts were also a part of the WOD so I didn’t want to do too much more than I already had.

195# is a PR!!!!

Hell, pretty much ALL of that was a PR! 175# five times?!?! Heck yeah!!

So, the WOD was 9, 7, 5 of deadliest (145#), strict ring dips, and pistols (each leg).

After doing the heavy deadlifts to start, you would think 145# would feel light. Yeah. Not so much.

I downsized my band for the strict ring dips from purple to red (YAY!) and modified the pistols.

I added one more modification in that my heel was also elevated on a plate.

I don’t know how holding a weight out in front of you makes them easier rather than harder but it really does! I still struggled a little and learned that my left hip is a lot less flexible than my right hip. My left knee kept wanting to drop in and I really had to work hard to not let it otherwise I would fall over.

But, I made great progression and I’m proud of myself!

I can’t remember my finish time. I was just happy to be done!

Friday

Blissful, happy, FULL rest day!!!

Saturday

I had my first 20-miler on the schedule for today and I was just full of emotions.

Part of me didn’t want to run at all – sleeping just sounded so nice!

But, I got up and went. My prescribed pace was 9:49 and I kept that for a while.

The weather was absolutely perfect! It was about 68 degrees, the humidity wasn’t too high, and there was a breeze. Sweet, blissful, beautiful BREEZE!

I was tooling along, minding my own business, lost in my thoughts as I made my way through the local park. I run to the park, then around the trails in the park, and then away from the park to neighborhoods near my house.

It all sounds so far away but it really isn’t. The park is a mile up the road – I just take the extended way there – and the neighborhoods I run in are right across the street but they go back pretty far and I can get some good mileage out of them.

Anyway, I’m cruising along through the park, enjoying my morning and thinking about our hike a couple of weeks ago. I was thinking about the things we saw and the things we didn’t see (like bears) and I rounded a corner and stopped dead in my tracks.

There was a bear on the path.

He was a young bear and I startled him pretty good. Although, I have to admit, he startled ME pretty good.

He bolted up a hill, running and thrashing through the brush. I just stood there watching, waiting to see if an even larger mama bear appeared at the top of that hill – which, by the way, led to some HOUSES!!!

The park I run in is right in town, has a dog park, walking and mountain bike trails, you can rent kayaks and go out on the river, etc. It’s not a state park or wildlife conservation area or anything. The most I see in there is squirrels and sometimes deer. I saw a raccoon once. Otherwise, I just see people and their dogs.

Anyway, I didn’t see signs of more bears so I decided to keep on going. I stopped a couple of times to warn some dog walkers but I kept tooling on around the park.

I finished my loop and was heading out the way I came in, turned a corner on the road and holy shit, the bear came out of the treeline bordering the park.

(after some thought, my sailor thinks it might have been 2 bears but I think it was just the one)

He crossed the street in front of me, not really seeing me, and tried to get through the shrubbery on the right. Unfortunately, there’s a fence – like barbed wire – that prevents idiot kids from hopping the fence out onto the state road that’s right there. And, that meant bears couldn’t get through it either.

Since he couldn’t get through, he came back out to the road.

Where I was standing.

And he started heading my way!

Then, he started to GALLOP down the road!

I freaked out and started to back up.

I didn’t run because I didn’t want him to chase me. That would have been very very bad.

I seriously couldn’t believe there weren’t ANY cars coming or anything!

I dialed 911 as I was backing up.

Darn bear backed me up probably a good 250-300 feet before he stopped and headed back into the treeline.

I got dispatch on the phone and told them what was going on.

I think some of the words I used were, “I’m just a girl! I’m just a runner!”

LOL

We discussed what I should do and she suggested going an alternate route. Except my alternate route was BACK THROUGH THE PARK. Where the bear JUST WENT!!!

She said she would get people out there – guess it’s the Virginia Department of Game & Wildlife that had to be called.

After I got off the phone, I debated for a few minutes on what I should do.

Then, a car drove down the road.

So, I decided I would keep going. Surely the bear wouldn’t come out now because there was a car.

Oh, and where the heck was that car when I needed it?!?!?!?!?!

I started running again, keeping my eyes peeled on the treeline.

I passed the trees and got to the big open field.

I looked out there and that darned bear was galloping through the field!

I kinda ducked (yep, still running) and said, “please don’t see me, please don’t see me, please don’t see me.”

He didn’t see me.

PHEW!!!

I made it to the next treeline, picked up my pace a little, and got to where the houses were.

People and cars! Safety! No bears!!

Miles 10-16 were a little quicker than my prescribed pace.

I looked down at my watch at one point and saw my pace was 9:15. Pure adrenaline.

Miles 16-20, though? Those pretty much sucked.

But, I finished them.

And I had quite a story to tell when I got home!

Wouldn’t have been such a good story if I got gobbled by that bear though.

Overall, my pace ended up being slower than prescribed but I knocked out the whole 20 miles AND survived a bear scare.

For what it’s worth, if you encounter a black bear, make yourself as BIG as possible and lower your voice and try to sound scary.

Or, you can call 911 and say, “I’m just a girl!”

That’ll work, too.

Talk to me: Have you ever encountered a bear? What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you while you were out on a run?