My 71.3

Friday, December 14, 2012

Last minute plans for a Holiday Hike in Malibu THIS SUNDAY!  Cross your fingers for Rain…mud equals fun!!

Solo Warmup

500m Row – slowly build up in intensity
15 Hip Extensions
15 Situps
Keg Drill
Olympic Squat on the Wall

Group Warmup

With barbell (empty or light weight added)
5 Hang Clean, 3 second pause at bottom
5 Clean, 3 second pause at bottom
Split Press
5 Split Jerk, 3 second pause in split position 
5 Clean and Jerk 

Barbell Gymnastics

20 minutes to establish a heavy SQUAT Clean & Jerk

Notes:  Classic and Advanced levels should work to a squat clean with good technique.  The 80% for the conditioning will be based off the Clean & Jerk.

Classic Programming

Conditioning

Every even minute for 10 minutes:
2 Clean & Jerk (full squat) @ 80%

Every odd minute for 10 minutes:
10 Burpees 

Notes: This workout will be scored by C&J weight and the amount of total time to complete all 5 sets of Burpees.

Advanced Programming

Conditioning

Every even minute for 10 minutes:
3 Clean & Jerk (full squat) @ 80%

Every odd minute for 10 minutes:
15 Burpees 

Notes: This workout will be scored by C&J weight and the amount of total time to complete all 5 sets of Burpees.

Cool Down

Active Hang, accumulate 1 minute
Pigeon Stretch, 1 minutes each leg
Straddle, 1 minute
Sampson Stretch, 30 seconds  each leag

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Nice shades, and medal!

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure to go out and cheer Jesse on during his first Half Ironman.  He had been coming to track night for months training for the race, and we have been swimming every Wednesday morning getting him more comfortable in the water.  As his coach I think I was as nervous as he was the night before the race!  The whole day flew by and was a blast.  His parents are hilarious and his girlfriend is awesome, which if you know Jesse well that should be no surprise. During the run his family asked me if he would be ok, if he was going to make it.  After thinking about it for a minute I responded that Jesse believes unequivocally in POSE running and Paradiso Crossfit and because of that he is going to finish no matter what and never stop running.  If you ever get the chance to work out with Jesse be careful;  he’ll crack a joke right before the start but in the thick of a workout a fire lights inside of him and he knows how to dig deep!  It’s been an absolute pleasure to coach him over the past year.  Can’t wait for 2013!  Enter JShap!

The hot Palm Springs sun beat down on my face, my legs were throbbing, with every step I felt blisters opening up shop on my feet, I had nothing left in the tank….. and I still had 8 more miles to go to the finish line.   On December 2nd I completed my first half Ironman triathlon in Palm Springs. A 2000 meter/ 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and half marathon (13.1 miles). It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

My journey started in April of 2011 when I joined Paradiso Crossfit. When I joined I was pushing 200 pounds and had a rigorous drinking/party schedule. I flirted with crossfit my first nine months. I’d come a few times a week, but my health was a distant second priority to priority numero uno, having a good time. At the beginning of the year I woke up hungover from a black out NYE and decided a needed a break from “having fun”. I felt like shit. And feeling like shit isn’t fun. I took a few months off of drinking, hit the gym four times a week and track night twice a week, started to eat in a mostly paleo fashion, and three months later I had finished the LA Marathon, rockin the POSE the whole way. After the Marathon I decided I needed a new challenge, so I set my sights on doing a triathlon. I bought a road bike and began to swim, something I hadn’t done since horsing around in the pool as a kid.

As I incorporated the endurance programming with my regular crossfit programming I began rapidly improving in almost every area. What I really noticed is how I could now tear through work outs with out stopping, when I used to have to stop and take multiple breaks. Also, my body changed. I slimmed down to 180 pounds and felt like a rock.

I competed in my first Olympic Triathlon at the end of June. And my main take away from it was I needed to learn how to swim. I felt like I was drowning the whole time. I also was jealous of the bikers with their aero bars, being in the aero position adds 1-2mph to your overall speed, and for some strange reason I thought it looked more comfortable. So I began to really focus on improving my swimming, and I a few months before the December race I invested in some aero bars. What I learned is that using aero bars works a completely different set of muscles (more quads) than when you ride upright. So I kind of went back to square one in terms of my abilities on the bike.

A few weeks before the race I tweaked my back so I took I took it easy on lifting in crossfit and on my bike, afraid If I pushed it I wouldn’t be able to compete. Race day came and I was as  ready as I was going to be. My goal was to finish in 6 hours 30 minutes. I figured if I could be starting the bike by hour one, done with my bike by 4:20 max, I could then run a 10 minute per mile half marathon and finish in 6:30.

The race began on a beautiful Palm Springs morning. I hopped in the water it felt great. Coach Frank, my parents, and my girlfriend were all there to support. It was awesome. The race began and I felt great in the water. Besides being kicked in the face a few times everything went smoothly. I was out of the water in 38 minutes and on my bike 45 minutes into the race. I finished the olympic distance swim in 36 minutes, and that was 500m less distance, my training had paid off.  I got on my bike and was off. The first 42 miles of the bike felt really good, but then on the last turnaround we headed right into the wind. It sucked and I slowed down quite a bit. I powered through the last 14 miles at a slower pace and ended up finishing my bike in 3 hours 15 minutes. After a longer transition and a bathroom break I headed out onto my run at 4:10, I had 2:20 to run 13 miles. No problem. As I ran out I screamed to Frank, “My legs actually feel pretty good”….. then I yelled “Famous last words”. Sure were.

Around 3 miles into my run I realized I was running a slower pace than I needed to. I tried to to pick up the pace but everytime I tried to my legs would begin to spasm and tighten. I felt blisters start to form, the sun got hotter, and I could feel the energy leaving my body. This was the dreaded WALL. By the half way point I realized it was time to adjust my goal. I needed to stop worrying about running 10 minute miles and start focusing on not stopping. Keep going. No matter what. Stopping was not an option. Fortunately for me, it actually hurt more to stop and start walking then to keep my slow jog rolling. So that’s what I did. Pain was everywhere. But anytime I started to feel sorry for myself, I laughed and thought, EXACTLY. This is what you’ve signed up for dumbass, this isn’t supposed to be easy, this is supposed to hurt, that’s what makes it awesome and an accomplishment.

Instead of thinking about the total distance I had left, my goal was simply to not stop until the next aid station. Once I reached the station I would down everything I could fit in my mouth in a minute then trudge on to the next aid station. I finished the rest of the race this way and eventually jogged across the finish line at 6:49. Crazy thing was as soon as I finished I was already dissecting my race and thinking about what I would do differently to prepare for my next one.

While I was cleaning up my transition area I overheard some other people talking about our long run. Apparently everyone with a GPS watch clocked the run at 14.1-14.5 miles instead of 13.1. What the F*%&?! I’m actually glad I didn’t know that during the race because I probably just would have stopped with a mile left and caught a cab to the finish line. My time probably would have been closer to 6:37-39 if we had run a true 13.1, and I felt proud getting that close to my goal. The rest of the day I was on a crazy high, and really proud of what I had accomplished.

My main race take away? My weakest portion of the race was the bike. But I feel excited because that’s probably the easiest place to get faster, you just need to train more.

My main life take aways? It’s good to evaluate where you are and change your goals if need be. I realized I wasn’t going to be able to hit 10 minute miles, instead of getting angry I adjusted on the fly, stayed positive and decided I wasn’t going to stop.

Secondly, there’s no better motivator than having an event to train for.

Finally,  getting involved in these races has made me feel like a kid again; adrenaline pumping, months of training culminating in one event.  It’s FUN 2.0.

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