Minime 2008 : Journey to Crossfit Excellence

[j2bryson]

sounds like not great weather for snowboarding. I think your time is running out for that sport this year. :P

Good work on Mary! I don't think I could even attempt her at this point.

[pseudonym]

Snowboarding in the rain eh!!

Perhaps it's my tropical background but that's an odd picture to me hahaha.

I remember the short time I spent in the arctic climes and I remember vividly how crap the slopes are after a warm day/cold night (fortunately for the Norwegians if it's that bad nobody bothers and they all just call it a day and wait out the 3 months of 'summer' until it starts snowing for real again heh heh ... ok maybe not 3 months but I remember the real warm weather being distinctly short ).

7 minute mile after Mary is a great effort BTW!!

[minime]

Thanks guys!

j2bryson : its not over yet! So much snow fell this season they are expecting it to last a while, once the temps warm up past freezing its Spring conditions! meaning 'slushy' snow which is just fine with me

Pseudonym snowboarding in the rain is no fun! I gave up as soon as it started, well not quite since I was at the top of the mountain lol.

I am trying to work on my running again, as I have let it slide through the winter months.

Went to class last night! Steve said no lynne for us, he wanted to do the dirty dozen from a couple of weeks ago..... I thought noooooo not rope climbs and freaked out about them throughout the entire workout!

Monday March 10th
Warmup CFWU, burgener w/broomstick, strict pullups (3, 3)

"Dirty Dozen"
25 Walking lunge steps (EACH LEG)
20 Pull-ups
50 Box jumps, 20 inch box
20 Double-unders
25 Ring dips
20 Knees to elbows
30 Kettlebell swings, 2 pood
30 Sit-ups
20 Hang squat cleans, 35 pound dumbells
25 Back extensions
30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
3 Rope climb ascents

23:47 (PR)

Used 20# dumbells, 1pood KB and 14# ball. About six minutes better than last time! AND this time I did 25 lunge per leg instead of total, plus my ring dips weren't jumping! (they were still pretty bad though) Delighted with my performance, rope climbs were easier this time. And I came first in the class (well there were only 3 people but still!)

2 mile run on treadmill 14:32

20 mins stretching/foamrolling

I felt like after the workout I still had energy left so I convinced Chris to run on the treadmill for a while. I am hoping to keep up my running somewhat from here on in, perhaps i will have a goal to log 10 miles per week.

Also I managed to put my palms on the floor with knees locked which was a flexibility goal of mine! Great session overall.


In bad news I weighed in at 109lbs again this morning

[j2bryson]

you better get on that treadmill... 109 and you'll never be able to climb a rope :P
...of course i'm kidding, that sounds like a crazy session Mm! congrats on the PR.
I've never been able to try ring dips but they sound horrific, same goes with the rope climbs.

[minime]

oh I know j2byrson, aren't I just about the size of a small house now that I am 109#? lol. I can see that my worries about weight gain are silly, but I just can't help it! I am the worst for taking my own advice! I would tell any girl : if your clothes fit and you are getting stronger, then don't worry about the scale. But do I stop worrying myself? nope. Also goes for rest.. I know and preach the importance of it but taking my own advice sometimes proves difficult.

I don't think I could possibly be overeating : I mean during the week at least i eat only all 'clean' whole foods, the only treat being dried fruit and oatmeal (is that a treat?!) and dark chocolate (85% or higher). I eat lots of fruit & vegetables and I get enough protein. Plus I am starving all the time! I spend most of my day at work the last week or so wanting to gnaw my own arm off!

I think I have more muscle now but my bodyfat levels appear the same to me. i would like to get leaner for summer, but am not sure whether I could stand to be on a calorie restrictied diet, I get so hungry as it is!

maybe if i start long distance running I will lean out somewhat, I am considering a half marathon in 10 weeks time, though I am not sure that 10 weeks is enough to train? I wouldn't know as I've never run that far in my life!

J2bryson perhaps you can give me some advice re: the half marathon idea. Is starting to train for one 10 weeks out a bad idea? I would be wanting to finish with a 6:00 minute mile pace throughout

j/k

[j2bryson]

6 minutes eh... I thought you were better than that

outa curiosity, you say that your wanting to knaw your arm off (lol), so how much are you intaking right now? you mentioned to Talia that you tend to eat the same things everyday as they have a good breakdown, so what's a daily sample for you? I ask since your food log doesn't seem to be updated.
I know what you mean about your own advice, it seems like it's always the hardest to take. And no, oatmeal isn't a treat.

ok so as for the half marathon. I've never been a big runner per se, but I did take my half marathon seriously in that I did a bit of research and strictly followed a training plan. I followed a plan that would get me in sub 100 minutes. (my actual time was around 98min which if I calculate correctly is about 7.5 min/mile) I did lose weight when I was training just because of the mileage I put in, but you have to think about a few things if you want to do it...

1. you'll likely lose muscle as you lose weight. Your body has a hard time sustaining the muscle with the endurance training and it's to a runners benefit not to be 'bulky'... ie. extra muscle doesn't make you faster in that type of race.

2. your other training will suffer if you take this on. I would not suggest doing half marathon training and also trying to follow CF at the same time. It's too much stress on your body. On your 'long run" day (I can explain my training schedule to you later if you like) you're running for up to about 2 hours which can be quite taxing. and as usual, it's essential that you take the necessary rest days.

3. time constraint. 10 weeks is pretty short for training, but then again you're already in good shape so I'm sure that if you wanted to you could pull it off. Most schedules are at least 16 weeks, although you might be able to find as short as possibly 12? don't quote me on that one

With all that said, completing my half marathon (and kicking my time goals butt) was an big achievement for me and I'm quite proud of it. It was a tonne of fun to do and I'd love to do it again, possible even a full one this year. Just remember that it is a lot of work (which I'm sure you'd give it your all) and there are a few factors you should seriously consider beforehand.
Hope that wasn't too much information :S
let me know what you decide!

[minime]

hi j2bryson! I started to put my food back into fitday (i find it more simple than thedailyplate) and I thought I changed the link but it seems to still be pointing to my old one. I will fix it soon!

Last week I had an average of 2020 calories i think, but monday and tuesday of this week I have been a bit short of my 2000 calorie goal. If I don't eat enough during the day at work I come up short as I don't get home from the gym until 8pm and don't want to eat 900 calories 2-3hrs before I go to bed!

As for the half marathon.. eek I am not sure I can give up crossfit! Did you lift any weights at all while training? I understand that I may lose some muscle but would like to keep that to a minimum, and was thinking maybe I could lift weights 3x per week and run 3x per week (2 short, 1 long)

ALso I am not sure how my knees will take to the long runs.

Maybe I will look into one that is a little further away than 10 weeks, I found a training program for 12 weeks on the net somewhere.

[minime]

Tuesday March 11th
Warmup CFWU, strict pullups (2,2,1), shoulder dislocates

Deadlift
95x5, 115x3
Singles 135-145-155-165-175-185-195-200F

Rowing 1000m in 5mins

OHS
33x5
53x3
63xFx2

Comments: happy to get the 195 on deadlift, I am becoming more and more certain that the time I got 200# in the other gym was not a real PR. I feel that the plates and/or bar must have been off, as 195 was EXTREMELY difficult and I could not get the 200 no matter how hard I tried. I was sort of planning to do 5k on the rower but I wussed out. I had no ipod and just couldn't stick it! OHS I used a dynamax ball which really helped me, the second 63 attempt was very close, i just lost it an inch before my knees locked at the top.

Chris was with me for deadlifts and she killed her previous PR of 165 and kept up with me lift for lift! yes I kid you not, i taught her how to deadlift about 2 months ago and now she is as strong as me. We both failed on the 200, thankfully as it would have killed me to have her beat me! ha ha. She will beat me soon though, I can tell.

[j2bryson]

nice job on the DL, those are big numbers! I'd be estatic with that lift.

While there is debate on the topic, I believe that it's ok to lift weights while training. With that said, when I was following my schedule I maybe lifted once a week. There's no way I'd be able to come even close to the volume and intensity I'm doing now. not even half I bet. You could consider the run 3x and weigth 3xs, but I doubt that any training schedule you find will suggest that. I guess the thing is that you could probably do that and complete the half marathon, but your results will be far less better than what they would be if you focused on running. It's a different type of training and it requires the mileage that you just wouldn't be able to put in with only 3 runs a week.

I guess it comes down to your goals. If you just want to slim down, don't mind losing a bit of muscle and are not too worried about a time to complete the race then I'm sure that you suggested schedule would be fine. If you really want to focus on just running, then I would suggest revamping it.

and yes, I also had some knee problems when I was training. It's not too bad if you can run on trails and grass though.

Would like to see your food log when it's up again. thanks!

[minime]

j2bryson, you are probably right : i need to decide where my priorities lie. Maybe I will have a look for a 1/2 marathon that is not quite so close, and for now just work on getting my running mileage up. Throughout the winter I was probably averaging 1-3 miles per week only! I need to ease my body back into it with some more frequent running.

I don't feel that I want to 'slim down' and lose muscle, I would rather minimise my muscle loss if possible! I have worked hard for the little muscle i have and I don't want it all to go away! Hence why I was thinking I would keep weights in my program more..

I am thinking though if it is only half a marathon, my weekly mileage need not be that high right? how many miles were you logging a week while training?

My sister who has one marathon under her belt does not follow a specialised program per se : she runs 2 mornings per week and does one long run at the weekend, she managed to turn in a 3:40 with this method of training and I am guessing her mileage was not more than 35 per week even at the end. Is this unorthodox?

Anyway last night I skipped out on a WOD requiring 45 thrusters and 27 rope climbs to work on my steady state running on the treadmill.

Wednesday March 12th
Warmup CFWU, strict pullups 3, chinups 3.5 (chinups felt easier than pullups today)
Ring dip practice
HSPU negatives
OHS 33x10x2

Running on treadmill 1/2 mile warmup at 7mph then a 3 mile steady state run at 8mph

Comments I found the run to be not as horrible as I imagined! Instead of focusing on boredom I focused on my stride and on my breathing. The 8mph pace felt good for me, I was tired at the end but never during the workout did I get that 'gasping for air, can't keep it up' feeling that I get when I am running 10mph. I certainly need to work on endurance, I was very tired and a bit lightheaded when i got off the treadmill.

Spent 20 minutes stretching and foam rolling my body (focusing on legs!) I think that if I am to start running more, this will be key for me. I have had a habit in the past of not stretching/rolling/icing after runs which I am sure is why my knees didn't take so well to the mileage!

overall happy enough with gym visit, it was weird not doing any weights or crossfit though! I felt like I had 'wussed' out by 'just doing cardio' lol

[JMike]

Mini, as an ex-runner, I think your resting fitness level and active lifestyle would be enough that three runs a week would get you to a very good level. Maybe one interval session, one 'short run', and one 'long run' on the weekends. The 'short run' could build from 5km-10km. And the long run from 10km-20km. I don't think the running will be as big an issue as your diet though. I know you're switched on to it, but you'd have to be munching on a lot of calories if you were adding this into your crossfit workouts. I think cookies would be the only way to *really* achieve that calorie count.

My advice would be to sign up, and take it as a sight seeing trip. So you don't come in the top 100 this time. Next time you'll be less nervous, have had more experience and more time to train.

G/L!
Mike

[minime]

hmm lets see where I am in terms of my end-of-april goals.. only 6 weeks left!

Originally Posted by minime

Strength
Deadlift 200x1 (185) not quite.. i am only counting my 195 as my max now
Back Squat 175x1 (165) nope
Front Squat 140x1 (125) nope
Overhead Squat 55x1 (45) will have this next time I try it, had 53x3
Squat Clean 105 (93) yes
Shoulder Press 75 (70) nope
Bench Press 95x1 (85?) have not tested but will get this next time with spotter
Weighted Chinup 30 (27) no

Bodyweight
Strict Deadhang pullup 5 (3) 4 is my best and only on a very good day
Kipping pullup 25 (18) YES!
Chinups 5 (3) nope
Dips 10 (6?) have switched to rings so have not tested, but will do so
Ring Dips 1 (0) yes but not full ROM (to armpits) only to parallel
Handstand pushup feet on wall 1 (0) no, not even close
Pushups 25 (15?) no, think pushups are getting worse

Running (treadmill)
5k 22 minutes (23:30) no, a little over 22:30
1 mile 6 minutes (?) no
800 2:50 no
I am not planning to devote much time to running until the weather gets warmer.

I also have some goals in relation to crossfit named WODs, including:
15 round cindy
sub 30 Angie YES!
sub 15 Fran no, too scared to try
sub 10 Annie YES!
sub 12 Helen no
sub 15 Jackie no

Another goal of mine was to put my palms on the floor with my knees locked which I have achieved but it is still extremely difficult.

I think I am doing well, and with 6 weeks to go I hope to have yes in there for every single one. I suspect the stickers will be the Back Squat/Front Squat, all pullup/chinup/pushup goals and that Fran goal.

[minime]

mike thank you for your input, I think you are right. I asked my sisters advice and it was similar to yours. She says for her she runs 2 times during the week 13-16km each time and then one long run (she is training for a full marathon, not a half).

She suggests I run a 12mile as my longest run, two weeks before the race.

I have still not 'committed' myself to the project but will continue building up my running mileage for sure!

[JMike]

Oh and in regards to post-run stretching. It is soooo important. I didn't used to stretch after running as a kid and suffer everytime I try do stiff leg deadlifts.

[j2bryson]

I think Mike has a good suggestion about the 'sight seeing trip'. Realistically I bet you could run it today and still complete it, you're in good shape. You may as well give it a shot and see what you think.
I'll post again when I look back on my training regarding mileage.