05/17/2008
Well, there are exactly 7 weeks to go for the CrossFit Games, and less than 9 for the Nationals. 2 more weeks until I start the contest diet, in a way I look forward to that crazy as it sounds!
Today is a rest day, needed that after yesterday's "Michael" and walking stairs at Craig's place to help him get ready to move out. My calves definitely feel that combo today! Let's see what Coach has in store for us tomorrow, always a suspense waiting for that post!
Drive safe to NY today, Craig! Last night was fun, great food at Teller's and Graeter's for dessert (told you the diet starts June 1). We'll miss you, hope to see you again soon!
05/18/2008
A tough workout this afternoon. Power Clean & Jerk with 95# for 15 reps, 400 meter runs AMRAP for 20 minutes. Checking the posts before most people had 4-5 rounds, so I figured I'd be right around there too. Sure enough, I got done with round 1 in about 5 minutes, finished with 3 complete plus the 15 reps and 300 meters.
I found a bike.. Craigslist worked yet again. It's a 8 year old mountain bike, need some work in terms of adjustments etc. but ran fine. I'll try to run some of my errands (like Kenwood) on the bike, save some $$ plus get in better shape.
Craig made it to NY okay, getting unpacked and somewhat settled in. I guess tomorrow is his first day at the new job, sure he's anxious to see how that all goes!
05/19/2008
Coach must be mad at us - look at this WOD:
75 Push-ups - 50 SDLHP with 95# - 50 Ring Dips - 30 Pull-ups with 45# added - 25 HSPU
Finished that one in 19:21, Dips down to doubles, Pull-ups singles about 1/2 way through. Tough! Should be interesting to see what he comes up with tomorrow!
5/20/2008
This one topped the 3 day cycle: 1000 meter Row - 25 Burpees - 750 Row - 50 Burpees - 500 Row - 75 Burpees! He must hate us! It took me 25:10, sets of 5 on the Burpees most of the way. I'm glad tommorrow is a rest day, need that.
5/22/2008
A - somewhat - easy one! Deadlifts for triples, combined with Handstand push-ups. 5 rounds.. I went 315/15; 335/12; 355/10; 365/8 and 375 (personal record)/7
5/23/2008
Right back to a killer one! 70 lb DB Swings, GHD Sit-ups, Back extensions and KTE's.. 25 reps each for 5 rounds - WOW! 27:18, this one was tough!
5/24/2008
More running.. 800 meters, combined with 50 Pullups, 3 rounds. That should feel good Monday, 150 Pullups today, then 75 for Trevor. 24:20, everything done outside on the pullup bar!
5/25/2008
My first Indy 500.. what a thrill. Top speeds of over 222 miles/hr., beautiful weather! Thanks for the ticket, Kevin!
5/26/2008
Trevor Win'E Memorial Day Fundraiser - teams of 4 perform 300 Pull-ups, 400 Push-ups, 500 Sit-ups and 600 Squats. Our team consited of Robin, Teresa, Kevin and myself, we finished in 23:10, nice job everybody!
5/27/2008
Another tough one, running again! 1 mile, the 2 minutes on each station for max reps, running clock: Rower (30 calories); 30 lb DB Thrusters (20 reps); 20 lb Med Ball Cleans (25); Double Unders (30) and more Pull-ups (33) = Total of 138 reps!
5/28/2008
A - somewhat - easy day! Shoulder Presses for triples, 5 sets. I went 85, 95, 100, 105 and 110 for 3, not too bad. Jumped on the bike for about 20 minutes through the neighborhood, a beautiful day here in Cincinnati! Rest day tommorrow, I'll take that one!
5/30/2008
CFT (CrossFit Total) today. Squats 205/225/245 x 1 (still careful because of my quad); Shoulder Press 115/125 x 1, failed the 135; Deadlift 365/395/420 x 1, a new personal record there, pretty happy with that! In 5 weeks I'll already be in CA for the Games!
5/31/2008
Something new from coach: 10 Thrusters (115#) - 50 Double Unders - 8/40 - 6/30 - 4/20 - 2/10.. FUN! Took me 12:07, nice one!
6/01/2008
And another new one! Originally it called for 10/8/6/4/2 Squat Cleans with 135... not for me, won't take that risk with my quad after already going somewhat heavy on the Thrusters yesterday. So it'll be 12/10/8/6/6 with 95#, combined with 50/40/30/20/10 GHD Sit-ups. 11:38 for that one - I wonder what might come up at the Games!
6/02/2008
First day of the diet! Rest day for WOD's, but I do jump on the bike for about 15+ minutes.
6/03/2008
Heavy Singles for Hang Power Snatches.. not exactly my favorite, 10 sets on top of it. Made it up to 110, not too bad. Then ran 2 400 meter sprints (1:38/1:36) plus practiced handstand push-ups.. finally got a hang of that and hit about 10 of those. Singles only, but it's a start!
Diet went well all day, had a glass of red wine at night to celebrate Barack's nomination!
6/04/2008
Cindy on Steroids, that's what you could call today's WOD! 15 Pull-ups, 30 Push-ups and 45 Squats - AMRAP in 20 minutes! I ended up with 5 rounds plus 15 Pull-ups and 20 Push-ups - good times!
6/05/2008
Squats today, 5 sets of 5's, still staying conservative. 185/205/225/245/255 - feels pretty good. Finish off with 2 500 meter rows (1:48 and 1:50) and practice more HSPU.
6/07/2008
Another new one: Squat Cleans (staying at 115 instead of the 135) for 7 reps, combined with HSPU for 15 reps, 5 rounds. The first 2 rounds I get the HSPU against the wall, then I have to go back to assisted ones on the bench. 15:37, quad feels good, a tough one!
6/08/2008
Here's fun one - NOT! 12 Burpees, 12 Pull-ups for 10 rounds. Decided to go outside, since I'll be doing that at the Games as well. At 2 PM in 92 degrees a ton of fun, it took me 18:32, another blister on the right hand, that pull-up bar gets warm!
6/09/2008
A new Hero WOD, quite different! 800 meter run, 400 meter backward run, 2 times. I went to the Cincinnati Country Day track for that, running at noon, 90 F, great! 16:20, lots of sweating during and after! Glad tomorrow is a rest day again!
6/11/2008
Heavy deadlift day.. 5 sets of triples, fun! 315/345/365/375/385 x 3, new PR by 10 lbs from last time! All that at a bodyweight of 158, not too bad!
6/12/2008
Something new again! 10 One-legged Squats (5 each leg), 12 ring dips, 15 pull-ups for 7 rounds. The squats were the easy part, ring dips hurt! 16:21, I know I'll feel that tomorrow! 3 weeks until I leave for CA!
6/13/2008
Picture is from the Games 2007, the run!
6/15/2008
Father's Day, and Mom's Birthday! Squats today, all varieties. CF Main calls for singles on each one, I still stick with higher reps and go for 5's. Overhead Squats: 45/65/85/95/105x5; Front Squats: 95/135/165/185/205x5; Back Squats: 185/225/245/265x5. Felt pretty good, should be okay by the time the games come around, even for singles!
6/16/2008
Something new again. 50 Sit-ups - 50 Double Unders - 50 Sit-ups - 50 Walking lunges - 50 Sit-ups - 50 Burpees - 50 Sit-ups. All Sit-ups on AbMat: 16:02, outside workout again.
6/17/2008
This one sounded like it would hurt, and it did! Shoulder Presses with 75# x 21 reps, 21 reps Back Extensions for 7 rounds.. yikes! I moved the bar next to the back extension, so I wouldn't have to run all over the gym every round, which also meant I had to power clean it every time I set it down.. which became a ton! It took me 18:52, shoulders will hurt tomorrow!
6/19/2008
CrossFit Total (one rep max) - good! Still careful on squats, but get up to 295. Shoulder Presses are a little weak today, still lagging from all the pushes from 6/17, so only 115. Deadlifts are great, 425, new PR! 835 total, not bad at a body weight of 156!
6/20/2008
More shoulder work! 10 Thrusters with 65#, 10 Pull-ups, 20 minutes AMRAP! I get to 13 rounds!
6/21/2008
First I thought it was a typo.. 50 Muscle-Ups! Usually it's 30, oh well, 3-2-1 GO! 12:32 for that, lots of jumping. Afterward I try bar muscle-ups and actually get 4 or 5 good ones, first time for that!
6/23/2008
Oh fun... a 5K Run. At least the hands get a break. Ran a little bit further than the last times, was about 5K, time 24:00. Not bad for me!
6/24/2008
Yuck, Snatches, 7 sets of singles posted. Quads are tired and don't feel right during warmup, so I decided to go with 7 sets of 5's, 65/75/85/90/95/100/105. Not too bad, practiced some posing after.
6/25/2008
Fight Gone Bad! That one will hurt! Wall Balls 33/26/24 (83), SDLHP 21/16/14 (51), Box Jump 15/13/13 (41), Push Presses 16/14/12 (42), Rower 13/13/14 (40) = 257 (2 less than last time, darn!). Well, one more week and we'll find out what they have in store for us!
6/27/2008
Well, maybe this will be a taste for the Games! 800 m run, 21 KB Swings 55#, 21 Thrusters 95#, 21 Pull-ups - 3 rounds! 30:51, this was a long, tough one!
6/28/2008
Another new, tough one. 45 Double Unders, 45 Squat Cleans (115 for me, was called for 135), 45 Ring Dips and another 45 Double Unders.. wow! 18:05, those cleans hurt!
6/29/2008
Lynne today. Usually a good one for me, but today, after all the heavy stuff the last 2 days, my grip really suffered on the pull-ups. Bench Press with 150: 14/8/6/5/5, Pull-ups 35/23/15/14/14, total 139, 22 less than my PR (all pull-ups). Fortunately tomorrow is a rest day!
7/01/2008
More pressing! Shoulder Presses 95/115/125 x 1, then failed twice on 130. Push Presses 95/115/125/130 x 3, 135 x 2 (PR). Push Jerks 95/105/115/125 x 5 (PR), then dropped to 95 x 6. Not a bad day!
7/02/2008
Well, tonight we'll find out what they have planned for us. 9PM everybody will be sitting in front of the computer!
Another tough one! Deadlift x 15; Hang Power Clean x 12; Front Squat x 9; Push Jerks x 6 for 5 rounds, I stick with 95#, originally it was 135, no way, esp. not for push jerks! 14:10, that was plenty tough for today. Carb meal tonight, yummy! Packing everything I need for the weekend, pre-cooking my breakfast tonight so I just have to put it in the microwave tomorrow and can leave for Indy around 5!
7/03/2008
So, here's the WOD's for Saturday:
Workout A: 275# Deadlift x 5, 10 Burpees, 5 rounds
Workout B: Thrusters 95#, Pull-ups (chest to the bar) 21-15-9 (like Fran)
Workout C: Run (about 720 meters)
Leaving out of Indy today, flying to Denver first, then on to LA.
Los Angeles - it's been a while since I've been here last. Good trip so far, nice weather here, 70's at the airport. Taking a trip to Loyola Marymount University first, that's where I used to work at Muscle Camp and where I met Robin back in '91! Then off to meet my brother-in-law.
Venice Beach trip, still looks the same, people still selling the same stuff like 10 years ago. Late lunch at a restaurant on the beach, salmon and salad, stick to the diet! Then off to 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, brings back memories!
7/04/2008
Happy Independence Day! Making breakfast for Howie and myself, omelettes. Then back to Santa Monica for a little while, trying to find Petranek CrossFit, but they must have moved, I have the right adress, but no gym here. Then off, hitting the 101 to drive up to Aromas and on to San Jose. See some of the fires around Santa Barbara, streets blocked off by police - wild!
7/05/2008
11 o'clock: Here we go. This one feels good (if you can call it that), make it in 5:17. Middle of the pack with that time, not bad. Time to eat and rest.
3 o'clock: The run is on. That hill is steep, I have to walk from about 1/2 way up, my quads are on fire. Downhill is dangerous, better watch my footing, don't want to roll down that hill. 5:50, last one in my heat, but I made it. That should be fun doing thrusters later with tired legs!
7 o'clock: Fran time! Those pull-ups are HARD! I miss the 12 minute time limit by 1 rep, start the round of 9 pull-ups with 90 seconds to go, try 3 times for that last one and don't get a "green light". Darn, this sucks!
8:20 - announcement what tomorrows WOD will be!
30 Clean & Jerks - with 155#! That's more than my 1-rep max, so I'll drop that to 115 tomorrow!
7/06/2008
9:40 Start time for my last event! I get through in 8:22, tough workout! At rep 26 I bang the bar on my shin, that'll look nice for the Nationals in 2 weeks, hopefully it will heal up in time! Some amazing performances during the day, fastest time for 155 under 3 minutes, a 14 yr. old girl did the rx'd women's weight (100#), 16 year old guy did the men's weight in 12 + minutes!
Leaving Aromas around 3 PM, driving back to San Jose to drop off the car and get to the airport.
Well, now it'll get interesting. The flight to Denver is delayed a little over an hour, hopefully I make my connection there to Indy!
Wouldn't you know it, they left here without us. Get into Denver around 12:45AM, next flight out is not until 7AM, this sucks.
7/07/2008
Finally back in Cincinnati at 2:30PM, long day. I still have to get a workout in, decide to make up the pullup on from last week, 1 Pullup the first minute, 2 the second and so on. I make 15 rounds plus an additional 14, not a PR, but not too bad considering the long day!
7/08/2008
Well another surprise from Coach. I didn't think he'd have another workout with a lot of pullups, but here's Angie! 100 each pullups, pushups, situps and squats. This should be fun! Rory is working out with me, he's doing 50 of each in 13:14, I get my 100 done in 17:54.
7/10/2008
CFT - some heavy lifting today. I get up to 315 on my squats, those are getting better again. Shoulder Press 115, fail twice on 130, the first one I almost had! Deadlift 405, fail on 430, which would have been a new PR. I got it off the floor, but couldn't pull it up all the way. Next time!
7/11/2008
Make up a fun WOD for myself! Pullups, Burpees, Wall Balls, Deadlift (135), Pushups, Dips, Squat Cleans (95), Push Press (95), KB Swings (45), Double Unders - 10 reps each for 2 rounds! 14:19, pretty tired after that.
7/12/2008
This one will hurt! 12 walking lunges, 15 GHD Situps, 15 GHD Hip extensions, 5 Muscle-ups - AMRAP in 30 minutes! I go with bar muscle-ups for the first time, get 9 rounds, miss the muscle-ups only 3 times. Pretty happy with that!
7/13/2008
More pain from Coach! 15 HSPU/1 L-Pull-up, then 13/3, 11/5, 9/7, 7/9, 5/11, 3/13 and 1/15. First 2 rounds I get the HSPU against the wall, then I have to go back to supported ones. I make it in 13:58.
7/14/2008
Almost there, the week of the Master's Nationals! This one will be my last workout that involves legs - 400 meter run, 50 squats, 4 rounds. 14:20, my legs are fried after that! Tomorrow might be my last workout before the show, maybe another light short one Wednesday.
7/15/2008
Last workout before the Nationals! Go with the proven Tabata routine. 32 rounds without break except the 10 seconds between sets. I'm feeling all the WOD's from the weekend, numbers are down some from the last time I did these. Pull-ups 75, Push-ups 77, Sit-ups 103 (those really felt it) and Shoulder Presses 83 (those did improve some, good!). Total 338 reps, not bad at this stage. Posing from now on is on order for the next 2 days!
7/19/2008
Well, that certainly was not what I had hoped for. I only finished 7th (out of 8 competitors), same placing I got back in 2004. My scores were all over the place, as high as 4th, as low as 8th, so who knows what was going through the judges heads? Right now I'm pretty pissed, we'll see what the future brings. I just want to get out of Pittsburgh and on the road to get home at some point tonight!
7/21/2008
Finally saw some pictures of the show - I looked alright, but my color was way off! Rory was right, I should have put another coat on, or more solution at the time we did it. So partly it was my own fault I'm sure, if I would have been darker it would have looked a whole lot better. I might re-think my decision of waiting until I'm an Over 50 competitor and go again next year to redeem myself. First order is to get into better CrossFit shape though for the Games 2009, fully concentrating on that!
