New York Barefoot Runner

Day 8; Dec 7

2011-12-07T20:43:00.001-05:00

John M party crash! I did not have an invitation but I walked straight in through layers of security holding batch. Key was time criticality, confidence and projecting. Ignoring chick with the list worked well since age couldn't chase me.

Guitar class getting better. The uptight chick was full approval seeking mode. Once in elevator, I threw some charity attention at her and he immediately switched into hot chic mode so I quickly withdrew my charity. It worked fine. Torture for her though I bet.

Dinner at fancy place called mooncake food. Hot intelligent chick can and sat next to my table. She kept making different gestures. I don't know if it was concious attention seeking or not. Probably not.

Waitress was awesome. I asked funny question about name of the place. There were good ECs before but the opening failed.

Day 7; Dec 6

2011-12-06T21:24:00.001-05:00

Long work day. At work, flirted with a few chicks. I worked out at noon which was smart. I have got a super tall new neighbor I don't know. I chatted with another neighbor and that could be the lead. I also chatted with a coworker on way to subway which was okay.

Dinner at lick chops was cool. Two geeky girls next to me kept looking at me every-time I looked at them. Rookies:). I wish I had chatted with them. Then crew of three chicks came in. One hot and another athletic. I paid a lot of attention to hot chick at first. The Moved to athletic chick. She was the real deal. Also she was a rookie. Wish I had a way to start conversation. Interestingly I am pretty sure I made the first chick HB made jealous. I didn't care. I liked the second chick. They left but she gave me EC on way out.

Day 6; Dec 5

2011-12-06T21:13:00.001-05:00

First work day. Alpha male shit was on. I made big deal about not taking tag from my jacket. Funny. Strong Ec chick at Kati roll.
Dinner was boring at The Legend. There were three foreign chick next I me but too many hurdles. I also had EC late in the game with uptight girl. She pretended to be uncaring but after 15 minutes she became super conscious of me. She had cool bracelet so I knew she wasn't above it all.

I had interesting chat with the waitress. She started the convo. She came back couple of times this alpha male hit works.

Day 5; Dec 4

2011-12-06T21:05:00.000-05:00

Last day of vacation. Sucks. But I cleaned up my apartment and now it looks like a home. I forget but Sunday was uneventful. Lunch was at a cheap Texmex but I landed at the coffee place. It was cool. I took my coffee and sat at the center of a couch in the center of 4 young hot chicks. All on computers. I fid alpha thing by taking a lot of space and moinf the couch to make myself comfortable Awesome stuff One on my right extended her legs with expensive shoes and KICKed me! It can't be accident. This never happens in real life. I had awkward EC with her. I knew she was into me. She wasn't super hot but she looked smart and I feel bad not talking to her. Again need strong intro.

Dinner was fun at Tiam. Hot married chick was eyeing me the whole timing. Awkward. After she left, bunch of guys with ONE super hot chick were scoping the place. The chick was scoping me out. Weird. I interacted by offering space. It was perfect alpha shit. She liked me but too many guys. When I left she gave me EC and sat on my chair. Kindda symbolic.

36 DB 5x5x(DL, HClean, PP, Sqt) 17:28@130/170

2011-03-27T08:04:00.001-04:00

36 DB 5x5x(DL, HClean, PP, Sqt) 17:28@130/170
DB2x25lb were harder than I initially thought. Focus was on form. Secret I discovered in third round was to keep abs tight. It helped with clean and more importantly overhead positioning.

Skill:squat. Focus on hand over head, hamstring stretching and tracking knees over toes.

35 CL&J 85-85-85-85-95-95-95-95 2:00@110/135

2011-03-23T20:04:00.001-04:00

35 CL&J 85-85-85-85-95-95-95-95 2:00@110/135
Not anywhere close to PR of 125. I focused on form but ot was pretty bad. I really did not squats for clean. Also I didn't keep core tight which was a problem.

Skills: practiced dou lenders. Trick is to jump higher without bending knees. Hard but possible.

34 3x(15chest2bar, 2x15sec ring L) +5C2B 15:00@126/151

2011-03-23T06:05:00.000-04:00

Chest to Bar Pull-ups, Ring L Sit Holds
3.167 rounds
34 3x(15chest2bar, 2x15sec ring L) +5C2B 15:00@126/151 25sec was max I can stay on rngs
Average Power Output: ≈ 15.7 (ft*lbs)/sec
Work: ≈ 14,124 ft*lbs

33 Wittman 7x15x(44lbKB, 45lbPClean, box) 27:53@155/178

2011-03-20T08:58:00.000-04:00

33 Wittman 7x15x(44lbKB, 45lbPClean, box) 27:53@155/178
Classic Crossfit met con. Clean was a bit light but that helped with intensity. Form was okay. kB height was less than ideal but I focused on hip drive which helped. Same with clean where hip drive made dip unnecessary.

32 5k sub8min

2011-03-17T20:43:00.002-04:00

32 5K 24:35/7:48@184/198
Compare with 179 5K@9min/mi hudson river park! 28:29@173/191
WOD#113 5K@7:47min/mi in hot 80deg 24:17@189/196
Barefoot! Compare with wod#67 24:47@185/195 race

Steady 5k with negative split. 8min/8min/7:30min 175/184/191 finishing strong Wth sub7min pace. I wasn't hurting bad ut HR peaked at 198 so finish was near max. I also ran over a mile before and after as warmup/cool down. As planned form was focus. Of course running is easy since I am good at it and had five fingers on forcing a good form.

Biting the bullet

2011-03-17T02:22:00.002-04:00

I have decided to take a step back. I am going to approach form more scientifically. This means tuning down the intensity a lot, doing research ahead of the wod and doing drills and subs if needed. It also means keeping gas in the tank for practice so I can practice different skill sets anytime besides one in wod. This will force me to get to the gym more often and not be Dying when i reach home. What I realized is that, i do about 3-4 woods and then get so sore that I can't continue and take Crossfit back up when I feel better. But this is high risk strategy not only for injury but also for constancy. When i try to stay with constancy, I just water down the wod so much that there is really no value added by doing that wod. I need something in between where, intensity is slow burning but continuous and my skills improve dramatically. I will give this a solid month through April 30 and I will see where it takes me.

Here is initial list of skills and drills :
Squat: knees out, hamstring stretch, hands above head, Asian squat
Rings: dips, hole and muscle up progressions
Handstand pushups
Plain pushups and pull ups
Overhead squat
Double under
Pistol: rolling

2011-03-17T02:17:00.002-04:00

Ledesma. 6.0 rounds
31 Ladesma20min (5hspu, 10 knees2elbow, 25#DB clean) 6rounds I was too sore to do this hero workout with full energy. My arms were hurting and HSPU are hard to do with sore shoulders. I had foible getting in position first time but it got better. My vertical motion is basically nonexistent. Cleans were fun since I tried to keep form good with opening the hips and shrugg. So despite inspcreasing weight from 20# to 25#, weight wasn't the issue and cardio was main challenge.

Average Power Output: ≈ 25.4 (ft*lbs)/sec
Work: ≈ 30,505 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 43rd | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 151st
Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Karen
11 mins 41 secs (2 mins 2 secs)
30 Karen 150x10# "wall ball" 11:40@143/171 Compare with WOD#152 Karen 150 9:39@171/185 WOD#83 #15 7:27@173/184 Much slower than past. I did focus a bit more on form this time. But I must say, intensity was lacking. It was all about getting the form and consistency. I am having trouble staying back on heels in squats. But in all fairness, I am sore so I am not really regretting. In particular, right leg is tight in hamstrings and rotation....baby steps.
Average Power Output: 51.9 (ft*lbs)/sec (+44.7)
Work: 36,366 ft*lbs (+32,233)
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 166th | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 381st
Monday, March 14, 2011

100 Burpee Pull-ups
12 mins 47 secs (1 mins 46 secs)
29 100 Burpees 12:47@169/181 Rx called for pull up burpees but I scaled it down to plain burpees with added restriction that bottom of burpee is full flat on ground with full body weight on torso. I thought it is easy to cheat on pushups without this discipline. I had hard time beating my last attempt of 107 in 10min. I did 90 in 10minutes and took another 2:47min for another 17. I was dying by the time I reached 100 but decided to push to make it to 107, partly to make up for a few "broken" burpees I had done with bad form.
Avg. Heartrate for each set of 10s: 126-158-166-172-174-176-177-167-176-171-172
Weaknesses:pushups past 80, coordination to jump into squat positions when tired, unnecessary "water breaks"

Average Power Output: 56.7 (ft*lbs)/sec (+43.1)
Work: 43,494 ft*lbs (+31,657)
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 28th | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 45th
Sunday, March 13, 2011 add video set goal view edit delete

couple of good wods and rest just so so

2011-03-15T21:34:00.001-04:00

Deadlift, Run
14 mins 58 secs
25 4xDL 135#7-6-5-4+400m row 14:58@147/184 Somehow DL got easier. My form sucks especially after rowing.
Average Power Output: ≈ 28.1 (ft*lbs)/sec
Work: ≈ 25,202 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 22nd | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 86th
Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Snatch Balance 3-3-3-3-3
45 lbs, 40 lbs, 50 lbs, 40 lbs, and 50 lbs
23 snatch balance 5x3 1:36@123/137 Going through motions. Snatch is complicated.
Work: 3,836 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 6th | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 26th
Saturday, February 26, 2011

Overhead Squat 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
45 lbs, 0 lbs, 0 lbs, 0 lbs, 0 lbs, 0 lbs, and 0 lbs
22 overhead sqt 1x7 1:46@119/138 Just going through motions. Form needs work.
Work: 1,313 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 22nd | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 92nd
Saturday, February 26, 2011

Box Jumps, Rope Climbs, Kettlebell Swings, Sit-ups, Dumbbell Hang Power Cleans, etc.
21 mins 28 secs
22 50box, 15pu, 50KB, 50sit, 30hpc?, 800m, 50 bkx 21:28@153/181 KB were brutal, running inside apt was pathetically funny.
Average Power Output: ≈ 37.0 (ft*lbs)/sec
Work: ≈ 47,713 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M): 18th | Site Rank (M): 109th
Saturday, February 26, 2011

Holbrook
(2 mins), (2 mins 8 secs), (1 min 49 secs), (2 mins 25 secs), (2 mins 20 secs), (2 mins 36 secs), (2 mins 19 secs), (2 mins 40 secs), (2 mins 40 secs), (2 mins 47 secs)
19 Holbrook 10x(5thruster/5PU/100m row)23:46@163/180 Intense! Subbed rowing for running. Scaled down but I don't think I took the 1min break. Walking between row machine and rack was about 30sec though.
Average Power Output: ≈ 20.3 (ft*lbs)/sec
Work: ≈ 28,969 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 40th | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 158th
Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Thrusters, Weighted Pull-ups
15 mins 8 secs
20 3x (45# thrusters, wt PU) 15:08@159/184 Weighted pus feel good. I think i chipped bathroom floor but I am proud of it. Collateral damage.
Average Power Output: 60.7 (ft*lbs)/sec
Work: 55,079 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 20th | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 57th
Monday, February 14, 2011

Clean 3-3-3-3-3-3-3
45 lbs, 40 lbs, 50 lbs, 40 lbs, 50 lbs, 40 lbs, and 50 lbs
20 clean 3x7 45# Going through motions
Work: 9,729 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 32nd | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 73rd
Sunday, February 13, 2011

Aidan squat is a killer

2011-02-12T14:42:00.000-05:00

18. 800m Run, Rest
15 mins
3x800m 7:20, 7:00,6:00 15:00@176/199 Trade mill runs at south park tower in 5fingers. It wasnt easy but I didn't really push in First two sets.
Average Power Output: ≈ 0.0 (ft*lbs)/sec
Work: ≈ 0 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M): 68th | Site Rank (M): 190th
Saturday, February 12, 2011 add video set goal view edit delete

17. Muscle-ups, Air Squats
15 mins 4 secs (12 mins 30 secs)
3x(6muscleup, 75 squats) 15:04 Musclesups were at slightly elevated level than before. Squats were intentionally veeerrry deep. I am getting a lot of dons today. I have also been working with Asian squat. I am not happy that I cant do it.
Average Power Output: 64.3 (ft*lbs)/sec (+29.1)
Work: 58,109 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 62nd | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 158th
Sunday, February 6, 2011 add video set goal view edit delete

16. Snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
45 lbs, 45 lbs, 45 lbs, 45 lbs, 45 lbs, 45 lbs, and 45 lbs (-40 lbs | Not Rx'd)
Snatch 1x7. 45# snatch is comlifated so I focused on form
Work: 3,394 ft*lbs (+245)
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 40th | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 241st
Saturday, February 5, 2011 add video set goal view edit delete

15. L Pull-ups, Pistols
10 mins
7to4 strict L-pull up 10to4 pistol Lpu was huge success. Strict form which i haven't done before. Pistol was compete disaster.
Average Power Output: ≈ 26.0 (ft*lbs)/sec
Work: ≈ 15,625 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 10th | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 38th
Saturday, February 5, 2011 add video set goal view edit delete

14. Run, Burpees, Two Hand Dumbbell Bent Over Rows
16 mins 2 secs
5x(row 400m,10burpee,10x2x10 bent over row)
Average Power Output: ≈ 45.2 (ft*lbs)/sec
Work: ≈ 43,494 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 9th | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 13th
Thursday, February 3, 2011 add video set goal view edit delete

13. CrossFit Total
425 lbs (-40 lbs)
Bksqt 135, SP 65, DL 225 6:06 136/158 DL ended horribly and killed my back. I also kindda blacked out despite the pain. This was truly dangerous.
Work: 1,118 ft*lbs (-80)
Gym Rank (M): 1134th | Site Rank (M): 3381st
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 add video set goal view edit delete

12. 3 Min. Rope Climb
3 reps, 3 reps, 3 reps, 3 reps, 3 reps
Towel rope climb 15:02@97/127 Lame!
Work: 0 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 14th | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 29th
Monday, January 17, 2011 add video set goal view edit delete

#161 Elizabeth 45#clean/ring dip 6:06@136/158

2011-01-16T11:25:00.000-05:00

#161 Elizabeth 45#clean/ring dip 21-15-9 6:06@136/158
Very light. Still hurting from 100pushups. Ring dips were 7-5-3 and were horrible form. Arms were hurting too much to do a deep dip.

WOD#165 Elizabeth 21-15-9 95#Clean/Dips 27:34@155/186
WOD#43 45#/jumping dips 6:32@166/188

100 pushups and 100 GHDs

2011-01-15T15:04:00.003-05:00

I skipped Wednesday and Thursday so I am behind by 1-2 days. I will try to catch up over the weekend.

#258 3x(6MuscleUp, 20WBall20#, 6Handstand, 15 PClean45#) 7:51@150/173
At home. Solid wod.

#259 1.25Km row/100Push (3.5 rnd) 15:00@158/182
Nice to do 100 pushups with no practice. It got tougher especially due to high heart rate on rowing sets but I broke each set of 25 into subset of 5. I tried to keep the pushup form good.

#260 5x(20GHD,5PushJ@45#) 6:56@112/132
This was easy enough. GHD are hard to do without GHD bench so it was awkward.

#257 weighted PU 20#x7 2:44

2011-01-09T22:09:00.000-05:00

#257 weighted PU 20#x7 2:44

#254 Fran 7:51 Rankel 3rnd wallclimb

2011-01-09T20:49:00.002-05:00

#254 Fran 45# 7:51@173
Fast Fran sine I used 45# compared to 65# before. Fast Fran is whole different beast. Fun though.
Jan 05, 2011 7 mins 51 secs | Not Rx'd
Jan 09, 2010 13 mins 5 secs | Not Rx'd

#255 Rankel 20:00@145
3 rounds 135# DL 44#KB rowing instead of run. 6:15-6:48-6:57. DL were one at a rime in first round, 3-3 I'm second and all 6 in last

#256 wall climb, toe-bar, box 13:36@135
Wall climb was new. I did about 2ft on hands. It is difficult routine.

#252 3 x 400m, 10OHSqt 45#, 21 PU 19:19 #253 FSqt 3-3-3-3-3 6:19

2011-01-04T19:32:00.002-05:00

#252 3 x 400m, 10OHSqt 45#, 21 PU 19:19
Rx called for 30OH. OH is hard after 400m run. Killer. Loved the fact that every PU was set of 10 or 11 except one(8)

#253 FSqt 3-3-3-3-3 6:19
45-65-75-85-95 pick from floor

#251 Jack 20:00@150bpm

2011-01-01T20:39:00.000-05:00

#251 Jack 20:00@150bpm
7.0 rounds
First wod of 2011. 7rounds (45# pp, kb swing, box) jump x 10
Average Power Output: 34.7 (ft*lbs)/sec
Work: 41,582 ft*lbs
Gym Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 53rd | Site Rank (M | Not Rx'd): 175th

Cool local website on barefoot running in NYC

2010-07-10T14:22:00.001-04:00

http://BarefootNYC.com/

#213 3x(95#CleanJerkx15/3-GHD) 24:30@157/172

2010-03-02T22:37:00.003-05:00

#213 3x(95#CleanJerkx15/30) 24:30@157/172
splits: 6:49/9:15/8:27
Wod started on shaky ground as my weak wrist had a bit of pain and I was concerned if I should be concerned but it miraculously was fine after first round and I didnt even notice. Clean and Jerk were single rep each (95# compared to one rep PR 125#) and were harder than I thought. My form wasnt the best and I didnt do the squat portion of clean, partly to make sure I do not strain my wrist. Good workout all in all.

#213 3x(95#CleanJerkx15/30) 24:30@157/172

#212 50 PU Burpee 14:33@169/190

2010-03-01T20:20:00.002-05:00

#212 50 PU Burpee 14:33@169/190

Compare with #130 Nasty Girls 3 x (50Squats/7PUBurpee/10HPC@95#) 26:44@155/169

Classic wod. First half 6:20@166/180 and Second half 8:13@171/190. I had done 3x7 before but 50 is extreme. I cut myself by finger nail at 37th on thumb and decided to call it quits at 50 but it was definitely getting dicey to catch pull-up bar by then. I even missed the bar couple of times which was scary. I cannot imagine how gymnasts grab the bars on parallel bar jumps while twisting in mid air while I was having trouble grabbing bar jumping straight up. As usual, it is very hard to keep balance and accuracy once heart rate reaches anaerobic levels.

#212 50 PU Burpee 14:33@169/190

Fight gone bad DL squatreps

2010-02-27T18:49:00.003-05:00

#209 xsquat/(60-x)PU/push/PU 6:05@162/186
Unusual wod with time bases reps. I did 39-40-42 squats and PU/push/PU for the rest. I did not realize the time min was 12min so I stopped at 6min as it was basically impossible to keep up with 60 totals.

#210 Fight Gone Bad 87+81+70=238 16:38@178/188

Compare with #106 (65#SDLHP/45#PP) 80+62+73=215 17:00@174/189
#100! Mini Fight Gone Bad (at Black Box) 11:07@171/184
#91 Fight Gone Bad (45#) score 209 17:04@162/177
#24 Fight Gone Bad approx 15 each (score 245 scaled)

Weight were a bit lower than #106 but the score was much higher at 238.

#211 DeadLift 5x3 (135-145-155-165-185) 8:52@133/153

All three wods were heavy on my thighs and I had pretty bad DOMS. Deadlifts were easy but my thighs were a bit tight.

#209 xsquat/(60-x)PU/push/PU 6:05@162/186
#210 Fight Gone Bad 16:38@178/188
#211 DeadLift 5x3 (135-145-155-165-185) 8:52@133/153

#208 Handstand Mania 17:48@153/171

2010-02-20T20:26:00.002-05:00

#208 Handstand Mania 17:48@153/171
3x(100m Bear Crawl/20sec Handstand/15ExtraElevPushup)
Handstand was hard to come by the first time. I realized that the trick is to have hands directly under body and have them couple of inches from wall to allow extra breathing space. Also, I havent figured this one out but I think my elbows were slightly bent. I did not completely straighten them to avoid too much stress on wrist. I am not sure if this is the correct form.

I subed hand walk with bearcrawl which was surprisingly tiring. It is very inefficient. Finally, pushups were elevated to hip level. 15 was somewhat hard but not that hard. I did not do more to keep some gas int the arms for handstand.

#208 Handstand Mania 17:48@153/171

#207 3x(50mLunge/100mBJump/200mRun) 13:59@166/189

2010-02-10T06:18:00.002-05:00

#207 3x(50mLunge/100mBJump/200mRun) 13:59@166/189
New skill Broad Jump! I was surprised to see how far I could broad jump. Surprisingly palms started aching due to all the arm swinging and blood rushing to fingertips. Broadjumps are also very tiring when done back to back. 100m is about 35-40 Broadjumps which is handful. Lunges were easy but I started loosing balance due to high HR and tight leg muscles. It helps to use hand to balance.
4:03-4:37-5:19

#207 3x(50mLunge/100mBJump/200mRun) 13:59@166/189

#206 split-jerk 45-105 15:50@146/167

2010-02-08T21:02:00.003-05:00

#206 split-jerk 45-105 15:50@146/167
Compare with 182 Split Jerk (45-115@incr 10#) 11:14@135/158
#170 (45-65-85-95-105-115-125) 11:08@106/150
and WOD#82 45#-65#-85#

Nowhere close to PR. I did the wod lifting bar from the floor which made is a bit tricky. Also I didn't push too much because of my right wrist. Could have gone more if I had known that I have higher PR.

#206 split-jerk 45-105 15:50@146/167

#205 Fran@65# 13:05@162/181

2010-02-06T18:16:00.004-05:00

#205 Fran@65# 13:05@162/181 (4:47/5:46/3:33)
Compare with
#105 Fran@65# 12:35@174/188 4:30/5:48/2:15
#58 20:05 @ 149/185

I did not hit PR despite the scaled down 65# weight. It was exhausting, as usual. I did take it a bit easy since I was having trouble with my right wrist. It trick is to keep the thruster weight on heels of the palm and not strain the wrist at all. Other thing I discovered was that it helps to take a mini break overhead if thrusters get hard instead of dropping the bar.

#205 Fran@65# 13:05@162/181 (4:47/5:46/3:33)

#204 HPC 45-65-75-85-85-105-115 10:51@123/160

2010-02-03T21:40:00.003-05:00

#204 HPC 45-65-75-85-85-105-115 10:51@123/160

Compare with #187 45-55-65-75-85-95-105 18:14@129/163+6
#60 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 @65#

I did HPC instead of Power Clean as I didnt check wod spec properly. But #115 is still probably PR for HPC. Right wrist started hurting a bit since it was injured in snatch last week. But I think its fine. I wrapped it up awkwardly with a gym thingy for last rep.

#204 HPC 45-65-75-85-85-105-115 10:51@123/160

#203 5x(50wallball 15#/25PU) 49:14@158/183

2010-02-02T21:28:00.003-05:00

#203 5x(50wallball 15#/25PU) 49:14@158/183
5:34/10:24/10:32/11:09/11:35
Compare #136 50/35/20 15#Wallball/Pullups 30:46@138/167

As usual, wallball had no throws but it is still very tiring workout. Its one of those workouts when suddenly in the middle of nth rep, bear jumps on the back:-) I did 50 reps in 3 subsets for each round. On the bright side, I hit a PU PR with 13 continous kipping PU. PU form was excellent for most of the sets. Thats why 5x25 PU were not very difficult. Somehow the very last 10 PUs suddenly became very hard to as my arms somehow jammed up with no pain. No injury but its always good to end a wod at breaking point.

#203 5x(50wallball 15#/25PU) 49:14@158/183

#202 5x(400m/25GHD/25HipExt) 26:41@167/186

2010-02-01T21:01:00.003-05:00

#202 5x(400m/25GHD/25HipExt) 26:41@167/186
Compare #149 5 x (30 GHD/25 BkExt) 20:12@140/152 (no run)
Last three runs were in below freezing cold outside, which I didnt really mind since it was just for 400m. But what I really had a problem was with keeping straight form for the run after the GHD and HipExt. Its a weird combination for a wod. GHDs were okay but BackExt got progressively harder and painful.

#202 5x(400m/25GHD/25HipExt) 26:41@167/186

#201 3x(12muscleup/75 AirSqt) 27:34@141/181

2010-01-31T14:23:00.003-05:00

#201 3x(12muscleup/75 AirSqt) 27:34@141/181

9:01-9:04-9:29

Compare with #148 30 Baby Muscleups 17:05@129/144

#117 30 Baby MuscleUps 18:07@113/136

#47 60 PU/jumpDIP 22:15@132/158

Muscleups were scaled down as usual at should height while sitting on knees. Most of the muscle ups were honest without push from legs. But it wasnt easy at all. Also it was clear that left upper arm is significantly weaker for this particular motion and this imbalance causes problems getting body straight at top of the muscle up.

This wod has 6 more muscle ups than the other wods in comparisons. The wod also included 3x75 airsquats which is not easy either. But I was much better conditioned this time due to barbara/cindy wods and even did last set almost continuously. However, the elevated HR due to squats made muscleups less boring but more difficult.

#201 3x(12muscleup/75 AirSqt) 27:34@141/181

#200 Barbara! 67:44@158/184

2010-01-25T21:53:00.003-05:00

#200 Barbara! Rx (incl 12min rest) 67:44@158/184

Compare with #144 57:57@145/175 (no rest/10rnds)

#74 29:54@147/167 half and

#45 27:36@136/166 half

Splits were as follows which includes the 3min break in first 4 sets. 10:02-10:26-14:00-17:12-16:04. This is my first Barbara as Rxed. #144 was close to Rx but was broken into 10 rounds instead of 5. PUs were surprisingly easy to get through. I did sets of 10-10-10-10-9 before moving down to 7/8s. Pushup were the sticky part of the wod. With 100+ pushups last two wods, I was hurting. Just like last time, it was hard to imagine finishing the wod quarter of the way in and 4th rounds was the stickiest. But it magically got easier for the last round. Next time if my pushups are in better shape, I will shoot for 1 hour target.

#200 Barbara! Rx (incl 12min rest) 67:44@158/184

#199 Cindy! 11.4 60-115-165 20:00@169/187

2010-01-24T16:01:00.003-05:00

#199 Cindy! 11.4 60-115-165 20:00@169/187

Compare with WOD#173 11.5x(5PU/10PSH/15Sqt) 20:26@166/180

WOD#103 half 6rnds+PUs10min@171/190,

WOD#53 10rnds 20:00@153/172,

WOD#17 Cindy 5rnd 20:00

This was my fifth Cindy wod! Progression has been 5-10-6!-11.5-11.4

Today was basically same as PR in #173 (short by 5 pushups but took 25 sec less). This was a hard PR after Angie even with the two day break. I was still feeling DOMS from Angie. But by the time I reached second round, DOMS was least of my problems. HR shot up as expected making everything harder. PU and squats were fine but pushup got somewhat difficult to complete. I manage to keep decent form for PU/Push/Sqt. So this was a Rxed PR.

#199 Cindy! 11.4 60-115-165 20:00@169/187

#198 Angie Rx! 46:16@150/181

2010-01-21T20:29:00.002-05:00

#198 Angie Rx! 46:16@150/181

Compare with WOD#157 Angie 90PU 15:36@156/180, WOD#20 Angie 50 pullups, 100 pushups/situps/squats 54:34min HR (131/158)

This is the first time I did Angie as Rxed. The timing was annoyingly slow, especially compared to 16min #157 (which included 38 burpee Push/Sqt). I started with 3x10 PU but then reverted to sets to mostly 7. Overall progression was 35/35/35/0-35/35/35/70-30/30/30/30. Pushups and PUs were the main challenge. PUs were fine but hint of blister made me slow down. I just wasted too much time in between sets. PUs took 28:30 of the 46minutes!

#198 Angie Rx! 46:16@150/181

5K row II 24:27@2:27 175/196

2010-01-18T18:26:00.002-05:00

#197 5K row redux!@2:27 24:27@175/196

Compare with #189 2:31pace 25:10@174/196

I improved the time by more than half a minute as I paced myself better this time. Last minute must have been at 2:00 pace as I made a big push at end. It also helped to have the resistance at 8 this time. But lower back was hurting like hell. I did have a decent form so not sure what was wrong. Lower back must be a major issue with professional rowers. (Needs some research).

Couple of new tricks I learnt this time include letting legs to all the work for first half of the stroke by "hooking" arms straight. Also its perfectly okay to make a strong stroke and take a mini break on way back without loosing too much of the pace and power. This helps break the rhythm which comes handy for a long rowing wod like this.

#197 5K row@2:27 redux 24:27@175/196

Snatch 20# PR at 85#

2010-01-14T20:11:00.003-05:00

196# Snatch 1x45-50-55-60-65-75-85 14:05@140/172

85# Snatch PR!,

Up from 65#

Two failed attempts at 95#

Need to get some depth on overhead position for improving further

196# Snatch 1x45-50-55-60-65-75-85 14:05@140/172

Frontsqt PRs 135-145-155

2010-01-12T19:34:00.003-05:00

#195 FrontSqt 135-95-145-95-155-85ish 14:59@149/184

Score: 710#. I didnt realize that my front Sqt PR was 125# so 135#, 145# and 155# were all new PRs. Interestingly enough the high rep portions were the harder part of the wod. I had to split 30 reps into 15-15 despite lowering the weight. Also front squat form is difficult to maintain as it is and it only deteriorated in high rep sets.

#195 FrontSqt 135-95-145-95-155-85ish 14:59@149/184

1-10-1-20-1-30 Push/DL

2010-01-12T00:02:00.003-05:00

#193 Elv Pushup 1-10-1-20-1-30 5:00@150/170

Sub for benchpress. Pushup = 95# Elv Pushup = 100#

#194 DL 7395#@165#/115# 1-10-1-20-1-30 14:30@134/175 Nice workout. I had to split last leg into 17-13 as after 49 DL it felt like arms would fall out of socket:) Also high reps get HR shoot up quite quickly.

#193 Elv Pushup 1-10-1-20-1-30 5:00@150/170

#194 DL 165#/115# 1-10-1-20-1-30 14:30@134/175

Diane! Rope PUs

2010-01-09T16:26:00.003-05:00

#191 3x(15Rope PU/21Dip/50Squat) 20:29@160/188

5:00-7:58-7:31

15 strick PUs subed for 15ftx5 ascend. Most sets were 3 though I did a few sets of 4 and 5 as well. Squats were surprisingly tiring though I did the very last set continuously touching 188 HR. Squat form was reasonably good despite the thick running shoes heels. Dips form was disappointing and most dips did get full depth.

#192 Diane! 21-15-9 (DL 115#/ElvPush) 5:48@157/174+150m

This might be the fastest wod I have done! Too much scaling. DL PR few days back cost me pain in my old ring finger injury which has healed now. But I deliberately kept DL weight light for Diane and focused on faster time/sets. Elevated pushups were easy as well though no match for Rx HSPU. I made some progress on swimming front but still havent made the whole 25m without break yet.

#191 3x(15Rope PU/21Dip/50Squat) 20:29@160/188

#192 Diane! 21-15-9 (DL 115#/ElvPush) 5:48@157/174+150m

#190 20min 25+10Turkish getups/500m row 20:00@159/186

2010-01-06T20:53:00.001-05:00

#190 20min 25+10Turkish getups/500m row 20:00@159/186 My first Turkish getup wod! I used 20# kettlebell which wasnt heavy though it took some time to get hang of proper form. Maintaining balance while getting up with weight in one hand overhead uses a lot of unusual tiny muscles of all over the body which are not used to heavy load. Also I didnt realize it till after the 500m rowing but the balancing gets a whole lot harder after HR crosses anaerobic levels and the getups don't allow HR to come down much as lifting load by more than 7feet is a lot of work. I finished one round and rushed to do 10 getups for the second round in the 20min limit. I did loose balance couple of time so not pushing past 20# was probably a smart move. As I got hang of the form, I tried to make the getup as one smooth move which makes it easier but exhausting.

#190 20min 25+10Turkish getups/500m row 20:00@159/186

#189 5K row 2:31/500m pace 25:10@174/196

2010-01-05T23:45:00.003-05:00

#189 5K row 2:31/500m pace 25:10@174/196

Compare with WOD#109 500m/1000m/2000m Row 2:20-2:40min/500m and3.5K in 17:25min.

I didnt realize that I have never done 5K rowing before and assumed it will be like running 5K. I pushed hard to do the 5K strong and finished well. However the middle portion of rowing was incredibly difficult. Lower back was getting tired really quickly and I had to stop briefly at 2.5K and 1.1K. Also I miscalculated by keeping the resistance low. It really worked well when I I had 3K done and then I ramped up the resistance from 2 to 6. Last 500m were very strong and I am sure I averaged less than 2min/500m for them pushing HR to 196.

Interestingly enough, crossfit total PRs yesterday came at a price and an old finger internal injury came back. This probably did not help rowing it.

#189 5K row 2:31/500m pace 25:10@174/196

#188 Crossfit Total 3 PRs! (DL 235#, BkSqt 135#, SP 95#)

2010-01-04T22:09:00.003-05:00

#188 Crossfit Total 3 PRs! (DL 235#, BkSqt 135#, SP 95#) 29:21@147/165

Compare with

WOD#138 DL 225#PR, SP75#, BkSqt135#(rack) 48:53@115/151

WOD#116 (SP/BkSqt/DL 85/95/215#) 43:51@109/134 and

WOD#99 DL 205# (PR), BkSquat 85#, SP 75#

Three lifts, 2 new PR (DL/SP) and one PR match (BkSqt). A week of break probably helped with this classic wod as all the muscles were fresh. Interestingly there was no muscle failure at all but mind was REFUSING to go higher in weight. Funny how the marathon training comes in handy sometimes in noticing and overcoming mental block. Idea is the same where the body can take a lot more but the brain artificially makes you feel like stopping immediately. As long the form was okay (which it was), there was no real risk of injury so I pushed on. Next up is Turkish get up which is advance skill movement so I need to do some homework.

#188 Crossfit Total 3 PRs! (DL 235#, BkSqt 135#, SP 95#) 29:21@147/165

187 Squat Clean 45-55-65-75-85-95-105 18:14@129/163+6

2009-12-26T17:28:00.005-05:00

187 Squat Clean 45-55-65-75-85-95-105 18:14@129/163+6
Compare with #60 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 @65#
I am not sure if the bar in the gym is 45# but assuming it is, this would be a PR. Easy PR as well. I cut myself on the clipper edge and took it easy. 105# felt difficult but was with very poor form so I can improve upon it with better form. The squats were full depth for all reps.

On swimming side, I made some progress scoring 6 laps (150m). Two of the 6 laps were almost complete (about 20/25 meter). Trick is to roll the whole body with shoulders instead of rolling the neck. Also I tried to slow down the frequency of strokes which helped. Only problem with slowing the frequency was that I was running out of air since I have been breathing every 4th stroke instead of every other stroke. Breathing every other stroke breaks by rhythm too much to continue.

Also I had been keeping my eyes tight shut the whole time and effectively swimming blind. This time I tried opening eyes while breathing which helped keep myself at the center of the lane. I am temped to buy swimming goggles. I really dont want to but it will help in the initial phase. So far, I have been happy with my progression. In last three times I have used the pool, I did 3-4-6 laps.
187 Squat Clean 45-55-65-75-85-95-105 18:14@129/163+6

186 5x(Ring Push/Inv Hand descend) 22:08@131.168

2009-12-25T12:52:00.003-05:00

186 5x(Ring Push/Inv Hand descend) 22:08@131.168
The wod involved two brand new motions. Ring push ups and straight body descend fron inverted hang (from PU bar for me). Ring pushups were harder than I thought but somehow, I got better at it as I learned how to control the rings. I had to shamelessly lean against ropes every now and then and some of the pushups were not deep enough but it got better. I improved from 5-5-5 half pushups to 15 continous and deep pushups by the fifth set.

Inverted hang was, of course, whole different ball game. There was no way I could keep my body straight even once on way down. I dont think I even managed to get a proper starting position of inverted hang with straight body. So this motion was just a deeper variation of L-hang. Other challenge was to keep hands straight on way down at elbows which was quite difficult. I had never tried this skill-drill before so I need to practice it some more going forward.

186 5x(Ring Push/Inv Hand descend) 22:08@131.168

Prechristmas workouts

2009-12-22T18:06:00.005-05:00

182 Split Jerk (45-115@incr 10#) 11:14@135/158
Compare with WOD#170 (45-65-85-95-105-115-125) 11:08@106/150
and WOD#82 45#-65#-85#
I did missed PR 125# by 10# but I didnt try hard since I had marginal failure on first attempt at 125#. Something to do with the support bars on squat rack and inability to stoop down enough before pushing back up.

183 800m/30x(BkExt-GHD-HipExt-KneeElbow-BkExt-Sit) 15:46@160/182
Major back exercise which was made hard by the fast 800m@7:30min/mi. But apart from knees to elbow, rest of the wod felt like warmup. However, going to gym at 3pm was fun when it was all deserted.

184 Pull/ElvPush(21-18-15-12-9-6-3 17:11@154/177+4
This was much harder than I thought. The pullups were supposed to be strict but I did kipping anyway, mostly in sets of 5-6. Pushups were easy enough but I tried to do most sets continuously which became progressively harder despite drop in reps.

185 BackSquat 3x(35-55-75-85-105) 17:11@6:32@97/106
Compare with #172 BkSqt 5x5 45-65-95-115-125 9:25@122/148
WOD#125 (machine!) Backsquat 115# 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 4:37@109/134
WOD#79 Back Squat (65#, 85#) 3-3-3-3-3
This wad sucked since there is no squat rack in gym and I had to do backsquat on a machine. I was also very sore from pull/push wod yesterday

182 Split Jerk (45-115@incr 10#) 11:14@135/158
183 800m/30x(BkExt-GHD-HipExt-KneeElbow-BkExt-Sit) 15:46@160/182
184 Pull/ElvPush(21-18-15-12-9-6-3 17:11@154/177+4
185 BackSquat 3x(35-55-75-85-105) 17:11@6:32@97/106

181 Lumberjack 20! 38:15@173/188

2009-12-15T20:35:00.002-05:00

181 Lumberjack 20! 38:15@173/188

First hero workout of the season and it didnt disappoint. I scaled the weights way down just to make it through all the routine. Wod called for set of 20 with 400m run in between. To make things worse all the treadmills were occupied forcing me to get creative and run 8 shape outside field in cool 45 degrees.

Routines in between included DL (120#), 40# DB Swing, 45-55#OHS (poor form and slowest), Burpee, PU (3set), Box Jump, 2x20# DB Sqt Clean. Most are scaled down more than 50% but 400m run makes everything hard. its funny how PU were the easiest of them all, even box jump! All in all, it was a classic wod; the kind which make everything and nothing hurt the next day.

181 Lumberjack 20! 38:15@173/188

180 1K Row + 21-15-9 GHD?BkExt 8:51@171/189

2009-12-14T20:51:00.002-05:00

180 1K Row + 21-15-9 GHD?BkExt 8:51@171/189

1K Row took 4:21min with 700m in 3min and almost 250m in 1min. Rowing is hard as it is but I dont seem to have the hang of it as I kept sliding off the seat. HR stayed high the whole time averaging 177 for the 1K. GHD and BkExt substitutes are tough but are no match for the real deal which I cant do without a GHD machine. The one machine I do need is the one which is not there. I should check my other Gym next week when I join. All in all, not the hardest wod I have done. It always feel good to do a wod with heavy cordio component followed by rest of the wod. It takes simple acts to different level.

180 1K Row + 21-15-9 GHD?BkExt 8:51@171/189

179 5K@9min/mi hudson river park! 28:29@173/191

2009-12-13T15:46:00.002-05:00

179 5K@9min/mi hudson river park! 28:29@173/191
It was raining and freezing cold (45degrees). I ran with old supernova (no socks) for a change. 5K is almost the right amount to run from waste treatment center at 58th street to construction zone at 86th street. Of course the run includes the giant stairs which is when the HR peaked at 191. It felt good but 5K felt long. I have clearly lost habit of running. But its nice to be next to the river side park. When the weather is nice it will be fun to go for run. Of course its quite windy so winters wont be fun.

179 5K@9min/mi hudson river park! 28:29@173/191

One year anniversary of crossfit, new gym, pool

2009-12-12T12:55:00.003-05:00

176 15-12-9x(30# L/R Thruster, PUreg) 16:34@162/184+3

Rx called for one arm PU which is insane so I did regular PUs. It was also one year anniversary of crossfit. total 175 wods i.e. about once every other day. I will target 205 wods for 2010 (to make total 365 in two years.)

This was also my first wod in new Gym. The gym does not have a squat rack but has a full size pool. I did 3 (1.5?) laps which felt great. I started getting spasm following the streneous thrusters so I did push too hard. Also my swimming is quite rustic and I had to break each leg in three segments. Lets see how long it takes to get a hang of it.

177 Front Sqt 3each (45-125 with 10#increment) 15:03@127/160

Compare with WOD#168 FrontSqt 3x(65#85#95#105#115#) 14:02@131/158

WOD#86 45#, 65#, 85#, 95#, 115# 20:10@145/174 and wod#62(?),

WOD#86 115# 20:10@145/174.

I am pleased with the progression. 125# was not a max effort so there is more room to go. Key was to do slow controlled air squats before and hold breath while squatting.

178 3x(800m+21xHPC65#) 20:18@174/196

Runs were at 8:30-7:30-7:30 pace. HPCs at 65# were broken in 7x3 for first two sets and then continuous for last set. HR peaked at 189 for the runs and 196 max was during this last HPC marathon which is aronic. 65# is not that heavy (I had done 95# for Grace with sets of 3 before) but running makes everything hard. 174 avg HR is a quite high for a wod. I should have done all HPCs continuos.

176 15-12-9x(30# L/R Thruster, PUreg) 16:34@162/184+3

177 Front Sqt 3each (45-125 with 10#increment) 15:03@127/160

178 3x(800m+21xHPC65#) 20:18@174/196

Baarefoot group run

2009-11-22T17:24:00.002-05:00

I joined a group of other barefooter in NYC for a quick run today. Two were barefoot and two in five fingers. The time goes fast when running with other runners. Three reservior loops. 7.5mi@11:00

BarefootinNY for 981mi

WOD#175 5x(30GHD/25BkExt 13:15@149/168

2009-11-18T00:12:00.000-05:00

WOD#175 5x(30GHD/25BkExt 13:15@149/168

Compare with

WOD#149 20:12@140/152,

WOD#90 17:04@162/177,

WOD#41 16:33@120/135

No headache (!), no midline destabilization. BkExt in circles in full swing was fun. 2:00/2:34/3:00/2:50/2:51

WOD#175 5x(30GHD/25BkExt 13:15@149/168

Back in the saddle 8mi@10:45

2009-11-15T14:02:00.001-05:00

After the painful absteinence from running for 5months and equally painful 5hour marathon, the "get up and run marathon" experiment is officially over. Now I can get back into the routine of running whenever and however long I want.

I run 8 miles on wet surface today at 10:45min/mi including couple of walking breaks. It was kind of coarse for me as I haven't been in top barefoot conditions but the run was fun. I still have remenants of blister on left heel ironically making it more susceptible to deeper poking. I had two painful encounters. Also i have lost ability to run on gravel road with actual gravel. Ouch. But overall it was a blast.

Barefoot in NY for 974mi

Marathon wod and back to crossfit

2009-11-11T22:55:00.003-05:00

WOD#174 WOD#174 Marathon! 5:08@162/190?

Insane sub for a 4x800m! I did manage to squeeze the marathon out as a wod with no wod specific training:-) However the marathon ate up the week before and after. Marathon was LONG but it is not a stretch to think of it as wod with minor DOMS and blister problems following day. I was back to normal within 4 days like it never happened which is a first for me among 4 marathon. No injury what so ever and if anything, the heel pain I had before the marathon is mostly gone which is weird. Now I know I can sign up for 2010 as well.

WOD#175 (Hang) PwrClean 45-65-75-85-95-105-115

Good form and nice progression to failure. 115# took two attempts but must be a PR. I confused PCs for HPCs but it was still good wods.

WOD#176 Mary! 5x15ElvPush-10Pistol-15PU 20:00@151/167

I did Mary despite covering Cindy before marathon but had to sub handstands with 3xelevated pushups. Pistols were horrible form as I had never tried or practiced them. I dont think I have a comparison before for Mary since I have always defaulted to Cindy which is a fav. Perhaps I should do both somehow going fwd.

WOD#174 WOD#174 Marathon! 5:08@162/190?

WOD#175 (Hang) PwrClean 45-65-75-85-95-105-115
WOD#176 Mary 5x15ElvPush-10Pistol-15PU 20:00@151/167

Marathon race report

2009-11-07T06:59:00.003-05:00

Conventional wisdom says that running marathon is crazy, running without expensive running shoes is foolish and running marathon without marathon training is invitation to injury. I put the convention wisdom to test this year. No shoes, no fancy "carbo loading" diets and no 20mile runs every other weekend. In fact no running to speak of in last 5 months. Just wake up on a cool November morning, take a ride to the startlinw and start running.

I finished in just over 5 hours.... with no injuries. Even the DOMS are gone within three days and I am back to normal like it never happened. I am positive that this had something to do with barefoot running. For better or for worse, barefoot running made me stay fully alert about my form for all of 5 hours. I slowed down a lot when the running surface was coarse (which is very common on ny marathon course) and at every gatorade stop when it got sticky. But I was running steadily for the rest of the time at my target pace and finished strong.

I did get one blister and had it dressed at finishline. It was quite funny when I limped into the medical pit stop. Everyone gathered around me assuming there must be something really wrong with me after running barefoot and they were almost disappointed to see that it was just a minor blister. After I stepping out of there I picked up my bag. I was asked to keep moving and I said that I just need a minute to put my shoes on. The volunteer looked down at my feet and then looked up at and we started laughing. That made my day.

All in all, this was the slowest of the 4 marathons I have run but it is also the one I am most proud of. While I am the first to admit that no training is dumb, its good to know that our feet are designed to take marathon distance on moments notice and dont need shoes.

BF in NY for 966mi

Last minute thoughts

2009-11-01T00:46:00.001-04:00

Few final thoughts before I sign off the the day and go to sleep.

After being very nervous nellie for couple of days, I feel surprisingly calm today. I have decided to take speed out of equation. There is no room for speed when it comes to running marathon barefoot and with no training and good chance of getting bad blisters by mile 20.

I just don't know what I am going to do to minimize chances of DNF due to blisters. If I can make it through the horror show i suffered last year between mile 18 and 22mi, I will be fine. The gameplan is to somehow make to mile18 fresh so I am not tempted to step off the course to my house which is right on the course. If it's bad by mile 18, take a pit stop at home and perhaps put on dressing and/or vibrams so I can get back on the course.

Other interesting observation has been that the carboloading caused headache for me two years in row. This is kindda interesting. I decided to do carboloading anyways just to be safe as I am going to need those gyclogen reserves. Ironically despite no running this year, i have less less body fat this year than any other marathon year! Generally thats a good news but not for marathon. The only long run I had done this season was without carbo loading and I had hit wall at mile 8, which won't even get me out of Brooklyn!

Finally, it was raining today and the roads are wet. Weather prections call for 100%cloud cover and some rain till 7am. The it clears and gets to 60 degrees and partly claudy. Hopefully the roads will be dry without puddles. Wet conditions will ge hard for bluster situation.

At the last minute I found my Armstrong wrist band which fits perfectly for my ankle D-tag holding. Better than my original plan to use pony tail rubber band...

Yawn. Ciao.
BF in NY for 940mi.

Central park ride and marathon finishline

2009-10-31T19:43:00.000-04:00

My first stab at video editing! This is a video I shot on my bike ride through central park. Fall colors have lit the whole park on fire. I even got a brief glimpse of marathon finish which I may (or may not!) be crossing tomorrow....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDpBRI40ZQY

NYTimes article on barefoot running

2009-10-27T23:19:00.002-04:00

I miss the excitement which comes with reading media attention on barefoot running. I have lost track lately but today I found surprisingly supportive articles on nytimes website. Its very cool to see Christopher McDougall on both articles and of course his best selling book. Sometime back I had a blog entry about how good ideas eventually find their way to the right people and then catch on like wild fire. NYtimes and bestselling book are certainly steps in right direction. Despite shifting my focus away from running, I find this quite exciting.

Things are looking up for this weekend's marathon. Rain predictions are gone. It is expected to be sunny and breezy 59 degree day. Cant ask for more if it holds. I have stopped crossfit to let my heel do a speed recovery and I also started eating some heavyduty carbs for change. I hate it but probably for the best.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/the-roving-runner-goes-barefoot/

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/phys-ed-is-running-barefoot-better-for-you/#comments

Marathon weather predictions

2009-10-26T01:26:00.001-04:00

Marathon weather predictions say about 45degree lows and 30% chance of rain. The part about chance of rain is a concern since blisters seem to love cold wet weather. Not to mention the miserable 3hour wait at the start line in such conditions. I guess it could be worse so I should stop complaining.

It really sucks to wait for marathon not knowing if I can finish. I can understand the tortures others go through who have REAL reasons to have same concern. Mine is just stuburn stupidity:-) oh well...

Yawn.
BF in NY for 940mi.

Its official!

2009-10-23T05:02:00.002-04:00

I will be attempting the marathon this year, against my better judgement of course. The theme for this year is to "wake up and run a marathon" i.e. no shoes AND NOT TRAINING. Yep. In last 4 months, I did total 3 runs with total mileage less than a marathon distance. This will be an experiment testing if I can wake up one fine day and run 26.2mi with no usual pampering which precedes the marathon. I know its kindda dumb but it fits the "black box" wod philosophy. I mean if I cant fit marathon into my wods, it will likely to be my last marathon so really, I don't have much of a choice.

Frankly, I expect it to be a train wreck. I am in decent overall shape (thanks to Crossfit) so I am not too concerned if I can run the distance. However, my heel injury is still bothering me a bit and just like last time, the limiting factor is likely to be blisters. There is really no easy way to risk manage the blisters without the training. I will be carrying tapes so perhaps I can tape feet up BEFORE blisters form. I am also hopeful that a slower pace run will somehow will be less prone to blisters.

I plan to stay within 10-11min/mi till half way mark and then see how it feels before slowing down or speeding up. Fortunately I live on upper east side so I can drop out around mile 16-20 if I figure out that finishing will cause some major injury/blister. Other wild card is of course the weather. If its raining then I will have to figure out a better game-plan.

This is exciting and nerve wrecking. Its a familiar feeling similar to my first marathon and first barefoot marathon. While biking to work yesterday through Central Park yesterday, I saw people setting up spectator benches at finishline. I got goose bumps thinking about how cool it will be if I do finish this year. Last three years, DNF wasnt an option and I knew I would finish. I am not sure if I am shooting too high this year round. I just dont see how I can drop out once I make it into the manhattan streets with all the momentum and energy.

BF in NY for 940mi

WOD#173 Cindy! 11.5x(5PU/10PSH/15Sqt) 20:00@166/180

2009-10-20T22:52:00.002-04:00

WOD#173 Cindy! 11.5x(5PU/10PSH/15Sqt) 20:00@166/180

Compare with WOD#103 half Cindy 6rnds+PUs 10min@171/190,WOD#53 Cindy 10 20:00@153/172, WOD#17 Cindy 20min=5

11.5 is up from 10 so a nice PR on my favorite wod. Pullups and squats were easy but Pushup got progressively harder. I kept the depth good but in the very last round, I fell flat on my face...twice. 120Pullups were more than I could handle. Squats were easy but my quads were a bit surprised and sore. Pullups continue to surprise me by being easiest segment of the wod. First two sets were straight PUs due to equipment traffic. The splits in sec were as follows:

53-68-89-85-128-65-128-155-144-112-133-60

WOD#173 Cindy! 11.5x(5PU/10PSH/15Sqt) 20:00@166/180

WOD#172 BkSqt 5x5 45-65-95-115-125 9:25@122/148

2009-10-14T20:44:00.002-04:00

WOD#172 BkSqt 5x5 45-65-95-115-125 9:25@122/148

Compare with WOD#48 at 65#(last at 75#) and WOD#18 @65#

125# is lower than a recent one rep PR of 135# but for 5 reps 125# is good enough. Perhaps the squats could have been a bit deeper in last set but I was having trouble balancing, especially with awkward shoulder positioning for stiff shoulders from the Jerks on Monday. It feels like the technique needs work but really the issue is that the back arch is not deep enough to sustain good bksqt at low point. I am pretty sure this depth has improved a lot from last wods though there is some more room to improve lower back flexibility.

WOD#172 BkSqt 5x5 45-65-95-115-125 9:25@122/148

PushJerk 125# and PowerGrace@95#

2009-10-12T20:39:00.003-04:00

WOD#170 Push Jerk 1x7 (45-65-85-95-105-115-125) 11:08@106/150
Compare with WOD#82 Split Jerk 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 45#, 65#/85#. Okay 125# is a huge PR. It felt easy enough and I could have pushed more but not a whole lot more. The best part was feeling the bar quite literally fly through sticky point in a PP. I caught the splits at good heights so I didn't have to split a whole lot.

WOD#171 Grace 30 x Clean&Jerk@95# 15:15@162/182
First time Grace but this was a total flop. I misunderstood the wod and did HPC instead of full cleans from floor. I tried first couple of reps properly and rationalized to myself that there is no way this wod specs 135#x30 Cleans from floor! So I escaped the real wrath of Grace. The HPC version was bad enough. By the time I reached #10, I was thinking of quitting at 15 despite scaled down 95# weight. But then I surprised myself by moving from a 2per subset to 3 per subset after #18. It was fun. This is one of those wods which get HR pumping at anaerobic levels and the only thing you can think about is how NOT to put head under this weight. Interestingly 95@ Clean&Jerk is also my PR weight so 30 compromised reps is not that bad. Great full body wod. It felt good after the wod when nothing was hurting bad but everything in the body was aching. Poor technique caused some pains in wrists but nothing major. Also catching weight on bare shoulder caused some bruising on neck but no skin damage. About half an hour later my fingers were shaking involuntarily at computer keyboard which felt funny. But again nothing serious. Looking forward to doing this wod properly next time.

WOD#170 Push Jerk 1x7 (45-65-85-95-105-115-125) 11:08@106/150

WOD#171 Grace 30 x Clean&Jerk@95# 15:15@162/182

PU Mania! and FrontSqt

2009-09-29T20:21:00.003-04:00

WOD#168 FrontSqt 3x(65#85#95#105#115#) 14:02@131/158

Compare with WOD#86 45#, 65#, 85#, 95#, 115# 20:10@145/174 and wod#62(?) The max is same as wod#86 but upto105#, the FrontSqt preceeded with DL and PowerClean. I had to jump on to sqtrack for the 115#. 115# was not a PR effort. Perhaps next time... WOD#168 FrontSqt 3x(65#85#95#105#115#) 14:02@131/158

WOD#169 PU Mania! 10x(3@17.5#-5-7) 49:16@137/171

Comare with WOD#133 20-20-20-20-20-15-15-10-10-10#x3-5-7 54:55@134/167,

WOD#85 PU Mania 10x(1@20#, 3 strict, 5 kipping) 25:52@136/157 and wod#30

I think wod#133 was the culprit for my ring finger injury which followed the couple of days of fasting mania. I had much better control over the wod today than last time. (Granted the weight was 17.5# as opposed to 20# for first few rounds but at least I didnt dropped weights and on average 17.5 is still higher than 16.) PU Mania is one wod which I absolutely hate. Its bad enough to do 150PU but weighted and straight PUs jam up the hands quickly. The form deteriorated rapidly. But at least blisters were not as much issue...just one this time on ring finger due to taping.

Total sets 60 (weighted: 25, Straight: 22, Kipping: 13).

1:12-3:05-3:49-4:04-5:28-6:16-7:21-6:09-5:16-6:33

WOD#168 FrontSqt 3x(65#85#95#105#115#) 14:02@131/158

WOD#169 PU Mania! 10x(3@17.5#-5-7) 49:16@137/171

Second barefoot run of the season

2009-09-27T19:46:00.001-04:00

With the marathon little over a month from now, I just started running. I ran 6mi today. With 6mi run last weekend, total net milage thus year stands at just 12mi! Not entirely sure how I am going to pull this off with just two weeks left before tapering phase.

Today's run was at the pace of 9:42min/mi while last weeks' run was at 11min/mi pace. I was hurting a bit after last weeks run despite slow pace. It must have been lack of running since June 21st... 3months. It felt much better today despite faster pace but we will have to wait and see tomorrow. I am thinking of keeping it to 6mi runs for now.

BF in NY for 921mi

WOD#167 "Hansen" repeat 44:38@152/182

2009-09-25T21:12:00.002-04:00

Compare with WOD#107 Hansen 6 x (15 35#KBswing/Situp/Burpee) 23:10@163/174

This was a repeat of the wod I had done at the box but this time I did the Rx (almost) version. KBs were at 30#. Little light but its good to see some KB in the gym. Hansen is a hero wod and it did not disappoint. 5 rounds of 30KBswings, 30burpees and 30 GHD Situp. Thats 150 each. Half way through the first round, it seemed impossible to do 4 more rounds of this and I thought I will only do 3 rounds. The Burpees were added to the insult after the tabata pushups couple of days back. Burpees were in set of 5 each but then I finished with 10each in last couple of rounds.

5:52@155/182

8:35@155/168

10:53@157/180

10:57@149/172

8:17@148/182

WOD#167 "Hansen" repeat 44:38@152/182

WOD#166 Tabata Something Else! 16:00@163/182

2009-09-24T06:24:00.003-04:00

44PUL/62PSH/78SIT/100SQT...Compare with WOD#1, 8PUL/24PSH/40SIT/80SQT. Yes the very first wod. And an absolute classic. Exact breakdown for the tabatas were as follows:

PU 7-7-5-5-5-5-5-5

Push 12-12-10-8-5-5-5-5

Sit 12-10-10-10-10-10-8-8

Sqt 12-12-12-12-13-13-13-13

Pullups were low in count but the push ups turned out to be the challenge. Rapid deterioration in sets indicates that. At one point I even fell flat on face once which was quite funny. I was hurting by the time the squat intervals started. I wish I had pushed a bit harder in the squats. Ascending count is great but just shows that I was holding back in first few rounds. The HR did peak during the squat sessions. The peak was not too high at 182 but it felt quite hard to breath during the squats. But all in all, this was a fun wod. Its hard not to like a wod names "tabata something else"

WOD#166 Tabata Something Else! 16:00@163/182

SP PR 95# and Solid clean95#x45 and dips

2009-09-21T20:30:00.003-04:00

WOD#164 SP 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 max 85# PR! 16:49@122/144 This was a nice PR up from 75# and this was one PR I really needed. For some reason, I thought my PR was 85# so somehow hitting 85# didnt seem too hard this time. But now I remember the miserable attempts I had made before to hit 85#. It feels good to conqure the unspeakable sticky point in a press. 45-55-60-65-70-75-85

WOD#165 Elizabeth 21-15-9 95#Clean/Dips 27:34@155/186

Compare with WOD#43 45#/jumping dips 6:32@166/188. The cleans were hard. I did 21-15-9 in sets of 3 and had one missed attempt which is always an indication of pushing the limits. I think my form deteriorated over time as I was not keeping my back arched on way up. I thought this was an easy wod but now I know I will be hurting tomorrow. Original Rx weight was 135# but 95# has been my PR in April wod#98. So its amazing that I managed to stick to 95# through the whole routine for 45 reps. Dips were easy was well since had PRed 21 continuous dips last time. So this time, I did the 21-15-9 each continous. Once you know you can do it rest seems to be all mental. I think this new routine of sparse but more intense wod is working well. Ring finger has stopped bothering me so I can now do pullups and bar lift which is great. Ironically, the heel injury seem to be improving after I attempted a 6mi run over the weekend. Its counter intuitive but the run caused the heel to start hurting but immediate and proper icing after the run overcompensated it seems. The trick, I think, was to tape up the ankle loosely and keep proper form for the whole run without any slacking and more importantly, keeping rediculously slow pace (about 11min/mi) so the run ends up being a gentle massage. Intense runs or no runs didnt work in past so I am bit surprised that this works!

WOD#164 SP 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 max 85# PR! 16:49@122/144

WOD#165 Elizabeth 21-15-9 95#Clean/Dips 27:34@155/186

WOD#163 5 x (65# SDLHP 21/Dips21) 27:03@157/178

2009-09-15T21:35:00.002-04:00

WOD#163 5 x (65# SDLHP 21/Dips 21) 27:03@157/178 2:49-4:48-6:14-8:00-5:11

Finished the wod with continuously 21 dips! A major PR. Trick was to hang on at top till the lactic acid built up flushes out and continue. The wod was scaled down from 95#/ring-dips. The wod was quite difficult. I mean 105 dips and 105 5feet lifts quite a workout. When I finished my first round, I couldnt imagine doing 4 more rounds. Next three rounds got much slower before the pick up by the 5th round, including the dips PR. SDLHP were interesting since I did them using the mini-curl bar. It was quite awkward but I had to make do with it. The trick with SDLHP is to keep back arched and keep bar as close to body on pull as possible. Just like snatch yesterday, SDLHP also push HR up in no time.

WOD#163 5 x (65# SDLHP 21/Dips 21) 27:03@157/178

DL PR equal 225# and 65#squat snatch

2009-09-14T22:30:00.002-04:00

WOD#161 DeadLift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 225#max 18:02@126/148

135-155-175-185-195-205-225(equal PR) I was surprised how easy it was to hit the PR. I didnt intend to given the injured index finger but I just couldnt resist. I experimented with icing the finger after every attempt to minimize the damage, if any. It worked I guess. Quick and feel good wod.

WOD#162 21-15-9 65#Snatch/PU 16:41@161/185

Original wod called for squat snatch which is pretty much as technical and complicated as it gets in lifting. I decided to simply to half squat snatch at feather weight of 65#. This was still quite tricky and I broke each set in 3 subsets. I pushed for speed in the 15-9 portion and was amazed that HR hit 185 so easily. The PUs in between were supposed to be chest to bar which was hard. The ring finger still is the limiting factor so I didint push too hard. But in general, I can see how this wod can be very challenging if attempted continously.

WOD#161 DeadLift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 225#max 18:02@126/148

WOD#162 21-15-9 65#Snatch/PU 16:41@161/185

WOD#160 Michael 3 x (800m@8min/mi, 50 GHD, 50BkExt) 31:08@170/200

2009-09-08T21:14:00.000-04:00

WOD#160 Michael 3 x (800m@8min/mi, 50 GHD, 50BkExt) 31:08@170/200 Compare with WOD#112 24:17@162/185 and wod#22@30:09. Its good to be back into wod routine after the long break due to internal injuries to ring finger and heel. Its hard to do any workout with broken front AND back limbs! Anyway, max HR of 200 is quite hard to believe at a 8min/mi pace run. I have lost a lot of fitness over the month long break. 31:08min time is pretty bad compared to last two times thought today I did GHD subs instead of plain situps. Surprisingly the HR was a bottleneck. I would have thought after the burpee challenge, HR would be least of the issues. I reinvented backextentions by doing the circular back/hip combo really fast. The speed was awesome but the centrifugal rush to head caused a major headache for me by the end. I had to lie down for a while for it to subside. (it would be fine while lying down but would hurt with even slight elevation of head.

WOD#160 Michael 3 x (800m@8min/mi, 50 GHD, 50BkExt) 31:08@170/200

NY TImes article on barefoot running

2009-08-31T22:59:00.002-04:00

Beauty of the "correct hypothesis" is that every alternative to the correct hypothesis will always get discredited over time and eventually the correct hypothesis prevails. Now if barefoot running is in fact the correct hypothesis, all we need is some publicity, however skeptical, to have people try it out. If it doesnt work, oh well. But if it does, we have more "converts".

So here is a New York Times article about barefoot running. Its good to see change of sentiment. I hope more people try barefoot running.

And here is the skeptic view :-)

Two more months to go for marathon. I still have not started training yet. Its tempting to test out crossfit theory and run marathon without marathon training. But this year may not be the right year for it. Still keeping this option open for the time being.

WOD#159 filthy fifty 43:15@158/182

2009-08-18T22:00:00.001-04:00

Compare with wod#15 47:32@154/180 only scale downs were 30# KB swings, wallball no throw and 16 inch box jumps. Double understand were subed with about 180 single jump ropes. 43minutes is a VERY long time for such a metcon wod. I was ready to pass out BEFORE I reached burpee stage and 50 burpees were of course surreal. These 50 will count for my 45 due today. They just have to. My ring finger still bothers me for pull ups and knees to elbow. Push press was the high point. It felt so good to connect pushpresses together for 15-15-10-10.

I was breathing very hard during he workout. Wall balls, burpees and knees to elbow were especially bad. The hr didn't show it but i was in absolute hell halfway through the wod. Excellent thinking on my part to do this wod after my very long break.

WOD#159 filthy fifty 43:15@158/182

WOD#158 Backsquat 3-3-3-3-3 105# 7:55@125/148

2009-08-13T22:25:00.002-04:00

Backsquat 75-85-95-95-105x3. Relatively light weight but the bar kept rolling on the back a bit I decided not to push my luck. The bar kept rolling as a made adjustments to my form on the fly as I realized that technically, I can bend forward a bit as long as I keep firm lumbar curve. On burpee front, the 100pushup in Tuesday wod took its toll and I was hurting a bit before the burpees but I did the 40 burpees in sub-4min.

First Handstand and inverted Burpees! and Angie

2009-08-11T22:25:00.001-04:00

WOD#156 Inverted Burpees 37 33:43@137/155 I conviniently used the inverted burpees as a sub for burpee challenge. Technically, it is harder so its not a bad sub. I had NEVER done a handstand (not to be confused with headstand) by myself ever in my life. In fact, I think, I have done handstand with someone's help exactly twice before, including once few minutes before this wod. The one I did with assistance of my buddy was absolutely TERRIFYING. It is so strange to be upside down with blood rushing to the head and all of body weight balanced on delicate shoulders and wrists. I stayed on handstand for fraction of a second before violently reverting back. Then and there I knew this wod will be a lot of fun. Learning the skill on the fly made this wod unique. Its like trying to learn swimming. I always had this theory that learning swim with floating device messes up the learning process and makes it harder. Same with bike with support wheels. Easy to say for someone who has already leart swimming and biking. Right? So here, I had a situation to test the theory with basically my neck on the line...quite literally. After spending solid 15minutes nervously devicing a gameplan, I started attempting my first inverted burpee/handstand. I spent a lot of time jumping up on hands but could not reach the balance state, partly because I would delibrately break the core regidity halfway and drop down. It was obvious, there is no magic solution to this but practice. So I decided to count an attempt a full inverted burpee if I touch the wall with each of my foot once. After about 10-15 of such scary attempts, I gathered enough courage to "go for it". When I did get a proper handstand, it was perfect, like all jigsaw parts falling in place simultaneously. I didnt necessarily get every inverted burpee after that with full headstand but I must have done 10-15 out of 37 with full headstand. In particular, the last 37th handstand was picture perfect. In fact, I decided to hold the handstand position for about 15sec which was very rewarding end to one of the most frustrating wods so far. Yey! Now I can do handstand now by myself against a wall.

WOD#157 Angie-90PU 15:36@156/180 Compare with WOD#20 Angie 50 pullups, 100 pushups/situps/squats 54:34min HR (131/158). My favorite Angie had to compromise today and skip on PUs due to my injured ring finger. I snuck in 10 continuous PUs in the end but the finger was screaming by the end I knew thats the end of PUs for the day and also for near future. I did do the 100 Pushups, situps and Squats but I "borrowed" 38 pushups and squats from Angie for the Burpee challenge and started the wod with heart pumping 38burpees@3:04min with peak HR at 178. I am sure this did NOT make the wod any easier. Pushups were getting very hard to come by the last 2-3 subsets of 10s (38-12-10-10-10-10-10). I read my comment from last angie attempt that 100 pushups in one go is insane and smiled. It was harder than I thought but I guess the daily burpees have given me no time for Pushup specific recovery. Situps were fun in the set of 40-20-20-20. Squats were also easy with 38-12-10-10-30 I rediscovered the dark power of "counting" to round numbers and how the 97th, 98th, 99th and 100th rep were SO hard. Makes no sense because its all in the head!

WOD#156 Inverted Burpees 37 33:43@137/155

WOD#157 Angie-90PU 15:36@156/180

WOD#155 Danny Box/PP45#/PU 2.67 rounds 20:00@166/182

2009-08-06T23:07:00.001-04:00

WOD#155 Danny Box/PP45#/PU 2.67 rounds 20:00@166/182 Boxjump was easy. PP was surprisingly difficult despite light 45# weight. I dont remember doing strength rep like PP in rapid manner. Each set was broken into sub set of 5 but I tried to keep the bar overhead for the rest. PP for third round was at 55# but I did 17/20. PUs were easy with set of 5 but the ring finger is still bothering me. Besides wod, I am still ramping up burpees, now at 33. I also did 1 min max situps and managed to squeeze 43. 50 sounds like a difficult but possible goal.

WOD#155 Danny Box/PP45#/PU 2.67 rounds 20:00@166/182

WOD#154 Hang Power Clean and Jerk 65# (injured) 1:36@147/161

2009-08-05T07:16:00.000-04:00

WOD#154 Hang Power Clean and Jerk 65# (injured) 1:36@147/161 The WOD was dwarfed by the burpee challenge since I had to make up for the previous day. I did two sets of 30 and 31 burpees taking the wind out of me. The reason for the baby weights for the HPCJerk is a PU related injury. The long finger bone in ring finger hurt in a grip position and inward stress (but not outward stress). So PUs or picking up bar and putting it overhead is probably not the smarted thing to do. Injury is minor and should be fine in couple of days as long as I can resist temptation to stress the injured area. WOD#154 Hang Power Clean and Jerk 65# (injured) 1:36@147/161

WOD#153 10x(10PU/10Dips) 31:00@148/170

2009-07-29T00:42:00.001-04:00

WOD#153 10x(10PU/10Dips) 31:00@148/170 No Rings:( PUs (kipping of course) continue to surprise me by being the EASIER of part of the WOD. No blister issue this time though left ring finger is acting up a bit. I miscalculated my PU potential by doing them in sets of 5 and realize in the last round that I could in fact hang in there (just barely) for the whole set of 10. Something to remember for next time. The WOD time was slow with about 3min per superset but this was partly due to crowded gym. Dips were surprisingly difficult. I just cannot seem to go deep enough in the dips. It feels somewhat unnatural position for the shoulders and puts exponentially higher stress on shoulder as I start reaching some depth. So its less of a strength issue and more of a Range of motion issue. Perhaps thats why coach prescribed ring dips instead of parallel bar dips. Its virtually impossible to stress shoulder as I would shoot the rings outwards long before that. Burpee challenge has suddenly become a nightmare since I breached a minute. My time deteriorated from 1min for 21/22 burpees to 23@1:17min and 24@1:33min. I finally started taking breaks. Ouch.

WOD#153 10x(10PU/10Dips) 31:00@148/170

WOD#152 Karen 9:39@171/185, Rope PU/ HSqtC65#

2009-07-25T21:03:00.001-04:00

WOD#152 Karen 150 no throw wallballs 9:39@171/185 Compare with WOD#83 #15 7:27@173/184! 9:39 is no comparison to 7:37. Only excuse I can think of is the 20burpees in warmup and full depth in squats (as opposed to bench depth in previous attempt). The workout was not easy though. I did 10 sets of 15 with about 30sec break each and was wobbling by the last round gasping for air. It was fun to do the wod on (plastic) lawn though. The only downside of being in delicate glass tower is that there is no place I could throw the ball at and had to scale down the workout to no throw and lost the accuracy aspect of the workout.

WOD#151 3 x (9xHSqtC 65#, 15 Rope PU) 21:15@142/173 Rx called for 5 rounds but 4th round started with HSqtC failure and I stopped. Rx also called for 3 legless 15ft rope climb which I subed with 3x5=15 strict rope PU. Rope PUs were in set of 5 till last three sets. Never done legless rope climb but thats gotta be harder than strict pullup. As I had found last week in Badger, HSqtC is a heart pumping exercise. The 19 burpees in the warmup did not help. Once again, near perfect form at the cost of low weights and less reps foe HsqtC and full extension on pullups, which were quite costly. WOD felt good ecept or missing 2 rounds..

WOD#152 Karen 150 no throw wallballs 9:39@171/185

WOD#151 3 x (9xHSqtC 65#, 15 Rope PU) 21:15@142/173

WOD#150 1x7 Thrusters 95# 15:37@135/153

2009-07-22T22:01:00.001-04:00

WOD#150 1x7 Thrusters 95# 15:37@135/153 Compare with WOD#115 45/60/85/95# 19:03@119/152, WOD#42 45# Full depth and near perfect form. 95# was pretty difficult but I didnt attempt higher weights, partly due to stiff legs from the race. Thrusters with heavier weights need a strong drive on the way up and I was running out of steam by the time I stood up. Timing and strong drive is everything.

WOD#150 1x7 Thrusters 95# 15:37@135/153

WOD#149 5 x (30 GHD/25 BkExt) 20:12@140/152

2009-07-20T20:30:00.002-04:00

WOD#149 5 x (30 GHD/25 BkExt) 20:12@140/152 Compare with WOD#90 17:04@162/177, WOD#41 16:33@120/135 I dont have a GHD machine at Gym so had to improvise. Just like last time, I used the Leg machine with 45 degree inclination. I am not sure if this is harder or easier since at "bottom" of the sit up, you are horizontal with max torque but the middle of the sit up is easier. Also lack of leg jam probably doesnt make it easier. But its functional so works. Back extension had the same issue but I did them at 45degrees which is clearly easier. But I tried to do them fast. Also I went down using hip extension motion and back extension on way back which just felt more natural movement. So I was essenstially making circles with head in the air. All this fast swinging started causing a problem which I dont think I have encountered before. Blood started rushing to head getting my eyes red and more importantly started giving me headache. I didnt think much of it during the workout as I thought it was dehydration and drank Gatorade. But now I know that I need to do some headstands to get used to this.

WOD#149 5 x (30 GHD/25 BkExt) 20:12@140/152

WOD#148 30 Baby Muscleups 17:05@129/144

2009-07-19T22:38:00.000-04:00

WOD#148 30 Baby Muscleups 17:05@129/144 Compare with WOD#117 30 Baby MuscleUps 18:07@113/136, WOD#47 60 PU/jumpDIP 22:15@132/158 Muscleups still need a lot of work but they definitely felt better than those on 5/31. The height of the rings was still shoulder level but I made sincere effort to pull myself up as much as I can and also lowered myself for some portion without support. Couple of times, muscles just gave up which was demoralizing. But overall, I feel good about it given progress from last time that this is something I can do with some work. I I think the active warm up I started doing daily might be a factor. I also improvised and used some flour as chalk which was just perfect, especially given the 83degree heat. If only I can figure out a way to sneak some of it to the pull up bar at my gym without anyone noticing or complaining:) The muscle ups put finishline to a heavy three days of wods. My legs are still sore from 4mi race yesterday. It was good that muscleups is purely upper body workout.

WOD#148 30 Baby Muscleups 17:05@129/144

WOD#147 4mi@7:54 in 86deg 32:22@181/200

2009-07-18T21:54:00.001-04:00

4mi@7:54 in 86deg 32:22@181/200 Barefoot at pace of 7:54min/mi which is not PR but not too shabby. I didnt push too hard but did pick up speed in last mile (7min) including finishline sprint at sub 6min/mi just like last time. I havent been running lately since I shifted to rowing but it felt good. I have slight heel pain on right leg but no DOMS or stiff muscles. During the sprint in the end, I had my knees bent the whole time and was utilizing thighs actively which felt weird. Also I my thighs were bit sore from 90 65# squat cleans yesterday but I guess it didnt matter. If I keep up with squats and rowing, I should be able to improve my sprinting speed.

WOD#147 4mi@7:54 in 86deg 32:22@181/200

WOD#146 "Badger" 3 x (30Sqtclean65#, 30PU, 800mRow) 77:29@144/178

2009-07-18T00:48:00.001-04:00

WOD#146 "Badger" 3 x (30Sqtclean65#, 30PU, 800mRow) 77:29@144/178 A "Hero" workout. Its been a while. I almost gave up after first round and might have if it wasnt a hero workout. Over 77minutes of heavy duty shoulder and legs torture. Incredibly, the EASIEST part of the workout were the pull ups (go figure). I think the PU mania few weeks back really did its magic and I was scoring 10 kipping PUs at the beginning of set. There was a subtle change in form wherein I started actively pushing the bar away in mid air which was hard but somehow made it easy to connect two pushups. Also grip and blister situation has improved though still a limiting factor. The squat cleans were the hardest. They were not too bad initially but the volume and heart pumping started to take toll after first round. It was just amazing how much inertia I felt against doing the squat cleans. It was the part of pulling up from bottom of the squat which was repulsive. I did however do all squat cleans with perfect depth and feel very good about that. I dreaded rowing as well but at least I am getting my form and speed improved and was pushing through the exertion. I did the 800m in about 3:33min each including a 1min max effort at 250m. It was a very long and hard workout (second longest after the devilish Eva last week) but I think I will recover by tomorrow.

20 20 10 10 10 10 10 0 10 0

WOD#146 "Badger" 3 x (30Sqtclean65#, 30PU, 800mRow) 77:29@144/178

WOD#145 75# 5x1SP/3PP/5PJ 40:39@125/154

2009-07-15T22:40:00.001-04:00

WOD#145 75# 5x1SP/3PP/5PJ 40:39@125/154 Compare with WOD#96 (65#) and WOD#52 at 65#. 45#/65#/75# sets. 45/65# were easy and I didnt finish all rounds and went on to 75#. 75# was just about right weight for this wod as I had SP failure at 80#. By end of wod, my wrists were hurting bad. But apart from that, it was an easy workout. A rest day tomorrow...finally. Today was also day#2 for burpee challenge which I did right after wod which made is fun, especially the push up part. 11 burpees took me 50sec compared to 34sec yesterday with avg/Max HR about 12bpm higher.

WOD#145 75# 5x1SP/3PP/5PJ 40:39@125/154

Eva! 89:49@150/183 and row/squats 17:06@167/184

2009-07-15T07:26:00.002-04:00

WOD#143 Eva! Row/35#KB 150PU 89:49@150/183 Rx except 35#KB/rowing. Compare with WOD#19 58:52@153/184 (with 25#KB/5x20PU) BY FAR THE LONGEST wod by more than half an hour. If Barbara is EVIL, Eva is the Devil. I was just about ready to cry by the time I finished. I subed running with Rowing and used 35#KB instead of 72#Rx. I did not scale down pullups which were very hard. I was loosing grip by the time I reached 150 PUs. I in fact lost a grip in second last set which was scary. Every one of the 30 PUs were broken in 5sub sets. Splits were as follows 13:37/16:59/18:58/22:16/17:56. I peaked at 800m rowing at 3:30 in third set which was exciting. I also broke KBs in 2 sets except last one which was continuous. The real limiting factor was the grip for pullups. I could not stay on the bar for all 6PUs per subset by last few reps. I just about to start getting blisters but in general whole fingers were getting powerless with the workouts. 10 20 10 0 20 10 10 10 10 0

WOD#144 4 x (400m row + 50 squats) 17:06@167/184

Compare with WOD#110 3 x (400m@6min/mi + 15 squats) 10:17@188/199

Subed rowing for running. Rowing is harder than running since I am better conditioned for running but I think the HR stays low despite all out effort in rowing since its done while sitting down. The squats were surprisingly tough. I was just gasping for air the whole time. I also was wobbling on some of the squats which felt really strange given no weights. But all squats had full depth and in fact I was pressing down on calf at the bottom which was fun. Splits: 3:57, 4:31, 5:02, 3:35. 1600m rowing interval in total 6:50ish

40 20 0 10 10 20 0 0 0 0

WOD#143 Eva! Row/35#KB 150PU 89:49@150/183

WOD#144 4 x (400m row + 50 squats) 17:06@167/184

75x65#snatches and 84x95# Front squats

2009-07-13T01:20:00.003-04:00

WOD#141 Randy 75x65# Snatch 14sets 35:19@136/172

65# 5x13 +10 to finish. The squat rack at gym was not available so I had to do this in open which is bit dangerous. I began with 75# as Rxed but quickly realized that I was having trouble doing 1 rep, never mind 75 reps. Since part of the wod was the stamina aspect, I scaled down to 65# which was just about perfect (bit on heavier side). Most of the snatches ended with shoulder presses which is less than ideal. I have never done power snatch before, I think, so I had to learn proper technique on the fly. Late in the wod, I realized that the trick is not to lift the bar from ground but push knees back (as Coach Burgener says). This somehow makes the whole motion more natural. I still had trouble keeping bar close to body. There is something inherently scary about taking weight on top of head while exausted. Overall a great well rounded workout. 0 20 10 10 30 20 0 10 0 0

WOD#142 95#FrontSquat/GHD 21/18../6/3 20:23@150/172

I scaled front squats all the way down from 185# to 95# as I still have trouble with proper form/flexibility with front squat and I did not want to do front squats with bad form. I managed to get full depth on all squats though I had to break each set into 3 subsets. I figured out a great technique to do GHD at my globo gym by using back support on one of the machines. Those were reasonable good subs. I was surprised at how quickly HR raises to 165+ range while doing multiple reps of front squats. I didnt realize it at the time but my thighs were burning for three full days after this workout. It was pretty bad but no injury per se. I do however remember the few scary moments where on the bottom most part of the squats, it would feel like the legs would give up on me and start shivering. Pretty hardcore. I cannot believe the Rxed weight is 185#. 10 20 20 20 10 10 0 0 10 0

WOD#141 Randy 75x65# Snatch 14sets 35:19@136/172

WOD#142 95#FrontSquat/GHD 21/18../6/3 20:23@150/172

WOD#140 2 x mirror x (30#LeftPP + 45#RightDL + 800mROW) 26:51@167/187

2009-07-06T20:30:00.001-04:00

Splits: 6:03, 6:29, 6:43, 7:30, 3210mROW in 15min (max resistance!), weights too light.

Original WOD Rxed barbell with 65#PP and 135#DL which includes a huge balance element but it just wasnt practical to do in my globo gym. Not to mention, 45# one handed Pushpress would probably be impossible for me even as one rep max, nevermind 12 reps after intense cardio. The workout was designed to get heart pumping and then see if brain can function the complex movements involving single hand and moving weight above head. I scaled down weights quite a but to 30#PP/45#DL DB and I could have gone a bit heavier but I think I would have missed out on the cardio/weight combo element of the workout. The workout wasnt a killer but i had no real excuse not slowdown between rowing intervals for weights. PP was still hard. DL was easy but somehow, my form wasnt right and I was getting funny sharp pains.

20 0 10 0 10 20 20 10 10 0

WOD#140 2 x mirror x (30#LeftPP + 45#RightDL + 800mROW) 26:51@167/187

225#DL, nicole etc

2009-07-02T20:51:00.005-04:00

WOD#136 50/35/20 15#Wallball/Pullups 30:46@138/167

This was surprisingly painful. Wallball seem to be my weakness as I just cant get over the feeling of stopping and dropping the ball sometime after 15-20 wallballs. I didnt even do the throws. Pullups were fine. I continue to struggle with maintaining rythem while doing the kipping pullups, especially when I am tired. I realize that I need to keep core firm but I loose it all and kip all over place loosing all the momemtum. This wod should not have taken 30minutes. Very slow.

WOD#137 3x(5HSPU/10Bench/15PushP50#DB/20Dips) 20:00@133/158

I sub HSPU for very high level table. I also replaced benchpress with elevated pushups. Pushpress was done with 25#DB each (which was surprisingly difficult). The DBs always surprise me. I was initially unhappy that I didnt have barbell available and my only option was 25# DBs. But I was shocked to learn how hard it was to do push press with DBs. I just couldnt hold the DBs on top position. In general, the work out turned out to be harder than I imagined. Perhaps it was due to 105pull ups and wall balls yesterday. With post race tenderness in heels, I am doing mostly upper body workouts and its getting to me. Dips were quite hard as well.

I did change something today. First I did a thorough warmup routine which was fun. It takes about 10minutes. Otherthing is my attempt at get a feel for which of the 10 crossfit skills are used in a wod. The skills are as follows: CardioResp/Stamina/Strength/Flexibility/Power/Speed/Coordination/Agility/Balance/Accuracy

10 30 30 0 20 0 0 10 0 0

WOD#138 Crossfit TOTAL! DL 225#PR, SP75#, BkSqt135#(rack) 48:53@115/151

Compare with WOD#116 Crossfit Total (SP/BkSqt/DL 85/95/215#) 43:51@109/134 and

WOD#99 Crossfit TOTAL! DL 205# (PR), BkSquat 85#, SP 75# (PR)

DeadLift 225# was sweet PR. I slowly progressed doing 5reps upto 205# and then 3 reps at 215#. 225# was difficult but not impossible. SP was disppointing but I was lifting the bar from floor making it more awkward. I maxed at 60# in DBs and 75# for barbell. I even did half pushpress at 95#. Backsquat was guided at 135#.

CardioResp/Stamina/Strength/Flexibility/Power/Speed/Coordination/Agility/Balance/Accuracy

0 10 50 0 10 10 10 0 10 0

WOD#139 Nicole! 6 rounds@5PUs and 400mRow 20:00@165/186

Compare with WOD#50 Nicole 6 rounds 400m+5strict cont PU 20:00@163/179 (Hmm)

First three sets of PUs were strict and were UGLY. I know Nicole had kipping pullups in mind for this workout as this is a cardio workout. my splits improved with time as I badly need to get 6 rounds in (3:19/3:42/3:30/2:57/3:44/2:44). Especially last 5minutes were very intense and gave me taste of what doing Nicole really all about. Average HR was about 180 and peaked at 186 which is quite high for no weight/running workout.

CardioResp/Stamina/Strength/Flexibility/Power/Speed/Coordination/Agility/Balance/Accuracy

40 20 0 0 10 20 10 0 0 0

WOD#136 50/35/20 15#Wallball/Pullups 30:46@138/167

WOD#137 3x(5HSPU/10Bench/15PushP50#DB/20Dips) 20:00@133/158

WOD#138 Crossfit TOTAL! DL 225#PR, SP75#, BkSqt135#(rack) 48:53@115/151

WOD#139 Nicole! 6 rounds@5PUs and 400mRow 20:00@165/186

High heels and anatomy

2009-06-28T17:51:00.002-04:00

High heel vs barefoot pose

WOD#135 5mi BFRace 42:48@173/197

2009-06-27T12:49:00.003-04:00

The race pace was not blazing fast (?) as last week but was very similar to my old PR pace of 8:30min/mi. However, that is not the complete story. Since I was limping whole week after hurting myself a bit in last week's race (nothing major), I decided to make this race just a training run. So I took 9:22min for first mile and was taking it easy in general. For some reason, I just didnt feel springy enough to run hard and legs felt sluggish and like concrete. It was also a bit hot and sunny so I am sure that didnt help.

This went on till 4.25mi. While I was not motivated at all, I was in general at same state as start of the race and no blisters or exersion to speak of. At that point, a young racer passed me fast...really fast. It was like switching of a gear in my head and I just took off. He eventually noticed that I was trailing him and said lets race to the finish line and we just kept increasing pace. I mean I was REALLY flying when I crossed the finish line. My garmin registered last 0.25mi in 5:53min which is basically my mile PR pace. the instantaneous speed at finish line was recorded closer to 5min/mi shooing HR all the way to 197bpm. The pace kept getting faster and HR kept growing from 9min/mi and 173bpm in last 0.75mi. It didnt hurt to have a downhill finish compare to typical uphill finish. It felt so good. Not too dissimilar to yesterday's wod when I struggled to get last 6th round of SDLHP in in last few seconds of 20min work out.

WOD#135 5mi BFRace 42:48@173/197

BF in NY For 909mi

PUMania, 20min Thruster/HPC/SDLHP

2009-06-26T22:10:00.004-04:00

One rainy day at NYC: After I got back on bicycle commute (after a wod of course).

WOD#132 Front Squat 7x1 85# not 100% 14:04@125/142

Compare with WOD#86 115# 20:10@145/174

I stayed light at 45#, 65#, 85#. The reason was that I was two days into my experiment of water only diet and was recording low blood sugar of 82. Interestingly enough, the wod improved the blood sugar to 88. But in any case, it was a bit unusual to do crossfit wod not being 100% and it was probably best I didnt go for intensity.

WOD#133 Pullup Mania 10 x (3 weighted/5 strict/7kipping) 54:55@134/167

Compare with WOD#85 PU Mania 10x(1@20#, 3 strict, 5 kipping) 25:52@136/157

This was by far the heaviest pullup wod I have done. I might have done 100+ PU in various wods but PUmania includes 30 weighted PU and 50 strict PUs. I mean, I was done by round 5. Round 8 was the strictest and took over 8minutes. After round 8, I knew I had to finish and it got faster. The only other time I had similar experience was Barbara (WOD#116 May 26th) when the work out stretched to an hour as well. Its really funny how I "warm up" for an hour on my long runs and here I was ready to die before the hour is over. This attempt at trying to do wods closer to Rx is insane. Unlike first few months, I no longer feel any sharp pains or blister issues so there is no excuse to get out of it.

As hard as the weighted pullups are, they are definitely great way to train for regular pullups. I had to reduce weight over the 10 rounds 20-20-20-20-20-15-15-10-10-10 (Rx is 45#). I could do all three in one go in first couple of rounds but then I had to break them in single rep each....and then I couldnt:-) I learnt that this is called stamina limitation, not to be confused with cardio edurance (which is about being out of breath). I also broke strict PUs into 2 sets as well. Kipping was mostly single set. While this week is an exception due to crazy water only starvation diet on Monday and Tuesday, I think 4 wods per weeks seem to suit me better as I can give more in wods. I am just concerned about sample biases. I am already running away from other pullup wods.

WOD#134 6 x 65# (5 thruster/7 HPC/ 10SDLHP) 20:00@158/185

Compare with wod 21 7 rounds using 2x25#DB for Thrusters/HPC + 44# KB for SDLHP. Just made 6 rounds with 1 sec to spare. I thought I will have easy time doing this wod with 65# but boy was I wrong. I didnt realize that this is not a strength wod but a anarobic heart pounding wod. There is something very wicked about trying to lift reasonably heavy weight at very high heart rates. Its like whole different ball game. I just did feel like doing it. HPC was the easiest. Thrusters were hardest but I discovered trick that there is no stopping at the shoulder and its one continuous move down. I went into the workout with every muscle sore from the 150 pull ups on wednesday. I mean bad enough to make it impossible to straighten hands or raise them straight up. But the wod completely changed and now I cant feel soreness in specific muscles but have sort of whole body good ache.

WOD#132 Front Squat 7x1 85# not 100% 14:04@125/142

WOD#133 Pullup Mania 10 x (3 weighted/5 strict/7kipping) 54:55@134/167

WOD#134 6 x 65# (5 thruster/7 HPC/ 10SDLHP) 20:00@158/185

WOD#131 5mi RACE PR 40:49@182/194

2009-06-21T15:15:00.003-04:00

I did it! I totally smoked old PR without even trying too hard. Here are the stats

- Pace 5mi@8:09min/mi.

- Heart rate 40:49min@182/194 which is not really all out effort. Really, the max HR was 188 till about last 50 yards which is not really deep anarobic.

- Splits: 8:14@176, 8:01@181, 8:29@181, 8:05@184, 7:15@188

Looks like crossfit did its magic and prepared for me for something I havent been training for. Frankly, I didnt really push that hard because I knew each of my split was comfortably within PR range. I push a bit in last mile to get pace down to 7:15 at no real HR cost.

On barefoot front, the only limitation which kept me slow was blister fear (given the wet coarse surface). None-the-less it feels good that I dont need $100 shoes to run fast. I had to slow down a bit on coarse portion of central park loop but I was flying on smooth portion and grass. In fact, the rain today made running through grass and fresh water poddles so much fun. I know I made at atlease some shod runners jealous!

BarefootinNY for 903mi

WOD#131 5mi RACE BF 40:49@182/194

WOD#130 Nasty Girls 3 x (50Squats/7PUBurpee/10HPC@95#) 26:44@155/169

2009-06-18T20:49:00.001-04:00

WOD#130 Nasty Girls 3 x (50Squats/7PUBurpee/10HPC@95#) 26:44@155/169

Nasty Girls classic workout. Compare with 3x(50squats, 7pull/dip, 10x50#HPC12:29@149/182. I used 95# for HPCs which was heavy enough to keep sets at 2-4 reps. Obviously muscle ups is not an option at the Gym without the rings so I did the next best thing i.e. PU Burpee. The pullup bar was higher than what I had done before so I missed the first and that was a bit scary. I got each of the 3x7 since but I had to really concentrate before jumping. Squats were with full depth. I had to break them into two sets each.

WOD#130 Nasty Girls 3 x (50Squats/7PUBurpee/10HPC@95#) 26:44@155/169

First CFE!!! 12min 2.5K C2 rowing Awesome.

2009-06-17T22:45:00.002-04:00

CFE#1 2.5K in 12min C2 12:00@158/182

My first attempt at CFE. It was kindda fun. I didnt know I had 12min of rowing in me. I got progressively FASTER and it was quite insane. I also automatically found rythem and more efficient technique which I had never been able to do before due to short rowing sessions. I steadily sped up from a pace of 2:35 to 2:10-15.

WOD#129 Hang Power Snatch 7x1 65# 4:36@138/157

45# HPSnatch was proper but 65# snatch was mostly press. The explosiveness of the pull was missing and something I need to improve upon. Broadly, snatch is a very complex move and it was smart of me to concentrate on form for now without adding more weight.

CFE#1 2.5K in 12min C2 12:00@158/182

WOD#129 Hang Power Snatch 7x1 65# 4:36@138/157

WOD#128 21-18-15-12-9-6PU/Sit+100ft lunges 23:33@160/177

2009-06-16T23:25:00.001-04:00

Compare with WOD#95 (25:30@160/174) and WOD#68 (25:10@148/174). This workout always takes the wind out of me despite having no run in it. The lunges are surprising exausting and HR consistently rached 175 on each round. However, it feels good to do a wod exactly as Rxed. The only limitation was that I broke each pullup routine into three sets though I doubt Rxed version really expects 21 PUs in row. I also checked the distance on the plastic lawn outside the gym on Google maps and its 115ft which is close proxy for 100ft. The timing was a PR by 2minutes which is great. Still quite short of 14min I typically see on the website. Long way to go.

I was wondering why it is so exausting to do this workout compared to a run for 25min even though my average HR is just 160. I think the balancing requirements for lunges and grip requirements for pullups cause reluctance for me to start respective sets till I have HR to reasonably lower level. Running is quite brainless in that sense. I am sure I would have similar difficult and higher perception of exaustion if I had to run on slippery slope or on a delicate balancing route. Funny how higher order mental requirements can make perceived exersion more.

WOD#128 21-18-15-12-9-6PU/Sit+100ft lunges each 23:33@160/177

Scaling down crossfit for marathon training

2009-06-15T22:33:00.001-04:00

I checked crossfit endurance and I like it's overall approach. I will do this.

Swimming: no swimming

Running: I will do one long run and one speed/hill/interval run everyweek. This will be typically long run and a race on weekend or half marathon race which will serve as both!

Biking: I will continue by 3mi each way everyday commute to work with usual speed hill session I do on the one hill I hit eachway. No biking on weekend.

C2: I will add 1 c2 rowing sessions on easy weekday wod.

Crossfit wide: in return for adding c2 and extra running session, I will only do 4wods per week. I will pick and choose the wods I like. I will skip running only wods. Or I will skip c2 rowing if wods have reasonably long c2 component. I will also keep c2 rowing workouts towards longer time/distances if possible.

Quite a plan. I need to sleep on it and revisit tommorrow to make sure it still makes sense.

Today's wod: 4 rounds 2x30# DB cleans 20, 12 dips, 21situps 20:00@146/169
DB cleans were very difficult. It continues to amaze me how much harder DBs are compared to barbell. I think I will stick to DBs whenever I can. Dips were pleasant surprise. After not being able to do one dip cleanly last time I tried, I surprised myself by doing all 12 in row with few of them quite deep. Pure magic of crossfit! I am sure three days of rest didn't hurt:)

First training run of the season 10.6mi@9:36min/mi 157/187

2009-06-14T14:26:00.003-04:00

I decided to ditch the 10K yesterday and instead do a long run today. The central park soil was still damp from all the rain in last few days and it felt great. Ran about 8miles barefoot which was fun. No blisters or injuries. Just a hint of strain on left leg ankle as I twisted my foot badly on way down from a hill. The twist was pretty bad but its amazing how quickly my foot recovered. I just slowed down a bit for a mile. All in all, I got about 6miles or so of quality runs at 8:30-9 pace and rest relatively light including run to and back from home.

I compared this run with brooklyn run and I ran first 10.6mi in Brooklyn in exactly same time which is weird considering how slow the runs felt today, especially including the breaks and commute part. This just confirms the speculation that blister susceptibility is by far the biggest constraint for me running longer distances fast. If I keep training these long distances, I should be fine.

So plan is to bite the bullet and stick to long runs on weekends. No point being hero and experimenting with barefoot running AND crossfit-only marathon simultaneously. Besides, die-hard crossfitters are mistaken about ability to run marathons with only crossfit training. Crossfit makes it easier but sport-specific training is always superior (especially, if it complements crossfit crosstraining) than regular cross-training. The question really now is how to deal with overdose of wods if long runs suck life out of me for a day or two. One easy solution would be to move down crossfit to 4 times a week. i.e. instead of 21wods in 28 days, it will be 16. This will also allow me to run races on Saturday and long distance on Sunday etc.

I am not happy about this. I dont want to skip crossfit wods. I guess I will end up skipping wods which I am weak at which is less than ideal. More extreme alternative would be to squeeze in a wod on Saturday and keep Fridays and Sundays off. Then I can push the wods which I can do at home out of the weekdays. I will end up doing 20wods in 28 days. The 21st wod, I am sure can be squeezed in somewhere.

Barefoot in NY for 898mi

Its in the genes BS

2009-06-13T08:07:00.002-04:00

This blog has nothing to do with barefoot running or crossfit but some it seems related.

I was reading this lets-cut-the-crap article and #3 caught my eye. The article suggests that we should not blame genes for getting ourselves sick. I thought about it and drew parallels between people and computers.

One way to look at genes is like computer operating systems. Its clear that brand new computer with same OS looks pretty much the same but it looks very different for two different OS. Certain viruses will attack certain OS and not others. So if you think genes contain codes for a person, EVERY person is a different OS except identical twins. However, OS for people within same family have somewhat similar OS. So two people will have different risk factors for different diseases but correlation is higher if there is blood relationship.

But really, what matters for computer's health is not the OS but how it used. The key to not getting your computer sick is to

1. Install preventive measures like antivirus software and maintain it with updates.

2. Stay away from bad habits (not using good password) and bad softwares or websites as much as possible. However if #2 is compromised since you dont want to degrade "computer experience" too much due to fear of getting virus, #1 acts as a defense.

These two factors are so much more important than selection of preinstall OS on a software for computer getting slow or even crash.

Similarly, for human body,

1. building defenses through exercise and building immune system (by NOT coddling yourself with germ-phobia) is critical.

2. Then staying away from smoking, drinking, junk food, drugs, contagious people will complement #1. But also there is a limit to how much we can do without affecting quality of life. So if #2 is compromised, #1 acts as a defense to potential damage.

These two effects are RIDICULOUSLY important than risk factors based on genes. Its quite frustrating to see doctors/media preach that certain people are predisposed to be obese or have cancer or get heart disease.

Few more references on this topic

http://ep.physoc.org/content/90/4/427.full.pdf

http://dangerousintersection.org/2006/10/29/it%E2%80%99s-not-all-in-the-genes-ask-any-epigeneticist/

http://discovermagazine.com/2006/nov/cover

Back in the crossfit groove PUs/DB Thrusters

2009-06-12T00:31:00.003-04:00

WOD#122 5xmax Pull (5) + maxPush(10) 9:29@109/130

Compare with WOD#87 5xMaxPU/elvPush (10/20 first and 5/10 rest)8:29@145/160. The deadlift 5x5 wod on Friday turned out to be quiet a heavy (!) wod as my lower back started aching (in a good way). I wasnt sure if I could do push or pull up as I could not bend down at all but fortunately I did strict pull ups and proper form pushup and both need straight back. I did take is easy and did 5 pullups and 10 pushups in each of the round instead.

WOD#123 20PU L/Strict/Kip with 800m@7min/mi between 23:44@163/188

I took the 800m runs at lighter speed of 7min/mi since I had just finished 400m intervals. I scaled down pullups from 40 to 20 each as well. After the DL back pain, I thought I wont be able to do the 120 PUs. The workout was relatively intense as it still lasted for 24minutes. Form for L-pullups was better. Strict pullups were messy but still much better than in past.

WOD#124 5x(50#DBx21 Thrusters, 50 single jumprope) 36:32@141/177

The DB thrusters are the killers. I had done smaller reps in 60# but this was a high rep (5x21) wod and even at 2x25#, thrusters were hard. I still think DB thrusters are much better variation than barbell which is much easier. The ability to balance the two barbell independently at top of press position is pretty tough and I was much more in control this time around. However, I started reaching my breaking point in last few rounds. I had been doing the 21 reps in 4 rounds which became progressively harder. I think there is just something inherently hard about gathering courage to pull weight on top of your head when you are exausted. It may not be as heart pumping or muscle burning but its a huge emotional drain. On bright side, I think my form for squats and DB hand positioning improved substantially. I did all the thrusters with deep proper squat. I hope this translates well in barbell squats and thrusters. My back was still hurting from deadlift which may have prevented me from bending which clearing works to my advantage for maintaining proper squat form.

WOD#125 (machine!) Backsquat 115# 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 4:37@109/134

Squat box not available forcing me to use the the barbell machine (?). It was ironically quite scary since if I dont get foot positioning perfect, I had to do the backsquat in unnatural angle. It felt quite dangerous. But I am pretty sure I can lift heavier weights on this machine than plain barbell. I tried free form barbell but could not figure out a way to lift it into back squat position from floor.

WOD#126 Cindy 10.33 rounds of 5PU/10Push/15Squat 20:00@152/176

Compare with WOD#103 HALF Cindy 6rnds+PUs 10min@171/190, WOD#53 Cindy 10 rnds 20:00@153/172 and and WOD#17 Cindy 5 Rnds. Cindy is easy for beginners but gets exponentially harder with every extra round added within 20min period. Today's Cindy was the full version compared to half in blackbox elements class and it was no where as intense but still it was difficult. The right comparison would be 5 rounds + PU&Push compared to BB 6 rounds + PU. But the later 4 rounds were much more intense. I reached close to breaking point on pullups and pushups by last round. Squats were easy. I seem to have found a rythem with squats now as I get my knees wider at bottom of squat making it possible for me to do a deep and efficient squat.

WOD#122 5xmax Pull (5) + maxPush(10) 9:29@109/130

WOD#123 20PU L/Strict/Kip with 800m@7min/mi between 23:44@163/188

WOD#124 5x(50#DBx21 Thrusters, 50 single jumprope) 36:32@141/177

WOD#125 (machine!) Backsquat 115# 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 4:37@109/134

WOD#126 Cindy 10.33 rounds of 5PU/10Push/15Squat 20:00@152/176

Modified deadlift wod

2009-06-05T20:59:00.001-04:00

Original wod called for 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 deadlift but for some reason I thought it was 5x5 and I did that with lighter weight. In retrospect that wasn't such bad idea since I continue to believe that my deadlift form is ugly. Higher rep should help me get the form improve without too much damage. I did the 5x5 at 175# which is heavy enough to make me sweat. Doing two or three deadlifts in a row was tough and I had to stop so technically I can't claim these to be clean 5x5 sets. None the less, it got my heart pumping.a

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