What an awesome week it has been. Not just on the training front but with the family as well. Lots of sleep and the chance to get away to Tahoe for a few days of r&r was much needed.
After an awesome Christmas in the city, we packed the family up on Sunday and headed to Tahoe. They’ve had lots of snow already this season so while Jillian and her brother went boarding, I strapped on snow shoes to play Baehr Grills in the woods. I didn’t have the “emergency twinkie” (nor Will Ferrell there to eat it) but had an awesome time exploring the trails around Spooner Lake. I always imagine what I would do in situations if a bear or a mountain lion jumped on my back or something… and then I remembered bears are hibernating right now, which cut the “animals that can attack Brendon in the woods” by 50%. That made me feel nice. Running in snow shoes @ 6000′ was also nice and a great way to vary up the training. Fitness carried over very well as I really didn’t feel any shortness of breath from altitude.
Tuesday I was without a track that wasn’t covered in snow, so in lieu of 6x150m intervals I did 6x100m hill sprints.
Wednesday we were back on the road early fighting a huge snow storm that had already dropped 8in on the ground. I didn’t get on the track until 4pm in cold and very windy conditions. Gusts coming down the homestretch were 20-25mph, which made running 12x400m w/ 1min rest very challenging. The workout called for the first 6 @ 70 then 2.5 min rest, then 6 @ 68. I went 65, 66, 67, 67, 67, 68 then 65, 64, 66, 66, 67, 65. Considering traveling all day in the car and the crappy conditions, I felt good about it. I know that workout will be totally different in the coming months as fitness improves. When you can hit 60′s for all 12, you know you’re ready to run fast.
Friday was the hip was a bit tight so I was a little nervous for 800m repeats. The workout called for 2 rounds of 230, 226, 222 with 2min between. I went 227, 226, 220, 228, 226, 220. I followed up with 3x200m @ 26.4, 27.1, 26.4. The last 200m repeats I felt very strong despite a long workout. It was a an awesome feeling, something I’ve been missing all season.
Our New Year’s Day workout was “Murph” with Tim Dymmel and the CrossFit Palo Alto crew. I love this workout! We had a great crew show up to represent for CFSM as well. I believe my best time is 30 minutes or just under which I did at CrossFit Atlanta 2 years ago.
“Murph” in honor of Navy Seal Michael Murphy
1 mile run
100 pullups
200 pushups
300 squats
1 mile run
Today was a lot of fun and despite the hip again getting a little tight at the end, I went 32:08. Even though I wanted to do another easy run to get the lead out of the legs, I didn’t want to risk the hip tightening anymore.
Next workout is Tuesday. Tomorrow will be easy recovery, Monday most likely a CFE wod.
Happy New Year!
Never Let It Rest,
Brendon
