Tabata Something Else

Pull-ups (strict at first, then slow negatives): 3, 1, 1, 2, 2, 6, 4, 4 (=9 + 14)
Push-ups: 11, 9, 6, 6, 6, 5, 5, 5 (=53 total)
Sit-ups (feet anchored, hands on ears, elbows forward): 7, 7, 7, 8, 7, 8, 8, 8 (=144)
Squats: 19, 17, 17, 16, 15, 16, 17, 19 (=136)
Planks: 8 20-second holds (=2:40 total)

Hmm, looks like I did better on this one in September - that time, I got 56 push-ups and 158 squats.

Arboretum run

CFWU x 2 x 10 (at-home substitutions)

Arboretum run ≈ 40 minutes (which included a traffic light and a quick chat with two ladies who were taking their cat out for a walk. I totally want to teach our kitten-to-be how to go for walks on a leash!)

Thanksgiving tabata!

A gorgeous day for a run - sunny, 60 degrees. I felt a little tight from yesterday's sprints and sit-ups, but pulled off a sprint tabata anyways. Fun to get to do it with Scott.

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm very thankful for a healthy body and mind.

Nancy/Joshua mix

Warm-up: 2 rounds of 20 squats + 5 dive-bomber push-ups

Workout: 5 rounds of
400 m run (10 mph, 1% incline)
15 GHD sit-ups
15 OH squats (45# or 40# bar, depending on which was availble)

Time: 32+ minutes

Notes: Proud of myself for making it through all five rounds. I definitely considered stopping after 3 or 4, as I was getting a headache. (Dehydration? Too much wine last night? Not enough sleep? PMS? Not sure.)

I'm definitely a fan of the GHD sit-ups. I demonstrated them to Scott on Monday, and he reported that I get plenty of stares while I'm flinging myself around.

The 400s felt tough, even on a treadmill. Maybe could have gone up to 50# on the OH squats.

...climbing...

a less-than-stellar climbing session tonight...

I tried a few 10c's, but couldn't get to the top of them. Worked on a few other easier routes. Impatient to get back to the wall when I'm more energetic, so I can tackle those c's again!

IM frisbee... and stuff

Good, close game. We won 7-5, which means we advance to finals! Sadly, I played badly, and wasn't in all that many points.

I wonder if I'm recovering from something. This morning, I woke up from a solid 8 hours of sleep, had some breakfast, did a little reading, and then went back to bed for a longish nap (60-90 minutes?). I definitely felt groggy when I got up. Ugh. Lazy Sundays are nice, but I like to be conscious for them!

Also, a funny fitness-related dream I had last night: I dreamt I was competing in a triathalon, and the competition wasn't very stiff, because I was at the front of the pack. After the swimming, instead of jumping on our bikes, we had to compete in a stand-up comedy contest, where each person had to tell 5 jokes about tofu. I was nervous, because I was last in line, and I was pretty sure everyone else would say all the funny stuff about tofu before it was my turn. Thank goodness I woke up in time!

One last random note - I'm going to start coaching the UC Davis women's B team in January. If any readers out there have suggestions (what order to teach the fundamentals? best drills? worst coaching disasters ever?), let me know!

Hiking close to home

Lisa decided to celebrate her birthday with a hike through Stebbins Cold Canyon. It's a great trail, about 4.5 miles long, just 30 minutes outside of Davis. It was my second time here - my first time was also with Lisa, just about a year ago.

Great weather, good company - what a good way to celebrate your birthday!

40#, 20 minutes

CFWU x 10 x 2 (except 2 dips & pull-ups)

Using a 40# weight:
5 deadlifts
5 push presses
5 hang power cleans
5 thrusters (behind the head)
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.

I finished 13 rounds in 20:13.

Next time, I'll go heavier. My grip was getting tired, and the thrusters were tough at the end, but for the most part this did not feel super hard. (But it was still a good one! My arms were trembling during bio lecture, which I had right after the workout, and it was mildly difficult to take notes. :-)

Fran

CFWU x 10 x 2 (no pull-ups, 2 dips, really good GHD sit-ups! They're fun!)

Fran: 21-15-9 reps of thrusters and pull-ups (assisted)
21 x 40# thrusters
15 x 45# thrusters
9 x 50# thrusters

Time: 11 minutes.

(Next time - jumping/negative pull-ups instead of assisted, and slightly heavier thrusters.)

Front and side planks - 1 minute each. They felt really hard today.

Not very satisfied with today's workout.

IM frisbee

Good, intense game tonight! The other team had a few ringers (my club captain and a nationals-level open club player), but our team had a few ringers too, and much better depth, and more subs. We won by a point or two.

I threw the final score to Scott. After he caught it, a guy from the other team complimented me on the throw. (It was a big, beautiful, arcing forehand.) Giddy, I replied, "That's the man I'm going to marry." (It was a gorgeous catch.) I think the guy thought I was kidding.

Climbing

10c - pink "Animales"
10c - pink "Animales" (this time, trying not to cheat by using features! Didn't make it all the way up, but had fun working on it.)
10b/c - Is that a Euphemism in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Happy to See Me?
10a - red Do Me Now
10b - red/black Deathly Hallows
10b - Who Is John Galt?

Super fun day. Fingers were a little tired, and legs were a little tight from all the hiking on Saturday on Sunday, but I definitely felt good about how I climbed! It's great to feel like I'm learning new things, figuring out how to do things I had a really hard time with before.

Hiking in Yosemite!

Spent the weekend hiking and camping in Yosemite. It was my first time there, and I absolutely loved it. We had great weather (it's been unseasonably warm), great companionship (Scott and I and 4 of his classmates), and great scenery.

Saturday: 10-mile round trip hike to Dewey Point. Total elevation gain: 3300 feet. The top was just under 7000 feet - thin air!

Sunday: 6-mile hike to Vernal and Nevada Falls. Elevation gain: 2000 feet, I think.

Click here for photos.

Yosemite November 2008

Scott and I are already planning our next trip out there. Maybe we'll bring some climbing gear with us...

Climbing

5.10a - green "Jugs"
5.10c - pink Animales (need to keep working on this one, until I can do the whole thing in one shot. I *did* figure out the opening move, though, which felt great!)
5.10b - dark blue
5.10b - tan "Porpoise of Life"
5.10a - tan "There are no poodles" (The fun one with a big crack.)

I definitely had to take more breaks overall tonight, but it was definitely fun, and it's nice to feel that I'm getting stronger!

Michael, sort of

Warm-up
2 rounds of:
20 squats + 5 dive-bombers

Workout
2 rounds of:
1000 m row (under 4:30 each time)
50 sit-ups
50 back extensions
Time: 26+ minutes

Notes
Planned to do three rounds, but ran out of time - had to get to class!
I think I finally figured out how to do GHD sit-ups... but I felt like I was arching my back a lot on the way down. I'll need to watch the video again.
The back extensions were hard! they're usually the easiest part of the CFWU, but 50 of them was causing serious cramping. Ugh.

I need to come back to this workout... and 800m runs rather than rowing.

Super burpees

Warm-up: 2 rounds of 10 squats, 10 sit-ups, 10 supermans, 10 jumping pull-ups

Work-out: 2 minutes on, 1 minute off for 20 minutes (7 rounds) of:
1 DB push-up, 1 row each arm, 1 clean + 1 thruster.
(A reprise of this CrossFit DC workout.)

I used 20# dumbbells and got 7 reps per round (except for the first round, when I got 5).

Notes: The workout didn't feel super hard while I was doing it. I thought my grip was the limiting factor. But afterwards, I had nice, quivery Elvis-arms, so I guess they got a pretty good workout too. Next time, 25# dumbbells.

IM Soccer

Fun game. We lost maybe 5-0... hard to keep track. We had subs so I didn't get to run around quite as much, but it was good to be out there, especially after a long day of studying for a bio midterm (which went very well!).

A lovely stagger through the Arboretum

My legs were still super sore from Friday's workout (400s + squats), so I took a walk in the Arboretum to try to loosen them up. I'm not sure if it helped. I felt like I was staggering (especially going downhill) and couldn't quite manage a smooth gait. Nice to know I gave my legs such a good workout, I guess!

Climbing

Great day climbing with Scott!

5.9 - tan Salud
5.10a - red & white Hadron Collider
5.10b - purple P.O.S.
5.10c - pink Animales (w00t!)
5.8+/9- - black & white About a Girl

Next time I need to start on the green 5.10a next to the last 5.8 I did. I didn't have enough energy to tackle it, but it looks like a good challenge. I feel really good about the three 10's that I did today!

As predicted, my legs are ridiculously sore from yesterdays 400s & squats. Uf da.

400m, squats

Plyo warm-up (from Ultimate practice)

Today's CF WOD:
Four rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters (1:50, 1:56, 2:07, 2:02)
50 Squats (1:49, 2:01, 2:46, 2:10

Total time: 16+ minutes

Cool-down walk around the track, and a very leisurely bike ride home.

Notes:
Wow, it's nice to make your legs feel like jelly every once in a while! I will be sore from this one in a few days for sure.

My breathing was very loud today, and I was pretty sniffly and sneezy when I got home - probably some sort of allergen in the air. Otherwise, it was beautiful out - sunny and 65.

Thrusters 'n planks

CFWU x 10 x 2

Thrusters (single reps)
45, 55, 60, 65
75 x 7
80, 85, 85, 85

Planks (with 0:30 rests in between)
Front - 2:00
Side - 1:00 x 2
Front - 1:30

Notes:
I meant to do this CF WOD, but I guess I underestimated how heavy I could go, so I ended up doing way mre than 7 reps. I was nervous about increasing weight, since I didn't have a spotter, and didn't want a barbell to come crashing down unpredictably. I think my form improved quite a bit over the course of the workout... especially when I managed to keep my focus.

IM Frisbee

We won 13-2. I played two-thirds of the points. It was a chilly night, and it felt fantastic to sprint. Scott had a gorgeous layout score.

After the game, we got to go watch Obama's acceptance speech! Whee!!!

Rowing, OH Squats, Burpees

CFWU x 10 x 2
(10 reps of everything, except 2 unassisted dips and 2 unassisted pull-ups)

5 rounds of:
Rowing (increasing distances), 5 OH Squats, 5 burpees

Rowing results:
100m = 0:24
200m = 0:40
300m = 1:11
400m = 1:36
500m = 2:03

OH Squats
I used 40# for all rounds except the 3rd, when I used 50# and failed on the 5th lift. Lost my focus. Buh.

Total time: 21+ minutes.



Results:

Tabata sprint

CFWU x 10 x 2
(Usual at-home substitutions)

Tabata sprinting, with approximately 4 minutes of jogging before and after.

Breezy fall day. Nice to get this in before the rain starts up again!

I meant to do this workout on Friday and Saturday, but was crunched for time both days. This morning, right before I woke up, I dreamt I was running a tabata, and I was fast! It felt great.