7/18
Afternoon
6 mile run - Centennial Trail @ Riverside State Park -> Stone St (80F)
Completed in 59:58:58

I haven't gone out to just run for the better part of 6 months. I signed up for the Dirty Dash on Aug 20th, which is similar to the Warrior Dash with a distance of 10k. Figured I better find out if my hinky feet would hold up for that long.

I've done a lot of ultimate frisbee since November. I wasn't sure how frisbee would translate to a long-distance (for me) run, but it seems to have translated pretty well. Clocked in 2 seconds under 60mins. Really had no expectation of how quickly I would finish, but am very happy that it was in an hour. Rough estimate on the distance, but it felt pretty consistently like a 10min/mile pace.

Foot started acting up at 45min in and I almost had to stop at 48min, but I was able to get off the pavement for a bit and finished up. Foot was sore by the end, but not the activity-halting pain that I usually get.

 

7/19
Afternoon
Ultimate Frisbee 1hr
I finally, finally caught a long pass on the run while a defender was breathing down my neck. Felt so awesome. My knee felt a bit hinky on the run down to the park, but once we started playing it was fine. Probably shouldn't have played after yesterday's run, but oh well...

Evening
BJJ 1.5hrs
Worked with Zak on mount control, chokes from mount and omoplata defense. Could drill that stuff all day. Miss having Scott or Gary there every class. Had four rolls after the technique and they went fairly well. I need to focus on sweeping from guard instead of always/only going for submissions. Did get a triangle though.

Later in the Evening...
Lift & WOD
BS: 45lb x 5 x 2; 65lb x 5; 75lb x 5; 85lb x 5

Squats felt pretty good. My knees are no where near as stable as I would like, they probably shake like leaves on a tree, but my depth is good and someday (SOMEDAY!) I will get serious about working on my abductors/adductors.

WOD
AMRAP 12min
65lb Deadlift x 10
Pushups x 20
Single Unders x 60

Completed 3 rounds + 10 DLs

Went straight to the gym after BJJ b/c I didn't think working out the next morning was going to be a good plan. I was nice and loose for the squats, but probably too tired for the WOD. The weight was perfect for the DLs, as I was able to do them unbroken and focus on form. The pushups were killer. Need to get on a X number of pushups a day program b/c I'm tired of sucking at those.

The SUs were also strangely difficult. Felt uncoordinated and unable to keep count of where I was. I can't wait to keep count on DUs. Anyone that has a clever method of counting skips, please share.

 

7/21
Afternoon
Ultimate Frisbee 1hr
Had a pretty good game. 4x4 for the most part. I switched sides after 10mins b/c our 8th man showed up. Totally brain-farted and threw to the wrong team for the next several posessions. Had a couple of good catches, good defense and tried to cram in some throws that I don't have enough finesse for yet.

Evening
BJJ 1.5hrs
Worked on technique with Gary and then rolled ~20min with him. Great, great rolls. I was able to clean up some techniques that I had worked on for the past week during the drills and then played my bottom game for most of the rolling portion. My "game" in this instance means that he had me in a tight side-control and I vainly tried to escape. Loved it though...realized that I need to pay more attention to which way I'm shrimping/upa'ing out instead of blindly flailing.

He tried to pass my guard several times and dug those elbows in good to my thighs...which means the squats tomorrow morning ought to feel reeeal nice.

Yesterday was a rest day. I'm getting better at taking rest days. Look Ma, improvement!

 

7/22Turns out I wasn't scheduled to do squats today. However, I was scheduled to do deadlifts, which feel just as a terrific as squats would have after the bruising that I got in BJJ last night.

Day 3 of Chris' program.

Lift:
Deadlift 65lb x 5; 75lb x 5; 85lb x 5

Metcon:
10-8-6-4-2 Dips
400m Run between reps
Completed in 13:48

25 throw med ball against wall in sit up position (untimed)

The metcon was good. Did all of the dips with 40lb assistance except for the last two. Next time I'll lower the assistance to 30lb on rep 6 and 20lb on rep 4. The transition to and from the treadmill wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I tried leaving it on the first time but it turned itself off. Thanks treadmill. Could have done the first couple of runs at a faster pace if I was, you know, awake.

 

7/22
Afternoon
Frisbee 1hr
Had a decent game. Played good defense and had quite a few deflections. Feel like my defense has turned the corner in the past month or so.

7/23-7/24
Weeding. Lots and lots of weeding.

7/25
BS: 45lb x 5 x 2; 65lb x 5; 75lb x 5; 85lb x 5 x 3
Bench: 45lb x 5; 95lb x 5; 105lb x 5 x 3
Seated Row: 40lb x 12; 50lb x 10
TTB: 5
Dips: 4

Did not warm up adequately. Didn't stretch enough nor did I get the heart pumping sufficiently. Felt like my knees were flapping in and out all of the over place during the squats. Adductor/Abductor seemed bitter from the weeding. Surprisingly, bench felt really good and I could have gone for 115lb for probably 3 reps. Did the seated row to try to work my lower back but not sure that my form was right.

Not the biggest fan of working out at 5am.

6 Mile Run (and then some...)

7/18
Afternoon
6 mile run - Centennial Trail @ Riverside State Park -> Stone St (80F)
Completed in 59:58:58

I haven't gone out to just run for the better part of 6 months. I signed up for the Dirty Dash on Aug 20th, which is similar to the Warrior Dash with a distance of 10k. Figured I better find out if my hinky feet would hold up for that long.

I've done a lot of ultimate frisbee since November. I wasn't sure how frisbee would translate to a long-distance (for me) run, but it seems to have translated pretty well. Clocked in 2 seconds under 60mins.  Really had no expectation of how quickly I would finish, but am very happy that it was in an hour. Rough estimate on the distance, but it felt pretty consistently like a 10min/mile pace.

Foot started acting up at 45min in and I almost had to stop at 48min, but I was able to get off the pavement for a bit and finished up. Foot was sore by the end, but not the activity-halting pain that I usually get.

7/19
Afternoon
Ultimate Frisbee 1hr
I finally, finally caught a long pass on the run while a defender was breathing down my neck. Felt so awesome. My knee felt a bit hinky on the run down to the park, but once we started playing it was fine. Probably shouldn't have played after yesterday's run, but oh well...

Evening
BJJ 1.5hrs
Worked with Zak on mount control, chokes from mount and omoplata defense. Could drill that stuff all day. Miss having Scott or Gary there every class. Had four rolls after the technique and they went fairly well. I need to focus on sweeping from guard instead of always/only going for submissions. Did get a triangle though.

Later in the Evening...
Lift & WOD
BS: 45lb x 5 x 2; 65lb x 5; 75lb x 5; 85lb x 5

Squats felt pretty good. My knees are no where near as stable as I would like, they probably shake like leaves on a tree, but my depth is good and someday (SOMEDAY!) I will get serious about working on my abductors/adductors.

WOD
AMRAP 12min
65lb Deadlift x 10
Pushups x 20
Single Unders x 60

Completed 3 rounds + 10 DLs

Went straight to the gym after BJJ b/c I didn't think working out the next morning was going to be a good plan. I was nice and loose for the squats, but probably too tired for the WOD. The weight was perfect for the DLs, as I was able to do them unbroken and focus on form. The pushups were killer. Need to get on a X number of pushups a day program b/c I'm tired of sucking at those.

The SUs were also strangely difficult. Felt uncoordinated and unable to keep count of where I was. I can't wait to keep count on DUs. Anyone that has a clever method of counting skips, please share.

New Program

7/16
BJJ 1.5hrs
Mostly new folks in class. Holly taught, so I worked some advanced techniques with Jim. I need to get back into writing down the details of techniques after class.

7/18
Morning
Lift ~30min
Abbreviated warm-up since I was very short on time. Did the first workout that Chris Kent drew up for me.

Press 35lb x 5; 40lb x 5; 45lb x 5 (65%, 75% & 85% of my 1RM)

AMRAP 7min
15 KBS (20lb)
20 squats
Completed: 4 rounds + 2 KBS

25 Toes-to-Bar (untimed)

Felt like I could have done the squats quicker, especially if I had time for a solid warm-up. Really, really wish the gym would pony up a 25lb or 30lb KB. 20lb feels too easy, but I'd probably hurt myself jumping right to 35lb.

Have never tried TTB before and wasn't exactly sure how to tackle it, but after a couple I seemed to get the hang of it. Could only do 3 or so at a time and pretty sure I got some weird looks from the early morning globo community.  Great movement though...I like it even better than KTE.

7/13
Rest Day.

Really. Didn't do any activity (even though I was going to hit the gym in the evening). So proud.

7/14
Morning
Lift
BS: 45lb x 5 x 2; 65lb x 5; 85lb x 5 x 3
Bench: 45lb x 5; 95lb x 5 x 3
Pullups: 7
Dips: 3

Light workout. Didn't have much time and had a crazy morning. Didn't do much in the way of warm-up sets. Meh. Will hopefully be able to get into a regular routine with enough time to lift properly in two weeks or so.

 

7/14
Afternoon
Frisbee 1hr
Played in the park that is a 10min jog away, so had 20min jogging on top of frisbee. Played ok, had some good catches. Still timid on jumping against people to get a high toss. I'll get over that mental block. Someday.

Evening
BJJ 1.5hrs
Tired. Fortunately, worked with Holly on advanced techniques the entire class. We rolled together twice and (shocker) I was in my guard most of the time. I tried some sweeps, got to side-control and mount a couple of times. Didn't feel exhausted during the rolling, but just no energy during the drills. Had some bad news at work so was probably a bit emotionally drained.

 

7/15
Afternoon

Frisbee 1hr
Had one stellar catch. Turns out that practicing forward rolls in BJJ last night applied well to diving for a frisbee.

Played on the field that gets drenched via sprinklers an hour before we start. I will remember my cleats next time. I will.

Thinking of doing some sort of metcon tonight...might take the kb and wallball over to the school and do something with jumps, pullups, etc. Seems like a sin to be inside a gym on a warm summer evening.

Evening
Decided to tackle a modification of the Filthy Fifty at the playground. Just, wow.
50 box jumps 20"
50 jumping pullups
50 KB swings 20lb
50 walking lunge
50 KTE
50 push press 20lb kb alternating left and right
50 sit ups
50 wall ball 10lb
50 burpees
50 single unders

Time: 38:23

More or less happy with this. I never would have got the KTE on a regular pullup bar. Fortunately, the playground had static, metal rings hanging that kids could make their way across. I used those, similar to how some pullup "bars" have the two parallel stubs sticking out instead of one straight bar. Even with that, the KTEs were miserable. Not as miserable as the burpees, which I had to break into sets of 5. Probably should have subbed 100 or 150 single unders for the DUs but decided to leave it at that. I probably could have pressed a 35lb bar if I had one available. Fairly happy with doing this more or less as prescribed. Very happy with getting it done on a beautiful summer evening!

July Heat (finally)

Previous post should be dated 7/9 - 7/10.

7/11
Afternoon
Ultimate Frisbee - 1hr
After the long winter and cold Spring, 80 degrees felt HOT yesterday. Overall I was pretty happy with how I did. Should have hydrated better pre-game. Apparently a liter and a half of water isn't enough to sprint in the heat for an hour.

Evening
Lift and modified "Jack"
BS: 45 x 5 x 2; 65 x 5; 85 x 5 x 3; 95 x 3
DL: 45 x 5 x 2; 65 x 5; 85 x 3

Meh. First time I've lifted on my own in a month. Really really focused on keeping my back neutral. I think I did pretty well on the deads, except the 85lb felt heavy. *sigh* Holding off on bench/press work b/c my right arm is sore from the 5-6hrs of tennis over the weekend.

Modified "Jack"
10min AMRAP
10 wallball (10lb)
10 kb swings (20lb)
10 box jumps (24")

5 rounds plus 3 box jumps.

Everything unbroken, except for pauses between some jumps. Wanted to do a heavier ball but the gym didn't seem to have anything between 10lb and 40lb. Should have done a heavier KB too. Still got a good sweat going. If I went the full 20min I'd probably keep the weights as is. That sounds like a real treat.

Had one of my best nutrition days yesterday. The only thing missing was sweet potato. Hmmm...I take it back then. Terrible nutrition day.  :P

7/12
Afternoon
Ultimate Frisbee 1hr
Hydrated better beforehand. Played fairly well again, although I ended up guarding two pretty fast guys near the end b/c we were short-handed. Ran back to work instead of getting a ride, so an extra half mile or so jog to "cool down" in 80+ degree heat.

Evening
BJJ 1.5hrs
Great to get back on the mats. Was tired before I left due to not getting enough sleep this week, but once we warmed up I was fine. Went over some basic moves and then moved to more advanced techniques. Omoplata defense (kick legs one way in a sortof cartwheel and end up in side-control, roll the other way and you end up in their guard again). Also did double-ankle sweep to armbar, scissor sweep and push sweep from guard. Rolled with Z twice and had very well-matched rolls with him. Rolled with Taylor once or twice and kept one hand on my belt to make it more fair. Haven't ever done that before and it was very difficult. It's a great training idea.

Probably won't do any type of running today since I've done a fair amount of that between tennis and frisbee. Will hopefully get under a barbell though.

Mixed Doubles 7.0 Tournament

7/10 - 7/11
Tennis - 7.0 Mixed Doubles
Just...wow. Things improved a bit from the first match on Friday. Played twice on Saturday. I won in the morning but got demolished in the evening. Rest of the team did well enough to get us into the semis on Sunday morning. I sat out the semis and the team squeaked two wins to put us in the finals.

Sadly, our finals match was against the team that beat us Saturday evening. Tough, tough team. I had a different partner and was lined up against a different opponent. The result was much, much worse than Saturday. My partner was frustrated with his play. I played one of my best matches of the weekend but we got creamed 1-6, 0-6. Ouch.

Overall I'm ok with how I played. My net play got better as the weekend progressed. I hit maybe one alley shot out of twenty.  :(  I didn't double-fault nearly as bad as I had been in the women's matches the past couple of weeks. My endurance was fine, and I had some pretty good gets. My forehands and backhands were ok. I had a predictably difficult time returning the men's serves. I'm excited that our team made it to the semis and that we were able to play 5 matches as a team (I played 4). No tennis plans for awhile...probably a good idea to take a break for bit.

Looking to start lifting again this week and do a few WODs. Sleep is going to be an issue, but not much I can do about that.

At Least I Didn't Double Fault

Took a real rest day yesterday. Probably should have rolled and stretched. Proud of myself for taking the day off.

Had my first 7.0 mixed doubles match today.

So, so frustrating. I seem to remember being mentally tough, especially at the end of matches. However, I've fallen into a vat of meh lately. We got the first set 7-5, then went on a vacation in the second and were down 5-1 until we pulled it together and got at least a couple of games (3-6). Third set tiebreak and we're down 4-1. We keep going for it and get it to 8-8. Awesome, right? We lose the next point 8-9, and then it's my serve. I get the serve in, am given an easy return and then I COMPLETELY FLUB THE BALL. On match point. How embarrassing. I don't even know what I did, but it was a totally lame frame shot that went straight in the air. Pretty distraught over that. I don't mind if I'm beat, but to frame an easy ball on match point is terrible. Ugh. I'm not enjoying tennis of late.

Would really like to get a solid workout in this evening, but with two more matches tomorrow, should probably take it easy. Might do some bodyweight stuff, jump rope, light KB work.

MEH.

Double-Faulting is Easy

7/6
Afternoon
Trainer ~1hr
-crunches on the ball
-bent over rows
-romanian deads
-deads
-db presses
-squats

Finally got under the bar for squats. I could immediately tell when my feet were starting to track out. Wasn't watching my knees, but one of them started to cave. Didn't push the depth, and took a break to foam roll and do hydrants on the side that was caving. Went back to the rack and saw immediate improvement. I was getting about 3/4 depth with the correct form. *sigh* I should probably roll, stretch and do the activation exercises for my calves every. single. day. Who knew?

He gave me 15lb DBs to press and I was thinking "are you serious"? Turns out incline pressing using correct form to engage your back correctly is hard.

Deads were also really, really hard when doing them correctly. Part of it is that I have so much in my head (butt back but stay up, arch arch ARCH the back, eyes up, etc) that I have to think through each movement. It's like learning a complicated technique in BJJ...thinking while you are moving usually leads to some herky jerky.

Evening
3.5 Doubles Match
We won! The drought is over! 6-4, 6-3. I had another round of three double-faults in a row. Distressing. I don't know what happened to my serve, but sometimes it is a disaster. I played ok, but I know that I can play much better. Hopefully my game will improve in the mixed doubles tournament this weekend. Otherwise it's going to be a loooooong weekend for my partners.

Sandbag Chipper

To celebrate the 4th, I did a sandbag chipper that I borrowed from Blair Morrison.  I had about 30lb in the bag, but it felt much heavier.  I have two mini bags in the canvas bag and had to pull one of those out for the OH work.  Either my scale lied or I'm terrible at lifting objects over my head.  When I used both weights in the canvas bag it was awkward because the bag is meant to hold 80lb+ worth of weight and I had...well...30lb.

200m carry
30 zercher squat
30 chest to overhead
200m carry
30 ground to shoulder
30 OH lunge
200m carry
30 wrap around
30 thruster
100m throw

Total time was 26:15. 

Since I was at the track, I decided to run some 100m repeats for fun.  Did 5 x 100m with about 10 seconds rest between sprints.  Times were something like 23, 22, 22, 21, 19.