6 mile run, Strength

Early morning

Can you believe it? A morning run with Brig. Once again, I'm reminded of why I hate morning workouts so much. My body is still groggy, achy, I've had no coffee, and I just love sleep too much. Brig told me it gets easier the more times you do it, but I'm still not sold on the idea. Many people argue that you should mimic race conditions and practice in the morning. Others suggest that working out before breakfast promotes greater fat loss throughout the day. All I know is that my intensity is always noticeable greater during an afternoon or early evening workout. Therefore I am producing greater fitness. End of story.

6.3 miles in 53 minutes along this route.

Late afternoon

Strength

Squats 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Load: 215

Dumbbell Bench Press 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Load: 75 X 2

Weighted Pullups 4, 4, 4, 4, 3*
Load: 30

All strength movements were performed as supersets, with 1 minute of rest in between workouts. I didn't finish the final pullup. Too much swing.

Metcon

Early afternoon


Metcon
"300" (Bootcamp version)


25 Burpees
50 OH Walking Lunges (45# plate)
50 Situps
50 Push Press (97#)
50 Pushups
50 KB Swings (50#)
25 Burpees


17:51


Workout comments: This is different from the other "300" workout that I used to do in the past. That one was composed of pullups, deadlifts, single arm dumbbell clean and presses, floor wipers, pushups, and box jumps. This was equally brutal though. Even though my time is significantly fast than what I used to log for the old "300" workout (~24 minutes), that was a long time ago and the movements are vastly different. I should give that workout another go around and see what my time ends up being.


On a separate note, I recently began using a foam roller and a TP massage ball to work out some tender spots in my back and legs. I saw a video on the Crossfit Journal that mentions releasing tension in certain back muscles as a way of decreasing shoulder pain during certain overhead lifts. I will try this method for the next few weeks and see if it brings any gains.

Strength, Max Bench, Short Metcon

Early afternoon


Strength
Bench Press 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1
Loads: 195, 210, 225 (failed third rep), 235 (failed) DNF, DNF


On the minute for 10 minutes: 2 squats at 60% 1RM (160), 3 Incline DB Bench Presses (50 DBs)


Deadlift 5 X 3
80% 1RM (280)


Metcon

7 Thrusters 105#
7 Knees-to-elbows
7 Deadlifts (165#)
7 Burpess
7 Power Cleans (115#)
7 Pullups


2:05

Late afternoon

I had heard about some trails that exist within Valley Forge Park. I've been here a few times (both biking and running) and have only noticed the paved walkways that line the park. Apparently there is a non-paved trail system that exists on the northern side of the river, picking up right where the Schuylkill River Trail meets the Rt. 422 bridge. Ironically, I have ridden my road bike past here hundreds of times, and even made my way down into the parking lot where the trailhead is. I must have ridden right by it. The trail runs parallel to the river, except where it breaks off and winds through forest and meadow areas deep into Valley Forge. This place is a sanctuary for deer and other wildlife, and I was surprised that almost none of the deer and other critters scurried away when I passed by, unless they were close to being underfoot. Several times I came with 10 feet of adult deer and I started to wonder if they would even look up. The trail system was way to big for my 45 minute run. I'll have to come back with the bike, even though they are technically not allowed.

About 5 miles in 45 minutes.


Workout comments: Nothing to report on the max bench press attempt. I was frustrated and quit after the first attempt at 1 rep failed. I wasn't going to waste my time attempting another rep. This same thing happened last week. I don't know if I need more rest or more conditioning, but I have seen consistent gains in the 3RM, but not one improvement in the 1RM.

Metcon, Short run

Late evening

Metcon
5 Rounds for Time
50 Double Unders
20 Parallette Pushups

11:33

0.65 mile run with 30 kipping pullups thrown in.

Supplemental work: 20 minutes foam roller work.

Workout comments: The heat was too much during this workout. Temperature was around 95F at 8:00PM and there was no relief from it. The double unders were pretty good. The new rope I bought is pretty heavy, but still works well. Some nagging pain in my left shoulder blade during the pushups. I might try massuaging it with a tennis ball later tonight to see if this helps with my immobility.

Weighted Trail Run

Got a brand spankin new weighted vest this weekend and obviously I had to try it. I've wanted to take a ruck sack or an odd object for a run through the park and figured this would be a pretty good option. There is a decent 5.5 mile loop that starts and ends at Northwestern and has some pretty good hills to climb. At first, the vest was awkward to wear during a run, because it bounced around on my shoulders and became somewhat distracting. I couldn't tighten it too much, or I hindered my breathing. After 5 minutes or so, it became background noise and I was in a rhythm. That was where the rhythm ended, as I approached one of the steapest hills in the park at the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Bells Mill Rd. I had to stop and walk once or twice, a habit I would repeat on the rest of the hills as well. The weather was not unbearably warm, but I found myself gulping down water at both Valley Green and Northwestern when I finished. It was tougher than I thought, to say the least.

I finished the loop in about 65 minutes, which puts my pace at a pretty surprising slow level, but hopefully this will translate into more speed on future unweighted climbs.

Supplemental work: 20 minutes foam roller massage.

Lunchtime trail run

As I was headed over to the gym today, I bumped into Paul R. It was a great day for running, and I wasn't feeling particularly interested in spending it inside. Running with Paul is as good as a solid tempo workout. He likes to keep a manageable distance between the two of you: get too close behind him and he assumes the pace is too slow and speeds things up. We took a new route involving "the cut" out in a different direction from Malvern. After about 15-20 minutes of paved roads, we were on a back trail heading out towards some radio towers at the top of a pretty steep hill. The trails were blazed by what seemed to be local 4 wheelers and motocross riders. "The cut" was steep, unshaded trail that climbed straight up the hill to the top and crested at the radio towers. I'm not sure if Paul thought I wouldn't make it to the top, or if he just wanted to prolong the trail run, but we took a detour that meandered back and forth to the top. Which is worse: a quick painful death, or a long, slow, nagging one?

I promised myself I wouldn't stop to walk and didn't, for the most part, until we got to the top. Paul created some pretty good space between us, but I kept him in sight the whole way up. After we crested the hill, it was more up and down trail sections, until we finally took the long paved road down to the bottom. Paul mentioned after the 5-6 minute descent that it really put into perspective how high the hill actually was. True words.

We finished in about 50 minutes or so, and Paul estimated around 6.5 miles. Not too bad.

Running, Bench Press, Boot Camp revisited

Early afternoon

Approx 5 miles on trails in about 50 minutes.

Late afternoon

Strength
Bench Press 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1
Loads: 195, 210, 220, 230, 240*, 250*

*The last two rounds were completed with assistance from a spotter. I didn't want help originally, but before I had raised the weight totally, he stepped in and helped lift the weight. I may have completed the 240# attempt without his help, but I defintely would not have completed the 250# attempt.

Metcon
Boot Camp revisited (AMRAP in 20 minutes)

6 Pushups
8 Squats
10 Dips
12 Jumping Lunges
15 Situps

17 rounds + 46 reps

Workout comments: The afternoon run through the park was originally scheduled as a 5K, which somehow always turns into 5 miles. The weather was brutal: almost 95 degrees and humid trekking through the park. I was drenched within a mile of the start. The streams cutting through the nature conservancy were still pretty cold and almost everyone opted to wade through them rather than cross the newly constructed bridges.

The afternoon workout was looming over me all afternoon, but I headed over to attempt the bench press. I have been feeling wiped consistently after these workouts for the past couple of weeks. Healthy food and 8+ hours of sleep should be enough to help me recover, but I'm just not seeing any improvement. It's getting to the point where I am seriously asking myself whether I want to spend the entire week too sore to move.

After yesterday's workout, I got a couple of emails from the instructor in Malvern calling my bluff, so after the failed Bench Press attempt, the repeat metcon sounded more appealing than more strength work. It was pretty much the same format as the class in Spring House. I saw Raph, someone who had also ran earlier in the day and felt I was on an even playing field with at least one other person. Raph broke 3:10 in a recent marathon, only to realize his timing chip was ill-placed and didn't record any of his splits, so his time was unofficial. Unfortunate, but it still doesn't negate the fact that he's pretty fast and has decent endurance.

I felt I had a leg up (and a leg down) on the competition by already knowing what sort of pacing it was going to take to be competitive. The workout is entirely cardiovascular, and starting too slow could dig you into a hole that you can't crawl out of. Everyone was pretty even through the first 4-5 minutes, and I was feeling as if I would never break away from the group. But longer workouts are funny that way. Mental toughness plays as important a role as physical toughness, and it was soon apparently who was making their way towards the front of the pack. Since there were so many other people in the class, you had to call our your name after each completed round so the instructor could record it. This is how I was keeping track of Mike, who always seemed about 10 reps ahead of me and just out of reach. I had him in the corner of my eye, and won't elaborate too much on the sets I noticed him skipping in the middle part of the workout. But that could have been my mind playing tricks on me. He was flying through the workout as quickly as me, and I could tell he was eyeing me up as well. I tried to gain at least 1 rep per round on him during the final 5 minutes, and finally passed him (I think) on the lunges and situps portion of the final round. After we helped each other up, I found out that he had a rowing background like me, as evidenced by the soaked rowing T-shirt I was wearing. We joked about the similarity to a 6K, both in length and in not knowing exactly where your rivals are.

The only down side of the workout was a echo of what I've heard several times before: that my pushups are not being done to full extension. I should video myself doing these, because I don't know where this criticism is coming from. I can't lock out my arms any fuller, and my entire body is touching the floor at the bottom of each rep. I guess several instructors can't be wrong.

Boot Camp/JNJ Site Challenge

Early afternoon

Boot Camp: AMRAP in 20 minutes

6 Pushups
8 Squats
10 Dips
12 Lunges (sub jumping lunges)
15 Situps

16 rounds + 14 reps

Workout comments: There was a site fitness challenge issued by the JNJ fitness center today, although I'm not completely sure how the rules were set up. What I do know is that each site would performed the same organized workout today and the results would be recorded and sent out at a later date. I'm guessing that they'll take the average number of rounds completed per site and compare them. Who knows?

The workout was all cardio. At one point it was painfully obvious that the room was getting much hotter with everyone working hard. There were no fans and I was dying. I couldn't tell, but I could see Alec on the other side of the room trading places with me for first place. I tried to block him out and just focus on moving as fast as possible. Great plan.

The situps were defintely the limiting factor. I was noticeable fatiguing at this point in the workout, and it felt as if the situps were taking the same amount of time as the rest of the round. I didn't have a watch, which was probably for the best. I think not seeing the clock defintely helps you push a little faster.

Longish run

A longish run today through the Wissahickon after work. I say "longish" because anything over 5 miles is long these days. The weather was hot and steamy in the park and humidity hung stubbornly in the valley lining the creek. I had to pull a quick clothes change in the car before heading out and my khakis were sticking to my legs. Luckily there was no one close by to witness this.

The run started out nice and slow on the Ridge Ave side of the creek, following the route of the Wissahickon Trial Classic a few weeks ago, at least for the first part of the run. I kept running on that side of the valley until just before Valley Green, where I crossed over and made my way back to Northwestern. I had to stop a few times to walk and I was surprised at how little energy I had for the run. It was a good run, everything considered, and another push to get back the running fitness I've lost over the past few months.

I thought about the several errands I had to run after this and how I was defintely going to put it off for another day. After just moving into a new house, dozens of unpacked boxes, and multiple much-needed items, I'm still putting off house tasks in favor of workouts. I think I need to switch up my priorities.

Today's run was about 8.5 miles in 82 minutes.

Deadlift, Incline DB Bench, Pullups

Late afternoon

Strength
Deadlift 5, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3
Loads: 207, 257, 277, 307, 317, 323

Incline DB Bench Press*
3 X Max Reps (55# DBs)
17, 18, 20

Pullups*
3 X 10

*BP and Pullups performed as supersets.

Helen, Basketball

Early afternoon

Helen

3 Rounds for Time

400m run
21 KB Swings (53# KB)
12 Pullups

9:17

Late afternoon

About 2 hours of basketball. Half court. Still pretty winded and tired.

Workout comments: Nothing about the Helen workout seemed intimidating. I think 12 pullups is fairly manageable, and I've been doing tons of KB swings unbroken, so I knew these wouldn't be a problem either. There's only so fast you can move through KB swings without throwing your back out. That left the run. Still, with only 400m to run, you can quicken your pace by 30 sec/mile, see only a few seconds gain in time, but still pay the price with your body. I was trying to work out a sub 7:00 Helen in my head beforehand and basically would only have 2.5 minutes to finish all swings and pullups if I ran at a decent 6:00 min/mile pace. Since this was the first time I was doing it, I didn't think too much about it.

Did the workout with John W. at lunch. Always better to do a workout like this with someone who will push you and keep track of your progress. Since we aren't really supposed to take the equipment outside, the running portion was done on a treadmill. I initially set my first 400m pace at 6:30, but soon knew this was going to be too slow. I sped up to 6:00 min/mile for the second and third sets, but even then felt pretty decent on the subsequent movements. Pullups were still the limiting factor, as all the KB swings were unbroken. It's just amazing to know that there is an extra 2min19sec floating around in there somewhere to remove.

Bench Press, Central Bucks Cross fit

Late afternoon

Strength
Bench Press 5, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3

Loads: 155, 175, 195, 215, 220, 225

Metcon

4 Rounds
Push Press (75#)
Double Unders
Box Jumps (24in)
KB Swings (50#)
Burpees

23, 53, 16, 22, 14 = 128
22, 56, 13, 14, 13 = 118
24, 46, 13, 16, 11 = 110
26, 41, 10, 16, 11= 104

Total: 460

Workout comments: I was talking to Mike from Central Bucks Crossfit today and this workout basically is modelled after the "Fight Gone Bad" workout. This workout was one of the first few in the Crosfit era, given to a ultimate fighter who, after finishing the workout, said it was like a fight gone bad. The Fight Gone Bad workout consists of3 rounds of SDHP, Push Press, Wall Ball, Rower and Box Jumps. A good score is around 300 and Mike's best was 315. Since Malvern has a rower, maybe I'll give this workout a try soon. They are hosting this workout at CBC on Sunday at 11. If I didn't have tickets for the Phillies game, then I would defintely want to go to this.

PR for the 3RM in the bench press today. This follows a PR in the 3RM in the squat on Monday. Honestly, I was loading the bar without thinking and put 215 on the bar as if I were performing the squat, where I continuously move up in 20lb increments. I didn't realize I had 215 on the bar until the 3rd rep and by then it didn't matter. So I figured I'd go for it, adding 220 and then 225 to the bar. 225 was a struggle, but I got pressed out.

Boot Camp, Track Intervals

Early afternoon

Workout:

30s Add ons
Alt. R/L Shoulder Press (35# DB)
Alt. R/L Push Press (35#DB)
Alt. R/L High Pulls (35# DB)

Basically, you start with single arm shoulder presses with each arm for 30s each, followed by 30s of rest. This is followed by shoulder presses with each arm, followed by push presses with each arm, then 60s rest. Finally, shoulder presses, push presses, and high pulls. Did not keep track of the reps. Left shoulder somewhat sore during this workout. Not a good sign.

30, 20, 10

KB Swings (#50)
Dips (18in step)
Squats

20 Double Unders

*The double unders were performed after each round.
6:16

Late afternoon

Track intervals

1600m (3:00 rest)
1200m (2:30 rest)
1000m (2:00 rest)
800m (1:30 rest)
600m (1:00 rest)
400m (0:30 rest)

*Each interval was meant to be done 1 sec faster /400m split. In other words, based on a 5:51 for 1600m, here are what the rest of my times should have looked like: 4:21, 3:35, 2:50, 2:06, 1:23.

Times: 5:51, 4:24, 3:48, 3:01, 2:19, 1:22

Workout comments: I went down to Chestnut Hill Academy for a track session with the Wissahickon Wanderers. It was very impromptu, and I got there within minutes of them starting their workout. I guess I got about a half mile warmup before things got rolling, and that is being modest. I ran into Leo S. while I was there, and we caught up a bit before things got started. I've seen a bunch of these guys at various trail races over the past two years, but never introduced myself. There was another guy whose name escapes me now that I ran into before the Half-Wit Half Marathon. What a disaster that race was. I was relieved to find out that everyone felt the same about that. They are targeting that race again this year. I would love to sign up, but I'm not sure I'll be able to with the shore season rolling around.

I wasn't expecting to hang with most of the runners there, but I had no expectations and tried not to look at my watch for the first interval. I was a bit surprised by 5:51. I was pushing it, but was expecting something more like 6:30. Maybe I was pushing a little too hard, because the subsequent intervals were defintely out of my reach. I was usually near the back when each interval was finished, so I was running on limited rest compared to the others. When all was said and done, I think my times were better than I expected, but still a lot of room for improvement. This is something I'll defintely take advantage of in the future.

Short Trail Run, Squats, Pullups, Bench Press

Early afternoon


3.5 miles in about 36 minutes (most trails)

Late afternoon


Strength
Squats 5, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3
Loads: 155, 175, 195, 215, 235, 255


Strict Pullups 4 X 15

*Pullups were done intermittently between sets of squats to reduce workout time. All of the pullups sets were broken.


Bench Press 5 X 3
Load: 205

Workout comments: A short, spontaneous trail loop in Malvern through the rock quarry and part of the nature conservancy. The group was made up of Paul R., Chris R., and myself. Paul was joining us for the first part of our run as part of a larger 10K loop he was doing. The weather was hot, humid, and almost unbearable. The 70+ inches of snow we got this year really took a toll on the area and caused a lot of downed trees and shrubbery to block many of the trails, essentially turning the area into a sauna. Still, it's better than running on the roads solo and as soon as the sweat seal was broken, it was envigorating.

Chris and I weaved our way in and out of the already woven thickets that lined some of the trails and climbed and crawled our way up and down slopes. At one point, Chris asked me if I'd rather take a path that involved crawling on hands and knees under a few fallen trees, or if I'd rather claw my way up a few potential mudslides. A typical decision that needed to be made. Chris did a much better job at giving me a break making my way through everything and not ditching me. Of course, I was pushing like mad up most of the hills to keep up. Days like today really are just money in the bank. They either prepare you for the worst of race conditions, or they make race day feel more like a stroll in the park. So long as you don't subject yourself to heat exhaustion, it can really help your performance in the long run.

For the second workout in a row, I've hit 255 as a 3RM for the squat. This is pushing my 1RM of 265 pretty close, and if I keep up this programming, hopefully I'll be able to move my 1RM up to 275 in 2 weeks. That's just wishful thinking, however.

Metcon

Early afternoon


Metcon
100 Double Unders then
4 Rounds:
10 Thrusters (95#)
20 KB Swings (53#)
30 Situps


13:59

Late afternoon

Went for a short run with John W. down in the park after work. It was a little humid, but a great afternoon not to get out in the park. Stuck mainly to the lower trails and then back on Forbidden Drive on the way back to NorthWestern. Should have made this return trip a tempo run but I think our legs were still pretty heavy from the afternoon workout.


Workout comments: I finished the double unders in about a minute and a half and averaged about 3 minutes or so on the four rounds. I finished all thrusters without dropping the weight, and resting only once during the KB swings. I broke during the 3rd round of situps for a few seconds. I was disappointed that I couldn't string together a more consistent stretch of double unders. I'm convinced that this skill comes and goes. You can have good days and bad days. I had previously thought that the Vibrams were providing an edge, but they didn't really help today.

Bench Press, Squats, Metcon

Early afternoon

Strength
Bench Press 5, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3
Loads: 155, 175, 195, 205, 215 (failed 3rd rep), 215 (88% 1RM)
2 minutes rest between sets

Squats 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
Load: 225 (85% 1RM)
2 minutes rest between sets

Metcon

AMRAP in 12 minutes:
5 Power Cleans (155#)
10 Pullups
15 Situps

5 + 23 reps

Workout comments: I usually only take 2 minutes rest between sets on strength movements. This is done for two reasons: 1. I want to keep my system taxed as consistently as possible during the workout. 2. I only have a certain amount of time for lunch and I don't want to spend countless hours in the gym. However, I gave myself a little extra rest of the last set of bench presses and it seemed to make the difference.

The metcon was tough. I was shooting for at least 8 rounds, but I knew after the second round that was not going to happen. The first round came in around 1:20, but eventually the power cleans got me. This is defintely a movement that I only have a little experience with. I don't remember the last time I tried for a 1RM in this, but I remember it not being too much higher than 180#. Seems like it might be a little higher now considering I just did 30 reps of 155#. What's even funnier is that Grace never seems as heavy as 155# did today, but in actuality it's only 20 lbs lighter.

Everything is relative.

Rest Day

Took this rainy afternoon as an opportunity to finish painting the dining room. I was planning on running afterwards, but I underestimated how long it would take to finish.

Squats, Cleans, Bench Press

Early Afternoon

Squats 5, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3
Loads: 155, 175, 195, 225, 245, 255

Cleans 5 X 5
Load: 140

Bench Press 3 X 3
Load: 205

Workout comments: I think this is a new PR for the 3 rep back squat. I'll have to keep at this a few more weeks and then try another 1RM. Felt pretty good this morning. Nothing too sore.

Malvern Run

Today was supposed to be the first day of my so-called "schedule" of workouts. The workout for today was squats, cleans, and bench presses. When I woke up this morning, I knew that plan was out. It was cool, clear, and breezy outside today and there was defintely going to be some people running. Oddly, only Paul wanted to run today, and we headed up a different route than I'm used to here in Malvern. Paul promised plenty of trails (and hills). Damn.

We headed out on a 7-8 mile loop that climbed two long challenging hills. I could defintely feel the trail race still in my legs from Saturday. It was grueling, but we soon made it onto the horseshoe trail, which traced back and forth for about a mile and a half. It was rocky and technical, but better than being out on the roads. Paul shot ahead a few times and I gradually caught up, although I'm not sure if it was my increasing pace or his sympathetic slow down. The weather really was awesome, especially in the shade and there was plenty of breeze. If I was sweating at all, I couldn't tell even though we were pushing the pace compared to what I'm used to. The trip home made up for the tough route out: mostly downhill roads with minimal traffic. The run ended in a long mile flat the Paul usually uses for some temp, albeit not today. I was thankful for that, mostly because I didn't know where to turn back into our office complex.

Pretty good run altogether. I wish I was more familiar with the area because I wouldn't have to depend on other people to make it back in one piece. I've attempted to run on my own in Malvern in the past and got stuck on some long detours.

About 7.5 miles in 61 minutes today.

Wissahickon Trail Classic

Fairmount Park is the largest urban park system in the country, contrary to what many people think about Central Park in NY. Several parts of the park have a pretty elaborate trail system, the Wissahickon creek area in particular. What I could never figure out is why people don't sponsor more trail races in this area. Pretzle City Sports seems to have a monopoly on trail races up in Reading, but there are only a handful of races in the Wissahickon, and many of them are friendly, informal races sponsored by the local running group, the Wissahickon Wanderers.



Today was the 5th annual Wissahickon Trail Classic. This was my first time running this race, but I was pretty familiar with the course. It sticks mostly to the Northwestern end of the park, weaving in and out of Forbidden Drive and the trails on both sides of the creek. I was surprised to find that there were well over 500 participants this year. I knew parking would be a pain, so I decided on a light warmup run and parked about 1.5 miles away. After registration and a message from the race organizers, we were ready to go.



Starting near the front of the group was key for this race, considering that most of the course meanders through single track, and passing anyone is near impossible. Still, I knew my pace would be middle-of-the-pack at best, so that's exactly where I lined up. I ran into Mike Santoro in the middle of everyone and we caught up shortly before the gun went off. The first half mile of the race was straight down Forbidden Drive, and it lulls you into a false comfort zone, since it has a pretty good net decline. This didn't last for long, because one of the biggest hills in the park starts at Forbidden Drive and Bells Mill Rd. This hill might not necessarily be the longest, but it defintely has some of the steaper portions in the park. I took this hill slowly, but still tried to keep pace with most of the people around me. My strategy in most races is to pick one or several people after the first 10 minutes of the race have gone by that look to be of comparable fitness levels and make them my goal. 10 minutes into a 10K is usually the point in which many of the overachievers have lost their wind and died off. It's also the point where I'm still feeling good enough to pick a competitive target, not someone I figure I can likely beat so I don't have to work as hard. I figured this first hill would do a good job at weeding out the crowd. I focused in on two guys, "green shirt" and "orange shirt" and made sure to keep an eye on their progress.



After the first big hill, the course took us through the newly renovated Wissahickon area. This area of the park has been cleared of many trees in an effort to rejuvinate some of the local animal species that have been faltering. It's a nice change of scenery, although at first it just looked like another urban development project. From there we bobbed and weaved all the way down to Rex Avenue, where we crossed over to the eastern side of the park. I passed green early on this side, but traded places with "orange" several times for several miles. I realized I had picked orange for more than one reason: he looked more cyborg than human. His visor and custom Oakley tinted sunglasses made a nice compliment to his Garmin Forerunner and his Ipod shuffle that clung delicately to his Zoot Tri top. It almost made me chuckle at first, but I was getting more and more aggravated each time he passed me. I finally screwed my head on straight and pulled away from him on a long uphill about 2 miles from the finish.



I joined a pack of about 7 runners that clung together like oil in water for the next mile down to Forbidden Drive. Several times a runner would pull away or fall off the pack, but would quickly rejoing the group. They carried me mentally down to the covered bridge where the group started to disintegrate on the half mile stretch back towards Bells Mill Rd. I was having a mental block and couldn't remember if the course continued down Forbidden Drive or looped up into the trails for the last half mile. I knew it had to go up, but I didn't want to admit it. I hit the trail hard but soon died. I got passed by my friend Mike S. on this last portion, who never stopped running even though I stopped to walk several times. The only thing that got my legs moving was "orange" was making a charge from somewhere at the bottom of the trail. He got pretty close a few times, but I managed to pull away once more. I could tell he was gunning for me. I made it up and over the top and down the long stretch to the finish line. There was a a few hundred yards on Forbidden Drive to the finish, where everyone can get one last chance to leg it out before the finish. I was all by myself on the downhill, but I could tell from the tone of people cheering that they weren't excited to see a guy like me pushing to the finish. Someone behind me was making a push. I sped up as much as I could before I heard the breathing and footsteps behind me, and it's a good thing I did because "orange" was only 10 yards or so behind me down the chute.

A great race overall. I liked the course and was glad for the warm weather, but not the humidity. I caught up with Mike S. a bit more after the race and we planned a few more excursions. I grabbed the rest of my gear and ran the last 1.5 miles back to my car. I was supposed to paint the living room today. That didn't happen.

10K in 52:08

Morning Trail Run

Morning


OK. Philadephia seasons as we know them are toast.


The winter brought Philadelphia a total of 71.7 inches of snow in the 2009/2010 winter season. In a manner typical of recent Philadelphia weather seasons, this summer is shaping up to be as hot and steamy as the winter was cold and white. We have already had 3 days in May that have topped 90F, with 11 days pushing well past 80. June is no different: each day has been 80F or higher, and I hear tomorrow is supposed to break 90F as well, which would set a new record (2002).


It was purely spontaneous that I decided to head out in the park this morning to run. I had to be in Spring House, and the park is conveniently along the way. I had my Vibrams with me, which could have turned out to be a bad idea, since the rocks and stones lining the park floor can pretty much cause a disaster on the underside of your cushionless foot. But it felt great and I wasn't concerned with any pre-conceived notions of pace and timing. I haven't run regularly in a while and I was just happy to be out there in the morning. I'm not a morning person to begin with, but that detail rests more on the fact that I love sleeping. If I happen to be awake and there's an opportunity to run, I think it's much more enjoyable than running in the afternoon or in the middle of the day, when the weather is at it's most extreme and it becomes more of a chore.

It was pretty hazy out this morning and I had a good sweat going. It was a pretty good run. I didn't know the distance and time until it was over, so I ran until I was tired. About 5.5 miles in 60 minutes.

Strength, Randy

Early afternoon


Workout

Strength: Bench Press 5, 5, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3


Loads: 105, 155, 175, 195, 210, 220 (failed third rep), 210


Squats: 10 X 2 (60% 1RM every minute on the minute)
* I changed the load to 70% after the first 3 rounds. Started at 160 and increased to 185.

"Randy"
75 Power Snatches (Ground to overhead any way)
80#


Untimed-->stopwatch reset halfway through the workout. Based on my pace through the first few minutes, I can make my best guess at approx 6 minutes. I'll have to repeat this workout next week to find out for sure.



Workout comments: I will start training my 5 major movements (clean, bench press, pullups, deadlift, squat) with more frequency in order to hit my 2010 goals. I'm going to try and follow the MEBB guidelines for increasing a 1RM. Hopefully if I can workout each movement 2-3 times per week, I'll be in good shape. I'm guessing this means I have to work 3 movements, 3 times per week.

Deadlift, Pullups, Back to Back Couplets

Early afternoon


Workout


Strength: Deadlift 5, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3


Loads: 207, 257, 277, 297, 307, 317


3 X 10 Pullups


Metcon 1: AMRAP in 12 minutes
SDHP (77#)
Thrusters (77#)


5 + 13


Metcon 2: AMRAP in 12 minutes
25 Situps
25 Double Unders

8 + 19

Workout comments: I felt considerably better than I did during yesterday's workout. Even after the deadlifts and pullups, I still had a lot of energy to do both metcons. It was probably the best consistent strings of double unders I have ever put together. I only faulted on a few of the rounds, and it was only 1 fault per round. I honestly think the difference was the Vibrams I was wearing for the workout today. I felt like wasn't losing any momentum by landing on the cushioning of a normal sneaker. The situps were defintely the limiting factor on this workout.

Boot Camp

Early afternoon

Workout: Boot Camp

4 Rounds: AMRAP in 1 minute

Push Press (45# DBs)

KB Swings (55#)

Box Jumps (24in)

Plank Pushups

Squat Thrust w/ Mountain Climber

16, 16, 9, 9, 6

Finished things up with Tabatta situps: 12

Workout comments: I always treat these kinds of workouts on the Tabatta scoring system, because there is really no way to keep track of all the reps during each round. Had no energy today. Little sleep and no breakfast probably are to blame for that. I don't think I have ever had the sensation of honestly wanting to walk out of a workout because I was doing so badly. I probably should have, because I took a spill during the third round of box jumps. Could have been worse, but it was still throbbing pretty bad for the rest of the workout.