Richmond Half Marathon

November 2013: I posted a while back about my first marathon. This time, it wasn't a trail run, so I set out to run a much faster time. I was aiming for under 2 hours. It was a cold day and it started raining about half way through the race. I ran fast, but was worried about a sore calf acting up. With a mile left, I knew that I could do it if I just ran a little faster than my current mile pace. I pushed hard and used up all the reserves in the tank. I came into the last downhill and used my momentum to fall across the finish line. Final time: 1hr 59min. Goal achieved!







I was exhausted, and also cold once I stopped running. I got some snacks and then walked back to find my mom and finished the race again with her at a time of about 3hr 20min. We had so much fun together and I was so happy to be able to do this with my mom.

August Update

Here is an update that I forgot to post a while back. I'm still working out and having so much fun! I'm not really writing anything, though, because I've been so busy with other things.

Crossfit 831 - A New Adventure

Thanks to the magic of Groupon and the amazing generosity of one local gym owner, I was able to afford a membership to my first crossfit gym!  My first class was last Monday.

For the longest time, I have wanted to do crossfit in an official gym with an official coach.  I first started crossfitting about 4-5 years ago with my housemates at 24 hour fitness.  I've done it a lot on my own, but this is a new adventure.  I want the coaching and the community, and it seems like it will deliver both.

 My first class we did this workout:
3×3 Front Squat
First two with a pause and 3rd regular.
WOD:
700m Row
30 Thrusters (75/105)
75 Double unders

I did 145# on the front squats (with pauses).  I've never done pauses like that before, but it was pretty fun, and good on the quads.

When I did the WOD, I accidentally put 115# on the bar to start.  About half way through, I had to drop 20# to 95#.   I finished in about 16:40, I think.

 I got some serious DOMS... mostly in my traps from the heavy thrusters, but also in the quads, calves and maybe a bit all over.

I'm excited about this new adventure, and I'm hereby announcing my new goal:
Cut my Fran time in half by Christmas! (in other words,  under 11:04)

The Numbers Say I'm Straawwng!!

I did it! Three weeks ahead of schedule, I hit the strength standards for the basic lifts.  Also during the five weeks I gained about 2 pounds, and I think it's pretty much all muscle.  I'm starting to look bigger, and lats are looking wing-like.  I will post some update photos probably in a week or so.

Here are the results:

DEADLIFT
293 lb. - July 16  [Intermediate standard  = 280 lb.]

BACK SQUAT
238 lb. - Oct. 8 [standard = 238 lb.]

BENCH PRESS
178 lb. - Oct. 17 [standard = 178 lb.]

OVERHEAD PRESS
120.5 lb. - Oct. 10 [standard = 121]*

*note these are the strength standards at 155 lbs. but my weight has ranged from 151-154 during these last few months.

Now I need to set a new goal.  I just joined a crossfit gym, so I plan on doing crossfit for the next few months.  Stay tuned....

Gunnning For Strength Standards

My new goal is to knock out the "Intermediate" level strength standards listed here: http://www.strstd.com/

Of course, those standards are somewhat arbitrary, but hey... if you don't aim at something when you're pissing, you'll end up splashing pee everywhere. 

I've already surpassed the deadlifts, so now I'm focusing on squats (3x per week) and bench and overhead press (2x per week).  My hope is that within 2 months or so, I can hit those standards and then give myself the prize for "Totally Intermediate Superstar."

I'm still trying to follow the leangains diet, with an average of about 2500 cal per day.  I think this should be a good amount for building muscle.  We'll see how it goes.

Extra Bonus: If I can add 10 lbs. to my deadlift, I'll be doing double my bodyweight.  That will rock!

The Longest Run Of My Life (So Far)

Last Monday (labor day) I completed my first half marathon.  A total of 13.1 miles made this run the longest of my life so far.  I had minimal training, doing a 7.6 mile run one week earlier, and a session of half mile sprints a few days later.  Other than that, I had done a little running a few weeks back, but nothing that even came close to the 13.1 mile mark.

The surprise for me wasn't that I finished, but how fast I was able to run!  The 7.6 mile training run was done at a 11:30 minute/mile pace, and the half marathon I completed at a 10:43 pace (including hills!)  My total time for the race was 2:20:25.

Following my mom's advice, I started slow and tried to just settle in to a comfortable pace for the long haul.  She said it's better to let people pass in the beginning, and then start passing people later in the race.  At the 5 mile mark  I was surprised to be running under a 10 minute mile.  I felt great, not tired at all, and from that point on I didn't let anyone pass me.  On the contrary, I must have passed a dozen or more people before the race finished.  (There were less than 200 people running the half-marathon so they were pretty sparsely distributed on the course).

At the last mile, I crashed.  I felt so hungry and had to start walking.  I think I could've finished 5 minutes faster if I had gotten some more calories at the rest stops.   When I finished, I drank 2 sodas, a Gatorade and a bottle of water.  I ate a ton of potato chips, brownies, m&ms, and some organic berries and cottage cheese (from home.)  Basically, I pigged out.  I learned my lesson for next time.  Although, now I have my sights set on a full marathon ...2013, perhaps?

First Ever Muscle-Up!!!

Oh yeah, baby!  It's been a couple months since I last tried muscle-ups.  At the time, I could do about 8-10 strict pull-ups and 6-8 strict dips.  After the last three months of training, I got up to about 12 pullups and 9 dips max effort.  So, I had a good feeling that I was ready to bust out a legit M.U. 

I hit it on my third try, but check out the video for full dramatic effect.  I bet next time I try, I'll get a set of two.