Sunday

So, I decided on the "800m" (not sure why I call them this as I have no sense of the distance!)

Did 7 sets: 3 min hard followed by 30 sec rest

5 min warmup and then cool down run back to the car = 45 mins of moving

The first 3 sets had longer breaks as my watch was acting up and I couldn't remember how to get it to move from one interval to the next. Ended up setting one timer for 3.30. This confusion also meant I did an extra 30 sec sprint in the middle somehow! Really pleased how this went as my goal when I set off was 5 reps. Felt great. Nel had a blast (and then a bath, which she was less psyched about when we got home!). Beautiful fall day today. Love life! Woo hoo!

800's in shorts

Monday, on Emma's recommendation:

With a two minute rest (walk and/or jog) between runs. Other than the first rest, this was not enough time for a full heart-rate recovery.

In pursuit of a faster 5K

Twelve hours after chasing some U20-yr-old varsity soccer players around the frisbee field, I punished my legs and lungs with a short and anything-but-sweet set of "eights":

Four rounds:
Run 800 m
8/leg split squats (rear leg raised)
8 low bench push-ups (used the side of the kiddie pool at the park!)
= die.

Downhill runs (#1, #3) took 3:20 minutes. Uphill runs were 3:35 and 3:45 minutes respectively. Time between runs = 1:30 min (including squats, PUs and a short rest).

Wish I could say I did eight rounds. Maybe I'll put this one on repeat and add on sets each time. (Ugh, just the thought puts me in traction.) I'm such a wimp.

Untimed 800s

4 x 800 m run (theoretically as fast as I can manage)
After each 800 -- raised leg split squats (8 per leg)

Evens were uphill and quite a slog. I didn't have a timing mechanism, so I just did the best I could and imagined I was going super-fast.

Third time around

I love this running workout. It's so hard, but I can't help coming back to it. I haven't done it since May, so let's have a look and see if I've improved at all:

Run

1600 m = 6:57 (6:56)
rest 3 min
1200 m = 5:34 (5:52)
rest 2 min
800 m = 3:25 (3:25)
rest 1 min
400 m = 1:36 (1:43)

Total -- 23:32 (23:56)

I don't trust my math, nor should you, but it looks like an improvement. Might be the result of going through a frisbee season, or the fact that the previous run was in a heatwave while yesterday's was completed under PERFECT conditions: bright sunny, about 10 degrees, with the headwind on the short side of the loop.

Also, I felt like barfing after each round this time, too.

Geeking out

I am a geek: I changed my shoes between the weightlifting and running portions of my workout today. All I need is a big-ass calf tat and the transformation will be complete. Le sigh.

Deadlifts - 135 x 6, 6, 6, 6 (yes, time to move up)
Bench press - 80 x 6, 6, 5; 65 x 10
Romanian deadlifts - 95 x 8, 8, 8
Sumo deadlift high-pulls - 52 x 8, 8, 8
Run - 800 m x 2 (90 sec rest)
V-sit ball touches - 30, 30, 30
Push-ups - 5, 5; from the knees, 15
Plank - 40 count (this was a cop-out, instead of more push-ups)

When I got to the gym at ten-thirty this morning, I'd already been up for going on five hours. And this is becoming a "normal" schedule. For better or worse, I may yet become a morning person.

Six by eight

Last Friday. Early morning. Pressed for time.

6 x 800 m runs. Rest (walk/jog 120m) @75 seconds in between. Time for each 800m ranged from 3:35 to 3:50 min.

Total: 5.4 km in 28:37 min.

Fatigue sets in.

'Stuff' just seems harder with less sleep. I bet I am not the first to notice this.


Tuesday: 4 x 800 m runs outside. Times were 2:57, 3:09, 3:30, 3:30. Running on yesterday's wimpy squat legs; interesting.

Wednesday: Press 7 reps; 95, 105, 115 (failed), 110, 110, 110, 110, 110. Then Weighted pulls; (25lbs) 10, 5, 4. Finisher press with 45 pounds; 25, 12, 10. Finisher pull ups (no weight); 10, 7, 4.

Yesterday was two 1 mile runs from and to the garage where the car was being fixed. Un-timed, for good reason.

Reporting in

I have been trying to publish this f*cker for a week. I wrote it two Satruday mornings ago...

Thursday was;
press 7x1 with 105,115,115,115,110,110,105 then
Power cleans 3x5 with 115, 135, 145 then,
Deadlift, 5 reps with 250.

Friday saw mad 800's. At 1% grade 2:54, 2:56, 3:13. Then I had to stop. It was close to barf time.

Off to China where I'll be exercising my eyelids I suspect...

A ball slam: take a rubber medicine ball (6kg) and lift it over your head. bring it down as hard as you can as though you are trying to smash it to pieces on the floor. Use your legs, arms, abs; grunt. It will bounce and as you come up from the slam place your hands under the ball, heave it up and do it again. Try to make it bounce to head height or more. Once you have the rythm you will start to chant "I've been working on the railroad..." Well, maybe not.