Challenge 2008

So December 19th has come and gone and so has another challenge. Once again this year the weather has toyed with the potential outcome and mother nature once again walks away the victor. The day though was surely not a total loss. After the DEATH STORM 2008 the night before, we were left with several inches of sleet and snow with a nice layer of ice on top. I headed out on the bike around 6:30 and just as I opened the door there was a big flash of light and thunder... great... another good omen. The riding was even slower than planned due to the conditions but the early morning ride was quite beautiful while the snow was still falling. By 7am I had 3.2 miles in, at 8:30 I was at 10.3, 9:15 saw 16.4 and total finish by 11:40 with 27.1. Making certain I was not the most exciting story of the day, our dog Kyson went into action breaking through his electric fence and going on the hunt for me and my bike. Luckily I found him just a few blocks away from our house... all he wanted was to run next to the bike, which he did all the way home and back through the fence. I received several hellos from people out cleaning off their drives and even more bewildered looks as I made several laps around town.

The local news station was scheduled to interview me around noon, but thanks to the IL governor making a news statement and then a cameraman calling in sick it turned out that I was not quite so newsworthy. So slightly after noon I started out on the run. TERRIBLE is how I would describe it. I was already feeling tired and my shins and knees were sore, what was I suppose to expect when the longest I'd previously ridden a bike for was about 5 miles? I was able to run 11 miles on my own before my left knee really started giving me trouble, so I did a few miles on the elliptical and finished off walking the rest with Shannan. Ended up with just over 16 miles.

Though tired and hungry the night was not over as the party was about to begin. We came up a few short at the party due to weather and conflicting events but still managed a few over 20. The night went well and a good time had by all (I think) and I didn't even throw up! Overall I learned alot about my body and potential during the day along with finding out that I can eat alot and run at the same time! Next year will surely bring better preparation and more planning, but in the end it's usually the weather that determines just how far you'll go.


Here are the ending stats:
-27 miles biking - completed
-27 miles running - completed only 16 miles
-27 kiss songs - 30 sec. of 25 songs (I just can't get into them)
-27 friends at the party - ended around 22
-27 pullups and 270 pushups - Not even attempted
-A great birthday... completed

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes, gifts, and for making it out to the party in less than ideal weather. See you next year!

IT'S ON!

Despite this supposed horrific weather and the ICE STORM OF THE CENTURY, the challenge is on and there's no stopping just because a little water is falling from the sky. The route may be as bad as I'd planned for so this really isn't much of a surprise. The temps are suppose to be pretty decent during the day which will hopefully melt everything down enough for people to make it out by Friday night. I've taken these past two days off to rest up and prior to that I had just been doing the daily WOD's (by the way burpees are my new worst enemy). I'm going shopping this afternoon for goodies to eat throughout the day and of course some pedialite. Then tonight it's all about prep and will for the best possible outcome. I'll be starting the biking around 5-6am tomorrow morning to leave plenty of time to finish, the running portion should take place around 12pm. I'll be stopping at the house every lap (every 30 min or so) so if you want to stop by that's where I'll be. Oh and feel free to join in for a lap if you so desire. Party is tomorrow night at Woo Dogs in Orion starting around 6:30. Hope to see everyone there and be careful out there tomorrow.

- There will come a day when you can no longer do this, today is not that day.

wed. & thurs.

Wednesday night was a rest day from the main crossfit workouts and was suppose to be a 60 min time trial for running. That seemed somewhat excessive considering the time frame so I ended up doing 2.9 miles in 23 minutes instead. That was plenty for me (and Kyson too) and after the challenge I'll start following these a little more precisely. Tonight's WOD was "nasty girls" and even as I typed this I still feel like I could throw up. 3 rounds of 50 squats, 7 muscle ups, 10 hanging cleans with 135lbs. Since I can't do nor have the means to do muscle ups I instead did 3 rounds of 28 pullups and 28 dips to substitute. I also only used 65lbs for the cleans. My total finish time was 16 minutes. For those wanting to see the WOD in action check this out http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/051204.wmv .Now I'm going to go cry in shower and hopefully not throw up. Cheers.

tuesday

Today's crossfit WOD was 50-40-30-20-10 rep rounds of double unders and situps. completed this in about 14 minutes which probably isn't too good since I'm not real great at the jump rope yet. Definitely feeling it in my shoulders today from the clean and jerks yesterday, haven't felt that kind of soreness for too many years. I'm already feeling stronger and the actual strength gains probably won't be more than a few weeks away. After the WOD me and Kyson went for a run in the fresh snow, did 2.5 miles with interval sprints the last 700m or so. I like doing the sprints uphill cause although it leaves you winded you get a certain satisfaction out of knowing that your legs and lungs are getting just a little bit stronger. Tomorrow will likely be a rest day which will probably be harder than some workouts, mostly because my energy is getting higher and I feel as though I should always be doing something. But as the saying goes, we grow stronger from rest, not more training.

sunday and monday

I'm starting to incorporate more and more crossfit into my workouts and Sunday night's was a brutal one. Sunday afternoon I put in an 8 mile run outside and that will likely be my last "long run" before the challenge. I'll mostly be doing the crossfit main WOD's and the endurance workouts. After the challenge I'll start incorporating more long runs to prepare for the 50 miler in April. Last nights workout was 3 rounds of 21-15-9 of sumo deadlift highpulls and overhead squats (hardest thing I've done in some time). The sdhp I was using 35lbs and the squats I was only using the 15lb bar and they were kicking my ass, literally. Doing squats with your arms fully extended is in a whole new league of makes me want to puke. I finished up the day with an extra mile on the elliptical. Tonight was 7 rounds of 1 rep of clean and jerk (haven't done these since high school) and it went surprisingly well. The weight for the rounds went 65,65,75,75,85,85,85. Pretty sure my clean form is terrible, but the jerk portion seemed fairly smooth. Less than two weeks to go...OH!! and I downloaded Rev Theory's new cd tonight which I will be listening to during parts of the challenge... you should also check out the singers girlfriend, Jamie Eason, who is a fitness model and competitor. In parting just remember, being weak is a choice.


Jamie Eason

balls cold

So my longest run in the past week has been 2.5 miles due to snow, the temps being balls ass cold, and my linger sickness that just won't quit. Instead I've been down in the dungeon doing elliptical work and crossfit WODs. Last night I did a bag workout (Shannan got me a sweet new double end bag) and tonight I did "Fran" which was 3 round 21-15-9 of thrusters and pullups. I only used 8 lb dumbbells for the thrusters (that's all I have until I go pick up all my weights at the rents) and did jumping chin ups. Still a great workout and almost puke worthy... I'll keep working on that. I really want to get a long run in this weekend so we'll see what the day brings, otherwise I'll probably head out to SBP and do some EXTREME HIKING! Hope everybody has a great weekend!

snow run

Kyson sleeping in this morning


Well tonight me and Kyson had our first run in the snowy streets of Orion together. Only did 2.5 miles and am going downstairs shortly to punch the bag till I puke or get really hungry. Tonight was also the first run in my new Salomon shoes. I wasn't real sure in the beginning how much I'd like them, but I think they'll be great trail shoes for me and will work on the snowy roads in the winter time, however I can definitely tell the difference between these and my road shoes. The roads weren't perfect tonight and actually after running them I have a positive outlook for the challenge because they can't get too much icier so they'll either be snowy which is fine or dry which is great. That was my only real main concern as weather otherwise won't really effect the outcome (I hope) but only the duration.

Me and Kyson after our run tonight

case of the mondays

So Monday broke the streak of me being uber-lazy and drinking pop and eating lots of turkey. I still have much lingering phlegm from a cold which has caused some coughing and nasty looking... nevermind. In lieu of running outside in the snow and cold I did a workout from the crossfit endurance site. After a 5 min warmup I did 3 rounds of 4 min on and 2 min off on the eliptical at 80-85% intensity. Was a great leg and cardio workout that I recovered from fairly quickly. Going back down now (to the dungeon) to do some weights and pullups. I also got some new boxing gloves tonight so I'll be hitting the bag in upcoming days as well. Here's a few shots from Shannan and I's gift exchange.