Tag Archives: 5k Challenge

5k and the Filthy Fifty

Last Saturday (4/17/2010), we had the finals for the 5k challenge that we had been participating in at CFCP. When we ran this one the first time, four weeks ago, my time was 32:31. This time around, I did it in 30:50. That’s 1:40 in savings. Not too much of an improvement, but at least I didn’t go backwards.

The most hilarious part of the whole day was that I won 2nd place for men in my age group. The fact that I won anything that had to do with running is straight up sad. There must have been only 2 of us =)

Over the CFCP group did really well! V got 2nd place in her age group as well, so, now we have matching prize mugs that we toast with while we drink tea. I also won a snazzy marathon towel as a door prize.

There were a few things that really got to me about this run. The first was that I had not even seen “Mile 2” yet when I could already hear that people were starting to finish. Wow, LAME. Next, after “Mile 1”, I didn’t see a marker for a while. When I saw another one coming up, I thought, “that’s GOT to be mile 3”. When I got up to it and saw that it was “Mile 2”, it was like someone took the wind out of my sails. Still, I pressed on. Running is mental and it’s a battle for me every single damn time.

Yesterday (4/21/2010), we had the pleasure of doing the “Filthy Fifty”. This WOD is a horrible “chipper” which means that it’s just a long list of stuff that you “chip away” at. This list consist of:

  • 50 Box jumps
  • 50 Jumping pull-ups
  • 50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
  • 50 Walking Lunges (50 steps)
  • 50 Knees to elbows
  • 50 Push press, 45 pounds
  • 50 Back extensions
  • 50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
  • 50 Burpees
  • 50 Double unders

My time was a slow and horrible 36:44. Everything was great and went really quickly until I got to wall balls. I think it took me 15 minutes to do the wall balls and burpees. By the time I got to the double unders, which I already suck at, I couldn’t really lift my arms. I don’t want to do this one again for a LONG time.

In other news, I talked to Dave last night about how I’m progressing. I am noticing that my pants are all tighter! What? I eat paleo, almost never cheat, and workout 3x/week at CFCP. What the hell is going on?

My body IS changing. I am noticing that I am more solid in lots of spots and even my stomach is a lot less fatty, it’s just, bigger. Maybe there’s muscle growing under there and still fat on top… I don’t know.

At any rate, Dave suggested that I add in Crossfit Endurance 2x/week when I’m not at CFCP. I am excited about starting this and to see if it helps to increase my results and performance.

Snatches and Soreness

Last night at CFCP was awesome. I really love the Friday evening class. The Olympic lifts that we are learning are SO much and even more fun when you know how to do them correctly.

We worked more on the Snatch last night and got into doing more of the exercises with weight (presses, snatch balance, heaving snatch balance, etc). The WOD was “Isabelle”. I did this one on Monday in Albany, but I didn’t go with the Rx weight. Last night, I did.

Again, “Isabelle” is 30 snatches for time. They don’t have to be full squat snatches with the OHS, they can be power snatches if you are strong enough.

Last night I got this done is 6:16… almost 3x longer than it took me with 95lbs on Monday. Whatever, I am happy with that.

After the WOD, I wanted to try to go a bit heavier on the snatch. I was able to get 155lbs. I quit there as I was tired.

This morning for open gym, I was on the fence as to whether or not I wanted to work out. I am sore as hell, tired, and well, just not really feeling that hot. When we got there, the WOD was:

3 rounds 1:30 on, 0:30 off of:

  • Dead lift (225lbs)
  • KB Swings (24kg)
  • Pull Ups

I didn’t count my reps on this and really just did the best I could with how I felt. After the first round, I really didn’t want to do any more. You can’t stop though, unless you want to be the target of endless ridicule, so I just kept going.

We did some grocery shopping after open gym, then got home, ate and took a really long nap. Almost 3 hours, I would say. We had a goal to clean the rest of the house today, which we did some of, but not all. It’s been like 2 months that we are trying to do this. Maybe before we leave for MS, it will get done. Who knows.

Tomorrow, we have the finals for the 5k challenge. I am really tired and sore, so, this will be an interesting experience, for sure.

5 whole K’s?

I hate running.

I really hate running.

If you know me, you know, I hate running.

When there are WODs that have lots of running in them, well, I don’t really look forward to the running part of things.

I have made some really great advances in running over the past year. With the help of my friends Jody & Paula, I was able to do the entire Turkey Trot last Thanksgiving with zero walk breaks. A few months after that, I did a Pose running skill session with Dave.

I am getting better at Pose, but I am still not that great at it. Granted, I don’t really work on it all THAT much, but my stride has certainly changed. I definitely notice that.

Still though, I hate running. That’s why this challenge is perfect for me.

Today was the start of it. We had to run a 5k (that’s 3.1 miles). Not really a huge distance, but not really over right away either.

My total time to complete was 32:31 or something like that. I don’t remember exactly, but it was somewhere between 32 and 33 minutes. I ran this one straight through without stopping to walk at all. With that said though, there were a few times that I really wanted to stop and walk, but I didn’t.

I did learn a few things from this run:

  • I can run faster than I give myself credit for. I run slow and conservatively because I **HATE** getting cramps in my side. Once I get one of those, running gets even worse for me.
  • I don’t really know what my weakest link is. I noticed today that when I was running, my lungs were fine.
  • There really wasn’t a time that I was out of breath or couldn’t catch my breath. The reasons that I wanted to stop were:
    • My legs feel like lead.
    • My legs are burning.
    • I am bored.
    • This is uncomfortable.

I hit a really great stride at the end of the run. It felt like I picked it up about 30-40% over what I had done up until that point. It was at that point that I realized that I was on the end of the damn run and there was just about a 1/4 mile left. Suck.

In 4 weeks, I want to be able to work at a higher pace and not do this blur between “running” and soccer mom power-walking. At the very least, I want to be able to have periods where I am running faster than what my current rate of “normal” is.

With all that said, I still think that it’s a great accomplishment to say that I ran a 5k without stopping.

It can only get better from here, right?