Thursday, August 26, 2010

Born to Run

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I just finished reading this fun and funky book by author Christopher McDougall. Highly recommended. Now I finally understand why a guy ran past me in a loin cloth, no shoes, and blond dreads in the St. George marathon  a few years back!

The book tells about the Tarahumara, a tribe in the Copper Canyons of Mexico, who can run ultradistances in sandals over insane terrain with nothing but some tortillas, chia, and pinole in their bellies.  Some eccentric Americans went to learn their secrets and race against them. The author tells their story and shares some amazing research about running and the way we think about our health. For instance, the more expensive your running shoes, the more likely you are to injure yourself running. Or how about this, people can maintain peak running speeds into their fifties. Lots of stuff that will blow your mind. After reading it I went out and ran in my barefeet and bought some chia seed. Now for some Vibram five fingers?

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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Vacation's Over




I’ve been away from crossfit for a few weeks now. I thought I was keeping up somewhat by doing some running, riding, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, and some push-ups and sit ups the odd time. Baby, I was wrong. I went back yesterday and did a pretty basic workout of thrusters and jump rope and it nearly killed me! I was wondering why I was paying someone to torture me. Please take me back to the beach and let me kayak…

I could really only manage 45 pounds for the thrusters because we did 5 rounds of 21 reps. I did singles with a few double unders thrown in for my skipping, and I was sucking wind. So much for my little jogs through the forest. I should have been doing some intervals I guess! High intensity has escaped me. And I was so worked, I wasn’t having fun. It’s the same feeling as when you start a new fitness program and you’re hating it. But for me, when I start seeing progress, I get motivated. So I think it’s going to take me a couple of weeks to get back on the wagon, and then I hope I’m growling with fury as I heave barbells around the gym…or something like that.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Workout of the Day

Vacation blogging is tough and the WODs have been too.

Today:

Warm up

Kayak 1000m with an eight-year old in front of you

Skill

200m walk on beach logs and rocks in bare feet

Met-con

10 mile hilly mountain bike for time
Bonus points
+10 for not falling off ladders or bridges
+5 for eagle spotting
+5 for not bear spotting (just some scat)

Cool Off

Canoe 4 children 2000m
Bonus points
+10 for not spilling the baby
+10 for retrieving dropped paddles (2x)