Warrior Dash, Final Push Week 2

Monday

Interval run, 3 rounds

200m, 400m, 800m

I admit, I cheated, I ran the first interval at 1 tenth of a mile simply because it is easy to track on a treadmill. I started running the first 200s at an 8 minute pace, by the third round I was around a 6 minute pace. Not too bad. The 400s were run at a 7 minute pace and the 800s were at a measly 8.5 minute pace. My legs were really burning by the end of this but I can’t say I was totally disappointed. Definitely the fastest I have run on a treadmill.

Tuesday

Deadlifts 5×5

3 rounds
Bench Press x 10
Row 500 meters

2 rounds
10 negative pullups

Deadlifts were a little harder than normal. I used a normal grip for all sets but my grip was weak on my last set. Weights were 135, 185, 225, 245, 275. Still pretty low but I’m working on it.

I hadn’t done any Bench presses in quite a while. I selected a incline bench machine due to the gym being crowded. Weights, 98, 148, 168. I obviously started out lower than I would have like, but felt I had to since I wasn’t really familiar with the machine. I should have stopped after a couple of reps, rested, reset my weight and tried again.

The negative pullups were SUPER hard by the second set. I imagine this is due to the deadlifts in the workout earlier.

Wednesday

Run and then run some more

My plan for today was to run 2 or 3 miles. However, I ran into a friend who mentioned that she enjoyed running down Hard Rd. to 315 and then back to her house around Smoky Rd. This really caught my interest since I hadn’t run down Hard rd. even though my normal route was very close to this road. So, I decided that I had to run it. Of course my Garmin’s battery was dead but it didn’t dampen my enthusiasm. Lyndall also mentioned pace and that kept ringing in the back of my head. I started off my run much slower than normal, but was  pushed along by the interest in my new route. I figured if I made it to Hard rd. that round trip would be around 3 miles. If I felt good then I could try for the High School. I made it to Hard Rd and felt good and decided to run to the High School. Once I made it to the top of the hill where the high school is, I decided to push on further. I knew the corner of Linworth would be another good destination so I continued pushing myself until I reached the intersection. Only problem was that Lyndall’s description kept coming back to me. She loved the route because of the large hill. It’s steep enough that running down is hard on the knees. So, you can guess my decision. Keeping an eye on my watch to make sure I could be home to get my son off the bus, I ran down the hill. The way back up was painful. Even though I had done a great job pacing myself, I was winded climbing this hill. I knew that I had some rolling hills ahead so I kept looking forward to the downhill sections to get back in my rhythm. The job home was uneventful after I turned off of Hard Rd. It is a lot of uphill sections but I managed to log a better time on the way back than the way out. In runner speak, I ran a negative split even though my route was essentially all uphill. The route has an elevation change of about 125 feet, nothing major, but some areas are seriously steep. All in all, I ran 6.15 miles on a day I intended to log 3. I wasn’t thrilled with my pace, but I ran within my means and that is what is important.

Thursday

Rest

Friday

CrossFit Warmup

2 Deadlifts @ 80% of max every 2 minutes for 12 minutes

Rest 5 minutes

3 rounds

8 handstand pushups
40 double unders
8 ring rows

Deadlifts as prescribed, I worked at 245 which is a little under 80% but the gym’s area for squats etc, is an absolute mess right now.

The rounds for time of course as usual I forgot to time. However, I would guess my time was around 7 minutes. Timed workouts are hard because I have to work around the other people in the gym, walk clear across the gym for the next exercise… I tried the handstand pushups for the first time by using an elevated box which I put my knees on. Even with a very high box the exercise was way to easy. Of course, I am also not able to do a full handstand pushup so I am going to have to find another way to modify this exercise. Double Unders continue to evade me so I substituted 100 singles. Ring rows also aren’t available as my gym has zero rings. I used a Smith machine and did rows from beneath the bar.

Saturday

Rest

Sunday

Rest