Running Ladder - DNF

Warmup: Mobility Exercises, 10 Rock n roll, 10 CFEB sun salutations, 10 situps, 10 pushups, run prep

WOD

Run 1000 meters in 10 minutes
Run 900 meters in 9 minutes
Run 800 meters in 8 minutes
Run 700 meters in 7 minutes
Run 600 meters in 6 minutes
Run 500 meters in 5 minutes
Run 400 meters in 4 minutes
Run 300 meters in 3 minutes
Run 200 meters in 2 minutes
Run 100 meters

Results:
1000: 6:14
900: 5:50
800: 5:49
700: 5:56
600: 4:39
500: 3:46
DNF

Comments:
Yuck. This workout sucked. It sucked for a lot of reasons, but it was a struggle right from the get go. I'm trying to retain the fact that I have never run more than a mile, consecutively, ever. And that the most I've run in a single workout, is 1.75 miles in the before and after runs for Murph. So by those standards, running (and walking) the 4500m I got through is a pretty significant achievement.

Still, it does not stop me from feeling that, on a better day, i could have completed this workout, or at least performed better on the parts i did complete.

In hindsight - i was probably doomed to poor performance (i won't say failure) on anything I was going to try to do yesterday - it was the first day of my period, my work situation is looking more and more precarious so my stress levels are high, and I was also apparently fighting a bug since I woke up this morning with a sore throat. I should have known that something was not right when I felt tears of frustration forming just a few meters into round 900. I tend to get excessively emotional when I'm getting sick - it should be an immediate red flag for me - but i frequently don't recognize the signs until after i get sick. I thought it was just stress and hormones. So, I tried to power through it. Dumb.

I was fighting a side-stitch from step one. I had to stop and walk for increasingly long intervals starting in round 800. it was only a little walking at first - my 800 time is nearly identical to my 900 time. Things really started to go downhill in round 700 - my time was even longer than for 800. I don't think i actually ran the full 600m for round 600 - I wasn't quite able to make it all the way to the starting line by the starting time (a minute to stumble 200m is not quite long enough), so i just started where i was and guestimated the 'right' distance.

By round 700-600, in addition to continually being right on the edge of a horrible side-stitch, my right hip flexor was really beginning to hurt. That's usually the first thing to give out on long hikes or when we're snowshoeing. By round 500 my feet were really hurting, too. I started round 400, but about 10 strides in - as badly as i wanted to- I decided it just wasn't worth possibly doing real injury to myself to try to finish ( i was also a weepy mess at this point).

I know I've come a really long way since I started this in May. And I know that the stars were very badly aligned, and I should not be discouraged. But workout's like this one make me feel like I haven't progressed at all. Fortunately, it just makes me want to work harder.

Happy Independence Day!

WOD 7-4-08

400 Meter Run X 4
- Run 400 meters every 5 minutes on the fifth minute.

Followed immediately by your choice of Pull-Up or Push-Up Ladder:
- With a continuously running clock do one rep the first minute, two reps the second minute, three repss the third minute... continuing as long as you are able.

Results
Run 1 2:16
Run 2 2:16
Run 3 2:06 PR!
Run 4 2:16

Made it almost through round 9 with the pushups, but didn't quite make it.

Comments
We finally made it up to the track about .5 miles from our house - it's up a pretty big hill to get there so just the process of getting to the track in something of a warm up. But it's set on a hill side with lots of eucalyptus and redwoods and actually has some pretty fantastic views of the bay, so it's a great place to run. The only down side is that the central field is completely gated off with a high industrial fence, which makes for a slightly less 'friendly' environment, but there is a little pach of grass with some bleachers and a set of bars - some high enough for short people to do pullups - 5' - 6.5' high or so, and some quite low to the ground .75-3.5' or so- the only use i could think of for them was for doing pushups - or maybe some sort of modified bench dip.

I'm shocked that three of my four runs were exactly the same. I was sure my last run was going to be a LOT longer cause i felt like i just had nothing left after run 3. RUN #2 probably should have been shorter - I was the official time keeper, and i got tangled up with the process of starting the 5 min timer, and hitting my lap button, so i was still fiddling with my watch when i started running. In retrospect i probably just should have set the timer for 20 minutes instead of trying to restart it every 5. But all in all i am really psyched about run #3. Definitely a PR - and, sadly, just 2 seconds shy of the level 1 benchmark . So close! Next time, for sure.

I was doing my pushups full ROM, on the low bar that was about 2' off the ground. Before we started I tried the different bars and was planning on using a slightly higher bar about 2.75 feet up because i had a really hard time with the 2' one, but once i started i decided that 2.75 was too easy, so I moved down to the lower bar, and was having a much easier time with it than i did pre-run.

I got 6 & 7 pushups pretty easily, unbroken even! Then kind of struggled through 8, but only had 1 small rest @ #6, and then just completely failed getting through 9. I was surprised how quickly that happened. I probably should have moved back up to the higher bar to try to finish out the set, but I was also the time keeper, and was a little distracted.

All in all, though I thought this was a fun workout, and I'm glad we decided to take the extra time today to do it before we head off for our two day outdoor climbing clinic which we are both REALLY looking forward to. It'll be a really nice mini vacation. We'll bring our camera and post some pictures when we get back.

Be Back on Sunday!