July 31, 2019

Daily score: 9

Workout:

#2
A. HS walk tech work 15 minutes (make sure you kick up with alternate legs during practice)

done, only 2 ten feet walks

+
7 min amrap:
2 rope climbs
6 ring push ups

6 rounds

+
B1. Strict hspu; amrap unbroken x3; rest 90 sec

6, 6, 6

B2. Neutral grip bent knee L strict pull ups; amrap unbroken x3; rest 90 seconds

4, 3, 3

C1. Ring rows; amrap unbroken @2010 x3; rest 90 sec

16, 13 (steeper), 10 (even steeper)

C2. DB floor press; 12-15x3; rest 90 sec

25x15
30x15
35x15

D1. Elbow on knee external rotation; 12-15x2; rest 1 min

10x15
12x12

D2. Powell raises; 12-15x2; rest 1 min

5x15
8x12

Wow was it harder to kick up with my other foot.  I spent some time just practicing that into a static hold.  Walking was rough today, only made it 10' twice.  Elbows seemed soft, I felt overall too loose.  It cracked me up how hard rope climbs are.  Funny how if you never do something it gets way more difficult.  My rope only hangs to maybe 11 feet.  So I started as low as I could and would make it to the top with 2 big pulls.  Foot hold slipped a lot, need to work on that.  Did all the ring push ups unbroken.  The only option for neutral grip pull ups is what I have in the video and it's a bit wide.  This was a solid focused session.  Thanks!

July 30, 2019

Daily score: 9

Workout:

Week 1
#1
A1. Seated stradde lift offs; 10 reps x3 w/ 2 sec pause at end range of each rep; rest as needed

done

A2. Band resisted bird dogs; 10 reps x3/side with 2 sec pause at end range of each rep; rest as needed

done

B1. Feet and back elevated hip extension; 10 reps x3/side; rest as needed

done

B2. Hanging single leg alternating leg lifts; Accumulate 20 reps for quality x3; rest as needed

done

C1. Side lying band clamshell with hip extension; 6 reps x3/side; rest as needed

done

C2. Ball Adductor squeeze wall hamstring curl/hip bridge isometric; 60 seconds x3; rest as needed

done

D. Lunge matrix; 5 reps on each leg; rest as needed
 1 rep = curtsy lunge, reverse lunge, lateral lunge, forward lunge, crossover lunge

done

E1. Short hamring isometric; 20 seconds x3/side; rest as needed

done

E2. Single leg face up chinese plank; 20 seconds x3/side; rest as needed

done

E3. Adductor side plank; 20 seconds x3/sdie; rest as needed

done

It's funny how all of this stuff feels easy at first and after a few reps can get real hard.  The side lying clamshells were definitely harder for my left hip.  Face up chinese plank was just plain hard.  And the first round of the adductor plank felt bad in my right knee and then the next round I must have positioned it better.  Thanks!

July 20, 2019

Daily score: 9

Workout:

High Cascades 100 mountain bike race

102 miles, 9500 feet elevation gain, 14:35

What an epic day!  Went into it feeling as prepared as possible considering all of the other demands of my life.  Ankle wasn’t 100% but I was confident it was durable enough to make it.  The cuts at each aid station were going to be tight for me and I knew I’d have to ride faster than I’d ever ridden to make them.  The first 20 miles had quite a bit of road and fire road so my plan was to push the pace there in order to store up a cushion of time.  Normally, I wouldn’t go out so hot in a long long endurance race (waaaaaay further than the max of 40 miles I had ever ridden), but it was the only option.  And I’m so glad I did.  I needed that time later.  I focused on never red lining and not taking any technical risks and making all stops super brief.  The 56 mile cut was the most crucial and came after a 14 mile climb.  I nearly cried when I realized I was going to make it, and with 15 minutes to spare.  That was when I knew I had a chance to finish the damn thing.  I made the 70 mile cut after that with 50 minutes to spare!  That was crucial because the 70 mile cut came right before the last wicked steep sandy rocky 5 mile climb up a butte.  I knew I was going to have to walk a lot of it because we had ridden it a couple times earlier this year.  I knew the 80 mile cut would be tight.  And then...3/4 mile from the 80 mile cut with 25 minutes to make it, I got a massive side wall flat in my front tire bouncing off some lava rock (the whole section was jagged lava rocks).  Thank goodness I was only 3/4 mile from an aid station and what was even more amazing was how fast Marc managed to throw a tube in and patch the hole using dollar bills (literally) and I was able to delicately hobble to the aid station making it 6 minutes before the final cut!  Marc rode ahead a told them what happened and the bike aid guys  had a tire for me!  At this point I was jubilant!  Because my body felt great and I knew now, with this gift, full of gratitude, I was going to finish!  And we did :).  The last 20 miles were all about not doing anything stupid and staying focused.

Body wise:  I am so grateful for being a cross fitter (or whatever I am).  I could not have made this happen without a strong grip, core, ability to suffer, and ability to recover quickly.  Also, knowing how to control my effort level and keep things at a burn that I could sustain all day was huge.  And that’s just from practice being an athlete and knowing my body.  I noticed early on how much better I recovered from climbs compared to other riders.  I would pass a lot of people right after punchy climbs.  They would be gassed and I felt good.  So cool to feel.  Grip was tired by the end and I can’t imagine if I didn’t workout/do pull up and barbell work what it would have been like.  Also, you’ll get a kick out of this- the one crash I took, I nearly went over the handle bars but caught myself and balanced on the front wheel, basically in a handstand hold fighting to not go over.  I swear, it felt like the same fight as in HS walking.  And I won!  I fell gracefully to the side versus over the bars on my face.  Who knew HS holds were so vital to mountain biking!  I even got some applause from the guys behind me.  Having said that, mountain bikers are literally the best crowd of fellow sportsmen/women I have ever seen.  Everyone so kind and encouraging and helpful.

This was an amazing  epic challenge that I honestly was unsure was in the realm of possibility for me.  I can’t get over how much trail we covered in one day and how much I had to push the pace the whole time.  And that I held up!  Ankle is sore, left hip is sore, but really, I feel like a million bucks!  You should put this on your to-do list.  It was amazing.  And beautiful.  Thanks for helping to get me across that finish line!

July 15, 2019

Daily score: 6 (just fatigued from being busy and work)

Workout:

recovery day (mobility, hot/cold, meditation)

This was much needed.  So glad we made this decision.  Although I'm still sleepy tired and at work for 12 hours today, my body feels good and I slept like a rock.  Thanks!

July 14, 2019

Daily score: 8

Workout:

Mountain biking

20 miles, 4 hours, lots of climbing

It was hot again today and I wore the outfit I plan to wear for the race, it felt great!  I had a stellar day.  Feeling confident and ready.  My ankle is still off but I think at this point I've proven I can ride through it and it will hold up.  Slept terrible tonight though d/t some left hip discomfort.  Same thing I got when I was squatting a lot.  It's in the glute tendon attachments somewhere.  Responds well to rolling and advil though.  Will work on it today.  Thanks!

July 13, 2019

Daily score: 8

Workout:

Mountain biking

16 miles, 3 hours, lots of climbing


Fun day.  It was 'demo day' at this trail system and I've never seen so many bodies on the trail.  It was also funny because nearly everyone hopped shuttles to the top while we climbed the good old fashioned way.  I did demo a pretty sweet 29er bike.  That was cool.  Felt great technically and passed every single one of the few other climbers on the way up.  All dudes ;).  Thanks!

July 12, 2019

Daily score: 6 (legs sore)

Workout:

Mtn biking

2.5 hours, 2000 feet elevation gain, 13 miles


It was so hot!  I rode alone today, partially because everyone was busy but also because I chose a ride everyone else hates d/t exposure and being such a tough climb.  I rode it twice.  And I think they may be onto something.  It's a trail on the side of the hill/cliff that climbs up from the Columbia River, on the Washington side with beautiful vistas of Oregon and the river basin east to west.  But there is zero shade.  And it finally got hot today.  There are usually some creeks and waterfalls but everything was dry as a bone.  At the top of the second climb I had to spend 10 mins in the shade of the only tree and try and let myself cool a bit.  My face felt so hot.  This was a great fitness ride though and I hopefully was made a little tougher.  I have some bike issues to sort out.

Body wise- I have a little patellar tendinitis that flares up on the left knee now after rides.  My quads and hips and glutes are pretty sore.  I didn't feel sore right out of bed but it built after riding.  I was definitely spent after this ride just from the heat alone.  Ankle feels fine today, but the routine is that it flares up seemingly 'unprovoked'.  Thanks!