PastorMan’s BodyBlog

After last night’s very painful WOD I still had 2 workouts in front of me today.
I spent 1/2 hour in the pool reviewing the skills my swim coach gave me in my first lesson. Not sure I am getting it down right, but I hope so. Feeling more and more comfortable in the water.
Then came the bike.
After lunch and a short break to run errands I got on the bike and did a VERY hilly 8 mile loop near my house.
My quads were STILL burning from this weeks HEAVY deads on Tuesday and last night’s 45 x 135# Squat Cleans!!!
But I did it anyway. My time wasn’t that great…to be expected I guess.
7.9 miles in 30 mins = approx 15.5 mph at an average cadence of 92.
I feel good about this week’s training. Very heavy and I look forward to my rest day tomorrow.

Today’s CrossFit WOD was not as tough as I thought it was going to be, but only 1/2 hour later I am already in great pain. Tomorrow will be BAD!!!
Here is what I did:
150 Jumpropes
45 135# Squat Cleans - These are the killers!!!
45 Ring Dips
150 Jumpropes
All in 21:29.
My quads are already in such pain. Wow!! We will see if I can walk tomorrow.

Tuesday’s Tri training is always Cycling in the a.m. and the CrossFit WOD in the evening.
Cycling today was very tough…10 Rounds of 30:10 (That is 30 seconds all out sprint at high gearing & resistance followed by a 10 sec rest = 1 Round) then 5 Rounds of 20:10. My thighs were rubber at the end of the 10 min or so…plus warm up & cool down.

Tonight’s WOD was 1-1-1-1-1 Deadlift 1RM.
After 2 warm up rounds of 135# x 10; 225# x 10 I went heavy
300# x 1
350# x 1 (This was a previous high so I went for it)
365# x 1 (NEW PR!!!) Keep in mind my bodyweight is 167#. That is 2.18 x my BW!!
345# x 1
345# x 1

Felt good knowing I was not fresh from the cycling today.
43 yo/m/167#/5′11"

Today marked a new turn in my triathlon training. I hired a swim coach at the King County aquatic center to teach me how to swim. Don’t get me wrong, I know how to swim, but I want to learn how to SWIM! I’m smart enough to understand that X energy +  Better technique = Longer & Faster. I have asked Wendy to teach me good form. As I expected I am very rudimentary in my swim technique and look forward to her helping sharpen my skills. I spent an ENTIRE HOUR in the pool doing drills.

With that in mind I didn’t expect to do well with my date with "Cindy."
"Cindy" CrossFit’s WOD for today and consists of 20 straight minutes of as many rounds of the following as possible: 5 Pullups; 10 Pushups & 15 squats. The last time I did "Cindy" I completed 24 rounds in the 20 minutes. I didn’t expect to do so well tonight due to today’s swim. I was pleasantly surprised when I completed…drum roll please….
27 ROUNDS. That’s right…135 Pullups; 270 Pushups & 405 squats in 20 minutes. I am VERY PLEASED WITH THIS PERFORMANCE.
Although I came very close to puking at round 25. That was close:)

This post covers yesterday’s swim, today’s bike and tonight’s CrossFit WOD.
Yesterday was the first day swimming in my new Triathlon Wetsuit. I love it. Very buoyant and yet easy to swim in. Did a very fast 15 laps (750 yards) in a 5-1-2-2-2-3 sequence. Felt very strong throughout.
Today after picking my bike up from getting my new cadence/trip computer installed I took it out on a new, very hilly, very tough 12.7 mile loop I found near my house. I was VERY pleased with my ride. I did the entire loop in 45 min even at an average of roughly 17mph @ 94 rpm cadence. Felt very strong at the end.
Finished off the day with the CrossFit WOD which was intense core work. 5 rounds of:
15 kettlebell swings; 25 GHDs; 25 Back Extensions and 25 KTEs (Knees to Elbows)
My quads and glutes are already sore from the heavy squats on Tuesday and today’s ride. My abs will be very sore after tonight.
I will swim again tomorrow to round out a very good week of progression. Very pleased so far with my progress in only 3 weeks.

I was not able to get in a swim or bike today. My wife and I went car shopping instead for our date day.
So, tonight I got in my only workout for the day. It was the CrossFit WOD…5 x 5 squats.
After I did the official CF warmup: 3 x 15 of: Pullups, Pushups, Situps and Weighted Dips (45#), I completed the WOD.
Here are my lifts:
Warm up: 185# x 10
Set #1: 225# x 5
Set #2: 275# x 5
Set #3: 300# x 5
Set #4: 275# x 5
Set #5: 275# x 5

43 yo/ 170#/ male

Today was a GREAT day - set 2 PRs. First the swim.
Swam a total of 1000 yards and swam the first 500 non stop. That is a PR for me. Also I just received my official triathlon wetsuit so I no longer have to swim in my bulky, heavy scuba suit:)

Now, onto the bike. This afternoon I did a very hilly 8.2 mile loop near my house. I completed it in 27:50 (PR). That is a little over 17 1/2 miles an hour. I am really trying to stay at 90-95 rpm on the pedals. My cadence computer should be in next week.
16 weeks to go before my first race.

Ok, I FELT like one anyway. Today was pretty light as I was not able to get to the pool because of two impromptu meetings. So in spite of that I got a nice hard 30 min ride in on the trainer this morning. Again, 16 mph at 95 rpm cadence for 30 minutes straight. That is equivalent to 7.5 miles over varying terrain as I vary the tension and gearing every 5 minutes then end with a very tough gear ratio. Then I finished off the day with a BEASTLY performance in the weight room. While my workout partner did yesterday’s CF WOD I decided to work on chest/bis & abs. I was very surprisingly strong on the bench. I have seen my bench strength decrease greatly this year as I have switched from traditional weightlifting to CrossFit to P90x & back to CrossFit. This was sad but to be expected. Tonight however I don’t what it was but…DANG!! Here is my Dumbbell Press sets.
Incline Bench Warmup - 40s x 15
Incline Bench- 60s x 10
Incline Bench - 65s x 10
Incline Bench - 70s x 8
Incline Bench - 75s x 8 PR (this is when I knew it was going to be a GOOD NIGHT)
Flat Bench - 70s x 10
Flat Bench - 80s x 10 (Tied a PR)
Decline Bench - 85s x 8 (still felt strong)
Decline Bench - 95s x 8 (felt good, took a 5 min break & decided to go for the big boys. My biggest DBs I own)
Decline Bench - 100s x 6 (I’ve done these 8 & 10 times before but never after so much press work preceding it)
WOW.  
In addition to the above and in between sets I did standing DB curls (3 x 8 with 40s) &  lots of AB work: Knees to Elbows on the Rings & Foam tube crunches.
Great Night!!!

I didn’t get my swim in today as I had planned. A meeting I had went longer than I thought so I "only" got one workout in.
CrossFit’s "Elizabeth" and while she is short she, like most CF "ladies", is intense.
"Elizabeth" is 3 Rounds of 21-15-9 reps of: 135# Power Cleans and Ring Dips.
The top male reportedly did this in…2:53. If true…A BEAST!!!
I, a mere mortal, did it in a pedestrian…9:30
Round #1 of 21 Reps…3:13
Round #2 of 15 Reps…3:47
Round #3 of 9 Reps…..2:30
Lungs were burning, arms were pumped and I feel GREAT!!!

My first swim of this week and I have seen great improvement in my 3 weeks of swimming.
Today I did a PR as far as the most laps in a single session - 20 laps. That is 1000 yards.
I did 10 laps then 4 laps then 4 single laps sprints all out and finished up with 2 more laps.
My first week I could only do 1 lap without stopping. Then I went to 3 laps.
Last week I did 8 laps and today 10 laps without stopping. I feel good about my progress.
Long ways to go, but I’m progressing well.