training paid off

so i've been working on my cupcake consumption for the last few years and today it paid off. About 2 weeks ago, our resident champ Kara asked me if i would be her partner in the cupcake eating contest. i was so honored but then i became nervous. i know she is competitive and ALWAYS wins these sorts of things. As the day approached, i became a little nervous about letting her down. Especially since i was hearing stories of Chris B eating 2 entire pies by himself. I've done 3 triathlons this year. last year did the marathon. I've competed in numerous tennis tournaments, swim meets, water polo meets, fencing tournaments, and even a few dance competitions. Not once was i more nervous than today. I heard people saying "look at sean, his hands are shaking". I think maybe i was afraid kara would kick my ass if I let her down. Turns out, she was worried about letting me down. Fortunately, she coached me on the technique of eating half a cupcake and a sip of water at a time. turned out pretty well for us. We placed second just behind the youth heat. I felt great afterwards and even had one of Joe's bratwursts. i haven't eaten since and am a little disgusted with myself now. tomorrow, i have plans to run 12 miles on an empty stomach. Maybe that will make up for at least one cupcake. Kara was impressive today and i'm so glad i got to be on her team. I'm just now ready for more food 8 hours later. Oh, and i did FGB too. My butt, shoulders, and forearms were hurtin like mad from Friday's lunge/push press beat down so i had to reach in the cabinet for some vitamin i this morning.

400meter march

today's workout sounded pretty simple but it was a great challenge in many subtle ways.

400M lunge walk with 25db in each hand stopping to do 5 push presses after every 10 lunges. Shoulders hurt from push presses, forearms hurt from holding 25lbs for half an hour in each hand. Legs hurt from lunging. Mind hurt from wondering if i'd get through it. I'm really curious to see how i feel tomorrow. It wasn't heavy weight so it may be one of those where i'm surprised about how sore i am. We'll see. i think i'll do FGB tomorrow with adjusted expectations that i might be worthless. i'm mainly looking at FGB as a chance to burn some cupcake and burger calories. A good buddy of mine told me that his wife asked if he had a thyroid problem and said she was worried about him. He said it almost made him cry since he thinks she was trying to imply that he got fat. If she framed it as genuine concern for a possible medical condition, it doesnt sound as bad as telling him he eats too much. I told Melissa that if I start getting fat from my new burger addiction or my competitive cupcake eating just to stop me and say "Sean, you're fat" and not to ask if i have a thyroid problem. Ever since i've been doing these intense workouts, i can't seem to satisfy my hunger and protein craving. I'd love to do a few day cleanse some time before the marathon. i may have to take a burger and burrito sabatical soon to lose some weight before the marathon. we'll see. i could do the lettuce burgers that crossfit portland was talking about. that doesnt sound so bad.

clean ladder

today was clean day. I'm very comfortable doing regular cleans but squat cleans are a whole different story. I can get the weight up pretty high but I can't squat under it with any sense of comfort or confidence. The idea of catching 200+ pounds centimeters from my throat and directly above my knees scares the hell out of me. I may try to get in some time soon to practice more. The key is to use a weight heavy enough that requires the squat but not so heavy that I can't do it. Got to watch the boys move some serious weight today in the gym. Daniel got a PR by 20lbs. It was pretty impressive.

 

Warmup: 5 minute row easy pace

Then: 3 rounds
6-way BB Complex:
- DL
- Bent Row
- Hang Clean,
- FS
- PP
- Back Squat
6 reps of each

65#/75#/85#

Then: 
Clean Ladder:
10 reps @ 45#
9 reps @ 45#
8 reps @ 65#
7 reps @ 65#
6 reps @ 85#
5 reps @ 105#
4 reps @ 125#
3 reps @ 145#
2 reps @ 165#
1 rep @ 185#
1 rep @ 205# (missed) Got it up to my chest so if I could have squated under it, I may have had a shot.

Then:
5x (1-6) Partner Pull-up Ladder (Total of 105 pullups. Did first round and a half dead hang)
 

I just registered for the Portland Marathon

so i'm committed now. i just registered for the portland marathon. i should be freaking out. i haven't run more than 12 miles this year. I think Shirley has a hurt foot so she might be walking it this year. not sure. i will be sure to bring my ipod to this race since that will get me through.

Liz is a Triathlon Super Star!!!

this weekend was the portland triathlon. It was harder than i anticipated and i was still sore from Thursday's workout but i had a good time and looked at it as a really great workout. Jeff and Liz also represented for Team Recreate. In fact, Liz got first place in her age group and got to represent on the actual podium. She's an amazing athlete and has great pacing strategy on the run that cracked me up when i heard her sharing it with Lisa over the phone. i'm going to try it for the next triathlon. I must admit, that this race wasn't a confidence booster for the marathon but i'm still up for doing the marathon.

that workout SUCKED!

I had to check my watch to see if it was April 1st when I saw the workout on the board this morning. I thought it had to be a joke.

 

Here it was.

 

Warmup: 10 minute row: no straps/nose breathing only

Workout: for form and time

100 pullups (tore hands at 88 and had to finish with 12 straight leg ring rows)
30 TGU @ 12 kg
100 pushups on pushup board
30 TGU @ 12 kg
100 V ups
30 TGU @ 12 kg
100 air squats
30 TGU @ 12 kg

 

It took me well over an hour to finish this. I had to go upstairs to complete it. On an unrelated note, I gave into Todd's peer pressure to try a Korean Taco truck called Koifusion last night. I have to say it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! And the cart owner Jae was quite possibly the nicest guy on the whole planet. His food was clean, natural, and delicious!!! I was blown away by how friendly he was. And it wasn’t that sticky sweet bs friendly. It was so genuine, you almost wanted to invite him over for family dinner.   

hard month began today

Workout:
5 minute Row @ Easy
Pace
Then:
3x20m Lunge
3x20m OH Lunge @ 45#
BB
Then:
3x20 pass thrus
3x10 Goblet Squat @
53#
Then:
5x4 SLDL @ 135#
Then:
Work up to Heavy OHS
heaviest completed rep was 135. Had the strength to do more but not the form

Then:
5x3 OHS @ 80% 1RM
(Went with 115 since i knew 135 wasn't a true 1RM. 115 felt light.)
Rest 3-4 minutes
between sets
Then:
4x (20sec Work/10sec
Rest) Row @ >110m pace per interval(that was the goal. struggled big time and didnt make the cut. was in the 90s for set 2 and 3)
Complete 3 sets, Rest 3
minutes between each set