Saturday, September 28, 2024

Hyrox Metcon

Saturday, September 28, 2024

D'Evelyn Track

1830

Metcon 

800m run
40 yard burpee broad jump (19)
800m run
40 yard walking lunge
800m run
40 yard burpee broad jump (20)

This was tough and took me nearly 31 minutes.  In addition to the sandbag walking lunge, I now have good reason to fear the burpee broad jump.  Runs were at an easy 12 min/mile pace.  BBJ were taking around 5 minutes each time and the walking lunges about 3 minutes.

IAWA Prep

Friday, September 28, 2024

Garage Gym

1500

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper
Crossover Symmetry
Hip Hammy Flow

(1H) DB C&J

42
52
62
72 R/L

French Press

25
35
45

Half Gardner

33
44

OH Squat

PVC
33
44

Pull-up finisher

6x1

40 minutes total

Thursday, September 26, 2024

900 yard pool swim

Thursday, September 26, 2024

Carmody Rec Center

1300

900 yard pool swim

1x500 FR
1x150 BA
1x150 BR
1x100 FR
--
900 Total (27 minutes)

It seems like it has been forever since I have been to Carmody, but I guess it was just early August.  I have been doing a lot of open water swimming and switching to pool swims is much easier than the other way around.

Monday, September 23, 2024

Strongman

Sunday, September 22nd, 2024

Garage Gym

1000

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper
Crossover Symmetry
Hip Hammy Flow

Log Clean & Press

3x80 (empty)
3x90
3x90
3x90

Rage Ball to Shoulder (100#)

good
good
miss
good

Mini-Conditioning

5 Rounds of:

1 Pull-up
10 Sit-ups (on apparatus)

2 pull-ups first round, otherwise pretty smooth.

40 minutes total workout

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

USAWA Q3 Postal

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Garage Gym

1800

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper
Crossover Symmetry
Hip Hammy Flow

Peoples Deadlift

315
335
365

Deadlift, One Hand, Ciavattone Grip (LEFT)

155
165

Curl, Reverse

65
65
70

Hyrox Metcon

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Garage Gym

1200

Metcon

4 Rounds for Time:

400 meter run
50 foot sled pull (and reset)
15 wall balls (14# to 10')

This turned out to be much worse than I expected.  I finished in 28:31 and nearly skipped the 4th round.  This was my first time with sled pulls and it certainly taxes the grip and posterior chain.  The runs were slow and I split the wall balls into sets of 10/5.  Overall it was a very good mover for me.

Thomas Inch Replica Dumbbell

+
Jaland listed this bad boy for sale a couple of weeks ago at $900.  Retail is $650 plus another $300+ for shipping.  It was not much of a deal then, but he has since dropped the price to $800 and now $700.  I am not a buyer at any price as it would be an oversized paperweight for me.  Still a very cool implement for someone else.

Monday, September 16, 2024

USAWA Q3 Postal Prep

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Garage Gym

1400

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper
Crossover Symmetry
Hip Hammy Flow

Curl-Reverse

45
65
75
70#

DL Ciavattone (1H)

70
115
135
155

Peoples Deadlift

135
225
315
335#

Saturday, September 14, 2024

Bike Ride - Burst Tire

Saturday, September 14, 2024

Bear Creek Trail

1430

5ish Mile Bike Ride

I put some air in the Pinarello tires and headed out for my 15 mile loop around Bear Creek Lake Park.  While climbing the hill at Fox Hollow Golf Course towards the dam, I heard the loud pop and whoosh of a blow out.  Normally, I would just be dealing with the frustration of changing a flat tire.  Unfortunately, the sidewall of the tire blew out and was delaminated.  I had to call home for help.

Fortunately Ratna was able to come and pick me up.  Arriving home, I set to work putting new rubbers and a tube onto the bike.  I had some Vittoria Rubino Pro's in reserve for a long time and they look really good.

I also grabbed a new spare inner tube from REI for $7.50 (I had rewards cash).

Finally, I started pricing heel pads and cleats as I beat mine up pretty good walking all the way down the hill.

Good reminder to take a good look at equipment before riding.

For some reason, my Garmin decided to listen to the transmitter instead of the satellite so the recorded mileage is off.


Friday, September 13, 2024

BSAG Leg 9

Friday, September 13, 2024

Garage Gym

1400

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper
Crossover Symmetry
Hip Hammy Flow

BSAG Leg 9

SNATCH

45
65
85
95
105#

CLEEN & JERK B. Neck

105
115
125#

DumbellZ BLITZKREIG

(This is a complex consisting of Power Clean, Press, Hang Clean, Squat, Lunge, Push Press and Power Jerk)

55
70#

Dumbbell SNATCH x 4

50
65
60#


Dumbbell SNATCH (RAMPANT RAMPAGE)

10x50 = 500#

With warm-up and a 5 pull-up finisher, this was a one hour workout.  I felt good about most of the movements.  I might have left a little on the table with the blitzkreig.

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Jackson Globes on Ebay



Two Jackson Globe dumbbells have recently changed hands on Ebay on what I feel are ridiculous prices, but do represent the market.

6/19/2024 - 40 lb single - $695 (+$65 shipping)
9/8/2024 - 35 lb single - $910 (+$11 shipping)

Excluding the shipping cost, we are looking at $17 and $26/pound.  Granted auction prices should be the maximum realized, especially if two enthusiastic buyers are prepared to finish a set.  That being said, I would still like to own Jackson plates or dumbbells and should be prepared to pay at least $10/pound.

Monday, September 9, 2024

Walking Lunges

Monday, September 9, 2024

CDOT Fitness Center

1130

Run

1.90 mile run on the S Platte Trail (12:34 pace; 23:57 moving time)

Walking Lunges

40 unweighted lunges in 3 minutes until my hamstrings started to tighten up.  It is a good thing I have 5 months to prepare for Hyrox.

Calf Extensions

3x20 reps

40 minutes total workout

Sunday, September 8, 2024

IAWA Prep - C&PP - (1H) Zercher

Sunday, September 8, 2024

Garage Gym

1200

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper
Crossover Symmetry
Hip Hammy Flow

Clean and Push Press

Build to heavy double

45
75
95
115
125
135# tough final set

(1H) Zercher

Build

75
85
95
105# felt good, had more in the tank

Finisher

Inversions - 3X kick up and hold

Pull-ups - 5 strict pull-ups

60 minutes total workout

Saturday, September 7, 2024

Swim Run

Otillo

8-11-2024 - Casco Bay, USA (Maine)
8-25-2024 - Mackinac Island, USA
9-15-2024 - Orcas Island, USA (Washington State)
11-3-2024 - Austin, USA

4-20-2024 - SwimRun Lake James (North Carolina)
5-12-2024 - Mudskipper - Indiana
6-9-2024 - Bellingham (Washington State)
6-30-2024 - PBR Swimrun Knox (Knoxville, TN)
9-21-2024 - Cape Cod
10-13-2024 - North Carolina

I am not sure how committed I am to this endeavor, but I did purchase a dedicated swimrun wetsuit.  More because I was getting a great deal on it and it might come in handy for other stuff as well.

Arvada Triathlon Company had the Orca Aesir Flex Swimrun Wetsuit in stock for $199 (regular price is $549).  Link to Orca's website.  Size 9 fit comfortably and after hemming and hawing for about 5 minutes, I went ahead and had them box it up.  If I want to train through winter I can apparently continue swimming at Chatfield.  

The November 3 event in Austin, TX is not too far away and I could probably pull it off, but I have had a very hectic race season with a few events still left on the calendar.  My next major event is IAWA World's in Eastbourne, UK.  King Kong Grip Challenge and Fall GGC should be low key events.

I really want to get the lumber behind Hyrox and will start building out a training calendar.

2024 Littlefoot Triathlon



Images are the property of Ski Pix.  I usually respect digital rights, but digital copies were $35 each.  Ouch!

Results

Overall 237/314
Male 50-54 9th (out of 10)
Men 122nd (out of 147)

OFFICIAL Chip Times:

01:43:34
Swim: 21:15
T1: 2:40
Bike: 40:18
T2: 2:20
Run: 36:59

01:43:34 (1:38:42)
Swim: 21:15 (22:13) -0:58
T1: 2:40 (2:19) +0:21
Bike: 40:18 (37:08) +3:10
T2: 2:20 (1:19) + 1:01
Run: 36:59 (35:41) +1:18

A good 5 minutes slower than last year with most of that being on the bike.  I weighed in this morning at 205.5 (vs 197.6 last year which was 9 pounds heavier than the year before).

Overall, I had a good race.  I arrived around 6:20 in the morning, set up transition, picked up chip and body marking, used the port-o-let and then milled about before donning my wetsuit.

Swim was less choppy than last year, but certainly not glass.  I was actually surprised that I was faster on the swim compared to last year.  The course was shorter with a Garmin distance of 786 yards versus 819 yards in 2023.

T1 seemed smooth and fluid, but was 20 seconds slower.  I blame this on the absence of wetsuit strippers.  It was also trickier to put my cycling shoes on, but with the warmer weather, I skipped gloves. 

Bike was great and I felt like I was moving really well.  I seemed to be pacing really well and felt confident on the hills.

T2 was a little rough.  I got out of my cycling gear fine, but my abs seized when trying to don my running shoes.  I stretched a bit and then slipped them on standing up.  I guess I should be thankful it only cost me a minute.

Run was OK.  I again stopped at the port-o-let before getting on the course.  I felt like I was plodding along in the warmer weather.  I walked up the hills and took my time grabbing electrolytes at the aid stations.  Being a minute off the pace is about what should be expected given my weight jump.

Chris Alcorn won my division with a time of 1:10:30.  I was 20 minutes ahead of Robert Linder who had a great swim and bike, but finished with a 48 minute 5K.  Hopefully he was just tired and not cramping.

Comparing chip times to my age group, I was 9th on the swim, 5th in T1, 8th on the bike, 7th on T2 and 8th on the run.  This surprises me a little bit, but interesting to see where I need to make up time.  Nearly all of the 55-59 year old men were faster than me with the slowest time being 01:46:43.  

Garmin Times:

Swim 21:16 (786 yards)
T1: 2:32
Bike: 40:16 (8.98 miles, 13.4 mph)
T2: 2:17
Run: 36:08 (3.09 miles, 11:41/mile)
--
Total 1:42:29 (maybe it did not count my 1 minute pee brake?)

This was the first year of Without Limits running the event.  In the past it had been run by Racing Underground.  Overall it was a great race experience.  A touch more expensive, no finisher medals, but much nicer race shirts.  Same cozy race vibe, very well supported and post race pancake breakfast.  I will definitely keep this on my calendar for next year.

While I did not have to purchase anything special for this event, I was amazed at how much gear I have accumulated and have at my disposal compared to other folks.
  • Tri Shorts - $50
  • Tri Top - $50
  • Wetsuit - $100
  • Goggles - $20
  • Bike - $1800
  • Helmet - $100
  • Bike Shoes - $100
  • Sunglasses - $100
  • Running Shoes - $150
  • Visor - $20
  • Race Belt - $20
A good number of athletes were not wearing wetsuits.  I saw folks enjoying their race on cruiser bikes and mountain bikes.  One girl passed me on the run wearing Teva sandals.  This sport really is for everyone from those of us who want to overthink to the folks that just get out and do.



Thursday, September 5, 2024

Hyrox

I am going to try to sign up for a Hyrox event in 2025.  Hyrox is the sport of fitness and has been increasing in popularity.

It consists of alternating 1K runs and fitness stations
  1. Ski Erg 1000m
  2. Sled Push 50m
  3. Sled Pull 50m
  4. Burpee Broad Jumps 80m
  5. Rowing 1000m
  6. Farmers Carry 200m
  7. Sandbag Lunges 100m with 20kg
  8. Wall Balls 100 reps with 6kg
This is a total of 8km and stations that should take on the order of about 5 minutes per station.  Assuming I can keep a run pace of 12 min/mile, I should have about an hour of running and 40 minutes of stations.  This toughest one for me will likely be the sandbag lunges and wall ball shot.

Travel Workouts

I was on the road for work the past few days, but was fortunate to be able to get a few workouts in.

Tuesday, September 3rd - 2.5 mile run along the Animas River.  Very scenic and they installed some new pickleball courts since the last time I was in.

Wednesday, September 4th - Durango Rec Center.  Nice rec center with pool, free weights, machines, climbing wall, full court gym.

Deadlifts - Worked up to 255 pounds
Squats - Worked up to 135 pounds
Bench - Worked up to 135 pounds
Curls - Worked up to 30 pound dumbbells

Thursday, September 5th - I planned a run on the Wulfsohn Trail in Glenwood Springs.  It quickly turned into a walk, but then morphed into a run-hike-walk.  Overall 2 miles in 30 minutes which was a great workout.

All of these were interspersed with a lot of driving.  Tuesday was 335 miles (6 hours) from Denver to Durango.  Wednesday evening was 250 miles (5 hours) from Durango to Glenwood Springs.  This afternoon will end with 160 miles from Glenwood Springs to Denver (2.5 hours).  Total will be nearly 850 miles of driving over interstates, highways and mountain passes.  If I had more time, I would have liked to spend some time in Ouray.