Run, Turtle, Run!

I’m joining the multitudes of people who are probably (re)starting their blogs as part of their New Year’s resolutions.  I don’t generally endorse trying to improve and reinvent oneself only once a year, but I recognize the value of focusing and distilling your effort and committing to them.

To that end, I’m committing my resolutions to this post, to honor my intentions and to document my lofty ambitions for this year.  And rather than pick discrete, concrete goals, I’m going big and listing larger life changes, because the inner-self that is suffering an early mid-life crisis is telling me to aim high.

Resolution #1 – Redefine my relationship to food. In a nod of defeat to my slowing metabolism, I’m moving towards “Eat to Live” and away from “Live to Eat.”  I’m not a foodie, but I’ve never shied away from gastronomical indulgence.  Less carbs this year, less processed stuff.  More lean proteins, more vegetables.  Less sugar.

Resolution #2 - Exercise. Run. NYC Marathon in less than 3:30 (or faster).  Yoga.  CrossFit.  Mix things up. Find a good balance – don’t burnout, don’t get injured.

Resolution #3 – Stop hiding in the cave. I’m an introvert by nature, and the past three years have seen me at an all time low of hermitude.  This is the year to reconnect.

Happy New Year everyone.

It’s been a LOOOOONG time since I last posted.  My workout log is all out of whack… I haven’t updated my twitter account… and I’ve clearly fallen off the CrossFit wagon.

But I’m not here for self-flagellation.  At least, not this time.  I’m writing because I’m running the NYC marathon again this year.

The New York City Marathon is on November 1, 2009, and once again I will be running for Team For Kids, a charity that combats childhood obesity and diabetes by creating running programs for youth in low-income communities. I’m asking for your support as I train to run 26.2 miles through the streets of NYC and try to raise money for this important cause..

Diabetes and childhood obesity are epidemics that plague low-income communities, where after-school athletics programs are rare and healthy food options are often scarce. Current predictions are that 1 in 3 children born in 2000 will be afflicted with Type 2 Diabetes because of poor nutrition or lack of physical activity. This is especially true in African American and Latino communities. Exercise and a healthy diet can prevent diabetes.

The New York Road Runners Foundation is fighting this preventable epidemic by creating running programs through Team For Kids for at-risk children around the world. Your contribution will pay for uniforms and other program costs for kids that will learn to integrate fitness and healthy living into their lives through team training and athletic competition, guided by coaches and volunteers.

If you’d like to learn more about Team For Kids, or you’d like to get involved, you can click here. 

I got to witness TFK in action first-hand last year when I participated in a local 5k road-race in the Bronx. It was great to see so many youth excited to participate in a local race, but more importantly, it was amazing to run the race with the youth-members of TFK knowing that this program was helping to instill a lifelong commitment to fitness and a healthier lifestyle.

Please consider donating to TFK and helping me meet (or exceed) my pledge to raise $2,000.00 this year. I know that times are tough this year, but any amount you can contribute will help to ensure that these kids can continue to receive coaching and fitness education that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

To make things simple, you can donate online with a credit or debit card by clicking HERE.

Please, PLEASE make sure you include the following information, or I won’t get credit for the donation!
My marathon entry number is: 354272
My surname, in case you’re unsure, is: Lu

It’s an immense privilege for me to be able to train for and run the marathon – it’s something I’m thankful for every time I lace up to go for a run. I hope that you will help me to share that experience with others who might not otherwise get that same opportunity.

Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement!

Tony

Been sick for about 10 days or so, and rather than gut it out and actually exercise through being sick I decided to give my body a break.  (And I was feeling a little lazy.)

But, yesterday I wandered back to the Black Box to do a make-up workout.  I opted to do 5×3 Back Squats, because I haven’t tested my max in back squats in a while, and I didn’t quite feel up to doing the met-con madness that everyone else was doing.

Friday 090313

Back Squat 3-3-3-3-3 reps

245, 255, 265 (2/3 f), 265, 255

Not too shabby.  My previous 1-rep max for back squats was 265, and that was without much strength work and with little-to no training on form.  The fact that I could do a 3-rep set suggests that my 1-rep max is probably around 280 or so (I hope).

This workout was followed up by Tabata frog-squat jumps (or something like that, I forget the name the coach gave it).  Basically, it was exactly like it sounds – squatting down with fingers touching the ground and jumping up, then landing in the frog-squat position.  Even without having just done back squats it would have been ugly.  After having done those back squats, it just plan sucked.

Incidentally, I know have a good baseline to cobble together a fake CrossFit total based on my current 1-rep max lifts.

• Shoulder Press: 130
• Deadlift: 345
• Back Squat: 265 (280 if I guesstimate)
• Total: 740 (755 if my guess about the back squat is right)

This is totally unofficial, because it’s pieced together from workouts from different days, but since I haven’t done a CrossFit total workout yet, I thought I’d put this down so I have a good baseline to set my weights for the first time I do it.

Monday 090302

Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

295, 315, 325, 345, 365(f), 355(f), 355(f)

Personal Record (PR) by 25 pounds! Of course, this is only the second time I’ve tried to do a 1-rep max on deadlifts, so I’m still trying to get this stuff dialed in.

I forgot to record a workout in there somewhere…

Monday 090223 (41)

For time:
Row 500 meters
115 pound Push press, 21 reps
Row 500 meters
115 pound Push press, 18 reps
Row 500 meters
115 pound Push press, 15 reps
Row 500 meters
115 pound Push press, 12 reps

Ended up subbing 1.5-Pood kettlebell sumo deadlift high-pulls for the rowing, because there are only two rowing machines, and priority is given to the folks who are doing the WODs as Rx’d.  By the way, 50 x 1.5-pood sumo deadlift high-pulls is NOT a good sub for 500m rows.  It just isn’t.  You can’t really pace yourself well, because of the momentum of the kettlebell.  Maybe a lighter kettlebell.

Also I subbed in 95# instead of doing the 115.

With all the subbing, the 20:23 it took me isn’t really a good reference for anything unless I do the workout the exact same way the next time.  No matter.  The workout kicked my ass for 20 minutes, and at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.

I read an article in the Boston Globe the other day about how scientists are beginning to examine how living in urban environments affect congnitive ability and emotional control.  (To summarize in a few words: big cities make you un-smart and not-nice.)  I doubt that the research is as convincing as the article makes it out to be, but personally, I’ve been grappling with a lot of the symptoms of big-city life described in the article for years now.  It doesn’t take a university study to convince me that living in New York City is just plain hard.  I came to the conclusion that big-city living is bad for the soul a long time ago.  One of the worst parts? Getting a daily dose of nature is no easy feat, unless you’re lucky enough to live near Central Park or Prospect Park.  (Queens residents kind of get the shaft with Flushing Meadows; but we get both major airports and a crap-ton of cemeteries.  Yeah!) I think it’s patently ridiculous that in order to have a good running experience, I have to take a subway 30 minutes to get to Central Park, or drive to Prospect Park where I might have to circle for 20 minutes just to find parking.  The alternative? Run on urban sidewalks, dodging people, stopping at intersections, inhaling exhaust.

Anyway, to those of you who live somewhere where nature is accessible (a park, a back yard, anything) appreciate it and enjoy it – it just might preserve your mental health. And to my fellow urbanites – get thee back to nature, or at least go buy some plants for your urban cave apartment.

Anyone want to go hiking?

Wednesday 090218 (37)

With a continuously running clock do one pull-up the first minute, two pull-ups the second minute, three pull-ups the third minute… continuing as long as you are able.

Use as many sets each minute as needed.

11 full rounds, plus 6 additional pull-ups.  Total pull-up count: 72 pull-ups in 12 minutes.  Not too shabby.

Bonus: Bottom-to-Bottom Tabata Squats.  The Tabata Protocol in CrossFit is 20 seconds of activity followed by 10 seconds of rest, for 4 minutes.  The minimum number of reps completed in any of the eight rounds is your score.  Bottom-to-bottom squats are squats that start in the bottom position and end in the bottom position.  The hardest part of this drill is that after you do the squats for 20 seconds, the 10 seconds of “rest” are done in the bottom squat position.  As an Asian, I should be ashamed to say this, but squatting is hard!  When I lived in China I slowly developed some measure of ankle flexibility so that I could manage a decent squat, but since I started running again I lost it all, so sitting in a squat position is definitely not rest.  I managed 10 squats in this drill – my rounds were 12-10-10-10-10-10-10-10.  After the first round I decided to play it safe since I was going to have to grit it out during the squat.  And those squats were definitely hard. After the drill, everyone just kind of collapsed, legs quivering.  Good times.  Good times.

(posting yesterday’s workout)

Tuesday 090217 (36)

Squat clean 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

135, 155, 165(f), 165(f), 165(f), 135, 155

I should have been able to clean 165.  It’s all in my head.  Well, in my head, and in my inflexible wrists and shoulders.  I had trouble catching the bar in the rack position after cleaning it.  Need to work on that flexibility more.

After the WOD we did a grip-strengthening drill: we hung from the pull-up bar for as long as we could.  I only lasted 1:36.  I think the record for the night was 2:36.

Friday 090213 (33)

“Fran”

Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of:
95 pound Thruster
Pull-ups

Scaled down to 75#, because I read somewhere that this workout is meant to be completed in 3-5 minutes, and if you can’t do it as Rx’d in a reasonably close time, then it should be scaled down.

8:40.  Not bad.  My last attempt at Fran was 6:38, but that was with 65# and jumping pull-ups.  I’m positive 8:40 with 75# and standard kipping pull-ups is a big improvement.  I’m going to do the thrusters with 85# next time.

After the WoD, we worked on handstands.  2:00 minutes of cumulative handstand time.  I had to break it into 5 seperate handstands to get up to 2:00 minutes.  Triceps were burning, and my forearms were sore from the thrusters.  Need to work on wrist flexibility.

Lately I’ve been feeling like I’ve progressed a lot since I started CrossFit in November.  My long-distance running endurance may be down, but my overall fitness has improved, I’m stronger, and I’m pretty sure my bodyfat percentage has gone down.  I’d still like to “be a runner” in some sense, but I know that overall fitness and strength training will be a part of my regimen from now on.

Went for a 5-mile run today.  It’s the first time in over a month I’ve run, and I’ve clearly lost some of my running fitness, but my knee held up. My shoes seem not to fit well anymore, and now I have two blisters on my arches – which is bizarre considering these are the same shoes I wore for the marathon.  Managed to do it in 42 minutes, at a comfortable pace.