My 10 Miler Race Day

Race day started out like most of my normal race day.  I was nervous and not excited about the long run, and the bad weather was not helping any of this.  It was raining pretty hard at 8:30am (Race started at 9am) and while waiting in the car, I started crying and told Dennis I didn't think I was going to run because of the rain.  Dennis said that if the rain was the ONLY reason I didn't want to run, he supported me, but he also reminded me about how I shouldn't make excuses.  And then magically, at 8:50, the rain let up and I was ready to start.  

but I don't wanna runnnn!

It was pretty cold out but after the 3rd mile I was nice and warm.  The course had already proven to be pretty challenging, with some crazy hills, one considered a "Mega Hill", and only on some of the hills I allowed myself to walk.     But when I walked, I walked fast, and ran as soon as I could.  The nice thing about this course was that there was plenty of time between hills to recover, unlike the Superbowl 10k.  

For me, the race didn't start until mile 7 when I started to feel challenged.  Miles 1 - 6 I zoned out and just basically kept running with no really problems.  The last 3 miles I started breaking down mentally and somewhat physically.  

Dennis was kind enough to figure out spots where he could cheer me on, which helped, but at one point he was driving along side me while I was running assuring me it was much easier driving rather than running.  I so not very kindly gave him the finger and told him to get out of my sight.  hahahaha. 

The last hundred feet or so was uphill (of course right?) and there was no way I was going to walk any more.  When I turned the corner and crossed the finish line, I couldn't believe my eyes.  I finished in 1 hour, 37 minutes, and 45 seconds, a HUGE PR!!!  

Comparing this course to the Broad Street run just isn't fair.  Even though they are the same distance, the two courses are completely different. The Broad Street run that I did almost a year ago is completely flat and took me almost 2 hours to run.  This race was insanely hilly and I still beat my old time by more than 20 minutes.  That is impressive!  

I already knew the importance of training, but this goes to show that if you are true to your training, put the work in, and really commit, you will see results.  Crossfit was my "Cross Training / Strength" and I know it played a huge factor into my success.   

I know that I should be very proud of myself, but the fact that I had to walk a little bit of the race bothers me.  I need to figure out how to run hills better somehow.  The good news is that my running pace obviously makes up for any short distances of walking that I do.  

After the race, I decided to go out in Philly with my sister-in-law which I was a little apprehensive about.  Usually after races, especially challenging ones, I'm useless the rest of the day, but I was completely fine.  We had a really fun time and I was able to keep up with everybody!  

Saturday:

10 Mile Race

01:37:45

Sunday:

Rest

Crossfit Games 2012 WOD 12.2

With my competitors cherry popped last week with 12.1, it was time to do the 12.2 WOD last night, and I was slightly LESS nervous than last week, simply because I already had one under my belt. 

I literally spent all day yesterday trying to come up with a goal, but for some reason I couldn't decide.  I didn't want to say 61 and then only be able to do 40, but I didn't want to say 40 and blow past it.  So I basically didn't decide on a goal.  Fine, no big deal.

We got to the gym and there was a bar set up for 75lbs, so I figured I'd do a couple test Snatches.  75lbs is the 2nd round of 30 in the WOD and I knew that I had done a previous Snatch WOD with a weight of 70lbs.  I tried to Snatch, and I failed.  Talk about an ego blow.  Granted I wasn't warmed up, but still, 75lbs was heavier than I had expected and I suddenly became very afraid of the WOD. 

3....2....1....GO!

I was able to easily Snatch the 45lb bar.  I would do 10 reps, shake it out for about 3 seconds, 10 reps, shake it out, 10 reps, shake it out and then prep the bar for the next set of 30 @ 75lbs.  I was done with my 1st 30 reps in about 2.5 minutes. 

Now the hard part.

 I was able to get 21 good reps in before my time expired, but I think that I had at least 5 failing reps.  I really wish that I could have gotten to 60 total (rather than 51 reps) and that was the moment when I knew I would be repeating the WOD on Sunday. 

Dennis and Courtney were watching/judging me and they were awesome!  Both of them kept yelling/encouraging me to keep moving or to shake it out, or whatever it was that they thought I needed to hear. 

All and all I need to be happy that I got 21 reps of the 75lbs Snatch but deep down I'm still disappointed I couldn't finish up the round.  My shoulders are quite sore this morning, but hopefully they will be recovered for Sunday's redo. 

WOD:

10 Minute AMRAP

30 Snatches @ 45lbs

30 Snatches @ 75lbs

30 Snatches @ 100lbs

As Many Snatches @ 125lbs

Score = 51

Happy March!

Happy March everybody!  For those of you who haven't been counting down to my vacation, here is a nice little reminder!

 

I have 17 days until my week long vacation in the Bahamas and just this past weekend I pulled out of my tub of summer clothes.

I was giddy with joy.

Things were fitting me nicely and I have never been in more love with my arms/upper body than I am now.  It's amazing what a 9 month investment in your body can do.  For those of you who haven't started, start now, so in 12 weeks you can feel as amazing as I do. 

Last night Crossfit Games released the 2nd Open's WOD and I sometimes think I have no emotions whatsoever.  The WOD is:

in 10 minutes get AMRAP of:

30 Snatches 45lbs

30 Snatches 75lbs

30 Snatches 100lbs

As many reps @ 120lbs

And I honestly had no emotional reaction.  I've done Isabella (30 Snatches for time) at 75lbs in 4:45 minutes so I'm quite confident I will be able to get through the first 60 reps if time allows.  But then again, I'm not 100% sure.  I can't settle on a goal, and I guess I'm just pretty "blah" about this one.  I plan on doing this tonight at the 7pm class, so I will make sure to keep you updated!

This Saturday is my 10 mile road race, and its been the furthest thing on my mind this week.  I had an unusual week, which put a major hiccup in my routine, but I did my best to stay on track as far as exercising went.  If all goes to plan for tonight and tomorrow, I will have only missed 2 workouts in this months training program, which again, is a huge success for me.  (I usually quit my training programs).  I hope to beat 2 hours in the race on Saturday which is my current 10 miler race time. 

Monday:

Strength

5 x 2 Lower Back Squats

5 x 2 Shoulder Press

WOD

5 Rounds w/20 minute time cap

400 meter run

25 DU

15 HSPU

4+435

Tuesday:

3 Mile Run

Wednesday:

Forced Rest Day