Dodging Thunderstorms

It's been about 3.5 months since I rented a room close to my office and began bike commuting. That will end at the end of this month, and it will be nice to be living at my own home full time again. It's been a good experiment with some positives and some negatives. I've definitely exercised more than I would have otherwise, I've been able to work longer hours, I've saved money, and I've saved two hours per day in a car. But, I've missed being home on a daily basis, and I know my wife has had to pick up a lot of slack, like cooking dinner while I'm gone midweek. On the other hand, I've been doing all of my own laundry, so that's probably helped her somewhat.

Yesterday, we had a nasty thunderstorm come through the area about 3:30. More were in the forecast, but they all seemed to miss the local area. Last night I was thinking about how lucky I've been with these storms all summer. Despite a very rainy spring, and our normal summer thunderstorms, I haven't been caught on my bike in a bad thunderstorm yet. I've gotten wet and I've heard thunder while on the bike. And, I've modified my schedule at times due to the weather, either arriving at or leaving work a bit earlier or later than planned to miss a storm.

I've got three weeks of bike commuting left. I wonder if the luck will continue.

Last night's CrossFit workout was pretty straightforward and not as difficult as the night before.

Strength work:

3 strict presses at 97.5 pounds

3 at 110 pounds

max at 122.5 pounds (two strict plus two push presses)

5x10 ring dips (band assisted)

3x10 pull-ups (band-assisted)

MetCon: 3 rounds, as many reps as possible:

Row 1 minute (use calories burned as rep count)

Rest 30 seconds

Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (75 pounds)

Rest 30 seconds

Tuck Jumps (in lieu of double-unders)

Rest 30 seconds

I averaged about 13-14 calories on the rows, mid-20s on the high pulls, and low-40s on the tuck jumps, for a total score of 246.

The rowing was almost a rest interval in comparison to the other two "on" minutes each round. The high pulls were definitely the toughest part for me, especially by the third round. The rest interval was really a misnomer, because we needed those 30 seconds to record our score and move to the next station. The toughest part of the workout might have been sharing a barbell on a humid evening. The sumo deadlift high pull uses a grip on the inner part of the barbell - a smooth part of the bar with no knurling. So, holding onto the bar was difficult, as sweat accumulated and chalk dissipated.

I'll go to CrossFit again tonight, but with the 100 on 100 relay on Saturday, I'll probably do the workout at an easy level. I did last night at the Rx level, but tonight will be somewhere in the level 1 or level 2 range, based on the difficulty of the assigned work.