Sunday Sprints and Monday CrossFit

For the second weekend in a row, I took it pretty easy. My wife and I had planned on going for a short run on Friday night, but we skipped it due to rain. Saturday, I slept it and then didn't do much at all. I spent most of the day relaxing, catching up on episodes of The Daily Show and Colbert on the DVR, and I watched a baseball game. Sunday, I slept in again.

I've been working a lot of hours and working out really hard during the week, and the past few weekends, I've felt the effects. It's nice not to have any big events that I'm training for, knowing that I can relax when my body tells me I need some extra sleep or a rest day.

Sunday afternoon, I finally got my lazy butt out the door, and I did a short running workout - 10 x 1 minute. After my warm-up, I ran hard for a minute, walked for a minute, and repeated until I'd done 10 hard minutes. Then a cool-down and I was done.

Sunday night, I think I discovered I'd slept too much earlier in the weekend. I woke up at 2:00 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. But, the alarm was set for 4:30, so I didn't have to wait too long until it was time to get up. I was at work before 7:00 and had a busy day with a new employee.

CrossFit was tough last night. It was a hot day and I knew the gym would be warm. We started with our Wendler cycle work for squats:

5 reps at 225

5 reps at 255

2 reps at 285

I was supposed to do max reps on the last set, with a goal of 5, but it just wasn't there. On this Wendler cycle, I haven't missed a single strict press workout, but I haven't been as consistent with squats and deadlifts. On both reps at 285, my form wasn't good - I was letting my back round a bit and not keeping my chest high. I was worried about failing and getting hurt on a third rep, so I stopped after two.

Then, 5 x 8 front squats at 135 pounds was next. I was supposed to lift heavier, but I am trying to work on using the standard grip for front squats rather than the alternative "cross-hand" grip. It has only been recently that I've gotten to 135 with that grip, despite a best of over 200 pounds with the other grip. I've basically decided to re-build my front squat by only using the standard grip, and working at whatever weight I can handle. And, those 40 reps were plenty.

Next came the MetCon:

Rep scheme: 5-10-15-20-15-10-5, as quickly as possible

2 x 25 pound dumbbells - ground to overhead, any technique allowed

pull-ups (I used an assistance band)

For the dumbbell work, I started doing power snatches, which are quick, but taxing to the arms if you get lazy with your hips. By the time I got to the first set of 15, I mixed in some clean and jerks instead. The set of 20 was all C&Js, and as the reps descended, I gradually went back to power snatches. My time was 16:45 - one of the slower times in the class. I'd spent most of the workout right on the verge of throwing up, so I don't think I could have gone any faster. Given the heat, and the number of reps, I've got no complaints.

Today is my 25th wedding anniversary. In my head, I don't really feel much older than when I got married all those years ago. My body tells a different story though. But, my wife looks as beautiful to me today as she did all those years ago.

I'm going to leave work early today to go to CrossFit. Then, my wife is going to visit me in my rented room for the evening. I have talked a local chef into doing a custom menu for us at a highly regarded local restaurant this evening. No kids. No dogs. Just the two of us for an evening. It doesn't seem that long ago that it was just the two of us - no kids, no dogs, no mortgage, etc. Now our son is out of high school, our daughter is 13 going on 25, and I've got an awful lot of gray hair. But still, it's not a bad place to be.