Sprints and Obstacles

For the short term, I preparing for the Spartan Beast, October 21 near Atlanta, GA. I'm trying to increase running endurance to be able to strongly handle hills over the miles. I'm also trying to build lifting and gripping strength to be able to negotiate obstacles while my heart rate is 180+ and palms are sweaty.

For long term planning, I'm training to compete in Tough Mudder X in Atlanta, GA 2018

5 x 5 pull ups with leg lifts

Run 2.5 miles as follows:

200 m sprint

5 burpees and rest for time it took to run 200 m

400 m sprint

5 burpees and rest for time it took to run 400 m

600 m sprint

5 burpees and rest for time it took to run 600 m

800 m spring

5 burpees and rest for time it took to run 800 m

Repeat the run in reverse order. Be sure to work in some hills if possible. My course had 350 ft of eleveation

Then do the following 2 x:

3 x Hex bar squats or alternative, stand on elevated surface (I use a cinder block) and reach down to grasp 2 x 5 gallon water cans (total of 90#) Farmer carry water cans for 225 meters

10 x push press with sandbag (ground to overhead)

Run up the Wall

Last year at the Spartan Race Super in Atlanta, I met my match a the 8 foot wall. I was not expecting to miss the wall; I never had before. I know all I have to do is reach the top and I can scramble right over like the scrappy dude that I am.

However, each attempt at jumping to reach the top left me frustrated. My hands could not get a good hold. The top was slippery and I could only grasp with my fingers which is usually good enough. Not that day; I did 30 burpees and moved on. I hate doing burpees and expending so much energy on non to little energy obstacles like wall climbs and especially the spear throw. 

I'm facing the same issues next weekend in Atlanta. This time I went to Youtube to check out some parcour videos. I think I'm going to make it this time.

Block Party at 4 miles

I enjoy running around my block. It's a mile around, has hills, and I have a growing obstacle course in my back yard. I usually do a few obstacles in the yard, run, and repeat. Today I am focusing on heavy lifting and sprints.

Build your own yoke...see below I made a yoke out of a 4 x 4 post, straps, and 2 x 5 gallon water cans. I also incorporated my sand bag.

Walk .1 mile with yoke.
Run 1 mile

5 push presses with #70 sand bag
Sprint 200 m rest for duration of 200 m sprint.
Sprint 400 m, rest for duration of 400 m sprint
Sprint 600 m, rest for duration of 600 m sprint
Sprint 800 m, rest for duration of 800 m sprint

5 push presses with 70# sand bag
Sprint 800 m, rest for duration of 800 m sprint
Sprint 600 m, rest for duration of 600 m sprint
Sprint 400 m, rest for duration of 400 m sprint
Sprint 200 m rest for duration of 200 m sprint

5 push presses with 70# sand bag

Build a yoke: 2 water cans and two straps

Sandbags are awesome

Run Along Oshkosh, Wisconsin

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZCi-KcFNRb/

Run easy for 1/2 mile. Run hard for 200m, rest 45 seconds, run hard 400m, rest 2 mins, #run hard 600m rest 2.5 mins, run 800m hard, rest 3 mins. Reverse workout and do 10 #burpees and 10 #boxjumps (on a rock, tree-stump, stairs) on each break. 800m burpees and box jump, etc. #hit #crossfit #obstaclecourseracing #toughmudder #ocrwc #greyberets

• 3.9mi
  Distance
• 28:26
  Moving Time
• 7:17/mi
  Pace 

A Little Fun Dip

Looking for a little fun while watching my daughter practice volley ball. How do you stay in shape?

Monkey Mayhem

I spent the day doing pull ups and playing on my rigs. I also have a new I-Phone with slo mo capability. How fun is this?

4 Miles and Sandbags

I ran 4 miles in the hills today. I kept it slow and easy as this is a taper off week and I'm getting read for tough mudder. I also wanted to get prepared for the Tough Mudder X competition that I am pre-registered for in October 2018.

Run 4 miles

With a sandbag (mine in 50 pounds and I'm working my way up to 90 pounds):

10 over head presses x 3

Split 10k

This was so annoying. I have the Garmin 220 watch and instead of pausing and starting my run, I ended up pausing and saving the run. This was only 4 miles into the 6.5 mile run. Oh well, a better split time performance, lol.



 
 Run Part 1


 
Run Part 2




 

GRIT

GRIT is a new workout for me. Ive attended plyometric and strength and combinations of both. Definitely glad it's only 1/2 hour. It wipes me out so that I don't feel like running, but leaves me some strength for calesthenics and body weight exercises. Today was a play strength combo. I wonder if I can get running credit,.lol. I noticed that HIIT leads to a reduction in weekly  milage.

Short "Rest Day Workout"

Today is a rest day, but I still want to maintain some level of fitness and fun. I decided to do 10 minute workouts.

Pull ups for 10 minutes
Set timer for 10 minutes then do 5-10 pull ups per minute. I wanted to do 100, but ended up doing 70

Toes to bar or hanging leg lifts
Set time for 10 minutes then do 5 -10 toes to bar. I wanted to 50, but got 60

New Obstacle / Ninja Backyard

Here's my backyard ninja area. It's a good training area for obstacle races and I have lots of fun here. I think my dog likes to too.

Here's where I got the backyard ninja stuff:

 

8 Mile

I ran 8 miles easy today. I wanted to reach my goal of 20 miles for the week. The course is hilly and I ended up with about 500 feet of elevation.

Made it just before it got too hot.

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-8/18/17

I was going to run, but I didn't get much sleep and opted to hit the snooze a few times. It's too hot out to run this afternoon, so I planned a day of pull ups and leg lifts. I didn't do it all at once, but did sets of 10 -15 in the morning and then finished up after work.

100 pull ups on different surfaces and grip
40 leg lifts (toes to bar)
10 ring dips


Below are only some of the different hand grips I use.

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/20/17

Do the following 5x:

5 pull ups

5 chin ups

5 dips

Run 7.5 miles

Run 3.75 miles at a moderate pace

Run 3.75 miles sprinting every other 1/4 miles

Do backyard rig 2x

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/17/17

Run a  very hilly 10k for PR

My route included a 2 mile climb with 645 feet of elevation.

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/16/17

Stretch and Warm up muscles and joints

5 sets of 3 hand stand push ups

Do the following 4x:
7 hang power snatch)
7 thrusters
14 toes-to-bar
400m run
1 minute rest

Run 4.5 miles

Run In Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/14/17

Today I had planned to run much more than 4 miles. The plan called for two laps up and down the mountain for a total of 7.5 miles and 1120 feet of elevation. However, halfway through the run I just felt drained. I couldn't regain energy or motivation and stopped early with 4.3 miles and 600 feet of elevation. 

I'm convinced that as I've stepped up CrossFit training, I'm loosing endurance for my runs. I guess there is trade off. However, I am hoping that the challenge will result in better race performance. 

Run 4.3 miles

Do pull ups on various hand holds.

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/12/17

Keep in shape for the ever evolving platinum rig type of obstacles. Incorporate different handholds for challenging training.

Do the following 4x:

5 pull ups with one hand on ring and one hand on vertical PCV pipe

5 pull ups one hand on each vertical PCV pipes

5 pull ups with one hand on PCV pipe and the other on cannon ball

10 push ups

Rest one minute

Experiment with different hand holds

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/13/17

Rotate and Stretch muscles and joints

10 ring dips

10 negative ring dips

Do the following 9 times:

Deadlifts

2 weighted ring dips

Do the following as many times as possible in 7 minutes:

40' weighted lunges

8 weighted burpees

60 jump ropes (singles or 30 double unders)

Do the following as many times as possible in 4 minutes:

6 dumbbell clean and jerks

8 toes to bar

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training 2/11/17

Stretch and rotate muscles  

Do the following as many times as possible in 10 minutes:

20 dumbbell Thrusters

20 toes to bar (hanging straight leg lifts)

Run 10k

Run first mile easy, then sprint every 1/4 mile

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/8/17

Run 13.1 miles

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/6/17

Here's what I did in CrossFit. 

Do the following or something similar 5 x. Feel free to substitute with water can carries, dumbbells, sand bags, whatever:

Deficit deadlift x 1

Weighted ring dip x 5 (26#)

Then,

8 x squat clean thrusters

8 reps of shuttle runs 20' out and back

Then,

Run 4.4 miles

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/5/17

Run 4.3 miles with hills (mine had 611 feet). 
 During the last 1.5 miles, do 5 burpees per 1/4 mile.

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/4/17

Fun day at the gym. Had a great time warming up with a game of tag before getting into some really serious stuff.

How about this for obstacle practice, the following is a team event, but scaled for an individual:

Do as many as possible for 25 minutes. It's called the Andretti-

2 rope climbs
100m run with medicine ball or 20# weight
6 shoulder presses
10 dumbbell ground to overhead
15 hip extensions
4 sled pushes (40 feet with 90 pounds for men or 45 for women is one push)

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/3/17

Run 5.3 miles at an easy pace.

Run In Mud Obstacle Race Training-2/2/17

Run 7.3 miles up a mountain or hill. I'm fortunate enough to have a nearby 611 foot hill. I run this twice to get a good workout. Run at a moderate pace up the mountain and sprint down hill.

Later at the gym, garage or other workout location (I went after work)

Stretch and rotate muscles 

The four rounds of the following for time (I was in last place at 32 minutes after that run, lol)

1 minute of toes to bar (hanging leg lifts)
1 minute of jumping rope. Attempt to do double unders if possible
1 minute of kettle bell swings (american or overhead)
1 minute of squat cleans
1 minute of rest

Have fun

Run In Mud Obstacle Race Training-1/31/16

Run a mountain or hill for a goal of 1000 feet elevation change. I ran this course up and down a mountain 2x and over 6.2 miles, then,

Squat workout with or without weights for 10 minutes

Do the following 7x for time:

15 kettle bell swings

15 cleans

15 box jumps (24")

Run In Mud Obstacle Race Training-1/30/16

Do the following 7 x:

1 Dead lift

3 weighted ring dips

Do the following 3-4 times:

5 chin ups

5 dumbbell should presses

15 wall balls

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training 1/26/17

Stretch and rotate muscles and joints

We had a great workout at the gym. This exercise will blow you away when you perform 4 x:

1 minute kettlebell swings

1 minute box jumps

1 minute pistols

1 minute toes to bar (hanging leg lifts)

1 minute sled push (push something heavy across the ground or pull something. Make sure it has no wheels but uses friction)

Rest for 1 minute between sets.

Run 3 easy pace miles with significant elevation where possible.

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-1/25/17

This is called the tough 10K. 

Run a total of 6.2 miles sprinting every quarter of a mile until the 3rd mile, then

jog for 1 mile, 

then finish the run with Sprint's the last remaining distance. 

Also, beginning at the 2-mile mark do burpees every quarter mile until a total of 9 burpees

RIMORT-1/24/17

Stretch and rotate muscles and joints

Hand stand push-ups, how low can you go? I went to the floor without padding and pushed up. A friend of mine stacked weight plates and dipped 10 inches below the plane. Good job.

Practice squat cleans at the gym. I was able to do a PR with 100 pounds. Not too bad so far. I only weigh 40# more than the weight stack, lol.

I am currently taking a Strava challenge to run 2000 meters incline in a month. It sounded easy, but it's hard to run up and down a short hill enough to meet the chalange. Alas, here I am plugging a way with 7 days left and only 1000 meters.

 Run 4 miles in hills. I had a 1/8 mile hill that I ran repeatedly until I reached 200 meters.

Run In Mud Obstacle Race Training-1/23/17

Repeat 10k hill run. Attempt to beat past performance.

I had a 10k route with a 611 foot ascent over 1.75 miles. Great uphill pace, but awesome downhill sprint as you might guess. I took the momentum onto the flat route and finished strong.

RIMORT-1/20/17

Run 6.2 miles as such:

Run 1.25 miles easy then,

For next 3.25 miles run 1/4 mile intervals then, Run easy pace for 3/4 miles For final mile run 1/4 mile intervals

RIMORT-1/19/2017

Stretch and rotate muscles and joints

1000m row then,

Repeat as many times as possible for 10 minutes

10 facing the bar burpees (jump over weight bar (elevated with workout weight load) do burpee, jump over bar, and so on) then,

10 front squats then,

6 chest to bar pull ups

Easy 4 miles

RIMORT-1/18/16

I have made a resolution to run in the RockRace in Wurzburg, Germany. This is 18km with a steep hill of 300m and 50 obstacles and it sounds awesome. The best part is I was stationed there in the 80s while serving in the best army in the world (3ID is the best division as well). I've always wanted to return for a visit and I have chosen an obstacle course race to do so. This 300m incline winds to a castle, an old church, vineyards and more. That means tons of hill work. This practice will also prepare me for Bonefrog, SavageRace and other venues taking place in the Georgia hills around Atlanta. The run was tough and only half the distance and elevation of the race.  More practice to go.

Run 10k with a steep grade:

Run 1.25 miles easy

Find steep grade (I had 611 feet over 1.75 miles up hill) Run sprint sets on the way back.

1.75 miles provided 1/4 mile sprints over 1.75 miles and the following 1.25 miles.

RIMORT-1/17/17

Crossfit Workout

Stretch and rotate muscles and joints

Practice jerk workout for 10 minutes

Do the following 5x for time:

12 deadlifts

9 hang power cleans

6 push jerks

RIMORT 1/16/17

Run 13.1 miles as follows:

Run 1 mile easy then,

For the next 2 miles sprint every other 1/4 mile then,

For the next 1 mile sprint between mail boxes or similar short distances then,

For the next 1 mile sprint between mailboxes for 1/4 mile, slow next 1/4 mile then,

Run moderate 1 mile then,

For the next mile sprint every other 1/4 mile then,

Finish run any way you can

RIMORT 1/15/17

Run 5 miles

RIMORT-1/12/17

Run 8 miles

I started to run 4 miles, but kept going. Sometimes that happens, but the results pretty much wore me out.

Pick a route with hills, mile had elevations gains of 480 feet. There is one steep hill that leads to a water tower; pretty brutal.

Run 1.25 mile warm up then,

For the next two miles increase speed up from warm up to moderate pace. Run faster 1/4 mile and slower 1/4 then, Run slower for next mile then, For next mile run sprints every other mail box or other short interval then, For the next mile run 1/4 mile of mailbox sprints with 1/4 slower pace For the next mile run at slower pace Finish distance at moderate pace leaving reserve for race pace final 1/2 mile.

Run in Mud ORT-1/10/16

Run 400m

Stretch and Rotate muscles and joints

Do the following x 6:

2 squat cleans

4 hand stand push ups

As many as possible for 7 minutes (try for 3x minimum)

5 shoulder presses

5 should presses

5 burpees with weight plate

10 toes to bar

Do the following x 3

12 Farmer carry lunges( 6 steps with alternating dumbbell or kettle bell)

12 Russian Kettle bell swings

Run 4.5 miles

Run in Mud Obstacle Race Training-1/9/17

Fast 10k

1.Repeat the following for 3/1 miles:

Jog 1/4 mile

Fast 1/4 mile

2. Run race pace for 1 mile

3. Repeat 1 for 1 mile

4. Jog 1/4 mile

RIMORT-1/11/17

Tough 5.5 miles

Run easy 1 mile

For the next 3.5 miles

5 burpees every 1/4 mile and,

1/4 mile fast

1/4 mile slower

Last mile

Jog 1/4 mile then 5 standing jumps

Jog 1/4 mile then 5 air squats

Jog 1/4 mile then 5 pullup bar dips (go over bar and lower chest to bar) Jog 1/4 mile then 5 push ups

RIMORT-01/05/2017

Warm up:

Stretch and rotate joints and muscles

Push ups, pull ups, lift light weights to prepare muscles

Main set:

As many rounds as possible in 18 minutes:

15 box jumps

12 push presses

9 toes to bars

Practice monkey bar grips. Hang or move along bars to go as far as possible until muscle failure.

Run 4.5 miles on a hilly course. Have some fun with it while it's still cold out.

RIMORT-01/03/2017

Warm up:

Stretch and rotate joints and muscles

Push ups, pull ups, lift light weights or similar exercises to prepare muscles Practice split and push jerks Main set:

Four rounds of the following in 3 minutes:

5 jerks

15 kettle-bell sumo dead-lift high pulls or dead-lifts

Max wall balls with time remaining on the 3 minute count

Later:

Run 6.25 miles
jog for the first 1.25 miles to warm up. Begin 1/4 mile sprints every other 1/4 mile until run is complete.

RIMORT-01/02/2017

Run 4.5 miles on a hill course. My course had a 375 foot change in eleveation. For the first mile, run at a slower pace. Then run hard for a quarter mile and back off for the next. Continue until you reach your desired distance.

Later,

Practice rope climbs, grip hangs, and monkey bars. I went to Shakalaka and practiced in their "Ninja" area.