Did Pilates this morning and will do another class later today. I felt rather self-conscious because I was dripping so much onto the Reformer and constantly having to mop my forehead and wipe things down. It’s hot here as well, expected to hit 100 with heat index, though we had storms last night.
Last night’s 5K went pretty well. They changed it to a “fun run” and did not do any timing at all (although we wore our timing chips anyway). They had a lead vehicle and you weren’t allowed to go ahead of it as they were trying really hard to keep people from overdoing it in the heat. It was 92 and super humid. I don’t think the lead vehicle really added any benefit, it was a something like a 7 minute pace. The people who could have gone faster than that are experienced and hopefully smart enough runners to not push it on a night like that. The bigger concern is the less experienced people who run 10-12 minute miles who want to maintain a pace regardless of the conditions. At any rate, the race went well for both of us - I did an 8:11 pace which is a lot faster than I expected in the heat. H had a really good run, his pace was 7:41 which is really good for him. And then we had a fun dinner afterwards with running friends celebrating his birthday. Not much sleep, though, since we got home really late and had to be up at 4:30 am to head downtown to run with Back on My Feet this morning. That was a 3.2 mile easy run, much slower. It was really humid this morning!
sabaray - I hate to hear you getting discouraged about your training. How long are you committed to doing the MAF training? Maybe ohio is right and that it’s time to change what you’re doing. Have you talked to your coach about how you are feeling?
PG - I’m sure you weren’t the only one dripping all that sweat in class today. It’s miserable right now!
Well, the Fitbit bloom is off the rose! All of a sudden it has stopped tracking my sleep - or more accurately, it gives me readings that are waaaay off - like telling me I slept for 2 hours when I know I slept 7 - 8. It’s showing me as restless for long stretches of time, when I know I was sound asleep. Time for a new one, I think.
Pizzagirl, have you tried turning it off and resetting it? Somethimes, this works. Other times, a firmware update messes things up like it did for me (my Fitbit internal clock thought that there were 24.5 hrs in a day, haha). I left it alone, and in a week, new update fixed it.
I did some steps but maybe I should play w it a bit more. The step tracking and clock are all fine.
Worked out with my trainer today–she had a cancellation so we did an extra 20 minutes of work. Signed up for renew and restore yoga this evening.
My trainer also works at the local Crossfit club and keeps encouraging me to try it. I know Idad never thought much of the CF program. Has anyone here ever worked out in a Crossfit gym? Do you have any opinions on it Michael?
PG–meant to add that I sweat alot too when I workout. My feet even sweat in yoga class–I was slipping on my mat the other day because of it. I just decided to be very Zen and ignore it.
Crossfit can be dangerous in my opinion and most PTs really recommend against it- although it brings them tons of business.
I believe MaineLonghorn did CrossFit for a while.
I tried it twice (with a Groupon). I’m pretty strong but it seems really oriented towards a hard-core jock / training for the military mindset to me; I prefer more supportive atmospheres. I can easily see how someone could get hurt doing it.
MaineLonghorn did do Crossfit, but she had a very gentle instructor who did a lot of accommodations for her and respected her limitations. My understanding from what I’ve read and from others is that is not usually the case.
CrossFit is a mixed bag of goods, according to my CrossFit junkie kid. The instructor makes a huge difference, as MOfWC says. The person who taught the lunch time classes in Geneva where kid worked was very accommodating, but then she tried a class in her college town and was not impressed. Gut ripping sets without any attention to the technique and form - run from it!
The problem with Crossfit is that there is little to no control over the qualifications of the instructors. There is no requirement that you have any training in anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, exercise behavioral science or theories of progressive resistance training to get “certified” and be authorized to open a “box” and do business under the Crossfit brand. There is no independent third party testing to confer the “certification”. You simply pay your money and attend a 1 or 2 day workshop and voila, you are now a Crossfit instructor. As a result, there is a very broad spectrum of quality and experience associated with Crossfit. Some classes are fine if you want that kind of exercising and others are disasters waiting to happen with no attention to form or technique that frequently results in serious injury. It’s definitely not a style of training that’s for everyone and you must be sure that the box you join is run by competent well trained instructors.
Watching the CrossFit Games on ESPN right now… they just finished the women’s “Squat-Clean Pyramid”. You start with 10 squat-cleans at 165 lbs, then 8 at 180, 6 at 195, 4 at 205, and 2 at 215. As fast as you can.
That’s 30 total reps. The winner did it in just over 5 minutes.
The event before this is called the “Murph” - a 1 mile run, then 5 rounds of 20 pull-ups, 40 push-ups, and 60 squats, then another 1 mile run. While wearing a 14 pound weighted vest.
The next event is the “Double DT” - 10 rounds (!) of 12 deadlifts, 9 hang power cleans (?), 6 push-jerks (?), with 105 pounds of weight. That’s 270 reps…
Crazy.
They are showing the men’s Murph right now… they have to wear 20 pound vest.
I think the stupid part is the “as fast as you can.” I’m just not a fan of Crossfit.
I love that article and I love Lauren Fleshman! Her husband Jesse Thomas is so cute, too. I met him at Kona and got a picture with him.
Thanks for posting that, Ohio!! Great article about a great person.
Here’s some interesting articles on Crossfit injuries and related issues:
http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/exercise/too-much-pain-for-crossfit-gains-20140326
Went to my final PT session for my right hamstring yesterday. The PTs were far more interested in my left hip and thigh from my crash. It really excited them. They thought the discoloration from the hematoma spanning from my hip, around to my lower glutes and down the back of my thigh to my knee was exquisite. Cell phones came out, pictures were taken to send to their PT friends with “Can you top this” captions, and comments like “that’s better than indigenous cultures body art” abounded. It was hysterically funny, they were like little kids with wide eyed excitement but from their professional perspective. The PT I was working with did a full eval of my hip to check for structural damage and nothing triggered any joint or movement pain. That was at least reassuring! The swelling is substantially reduced except for around the greater trochanter which took the brunt of the impact. It seems that any activity that increases blood flow, particularly cycling but even a lot of walking, triggers a resurgence of swelling and inflammation. It’s just going to take time and I think interspersing more off days than I’m accustomed to will help (6 training days out of the last 8) but I’m getting a bit impatient. It has been 8 full days since the crash, ya know :).
So nothing more than some stretching and ab work for me today. I’m going to try to behave, I really am. 
Enjoy the blue skies and sunshine this weekend everyone but remember to stay hydrated in this heat. If you’re going to train outdoors, might not be a bad idea to weigh yourself before and after so that you know how much water you actually lose. https://www.acsm.org/docs/brochures/selecting-and-effectively-using-hydration-for-fitness.pdf
Very interesting video concerning a study testing the hypothesis that a low carb ketogenic diet results in fat loss. In a nut shell, the conclusion was that the theory of insulin metabolism and carbohydrates resulting in fat and weight gain is not supported, that what really counts is energy expenditures and balances in a diet i.e. calories in vs calories out. Some interesting data too on ketogenic diets also causing weight loss more from lean muscle tissue than diets that are not “low carb”.