Correction to the 5k timetrial guys.
We're meeting at 8am, NOT 830am.
Be at the flagpole in St Heliers by 8, we'll get you warmed up and then look out new PR's!
Our next 8 week Endurance block will be kicking off in June, stay tuned for deets.
04/27/2012
04/23/2012
Tuesday 24 April
Workout
6 x 400m w 90s recovery if you didn't do this as homework last week,
Or,
4-6 x 600m w 2min recovery
This Saturday at 830am we're finishing up the 8 week block with a retest of the 5k waterfront TT.
Pictured are some of the awesome crew down in Cambridge working through some skills and drills during a CrossFit Endurance workshop we conducted down there on the weekend.
04/17/2012
Tuesday 17 April
Workout
10 x 200m w 60s recovery
Homework for the week is one or both of the following workouts.
1) 5mins on, 2mins off x 2, then 1min on, 30s off x 5 at max effort.
2) 6-8 x 400m with 90s rest, no more than 5s deviation between rounds, or else 50 x walking lunge 'bonus' after workout.
04/16/2012
Saturday 14 April
4-6 x 800m w 3 mins rest (+5 sec deviation=burpees!)
Heart rate is a long favoured performance measurement in the endurance community. Most runners and cyclists can rattle off their max HR, and the various training zones and percentages that they use to elicit a particular response.
But it can be tough to get accurate data - what happens when you drink a couple of strong espressos?
Or get a bit dehydrated? Or have a lot of work stress? All these things and many others, affect your heart rate. So basing your training off a percentage of HR has it's downsides.
Stick to plain and simple percentage of effort.
100% = as hard as possible.
90% = pretty darn hard, but with a little left in the tank.
Simple.
And that way, you are always training at an appropriate effort for how your body is feeling that day.
The Eastern Bloc weightlifters have known this for decades. Turn up to the gym, find the heaviest load they can lift for THAT particular day, and then calculate training loads to work with from that load. If they always worked from their PR's (the lifts they achieved maybe once a year when everything was perfect), then the chances of burning out are high.
Being able to feel your body working, and basing your efforts on your actual performance is quite liberating vs the constraints of HR zones. If you stick to those designated parameters, you may be over or under training on a given day.
Try good old fashioned effort instead.
04/10/2012
Tuesday 10 April
Death by 10m.
- Run 10m in minute 1, 20m in minute 2, 30m in minute 3 and so on for as long as possible.
- Gym record sits at 18 with Lars, and he is away today! So his title is ripe for the plucking folks....... :0
Homework this week: 90 secs on 90secs off for 6 - 8 rounds, max effort.
Saturday training is on at 830am this week. Meet at the gym.
Sneak peak at the Team Faster t-shirt.....still a work in progress. Thoughts?
* update - check out results below, we have a new record for Death by 10m, and the t shirt design has been adjusted slightly. Any thoughts on the colour? And we need a decent running tee to print it on.....
04/05/2012
Easter Training
Team Faster about to charge up 'The Hill of Death' at Mt Wellington. 550m long, 120m high. 2-4 mins of physical and mental stamina.
"If your goal for running is just to 'look' a particular way in a pair of shorts then you have missed the point completely. If your mantra when running is "I hate running but I'm running so my butt can look like hers" then you are still learning. If you run because it feels frigging awesome to be able to power yourself along at lightning speed - then your purpose is profound. "
- a quote from my friend Jo Maas at CrossFit Toowoomba
Homework for the Easter weekend, you have a choice of the two workouts below, or if you want to really get your run on, you can do both.
5mins on, 2:30 off, 6:00 on, 3:00 off 7:00 on, Done. Max effort on all intervals.
6 x 600m with 90secs rest. Aim for no more than 5-8 sec difference in splits.
04/03/2012
Tuesday 3 April
Over the weekend the Oxfam 100km Trailwalker event was held down in Taupo. It is a charity event to fundraise for the good people at Oxfam to pass it on to the people who need it. You set off in a team of four and endeavour to finish the course within the cut off of 36 hours. It's not a relay and all 4 team members are meant to complete the full 100km. There are 7 checkpoints along the way where you can stop and meet up with your support crew who do everything from feeding you to mending your blisters.
Traditionally the 100km is walked but if you wish you can run it. I walked the event a couple of years ago with a team in just over 27 hours. That was extremely fatiguing being awake for that long and walking through the cold night. So I thought that this year why not try and run/ brisk walk/ crawl the 100km as fast as possible? I set a target time of finishing in under 15 hours.
Our team consisted of myself, a good mate from school (Graham), a mate from work (Johnny) and my bro in law (Justin). Together we called ourselves 'Mad Men'. Quite fitting I thought!
We started the race at 7am on Saturday morning and set off on the first leg of 16.4km. The day started well with the team running on the flat and downhills and brisk walking uphill. We kept this pace up for most of the 100km. At the first checkpoint we refuelled and attended to minor chaffing. (Vaseline becomes your intimate friend on long distance runs). Our goal was to spend the least amount of time possible in the checkpoints so we wouldn't fall behind the pace. 12 minutes later we were back on the trail.
The next few legs were fairly non eventful until around the 27km I started to cramp in my lower quads. I've always had a problem with cramp but I didn't think it would hit me this early on in the race! Out came my trusty cramp stop spray and I managed to keep the cramp at bay although it came back every now and then right up until the 70km mark. At this point the cramp disappeared and I was ok for the remaining 30km. I still kept spraying that cramp stop into my mouth however with fear that it would come back with a vengance!
The scenery around Taupo was awesome to take in every now and then, although we had our heads down most of the time with the mind on the job of completing the course. When you get to a point where your body starts to say to you; "Hey buddy think you could stop for a bit? What the hell do you think you are trying to do to me?", it becomes a mental game more than ever. Each one of us was having an inner battle at various stages in the race trying to motivate ourselves to keep going. This is also when your team mates must rally around you and give you encouragement. This can be as simple as asking you random questions about random topics. Anything to take your mind off the pain in your legs.
But the main thing that kept all of us going was humour. We laughed ourselves round most of the 100km. I believe that the jokes and laughter and the postive spin on everything helped us all through the tough times.
It got dark around 7:30pm and out came the head torches and the fun of running at night through the forest and bush began. It was around this time that we truly started to believe that we could come in under our target time of 15 hours. There is something about running at night that picks up your adrenalin. It gives you just that little extra omph that you need to keep going.
One of the highlights of the day was with 5km to go we came through the last checkpoint at a rugby club and some local boys volunteering started an impromtu haka as we ran into the checkpoint. We felt honoured that they did that for us and once again these little things can lift your spirits and help keep you going once more. Although we were pretty stuffed, we were on a mission and elected not to stop at this checkpoint as we all wanted to power on and get to the finish line.
In the last 5km we all supported and encouraged each other as we needed it and soon enough the finish line was in view. We ran across that line with all the emotions flying as we had finished in 14hrs 58mins. Everyone was ecstatic to have come in in under 15 hours. All our support crew were there to cheer us on in the last few metres and it was great to know they were there for us the whole way around.
For me personally the main reason I was able to finish the 100km was the Crossfit and Crossfit Endurance training I had been doing. I believe whole heartedly in the philosophy behind this style of training. It truly does work. You can't fake a 100km race.
But at the end of the day it was about setting a goal and going for it. We had doubts along the way whether we would make that goal but together as a team we made it happen.
And that is the satisfaction you get out of the experience. The fact that you spend the day with your mates and close family and friends, enduring the highs and lows. Not only enjoying the end result of achieving your goal but enjoying all the company along the way. Why else would you want to put your body through so much pain? I couldn't have done it on my own...
Workout
"Tosh"
3 x (200m + 400m + 600m)
- rest exactly the time each interval takes.
03/29/2012
How CrossFit can benefit triathletes
Most endurance athletes when pressed, will admit that strength training is an important part of their routine. But ask them what kind of exercises they are doing, and the answers that tend to be forthcoming are situps, planks and swiss ball circus tricks for 'the core', and maybe some rubber band drills that vaguely resemble the dog paddle...
Strength training is not body weight exercises, it is not rubber band training, and it is not core work, it is about getting stronger. With functional movements like deadlifts, squats and presses. Using external loads from barbells. Heavy barbells.
03/28/2012
Tuesday 27 March
Pictured are the team getting their mobility on. Agressive soft tissue work on the ITB, glutes and calves is crucial if you want to remain injury free. It's also a good part of warming up before high intensity sprint work.
Last Saturday a few team members tackled the dreaded Mt Wellington hill run.
550m in length with about 150m of elevation, it's a nasty, NASTY 2-4mins of anaerobic effort.
Results are at the end of the post.
Running today was SUPPOSED to be a one mile time trial, apologies everyone for the measurement error, (more like 1.3 instead of 1.6km) but you all smashed it effort wise anyway, so well done.
Homework this week is:
2 x 10 mins with 2 mins rest. Max efforts. Record distances covered, try to hold each interval within 200m of each other.
and,
4 mins on, 3 mins off
2 mins on, 30secs off
1 min on, 3 mins off
2 mins on, 30 secs off
4 mins on, DONE!
Record total distance covered, using a GPS or Mapmyrun.com
Remember, this homework is optional, depending on your goals, you can do both, one or none of the homework workouts.
