Friday, 23 April 2010

I got Peeps, aka swag from TP

I wasn't expecting anything in the courier run today.
What I found was a care package from TP and as I fizzled out my posts about our time in Ramona before I got to talking about what he sent then I thought I'd better get onto it immediately this time.

I'd had to ask what "peeps" were when TP and others commented on them a few weeks back, so TP sent us some and included a bunch of other goodies.
From TP's gifts

Not shown, because I'm wearing it, is an "I Believe" T-shirt from Roswell, New Mexico. Good thing it won't fit Lynette or I'd lose that one.
Tried for a LauraR style self-photo of me in it.
From TP's gifts
Not a huge success, she has more practise. :-)

The full list was:
2 packs of Carroll Shelby's Chilli kit
15 Green marshmallow chicks Peeps
16 yellow marshmallow bunny Peeps
3 packs of McCormick Taco seasoning
1 pack of McCormick's Grill mates Southwest marinade
A pack of Old El Paso Taco shells. I think TP's trying to sway me to the dark side of crisp taco shells.
My T-shirt.

The visiting teenagers better be ready for some spicy dinners for a while as I experiment on them.

Thursday, 22 April 2010

Seeing where I stand

5RFT
5 x 85kg Deadlifts
5 KTE

6:50

That was about where I wanted it to be. Not a sprint, didn't expect that right now and not a slog. A good medium clip. Room to shave some time off a bigger version I think.
Deadlifts were enough that I had to think about it but not so much that I couldn't focus on form.
KTE were good and tight. More would have been too much right now and I want this to be at least 10 reps of KTE for a sub-5 total time in future

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

(Slightly) Overgrown warm-up

Still not quite a hundred after the weekend stomach bug so I decided to meander through some of the things I do for warm-ups

3RNFT
30 squats
25 kips (concentrate on controlling the core, shoulders well forward to hollow)
20 x 20kg press
15 pass-throughs (Tucker's shoot-throughs, Parallette Shoot-through" with Jeff Tucker - video [wmv] [mov], without the press-up and dip)

I should have done the handstand straddle practises I was playing with instead of the presses perhaps. No, probably not the best idea with a stomach that is complaining at me a bit.

Tuesday, 13 April 2010

Wussy WOD #last number + 1

21-15-9
23" box jumps
30kg press

11:58

I'd claim that I lost time through having to watch my workout partner's box jumps (12" box for the 7yo), much hoorahing on success, but most of it was lost through my own poor performance.

Then 20 or so KTE.

Last night's workout was a real doozy. I was in quite a poor way for some time afterwards. Still a bit sluggish today.

Monday, 12 April 2010

Deadlifts + scaled Cindy

3RFT
5 x 80kg deadlifts
3 rounds
3 pull-ups
6 ring push-ups -  bottom of rings at top of patella height
9 squats

12:18

That was about where I wanted it to be.

Pull-ups were pretty good. One set was hopelessly off rhythm, the rest were pretty darned good. Even got ambitious and aimed for CTB. Missed, but it was fun to try.

Pose practise.
Pony
Change of support.
Change of support leaning against a wall.

Sunday, 11 April 2010

Biltong

Using this post to keep a record of what will hopefuly be my baseline for experimentation:

  1. Salt the beef
    Salted at 0915
  2. Let it sit for a couple of hours.
    Until; 1115
  3. Wash the salt off with vinegar and worcester sauce.
    1 cup of DYC cider vinegar, 0.25 cup whitlocks worcester sauce
  4. Apply the spices.
    Both coriander and black pepper.
  5. Let it sit for a few hours.
    Until; 1700
  6. Cut it into strips.
    As written.
  7. Dry it in the dehydrator.
    In on 3 at: 1720
    Down to 1 at: 2214. After playing at the Session in town. So good be making music again!
  8. Out of the dehydrator
    At: Some out at 0630, but the bulk was cut into quite big slabs and that needs more time. I've set it going while I go to work, but I'm not sure that won't be too long.
    The rest off at 1800. Texture seems about right. Maybe I started it on 3 and dropped it to 2 last time?
Results.
Something was a little off. Not quite as salty as last time.
Quite edible though.

Saturday, 10 April 2010

Car again

A nice day, Hurt Locker is a seriously cool if somewhat disturbing movie, until we came out and found our car had been backed into. Not major damage and the young driver was there to exchange details, but it took the shine off the day.
Sucks.

Thursday, 8 April 2010

Not totally nice middle-aged guy


3 RFT
50 x squat
7 x pull-ups
10 x 30kg Hang Power-Snatch

14:14

Squats used my fancy new air-squat form guide, my pull-up bars. With my heels against the inner edge of the cross brace that runs parallel to the house the wall of the house is perfectly placed to stick my butt against to keep me sitting back throughout the squat.Doesn't make it easier, does keep my hamstrings engaged.
Pull-ups lost the kip on each round and wound up swinging, but some, some were very good indeed. What I'm doing to strengthen the kip is working.
HPS? Not all bad, just most of them. I prescribed 35kg, but that just felt plain heavy and given the way things got hairy in the last round, a good choice. Lighter would have been better really. I didn't want to struggle with weight anywhere in this, it was supposed to be a clean run through maintaining as close to optimal form as fatigue allowed.

Wednesday, 7 April 2010

Diane

21-15-9
60kg deadlift
HSPU - piked with feet on a 20" box

5:55

60kg was too light, which surprised me a little.
HSPU weren't too bad, for me I mean

Pose practise
Change of support
Lunges
Hopping. Left leg was pretty good, right sucked. But I did right first, so maybe it was just a matter of getting the groove.

Tuesday, 6 April 2010

Baby Grace

30 x 40kg GTOH

5:18

Practised Pose running up and down the driveway afterwards

Saturday, 3 April 2010

I finally know how to run

I spent today at a one-day CrossFit running cert at CFNZ, conducted by the inventor of the Pose Running system himself, Dr. Nicholas Romanov. The cert was my birthday present from Lynette and a really cool one it was too.
My legs hurt all over, but that's no indictment of the cert, it is one of my pitiful physical condition.

Dr. Romanov is a great teacher. His Russian accent is very strong, but he knows it and works around it extremely well. He's funny, sarcastic and extremely knowledgeable about his subject. I was genuinely impressed by the guy.
The cert is the first day of the two day coaching certification course, but we couldn't afford both days with the trip in July coming up. Dr. Romanov is working with a British colleague now based in Dunedin, so hopefully I'll have an opportunity to certify as a Pose coach next year.
The cert consists of a series of powerpoint slides explaining what Pose is and why it is how running should work, some videos illustrating elite athletes demonstrating good and poor technique and then the drills and tests. He videos you first and then again later in the day. The drills don't always make sense at the time as they don't seem to be leading you to anything that could resemble running, but little by little they refine what you're doing from the over-reaching heel-striking shambles most of us made of it to something that actually looks fairly efficient. I still over-reach, that was my worst sin according to Dr. Romanov, I actually do quite well running on the spot, it's only when I move that I over do it. As I can't exactly run on the spot and claim I've done the equivalent of 400m, my cue is to run as though I'm running on the spot and lean forward to move me into a run.

The video analysis was fascinating:
Frame by frame you look at your stride and count the number of frames from when your foot touches the ground to when you're in the pose position and then the number o frames your foot remains on the ground after that. You add the two numbers together for your score.The goal is 1 frame before, one frame after. I achieved 2.5 and 2 both in the before and after videos. I was doing better in the practises, I went to pieces when he put us in front of the camera.
Very useful was learning that he only need us to run at a comfortable speed for 20m or so for the videoing and about that after trying a drill. I can sit a video camera in the carport and run up and down the driveway and do that, so I have a great set-up to practise at home and record my technique.

As to my running. For me Pose wasn't a magic switch to effortless running,. It did teach me a way to do it that I'm going to consider the "proper" way to run and while it didn't make my running effortless it did make it lighter, more efficient and much much easier on my joints. Pose running uses a whole different set of muscles from "normal "running and there just isn't any of the thumping an jarring. Surprisingly there also isn't any strain on your calves when you get it right, something Dr. Romanov mentions. In my own attempts to learn the technique I had gotten shockingly sore calves. I'l find out tomorrow how much damage I've done today, but I'm going to say that I believe that Pose running really isn't as hard on them as I thought.

Overall a very well spent day and a great birthday present. Thank-you very much Lynette.