May 2012

CrossFit: Memorial Day Murph!

by Neil on May 29, 2012

in Crossfit, Exercise, Food, Neil

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Over the weekend, our CrossFit Box undertook the brutal “Murph” workout. Just look at it! A 1 mile run, followed by 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, and 300 air squats? Insanity. And to top it off, just when your legs feel like rubber from the 300 air squats, you have to finish the workout with another 1 mile run. Bonkers.

“Murph”

For time:
1 mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run

A little about the man behind the workout:

In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.

This workout was one of Mike’s favorites and he’d named it “Body Armor”. From here on it will be referred to as “Murph” in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is.

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you’ve got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it.

I started in good spirits, ready to tackle this WOD. I made a goal with myself to finish in under 1 hour. I knew to do this I would not only have to maintain all the elements at a decent clip, but also pace myself to avoid burning out too quickly and succumbing to fatigue. Did I mention that it was also over 90 degrees outside? Bleh!

A few pictures:

Before: In good spirits

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And we are off!

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Slogging through the pull ups, push ups, and dips. My strategy was to break them up into 20 sets of 5-10-15 (pull up, push up, squat). This method proved to be pretty efficient, however after 10-15 rounds you really start to feel the fatigue in the push ups and air squats (for me anyhow, results may vary).

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Thankfully, hard work paid off and I  finished in 53:10! It felt so good to not only achieve the time, but have that workout under my belt. I was definitely tired afterward…

… as was everyone else. Definitely one of the harder workouts we’ve done as a box.

A sweaty “after” group shot for the wall!

What you can’t see in that photo are some of the wicked blisters that formed during the pull-ups, ouch!

The Feast!

We celebrated Murph and Memorial Day with a BBQ. Food and beer tastes amazing after a tough workout, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather share it with than my friends at CrossFit United! An added bonus was that everyone brought Paleo goodies to share!

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It’s now been a few days, but I’m still pretty sore. However, Murph showed me how much progress I’ve made since starting CrossFit back in September. Back then, I couldn’t even do a single unassisted pull-up, now I can do 100 (unstrung of course). Its truly a testament to what a good program like CrossFit, paired with a clean diet, can do for your athleticism.

So, definitely no slouch of a weekend here at the Kohler house. Jessica smashing her half-marathon in the brutal heat, and me getting Murph done in well under 1 hour!

{ 2 comments }

Go Girl Half-Marathon Recap

by Jessica on May 27, 2012

in Goals, Jessica, Running, Weekend

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I can’t believe I just wrote those words! My first half-marathon is in the books. It’s been this far-away bucket list item for years. A repeat New Year’s resolution for so many years it was almost a punchline. And now it’s, well done. However, it definitely did not go down easy.

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As I mentioned in my countdown post, temperatures for race time were forecasted to be in the mid-eighties. If that doesn’t seem so bad, don’t forget the generous helping of humidity we can’t escape in this part of the country. While I wasn’t worried about my capability to finish on distance alone, I was a little worried about performing in those conditions with my low blood pressure, which makes me more susceptible to heat sickness, dizziness, and passing out.

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To give myself the best shot I could, I worked with Tom, a member of my CrossFit box and a pharmacist, to create a hydration plan and figure out how much I’d have to drink to remain hydrated and replenish what I was constantly sweating out. I simply knew the water stations would not be enough. Neil and I then worked together to figure out where to switch out bottles — which ended up being miles 6 and 10 (which was right by our house). I drank nearly 3 bottles of water in addition to several cups of water and ice at each water station.

The route was a pretty brutal one to tackle in the heat. Lots of hills. Like me, it seemed many of the runners conceded to walking the hills. There were just far too many and all in the sun.

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Other observations:

  • Miles 1-3 were by far my favorite, as they were on a nature trail and entirely shaded by tree canopy. This section also had the most breeze. Gold star!
  • Miles 5-6 were the most fun. After leaving the trail we ran through a residential neighborhood. Families were out with coolers of ice, fruit and sprinklers on full blast. I was sprayed with squirt guns by no less than 20 kids. It was awesome.
  • Mile 10 was special. I met Anja’s new baby for the first time (he’s just 2 weeks old and attending races already!) briefly as I was jogging by. Such a baby tease!
  • Miles 10 and 11 were by far the hardest. I was getting close to the end, but just not quite close enough to see the finish so to speak. I also felt blisters coming on after tackling the biggest hill on the route. I’ve never had a blister before, ouch!

My official time was 2:44:04, with a 12:32 pace, slower than I’d hoped for obviously, but really, I couldn’t be happier with it. I ran my hardest, did my best, but I also had fun. I met a lot of great people, and it was awesome to feel a part of so many people’s big moments. It’s the same reason I love CrossFit so much.

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Fellow finisher Jen and I.

I’m definitely motivated to try another half, and am eyeing the Bass Pro Half-Marathon in Springfield in November. Flatter courses and cooler temperatures seem right up my alley, as does running with my BFF Rachel. Between now and then I’m looking at a couple themed fun runs, as well as the Roots n Blues 10k. It’s crazy to me that a 10k now feels kind of easy!

{ 15 comments }

The countdown begins…

by Jessica on May 24, 2012

in Goals, Jessica, Running

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Just a few days left till my first half-marathon! I’m in full-scale nervous energy preparation mode. I’ve broken in my shoes, downloaded tons of new music, planned my warm-up, fueling and hydration, asked people to come cheer me on (or collect my corpse if necessary). I’m pretty sure Neil thinks I’m crazy, as he stayed up late partying the night before his last half.

Food this week has been super clean but random. Sautés with lots of lean meat and sweet potatoes. I’m getting excited, but am super nervous and a little worried. When I signed up for the race, I had in mind the cooler, rainy May weather we had last year. Saturday’s forecasted temperatures are now in the mid-nineties with high UV indexes. It feels like a cruel bait-and-switch, but it’s my own fault. Even though I know it will be cooler in the morning, my low blood pressure makes dizziness, overheating and passing out a very real fear. I want so badly to do well, but I already feel myself slowly conceding that finishing is now my goal instead of the faster pace and times I trained for. I know it probably sounds silly to all of you who are seasoned runners, but I’ve wanted to badly for this race, my first one, to reflect how far I’ve come in the past 9 months.

In any sense, enough of my whining, let’s talk about you! What is your favorite race memory (good or bad — I think even bad experiences make for good story!) or tips for a first-time half-marathoner?

{ 8 comments }

Ch-ch-ch-changes

May 23, 2012
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I took a stroll around campus today as groundskeepers were filling every pot, planter and bed with the most beautiful summer flowers I’ve ever seen. So many colors, life bursting forth everywhere. Our campus is a botanical garden, so every change in season brings a new scene of new and changing life. On Monday, I turned [...]

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The (not-so-MEGA) Float

May 21, 2012
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This float has been on the books since January. We’ve been so excited to squeeze a canoe trip into our schedule that we literally started pulling out all our gear nearly a week in advance. Originally, tons of people were invited and the goal was to achieve a “mega” turnout and therefore have a mega-float. [...]

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On the move

May 18, 2012
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Sorry for the sparse posting this week, it’s been one of those game-changing surreal ones. More on that next week. For now, we’re headed off into the woods to do some backpacking and floating. I can’t think of a better way to spend this weekend! Clive and Matilda are BOTH coming. Think we’re in over [...]

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Paleo Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

May 16, 2012
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Does pie require further explanation beyond its name? It’s the dessert you can find in some form at every season and holiday.  Pie is perfect for every celebration, or non-celebration. This pie was conceived to make use of somewhat squishy price-reduced strawberries and mystery rhubarb, which I found tucked into a corner of the second [...]

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