Run like the Wind

Or in my case, with the wind, against the wind, and pushing sideways into the wind…basically it was WINDY!

Nothing like running up a hill at the end of a run only to be pushed back by ridiculously strong gusts of wind!!  I’m talking power outages in some areas of the state type winds. 

(wind = awesome hair)

Saturday morning I ran for the first time in over 2 months!!  Well aside from the random 400m or 800m runs I sometimes had as part of a Crossfit workout.  It actually felt great to get back outside and running, I’ve missed it!

My morning began at home with this lovely breakfast

A random frozen whole grain waffle with some PB and maple syrup, and a bowl of pineapple with some plain Greek yogurt, honey, and walnuts!

Americano with some steamed half & half

Fed and caffeinated…time to run. 

This was our first unofficial training run for the Reach the Beach relay!  A few of us from the RTB team joined in on a Saturday morning run with TMIRCE (The Most Informal Running Club Ever).  This club meets up on Saturdays at the City Sports in Brighton, and anyone of any running ability can come and run! 

There was even water, snacks, bananas, and juice!

The sponsors of the TMIRCE run were New Balance, NGR Bar, GoMotion Gear, and Race Menu

 

Those GoMotion lights would be perfect for the night legs of the relay race!  Better than wearing a headlamp ;)

There was a 3.5 mile, 4 mile, and a 7 mile loop option for the runs.  My RTB teammates, Tina, Elizabeth, Patricia, and I decided to go for the 4 mile loop. 

 

And we were off!

I’ve said it before, but I LOVE running with other people!!  I always have better runs, especially when I’m running with someone who is generally faster than me. 

I can almost guarantee if I was running alone it would have been slower and with many more walking breaks. 

The biggest obstacle of the day was the wind.   At the beginning it wasn’t bad because it was a tail wind, but as soon as we turned to go over the Mass Ave bridge it was like a wall of wind pushing at our sides.  I was laughing at how ridiculous it was at times!!

After that bridge we took a quick photo break

(Elizabeth & Tina) 

Then we were off again, met that hill + head wind towards the end, then finished down Comm. Ave back towards the store.  We finished our 4 miles in about 40 minutes, including breaks for photos obvi :)

After some water and a banana, we did the next logical thing…eat.

The 4 of us, along with some of Patricia’s friends headed down the street to Eastern Standard for lunch!  

I started with a cappuccino to warm up

And decided on the appetizer of Mushroom Crepes with goat cheese fondue and leeks

And a Mixed Greens salad with local apples and candied walnuts.

This was so delicious, and wasn’t too much or too heavy after a good workout! 

I had a blast running with these ladies and can’t wait for more!!

There was more fun to be had later when Brian and I finally hit up The Salty Pig for some charcuterie and beer, but we’ll save that for another day!

On to more important things…like Burpees. 

This past Wednesday marked the start of the 2012 Crossfit Games.  All I knew about the Games was what little I had seen on TV before.  I had no idea that leading up the The Games was The Open, where basically anyone in the world can register, perform the weekly Workouts, and see how he/she stacks up to the rest of the world! 

(Source)

Even with this knowledge I would have never thought twice about someone like ME registering.  I mean, I just started Crossfit in the beginning of December!  I still consider myself a “newbie”.

Apparently even newbies can participate in The Open.  My coaches were encouraging us all to sign up and I figured I didn’t have anything to lose except the $20 registration fee.

The Open started on Wednesday Feb 22 at 5pm pst, and the first Workout was posted.

Workout 12.1

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of:

Burpees

This workout begins from the standing position. The Athlete will move from flat on the ground to touching an object with both hands that is 6 inches above their max reach. Score is total reps completed. (source)

This video explains and demonstrates the workout.

I first tried the workout Thursday at my Crossfit box.  I got 66 in 7 minutes and it was brutal.  I definitely didn’t feel like I was giving my 100%, and they just felt a lot harder than normal…even the first ones which should be easier. 

I wasn’t too worried about it, I mean I’m basically just competing against myself. 

Then on Saturday morning I was chatting with Tina and Patricia about it since they both do Crossfit and both are entered in The Open.  They both had higher numbers and were talking about trying it one more time before you have to submit your final scores Sunday night!

Then I decided I REALLY wanted to try it again!  Just to see if I had it in me!  Problem was that my Crossfit Box isn’t open on Sundays… hmmm. 

So I asked Tina if I could come down and join her!  She checked with her coaches and I checked with mine (scores have to be validated, so I’d need Tina’s coaches to validate me).  Turned out to be a great idea!  Not only did I get to hang out with Tina and Mal for a little while, but I just felt way better and was able to beat my old score by 12 reps!!

My new score is 78 burpees in 7 minutes!!  Tina kept count for me and was my own personal cheerleader for those brutal 7 minutes!  Half-way through I was seriously thinking to myself: did I really drive 30min on a Sunday morning to do this???!!  So glad I did!! 

Um by the way Tina’s final score was 96 burpees and her husband Mal is ridiculous and completed 120!!!! 

So my current rank is 12335 out of 19187 for the women, but I’m mostly just excited I beat my own record. 

Brian and Bromley came down with me and afterwards we took Bromley to a nearby park for some outdoor off-leash time!

Leaf on the face picture

Post park time, we did some quick food shopping then headed home for the afternoon.  It was a nice little Sunday, and I’m beat!!  Hoping to get to bed soon!

Burpees:  love them, hate them, never done one??  I did them long before Crossfit, but I like the way I was taught in Crossfit better actually.  I don’t mind them, but I never want to do 7 minutes of them ever again.