Wednesday's Workout

I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. More precisely: A monster truck named Murph.

Approximately 84.5 percent of me wanted to hurl my alarm clock against the wall and go back to sleep. But 12.5 percent of me recognized that my beloved iPhone was serving as my alarm clock, and stayed my hand. And the remaining 3 percent of me realized that today was my last chance to work out with the 5 a.m. crew until next Wednesday.

I staggered out of bed on legs that wouldn't bend, and pulled on my clothes with arms that refused to be raised more a few degrees. A slug of coffee later, I sprawled out on the floor of the hotel room, stretching and mobilizing as best I could. It was an unpleasant but necessary way to start the day.

After a creakier-than-usual warm-up at the gym, I paired up with Jay for some front squats. We got some decent weight on the bar, but both of us were feeling wrecked, and steered well clear of PR territory. I tried to focus on my form instead, working on leading with my elbows, pushing out my knees to generate torque, and keeping my gut tight.

Next -- the metcon:

• 5 rounds for time (with a 15-minute cap) of:

• 25 push-presses (75# / 55#)
• 50 double-unders

Surprisingly, my full-body soreness seemed to disappear once I got going. As soon as the clock started, my body somehow managed to crank out push-presses and double-unders without hesitation. (Well, for the first couple of rounds, anyway. After that, there was plenty of hesitation. I'm embarrassed to report that I took more than my fair share of mid-round rest breaks during the push-presses.)

Result: 14:48 as RXed. I snuck in under the wire by just 12 seconds.

And then I promptly went back to being sore.

Wednesday's Workout

As you may have noticed (but probably didn’t), I neglected to post about my workout on Monday…mostly because I didn’t actually work out on Monday. With M at work and no babysitter to stay with the kids, I ended up sleeping in.

And it’s a good thing I did. After last Wednesday’s weighted ring dips and pull-ups and last Friday’s presses and jerks, I spent the entire weekend with a bad case of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). (By the way, a great article about DOMS is available to CrossFit Journal subscribers here.) The dull ache in my arms made me cranky, and I was annoyed that I couldn’t raise my arms over my head without my lats catching on fire. I was in dire need of a rest day.

 By this morning, though, the inflammation had almost completely subsided, and I was eager to get the gunk out with a hard workout.

After five sets of weighted ring dips, we cranked out a quick WOD:

4 rounds for time:

• 5 chin-ups
• 10 power cleans (95lb / 65lb)
• 30 running ropes

This was a fast one -- though I tried not to go so fast that I’d sacrifice good form on my power cleans. Surprisingly, even with my lingering soreness, the chin-ups were quick and easy, and the cleans felt solid. At first, the running ropes (essentially, running in place while jump-roping) were a bit of a challenge -- especially for a klutz like me -- but I got the hang of it soon enough. I spent too much time transitioning between sets, and could have (and should have) hustled more, but in the end, I was happy for the opportunity to crank out a good, intense workout.

Result: 6:08 as RXed.

Vacation: Soreness

My calves are more sore than I'd anticipated. Serves me right for not heeding advice to start with very short distances when first attempting to run barefoot.

Thankfully, my ass is going to remain planted in an airline seat today.