Good Morning

When on vacation, I'm all about sitting around the pool, reading a good book and watching the kids splash around. These days, our travels usually involve minimal sightseeing and maximal R&R. Still, too much lazing around gets me antsy; being inactive for more than a couple of days is torture.

Thankfully, this morning was a particularly active one. On the agenda? CrossFit, outrigger canoe paddling, and snorkeling -- all before lunchtime.

Using a bit of reverse psychology ("Fine by me if you want to sleep in and miss CrossFit"), I managed to get M out of bed and down to Lahaina CrossFit for the 7 a.m. class.

Our workout consisted of three separate components:

1. Interval Sprints

Class started with some self-directed stretching, and then some group warm-up exercises. Once the blood was pumping, Anthony instructed us to perform 10 interval sprints. We ran like our hair was on fire for about 100 meters, and then jogged back -- 10 times. By the time I was done with my third sprint, I was dog-tired. My shirt was already soaked from the humidity and my own perspiration -- and the sun wasn't even bearing down on us yet.

There's something to be said about working out in the chilly pre-dawn darkness, y'all.

2. Twelve Rounds of Cindy (5 Pull-Ups, 10 Push-Ups, 15 Squats)

You know I'm head over heels about Cindy. Bodyweight workouts are my favorite, and Cindy is the queen of bodyweight WODs. I've loved every variation of Cindy I've tried: half-Cindy, three-quarter Cindy, full Cindy, task-priority Cindy, double-under Cindy, Murph, you name it. When I saw Cindy on the whiteboard today, a huge grin broke out on my face.

In fact, I'm sure I was practically drooling.

Still, it's not like a dozen rounds of Cindy is a walk in the park. In particular, the pull-ups gave me some grief after the first half-dozen rounds. After Round 6, I had to pause a couple of times during each set of pull-ups to wheeze and shake the sweat off my face. Nonetheless, the pull-ups and squats felt fast and smooth, and I managed to finish fairly quickly.

Result: 10:42 as RXed.

(The worst part of the workout was afterwards, when M made me stop taking pictures of her as she did push-ups. Note to self: Do not piss off the person who makes your food.)

3. Cleans (5-5-3-3-1-1)

After Tuesday's running-push-ups-burpees-squats-pull-ups workout and today's running-and-Cindy WOD, I was happy to see some barbell work on the board. The strength workout was optional, but a good number of us stuck around to practice cleans. It's been a week since I lifted an object heavier than my three-year-old kid, so I was in the mood for some squat cleans.



"Be careful with your back," M warned as I went to grab plates. It was a good reminder; even though my back feels infinitely better than it did a few weeks ago, going heavy would be a mistake. I kept it light, and well below my 1-rep max. But  by that point, I was exhausted anyway, so I doubt I would've been able to hoist a fully-loaded barbell up even if I'd tried.

Going light does have its disadvantages, though; judging from the bruise on my neck, I was cleaning the bar a bit too aggressively. Either that, or I passed out and someone gave me a hickey while I was unconscious.

After class, M and I drove back to meet up with the rest of the family, and we hit the ocean for an hour of outrigger canoe paddling with Maui Paddle Sports. My cousin and his wife are experienced, competitive, kick-ass paddlers, but M and I are total newbies. Secretly, I was hoping to be seated in one of their canoes so I could just coast and let them do all the heavy paddling.

Alas, M and I -- along with our boys -- were put in a separate canoe, so we actually had to work. It turned out to be incredibly fun and challenging, especially with our three-year-old dragging his paddle in the ocean and our six-year-old using his to giddily slap at the water. Paddling in unison, switching sides, thrusting with arms and back and core, bracing with legs -- all of it made for an excellent full-body workout.

"Regularly learn and play new sports," right?

Last but not least: Snorkeling. There's no better way to cool down than to float around in the warm ocean, casually following the fluorescent fish as they dart through coral.

I sorta don't want to go home.

Run for Your Lives

Last year at about this time, I got it in my head that I should run a marathon. The idea popped up suddenly, the plan fully-formed: I’d slowly accumulate more and more mileage in my Vibram FiveFingers, building a base of endurance á la Arthur Lydiard – and then ramp up using a tried-and-true training program like Hal Higdon’s. I could shoot for the San Francisco Marathon, or maybe enter the lottery for the New York City Marathon. My head quickly filled with grand plans.

And then, I remembered: I find long-distance running boring as hell. (I'm not the only one, right?) And I hate the interminable post-run recovery period.

I have nothing against runners. I admire their perseverance, sacrifice and drive. And personally, I still enjoy running short-to-moderate distances. I'll still pull on my FiveFingers and log a few miles every now and then, when I feel like it. But long-distance training takes a toll on my body that just ain’t worth the hassle. And frankly, with CrossFit workouts scheduled every other day, I’m not sure my aging legs could take the extra pounding. And so, after chucking the marathon goal out the window, I stopped doing my occasional long mid-afternoon runs. I didn't see the point.

Nonetheless, every once in a while, a devil perches on my shoulder, enticing me with whispers about the benefits of marathon training. Wouldn't it be an awesome accomplishment to run 26.2 miles? Don't you want a nice, shiny finisher's medal? Aren't pre-race spaghetti dinners yummy? Don't you miss slurping down Gu? And wouldn't it be fantastic to have saliva smeared all over your face?

Thankfully, I now have more than enough ammo to shoot that little fucker down. Namely:

• Marathon running increases the risk of heart disease.

• In fact, research shows that marathon can damage your heart for several months post-race. During a marathon, "over half of the segments of the heart lose function... The reason turns out to be an increase in inflammation and a decrease in blood flow through the muscle."

• Long-distance running also causes damage to your brain, blood cell counts, spine, muscle fibers, connective tissue, liver, kidneys, gall bladder, testosterone level and cholesterol ratios – and it elevates markers of cancer, too.

• Chronic cardio is inefficient for weight loss/management. Instead, it makes you hungrier. For carbs. Sugary bingeing ensues.

• Even if I don't get chubby from running, I'd still rather work on building power and speed through intense (but brief) sprinting sessions. It's hard to believe, but I actually have better things to do with my time than to run for hours. And to be honest, I'd rather have the body composition of the sprinter on the right than the marathoner on the left:

• Compression pants -- even my favorite ones -- make me itch.

• You may very well shit your pants.

• Lastly, marathoners – beginning with the very first one – keep dying mid-run. And not just the couch potatoes who push themselves too hard -- we're talking about ostensibly “healthy” runners (like this guy and this guy). Yes, only about 1 out of every 50,000 marathoners die of heart attacks during races, but almost half a million people finished marathons last year, so statistically, we're seeing roughly ten or more fatal mid-race heart attacks per year. And how many more die during training? (Incidentally, how come CrossFit -- which hasn't yet experienced a single reported fatality -- is invariably described as "controversial" and "dangerous," but long-distance running is viewed by most people as normal and healthy?)

In sum, long-distance running can seriously mess you up. I've given up my marathon dreams, and not just because God hates runners.

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats

Metcon:

• 10 X 50m sprints (starting from a prone position, lying stomach-down on the sidewalk)

When I got home, I did a truncated Power to the People workout, with just deadlifts, side presses and weighted pull-ups.

Simple, straightforward stuff today, but still satisfyingly tough.