Relay Training Recap — Week 9

Can we just talk about how calling this recap training for The Relay is getting embarrassing because there is no actual running happening? Yeah. I’m gonna have to reconcile that somehow soon but tonight is not that night.

Do you ever have those days where every single thing you try to do in an effort to be productive ends up foiled? And then, in your failed attempts at productivity, you actually end up creating MORE WORK for yourself? Yes, well that is how today has gone. And how this week has gone actually. And how this training plan is going.

I am not feeling positive about this, if you can’t tell. If you have a pep talk inside of you, I am ALL EARS.

Anyway, here are my workout breakdowns this week:

Monday
LIFT

5 Rounds
1 Shoulder Press
3 Push Press
5 Push Jerk
(45, 55, 65, 75, 85 lbs)

METCON

AMRAP in 4 minutes:
10 jumping pull-ups
200 m run
Rest 1 minute

AMRAP in 4 minutes:
10 ground release push-ups
250 m row
Rest 1 minute

AMRAP in 4 minutes:
10 toes to bar
35 double-unders

Overall Score: 7 rounds

*This was my day to do a double workout and I flaked and took a nap instead. Yep, just being honest.

Tuesday

SKILL

Spend 10 minutes working on your pistol squats or ps progressions – Hey, guess what? I don’t even need 10 minutes to show you how bad I am at pistols. UGH

METCON
800 m run, then
5 Rounds of:
5 HSPU
10 hang power cleans (95lbs)

then run 800 m

Time: 16:48. This workout was awful and I loved it.

Wednesday

Rest day if you are testing 13.4 the next day. And apparently this was right where this week went downhill.

Thursday

I tested 13.4 and I already told you how CRAPTACULAR that went. On top of completely failing to do Toes to Bar AGAIN, I ripped my hands open which royally sucked.

Friday

Nancy was on the menu at the gym, which for some strange reason is my FAVORITE workout. My hands were totally screwed up but I decided scale the weight and see if I could do it anyway.

5 Rounds for Time
Run 400 m
15 Overhead Squats (65lbs)

I did the first round at 65lbs and then realized my form was all crappy because I was holding the bar funny with my ripped up hands. I scaled to 45lbs, but mentally my heart just wasn’t in it. My hands hurt, plus it was just me and 3 super speedy dudes doing the workout together which was just enough to make me feel like I was failing at life. (Spoiler Alert: I was not. I was just being melodramatic. But melodramatic at high intensity does not a pleasant workout make.) I finished the workout in 21:45, which is like 2 minutes slower than my old PR (and my old PR is lifting 20 lbs heavier!) so I was basically annoyed.

Saturday and Sunday

We were supposed to be driving to Monterey to see my family and celebrate my cousin Sara’s 30th birthday; however, on Friday my Grandma was checked into the hospital for digestive stuff. I woke up on Saturday feeling stressed, defeated and bummed and also in EXCRUTIATING PAIN from a pinched joint capsule in my neck, which I’m sure was caused by 1 part stress, 1 part exhaustion and 1 part crappy overhead squat form. I’m super lucky that my uncle is a retired chiropractor so he hooked me up with some 911 adjustment, but I was basically immobile most of the day. I woke up this morning feeling slightly better, though still not 100%.

Obviously there was no running or exercising or enjoying life at all really. There was lots of icing, eating ibuprofen and lying supine. Needless to say this, uh, “training week” hasn’t been a high five for the log books. I hope next week has good stuff in store.