Team XXX Posts Fastest Time at CrossFit Adventure Challenge

Our kick-ass team: Stephanie Woodruff, Emily Baker, me and Carrie McDonald

I’m sure you’re wondering what this is and how on earth I got myself into it.  Right?

My running buddy and fellow CrossFitter, Steph, and I decided to be part of the 7-week CrossFit Adventure Challenge while running one cold January morning.  It sounded like a good idea — a secret benchmark workout for a team of 3, body composition measurements, nutrition logging and goal setting for changes at the end of 7 weeks.  At the end of the competition, the team with the biggest time improvement on the benchmark workout and biggest change in body composition as a team (most body fat%/inches lost) wins.

Steph recruited another CrossFit friend, Carrie McDonald, to join us and with our trio complete, our team of 3 hottie, CrossFitters — Team Tres Equis (XXX) was born.  Unfortunately by the time of the challenge, Steph couldn’t compete, but it gave us an opportunity to recruit Emily Baker to the team.  Before the challenge even began, I had already gained 2 new friends! 

On Friday night, we finally learned what that challenge was going to be — a combination of 100 thrusters, sprinting with med. balls (twice each), running to Zilker, the rowing dock and Deep Eddy, kayaking (twice!), 50 burpees, 50 in/outs, 50 lunges and 100 swings. 

On Saturday morning, 9 teams showed up for the challenge, including 2 other teams of friends coached by our favorite CrossFit trainer Alex Janss, The Invincibles (Peggy, Susan and Vince) and General’s Triple Threat (Anna, Chris and Dolly.)  It was cold and muddy, but we all cranked out the benchmark workout.  Thanks to my amazing teammates, we finished in 29:18.  (I can admit that on Friday night, we were worried about whether or not we could complete the workout in an hour!)

We couldn’t believe it when we finished and the volunteer coach helping us out told us that we finished first with the fastest time.  We were elated.  Yes, part of the challenge is on how much time you can shave off the workout, but with a team of competitive women, the thought of taking our time or sandbagging a little, just didn’t occur to us.  Like everyone, we were in it to win it.  (Carrie and I decided to reward ourselves with a little Lululemon afterward. : )

So, we’ve decided we’ll have to work even harder on the body composition part of the challenge and have thought of a few ways to cut a little more time out of the workout.  Stay tuned for that when we re-do the challenge on Mar. 27.

I may need your help to keep my diet clean and remain focused on hard training.  I’ve been using My Fit Foods, a healthy meal service, to help me get to a 40/40/20 diet with proper portion sizes and may need to for a while longer.  I figure that by focusing on the body composition part of the challenge, I’ll naturally be getting stronger and better at the challenge workout next time.  I guess that means I’m going to have to remain Diet Coke and alcohol-free for another 7 weeks or so!

New Year, New Goals

I apologize, but I am a lapsed blogger. A lot has happened since my last post:
* Laura and I have been coaching a beginner’s Half-Marathon training group since Sept. 22 of our runners ran 3M and approx. 28 are running the Austin Half Marathon. We are extremely proud of them.
* I rebounded from injury and ran the New York Marathon in November with my sweet friend, Laura (her FIRST marathon!)
* 2 weeks after New York, I set a new half-marathon PR of 2:08 in San Antonio (and so did Scott!)
* I joined the Team Rogue training group right after the San Antonio Half.
* Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s went by in a blur and I hate to admit I let my weight get a little out of control during this time.
* I started fresh Jan. 4 with a renewed commitment to eating clean and sticking to my demanding workout schedule of approx. 60 miles/week of running and at least 2 CrossFit workouts for core/strength-training, with the hopes of sprinkling in a yoga class or two when I can.
* I was part of a major product launch releasing LabVIEW Robotics to the world on Jan. 11.
* I set a goal to lose 8 lbs. by 3M in order to run a better race and achieved it, down 8.4 lbs. and setting a new PR of 1:57, the first time I’ve ever broken 2 hours, and averaging 8:55/mi. (Again, Scott also set a new PR too as did many of our friends, which made for a great day!)

Now, somehow it’s already February and I have new goals to tackle:
* Train consistently with Team Rogue, averaging 60 miles/week. The program is demanding, but a real highlight of my week. I never thought I would enjoy waking up at 4:30/4:45 a.m., running at least 3 double-digit runs/week, doing 2 Quality workouts a week (instead of one), but I love the challenge and feel like I’m getting stronger with each workout.
* I also committed to the CrossFit Adventure Challenge with friends, Stephanie Woodruff, Carrie McDonald, and Emily Baker, which was a real jump for me, especially with my Team Rogue commitment. It’s a 7-week challenge with benchmark workouts, body composition, nutrition logging, etc. (More on this to come.)
* I am still resolved to eat clean and stick to my workout schedules to lose another 12 lbs. by May. I am 5 wks. free of my Diet Coke habit.
* My next race is to run the Eugene Marathon on May 2. I haven’t set my exact time goal yet, but it will somewhere around 4 hours, hopefully a 30+ min. PR.
* Be more consistent with my blog, posting at least twice a month.

Now you know what I’ve been up to . . . my excuse for slacking on my blog.

What are your goals for the New Year? : )

NY Marathon Progress . . . 5 wks to go

Quick update . . . I have built up to two 16-milers and am averaging about 40 miles a week again. My body feels strong, no sign of the hip injury. The tight Achilles and plantar fascia are much better. I feel strong aerobically and am seeing a little increase in speed, but still running slower than I’d like.

My focus is still on rebuilding mileage and running (not racing) the New York Marathon. But, I’m definitely starting to think about what marathon to do to race for time in the near future, especially as my friends prepare for St. George and Portland next weekend and Chicago the weekend after that. : )