A near hit.

George Carlin (RIP) was fond of criticizing the use of the term "near miss" to describe a mid-air collision that was narrowly avoided. If you nearly miss, Mr. Carlin astutely observed, it means that you actually hit. A "near hit" would be a close miss.

All Category 4 of Hurricane Jimena is set to make landfall at Cabo San Lucas this time tomorrow. The Wee One and I are flying to Sayulita today. Let's call it a near hit.

Aint she purty?

Too much to do, too little time.

I just got back from a deposition in L.A., I have a million tasks to complete before heading to Sayulita, I'm getting effing married in four effing days, and I'm trying to stay fit.

'Cuz the MMM is out there. Looming.

Monday's "fun"
I apparently forgot to pack my tiger with my blazer. While in L.A. I did ten rounds of Cindy, not for time. Even worse . . .

This morning's "fun"
I woke up sore from the ten measly rounds of Cindy. So I did a sissified version of my go-to WOD:
7 rounds of
7 cleans with a 50 lb dumb bell
14 sit ups
(No tiger = no time)

Sussing out the MMM course.

The plan for Saturday was to run the last third of the MMM course. Then, as we were driving to The Canyons at 8:30 a.m., I remembered that the gondola does not begin running until 10:00 a.m. Rats.

So we switched gears and headed to Silver Lake Lodge at Deer Valley to run the first third of the course. While sitting at El Chubasco several hours later, I kept having the same two thoughts: (1) the first third of the course is hilly; and (2) I need to start nice and slow.

We did somewhere between 16 and 18 miles in 3 hours and 20 minutes. My legs felt stiff and weird for most of the morning, and we did a fair amount of standing around, futzing with packs, and walking. Race day should go better.

Working hard.

Yesterday's sprints crushed me. I managed to drag my carcass to the gym and put in a respectable effort. Rest tomorrow, and then a nice 17-miler on the MMM course on Saturday. Right . . .

Tonight's "fun"
Back squats
20 @ 150lbs

Then

3 rounds for time of
500m row
10 pull ups
10 wall ball @ 20lbs
10:30 (uggghhh -- harder than expected)

It's coming . . .

It's getting dark before 9:00. The nights are cooler. The Avy Center Party is less than a month away.

Winter is coming.

Tonight's "fun"
Dead lifts
20 @ 190lbs

Then

5x3 of push presses
135/140/145/150(F)/145(1)/140

Then

6 x 400ish sprints (to the hydrant and back)
1:27, 1:32, 1:35, 1:36, 1:40, 1:40

Best Day of Summer . . .

I didn't realize that today would be the Best Day of Summer until I got the mail.


Insurance bill, junk mail, magazine . . . wait a minute . . .

Yahoo!

DISCLAIMER: I can already feel people getting all wound 'round the axle about the fact that this post implicates that my wedding, your wedding, a birth, true love found, etc. is not or will not be the best day of Summer 2009. Relax. This is meant to be humorous. At least for the skiers.

Today's "fun"

A.M.

Alternate jump rope singles and sit ups for consecutive sets lasting 2 minutes, 90 seconds, 1 minute, and 30 seconds.

P.M.

The 20 rep train continues, sort of. I repeated last Monday's weights.

Back squats: 20 @ 145 lbs

Dead lifts: 20 @ 185 lbs

Muddy Waters in my head . . .

I got my mojo working. . .

Things are starting to click again. The cool temps are helping my sleep and general attitude and I'm finally re-engaging with my workload at the firm. I even slipped back into the gym a few days early. Long periods of rest are overrated.

Friday
Some skillz work on the Sotts press and the overhead squat
Then
Rowing intervals: 20 rounds of 10 seconds on, 5 seconds off
1236 meters total
Then
10 minutes of heavy sandbag get ups

Saturday
Rest

Sunday
Trail run with some folks from the gym. We spent about 75 minutes criss-crossing the Shoreline Trail between Terrace Hills and Dry Creek. My feet are tired, so it worked.

Pressing the pause button.

For a couple of months now, my bed times have been getting later and I've been having trouble dragging my ass out of bed in the morning. My sleep has sucked and I've felt generally s-l-o-w. After consulting with the boys at the gym to make sure I'm not acting like a total sally, I've decided to take some time off.

So for the next five days, type II fun is verboten. I'm going to ride my bike, drink some beers, and try not to take myself too seriously. What I do for a living makes it challenging to relax, but I'm hoping a few sessions on The Turner and a couple gallons of whole milk will get me back on track.

Saturday's "Fun"
I ran the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase with The Wee One. 16 miles and a boring 3000' of ascent led to a legitimately fun descent. Catching seven people in the last four miles made us feel like champs. 4:01:55

Sunday
Brunch at Pago, lunch and a couple of Stellas at Silver Fork Lodge, and dinner at Este. The Wee One and I mixed in a recovery WOD at Planet Fatness.

Monday
A.M. WOD:
4x800m, rest as needed in between
3:07, 3:15, 3:22, 3:14

P.M. WOD:
20 squats @ 145lbs
20 dead lifts @ 185lbs

Tonight
I paced around the gym for 45 minutes thinking I'm really tired. Edwin finally suckered me into doing something of value.
50 20lb ball cleans/slams
3:45

Bad Idea Jeans

I just registered for the Mid Mountain Marathon.

But aren't you spending the week before on a beach in Sayulita?

Totally.

Back on the wagon . . .

'cuz I fell off in a big way yesterday. "I'll work until six and then go home and rest up" turned into "I'll have some drinks at Bambara and then head to Em's for dinner." Delicious, but bad bad bad in terms of race prep.

I got my shit back together this morning. The Wee One and I headed to the gym and did two rounds, not for time, of:
10 GHD sit ups
10 hip extensions
10 pull ups
10 bench press @ 95lbs
10 KB swings @ 53lbs
400m jog
Hip mobility drill

I felt great as I left the gym -- loose, rested -- and now I feel like I've been shot with a frickin' tranquilizer dart. Lately my office is my kryptonite.

Tapering . . .

Sort of. I didn't do Fight Gone Bad (shiver). Instead, I kept the 20 rep train rolling and added a little spice at the end to keep myself honest.

Tonight's "fun"
20 squats @ 140 lbs
20 dead lifts @ 180 lbs

Then

4 rounds for time of
400m run
10 pull ups
11:18

Moose-a-palooza

On Saturday, The Wee One and I hiked/ran the course for the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase. Between getting lost, found, lost again -- and dodging LOTS of meese and their young above 8000' -- we managed to finish the course well under the five hour cut off time. The effort for the day was ~16 miles and ~3000' of elevation gain in 4 hours 35 minutes.



A good example of why wildlife photographers do not use the iPhone.

I spent Sunday trying to re-hydrate and re-fuel from Saturday's effort. Drinking "free" wine and baking in the sun at The Taste of the Nation did not help the cause.

Today my back is tight and my legs are tired. I'm trying to work up the nerve to head to the gym tonight -- I need to squeeze in some squats and dead lifts before the race this weekend -- and it's not looking good . . .

P.M. Update:
I made it to the gym . . .
Farmer's carry with 2x53lb KB's
3:18

Then
500m row
1:34.1 (PR by .1 seconds -- yahoo)

Then
Annie (sub'd 3xsingles for each double under)
14:00 (holy crap that is slow)