25 Bridge-Ups (These are actually HARD...even though I am really flexible and can bend my back relatively easy, it's super tough to actually lay back down and bridge up again...25 times in a row! Here's a lovely image of my back bridge:
It helps to have natural flexibility...I haven't lost too much since I took gymnastics as a youngster in 1st grade, but I obviously can't do splits or crazy back bends and flips anymore. Too lazy to restretch myself to that limit.
And then I also learned what Muscle Ups are and how in the world to do them...or at least a negative muscle up. We start from holding ourselves up while grasping a set of suspended rings, as if we're about to start a dip. Then we actually do a dip exercise as deep as we can go, and then release until we hang. Then we jump up to hold ourselves above the rings again and start another dip.
The positive ...or I guess a real muscle up is being able to transfer yourself from hanging by the rings to that low dip position, then pushing up on the dip so your arms are extended and your hands are holding on to the rings by your sides. That's 1 muscle up.
Apparently....I can almost do one! Well, I can do dips on rings so all I need to do is kip myself up to that dip position and hopefully I will be well on my way. (It helps that I can do a few pullups now...)
And now...The Partner WOD:
20 medicine ball sit-ups, 14lbs passing it back and forth to the partner
20 medicine ball squat cleans + 10ft toss to partner, 14lbs
And then each partner runs 250m WITH the 14lb medicine ball.
I have to say, the situps and the squat cleans/tosses weren't bad at all. It helped that my partner was also awesome and we totally smashed all the mens' times. BUT THE RUN...you would think holding a 14lb ball wouldn't be too bad.
But the ball is HUGE. At least 18in in diameter and very huggable. I couldn't find the right position to hold it, and I don't think it mattered because I couldn't get the momentum from my arms. The craziest part was knowing that I used to weigh at LEAST 14lbs more than I do now, and carrying that extra 14lb ball while running was definitely not the same...I remember being able to run slightly faster. But it was definitely an eye opener to me of how much the extra weight I used to have was holding me back. I'm trying to imagine what it would feel to be carrying the 20lb ball since that would more accurately represent my starting weight last year...but I would rather not run that.
Overall I think we finished in 19:42? I don't remember, but it definitely beat out the guys.
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And lastly, I finally got an opportunity to take my new toy out for a test drive...my new Garmin 305 GPS enabled watch:
Luckily Amazon was having a super sale on it...only $128! I've seen it run only as low as $170 and usually this watch has been running at over $300 (and all the other similar models that don't have as great of reviews). It is a little bulky to look at, but when running I actually don't notice it too much at all. I don't think it will necessarily make my left bicep a little bigger...but maybe by a millimeter to even it out with my right one.Anyways, today was the perfect running day...overcast clouds, slight rain (actually pouring rain by the end) and just over 60 degrees. I was surprised that my watch held up in the rain in the end since it got pretty wet (Unfortunately I can't use this as a swim watch since it's not that waterproof...just water-resistant to a certain extent). Sorry triathlon.
Here's some awesome data that I picked up on my 11 mile run today...it was great to be able to not map out my run and to get my mileage as I ran, as well as my pacing.
It's cool to pair up the overall elevation with how my pace is....doesn't look like it changed too much, although the pace on my watch does tend to vary a lot. You can see some giant spikes where I had to stop for traffic and my pace just slowed way down for a few seconds. I think my average pace is probably more around 8:07 since I took a couple stops and also included a minute walk at the end, but not bad! Almost as good as my half marathon pace (7:58)
I also just realized that after that first elevation spike going up Transit street over to Governor street, my whole route was on average downhill the entire way. There were some good hills though.
Hoping this watch will motivate me to run even faster! I think it did today...I'm sort of competing against my pace now. No more junk miles for me (as in slower than 9:00 pace just because)
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