- Kick and movement drills (I'm really slow both on attacking from kiba dachi and defending from zenkutsu dachi...)
- timing for blocking drills
- figure-four lock from oi zuki, with a step-out and overhand wrist grab
- same attack, but with step-in for an elbow break
- randori with neck manipulation
- two-attacker randori with neck break then neck restraint (without thinking, I did one break from kihon ni)
- blind randori (my favourite, as you have to have great control of the joints to really know where your opponent is)
--Duration: 60mins
2012-12-20
2012-12-19
Chiropractic and Acupuncture
First ever appointment with a real practising chiropractor (as opposed to interns at the Chiro College.) Big spender! Kevin is a practitioner at Athlete's Care, and Dr. Chen recommended him for putting me through very focused ART as well as acupuncture.
We started off with strength tests of the glutes and abductors - I have no strength in the left side. It's uncanny.
This was a lengthy appointment, with ART done on butt muscles I had not yet heard of in the course of treatment for my broken butt. He was actually able to find the exact sore spot I always feel after running.
He gave me an SI adjustment as well to realign my pelvis, but I need to do exercises to make sure it stays aligned.
After all the ART in the world, he stuck some acupuncture needles in my butt and then in my abductors, and then electro-shocked my muscles to get rid of scar tissue. I got off the table and wobbled around after that. I had zombie leg for the rest of the day.
He also prescribed a number of strength exercises.
1) clam shell: opening up the hip but making sure it's the butt that's doing the work, not the back
2) leg raise: up and slightly to the back, but again, not with the back
3) a bending-over exercise with a band
... a few other things he will send an email about
And he asked me to roll on a soft Travelroller ball against a wall after workouts
Essentially my muscles are knotted to shit as well as being extremely weak. So we need to strengthen them and break them apart. We did another strength test after the treatment, and I couldn't believe the difference. So away I go!
We started off with strength tests of the glutes and abductors - I have no strength in the left side. It's uncanny.
This was a lengthy appointment, with ART done on butt muscles I had not yet heard of in the course of treatment for my broken butt. He was actually able to find the exact sore spot I always feel after running.
He gave me an SI adjustment as well to realign my pelvis, but I need to do exercises to make sure it stays aligned.
After all the ART in the world, he stuck some acupuncture needles in my butt and then in my abductors, and then electro-shocked my muscles to get rid of scar tissue. I got off the table and wobbled around after that. I had zombie leg for the rest of the day.
He also prescribed a number of strength exercises.
1) clam shell: opening up the hip but making sure it's the butt that's doing the work, not the back
2) leg raise: up and slightly to the back, but again, not with the back
3) a bending-over exercise with a band
... a few other things he will send an email about
And he asked me to roll on a soft Travelroller ball against a wall after workouts
Essentially my muscles are knotted to shit as well as being extremely weak. So we need to strengthen them and break them apart. We did another strength test after the treatment, and I couldn't believe the difference. So away I go!
Location:
Athlete's Care, Toronto, ON, Canada
2012-12-18
XSNRG Running
Wandering Workout!
Weather: extremely mild
I ran to join the group out at Rykert, and caught them just as they were leaving to run clear across to Sunnydene, so I essentially got a 2.8km warm-up. Ran this 5:45-6:00.
Double loop at Sunnydene: 4:00 to 4:30, hooyeah
Then off to Hanna Ps:
1 Letter-P ("P" for Christmas!): 5:00 to 4:30 to 3:40 !! Cool.
Not very interval-y, much more running in between, but felt great! Then off to eat at the XS XMAS parteeee.
--Distance: 6.6km
--Duration: 45mins
Weather: extremely mild
 |
| Route Link |
Double loop at Sunnydene: 4:00 to 4:30, hooyeah
Then off to Hanna Ps:
1 Letter-P ("P" for Christmas!): 5:00 to 4:30 to 3:40 !! Cool.
Not very interval-y, much more running in between, but felt great! Then off to eat at the XS XMAS parteeee.
--Distance: 6.6km
--Duration: 45mins
2012-12-17
Pool Swimming
Warm-up:
100m easy
150m drills (fist / finger / pinky / horns / catch-up)
Tried some of the drills from the NRG PT clinic, to try to get my hand to point down and my elbow to stay up. Of course Coach called me out on my windmill cadence, so I had to switch to catch-up.
4x
50m high intensity
25m head-up / 25m sprint
I know at least two of the sprints went down to 0:20, a record (I used to do 0:25-0:27 in the fall)
2x 50m pull
2x 50m kick
4x
2x 100m on 2:05
1x 100m on 2:30
1:42 / 1:46
1:39 / 1:50
1:50 / 1:52
1:50 / 1:54
Yes, I have set a new PB for 100m. And it was on the second round, and I wasn't even trying. I know overall I'm swimming much smoother and it's just easier to get there at a much higher speed. To stay in low 1:50s for the rest of the set, as opposed to closer to or over 2:00 is spectacular for me.
4x
2x 50m on 1:00
1x 50m on 1:30
The 50s were somewhere from 0:46 to 0:54, as I was pretty gassed from the 100s.
2x killer 50s
No problemo
100m easy
--Distance: 2,850m
--Duration: 75mins
100m easy
150m drills (fist / finger / pinky / horns / catch-up)
Tried some of the drills from the NRG PT clinic, to try to get my hand to point down and my elbow to stay up. Of course Coach called me out on my windmill cadence, so I had to switch to catch-up.
4x
50m high intensity
25m head-up / 25m sprint
I know at least two of the sprints went down to 0:20, a record (I used to do 0:25-0:27 in the fall)
2x 50m pull
2x 50m kick
4x
2x 100m on 2:05
1x 100m on 2:30
1:42 / 1:46
1:39 / 1:50
1:50 / 1:52
1:50 / 1:54
Yes, I have set a new PB for 100m. And it was on the second round, and I wasn't even trying. I know overall I'm swimming much smoother and it's just easier to get there at a much higher speed. To stay in low 1:50s for the rest of the set, as opposed to closer to or over 2:00 is spectacular for me.
4x
2x 50m on 1:00
1x 50m on 1:30
The 50s were somewhere from 0:46 to 0:54, as I was pretty gassed from the 100s.
2x killer 50s
No problemo
100m easy
--Distance: 2,850m
--Duration: 75mins
2012-12-16
2012-12-12
Pool Swimming
100m easy [really lost track of time at work!]
750m TT: 15:04 (New PB!)
I was invited to swim in the rope lane, which may have made a large contribution to this time.
Distressingly, I started to feel my running cramps after this intense TT.
Eliminator 50s
What we were supposed to do:
<I still have no fucking idea, but something to do with less time each time, even though we had to hold 1:01??? I will check again.>
What we actually did: Restarting on 1:01 each time (and only for 15 reps for some reason! Where was my head?)
0:53 / 0:55 for a few / 0:58 for most / 0:54 for 15th rep
Thought I'd be sick around 7, but once I got to 10/11, I knew I could finish
2x 50m kick / 2x 50m pull
3x 50m Partner kick/pull - Teamed up with M and we actually did pretty well with me pulling and him kicking (which is very backwards!)
--Distance: 1,950m
--Duration: 55mins
750m TT: 15:04 (New PB!)
I was invited to swim in the rope lane, which may have made a large contribution to this time.
Distressingly, I started to feel my running cramps after this intense TT.
Eliminator 50s
What we were supposed to do:
<I still have no fucking idea, but something to do with less time each time, even though we had to hold 1:01??? I will check again.>
What we actually did: Restarting on 1:01 each time (and only for 15 reps for some reason! Where was my head?)
0:53 / 0:55 for a few / 0:58 for most / 0:54 for 15th rep
Thought I'd be sick around 7, but once I got to 10/11, I knew I could finish
2x 50m kick / 2x 50m pull
3x 50m Partner kick/pull - Teamed up with M and we actually did pretty well with me pulling and him kicking (which is very backwards!)
--Distance: 1,950m
--Duration: 55mins
2012-12-10
Pool Swimming
Warm-up:
4x 25m DSP
25 / 24 / 25 / 23
3x 50 descend (didn't really pay attention, tried to go a bit faster)
We were to take a target final 100 and working backwards add 5secs each. I was supposed to end up with 1:50, gasp! That didn't work out...
5x 100m on 2:10
1:50 / 1:55 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 2:00
4x 100m on 2:05
2:00 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 2:00
3x 100m on 2:00.... really 2:05 or longer
2:00 / 2:00 / 2:00
2x 100m on 2:05
2:00 / 1:58
1x 100m on 2:05
2:03
I was pretty bummed out about the 100s and skipped what was to be a 400m TT. I would have had a really slow showing. So I got put in the shark tank for easy repeats of the following:
4x 50m kick / 50m pull / 50m killer
I love killer 50s. I never swim smoother, and the return trip is the best sprint I can do. Quickly felt better after these.
50m easy
--Distance: 2,400m
--Duration: 65mins
4x 25m DSP
25 / 24 / 25 / 23
3x 50 descend (didn't really pay attention, tried to go a bit faster)
We were to take a target final 100 and working backwards add 5secs each. I was supposed to end up with 1:50, gasp! That didn't work out...
5x 100m on 2:10
1:50 / 1:55 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 2:00
4x 100m on 2:05
2:00 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 2:00
3x 100m on 2:00.... really 2:05 or longer
2:00 / 2:00 / 2:00
2x 100m on 2:05
2:00 / 1:58
1x 100m on 2:05
2:03
I was pretty bummed out about the 100s and skipped what was to be a 400m TT. I would have had a really slow showing. So I got put in the shark tank for easy repeats of the following:
4x 50m kick / 50m pull / 50m killer
I love killer 50s. I never swim smoother, and the return trip is the best sprint I can do. Quickly felt better after these.
50m easy
--Distance: 2,400m
--Duration: 65mins
2012-12-09
O-Cup Chase
Terrain: forest, deep valleys
Weather: sunny and crisp, perfect
Format: 3min/6min delayed starts for 0-2, 770m marked prologue, plus one Thomass box of 7 controls
The second O-Cup race returned to the usual Dundas Valley, with a start at Canterbury Hills. The extremely deep valleys / grooves in the terrain make for some tough route choices if one wants to avoid climb. Not sure if it was the best choices, but I executed them very well. I found myself doing a lot of dog legs though, which isn't the most exciting, but at least you know where you're going.
I started my race with 6:00 already on the clock, and unfortunately my untrained legs no longer allow me to stay up front with the elite men like last year, so I got through the prologue gasping and panting at the back of the pack. Leg 2 was a long but fairly fast run on a big road. I saw a few people choose to take off right a bit earlier than I planned, but I changed my mind when I saw that I could stay on a contour and go around a large hill instead of going over it to get to Control 2. I nailed it.
Then it was down into the valley for a long run along a river, past C, which I would get after entering the box from 3. Taking this route had the advantage of seeing the earlier runners coming down a cliff from 3 to get to C, so I knew where to start going up. Then dog leg number one back to C. D was further down the river and up a huge hill again. Then back down and a climb on the other side to get to the only legal entry point to the western part of the map.
Trying to minimize climb, I went after F at the top, which was a fairly flat run with easy attack points. Then I took a big trail for a bit until a long hill ended, so that I jumped over to a more southern trail to get to the far-flung G. I didn't want to climb at all, so I descended into the river to get it from there, which probably slowed me down a bit. But the contours on the side of the river are so prominent, that it was an easy find. Dog leg number 2 was a backtrack in the river to get to E. Some other people chose to go up top, which definitely would have been faster, as I got stuck between the river and a cliff a few times. But reading the contours was much easier from below. I nailed E and climbed back out to get back to the other side of the map and punch 3 again (which meant another dog leg past D!)
The next leg was just a long slog across to the easternmost part of the map, and I was exhausted. My legs wouldn't move. For dog leg number four, I re-ran the big road from leg 2, but I was almost 15% slower the second time around. Control 4 was hidden in a gully coming up from a river, but again, the contours are prominent and easy, so I nailed it no problem. Ran across the plateau and back down into the river and up the other side for 5, then a "quick" uphill for the final control and a real sprint even more up the hill to the finish.
I have to be very happy that I hit all the controls perfectly and moved efficiently between them. I had told myself that in my condition I can't afford to waste time and distance and energy. I mostly avoided the dreaded climbs on the course, so I'm thrilled.
Unfortunately, this had to be the worst handicapped race for F21. First there was the staggered start with handicaps 0-2 held back 6mins, so the (3min) gap between F21 and F35 was immediately huge, added to the fact that we're the slowest of the 0-2 in the first place. Then 3 of the 7 box controls were on the other side of the map, so automatically I had to get at least one of them, while anyone on handicap 3+ could just stay on the near side the whole time. In 36th place overall, I was the 1st F21 back, haha.
So not too many points this time, but at least I can be proud of a totally clean race, and how often can we say that?
--Distance: 8.36km
--Climb: 387m
--Duration: 1:18:21 [1:24:21 on the race clock]
--Place: 36th
--Points: 15
--Series Standings: 27th
Weather: sunny and crisp, perfect
Format: 3min/6min delayed starts for 0-2, 770m marked prologue, plus one Thomass box of 7 controls
The second O-Cup race returned to the usual Dundas Valley, with a start at Canterbury Hills. The extremely deep valleys / grooves in the terrain make for some tough route choices if one wants to avoid climb. Not sure if it was the best choices, but I executed them very well. I found myself doing a lot of dog legs though, which isn't the most exciting, but at least you know where you're going.
I started my race with 6:00 already on the clock, and unfortunately my untrained legs no longer allow me to stay up front with the elite men like last year, so I got through the prologue gasping and panting at the back of the pack. Leg 2 was a long but fairly fast run on a big road. I saw a few people choose to take off right a bit earlier than I planned, but I changed my mind when I saw that I could stay on a contour and go around a large hill instead of going over it to get to Control 2. I nailed it.
 |
| Route Link |
Trying to minimize climb, I went after F at the top, which was a fairly flat run with easy attack points. Then I took a big trail for a bit until a long hill ended, so that I jumped over to a more southern trail to get to the far-flung G. I didn't want to climb at all, so I descended into the river to get it from there, which probably slowed me down a bit. But the contours on the side of the river are so prominent, that it was an easy find. Dog leg number 2 was a backtrack in the river to get to E. Some other people chose to go up top, which definitely would have been faster, as I got stuck between the river and a cliff a few times. But reading the contours was much easier from below. I nailed E and climbed back out to get back to the other side of the map and punch 3 again (which meant another dog leg past D!)
The next leg was just a long slog across to the easternmost part of the map, and I was exhausted. My legs wouldn't move. For dog leg number four, I re-ran the big road from leg 2, but I was almost 15% slower the second time around. Control 4 was hidden in a gully coming up from a river, but again, the contours are prominent and easy, so I nailed it no problem. Ran across the plateau and back down into the river and up the other side for 5, then a "quick" uphill for the final control and a real sprint even more up the hill to the finish.
I have to be very happy that I hit all the controls perfectly and moved efficiently between them. I had told myself that in my condition I can't afford to waste time and distance and energy. I mostly avoided the dreaded climbs on the course, so I'm thrilled.
Unfortunately, this had to be the worst handicapped race for F21. First there was the staggered start with handicaps 0-2 held back 6mins, so the (3min) gap between F21 and F35 was immediately huge, added to the fact that we're the slowest of the 0-2 in the first place. Then 3 of the 7 box controls were on the other side of the map, so automatically I had to get at least one of them, while anyone on handicap 3+ could just stay on the near side the whole time. In 36th place overall, I was the 1st F21 back, haha.
So not too many points this time, but at least I can be proud of a totally clean race, and how often can we say that?
--Distance: 8.36km
--Climb: 387m
--Duration: 1:18:21 [1:24:21 on the race clock]
--Place: 36th
--Points: 15
--Series Standings: 27th
Location:
Dundas Valley CA, Hamilton, ON
2012-12-06
Gym Workout
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set / 4th set / 5th set
(10) Squat Press: 50lbs / 60lbs / 50lbs / 50lbs (60 was too tough, and I nearly fell backwards on the 10th rep, oops)
(10/side) DB Chop: 20lbs / 20lbs / 20lbs / 20lbs
(10) Inverted Rows: 4th rung / 4th rung / 10 push-ups* / 4th rung (rack was taken so did push-ups)
(10/side) Calf Raises: BW / BW / BW / BW
(10) Leg Press: 260lbs / 280lbs / 280lbs / 300lbs / 320lbs (felt really weak at first, but then decided to get back up to 320 with an extra set at the end)
(failure) Chin-ups: 2 / 1.5 / 1.5 / 1
(10) SHELC: 2 legs / 1 leg* / 2 legs / 2 legs (tried this after about 8 months, and didn't feel the upper hamstring, although the lower hamstrings were so tight, I could only do the double-leg version)
(10/side) Cable Full Swim Pull: 3 plates / 3 plates / 7.5lbs* / 3 plates (cable was taken once so used a DB to swing up instead)
(10) Deadlift: 110lbs (Very hard at such a low weight, but at least no pulling in the hamstring)
--Duration: 55mins
(10) Squat Press: 50lbs / 60lbs / 50lbs / 50lbs (60 was too tough, and I nearly fell backwards on the 10th rep, oops)
(10/side) DB Chop: 20lbs / 20lbs / 20lbs / 20lbs
(10) Inverted Rows: 4th rung / 4th rung / 10 push-ups* / 4th rung (rack was taken so did push-ups)
(10/side) Calf Raises: BW / BW / BW / BW
(10) Leg Press: 260lbs / 280lbs / 280lbs / 300lbs / 320lbs (felt really weak at first, but then decided to get back up to 320 with an extra set at the end)
(failure) Chin-ups: 2 / 1.5 / 1.5 / 1
(10) SHELC: 2 legs / 1 leg* / 2 legs / 2 legs (tried this after about 8 months, and didn't feel the upper hamstring, although the lower hamstrings were so tight, I could only do the double-leg version)
(10/side) Cable Full Swim Pull: 3 plates / 3 plates / 7.5lbs* / 3 plates (cable was taken once so used a DB to swing up instead)
(10) Deadlift: 110lbs (Very hard at such a low weight, but at least no pulling in the hamstring)
--Duration: 55mins
2012-12-05
Pool Swimming
Warm-up: 100m (stuck at work, wha-whaaaaaaa)
Main Course:
3x 200m on 4:20
3:52 / 3:53 / 3:55
2x 200m on 4:10
3:58 / 3:58
1x 200m on 4:00 (hold pace)
3:58
1min rest
3x 100m on 2:10
1:47 / 1:52 / 1:53
2x 100m on 2:05
1:54 / 1:53
1x 100m on 2:00 (hold pace)
1:53
1min rest
3x 50m on 1:10
0:52 / 0:53 / 0:52
2x 50m on 1:05
0:53 / 0:53
1x 50m on 1:00 (hold pace)
0:53
These were all super times for me. I felt so smooth today, even though I also felt tired from Monday. But my gliding and rolling stroke are finally coming together, and I feel more efficient. I did flip turns probably at least 50% of the time and wasn't terribly out of breath. I also swam in the rope lane, which may have contributed to my speed, so I'm cautiously optimistic here.
1x killer 50 (did 25hypoxic + 5secs off + half-pool hypoxic/sprint)
--Distance: 2,250m
--Duration: 55mins
Main Course:
3x 200m on 4:20
3:52 / 3:53 / 3:55
2x 200m on 4:10
3:58 / 3:58
1x 200m on 4:00 (hold pace)
3:58
1min rest
3x 100m on 2:10
1:47 / 1:52 / 1:53
2x 100m on 2:05
1:54 / 1:53
1x 100m on 2:00 (hold pace)
1:53
1min rest
3x 50m on 1:10
0:52 / 0:53 / 0:52
2x 50m on 1:05
0:53 / 0:53
1x 50m on 1:00 (hold pace)
0:53
These were all super times for me. I felt so smooth today, even though I also felt tired from Monday. But my gliding and rolling stroke are finally coming together, and I feel more efficient. I did flip turns probably at least 50% of the time and wasn't terribly out of breath. I also swam in the rope lane, which may have contributed to my speed, so I'm cautiously optimistic here.
1x killer 50 (did 25hypoxic + 5secs off + half-pool hypoxic/sprint)
--Distance: 2,250m
--Duration: 55mins
2012-12-04
XSNRG Running
Forced myself to get this workout in late at night after a meeting, about 2hrs after my club had left.
Warm-up: 2km, ABCs, dynamic stretches
Blythe Hill Loops, 10x 2' / 1' RI
I challenged myself to finish an entire ~575m loop in the 3mins for one run-walk interval. I managed it for the first 4 and then let up. Hamstring was really tight. But mostly I was just really out of breath!
Distances in 2mins: (from El Satellite Dish, which I don't quite trust)
420m / 410m / 390m / 390m / 370m / 360m / 390m / 410m / 430m / 480m
I know I really kicked it on the last one, but not sure I went that much further! Maybe.
Cool-down: 2km
--Distance: 9.23km
--Duration: 69mins
Warm-up: 2km, ABCs, dynamic stretches
Blythe Hill Loops, 10x 2' / 1' RI
I challenged myself to finish an entire ~575m loop in the 3mins for one run-walk interval. I managed it for the first 4 and then let up. Hamstring was really tight. But mostly I was just really out of breath!
Distances in 2mins: (from El Satellite Dish, which I don't quite trust)
420m / 410m / 390m / 390m / 370m / 360m / 390m / 410m / 430m / 480m
I know I really kicked it on the last one, but not sure I went that much further! Maybe.
Cool-down: 2km
--Distance: 9.23km
--Duration: 69mins
2012-12-03
Pool Swimming
I was able to come on time today, and I actually finished the entire set (just).
Warm-up:
100m easy
200m drills w/ flips
100m fast/easy
2x 50m kick
2x 50m pull
We were to drop our usual 100m pace times by 5secs to push us a bit faster. The other distances also had to stay on that new pace. I grumbled at the start, but I managed to pull it off!
8x 100m on 2:10
1:50 / 1:53 / 1:55 / 1:57 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 1:58
4x 200m on 4:20
4:00 / 3:98 / 4:12 / 4:07
2x 400m on 8:40
8:22 / 8:18
Don't know what happened halfway through the 200s, but the clock doesn't lie. Maybe I had been drafting more. In any case, it wasn't a huge difference in speeds like last week. Stroke felt really smooth throughout. I did a great many flip turns too!
--Distance: 3,000m
--Duration: 75mins
Warm-up:
100m easy
200m drills w/ flips
100m fast/easy
2x 50m kick
2x 50m pull
We were to drop our usual 100m pace times by 5secs to push us a bit faster. The other distances also had to stay on that new pace. I grumbled at the start, but I managed to pull it off!
8x 100m on 2:10
1:50 / 1:53 / 1:55 / 1:57 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 1:58
4x 200m on 4:20
4:00 / 3:98 / 4:12 / 4:07
2x 400m on 8:40
8:22 / 8:18
Don't know what happened halfway through the 200s, but the clock doesn't lie. Maybe I had been drafting more. In any case, it wasn't a huge difference in speeds like last week. Stroke felt really smooth throughout. I did a great many flip turns too!
--Distance: 3,000m
--Duration: 75mins
2012-12-01
Pool Swimming
Missed last Monday, so did some of the workout today in the short time I had after errands. Brought my roomie too, which was extra-fun.
Pool is 25yds, times for 25m are in brackets.
Warm-up:
100y easy
4x 50y decrease (I assumed this meant get faster)
0:52 / 0:50 / 0:47 / 0:46 [0:57 / 0:55 / 0:51 / 0:50]
4x 50y kick
4x 50y pull
4x 100y on 2:15
1:45 / 1:50 / 1:45 / 1:47 [1:55 / 2:00 / 1:55 / 1:57]
50y killer (no problem, should have tried for a full 50 hypoxic)
--Distance: 1,150yds [1,050m]
--Duration: 28mins
Pool is 25yds, times for 25m are in brackets.
Warm-up:
100y easy
4x 50y decrease (I assumed this meant get faster)
0:52 / 0:50 / 0:47 / 0:46 [0:57 / 0:55 / 0:51 / 0:50]
4x 50y kick
4x 50y pull
4x 100y on 2:15
1:45 / 1:50 / 1:45 / 1:47 [1:55 / 2:00 / 1:55 / 1:57]
50y killer (no problem, should have tried for a full 50 hypoxic)
--Distance: 1,150yds [1,050m]
--Duration: 28mins
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