We met the owner Josh, who was a very cool guy. They have a very nice box and use their space very well. There were about 4 others doing the workout with us, which happened to be Diane, another one of our favorites.
We were still recovering from the previous 3 days, but he had us almost jumping right in. We set up 25# plates/abmats along the wall to scale the HSPU's and did a warm up of Tabata jump rope/sit ups.
The workout itself was a blast, as per usual. Ralph finished first, followed by Ryan and myself. The HSPU's killed me personally. We did our post workout nutrition in the parking lot and I called Casey, who is a student at the University of Alabama, a fellow CrossFitter, and our host for the evening. Due to a miscommunication, he had thought we were doing a workout at 6:30. Oh well.
We then proceeded to Dreamland Barbeque. Yeah. It was amazing. We had 2 slabs of ribs and a quart of their banana pudding. This was our first cheat meal and really was not too bad. Just a piece of white bread in BBQ sauce and the banana pudding, which was not your traditional pudding, but more of a cake-like concoction. All said the ribs were finger lickin' good. I will definitely be back there.
We drove through Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama campus. Quite an eye-opener for us, being from Terre Haute, Indiana at a small, private, predominantly male engineering school. We got to his dorm. He lived in a suite with 4 roommates. We showered and hung out a bit before deciding to head out for the evening and see a bit of the town.
We drove through town again and the first bar district we stopped in was pretty quiet. But we made our way over to Rounders, which turned out to be the place to be that particular Wednesday night. We had to pay a $5 cover, but they had boxing matches that night between various fraternities for charity. Many of the national championship Alabama football team happened to be there, including Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram. We had a good evening there. Lots of good scenery. The boxing was decent at times, but fun to watch nonetheless.
We headed back at about 11:30 and promptly passed out. We were woken at about 2:00 AM by one of Casey's room mates who was concerned we would not be warm or comfortable enough, so he thoughtfully threw a sleeping bag and blanket at us. Southern hospitality at it's finest.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Morning of 7APR10: CrossFit PTC
Got to sleep in until 6:30 this morning. Quickly got ready and then loaded up in the car and rolled out. It was only about a 2 minute drive, so we got there a bit early.
We did a rather lengthy warm-up, then did some front squat warm-up. The WOD itself was the mainpage WOD from 1 week ago, 7 Rounds for time of 3 185# front squats and 7 L-pull ups. Ralph and Ryan did the FS at 185#, I scaled down to 155#. That turned out to be a good weight for me. The L-pull ups killed us all and got ugly fast, especially the grip. Ryan finished first, followed by Ralph and myself.
We talked to Ric, the owner for a bit, then headed home. After a quick shower, my Mom had a great breakfast for us. Almond Banana pancakes (as seen on MarksDailyApple.com), bacon, and fresh strawberries and pineapple. We gorged ourselves, then took a quick nap before leaving at about 11:30 PM.
We had to stop at our accountant's office on the way out of town so I could sign my income tax return, then it was on to Jacksonville, AL to meet my step-brother, Josh, for lunch. Ralph drove this leg. We took an interesting route (provided by Google) through some very winding roads in the Talladega National Forest. We arrived early (about 12:30 local time for a 2:00 lunch meeting), so we drove around town and stopped in a sporting goods store to kill some time.
We got back to the restaurant at about 1:40, so we had plenty of time to scout out the menu for some paleo-friendly choices. We all got salads. Mine had sirloin steak, Ryan got grilled shrimp, and Ralph got grilled chicken, no dressing of course. Josh and his friend showed up right on time and we had an enjoyable lunch. We were back on the road by about 2:45.
I drove this leg. We passed Talladega speedway and arrived in Tuscaloosa at CrossFit Innovate at about 5:15 for the 5:30 workout.
We did a rather lengthy warm-up, then did some front squat warm-up. The WOD itself was the mainpage WOD from 1 week ago, 7 Rounds for time of 3 185# front squats and 7 L-pull ups. Ralph and Ryan did the FS at 185#, I scaled down to 155#. That turned out to be a good weight for me. The L-pull ups killed us all and got ugly fast, especially the grip. Ryan finished first, followed by Ralph and myself.
We talked to Ric, the owner for a bit, then headed home. After a quick shower, my Mom had a great breakfast for us. Almond Banana pancakes (as seen on MarksDailyApple.com), bacon, and fresh strawberries and pineapple. We gorged ourselves, then took a quick nap before leaving at about 11:30 PM.
We had to stop at our accountant's office on the way out of town so I could sign my income tax return, then it was on to Jacksonville, AL to meet my step-brother, Josh, for lunch. Ralph drove this leg. We took an interesting route (provided by Google) through some very winding roads in the Talladega National Forest. We arrived early (about 12:30 local time for a 2:00 lunch meeting), so we drove around town and stopped in a sporting goods store to kill some time.
We got back to the restaurant at about 1:40, so we had plenty of time to scout out the menu for some paleo-friendly choices. We all got salads. Mine had sirloin steak, Ryan got grilled shrimp, and Ralph got grilled chicken, no dressing of course. Josh and his friend showed up right on time and we had an enjoyable lunch. We were back on the road by about 2:45.
I drove this leg. We passed Talladega speedway and arrived in Tuscaloosa at CrossFit Innovate at about 5:15 for the 5:30 workout.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Evening of 6APR10: CrossFit Atlanta
Ryan drove us to CrossFit Atlanta. Ryan and Ralph loved seeing the 8 lanes of traffic on I-75 in Atlanta. Luckily we were going into the city, rather than out of the city in the rush hour. We arrived at CF Atlanta about an hour early, so ended up heading down to Georgia Tech to meet Ryan's friend at his fraternity house. Really we just ended up roaming around Atlanta for a bit before making our way back to CF Atlanta.
At this point we were all dragging ass, so we elected to just do the Olympic weight lifting session they offered rather than a full blown CF WOD. On top of that if we had done the WOD we would've repeated it the next morning, something none of us were looking forward to.
We ended up spending an hour working on snatches with one of their weight lifting coaches, Travis, who graduated from Sandy Creek same year as me. We only worked up to about 100 lbs, but it was very good work and fit into our routine very nicely as a nice, easy, recovery workout. Not to mention it is a relatively unused skill for us.
We then hopped into the car and I drove us to Peachtree City. We got in about 8:30, as planned. We showered quickly and then sat down to a nice feast. Mom and Greg had some pork tenderloins, baked ham, grilled vegetables, and salad for us. We pigged out to say the least.
We slept alright, it was kind of warm in our room.
At this point we were all dragging ass, so we elected to just do the Olympic weight lifting session they offered rather than a full blown CF WOD. On top of that if we had done the WOD we would've repeated it the next morning, something none of us were looking forward to.
We ended up spending an hour working on snatches with one of their weight lifting coaches, Travis, who graduated from Sandy Creek same year as me. We only worked up to about 100 lbs, but it was very good work and fit into our routine very nicely as a nice, easy, recovery workout. Not to mention it is a relatively unused skill for us.
We then hopped into the car and I drove us to Peachtree City. We got in about 8:30, as planned. We showered quickly and then sat down to a nice feast. Mom and Greg had some pork tenderloins, baked ham, grilled vegetables, and salad for us. We pigged out to say the least.
We slept alright, it was kind of warm in our room.
Morning of 6APR10: CrossFit Knoxville
Wake up was at 5:15 AM. We got ready in short order and hit the road. Fan in our room was real annoying overnight, but sleep was definitely needed and we were definitely feeling Fran and Kelly. We got to CF Knoxville fine and about 10 minutes early. Having already checked the workout, we were ready for it, but that didn't make the bench work and Elizabeth any easier.
We did 3x5 bench with 70% of our max after a warm up of rowing and some dynamic stretches. We then worked up to our clean weight of 95#.
The workout was another smoker. I did ring dips, Ralph and Ryan did bar dips. I finished in 9:57, Ryan in 9:58 and Ralph somewhere in the 10's. We talked with Johnny some, got t-shirts, and hit the road for Fort Mountain State Park, GA after our post workout supplementation.
We got off at exit 25 for Cleveland, TN and eventually got on US 411. About 9 AM we stopped to eat our egg/bacon/broccoli conglomerate. Ralph was driving at this point. We got into the state park at about 10:45 after a long winding drive up the mountain. We stepped off at about 11.
We hit a nice overlook early on, but other than that it was a lot of undulation and woods. We did the Gahuti Backcountry Trail, which totaled about a 9 mile loop. We got back at about 2:45. We stopped to eat ham, carrots, and apple pears for lunch along the way. We were all dehydrated and later saw the temperature was above 90 degrees that afternoon. We had some paleo kits, drank a ton of water, and lazed about until about 3:30.
We did 3x5 bench with 70% of our max after a warm up of rowing and some dynamic stretches. We then worked up to our clean weight of 95#.
The workout was another smoker. I did ring dips, Ralph and Ryan did bar dips. I finished in 9:57, Ryan in 9:58 and Ralph somewhere in the 10's. We talked with Johnny some, got t-shirts, and hit the road for Fort Mountain State Park, GA after our post workout supplementation.
We got off at exit 25 for Cleveland, TN and eventually got on US 411. About 9 AM we stopped to eat our egg/bacon/broccoli conglomerate. Ralph was driving at this point. We got into the state park at about 10:45 after a long winding drive up the mountain. We stepped off at about 11.
We hit a nice overlook early on, but other than that it was a lot of undulation and woods. We did the Gahuti Backcountry Trail, which totaled about a 9 mile loop. We got back at about 2:45. We stopped to eat ham, carrots, and apple pears for lunch along the way. We were all dehydrated and later saw the temperature was above 90 degrees that afternoon. We had some paleo kits, drank a ton of water, and lazed about until about 3:30.
Afternoon of Monday 5APR10: CrossFit Maximus
Our drive to Lexington was relatively uneventful. Ryan drove it. We only hit some minor traffic on 65 in southern Indiana. We arrived in Lexington fairly early at about 2:50 (for the 3:45 workout). We went to the mall across the street, where we stopped in the Borders to use the restroom and kill a few minutes browsing the stacks.
We showed up at the gym early, signed waivers, bought t-shirts, and got set up. Ralph cheated earlier and looked up the workout on the internet, so we were forewarned that it was Kelly. We got our equipment moved outside and then did a group warm up inside on their astroturf. We did extensive hip mobility and warm up movements.
Kelly was another brutal one. The runs started off ok, then just got ridiculously slow. The wall balls probably sucked the worst, but I know the box jumps were taking it out of us too. Ryan got about 28:30, I got about 30:30 and Ralph got about 31:30. We met a lot of great folks there.
This time we remembered to do proper post workout supplementation, with ample protein and carbs (in the form of star burst jelly beans and granny smith apples). We hit the road for Knoxville, a straight shot down I-75. We hit a slow spot in Kentucky, but nothing compared to the traffic northbound, which was backed up for about 10 miles with people standing outside their cars. I drove this segment. We got some great views of the Appalachians in Tennessee and Kentucky.
We arrived into Clinton a little behind schedule. Ryan and Ralph were not at all impressed by the wooden bridge we crossed heading into my dad's house. We got there, put on some decent clothes and deoderant, and headed out to Ryan's (restaurant). Family friend Murrell treated us to a dinner and we got our money's worth. I had a BAS, tons of meat and vegetables and some good pineapple for dessert. Only cheat was some fried okra. We got back to the house, took showers, and promptly slept good. I also supervised preparation of our food for the next day. Dad had gotten me some more carrots and I had him make up an 8 egg frittatta with broccoli and bacon on the stove top to be consumed tomorrow morning.
We showed up at the gym early, signed waivers, bought t-shirts, and got set up. Ralph cheated earlier and looked up the workout on the internet, so we were forewarned that it was Kelly. We got our equipment moved outside and then did a group warm up inside on their astroturf. We did extensive hip mobility and warm up movements.
Kelly was another brutal one. The runs started off ok, then just got ridiculously slow. The wall balls probably sucked the worst, but I know the box jumps were taking it out of us too. Ryan got about 28:30, I got about 30:30 and Ralph got about 31:30. We met a lot of great folks there.
This time we remembered to do proper post workout supplementation, with ample protein and carbs (in the form of star burst jelly beans and granny smith apples). We hit the road for Knoxville, a straight shot down I-75. We hit a slow spot in Kentucky, but nothing compared to the traffic northbound, which was backed up for about 10 miles with people standing outside their cars. I drove this segment. We got some great views of the Appalachians in Tennessee and Kentucky.
We arrived into Clinton a little behind schedule. Ryan and Ralph were not at all impressed by the wooden bridge we crossed heading into my dad's house. We got there, put on some decent clothes and deoderant, and headed out to Ryan's (restaurant). Family friend Murrell treated us to a dinner and we got our money's worth. I had a BAS, tons of meat and vegetables and some good pineapple for dessert. Only cheat was some fried okra. We got back to the house, took showers, and promptly slept good. I also supervised preparation of our food for the next day. Dad had gotten me some more carrots and I had him make up an 8 egg frittatta with broccoli and bacon on the stove top to be consumed tomorrow morning.
Morning of Monday 5APR10: CrossFit Bloomington
My day started off at what I thought was 5:35 (what the clock in the room I was sleeping in said) but was actually closer to 5:05, a mistake I realized only after I had gotten clothed and woken up. I proceeded to share my state of wakedness with Jordan and Matt, to their displeasure. We left the house at about 6 AM, as planned.
We arrived at CrossFit Bloomington as the previous class was finishing. We saw folks doing 95# thrusters and braced for the worst. Sure enough our first workout was, appropriately, Fran. We had about 20 minutes to get over any giddiness or nervousness leading into this beast of a workout. Got the camera set up and conducted pre-workout pissing. For our warm up we did squat work with and without the PVC and some mobility drills up and down the floor of the box. We got our bars set up and pull up stations prepared.
The workout itself was terrible, as per usual. It was the first time I completed it as Rx'd and still PR'd by about a minute from when I did it in December at my L1 Cert with jumping pull ups. Ryan got 5:45, Ralph ~6:15, me 7:09.
After we recovered, we hopped in the car and moved back to Ryan's house. About 5 minutes from the gym we pulled over as I realized that we had neglected to get our post-workout protein in, so we mixed up our shakes right there on the side of the road at 8 AM in the morning. After we were adequately supplemented, we hit the road.
Back at Ryan's house we raided the fridge and commenced chow operations. We had fried eggs and sausage and some fruit. We then showered and took about an hour nap before setting out for Lexington, KY.
It bears mentioning the food we started out with:
Carrots
Spinach
Broccoli
Ham
Granny Smith Apples
Bananas
Hamburgers
Butter
We left the Ryan residence at about 12:30 after eating some leftover ham and vegetables.
We arrived at CrossFit Bloomington as the previous class was finishing. We saw folks doing 95# thrusters and braced for the worst. Sure enough our first workout was, appropriately, Fran. We had about 20 minutes to get over any giddiness or nervousness leading into this beast of a workout. Got the camera set up and conducted pre-workout pissing. For our warm up we did squat work with and without the PVC and some mobility drills up and down the floor of the box. We got our bars set up and pull up stations prepared.
The workout itself was terrible, as per usual. It was the first time I completed it as Rx'd and still PR'd by about a minute from when I did it in December at my L1 Cert with jumping pull ups. Ryan got 5:45, Ralph ~6:15, me 7:09.
After we recovered, we hopped in the car and moved back to Ryan's house. About 5 minutes from the gym we pulled over as I realized that we had neglected to get our post-workout protein in, so we mixed up our shakes right there on the side of the road at 8 AM in the morning. After we were adequately supplemented, we hit the road.
Back at Ryan's house we raided the fridge and commenced chow operations. We had fried eggs and sausage and some fruit. We then showered and took about an hour nap before setting out for Lexington, KY.
It bears mentioning the food we started out with:
Carrots
Spinach
Broccoli
Ham
Granny Smith Apples
Bananas
Hamburgers
Butter
We left the Ryan residence at about 12:30 after eating some leftover ham and vegetables.
Sunday 4APR10: Zero Day
Today the official journey begins by leaving Terre Haute and Rose-Hulman. A lot of work has gone into planning and preparation starting back in February. This morning was a trip to the grocery to pick up some carrots, spinach, romaine lettuce, broccoli, bacon, and ground beef. I made the beef into hamburgers with some onion powder and dijon mustard and packed them along with the other food I purchased and some eggs and butter in my cooler with some freezer packs. Did my final check to make sure I had all my gear ready and loaded up the car.
My first destination was the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Academy to take the new written test for the CrossFit level I certification. I left at about 1:30 and had to turn around right away because I realized I had forgotten to bring several books that I meant to read during the trip. My library for the trip included:
The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson
Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Exercises by Mark Rippetoe
The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain
The Warrior Diet by Ori Hofmekler
The Grip Master's Manual by John Brookfield
Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vladimir Zatsiorsky
Pose Method of Running by Nicholas Romanov
Real Stars by Ben Stein
Lincoln in His Own Words by Milton Meltzer
I made it to the IMPDA at about 3:00 and had about a half hour to kill while the certification finished up. I used this time to study over the CrossFit manual. At about 3:30, the class took a break and I made my way into the classroom. The test did not start until about 4:15. I finished it fairly quickly, took about 20 minutes. I turned it in and began the wait for everyone else to finish. I mingled with the other CrossFitters and met up with my buddy and tripmate, Matt Ryan, once he finished. We both ended up passing, so we were pleased with the experience.
We proceeded to convoy to Matt's parent's house in Columbus, IN. There we had a succulent Easter dinner of baked ham, potatoes, salad, and other fixin's awaiting us. Jordan Ralph got in a little later. We loaded up the car with most of our gear, including a cooler Jordan brought that contained 3 lbs of broccoli and 3 lbs of ham (leftover Easter dinner from his family). We closed out the night by watching the first half of the movie Tombstone and going to bed at about 11.
My first destination was the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Academy to take the new written test for the CrossFit level I certification. I left at about 1:30 and had to turn around right away because I realized I had forgotten to bring several books that I meant to read during the trip. My library for the trip included:
The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson
Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Exercises by Mark Rippetoe
The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain
The Warrior Diet by Ori Hofmekler
The Grip Master's Manual by John Brookfield
Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vladimir Zatsiorsky
Pose Method of Running by Nicholas Romanov
Real Stars by Ben Stein
Lincoln in His Own Words by Milton Meltzer
I made it to the IMPDA at about 3:00 and had about a half hour to kill while the certification finished up. I used this time to study over the CrossFit manual. At about 3:30, the class took a break and I made my way into the classroom. The test did not start until about 4:15. I finished it fairly quickly, took about 20 minutes. I turned it in and began the wait for everyone else to finish. I mingled with the other CrossFitters and met up with my buddy and tripmate, Matt Ryan, once he finished. We both ended up passing, so we were pleased with the experience.
We proceeded to convoy to Matt's parent's house in Columbus, IN. There we had a succulent Easter dinner of baked ham, potatoes, salad, and other fixin's awaiting us. Jordan Ralph got in a little later. We loaded up the car with most of our gear, including a cooler Jordan brought that contained 3 lbs of broccoli and 3 lbs of ham (leftover Easter dinner from his family). We closed out the night by watching the first half of the movie Tombstone and going to bed at about 11.
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