AgentsSka :: The Quest for the Spartan Trifecta Begins

[AgentsSka]

Speaking of my belly... I feel like it's a furnace in constant need of stoking today.  

 

R a v e n o u s!

[cline]

A spousal unit that rigidly sticks to the diet has to be better than one that doesn't support your eating habits though!

 

yes and no.  Mostly yes. But then he is rigid about off roading - only at xyz places, blah blah blah. 

 

Oh and he's soooooo switched over to low cal and low carb without talking to me about it. I found him out.  boo boo boo.  Not a team player.

 

Speaking of my belly... I feel like it's a furnace in constant need of stoking today.  

 

R a v e n o u s!

 

GAH!  me too.  eating tomatoes right now.

[jstanlick]

Yeah.  No beans, no rice, no tortillas, no corn chip things, no taco shells, very very limited cheese, no sour cream.  *sigh*

 

I luuuuuhhhhhvvvve tex mex.  And I love SW style mexican food.  I spent years eating it in NM as a kid.   And real mexican food - now that is tasty.

 

I actually made paleo friendly chilaquiles one time - minus tortillas and cheese.  Not the same but okay.

 

Tortillas, chips, rice...I can do without those things. Cheese, sour cream and beans on the other hand? Those are hard to turn down. But, if I get some limes, avocados, onions, garlic, cumin, chili pepper, tomatoes, peppers, dice 'em, toss 'em in a bowl and give me a spoon. No chips necessary and all primal.

 

oh I hear you!!! I wish spousal unit luhhhved tex mex.  then we could go out and do it off roading.  His off roading is fish and chips or gourmet pizza.  But he's rigid so off roading takes a lot of prodding. 

 

Pizza and fish & chips? That boy needs to learn what off roading means!

 

A spousal unit that rigidly sticks to the diet has to be better than one that doesn't support your eating habits though!

 

True, but the whole point of off-roading is to lose the rigidity.

[cline]

True, but the whole point of off-roading is to lose the rigidity.

 

exactly!!!!!  mmmm margaritas....

[AgentsSka]

It's been busy.  Time for some updates.

 

 

ha... was about to.... but inundated again.  I haven't forgotten y'all.  I'll post later.

[cline]

[AgentsSka]

Ha!  Nice!

 

It's not a tumor!

 

 

Training Update - 08.30

Hills with the November Project.  I got there a few mins late, missed the group hugs and the meeting, and saw people taking off down the hill in three separate waves.  Quickly learned that the workout was a Full Frontal (just the long front side of the hill), and your choices were to do it 3, 6, or 9 times.  Still feeling intermediate, and since every preceeding run sucked last week, I chose to do 6.

 

Felt ok.  Hamstrings were a bit tight and caused me to walk a bit of the hill each time.  That annoyed me.  But, that's the most I've done on that hill.  So, fuck it.  Win.

 

Also, noticed that the elevation graph turns out kind of pretty when you do these hills.

Need to fix that blue line though.  I'll work on that next time.

 

Also... there was a guy at this workout that was un-freaking-believable.  The guy did not appear to have an ounce of fat on his body, and was by far the fastest person I think I have ever seen workout.  He was just gliding up the hills.  The pics that were posted of the workout did not include one of him - otherwise, I'd include one here.  I may have fell in love with him a bit.  (Just go with it.)  He wasn't around at the end of the workout, else I'd have asked his name.  I'm convinced he is some sort of elite/professional/olympic caliber athlete.  Organizer wasn't sure who he was either.  But, the guy was inspirational.

[AgentsSka]

Training Update - 08.31

 

LSD Day - Finally.

 

Got up early and decided to go for a run along the Charles.  I had remembered previously reading that the Beast was going to have limited water stations, so I decided to take out my Camelback and try that on a long run to see how it felt.  At 3 liters, I knew it was going to be overkill for this run.  It was cool enough that I would have just ran it without any water normally.  But, I wanted to see what the added weight was like, how much movement it had etc.  I've hiked with the pack many times... but never ran with it.

 

I took the run rather easy.  Took some photos - nothing great - along the route.  Legs definitely felt heavy the last half of the route, but I was expecting that based on everything I had felt that week.  Plus, the weight of the pack wasn't helping.  I was definitely not a fan of running with it.

 

But, I completed the 11.5 miles and went home to have breakfast with the family.

 

I weighed the pack and it came in at 10lbs.  Fun.  Was thinking that I was probably not going to be running any race that sent me up and down ski slopes, and up ropes, over walls, etc, with an extra 10lbs on my back.  And, then I went to the spartan info site on the beast and read this:

 

Aid Stations: In a Spartan Race first, this race is largely SELF-SUPPORTED. There will only be ONE WATER STATION on this 13 mile course with zero calories available to racers. It will not be sufficient for you to rely solely on this water station for your hydration needs. This additional challenge will take the difficulty of this event to the next level; you will need to plan and train accordingly.

 

All racers will be REQUIRED TO HAVE A WATER SOURCE ON THEM at the start line in order to start the race. Yes, you read that correctly, mandatory gear in the form of a water source (camelback, bottle, fuel belt, etc). It is up to you to determine how significant of a water source you will need. We highly recommend you also have some calories with you on the course. It will take Olympic caliber athletes 3 hours to complete this race. Most of you will take 5-8 hours. If you don’t plan your nutrition and hydration properly you will risk not finishing the event and you are putting your health at risk.

 

Fuck.  

 

So, a pack or a belt is going to be necessary.  I'm going to have to play with this over the next few weeks and figure out what the hell I am going to use.  We'll see.

[cline]

hills, long run, it's not a tumor AND a bromance.  Gosh.  sounds amazing!!!! 

 

Sucks about no support for the Beast BUT think about it this way - you're getting ready to ruck!  Oh yeah!

[AgentsSka]

Training Update - 09.01

Supersets of Pushups and Pullups

 

Pushups - 22, 30, 17, 15, 15 = 99 ---gassed on the last three sets.  no idea why.

Pullups - 4, 5, 4, 4, 4 = 21

[AgentsSka]

Training Update - 09.04
 
6:30 am - Harvard Stadium with November Project
 
And, I brought the pack.
 
Workout is Frogman.  Frogman = 50 sections.  I have never done 50 sections.  And, I brought a 10lb backpack.  I brought the pack because I figure I should continue to get used to running with some weight.  And, what better place to prepare for mountainous terrain than the stairs.  Bring it.
 
I had gotten a late start this morning, hopping out of bed at 5:50.  Pop in the contacts, throw on some deodorant, fill the pack, and out the door by 6:02.  A dozen redlights and 20 mins later, I'm at the stadium.  But, not much time for a warmup.  
 
All that is to say, the first couple of sections SUCKED.  But, once the legs warmed up, I felt alright.  Just a couple sections in and the first person was commenting on me wearing the pack.  He said that he thought I forgot to take it off, and then realized I must have a purpose.  He then continued with, "Even among the crazies, there is always someone crazier."  I was proud.
 
Not sure what my first 10 sections split was because I had gotten into auto-pilot mode and next thing I knew I had done 12 sections.  That split was at 14:19 and by 20 I was at 23:51.  So, just under 12 mins/10 sections.  Not great/not bad.  Next 10 checked in at 12:22.  
 
Another cat commented that he figured I'd be losing 10 lbs out there this morning, and was expecting a 20lb swing when I took it off.  I just laughed.
 
Final 10 sections hurt and came in at 13:51.  That's right, final 10 sections.  I did 40 sections with the pack this morning and felt that was good enough.  It wasn't Rx, but it was a damned good workout.  40 sections in 50:05.  I'll take it.  
 
It's unfortunate that this equation doesn't hold true.  40 sections + 10lb pack = 50 sections.
But, I'm getting there.  Next time Frogman shows up, I'm crushing all 50 sections, biiyatch.
 
Oh and look who got a front row seat for the group photo.

[AgentsSka]

Training Update - 09.04 pt2

 

Pushup/Pull-up Superset.

 

Pushups -  14, 18, 14, 14, 17 = 77

Pullups - 3, 4, 3, 3, 5 = 18

[cline]

everyone is sitting up so straight and not smiling.... what gives? 

[AgentsSka]

The group photo is serious business at November Project.  That is the defacto group shot pose.  Good posture.  Straight serious face.

 

We did take two others - but, I'm guessing that they were too messy to post.  We all stood and made goal posts out of our arms - I'm sure that looked awkward.  And, the final pose, we turned and all pointed at the score board.

[cline]

could you guys smile or look like you like each other or that you like what you are doing? 

 

oh snap look at all the duck feet.

[AgentsSka]

We do plenty of smiles.  And hugs.  But, sometimes - the photo needs to be serious.  That photo needed to be serious.

 

 

This one - taken on a different day - was not serious, at all.

 

 

[jstanlick]

He said that he thought I forgot to take it off, and then realized I must have a purpose.  He then continued with, "Even among the crazies, there is always someone crazier."  I was proud.

You should be proud! That rocks. Embrace the weird!

 

Another cat commented that he figured I'd be losing 10 lbs out there this morning, and was expecting a 20lb swing when I took it off.  I just laughed.

I don't know if it was 20 pounds or not, but regardless, I bet the knees and ankles were happier without it on. 

 

 

Hmm, the toes on the duck's feet look pretty close to parallel to me. (Closer than my feet currently are whilst I sit here) Perhaps KStarr should call them penguin feet, or maybe bulldog paws, or desk jockey feet.

[cline]

I LOVE the second picture!  Yea!!!

 

And the duck feet think made me lmao.

 

STOP look at your feet! Duck feet?  K Starr told everyone he'd belly smack us if he caught us w duck feet - he does too.

[AgentsSka]

Damn you.

[AgentsSka]

Also - MA in the Spring.  You need to come and I'll bring you to a November Project workout or two.  You. Will.  LOVE.  IT.

 

J, that goes for you too.  Either get over here, or take a trip down to Madison for a night - just to hit up a workout.

[cline]

Damn you.

 

Ha ha ha ha - lmao

 

wait - stop - look down..... ha ha ha 

 

Also - MA in the Spring.  You need to come and I'll bring you to a November Project workout or two.  You. Will.  LOVE.  IT.

 

J, that goes for you too.  Either get over here, or take a trip down to Madison for a night - just to hit up a workout.

 

I want to get to MA in the Spring.  I kinda sorta wanta Ruck there.  Boston would be awesome for rucking. 

 

I would DIE in the november project.  Dear heavens two bum knees, a bum ankle, bum lungs... slow running... eeesh  I would die........

[AgentsSka]

It doesn't have to be a stadium run. We could do a

Monday Destination Deck after a ruck - which you would kill at!

[cline]

It doesn't have to be a stadium run. We could do a

Monday Destination Deck after a ruck - which you would kill at!

 

Oh yeah I could totally do that.  Matter of fact just did that and the captains of crush in  my office in a pencil skirt and heels....

 

(okay maybe not but the skirt and heels and the captains of crush is true - which given other threads in the forum clearly confuses me b/c I think I'm a man.... an old man).

 

but RUNNING there?  my goodness - I hope I get the joker card that is "use CPR on cline". 

 

honestly though, spousal unit and I do those types of workout whilst on the vacation.  Except he is lame and won't run unless CF tells him to. 

 

Here's my question:  "Wonder how to get trim in the middle or how to better carve that 6-pack?"

 

Is that a beer 6-pack they are talking about?  if so I'm IN!

 

Would you ruck in the spring?  full ruck?  Maybe K Dub would too.... 

[AgentsSka]

So long as the schedule works out, I would very much be down for a Ruck.

 

You think you are a man?  Now, I am confused. 

 

You could run as little as a mile each way.  And, it doesn't have to be fast!

[AgentsSka]

So, I'm reading/listening through 4 Hour Work Week.

 

Like, jstanlick, I wish that I had read this when I was a single guy in college.  Then, it would be literal transference.  But, I chose a different path.

 

So, I'm now consuming it with my current situation in mind. I can relate to his equations on being "rich."  Because,  being a divorced father of three, my time is a very valuable commodity to me.  Much more so than, the dollars. I have limited time with my children and I need to be able to absolutely maximize it.  

 

That isn't to suggest that the dollars aren't important.  Because, they are - and I need to make my money work more for me... and I need more of it.  I'm lucky to be in a situation where my job is flexible with regard to location and timing.  But, I need & want more.  And, I need to figure out the best path for my happiness.

 

I understand jstanlick's complaints about what is and what isn't in this book.  But, I'm looking forward to finishing it and applying the principals that I either learned or re-remembered, and taking action on it.  This will be fun.