AgentsSka :: Skankin Good Battle Log

[AgentsSka]

Tuesday - work got in the way and I missed my Breakfast Club crew.  Boo hiss.

 

Wednesday - It was some dude's birthday, so I went to meet up with the nerds at the Stadium.  

 

Or, we decided to throw a party at the stadium and a few hundred people showed up to celebrate RisenPhoenix's birthday.  Yeah.  I like that better.  It was fucking cold.  Not cold like Monday... fucking cold.  22Ëš with a pretty good wind chill.  Cold.

 

 

Workout was 40 sections with Firedrills.  Hamstring was a bit wonky, but I decided to give it my best shot.  Dropped the pants at the start, and probably should have kept them on to let my legs warm up a bit.  Still, I made it through all 40 sections with a couple of pauses just to stretch the muscles a bit and make sure that I didn't create any further damage to that hammy.  All told, I was fairly surprised when I finished up and I think I PR'd for 40 sections.  I need to dig deeper into this, but at 32:59 - I'm pretty sure that was a PR.  And, that included stretches and firedrills.  Yes fucking please.

 

Then we watched as the birthday people, RP included did more push-ups while we sang Happy Birthday and we took group shots.

 

Nerds at NP to celebrate the Birthday Princess:

Raptron, Princess Phoenix, TinMan, Cheech, and me creeping in the back.

[AgentsSka]

Thursday - 

 

This morning, The Breakfast Club took on Lance Armstrong.

 

What? Yeah.  We took on that doped up cheater!  Well, kinda.

 

One of our group was perusing segments on Strava and saw that he had run in on our area back in April.  Some of his segments were awfully close to some of the times we were posting.  So, we decided that we couldn't stand to be behind that son of a bitch - and chose this date to chase down one of his segments.  So, we essentially turned this mornings 6@6 into 6 miles with a one mile pick-up.  The pickup definitely helped the overall pace to be 7:14.  But, even without it, we probably would have averaged near 7:30.

 

Oh, and yeah... we (the six trying to anyway) beat the bastard.  

 

[Xena]

Love that you guys took down Lance! So awesome!!!

[AgentsSka]

For those that say I don't enjoy hanging with nerds....

Bite me. ;-)

Crap... The one that says those things is in the pic.

[RisenPhoenix]

For those that say I don't enjoy hanging with nerds....

Bite me. ;-)

Crap... The one that says those things is in the pic.

 

Clearly you weren't enjoying our company.  Everyone else in that photo is smiling, Ska!  Everyone but you!  Bastard.

 

We even brought TWO bottles of wine instead of one, you ungrateful sonnuvabitch.

 

(Also, anyone who gets a chance to have Ska make them a steak dinner, take it.  Freaking amazing dinner.  Thanks again, bud!)

[Anamal]

Dang dude, killing it as always! I'm stoked for your 2015 goal, I'm sure you'll crush it with your speedy monkey powers.

 

I love that new traverse wall, I hope they have it at the Malibu sprint next month!

 

But I get where you're coming from with not being in the right head space. I keep spacing that I have another race this season in order to earn my trifecta, but since it's a sprint and I know I'll finish I definitely haven't taken it as seriously as my previous three Spartans. Not the mind set of champions per-say.

[AgentsSka]

Great race recap. I like the new traverse wall. That should really screw with some heads over the next year.

 

Still sounds like an awesome time to me, but I totally get the disappointment. Buck Furpees! Buck 'em all!

 

The new traverse wall is fun.  I could see them having both versions at the Beast down the road...

 

Love that you guys took down Lance! So awesome!!!

 

That bastard has nothing on us!  haha

 

Clearly you weren't enjoying our company.  Everyone else in that photo is smiling, Ska!  Everyone but you!  Bastard.

 

We even brought TWO bottles of wine instead of one, you ungrateful sonnuvabitch.

 

(Also, anyone who gets a chance to have Ska make them a steak dinner, take it.  Freaking amazing dinner.  Thanks again, bud!)

 

Hahaha.  I'm smiling with my eyes.  Jeesh.  It should always be a minimum of two bottles of wine for a party of four.  

 

Dang dude, killing it as always! I'm stoked for your 2015 goal, I'm sure you'll crush it with your speedy monkey powers.

 

I love that new traverse wall, I hope they have it at the Malibu sprint next month!

 

But I get where you're coming from with not being in the right head space. I keep spacing that I have another race this season in order to earn my trifecta, but since it's a sprint and I know I'll finish I definitely haven't taken it as seriously as my previous three Spartans. Not the mind set of champions per-say.

 

Maaaalibuuuuuu!  Would love to race out there.  Go get it!

[AgentsSka]

Met up with some peeps to go for a trail run in the Middlesex Fells on Sunday morning.  It's a state park, and an area I've never run in before. 

 

 

We met up at 6am and hit it with a nice easy pace.  The first 30 minutes were dark and a bit perilous.  Next time, the headlamp will be a necessity.  It was a very pleasant morning when we started at about 48Ëš.

 

The Fells is fairly similar to another park I run in, in terms of the number of Rocky hillscapes to ascend and descend.  Things like this, for instance:

 

 

There were two "peaks" that we hit that had gorgeous views of the Boston skyline.  The first, the view was in the dark.  It was fun to see the city all lit up from that vantage point.  The second was an even better view and was in the nice morning light.

 

Overall, we were out there for about 3 hours, covering 14 miles, and 1,358 ft of elevation gain.  Here's the link to the run, if you are interested in seeing some of the data.

 

My summary isn't going to capture the fun of it. But, I loved that run with these peeps.

[AgentsSka]

It's Monday in Boston, so that means - Destination Deck!

 

Last week, it was pouring.  This week?  It was pouring again.  But, this week was about 15Ëš warmer... SO MUCH more pleasant.

 

 

I met my one of my running buddies in the city and then we ran about 3 miles to the Destination.  We grouped up into teams of 4.  Each team had combine for 800 push-ups and 800 sit-ups + 4 runs across a long bridge and back... oh & we only had 20 mins to get it done.  Only a handful of teams were able to accomplish the entire workout.  The rest of us have been encouraged to finish up the workout throughout the day... I have some more sets to do this afternoon.

 

After the hard break, I showed my ass to a friend... showing off a battle scar from yesterday's trail run.

 

And, then ran the 3 miles back to our vehicles...  Great way to start the day.  

 

 

 

However, I have a bit of hamstring tendonitis that flared up during the final couple miles of yesterday's trail run.  I'm not really surprised.  I hadn't run more than 10 miles in a go since The Beast & that was on the road.  I hadn't run more than 75 minutes in a go since then either.  Felt fine the rest of the day, just a bit achey.  

 

This morning it was definitely yelping at me a bit.  I might have to take tomorrow off and give it a breather.  I am really hoping to PR the stadium on Wednesday... hope this goes away enough to allow that to happen.

[AgentsSka]

Even though I know it was the right decision... I hate that I was not out for a run with my crew this morning on such a gorgeous day.

[QuirkyDM]

Even though I know it was the right decision... I hate that I was not out for a run with my crew this morning on such a gorgeous day.

Yeah, but now you can go PR that stadium tomorrow.

 

The Fells looks and sounds amazing. It sort of looks like you used the "paths are optional" route in your photo, too. That's pretty much the only way our family hikes.

[raptron]

Yayyy. I really like the Fells.

[AgentsSka]

Yeah, but now you can go PR that stadium tomorrow.

 

Hopefully... hopefully.

 

 

The Fells looks and sounds amazing. It sort of looks like you used the "paths are optional" route in your photo, too. That's pretty much the only way our family hikes.

Yayyy. I really like the Fells.

 

Yeah, it is awesome.  I'll be hitting those trails more in the future!

[Anamal]

Wow! So pretty! And I totally strava stalked you. Looks like an amazing run

 

Sorry to hear that your hamstring is still giving you issues. But you're right, better to rest for a little bit now than a lot later due to a full on injury. Plus all that Thanksgiving day turkey... uhhh protein for muscles, and pie and potatoes are definitely gonna... umm replace glycogen stores. So basically you're going to have to eat a lot for... healing. Yes, lets go with that.

[Muscle Professor]

Even though I know it was the right decision... I hate that I was not out for a run with my crew this morning on such a gorgeous day.

Its awesome that you have a support group in your fitness goals! 

[jstanlick]

However, I have a bit of hamstring tendonitis that flared up during the final couple miles of yesterday's trail run.  I'm not really surprised.  I hadn't run more than 10 miles in a go since The Beast & that was on the road.  I hadn't run more than 75 minutes in a go since then either.  Felt fine the rest of the day, just a bit achey.  

This morning it was definitely yelping at me a bit.  I might have to take tomorrow off and give it a breather.  I am really hoping to PR the stadium on Wednesday... hope this goes away enough to allow that to happen.

Speaking of the Beast and NP, I finally got around to watching my DVR'd recording of the Beast this year. I noticed during the shot of the open category start, someone in the front was wearing white NP gear. Two groups that started a few years ago, immortalized by NBC Sports!

 

How's the hammie?

[The Tin Man]

Heal that hammi! 

 

Uh, the one that runs NP workouts.

 

Uh, the one in your leg, not the one in Colorado.

[Anamal]

Hey bro, hows the leg healing?

[AgentsSka]

Slowly.

 

But, I did just get some therapy yesterday.  He gave me a few exercises to do and I go back on Tuesday for another round.

 

Unfortunately, that means I can't race the 5K I had planned on this weekend, however.  Which is a real bummer.  Undecided as to whether or not I will jog it, or just spectate.  Either way, I'll be hitting the bar afterwards!

 

I did go to Deck on Monday.  It's weird not running to it... Also weird, one legged burpees.

 

This morning, I hit up the stadium and did an Injury Deck with RisenPhoenix.  We banged out a deck of cards workout of push-ups and sit-ups.  And, it woke me up to get my strength training in gear.  Jeesh those push-ups were getting to be too tough.

 

So... For the next two weeks, until I can get back in the gym and actually get under the weight again.

 

 

There will be push-ups, planks, and pull-ups every other day.  Varying numbers.

 

As soon, as I can get back in the gym, I'm booting up a round of Strong Lifts for 6-8 weeks (depending on how things are going).  At some point during that time, a PLP will be activated.  And, then I'll be moving into a strength routine designed to get me primed for the Spring racing season.

 

----------------------------

 

 

Spartan Points Ranking

 

I've known my 2014 Rank for a bit of time now, but they are finally official.  I finished 266th overall and 195th Male.  To be in the Spartan 300, you have to be in the top 150 males.  I knew I came up short.  But, given that this is my first year in the Elite races, I feel it is a reasonable showing.  45 spots out.  It's one of those goals that is difficult to make (because you can't control the opposition), but I will be on the Spartan 300 list in 2015.

[jstanlick]

Pushups, Strong Lifts and 45 spots short of the Spartan 300! Sweet!!

That's almost good enough to forget about the hamstring injury. But, its not good enough. Injuries always suck. Sorry you have to sit out the race. I hope the exercises and therapy help out.

[RisenPhoenix]

Unfortunately, that means I can't race the 5K I had planned on this weekend, however.  Which is a real bummer.  Undecided as to whether or not I will jog it, or just spectate.  Either way, I'll be hitting the bar afterwards!

 

Oh good.  If you jog it I might even be able to catch up with you.  Or maybe even almost pass you!  Almost.

 

 

This morning, I hit up the stadium and did an Injury Deck with RisenPhoenix.  We banged out a deck of cards workout of push-ups and sit-ups.  And, it woke me up to get my strength training in gear.  Jeesh those push-ups were getting to be too tough.

 

Pretty sure 190 pushups and 190 sit ups in less than an hour are allowed to be tough.  At least that's what I'm going to keep telling myself.

[RisenPhoenix]

Just gonna leave this here for everyone else's enjoyment:

 

[AgentsSka]

Hahaha.  I wish the antlers were more prominent in this shot.

[Xena]

Get that hamstring better! What kind of person did you go to? Medical doctor, physical therapist, something else? I hurt mine OVER 12 YEARS AGO and I still don't think it's really right. It's "fine" ...I can obviously run on it, but it's tight in a very weird way. Not exactly sure where to get advice on it.

 

In other news, did you sign up for the trail race?

[RisenPhoenix]

Ever going to update this thing ever again, sucker?