Don't Call it a Comeback

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Don't call it a comeback, I been here for years
Rockin' my peers and putting suckas in fear
Making the tears rain down like a monsoon
Listen to the bass go boom...
~LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out

I returned to long-distance running with this week with a run in downtown Chicago at the Hot Chocolate 15k. Happy to pin on a bib for a distance longer than a 5k--my last long race was in January--but I'm not calling it a comeback. Let's just consider it getting back on track.

Summary:
Monday: CrossFit
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 5 miles treadmill workout, Yoga with Adrienne
Thursday: Strength training, bootcamp
Friday: rest
Saturday: ran 3.1 miles
Sunday: Hot Chocolate 15k (recap to come)

Miles for October: 62.5

CrossFit: 
On Monday, I woke up in a world of hurt. RA reminding me that it's still in the house. Should I go to CrossFit or not? You know what I did. I lathered up with CBD cream and headed off to the box for class. We started off with strength work, an alternating EMOM of one hang squat clean and pushups followed by deadlifts. The door was open and I headed out into the cool air to ward off nausea. The MetCon was 4 rounds of 20 plank step-ups, 16 waiters' lunges, and SA DB hang clean and jerks. OMG. I seriously thought I might vomit. I did not and I consider that a win!

On Thursday, Coach Sammy Jo had me do that AMRAP of bench presses. Guys, I did 10 at 65#! We both agreed I could have done at least one more. She told me that again I surpassed her expectations. I was really excited! After that, we worked on snatches to overhead squats. As I've said before, the snatches are like a dance move and it continues to be a work in progress. But I did get that OH squat of 55#! Several times.

Bootcamp was a special Halloween workout. The first AMRAP was 13 minutes of 13 wall balls, 13 push-ups, and 13 box jumps (I did step-ups on a high box). I made it through 6! rounds of this. I had to modify the push-ups because my shoulders weren't having it after all that snatch work. The second AMRAP was 6 minutes of toes to bar (I did knees up),  6 pulls up (I did the blue band), and 6 squat cleans, which I did 55#. I made it through 3 rounds. The final AMRAP was 8 minutes of 100m loaded carry (I ran with my 10# wall ball), 1 lap of bear crawl sandbag drag (50#), and 5 burpees over the bag. I made it through 3 rounds of this.

The cold never bothered me...

For a while, my feet have been trying to tell me that my running shoes are not giving me adequate support when I'm lifting weights. I finally bit the bullet and bought these Reebok Nano 9 CrossFit shoes. It really is important to use sport-specific shoes. After using the new shoes on Thursday, I know I made the right decision. My feet didn't make a peep!

Running:
The weather was not conducive to outdoor running this week. On Wednesday, I was aching so badly and it was rainy and cold that I decided to take it to the treadmill. I found another treadmill class on YouTube and eaked out 5 miles. There were intervals and hills. This was a great class and the time passed quickly.  Saturday's run was outdoors. After receiving 5 inches of snow on Halloween, I was happy to see that most of it melted. My legs continue to feel good and this run went well.

Besides buying the CrossFit shoes, I also bought a new Garmin. When my sister and I were in Hilton Head, my Garmin refused to transfer data to my phone and eventually stopped finding a GPS. I tried resetting the watch multiple times, losing all my data, and still wouldn't work. It was pretty old and I finally gave up. I looked at all my choices and as much as I coveted the gorgeous Garmin Fenix 6S, I couldn't justify the price. I don't need all those features and so went with the basic Forerunner 35. It's small, it's sleek, and it does everything I need, including a heart rate monitor. I really like it!

On Sunday, I ran the longest race I've run since the Mobile Half Marathon in January. My friend Steph talked me into running the Hot Chocolate 15k with her. While this isn't one of my favorite races, I do love the distance and it was a good place to test out my endurance. I predicted I'd finish around 1:30 and yep, I did, finishing in 1:30:53. I'll share more on Tuesday when I recap the race.

How was your week? Did you dress up for Halloween? Did you get snow? Any races to share? Have you tried any treadmill classes--at home or at a studio? Any new equipment or gadgets for you lately? 

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown.