Day 42 of 42 – Back Home WOD

Posted on August 28, 2011 by

Just two hours after I landed from Paris Hurricane Irene started lashing out on Philly. I barely had time to grab some basics from the store as there was absolutely no food in the house after 6 weeks. I avoided the temptation to hoard enough food to last until Thanksgiving which in retrospect was a good call as luckily Irene was mostly harmless to our town.

It took quite an adventure to get to my home box at CF KOP as the bridge next to it flooded and most roads were closed. Anyway, there is always a way… I missed the warmup and went into the WOD right away.

WOD

10 rounds for time of:

– 10 med ball cleans 20#
– 10 slam balls 25#

TIME:  well… my first DNF…

After 7 reps my lower back muscles completely cramped up and I could barely move. So there it is. My first DNF in my CrossFit journey. Still better than injury. Will do better tomorrow…

Cash Out

Practiced toes to bars and muscle up progressions. Strangely they helped a lot with the back pain.

My 42-day summer challenge ended. I’m pretty happy with the progress. Apart from the achilles tendonitis that holds me back from double unders it was a really great journey. I can’t wait for the fall challenges in CF and beyond!

Ominous clouds...


Post hurricane flooding near our CF box


These tiny turtles showed up in my pool after the hurricane...

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Day 41 of 42 – On Track in Paris

Posted on August 27, 2011 by

Got up early to make my flight back home to. Philly. In light of Hurricane Irene I’m sure by the time I land all stores will sport bare shelves as the populace tries to avoid imminent starvation…

I decided for a WOD I could do in the room and still end up on the floor.

WOD “Stay On Track”

Ladder for time of;

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Burpees
2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20 Situps

(First round 10 burpees with 2 situps and so on)

TIME: 12:16

In the end I was really looking forward to the fewer and fewer burpees!!!!

Now off to Philly!!!

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Day 40 of 42 – Rest Day and a Night in Paris

Posted on August 26, 2011 by

After 40 days traveling the globe I’m finally on my way home… Just in time to clear the yard before Hurricane Irene hits… Left this morning from Beijing and spent 15 hours traveling to Paris. A rest and wind down day today walking the Champs-Elysees and the nearby parks.

I liked this view of the Arc de Triomphe in the evening.

Sunset at the Arc de Triomphe, Paris

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Day 39 of 42 – Helen visits Beijing

Posted on August 25, 2011 by

Lots of great meetings meant lots of hours in traffic… I can’t think of any worse aerobic exercise than running in Beijing. It has been said that an hour of running on the streets is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes. Many locals do both… I stayed inside to hedge my bets and went again for JW’s mini globo-gym.

Warm-up

50 air squats
15 overhad squats 44#
5 headstands
5 handstand pushups
stretches

WOD  “Helen”

3 rounds for time of:

– 400m run
– 21 kettlebell swings (25kg)
– 12 pullups

TIME: 11:23

I settled for dumbbells as kettlebells are not yet in the dictionary here. I’m happy with my time especially since I could barely breathe the air during the run and the swings…

China Television Tower (locals call it "the pants")


Dumplings restaurant next to our office


The entrepreneur class in Beijing

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Day 38 of 42 – Beijing WOD Four

Posted on August 24, 2011 by

We had a super busy day in Beijing. Traveling anywhere in this great city involves the famous ring roads 2 and 3 (there are more). These circle Beijing and were old defense lines around the city against invading tribes. They are equally effective preventing forward movement of traffic…

Had a late night workout that almost didn’t happen…

Power

5-5-3-3-1 Overhead Squats

[44, 44, 66, 66, 88]

WOD

3 rounds for time of:

– 400m run
– 15 manmakers – 35#

TIME: 21:22

I hate manmakers even more than burpees…

More of the Forbidden City

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