CROSSFIT ENDURANCE – JUST DO IT!

This week we are starting a new cycle of CrossFit Endurance (CFE) training. This cycle will have many partner and team WODs in order to help people preparing for the Heart of America competition (or other local competitions such as the Battle for Courage in St. Louis in August). In the past, some athletes have been reluctant to attend CFE WODS – probably because they think that they are only for “runners” or people who are training to do long distance events (Triathlons, 5K+ races, etc). In truth, however, ANY CROSSFIT ATHLETE CAN BENEFIT FROM CFE! Here are some potential benefits of CFE training, even for individuals who never intend to participate in any endurance events… 

1. Running is a functional movement. It is a basic skill in both CrossFit and life. All of us will have to move our bodies from point A to point B everyday for the rest of our lives, even if we never run a 5K. Many people have, however, developed poor habits and inefficient mechanics. As a result, loads of people complain that running causes pain (shin splints, bad knees, back pains). Learning how to run efficiently and with good mechanics will allow you to run further, faster, using less energy and with less risk for injury.
2.  Metabolic conditioning is one of the foundations of CrossFit. Without good cardiovascular strength, you lack the “engine” that you need to keep going during regular CrossFit WODS. Particularly during longer workouts (aka Chippers), many athletes may find themselves winded and having to take more breaks than they would like. By doing CFE, you are helping to build a stronger, more efficient engine that will help improve your performance on the daily WODs. We have had several athletes tell us that doing CFE WODs have helped them improve their scores on WODs like “FRAN”, “FIGHT GONE BAD”, and the “FILTHY FIFTY”.
3. Many athletes worry that doing endurance training will cost them gains in their strength. Traditional endurance training (i.e running long distances all the time) has been proven to interfere with development of strength and flexibility. CFE, however, uses interval training as the basis for helping athletes build endurance and speed.  Unlike traditional endurance training, interval training does NOT impede the development of strength or flexibility. In other words, you can go faster, longer, and still get stronger.
4. If you are a competitive athlete, you should be prepared for endurance events to show up during CrossFit competitions. Many athletes were surprised (and upset) to discover that the 2014 Tanger Throwdown included a 5K as one of the events. The CrossFit Games routinely includes endurance events in their programming (i.e. half marathon row, trail run, Camp Pendelton Triathlon, etc). Last year, Jason Khalipa dramatically improved his scores at the CrossFit games by including CFE WODS in his training program. If CFE is good enough for the world’s best CrossFit athletes, it is good enough for you!
5. Finally… CFE is fun! We have a great group of regular athletes who are supportive and welcoming. We have a great coaching staff that will help people scale workouts as needed. CrossFit Springfield has a well organized and proven CFE program – something many other local gyms do not have. So why not take advantage of this great opportunity? Drop in and see us sometime at CFE!

Check out this video detailing Jason Khalipa’s incorporation of CrossFit Endurance training to improve his performance at last year’s  Games.

This Week’s WODs

Short Interval (Mon 5pm/Tues 10am):  8 x 400 with 2:00 rest between efforts (hold 3-5 seconds)

C2:  8 x 500m Row with 2:00 rest between efforts (hold 3-5 seconds)

Long Interval (Thurs 10am/5pm):  4 x 1200 with 3:00 rest between efforts (hold 3-5 seconds)

C2: 4 x 1200m Row with 3:00 rest between efforts (hold 3-5 seconds)

Announcements:

1. Are you signed up for Dogwood Canyon this year? If you are, and you’re interested in the CFE Dogwood Training Plan, please email Jen C at jencochran72@gmail.com for an e-copy of the plan. Ask any coach for details!

2.  Please…without fail…sign in to Wodify when you attend Endurance class. The owners rely on this information to track attendance, determine resources needed, etc. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Your coaches will help to assure you’re all signed in! While you’re at it…

3. Don’t forget to record your times/performance in Wodify! This is imperative if you’re to track your progress over time. Wodify makes it SO easy! Remember…you should denote your performance as “Rx’d” IF you have completed the WOD exactly as written, including having completed all rounds, held the prescribed intervals (i.e. 3-5 seconds), and rested the prescribed time between intervals. This is a group that really push one another–so don’t lead your pals astray and post all crazy! 🙂

4.  Like our Facebook page, “CrossFit Running”, for up-to-the-minute information and updates!

Special Guest Column…Elizabeth Koch Talks Tackling the Full Marathon

Hey CFE family! You guys are looking so good on FB these days. I am so proud of how far CFE has come at CFS and how it has impacted you guys as both endurance and CF athletes.  A few weeks ago, Karen Harris came to visit me in SoCal and we both ran in the Rock and Roll Marathon (I’m still waiting for the rest of you clowns to visit!). Your fearless leader and rock star coach, Jen C, asked me to share a few words of wisdom post-marathon. So here is a little background into my training and goals for the R&R, and some things I learned. My hope is to encourage some of you to take that step into running a half or full marathon and take some of the fear out of it.

When Karen told me she was planning to come visit, we were about a month out from the race. I had no intentions of running the R&R, but if she were going to come all this way to run–I wasn’t going to just stand at the start line and hold her sweatshirt for her… I had to run, too! And, if I was going to pay the money and get up that early, then I might as well just run the freakin’ full marathon! Well, somewhere in my decision to run the marathon and planning Karen’s trip out here, I got a wild hair up my butt to see if I could try to qualify for the Boston Marathon. The R&R would be my 3rd marathon ever and my first in almost five years. My previous marathon PR time was 3:58. To qualify for Boston I needed to run a 3:35.… which is a blazing 8:12/mile pace. Every race calculator I went to online said I could do it based on my past racing times, but I was not so confident. Oh, and minor details–I had a month to “train”. This right here is the beauty of CF and CFE training. My month-long training plan consisted of a handful of SI and LI workouts, two 10-mile tempo runs and a 15-miler (because Jen C told me to!). I most definitely could have benefited from more time to train but whatever, right!  So here are some of the things I learned during my recent race that I really wanted to share with you guys:

1. “The Wall” does not exist! The infamous “wall” you have all heard about while running a marathon is a fictitious thing that only exists for runners who hydrated and re-fueled poorly early on. I learned this big time! In the past two marathons I have run I most definitely “hit the wall”, but I just figured that was what happens when you run a marathon. Mile 20 comes, you hit the wall, you gut it out and then you live to tell the story to all your friends about how horrible it was and blah, blah, blah….. in reality your body is crashing from not properly being fueled throughout the race. So this time I forced myself to re-fuel early and often in addition to hydrating at every aid station. I started around mile four and continued every 2-3 miles all the way till the last mile. Its that burning fire analogy, fuel the fire slowly and steadily as opposed to letting it die and then throwing a bunch of gas on it when its almost dead. So what did I use for fuel???….

2. These…… I LOVE these…….

These were a total fluke when I tried them the first time, but they worked so I stuck with them for the race and I was a big fan in the end. Right before my 15-mile training run I ran into the store to try to get some honey stingers, but they didn’t have any so I reluctantly picked these up for my training run and was pretty pleased with how they worked. The key is steady carbohydrate intake. The general recommendation is 30-60g of carbohydrate/hr. I was probably taking in around 30-35g of carbs/hr.. These Vega gels are essentially a liquid Larabar, made primarily with dates and electrolytes and they sat well with me and provided me with 22g of carbohydrate per pack. I used six of them during the course of my race, starting at mile 3-4 and using the last one on mile 26! Now remember, race day nutrition is highly personal so I am not recommending you all run out and use Vega gels but I am recommending that you find what works best for you and your digestion and use it early and often, always chasing it with some water to aid in digestion.
3. Pacing…. pacing.. pacing! If you haven’t learned the importance of pacing and being consistent then its time to go back to water aerobics. I had one of THESE on my wrist during the race and I stuck with a pacing group the whole time to try to help me meet my goal. This is again where your CFE training becomes so valuable. I encourage you all to pick a goal pace next time you race and utilize one of these bracelets. If your goal is “just to finish” then fine, but pick a pace to help you achieve that and stick to it. We are no strangers to intervals and knowing how to stay consistent. I stayed three minutes ahead of my pace all the way till the end when I hit a mile-long uphill, gained back those three minutes, and then lost my pace recovering on miles 21 and 22.
4. “Look up”, “relax your arms”, “pull, pull, pull”, “nose over your toes”. You have all heard us preach it to you and things were no different during my race. When the wheels started to come off or my mind drifted, I came back to the same coaching cues I have used with all of you.
5. The final thing that I learned and I want to share with you is my new love for marathon racing and my changed attitude about the marathon race. The key to the half marathon and the full marathon is pacing, nutrition and not fearing the distance. Your body is much stronger than you think and we all have some runner in us, regardless of what you may say about yourself. I finished the R&R in 3:38….. three minutes off my goal time of 3:35 and a Boston Qualifying time for my age. I am pissed that I was only three minutes off, and if it weren’t for that mile-long hill I would have done it. But, I am also amazed that I came that close. I doubted myself big time and I showed myself that I most definitely can do it and I will next time! Stay tuned for Part II this Fall when I run another marathon and DO qualify! Believe in yourself, eat a good breakfast, and re-fuel early and often.

Miss you and Love you all- EK

PS…. now come visit me!

GREAT article, EK! Thank you SO much!

This Week’s WODs

Short Interval (Mon 5pm/Tues 10am): 3 x 400 with 2:00 rest, 4 x 300 with :90 seconds rest, 6 x 200 with :60 seconds rest

C2:  3 x 500m row with 2:00 rest, 4 x 375m row with :90 seconds rest, 6 x 250m row with :60 seconds rest

Long Interval (Thurs 10am/5pm): “Short and Clean Mudder”:  Run 400, 2 wall climbs (7′), Run 400, 15 over-unders with stick (24/20″), Run 400, 1 monkey bar traverse, Run 400, 200m Prowler sled push (4 x45/4×35), Run 400, 15 pullups, Run 400, 200m sandbag carry (90/70), Run 400, 15 box jumps (30/24), Run 400, 2 wall climbs (7′)

C2:  “Short and Clean Mudder”:  WOD as above, replace 400m run distances with 500m rows

Summer…in the sunshine. 🙂

Announcements:

1.  NEXT WEEK! Get ready for the announcement of our 2014 CFE Dogwood Training Plan!

2.  Please…without fail…sign in to Wodify when you attend Endurance class. The owners rely on this information to track attendance, determine resources needed, etc. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Your coaches will help to assure you’re all signed in! While you’re at it…

3. Don’t forget to record your times/performance in Wodify! This is imperative if you’re to track your progress over time. Wodify makes it SO easy! Remember…you should denote your performance as “Rx’d” IF you have completed the WOD exactly as written, including having completed all rounds, held the prescribed intervals (i.e. 3-5 seconds), and rested the prescribed time between intervals. This is a group that really push one another–so don’t lead your pals astray and post all crazy! 🙂

4.  Like our Facebook page, “CrossFit Running”, for up-to-the-minute information and updates!

This Week’s Prowler WOD (sort of) brought to you by…

If you’re racing Dogwood…you don’t wanna miss this week! Prowler work is an excellent way to get you in shape for this type of race. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for your Dogwood Training Plan–brought to you by your CFE coaches! 3,2,1…GO!

This Week’s WODs

Short Interval (Mon 5pm/Tues 10am):  Run 100, 10 burpees, Run 100, 9 burpees, Run 100, 8 burpees, Run 100, 7 burpees, Run 100, 6 burpees, Run 100, 5 burpees, Run 100 4 burpees, Run 100, 3 burpees, Run 100, 2 burpees, Run 100, 1 burpee, Run 100  🙂

C2:  Row 125, 10 burpees, Row 125, 9 burpees, Row 125, 8 burpees…

Long Interval (Thurs 10am/5pm):  200′ Prowler push (4×45 men/4×35 women), Run 1000, 21 thrusters @45lbs, 150′ Prowler push, Run 800, 15 thrusters @45#, 100′ Prowler push, Run 600, 9 thrusters @45#

C2:  WOD as written above, replace run with row (same distances)

CFS Athletes Jason and Amber Dinwiddie proudly display proof of their Dirty Bird Race domination! Congrats to all those who participated!

Announcements:

1.  Stay tuned next week for a special guest column, authored by our long, lost friend and coach–Elizabeth Koch!

2.  Please…without fail…sign in to Wodify when you attend Endurance class. The owners rely on this information to track attendance, determine resources needed, etc. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Your coaches will help to assure you’re all signed in! While you’re at it…

3. Don’t forget to record your times/performance in Wodify! This is imperative if you’re to track your progress over time. Wodify makes it SO easy! Remember…you should denote your performance as “Rx’d” IF you have completed the WOD exactly as written, including having completed all rounds, held the prescribed intervals (i.e. 3-5 seconds), and rested the prescribed time between intervals. This is a group that really push one another–so don’t lead your pals astray and post all crazy! 🙂

4.  Like our Facebook page, “CrossFit Running”, for up-to-the-minute information and updates!

Coming Soon!!! Are YOU signed up???

Find event details and registration info HERE for the Dirty Bird Adventure Race 2014–an individual OR team event to benefit the Glendale High School Softball Team! The event takes place Saturday, June 7th with “flights” (heats) starting at 7:30am.

Although the website states registration had closed on May 30th, it has in fact been EXTENDED to race day!

Rates are $65 for a team of two, or $55 for individuals. This looks to be a fun and challenging obstacle race event. Don’t miss it!

This Week’s WODs

Short Interval (Mon 5pm/Tues 10am): 5 x 400 with 90 seconds rest between efforts (hold 1-3 seconds)

C2: 5 x 500m Row with 90 seconds rest between efforts (hold 1-3 seconds)

Long Interval (Thurs 10am/5pm): 3 x 1600 with 5:00 rest between efforts

C2: 5k row for time

POP QUIZ!!!

Who PR’d her FULL marathon by TWENTY MINUTES today???!?!

A. Elizabeth Koch

B. Elizabeth Koch

C. Elizabeth Koch

D. All of the above

THE ANSWER IS D!!! Congrats, EK!

Announcements:

1.  Stay tuned for details on a Dogwood training plan! We’ve got some trail training up our sleeves!

2. Like our Facebook page, “CrossFit Running”, for up to the minute updates and information!