5K Results

5K Race: 00:27:57

Beat my target time by 3 seconds.  When I rounded the bend heading for the finish line, and saw the clock was at 27:52, I just sprinted the rest of the way.

The race was hard, and I was having to push myself mentally a lot at times.  Especially the 1/4 mile after the half-way mark, when there was a long, slight incline over concrete.  Once I got into the 3rd mile it was alternating between trying to zone out but then pushing myself if I felt pace was lagging.

Training must have been on the good side as I beat my goal and never broke down along the way.  Props to Complete Human Performance and Alex Viada's programming.

Glad I did it.  Way less time than a PL meet!

Hybrid Training. Week 11. Short Tempo Run (Race Week Taper)

Tempo Run: 1 mile; 8:53

Last, race pace run before the race.  Went short distance, and slightly above pace.

Hybrid Training. Week 10. Heavy Lower

BW - 226

Squat -
up to 317.5X5, 5
247.5X6, 6

Deadlift - 247.5X5, 5

Hanging Legs - BWX8, 8, 8

Not great but not terrible.  My heaviest, consecutive sets of 5 was with 325 on the Novice LP back in January, but it took me three sessions of trying to hit that before I finally did.  After that, I switched to the TM and never did multiple heavy sets of 5 again.

Obviously, I'm not stoked about being about as strong in September as I was in January.  That's not progress.  It seems pretty clear that the higher rep work I did in March, April, and May likely didn't set the table for me to recover from meet prep and roar back to be stronger than ever.  Not sure how much I want to blame the current programming as it took me a while to iron it out and land on the 5/3/1 style progression for the main lifts that I'm currently employing.

Hybrid Training. Week 10. Intervals

Intervals - 5, 1/2 mile intervals @ ~5:00

Lost count and only did 5 when I was meant for 6.  These were all pretty hard, which doesn't bode great for my race, but I could have done a 6th.

Hybrid Training. Week 10. Heavy Upper

BW - 226

Warm-up -
Rope Pushdowns - X15
Rope Stiff-arm Pushdowns - X10

Bench -
up to 187.5X5, 5
then 147.5X12, 8

CG, Reverse Cambered Bar -
165X5
175X5
185X5
195X5
205X5
215X5

WG, Pulldowns -
Straight Weight X10, 8
Drop-Set X8, 6, 5, 6

DB Rows -
80sX10, 10
Drop-Set - 70sX10, 60sX5, 50sX5

Kind of a long session, but I just seemed to have the energy for it.

Sets of 5 on bench were a bit heavier than I expected.  I've got one more heavy session before I taper lifting a bit for my 5K.  We'll see how heavy triples feel next week.

Brought back the reverse cambered bar to see how they would feel for some extra triceps volume.  The trick here, with such a short stroke, seems to be making sure the elbows don't flare as you start to overload.  Keep it in the triceps.  I'll try 'em out again next week.

Shoulders felt too achy to want to do chin-ups, so I went with pulldowns so I could get more reps in.  Decided to go to DB rows even though they've been "light" day work.

Hybrid Training. Week 9. Light Lower, and LSR

Saturday:
BW - 225

Squats - 265X2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Pause Squats - 255X2, 2, 2, 2

 Deadlift, 3 sec. pause at knee on eccentric -
245X2, 2, 2, 2, 2

GHR Hypers - BW+45X20, 18, 10*
super-set with
GHR Sit-Ups - BWX20, 18, 15

Sunday:
Long Slow "Run" - 45 minutes walking with a 15 lb. pack.

Okay session.  A lot of tightness in the back of my left hip, so I had to be more careful on the speed squats.  It was especially tender on the Unrack, Lockout, and releasing after the Rack.

Pause Squats were all good, though.

Same with paused DLs.

I've been doing the hypers with a 45 held to my chest.  After my 2nd set, a guy worked in with me that held it above (not behind) his head.  I tried that on my last set.  I knew it would be a lot harder, and I'm actually pretty happy that I got 10!  I'll keep that approach for a while.

For the LSR day, I've been having a hell of a time motivating myself to go to the gym for incline treadmill walking, so instead I pulled some of the weight packets out of my old weighted vest, threw them in a cinched-down backpack, and took a long, brisk walk down to the beach.  So much better than being on a treadmill in a basement gym.

Hybrid Training. Week 9. Light Upper

BW - 227

Warm-up:
Cable Pushdowns - X20
Cable Stiff-Arm Pushdowns - X15

Bench  - 177.5X2, 2, 2, 2

CG Bench (4/0/0) - 157.5X3, 3, 3, 3

Rolling, EZ Bar Extensions - 80X6, 6, 6

Chest-Supported Rows - 115X8, 6, 9
super-set with
Chest-Supported Retractions - 115X10, 9, 9

Reverse-Grip Preacher Curls -
50X8, 8, 8
drop-set - 50X6, 40X4, 30X3

Face-Pulls - X20, 18, 15

Good session.  Had a lot of energy for a Friday.

Bench moved pretty fast.  I got a hand-off for all my work-sets to make sure I could stay as tight as possible.  Losing that little bit of tightness unracking myself seems to make a real difference in speed.

Added 1 sec. to the eccentric on close grips.  No problem at all.

Tried switching to rolling ez bar extensions this week.  Not sure if I got much out of them.  Will try to push them a bit more next week.

Really dug chest-supported rows to near failure into the retractions.  There was a bit of controlled thoracic extension on these as well.  My upper back was achy as shit for the next two days.

Hybrid Training. Week 9. Tempo Run

Tempo Run: 3.25 miles; 37:40

I came in almost exactly 50 seconds over target here.  Most of that happened in the first half mile where I got behind by 20 seconds.  It took me a long time to settle into a pace close to target.  Finding pace continues to be the biggest challenge for the tempo runs.

I've got one more tempo run next week, shooting for 2.5 miles as race pace (so 25 min.) and then I'll taper for the race at the end of September.

Hybrid Training. Week 9. Heavy Lower

BW - 228

Squat - 265X2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Bench - 165X3, 3, 3, 3

Deadlift -
340X1, 1, 1
295X3

GHR Sit-Ups -
BWX15
+25X10, 10

I forgot to upload my updated spreadsheet to google drive, so I had to fly by the seat of my pants here.

Turns out I was supposed to Squat 275X5, 5.  Oh well.  Got good and warmed up doing these easy doubles.

Wanted to nab the Bench back-off sets I missed on Sunday.  This was the correct weightXreps.  Moved great.

I felt good about putting in some bench between squatting and DL so that I'd have a bit more lower-body recovery.  Felt pretty good going into the pulls, and just told myself to expect slow and heavy.  They were slow and heavy, but no real doubt about completing any of the reps.  Felt pretty fried after the 3rd single, so I hit a triple and called it good.

Hybrid Training. Week 9. Intervals

Intervals - 4, 1/2 mile intervals @ ~5:00

I wanted to go for 6, 1/2 mile intervals today, but I felt awful by #4.  I think it was a combination of heat, and lifestyle over the past few days.  A good friend moved to town this week, and my sleep and diet were really disrupted for a few days afterwards.  I'll get back on course this week.

Hybrid Training. Week 9. Heavy Upper

Skipped my LSR like an asshole.  Think I paid for it later.

BW - 227

Bench - up to 205X1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Dips -
BWX5
+10X4
+20X8
+25X6

Chins, supinated - BWX7, 5, 5

Cable Rows - X10, 8, 6 (straight-weight)

I forgot to do my back-off sets on bench.  I wish I had because my shoulders and elbows felt really achy after all the heavy singles, and I would've liked a bridge to the dips.  The first rep of each dip set felt pretty awful.

Chins and Rows were fine.

Hybrid Training. Week 8. Light Lower

BW - 229

Squats - 257.5X3, 3, 3

Pause Squats - 247.5X2, 2, 2

Deadlift, 3 sec. pause at knee on eccentric -
205X3, 3
225X3, 3

GHR Hypers - BW+45X15, 15, 15
super-set with
GHR Sit-Ups - BWX15, 15, 15

Everything went pretty well here.  Squats probably still a bit slow for true speed work.

My low back was feeling a bit off, so I wanted to do a DL variation that would force me to stay light.  I decided to do these paused eccentric DLs and do them double-overhand.  At 225, the last rep was slowing down enough, and the grip was getting loose enough, that I stayed at that weight.

Hybrid Training. Week 8. Light Upper

BW - 229

Warm-up - Rope Triceps/Lats Pushdowns Superset

Bench - 167.5X3, 3, 3

CG Bench (3/0/0) - 157.5X3, 3, 3, 3

Incline, Paused Tate Press -
35sX6
40sX4, 4
giant-set with
DB Rolling Triceps -
35sX12
40sX7, 4

DB Rows - up to 80sX8, 6

Rope Face-Pull - X20, 15, 12 (straight-weight)
giant-set with
Rope Lat Pushdowns - X12, 10, 8 (straight-weight)

DB Hammer Curls - 35sX8, 7, 5 (paused on thigh)

That all looks like a lot of stuff, but it's actually just 5 things:
Barbell Bench - 7 sets
DB Triceps - 3 sets
DB Upperback - 2 sets
Cable Upperback - 3 sets
DB Biceps - 3 sets

Triples all moved nice and fast on the Speed Bench.

The 3 second eccentric with 157.5 wasn't nearly as challenging as 4 second eccentrics with 155 last week.  Kind of felt more like explosive work.

Giant-setting the Tate Press with the Rolling Triceps worked pretty well, but I was surprised how few reps I was able to get on the 2nd set.  Not sure if I should have stayed with the 35s or if I need to just start with the 40s (I'll probably do the latter).

That rope giant-set for upper back is still brutal.

Hybrid Training. Week 8. Tempo Run

Tempo Run: 2.75 miles; 31:44

Came in 18 seconds over time.  This was a brand new pace, and it was hard to get it "into my body."  So the first 1/4 mile was way too slow, and I spend the rest of the run trying to catch back up gradually.  Also, doing all the math in my head on the fly for making up a 2:51, 1/4 mile pace sucks as the fatigue builds.

Hybrid Training. Week 8. Intervals and Heavy Lower

Saturday:
Intervals - 4, 1/2 mile intervals @ ~5:00

Sunday:
BW - 225

Squat -
up to 325X2, 3
then 257.5X5, 5

Deadlift -
265X3, 3
315X1
325X1
335X1

Hanging Legs - X8, 8, 8

Jumped up to 1/2 mile intervals at target pace.  I probably could have gone for at least one more, but since I don't need to really do more than 6, there was no point in killing myself while I've still got a few weeks until the race.

On my first squat set of 325, I got over my toes on the 3rd rep and missed it.  Had no concerns about getting it on the 2nd set.  Felt pretty solid all around.  I probably could have gone for a 3rd set, but I still needed to hit back-off sets and deadlift.

For deadlift, I'd only programmed in to go up to the squat back-off weight, 257.5, but I just went to 265.  After a couple of sets, I still felt pretty good, so I did a few fatigue singles a la Paul Carter to see how things were feeling ahead of heavy deadlifts next week.  The top single felt pretty slow.  Maybe not so bad for a fatigued state.  Next week, I'm looking to pull a few singles at 342.5 fresh.  That should be do-able.

Hybrid Training. Week 8. Heavy Upper

BW - 225

Bench -
up to 195X3, 3, 3
then 152.5X6, 6, 6

JM Press - 95X5, 5, 5

CG Chins - BWX6, 5, 4

Cable Rows - X8, 7, 7 (straight-weight)

Pretty solid session.  The top sets of bench were moving a bit slow on the 2nd reps, and getting kind of dicey on the 3rds.

I'm signed up for a meet on 9/6.  It's mostly just a practice meet to get another one under my belt before doing my main meet in March.  I have to be careful about pushing the lower body lifts too hard, because I've got a 5K at the end of September, but I should be able to keep pushing the bench, and so there is a chance I could get a small, lifetime bench PR at the November meet.

Hybrid Training. Week 7. Light Lower and LSR

Tuesday:
BW - 226

Squats - up to 260X5, 5

Pause Squats - 245X3, 3, 3

Bench-Grip DL - up to 255X3

GHR Hypers - BW+45X15, 15, 15
super-set with
GHR Sit-ups - BWX15, 15, 15

Wednesday:
BW - 225
Incline Treadmill Intervals - jog 4 min./walk 2 min.; 3.6 miles; 45 minutes

Tried upping the weight on speed squats by 5 lbs., but they were slowing down a lot, so I cut it after 2 sets.  Not sure what I want to do here going forward.

Upping the weight by 10 lbs. on pause squats was fine, however.  Maybe save weight progression for the pause squats, and leave the speed squats fairly light?  Until I'm jumping off the ground?

Worked up to a top-ish triple on BG DL.  This was done double-overhand and I basically went up until grip was becoming a factor.  Movement felt pretty good on this day, and I didn't seem to have any back issues crop up in the interim.

Same with GHR Hypers.

Per the coach I consulted with from CHP, I'm going to start doing incline treadmill work for my Long Slow Run day, until my overall speed and endurance increases enough for me to do the LSR jogging outdoors.  These were boring as hell but fine.  I see my winter stretching out before me...

Hybrid Training. Week 7. Light Upper

BW - 227

Bench - up to 157.5X5, 5

CG Bench (5/0/0) - 155X4, 4, 4, 4

Incline Tate Press - up to 40sX5, 4, 3

Rolling DB Extensions - 40sX6 (immediately following last Tate Press set)

DB Rows -
60s, 70s, 80sX8
85sX5

Rope Face-Pulls - X20, 15, 12 (straight-weight)
super-set with
Rope Stiff-Arm Pushdowns - X10, 10, 10 (same weight)

Had a lot going on this last week with family in town and some other stuff.  So it has been a week since I'd been in the gym, and I'd only gotten one run in the interim.  I had A LOT of energy walking into the gym today.  Since it was a light or "speed" day, I decided to push that energy into accessories instead of the speed bench.  (which was fine)

I stayed at the same weight for the TUT close-grips as I did last time.  These were a LOT easier following speed sets of 157.5X5 then 175X2.  I threw in an extra set, because the last rep on set 3 seemed too easy.  The last rep on set 4 felt more like what I've been used to.

Tried out the Tate Press for the first time.  Probably went way to heavy.  I tried to mitigate that on the last set by taking the same DBs on jumping over to a flat bench for a set of rolling extensions.  I used an incline bench for the Tate Press, because I'd seen a video of a guy doing them that way, and thought it might hit the triceps slightly different than CG Bench.  I will either go lighter on these in the future, or do them on a flat bench and finish every set with rolling triceps.

Did some DB Rows, and they felt pretty strong.  Looking back, I've never gone over 70 on these before, so...Rep PR!

Finished off with the same rear-delt/lat superset from last week (forgot to do biceps).  Still hard as hell.

Hybrid Training. Week 7. Tempo Run

Tempo Run: 3.5 miles; 45 minutes

That's gotta be both a time and distance PR for non-stop running.  Now it's time to start progressing it.  I will reset to 2.5 miles.  I'm going to make a bigger jump than I would have expected, but based on some articles I've found on runners world, etc., it may be in range of what is recommended.  I'm going to jump from a ~00:12:50 mile pace to a ~00:11:25 miles pace.  Progress distance from 2.5 to 3.5 miles at that pace, and if that works out, I should be in range to jump to my goal of a 5K in 30 minutes.

We'll just have to see how the pace jump works for me.  For theses first weeks when progression was focused solely on distance, I forced myself to keep to about the slowest possible pace without walking.  There were often times 1/2 way through a run when I felt like I could have still increased the pace, so we'll see.

Hybrid Training. Week 7. Heavy Lower

BW - 227

Squat - up to 240X8, 8

Deadlift -
up to 310X3
then 275X3, 3
then 315X3, 3

GHR - BWX8, 7, 5
super-set with
GHR Sit-Ups - BWX12, 15, 12

Fuck deadlifts.