3 x 1km runs: Tyler demonstrates self-awareness

Okay, I'm gonna get really preachy. Possibly even hypocritical

I'm not a big fan of picking and choosing WODs. I believe it's sort of against the CrossFit philosophy to skip the Workout of the Day chosen by the coaches in favour of a previous day's workout unless you have a valid reason. (Worse yet are the people who choose to NOT GO TO THE GYM AT ALL because they don't like the WOD. Please don't do that. It's way better to trade WODs than not go at all.)

Valid reasons for trading WODS include, but are not limited to:
-an injury you are working around
-the WOD will negatively affect your ability to participate in an upcoming athletic event (ie. if you've got a Frisbee tournament Sunday, you may not want to do 800m sprints or boatloads of squats on Saturday and burn out your legs so you can't run.)
-you REALLY want to do the previous day's WOD because it's a benchmark like Fran against which you've been wanting to measure yourself.


Non-valid reasons include, but are not limited to:
-It's a WOD that you don't particularly like.
-It contains a skill or exercise that is a goat (all the more reason to fucking do it)


Here's where I get a bit hypocritical. I've broken these rules in the past, though not often, and me writing this could be considered my pledge to not do so again.

I bring this up because I was considering trading WODs today. When I saw that the WOD today at CrossFit Regina was a 5km run, I started planning to do yesterday's insane metcon, figuring the squat cleans were out of the question because it would take too long, given that I was working out on my lunch hour.

My thinking was that I need to get my still-substandard cardio up back up to snuff, and it's the shorter, intense WODs that would better prepare me for Saskatoon.

Fortunately, Robin had a plan in place for the folks competing in Saskatoon. CrossFit Regina is particularly good at adapting the WOD schedule for upcoming events.

Our special WOD was:

3 x 1km runs, resting five minutes in between.

Also, three sets of 10 ring dips, unbroken. (Synergy is hinting that rings are going to play a significant part in the Bridge City Beat Down WODs.)

Now, for some reason when I do runs like this, my first two times seem to be the same and my third time is a bit slower. The same thing happened the last time we did 800m sprints.

Run #1: 4:30
I actually thought to myself, "I bet I run the same time on Run #2."


Sure enough...

Run #2: 4:30

Robin noted: "That's consistent. Try for the same time on your third."

I replied: "Nope. I will be slower by 14 seconds, even though it will feel like I'm running harder."

Run #3: 4:44
I am Nostra-F'N-damus.

Last time I did 3 x 1km runs, my times were 4:14, 4:14 and 4:16.

So that's a noticeable decline. I was running straight into a strong wind during one of the longer stretches, but I don't think that is the sole or even primary reason for the decline. I could have pushed myself harder today, because I seem to recall running like zombies were chasing me back in June. That day, if I remember correctly, was a nice, cool day with a spitting rain. Today was hot, dry and windy so that may have been a bit of a factor.

But the truth is, despite the fact that I'm probably 10 lbs lighter than I was in early June, I'm simply not as fit as I've been in the past.

One thing I didn't do, which I should have, was refer before the WOD to the last time I did 3 x 1km runs, because it might have given me something to shoot for. Then again, when you're out there running, you don't have a really good concept of time and carrying a stopwatch is not something I would do.

Oh yeah, the ring dips. I had done one set of 10 unbroken ring dips before the runs and I did the other two afterward. Actually, I was a bit surprised I was able to do it. Ring dips are gonna need a little work before Sept. 10.