Today was the first day of the training program from my online coach, Alex Viada, who runs Complete Human Performance. I'll go more into who Alex is and what exactly his specialty is in another post, but trust me, the guy is a total badass and knows his stuff cold.
The workout called for a number of strict overhead presses. The main focus was on a moderate weight with lots of speed on the bar. From there, I dropped down to just the bar and did a very high rep set. PUMP CITY. That was intense.
From there, I hit a workout that was very CrossFit-esque. 6 rounds of moderate rowing, followed by a short sprint, some dumbbell rows and presses and then burpees. This was over 20 minutes and was something that was pretty outside my comfort zone, given that I have about a 2 minute engine from training for Strongman the last 4 months. I managed to move through at an ok pace and was happy overall with it.
This is where the workout went south. Any rower reading this will shudder at what happened next.
I had to rest 5 minutes.
Then I pulled a 2k test...
That's right. Post college rowing, I sat down and pulled a 2k, by myself. And I was pretty exhausted before I started.
My time wasn't great. It was 7:22. Pretty horrible considering I weigh 20lbs more than I did in college and my old PR was 6:20.
But I don't feel bad about it. I've spent the last 4 months training for something that isn't aerobic at all. I've just been training pure strength. I was the more tired before this piece than any other time I've done a 2k, BY FAR. I sat down to pull something that takes a piece of your soul every time you do it, and I've done it 100 times. There was no reason for me to do it, other than the fact I have set out to achieve a new 2k pr, while advancing my powerlifts (squat, deadlift, bench) to higher levels. I could have said screw it, thrown in the towel halfway or just madeup a score and sent it to my coach.
But I didn't do any of that. I sat down, negative splitted the piece, finishing stronger than I started. With the 5:30 class warming up behind me at CrossFit 518, there was never any doubt I'd finish. I watched splits that would have been challenging for a 20k in 2012, mock me for 2k. I got it done, put the handle down and remember that feeling that all rowers know so well. Part burning, part weezing, 100% relief. The members were a bit concerned, but I assured them I was fine. It isn't that often the people I coach get to see me go to the place I try to push them daily, and I think that moment is an important one that brought us closer. They know I'm willing to walk the walk and not just talk. That sort of respect for a coach is invaluable.
Today was not a day of huge PRs, monumental gains or mental breakthroughs. It was just a get it done day. A day where you just need to see where things stand. There is a very bright silver lining to days like today however. Its only up from here...
