Monday, yeah

Monday. Have I mentioned before how much I have grown to like this day? It is a condensed start, a new beginning every seven days, a weekly refresher. Ready for this week? OK Go.

With twangy hamstrings and some minor patella soreness on port side (from yesterday's off-road in the snow, ice and rain brick) we HIT the ground running this morning at 0530 for our weekly ceremonial practice of 'the good start'. The day's testing protocols consisted of a series of 60 second 85% of ftp intervals followed up with sub-threshold alternating sits and stands. Great workout. I am quite sure that all this HARD WORK will translate to improved power and faster times come next CompuTrainer testing. Did I use full-on cap mode to emphasize the importance of HARD WORK effectively enough? Was the volume sufficient? Did you hear? Please allow me to take it one step further. Another name for magic, and probably more accurate, is hard work. That is what creates results and the achievement of goals. Of PRs and PBs, of victory and deep appreciation of the process. The ability to enjoy EVERYTHING, to embrace, accept and befriend the tangent effort and tactile sensations created during the process of growth. We also sometimes refer to this wonderful phenomena as suffering. And to a great degree your success will come from your ability to manage this flow-state. As in, how long can I stay here? Here being a zone, a level, a number a data point. Whichever one (or ones) happens to be accessible at the time of execution. The only magic involved with training at 85% comes from the endorphin mix in your blood as heart pumps, lungs deliver and muscles produce under stress. And that, dear friends, is more fun that pulling a rabbit out of your hat.

And speaking of hard work, rabbits and visiting the Magic Kingdom, and I don't mean Disneyland, I was asked for an opinion on Cross-Fit. Which is kinda like asking Phil Knight for an opinion on Adi Dassler. In as much as ego (or hard-nosed business acumen, take your pick) might elicit a round of mud-slinging as knee-jerk first response (see Newt, Mitt and Ron run), and because we all know that if you have a flaw, blem or skeleton in the closet, you discredit the opposition first and promote yourself second, a objective opinion on this touchy subject is asking a lot. Nobody, and no thing is perfect. But therein lies the rub. My opinion is totally objective. The only objection I have with CF is the way that they promote themselves by targeting us as the defacto bad guys. They have created us (traditionalists, purists, triathletes, masters) as their targeting point of marketing. A way of saying this is better than that. They are the aggressors, slinging mud and fostering the negative 'our way or the highway', 'you're either with us or against us' immature mentality. And that is the issue I have, NOT because what they teach, preach and sell is snake oil. Because it ain't. It is good stuff. Explosive power? Core strength? High intensity? Have you ever heard me say that a stronger, fitter athlete stands a better chance of success? Have we heard all these terms somewhere before? There doesn't have to be a bad guy. It can all be good. Let's cut the crap. They want your money, and I want your health and fitness (and still stand firmly in the camp of strength training). Here then, is the RCVman semi-litmus test:

If you are buying the hype, and think cerebrally that this is something you should do because it will make you faster, do it. Try it and see. Find out first hand. When you recover from your injuries, a couple of thousand dollars later, we'll pick up where we left off. (You rolled your eyes didn't you?)

If you have achieved, through diligent practice, a heightened sense of total body awareness and then staged a dialog with your physical self, the results indicating that additional strength is necessary for improvement, do it. Start tomorrow. Go in whole hog. When you discover at mile 80 of your ride that no kettlebell will replace the practice of sitting for five hours producing 200+ watts of efficient power as preparation for a 26 mile run, we'll pick up where we left of. Truly, you will be wiser from the experience. Maybe even more fit. But maybe not as race-ready. Why?

The term is specificity. It means exactly what it implies. Sport specific. To mimic the motion. Get good at what you want to do. If you are a triathlete that means, swimming, biking and running. I am not a professional athlete, I have limited time available to train and recover. Adding CF, for me, is not an option. I have zero interest in competing in a CF event. I already do most of this stuff at home between chores as is. Still, it is your choice. I encourage experimentation. Nothing magic about it. It is all hard work. And that's good.

There are many paths. Many roads leading to the same place. I follow one. That is MY path. You must find your own. I do not begrudge or hate an opposing viewpoint. This is not about that. I have no agenda other than to refine and perfect what I have already proven to be successful, and to offer it to others as the voice of experience. There is no duality. I will not argue that one method is better than another. Everybody responds differently. I do have one request, however:

If you choose to experiment please do it with respect and awareness. Do it with joy and peace. Not because of a slick marketing campaign with the agenda of making somebody else the bad guy.

Here is the link to the article in Runners World. And another from CFHQ.

More on the magic of 85%

More yet, with some cool charts and explanations.

Monday. Yeah.

Pix: Saturday afternoon in the HoM: EJ, Tony, Jeff and Garry. Back to the track and more of the same. From Runners World, the gal is not the goal, please keep this in mind.