Portland Rock 'n' Roll/Upcoming Races

Let's take a little trip down memory lane.

This spring, Jared and I ran the inaugural Portland Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon.  (If you are not interested in a 5-month late post, scroll to the bottom to see what's on the horizon.)

I trained by loosely following the CrossFit Endurance blog.  (I say loosely because I did WODs at my box instead of their prescribed WODs.  And because I was busy and missed some of their outlined training.) 

It was spring in the Northwest when we started training.  At the time I was also volunteering with my musical theatre class, going to hot yoga several times a week, and CrossFitting regularly.  (Oh, and that full time job thing.)  But we had signed up for the run a year in advance because we love Portland, and the entrance fees were on sale!

Needless to say it may not have been the best time to train for a half, which is why the CrossFit Endurance approach seemed fitting.  Most of the runs are short but brutal, and the idea (in my perception) is that you are packing the intensity of "normal" training into less time.  This meant my longest runs were on the weekend and fairly comparable to other long runs, but my mid-week runs were usually some sort of programmed speedwork (example:
"Run (TUE): 4-8 x 400m, rest 1:30, hold within 3-5 seconds" - so in this case you're only covering 1-2 miles total).  This saved me planning long routes and allowed me to get a lot of running done on the treadmill at my office...which was great since doing track work at that time of year reminded me of the story of Noah's Ark...ya know, where God floods the earth:

The water came up to my ankles at parts of the track



I felt pretty good going into the race.  My previous times for a half were 2:04 and change for the Kirkland Half and 2:05:48 for the Bend Half.  I was reasonably optimistic about breaking 2 hours since I felt like I was in better shape all around than my previous races.

However, it was not to be...we started out too fast for me to maintain, and one thing I had not expected was that my lungs had benefitted from the condensed intensity, but my FEET had not built up their usual toughness.  Partway through the race I had enormous blisters and each step became excruciating.  I told Jared to finish without me when we were about halfway.  Highlights included onlookers with boomboxes playing "Thiller" and "Footloose" (one of my all time faves).  The bands themselves I found disappointing...perhaps because much of the time I seemed to arrive just after a song or set.

Then, a few miles from the end, my knee problem from the previous December kicked in with a vengence (likely because the blisters were throwing off my gait).  I was actually crying at mile 11 because my knee hurt to run, but then if I walked my blisters would hurt for that much longer.  Luckily at that point one of my favorite coworkers caught me.  Her plan was to go slow and walk through all the remaining water breaks. 

I finished with her in one ugly piece at 2:17:29, over 10 minutes slower than my previous times. 

Jared was able to break 2 hours, clocking in at 1:56:17 - so glad I encouraged him to push on alone!

I could barely walk around in the pouring rain to get my awesome swag.  I was impressed that they had "rain ponchos" ready for all of us and great goodies in addition to our medals.

The rest of our trip to Portland was amazing:

Delicious!

Nike store - duh

We hit up lululemon as well as Nike, and in addition to great gear, I got a free headband since lulu was giving them out if you'd run the race!

We read about the Sunshine Tavern in a magazine of Jared's and it was absolutely incredible. 

Fresh air seating

Ginger ale shanty

Dessert as an appetizer

I beat Jared at one of the arcade games!

The enormous burger we split

We spent the first night (before the race) at the Hotel Fifty, since it was affordable and right between the start and finish lines.  The second night, we splurged on a Starlight Guestroom at the Hotel Vintage Plaza.

It was too rainy and cloudy to see the stars, but I was so sore and blistered from the race, that we pretty much spent a day reading and eating snacks in the hotel room.  It was awesome to have so many comfy places to sit and all the gorgous natural light! 

We went out for Stumptown, and I even got coffee!  I'm usually a tea drinker, but this stuff was just delightful.

We woke up early on the final morning to beat the line for Voodoo Doughnut - we planned to go on our first day, but the line looked like Disneyland! 

SO worth it.

Our swag from Nike, lululemon,
Voodoo Doughnut, and Powell's Books!

While the trip as a whole was absolutely amazing, the race for me was horrible.  Nothing like crying on the course and then limping to lunch afterwards with some friends who also ran the race.  I was miserable and felt like CrossFit Endurance had kinda let me down.  I was sure that I would not be running. Ever. Again.

Well, after about 5 months of focusing on other things like paring down my schedule to something reasonable, I have not one, but THREE races on the horizon.

October: Pumpkin Push

 I ran this with friends in 2010 and volunteered with a friend in 2011.  This year, I'm doing both!  (Seriously, they let you run for free and give you a tee shirt!  All you have to do is be there at 5am...oh wait.)  Here's the inspiration for my costume:

I'm stoked! 

November: Winter Pinapple Classic

I ran this with Jared in 2008, 2009, and then missed running it in 2011 because I got the days wrong.

Still dating in 2008...with our pineapple baby!

This time, we will be running as part of a big team with our Mercer Island CrossFit family!  This Hawaiian-themed event is all for a good cause as 100% of the proceeds benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). Please support us by going to www.winterpineappleclassic.org and clicking donate. Type in my name or Mercer Island CrossFit and then donate to the cause. Thanks for your support in the fight against blood cancers!

December: 12ks of Christmas

This has been a holiday tradition for Team Matson ever since we got married. Jared is not huge on Christmas, but he loves running with me and so this was a great thing to start doing in 2009.  2010 we ran again just the two of us, and in 2011, we roped our family in as well!

I'm hoping to have one of my best friends join us this year - this is the only race of the three that I'll really have to train for - eek!


You tell me: Any races coming up for you?  Have you ever cried during a race?  Do you have a favorite VoodDoo Doughnut?

The Last of the Open/CrossFit Endurance

The End of the 2012 CrossFit Games Open

Go team!  Us after Open WOD 12.4

Many thanks for all the congratulations I've received this week on my newfound inch! 

While I'm not laboring under any misconception that further bicep curls will propel me to NBA heights, I'm really quite pleased and almost amused.  If I had know at age 13 the effect of good health on a person's stature, I would have started working out long ago!

My 5' 2" self (and my taller half) have now officially completed our first CrossFit Games. 

So nice to have a built-in workout buddy!

I have to say that my favorite of the 5 workouts was WOD 4:  

Workout 12 . 4

MEN - includes Masters Men up to 54 years old

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
150 Wall balls (20lbs to 10' target)
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle-ups

WOMEN - includes Masters Women up to 54 years old

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
150 Wall balls (14lbs to 9' target)
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle-ups

One of my least favorite CrossFit exercises has always been wall balls.  I dread them, in part, because I tend to end up with a medicine ball falling smack into my face.  I usually use a 10lb ball for whatever workout we are doing on a given day at the box.

Somehow, with the comraderie of having the hubby there and our friend Joel judging my reps and cheering me on, I managed to get through 90 wallballs with the 14lb ball.  I was so proud of myself!  (And this was less than 30 minutes after running 5k to get to the box from work!.)

Jared was a total beast and made it through some of the muscle-ups before our time ran out:

The best part is, I no longer dread wall balls.  I know that the odds of Coach Corey coming up with a 90+ wall ball WOD are very slim, so I feel like after WOD 12.4, I can do anything!

I'm so glad I let Jared and Coach Corey talk me into the CrossFit Games Open this year.  It pushed me to try things I normally wouldn't (toes to bar, the 20" box, 14lb wall balls), got me even more involved with the CrossFit community (cheering on folks at our box and our sister box in Stoneway), and gave our marriage another challenge (communicating about no-reps and expectations for a WOD SO applies to real life).

Next year, my goal is to RX every Open WOD movement.  This year, there were some where I had a very low score or no score at all because I couldn't handle the weight (WOD 3), or couldn't do unassisted pull-ups (WOD 5) or double-unders (WOD 4).  (Almost wrote double undies...I guess wise if you expect to soil your pants mid-WOD?) 

I realize it might take me more than a year to get to muscle-ups...but at least I have something to strive for! 

CrossFit Endurance

Obviously since the Open is over, we are on to the next big event on the health-and-fitness horizon.  (Well, for Jared, baseball season is starting up, and he's got his first triathlon of the year on Sunday - wish him luck!)  But for me, it's the Portland Rock'N'Roll Half Marathon in May.

I have done 2 half marathons to date...one in Kirkland and one in Bend, OR.  I used the Fitness magazine training plan for both - great resource.  It incorporates speedwork, long runs, rest days, cross-training, and recovery runs.  However, it has the trainee running 4-5 days per week.  And unlike Ali On The Run, it is not my workout-of-workouts-favorite-way-to-sweat. 

Training + helping to fight Crohn's

Currently, I run 1-3 days a week...emphasis on the 1.  I focus more on hot yoga and CrossFit, and of course, my weekly racquetball dates with my dad and friends at the J.

Because, like all y'all, I have a busy schedule as it is, I couldn't add in my go-to training plan without cutting a lot of box jumps and downward dogs out of my life.  Which I don't want to do.

CrossFit is addictive, people!

And so, either out of laziness or craziness (or a generous combination of the two?) I decided I would try CrossFit Endurance and toss traditional training out the window. 

This means, in my case, I'll keep coming to our box for the "strength and conditioning" piece of the training, 3 x per week, and then I'll pick an endurance WOD to do 3 x per week. 

And I get to keep hot yoga and racquetball and the shred of sanity to which I still cling.

All pumped for yoga and sanity!

I am feeling pretty stoked about this plan.  I am a spreadsheets, plans, and rules kinda gal.  In previous training I have stressed out if I couldn't follow the training schedule precisely.  Now, I have no precise training schedule to stress about!  (Although I'm a champion at manufacturing stress, so never fear.  Freakouts will ensue at random but consistent intervals.)  I just have 6 workouts to get in each week, and I can even do 2 on the same day if need be, provided they are at least 3 hours apart.

Last night, I dragged my butt out of the office and went to run in the gorgeous weather at the park.  I jogged the 5 minutes down as a warm-up, and commenced my first official CFE WOD.  And thought I might die.

Here's part of an email to a friend who asked about my run since I don't have any photos of my near-death expeience.

"It was SO HARD!!!  Not counting jogging to and from the park...I ran a grand 9 minutes.  The workout was 1 minute at 95% effort followed by a minute of rest...times 9.  The first set was like, 'Oh, this isn't so bad' but by the end I was dying!!!  Nice to have it only take 18 minutes, though..."

Since I am blogging today, you will be happily assured I did not die.  The workout was UNBELIEVABLY hard for running a grand total of 9 minutes.  But boy did they convince me that you will be ready for a half marathon with these WODs.  I can run 5 miles and not feel as beat as I did last night.  And that would take me close to an hour.

Here's to saving time and sweating hard.  Happy Tuesday!!!


You tell me: Are you training for anything in particular?  Or taking a well-deserved break?  Ever tried CrossFit Endurance?  Tips?  Warnings? Amazing PR success-stories?

My Fitness Story/The Inch I was Proud to Gain

Real life = limited posting ops.  So here's a good long one.  Enjoy!


Most people start working out with some sort of goal in mind...I wanna lose 10 pounds, I wanna lose body fat, I wanna lose an inch or more off my waist...


I was no different.  In the summer of 2010, I realized that my first year of marriage, while a very happy one, had included a significant decrease in the intensity and frequency of my workouts...and a significant increase in my consumption of pasta and late night nachos.  We've never owned a scale, and I haven't ever been highly concerned about my weight...so my wakeup call came before a trip to the beach with my mom.  I decided to throw on a pair of boardshorts over my bikini. 


My husband had bought the boardshorts for me on our honeymoon in August of 2009...and here I was in August of 2010, unable to get the waist to fasten.

The fateful board shorts...Maui 2009

I kept calm (big deal for me, folks!), grabbed alternate swim gear, and enjoyed the beach...and then sobbed in Jared's arms when he got home that night.  He was, as always, understanding, supportive, and wise.  As the wailing subsided and I started listed all the changes I was going to start making to get back in shape, he told me, "I think that you are beautiful.  I like how you look right now.  If you want to do [x, y, and z], I think that's fine.  But I want you to know I like how you look now."

This guy is my hero

Jared was not a certified personal trainer at that point...he was still finishing up his undergrad work in biochemistry.  But he knew a ton about nutrition and fitness and often shared his knowledge with others.  It meant the world to me that he supported me...but didn't go all Bob Harper on me and lay out a plan.  In the following months, he offered advice whenever I asked for it.  But he never once asked me, "So...don't you have to get to the gym?" or "Do you think you should be eating that?"


I started eating breakfast within 30-60 minutes of waking up...instead of two hours later when I got to work.  I went from eating every five hours to eating smaller meals/snacks every three hours.  I upped my water, protein, and produce intakes.  I started a google spreadsheet to track workouts and progress (nerd - can't help it).  I started lifting weights 4 times a week and incorporated some cardio as well, like running 5ks with friends!

Pumpkin Push 2010 with Dana and Jessica!

I got a little crazy last March and started this blog to post about my goals, experiments successes, and failures.  I became FitFluential, and I'm even considering attending the Fitness and Health Bloggers Conference in Colorado this summer!  Yep, sponsored by ReFuel with Chocolate Milk.  What's not to love???

I subscribed to magazines like Women's Health, Self, Shape, and Fitness.  I got more and more excited about working out as I started to see changes first in how I felt (even how I felt about how I looked) and later in my body itself.  I trained for and ran a half marathon...and then another.  I've taken up racquetball, hot yoga, and CrossFit.  Sometimes I run or bike to work...where I've gotten a standing workstation.  I plateaued a bit, and so eased up on cardio, while ramping up veggies and sleep.  (Sleep will do WONDERS for your fitness goals.) 


In 19 months, I've lost 12+ pounds, 7% body fat, increased definition...and gained an inch in height.


That's right, folks.  I've been 5' 1" since age 13.  But at this year's official bodymetrics testing for work - where you are measured in your socks - I stood 5' 2".  I had joked with a coworker before taking my test, "Oooh, maybe I'll be taller!"  And from the added strength in my back and core, and consequent improved posture, I am!!!


Being fit and healthy is by no means the be all and end all of a fulfilling life.  Jesus and Jesus alone can bring life and fulfillment.  But He's used this new aspect of my life to help me fight my quitter-at-heart attitude, poor body image, and severe anxiety.  And being an inch taller sure doesn't hurt.


Walking tall in spirit and stature!


-Meghan


You tell me: Why did you start working out?  What achievements are you especially proud of?  Did YOU know you could get taller by getting stronger?

Fall Sweataway 2011 Pat IV: Sunday Morning and Afternoon

We slept AMAZINGLY well at the Oxford...a crappy night in Motel 6 plus a half marathon will really knock you out. 

Breakfast was a mix of muffin, pastry, fruit, coffee/tea, and protein-packed chocolate milk.

If you are looking for a good book on racing, Runner's World Guide to Road Racing is a great place to start.  It has everything from nutrition tips and cooldown strategies to motivational quotes from famous runners and lists of the best races in the country.

I loved how quickly my body started recovering from the Bend Half.  My first half found me hardly able to walk during the rest of the day, and still pretty drained the day after.  Not so for this time around...an unexpected pay-off of diligent training!  I always tend to focus on getting faster or going farther or working on my form.  Avoiding injury and recovering quickly make good goals for ANY training program.

Jared planned for us to walk 2+ miles to the liquor store to find a particular local brand (Oregon Spirit Distillers) of gin or rum.  They had the marionberry cordial, but not what he was looking for.  They did, however, have a Whole Foods nearby, and we had a groupon-type thing to use!

It was really sweet that he had us start the day with a long walk.  We fell in love walking and talking for hours at our college campus, and we don't usually get to any more.  (The walking part.  The poor boy will probably never find a way to make me stop talking.)  Romance props to Jared for being so thoughtful!  The view was pretty amazing, too.

When we got back to the hotel, we grabbed some bars for snacks and headed down to take out the complimentary cruiser bikes.  I have a weak spot for all things cute, and these bikes really take the cake.

We rode to the Old Mill District to do some shopping, along the river because it's pretty, up towards the area where we ran on Saturday, and around town a little.  We found a cute tea place that we'd like to try next time we come visit Bend.

It may seem like all we did on this trip was work out together...and that wouldn't be excessively far from the truth.  But we truly enjoy being active and at home in "real life" we are rarely able to coordinate our schedules to do our workouts in tandem.  So we wring every drop out of these amazing Sweataways.  (Plus we don't waste a minute feeling guilty about anything we eat.  Which is a huge perk...since we eat a ton.)

Next on Sunday's agenda was strength-training.  I was totally in need of more than a few reps, since I'd been so focused on running.  And no way would I pass up the chance to get tips on moves and form from my favorite personal trainer.

Jared being focused and me taking pictures. 
This is kinda how we roll.

We decided a full body strength workout would be best, and started with Jared's dynamic warmup, which includes jumping jacks, walking lunges, and hip strengthening exercises, to name a few.

We then did about 10 minutes of abs...and boy could I tell I had been ignoring mine lately.

For the full body workout, we did seated lat pulldowns, pushups, and body weight squats.  15 reps of each going in a circuit, resting between circuits for a total of 3 sets.

Move #1

I really have to watch my form on these, because my right trap always wants to scrunch up and "help."  This is bad for my neck and also does nothing to help strengthen my lats.

Move #2

I am not currently up to "real" pushups, so I go with bench pushups instead of "girl" pushups (pushups from knees instead of feet.  Girl pushups make it hard to have good form, and I don't think they build as much strength.  Using a bench or something equally study makes it a little easier than full pushups but encourages good form.

Move #2 with bad form

Obviously when you get tired your form slacks off.  Having a trainer or even a well-informed workout buddy can help you when you don't realize you are sticking your hips back.

If you want to try real pushups, though, go for it!  They are a great way to get a super speedy workout, any time and any place.

Move #3A

Move #3B

Body weight squats are another do-anywhere kind of move.  All you need to do to make them more challenging is to squat lower without letting your knees go past your toes...or hold the down position for a few seconds before coming back up.

Strength training is serious business.

If you want to jumpstart weight loss or any other fitness goal, strength training is a crucial part of your routine.  It ramps up your metabolism, fights fat, and protects you from injury.  A nice pair of gloves protects your hands...I like the GoFit gloves from Target.

We finished up with a quick yoga routine, which is always a good idea, especially after a day full of moving around.  It's a fun tradeoff, because Jared is great with strength training, but I know more about yoga.  When we workout together, we can both be contributing ideas and learning from each other...which is a pretty useful exercise in marriage, if you ask me.