March 11 (day 187) – I’ve caught the evil BaselVirus

I think I mentioned that Sunday I got up at 0-dark-00 to help the LLS Team In Training tribabies on their first Open Water triathlon. It was “Spring Forward” day, and my husband just laughed himself silly that I was getting up so early, as he snuggled himself back down in bed…

The current was BRUTAL where I was stationed to stay – so much so that I couldn’t hold the board in place with just my arms. I tried putting my feet against the buoy I was stationed at (they did 3 rounds around buoys in Paradise Park/S.F. Bay), and I couldn’t even hold it that way. So I spent a couple hours (maybe not that long, but longer than an hour) holding onto the board if folks needed a breather, and kicking like a maniac against the rip.

At one point (first round, when folks havent settled down yet) I had three gals hanging onto the board – I couldn’t keep us in place so I said if they were going to hang out, they had to kick, too! Funny – so much for letting them rest…

I think that being in the not-so-warm Bay, with my thinner “shortie” wetsuit set me up. I have to wear the less warm wetsuit, because right now my warmer wetsuit fits me like a sausage casing, so there would have been NO WAY I could have gotten on the board – can’t maneuver my legs in it. (Fine for swimming, not so fine for getting on a surfboard.)

Anyway, I got home and slept until 6:30 p.m., got up, made dinner, then went back to bed. And then yesterday, I must have touched some doorknob or counter or another that H had touched when he came back from Basel with that AWFUL dog-bark-cough virus – because now, I’ve got it. Just as H is cold/virus free, after having it in Hawaii, too! Dang it!

Yesterday I did go to Bikram, and did the work with a different perspective. I’ve been thinking a lot about squats and the fact I don’t “have” about 3/4 of the range of motion required for one. So yesterday, I sat out some of the moves (I really wasn’t feeling all that great), but the ones that I did, I did with an aim at stretching my abilities/paying attention to my abilities in the “squat arena.” I’m also paying attention walking up the innumerable stairs up to and in our house – I can feel I don’t climb stairs in a way that even uses my glutes or hamstrings, it’s all quads, so working on that.

After Bikram, I did what I said I would do – I stayed after and worked on the move that the founder/coach at Crossfit Pohaku gave me for better mobility in squats.  “All” it entails is putting your feet flat on the wall, as far apart as you can spread them, with your tailbone against the wall, knees tracking over feet. Then you put your elbows on the inside of your knees, and “press out” (hands together).

The best way to think about it is it’s as if you are deep squatting, but that wall is the floor.

As I’d said yesterday, I held this for 4 minutes (the length of a Tabata workout). Oh My Living God. By the end I was panting, and I wasn’t actually able to stand up out of it – I had to put my legs up straight on the wall (so, tailbone still against the wall, but now legs up straight on the wall) by MOVING my legs with my HANDS into that position…then after a little while, I was able to roll on my side, and get up.

So there you go – I’m going to record a video of that position and post it onto GiveIt100 today (for yesterday), then I will do the Tabata situps today. Here’s the workout for today:

3/11…
Pull Up 5 x 2

Shoulder Press 5 x 3

7 Min AMRAP
7 Thruster 43/30KG
7 Box Jump 30/24″

CONDITIONING
4 Rounds
2 Min AMRAP
200M Run
ME Pull Up

Immediately Following
4 Rounds
2 Min AMRAP
200M Run
ME Shoulder Press 50/35KG

same as reg. part C

H is feeling well enough to go at 6:30 p.m., so I’ll be seeing how much of the Conditioning workout I can do with him then.

UPDATE: H didn’t feel like going – so I didn’t go. Can’t stop coughing. Harrumph.