I've got a date with Murph.

Vests are all at Ironworks in Yoga Room, if anyone wants to bring one over for Raf that would be appreciated (or all of the big ones)

Brandon's going to need one too.

I can swing by and grab them tomorrow. Max, can you let them know I'm not stealing them?

For anyone who's interested, Amanda and I are going to do a 5K around Lake Merritt at 5:30. We will meet at GWPC and then just go from there. Cardiovascular endurance is also important to work on during these off days.

The big ones and the weights belong to me. Please just tell them at the front desk you are grabbing them, and for them to call me if there is any problem (there won't be).

Check the schedule when you want to pick them up to make sure there is not a yoga class going on.

Right Joe, because "Murph" does not work on cardiovascular endurance...?

"The notion that holding a heart rate of 180 bpm for twenty minutes on a bike is good cardio whereas holding 180 bpm for twenty minutes in a circuit of weightlifting is of lesser cardiovascular value is widespread yet ludicrous."

- Coach

However I do feel that up to 21 miles a week of running in addition to the WODs won't hurt and in most cases will help a lot, just so long as it is relatively brief and intense. Generally 5 or 10K with an occasional 15K for the steady state stuff and some intervals (800s are probably the way to go for supplemental training, as 100/200/400 splits in addition to metcons might be hard to recover from).

If I wasn't doing Murph, I'd be up for the jog/run around the lake although I'm not sure about the distance. I've heard it's a 5k (3.1 miles) but I've also heard it's 4.2 miles.

I've been doing 5k runs and rows at a very casual pace for the last two weeks before our WODs and I've found them to be relaxing and beneficial ... if nothing else, I'm a lot more focused during the actual WOD.

Lake is about 5k done hugging the water

Naomi Campbell won't be doing any CrossFit.

At the gym, Naomi says she does gyrotonics, which helps tone the body and lengthen the muscles. "I don't like workouts that make you bulky. This really stretches you," she says.

I saw some of that Oprah episode. She jumped rope very slowly for "a minute on, a minute off three times." Her swim consisted of getting in the water through the stairs, getting back out ... also doing this three times before eating a salad.

And then the audience clapped! But they were all fat chunksters.

Sigh.

Hey, give Oprah some credit as she has run a marathon.

Bill Backsquats 20@ 165 (7/13)
Matthew Backsquats 20@ 180 (6/13)

Chuck, I was talking about Naomi, not Oprah. I didn't make that very clear.

5k run (or whatever it is to the lake around and back) followed by climbing.

I don't think anyone here holds to the notion that 180 bpm on an eliptical is better than 180 bpm in a circuit of weightlifting...if they do, I hear there's a great 24 hour down the street...

Anyone can run a marathon, let's not give Oprah too much credit for that. AND if all you eat is a salad all day, 3 minutes of light jumping may be all you can manage ;)

I bet Naomi's burps are nasty with some hints of stomach acid.

10 rounds for time:
10 Hang-Squat Clean 65
10 Not clapping push-ups
Time: 21:50
Not as bad as I thought. Should have pushed myself harder.

IMO: I don't think it counts when it takes people 6+ hours to complete a marathon. That's walking pace.

Man, give people credit. Not everyone in the world is as fit or athletic as most crossfitters. For alot of people even attempting to walk 26 miles is a fairly good accomplishment. It's better than nothing and it's certainly better than 3 minutes of slow jumping.

The three minutes of slow jumping was pretty awesome.

It is a sad testament to our society that there are (barring medical problems) people for whom walking over flat ground for 26 miles could be considered in any way difficult. Tiring, yes, your feet would hurt, sure, but 26 miles in six hours is simply a normal fast walking pace.

Hmmm...

WOD idea that has definitely not been done:

WOD XXXXX

Run 26 miles. Four hour limit.

Can someone direct me to the Oprah episode so that I may, er, critique it?

Oprah's marathon time: 4 hours 29 minutes. I guess she would DNF on Max's new WOD, but I don't think that's too shabby.

More than anything I think marathon training is a testament to willpower. Monday's WOD was harder than a marathon - but it was much shorter. Would you rather endure mild pain for 4 hours or omg I can't breathe pain for 20 minutes? Pick your poison I guess...

slow is cool.

I did the Secret Service Snatch Test on Tuesday:
10 minutes of continuous one-arm kettlebell snatches for repetitions. You may switch hands as often as you'd like. 183 total reps with a 12kg kettlebell. fun times.

Ok, well I am going to defend those people walk marathons because everyone has to start somewhere. I don't really think that most people who walk marathons really want to just walk them (or I don't know, maybe they do). I think that most people that walk marathons walk them because it's hard for them. And berating them is not really the way to go. At least they are trying to do something that is, arguably kind of hard, particularly at a low level of fitness.

As someone who started crossfit way, way below average, I can honestly say that if anyone said something analogous to "doing a 6 hour marathon doesn't count" in the crossfit context ("like wow a 25 minute fran time with banded pull-ups really sucks"), I would have quit. Yes, I know that it sucked. When nobody is even bothering to time you anymore, you kind of suck. But I did the best I could at the time. But I definitely wouldn't stick around to deal with people berating my effort...because it was a lot of effort even if it sucked.

I guess what I am saying is be generous to those that are at least attempting to do something hard as long as they make a good effort.

I don't have any problem with people walking marathons - 26 miles is a long hike.

I DO have an issue with combining 3 minutes of light jumping with a starvation diet, however.

I did not mean to ruffle feathers or insult anyone with my comment that it should not count if it takes 6+ hours to do a marathon. If anyone can do a marathon, I would want to do it at a pace faster than walking. At 6 hours, it's almost a 14 minute/mile pace and I have the impression that one is supposed to run/jog (as much as possible) in a marathon. I am probably speaking out of place anyway since I have never run a marathon or do I have any desire to do so. Do people do a marathon so they can just say they completed a marathon even if it took them 7-8-9 hours? I suck at running...you have all seen me run...gasping for air and in pain. If I were going to commit to doing a marathon and the months of training required for it, it should be faster than walking pace. Before doing a marathon, I should be able to continuously run 1 mile, 5k, 10k, half marathon before even attempting a full marathon.

Some interesting tidbits:
- Avg. marathon time: 4 hours 45 min.
- Avg. marathon time for women: 5 hours 6 minutes
- Avg. time for Woman 60+: 6 hours 8 minutes
Some marathons enforce a course closure time of 6 or 7 hours.
- More than half of the total marathoners over seven hours, however, can be attributed directly to the Honolulu Marathon (4,807 over 7:00) and the LA Marathon (2,777 over 7:00). What's the deal with this??

Even though Oprah would fail on Max's 4 hour limit, I think Oprah's time of 4.5 hours is awesome. That's a very respectable 10:16 minute/mile! I would not be able to finish it in 4 hours, but I certainly hope I could do it in less than 6 hours especially if I trained for it. Again, I'm sorry for offending anyone.

Oprah's time is not that bad - she is actually running, albeit not very fast. Props to the Mighty O.