Burpees with Press rowing machine in background

How do you follow up your first time running an ultra distance. You work with your trainer at Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center the next day. OK, so I don’t recommend this to most people. I had doubts about this being a good idea when I woke up this morning but Steve sets a side this time for me so I knew I had to do it. Most might wonder how I was feeling this morning, honestly I didn’t feel any different than I do after a 15 or 16 mile run. I now know I have a pretty deep base to draw off of.

I took a short nap before the my session with my trainer, Steve. This was the strangest nap of my life. I had borderline night terrors at the very least massively vivid madness, I know that I am reaching new levels of intensity in my training. As a friend said to me, “If you aren’t having night terrors, you aren’t training hard enough.” We are close. I mean VERY close, thirty minutes this afternoon proved it.

Full Body Extensions

I pulled up to the climbing gym a bit sluggish from the nap (I woke up not knowing where I was or what time it was) but determined to get this workout in, I can take tomorrow off I thought. Below is a workout Steve came up with I have decided to lovingly call “Crazy Eights.” I am going to try to describe it, really you had to be there to get the full effect.

CRAZY EIGHTS
Task 1 – 800 Meter Row
400 Meter easy warm-up
100 Meters hard 1:50 pace

Cinder Block Carry

100 Meters easy
100 Meters hard 1:40 pace
100 Meters easy

Task 2 – 8 Burpees w/Press
8 Burpees, holding in each hand a 3″ round PVC pipe, 3/4 full of sand, weighing 25lbs each

Task 3 – Full Body Climbing Rope Extensions
8 Rope Extensions on each side (16 Total)
25lb dumbell at bottom of rope

Task 4 – Cinder Block Carry
8 Cinder Block Carries
This one is harder to explain. Steve is a mad genius with this one!

Move two cinder blocks up a ladder to the second floor of the climbing gym, hand them off, walk up the stair to the loft, pick up one cinder block in each arm (for 3) or hand (5). Walk down the stairs outside and around the building (first 3, arm grip) or down the stairs and around the loft (last 5, hand grip). bring them back to the ladder and pass them back up to the top. Eight times total

Passing Cinder Block up to loft

This is extremely hard, especially carrying a cinder block in each hand!

Task 5 – 8 Burpees with Press
Same as above

Task 6 – Full Body Extensions again
You guessed it 8 on each side

Task 7 – Sand Bag throws
Had to throw a 40lb pack full of sand from one mat to another, 8 times each mat (16 total)

Task 8 – 8 Climbs in the gym
Not 8 normal climbs either
Climb 1: Rope climb, up the wall using pretty much arms only feet resting on wall
Climb 2: Inverted Wall
Climb 3: Rope climb again

Throwing Bags from mat to mat

Climb 4: Same Inverted Wall
Climb 5: Rope Climb
Climb 6: A bit easier inverted wall, longer distances between holds
Climb 7: Rope Climb
Climb 8: Another Inverted Wall

Pulling myself up the wall

The total elapsed time for this weeks sufferfest was one hour. We truly do power hours. This one was not about speed but picking up strange weights and dealing with it. I had told Steve I needed to work on my upper body and he delivered. This was a tough day for me, I was fatigued from yesterday and it took some serious fortitude to not just give up. At Climb 4, I had some muscle failure and had to make myself keep going when my arms were shaking and it seemed like failure was the only thing that was going to happen.

It’s amazing Steve knows how to make me dig deep each week! He keeps it interesting and challenges me on all levels to keep pushing past what I think I can do. When I picked up the cinder blocks the first time I said to myself, NO WAY. I let them drop, still a little pissed about this but I refocused and figured out how to get the job done. Thanks Steve for “Crazy Eights” I may not have looked like it but it was a great workout that made me push through.

For a Video of me throwing the bag you have to go to Dirt In Your Skirt’s Facebook Page. (Link on side of page) It much better to watch the video.