I have been spending much of January trying to address some issues with respect to my fitness. Some of it started in December, when I decided to incorporate Crossfit into my routine. The reason for the addition to my routine was because of some injuries that plagued me for a few months last year. I have been doing Crossfit for about 8 weeks, and most have been with weeks where I have been doing some running. The good news is that the pains that I had in 2010 have decreased and it probably has to do with the focus on overall strength and stamina at Crossfit.
I have been doing Crossfit in the mornings about 3x/week, and the team there is taking great care of me by yelling at me (I mean this as a compliment!) to ensure that I am using the correct form and ensuring that I finish each workout strong. Because of some issues with my hands and wrists, I can't do all of the exercises but they make sure that I get something similar in to work a similar muscle group. The team is positive, funny, patient and informative.
When I went to a class to observe, I was a bit intimidated. But I am glad I went through with it because I have improved in areas that I never thought I would. For example, 3 weeks ago, I literally could not jump rope. Trust me, I am completely serious. Now I am jumping (high amount without stopping is now 50 jumps) and my next goal is to be able to jump for a minute straight without losing my rhythm. I learned yesterday that apparently I am now known as "Jump Rope Jill". Glad that I am making an impression. LOL. I also wasn't expecting that my "classmates" would be so helpful when I struggle with something. It's been fun.
As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I switched running coaches and now work with TN Multisports. Like with Crossfit, my fellow teammates have been helpful and have already started some trash talking, which you know makes me happy. The diversity of the group workouts has been challenging (in a good way). The specific coach I work with, Kim, has been putting me through the paces since mid-January. This has involved an insane fitness test, varied track workouts, stair workouts and a return to a focus on heart rate zone training. I went through this exercise last year and it paid dividends (PR improvement by 7:30 in the ½ marathon in 10 months over 3 races). It's basically teaching yourself to "go slower so you can go faster" down the road and I am not ashamed to admit that I do not enjoy the process. It's counterintuitive to how my brain works!!
Today's run was tough because I had to maintain a lower heart rate while running about 10 miles on a hilly course, which was also on a trail. I am not a natural trail runner, like some of my friends, so I find it pretty stressful worrying about my footing more than regular road running. It's definitely a matter of personal preference. But the lower heart rate requirement essentially meant that I couldn't run as fast as I would naturally like to. I was glad to have company for 2/3 of the run, and it made it go faster. I ended up running 9.6 miles (11:41 pace) over an hour and 52 minutes, which is definitely slow for me under normal circumstances. The other thing is that the last time I ran for 1:52, it was 5 months ago in the Disney ½ Marathon.
Overall, it has been good working with the new coaching team. They have been responsive, accountable and open to my thoughts on certain things. And I ended up doing ok with the zone assignment this morning but I need to get better with it if I am going to improve in 2011. It's going to take time and patience. But we'll get there.
And I may have convinced someone else to join me in the Crossfit insanity. :-)