The Hana Relay

So first thing's first. I was early to the Hana Relay.

How early? Like an hour. We were supposed to be at the KMart parking lot at 6 a.m. but I came at 5 a.m. instead.

Don't ask me why, maybe I wasn't listening. Maybe I misunderstood someone. Maybe they covered that part while I was buying Coronas for the team meeting at Sack n Save.

Here's a photo of me waiting in the car at 5 in the morning and realizing that I could have slept for another hour.

I even made my own running t-shirt, it said "Raw Fitness Maui" in the front and "I Hate Cardio" in the back.

To give you a sense of what I was going through I will also include the back and forth text messages between Kehau and I here:

Me: Eh, we meet at kmart at 5 right? Or is it the gym?
K: Kmart 6 am
Me: 6!!!!! Holy shit I'm here already. Damn it
K: Shit I'm so sorry. We were razzing Luke abt 5 am bc he got  to mtg hr late
Me: Oh man. K. Guess ill try to sleep in the car
K: You can maybe warm up :) oh man. This is classic. We always have ppl late but never early. Wow. This is for the history books.

Blah blah blah. And then I send Kehau the above pic:

K: OMG I love ur pic
Me: So glad u r happy. I'm going to run mad today, can't believe I could have had an extra hour of sleep. I'm so stupid
K: Maybe we should post our stream o texts. This is too funny. I'm dying

There was more but those were the highlights. Anyway, Ikaika is the first one there and he's not even running. He's delivering our running t-shirts which were cool "RUN RFM" which was a play on the "RUN DMC" logo.

(If you don't know who RUN DMC is stop reading my blog now and never come back. You are banned for life.)

Then Patty shows up and so does everyone else. Derek, Bump, Kalaheo, Kristi, Pat, Frank, Kehau, Kats, Lori and Ethel, Baldwin High School's female counterpart to Bump in the 90's. The gal can still run but we'll get to that later.

Soooo . . . we get running.

Pat takes the first leg then Patti. Meanwhile the rest of us jump in trucks and drive ahead to Baldwin Park where Kats gets ready to take the baton.

That's Kats in the white shirt waiting for his turn to run three miles, from Baldwin Park to Hookipa Park.

Again we drive ahead and wait. Everyone was worried about me and Kats because, well, cardio ain't our thing. Here's a view of where we were waiting for Kats at Hookipa.

I'm not sure how much time passes but at some point Kats comes into view but he's walking. Then he sees us and starts running again, God bless 'em. I wondered if I'd be doing the same thing. He crosses the line and hands off to Ethel who takes off and I ask him, "How was it?"

He answered, "That sucked."

At this point my turn was coming up soon. Ethel was running from Hookipa Park to Haiku Community Center. I was taking the baton from her and running 3.5 miles. The problem was that I wasn't sure where the hell 3.5 ended. But at this point I'm just thinking I want to survive and don't really want to think about it until it was actually my turn.

So we're waiting and then we see Ethel, and she's charging up the hill. I head up to the handoff point and then all of a sudden it's in my hand. Okay. Time to start running.

Except it's not really a run is it? I'm just jogging along. I'm concerned about my back because it was stiff before I even began but I didn't want to tell anyone. Just take it slow and easy.

Everything is all G until I get to the cemetery, then it's a long uphill fight. The worst part is that the road is uneven and my left leg has to reach a bit longer than my right. This causes my left calf to burn like a mother and my back isn't helping.

But then a strange thing happens, the road levels off and my back pain goes away and so does my burning left calf. I start hitting some sort of stride and it feels sorta good except I still don't know how far away the finish line is for me.

I try to put this out of my mind and I smell the guavas and think for a minute about my grandmother. This goes on for a while and then all of a sudden I see two figures in white t-shirts which I identify as Bumper and Derek. They tell me that the end of my run is about two hundred yards away.

Two hundred yards? That's it? But I had all this energy! I was barely sweating!

Seems I had paced myself a little too well and I took so long that my friends came looking for me. Damn it.

So for the last two hundred yards I sprint and try to get tired. A familiar feeling comes back to me and I feel like I do at the gym if I use a weight that's too light for the WOD. I should have pushed myself more, I could have done better.

But my leg is over and so is my part of the race. For the rest of the day we travel in the truck and I cheer my friends. I eat that chicken and drink that beer and we have a good time but I don't feel like writing about it. Maybe next year I'll be better prepared for the Hana Relay.

In the meantime, here's a few more pics for memories. Here we have Bump and Derek hiding under the towel in the back of the truck as the rain came down pretty hard:

And here we have Smooth Hand Luke after tearing it up on his run. There are references I could make here of Luke being too sexy for his shirt but I won't go there. We pick on him enough as it is.

Here we have Derek, Ethel and Kristi posing for the camera. If I'm not mistaken Derek's getting ready to run leg 12. 

Ethel stretching on a wall somewhere. I think by this time she had run twice already.

Here Kehau scarfs down Patty's tuna mix. That stuff was pretty awesome, wish we had more crackers.

That's it guys, those are my Hana Relay pics and my experience on the run. Next year I'll be better prepared for sure.

Great Aloha Run anyone? Only 8.8 miles?

Let me know.

Later gang,

Rod

What's in a name

There's no real workout blog today because we're all resting for the Hana Relay tomorrow.

However, I felt the need to blog because I'm looking over the list of teams running in the relay - there's about 164 teams - and some of the names deserve mentioning.

They include:

- Nature Nymphs

- The Booty Queens

- Mankini

- Happy Asses Again

- Runaway Brides

- Hairy Krishna's Gone Wild

- Drag Racers

- Big Testicicles

- This Shit is Bananas

And of course, one that I totally relate to:

- Running Sucks.

  Also I learned yesterday at the team meeting that I will be running the fifth leg of the race, which is about 3.54 miles. I had picked the second leg of the race but did not know that it had been spoken for ahead of time by the Wonder Twins, Patty and Kehau. My spider senses are tingling, I smell a conspiracy here . . . 

  That's okay, I need the cardio because the last time I ran a mile it sucked. Then again I was trying to actually keep up and run fast. This time I will go sloooooooooooowwww and amuse myself with the people running in costume. 

  I am a bit concerned that our team name, Raw Fitness Maui, isn't too creative however. Of course, from a marketing standpoint you want people to know the name so they know who to look for if they want to join the gym.

 Next time though, maybe we could come up with something more creative, such as:

- RFM Clean Snatchers

- WOD Runners

- Gym Gone Bad

- You So Smooth Luke

- Bumper's Sprinters

- I Stalk Kehau

My favorite of course would be:

- We Hate Cardio 

Get a good night's sleep gang, and see you bright and early tomorrow.

Rod

Here comes the relay

I'm in. I'm doin it. It's happening.

I, the proud founder of the I Hate Cardio blog/movement/cult, do hereby join all of the idiots who are running the Hana Relay this Saturday.

For those who aren't running, namely the sane people, the Hana Relay consists of 52 miles, 617 curves and 56 bridges. It starts from the Kahului Airport and ends at the Hana Ball Park.

That's right, I'm running as part of Team B for Raw Fitness Maui. Team B as in, not good enough to run with the studs on Team A so they had to make a second team of scrubs.

Yeah, but I'd rather be an RFM scrub than an elite athlete at another gym. Suckas.

I have to say though, Bob got me nervous the other day. He comes up to me and says, "So, I was running last week and I was good for about 12 minutes, then I started to bog pretty badly."

"I think it's because our workouts are intense but only last for a short period of time."

Great, so basically Bob's warning me that I'll be all good for little while, then my body will shut down and die. Good job Bob, thanks.

That's okay, guys like me and Kats have a plan. It's called, running slow. In some cultures they call it "walking."

Actually no, my plan is to look for someone that's running a comfortable pace, and then run right behind them. Ever see Days of Thunder? I'm gonna do some drafting then as I reach the end I'll pull out in front of them.

The only thing is I'm going to have to run three times, for about three miles for each leg of the run.

Can I run nine miles? Even if it's separated into three different heats? Hmmmm . . .

Guess I'll find out on Saturday.

By the way, Wednesday's workout was kind of a mess. It was a Fight Gone Bad prep workout that included one minute rounds of power cleans, box jumps, rowing, push presses and wall balls. We had to remember our max rep count then repeat and go for time for the second round.

Confused? I was. But I was sweating and tired and out of breath so whatever happened I got a good workout.

So . . . yeah. Here we go.

See you at the finish line.

Rod

Back pain strikes again, to relay or not to relay and rainbow socks

You knew it was coming back. Someday.

My lower back tweaked in the middle of the WOD. Surprise surprise.

Took a while though. I swear I've been back pain free since whenever that Portland Crossfit guy was here. When was that? July? Somebody look in my archives and tell me tomorrow.

I'm starting to deduce what triggers the pain. It's not kettlebells by themselves. There has to be some sort of pre-fatigue workout like squats. Both of which we did today.

The thrusters may have had something to do with it also but I think I just hate them so much that I like to blame thrusters for everything.

First was a strength workout consisting of shoulder presses and squats. I did 15 reps of 95 lbs for presses and 15 reps of 140 for squats. Not too shabby.

Then the WOD. Three rounds of three thrusters, six box jumps and nine kettlebell swings with a one minute rest period after every three minutes of work.

Ouch.

I made it to the third round and did six sets before my back stiffened up. I didn't whine or fight it, I just laid down. I'm learning to listen to my body and my body appreciates it. My relationship with myself has evolved, yay.

Now if only I can listen to my mind like I listen to my body. For example, I was not listening to my mind when it said to me, "Make sure not to forget your checkbook so you can pay Bumper for the Hana Relay registration."

So right now I'm not sure if I'm going to get registered. I want to run, for real! As long as there's no back pain I'll run my legs off. If I can I'll stop off at Kaiser tomorrow and drop off a check for Bump then. Please?

And if I do run, I will not be running with Lori's rainbow socks like I did today. I had my workout shoes and no socks so Lori let me use some extra ones that she had.

You know, I like sacrificing my dignity just so I have material for this blog but . . . yeah, those multicolored socks were a bit much. It wasn't so much funny as it was . . . weird. And unfashionable. Not that I coordinate my outfits but damn I looked confused today.

Okay, gonna ice my back. Or mabye just lay down. That sounds like a good idea.

Later gang,

Rod

Easy like Sunday bloggin

Before I start I'd just like to say you peeps missed a good get together at my place in Paia. Steak, beer and a good football game. Afterwards we played some music and grooved until midnight. Some of us went to Moana Cafe for more partying. I stayed home and cleaned up and decided to blog too.

Anyway, got some catchin up to do here. Let's start with Friday:

Friday was deadlift testing day. An scary message from our coaches online stated that we would be going so heavy on deadlifts that we weren't going to have a WOD. Instead we would have "mobility work as you may feel like you were hit by a truck after the heavy deadlifts."

Yeah.

So, I've sorta got a love/hate relationship with deadlifts right now. I used to love them until my back started tweaking. Now I try to be cautious and use strict form, to the point where the RFM coaches say my lift looks like I'm doing a three part movement.

Anyway, I tried to go big on Friday. I hit 365 which was a personal best for me. I was getting psyched up and yelled out, "C'mon gang let's get hit by a truck!" Big talk too soon.

Right after that I tried 385 and just couldn't get it past my knees. I felt the weight and it scared me and I said, no more for today.

It sorta felt like a couple of times when I was in the water and attempting to catch some decent sized waves. I got pounded down to the ocean floor and when I got to the surface I started paddling for shore for survival's sake. That's how badly I wanted NOT to do another deadlift after that scare with the 385. When I walked away I felt like I was paddling for shore that day.

But no worries gang, I eventually got back in the water (not that day) and I'll return to deadlift that weight. I want to hit 400 too. Kats hit 400 and he couldn't stop smiling. It was a big kid on Christmas morning kinda smile and I was happy for him. Can't wait to have that smile too. Good job brah.

So what now? Oh yeah, Saturday.

We had a special workout called "31 Heroes", in honor of Kraig Vickers, a Maui High School graduate who died in that Afghanistan helicopter crash on August 6th. I know Kraig's brother Mark and I knew Kraig too. Good guy and a good family.

So it is for Kraig that we did this workout. I'm not going to be so foolish as to compare Kraig's sacrifice to mine, because he gave his life for his country. He leaves behind a wife, kids and another unborn child on the way, a child who will never have met his father. You can't give more for us than Kraig did.

But, because this is I Hate Cardio and because I am who I am, I have to say this:

That damn workout sucked.

Thrusters, box jumps, pushups, burpees and double unders, as many as you can of each for a 2:04 minute round. Three rounds total.

Thrusters and burpees in the same workout? Insane you say? For you Kraig, only for you.

Thankfully we worked out with a partner, and God be praised that Luke was there to save my ass.

We tried to be smart, tried doing reps of 10 then switching off and letting the other one rest. But Kehau and Lori still handed us our ASSES. They beat us in reps and weight for their thrusters. I think their total was 700 plus reps and ours was 600 plus reps. AND their thruster barbell weight was around 105 pounds compared to our wimpy 75 pound barbell.

Hey, what can I say? They're good. One day I'll be just like them. And on that day I'll need to buy new jeans because my quads won't fit into anything.

It was good to see that Luke was tired too. He's the guy in the gym that makes everything look easy, but yesterday he was bogging like the rest of us. Hell if someone wasn't bogging I'd check to see if they were part cyborg. Give me power cleans instead of thrusters ANY day.

The aftermath? My triceps are sore like a mother. Hot DAMN they hurt. Must be from the pushups I guess. (Bump I think we might need more chest work, just a thought.)

But you know what the pain means right? Pain means you're alive. I'm alive because I live in a country that is protected by people like Kraig. God bless 'em all and the sooner we can bring everyone home the better.

Aloha gang,

Rod

Weight belts, relay races and the blog mid-life crisis

You know, there was a time when I couldn't wait to write this blog.

Now, though, it seems like I never have time for it. But like the workouts, you have to make time.

Or maybe it's just harder to come up with new stuff, to try and keep things fresh. Ah well.

Maybe I'll come up with a magic writing formula one day, for now though I'll just keep doin what I'm doin.

Like today. Searching for that one rep max for push press. The board said warm up with 50, 60, 70 percent and so on and so forth. Hell, I just kept putting on weight until something didn't feel right.

I got to 205 pounds and was tempted to stop. Then I saw Ikaika's weight on the board which said 215.

That's okay, I was still going to stop. Listen to your own body right, don't compete against anyone else except yourself.

Right.

Except . . . well . . . I didn't really struggle with 205. I mean I did, but I had a little left in the tank.

So I strapped on Bob's weight belt, tightened up the wrist straps and went for it.

Man, 215 was heavy, but I did it. Maybe the day will come when I rep 225 for push press, but it ain't happening anytime soon.

So yeah Ikaika, I did 215, but if you had the weight belt I think you could have done 225. Stabalizing my back made all the difference.

Speaking about my back, I'm getting small kine nervous about the Hana Relay. I think my stamina will be fine, but my back might give out again. Hopefully not.

Three miles a leg should be fine. I do Crossfit, right?

Crap. I should start running. Like, a lot. For an hour a day. Up and down hills.

Except I hate running. I hate cardio. It's the name of my blog damn it.

I'll run when I'm ready, which will be the day of the Hana Relay, not before.

I'm going to be sore for a week aren't I?

Sigh. Bump, maybe we better start running a mile for our warm-ups. Just a thought.

Later gang,

Rod

Video don't lie

Finally made it back to Crossfit today, work on Monday kept me from the 5 p.m. workout.

Today we did snatch balances for 30 minutes. You know, pull the bar off the ground, flip it above your head and squat down under it. It's tough enough without any weight, just because it's easy to lose balance and either lean too far forward or back.

Today however we had a secret weapon. Ikaika's iPhone video camera. At first I was like, no way dude, get that away from me.

But I gotta admit, nothing like really scrutinizing your technique than watching video right after you do it. And slowing it down so Bump can catch every movement.

It was a real useful tool. First I was pulling the weight too early, then I wasn't pulling the weight close enough to my body. Small things but they matter when you're trying to do it right.

Afterwards we had a gasser of a WOD. Eight rounds of 20 seconds of kettlebell swings, 10 seconds of rest then 20 seconds of mountain climbers.

Wow man, that was just straight up cardio. But the good thing is my back isn't freaking out anymore when it comes to kettleball swings. At least not yet. My left arm feels a little tweaked though from the snatches. I'm still doing something wrong obviously.

Also, the diet. Man, I've gone so far off the path that it sucks. For lunch I had bread and butter, then I had some pancit for dinner and that was just today. It's been bad since I got back from Vegas and it needs to stop. Like now. I weighed myself today and I was still at 188, but if I keep this up I'll be back to 200 in no time. I've got to stop. Now.

Alright. Deep breath. Do it.

Okay, let's see if that works.

Later gang,

Rod