Coach Week 9 - all Standard WODs @ the beach

 Day 1, Kentauros (S): *00:44:40  PB!!! 

 Day 2, Venus (S): 00:27:02 PB!!! 
 Day 3, 2x Metis (S): *00:21:54 

100 m sprint: 00:00:20
100 m sprint: 00:00:19

I took one week vacation at the beach with my GF from the 16 to the 23 of February. I had planned on training three times during that week, and I did! I'm very proud of that because I (we) have a bad record... Usually when we go to the beach, we go into hibernating mode and we just lay around on our PJs, watch TV or series/movies in the computer and cook and eat yummy-but-not-so-healthy foods (and we eat A LOT). This time it was a bit different; it's the first time we've been on vacation since she has started doing CrossFit. It makes a big difference to be with someone who also wants to be healthy and exercise as much as you do. Since she was going to miss her classes that week, we trained together on days 1 and 2, and then she cheered for me on my third training day, which I performed in the sand. It helped a lot, having someone else motivated to train alongside me or push/cheer for me. If she had stay in bed, it would have been so much harder for me to go out and train on my own! We still laid around the other days, but it felt like a much more balanced vacation week.

The first day, I had to do standard Kentauros. In the meaning time my GF did some loose exercises. It was amazing to get a PB on Kentauros, but more importantly, not to suffer throughout the workout as I usually did. The feeling of finally conquering this WOD, that has made me suffer so much in the past, is indescribable. I was genuinely happy and proud. I still remember the first time I did Kentauros, when I couldn't finish it and ended up taking around 40 minutes to do half of the repetitions (and all that went along with me quitting...) and then the second time I did it, when I managed to do all the rounds in over 1h 15 mins!!! Now I'm doing it all, with a star, in under 45 mins... WOoooHOW!!!

The second day I did standard Venus alongside my GF. It was the first time she did the exact same WOD as me, at the same time, and it was a great. I still have a huge lack of upper-body strength (I definitely need to work on that) and therefore I'm still unable to do all the push-ups strict. I also got a PB here, which is nice, but no star. I think I still have a long way to get to the strict push ups. It discourages me sometimes not to be able to do strict pistols or push ups or pull ups, but I see the small improvements after every workout and I have to keep reminding myself things don't happen overnight and to get results, I just have to keep on working hard, consistently.

The third and last day of training we went to a lovely beach that is not suitable for swimming and where, therefore, there's just a few people here and there. It was a nice sunny morning and I did 2x Metis. Let me tell you, doing burpees and high jumps in the sand is NOT easy. Besides the added resistance, the ground is uneven and when you are constantly landing on the same spots you start digging holes that only make things worse. Also the sand sticks to your sweat so... You can imagine. It was a nice challenge and a good change of scenario though #TheWorldIsMyGym. After Metis I had to do two 100 m sprints. This was my first time running with the new coach, and I was worried about how to measure the distance. It turns out, the Coach can use GPS and measure it for you. I just had to sprint holding my phone and I would get an alert when I passed the 100 meters. It is pretty accurate, so I'm very pleased about that. Also, I improved my time by a second from the first to the second repetition, and all this in the sand so I think I'll certainly get a PB when I do this again, on a more even surface. Overall it was a great experience and a nice training day, perfect to end my fitness summer vacation.