Shoes: So what do YOU wear?

Here's what a recent US DoD Survey says about 'proper footwear'; there is none.

If you search for 'CrossFit Endurance, what shoes do you wear' on Google, you get a multitude of answers.

The Huffington post has even gotten into the fray, with a podiatrist (who surely has no vested interest in shoes and insoles) giving his opinion on 'the barefoot running fad'.

We run as if our lives depend on it, becuase for some of us, someday it may.

Do not feel you must go out and buy a pair of Nike Free or Vibram Five Fingers. Although I've done both and loved them equally for different types of WODs. But the bottom line is that it doesn't matter what you wear, it matters how you run. Nature didn't lash-up styrofoam, rubber, springs or air packets to our heels to prevent injury. Chances are no amount of heel padding will prevent injury. Listen to the advice of Albert Einstein, who is among the many people much wiser than I. Don't be crazy, continuously running with a heel strike and wondering why you're beat down with injuries and fatigue. If something doesn't work, why do it over and over again?

That's not to say you shouldn't run. You should learn how to run.

As someone with a love/hate relationship with running, I have had many ups and downs. It took me many injuries and many years to find the source of all the pain. You may benefit too. Take some simple advice and learn to run properly--or don't.

Just know it has absolutely nothing to do with what you wear on your feet.

Week #2:
We'll begin an entire month of Endurance focus on 1 January with a muscular endurance fest "Bull", to remember fallen Hero Capt Brandon 'Bull' Barrett from 1/6, lost to us 5 May 2010.
Rest in peace.

Wondering whether or not to freeze?

I know I am still wondering. But here's the deal, our very first chance to race this year starts with the year itself.

At 0000 on 1 January there's a 5k run starting, the New Year's Eve Midnight 5k fun run. 3-2-1 go and shiver!

Now, 'fun run' is a misnomer to me, becuase I don't see very much fun about skipping sleep in this environment (especially sans booze and better half) and I am an entirely weather deconditioned Pennsylvanian who is no longer a fan of even mildly low temperatures.

So, the question is... who is going to go out and run this 5k?

Week two Endurance WODs to be posted soon.
This next 30 day CF LNK cycle will be very endurance based. Posts here will probably focus on education on POSE running and the CFE methods rather than extra work.

Train smarter and harder.

First Week, and some FAQs...

Bastion Airfield, an M1A1 Abrams Tank, the King of the roads has arrived to Afghanistan around 25 Nov, 2010.

Don’t assume you need to do a lot of sport specific training… we have plenty of elite level athletes who CrossFit more then they train for sport. Your number one goal should be to CrossFit 4-6 times per week… 2nd goal is to have the ability to do 2-3 sport specific workouts per week. Choose 1 of the wods to do for the day(run or row, not both). Choose wisely.
TERMINOLOGY
Time Trial = As fast as you can go/race. An all out effort for the distance. There should be nothing entertaining or fun about it… Until it is over of course, and if you are PRing it!
RPE: Rate Perceived Exertion… It is on a scale of 1 – 20. See the posted link.
INTERVALS– You should be trying to hold the fastest pace possible.
% of what? Use the indicated % of your best time for the prescribed distance or time. If you do not have a time or distance for what is prescribed go set one that will be used in future wods. Keep track of times/distances/paces with dates in a log book so you can refer back to them.
FOULS –when do I do them?

The fouls occur at the end of the entire workout. Not during!

WEEK ONE:

WOD #1
3+ hours after your CF LNK WOD, Run 8 x 200m repeats rest 2x your 200m time (30 second 200M = 1 minute rest). Distance is approximately from the platform to the T-walls towards LSA 6. Or, run half the 400m course around the fields, stop and finish for your next 200m.
-or-
3+ hours after your CF LNK WOD, Row 8 X 500m repeats rest 2x your last 500m time. Set damper to something you don't normally use (1 if you prefer 10, 10 if you prefer 1, etc).

WOD #2
During a CF LNK Rest day, run for 20 minutes all out, covering as much distance as possible in that time.
-or-
During a CF LNK Rest day, ROW for 10 minutes all out, covering as much distance as possible in that time.

Welcome to Team Leatherneck Endurance

This blog is a section of the CrossFit Leatherneck website. We will host a set of weekly workouts designed to enhance your CrossFit training towards successful endurance events under the CrossFit Endurance Military Program.

We will be running. There are infrequent endurance events organized to help pass the time here on base and elsewhere in Afghanistan. As much as we all have to do, its hard to attend such niceties. But when we're aware of them, we will go and represent the Sport of Fitness, CrossFit, as we believe it is the best training program for the military, or anyone else for that matter.

You can lead, follow, or get the hell outta my way. Weekly we will post three work outs for either running or rowing. None of us are afforded the opportunity to swim anywhere out here (that I'm aware of) and very few people brought a road bike (although I may be wrong). These TLE WODs should be done in addition to your CF WOD, which you should do 5-6 times per week depending on your ability and goals. As time and your health allow, especially in this deployed environment, substitute this for your WOD or however else you wish to include it in your training.

How do we do this? Each post will contain 2-3 WODs to complete for that week. Post your results to the comments section to give others a yardstick of comparison and to help your long term training record and improved performance. At least once a week we'll have a TLE meet-up and whenever there is an endurance event we'll get ou our CrossFit Leatherneck T-shirts and represent.

When do we compete? Coming soon are the Midnight New Year's 5k run and the DAKON March, a 25Km hump in gear with rifle and pack.

It's easy to be hard, but it's hard to be smart. With that in mind, go forward and get some.