The Importance of Proper Fuel

Every Tuesday and Thursday I wake up and head to the gym to work out around 7am. After I work out I teach a class, and after that I go out on the trails and either do hill repeats or a longer run. My main concern is getting enough food in me before I hit the trails because I am usually not done with my "morning" until 12:30pm... which is 5 and a half hours after I started my first work out. In the morning, I usually work out on an empty stomach then have a protein shake with post work out carbs to try and get in as many calories as possible, and during the time I teach class I will usually eat a banana and a Perfect Foods Bar from Whole Foods. On my runs I bring some type of goo or cliff-blocks to take with me as a source of electrolytes and a quick little boost.
It never really hit me until today that I was not properly fueling myself prior to my runs. I was always getting light headed and tired quickly, and sometimes I would even start to see stars. My body would always fall apart and sometimes my brain would be telling myself to run, but my legs just couldn't turn anymore. I thought it was just dehydration and the high summer temperatures, but today I tried something a little different. I went to work out at 6:30am which gave me time to go out to breakfast and get a whole meal before teaching. By the time I had taught my class, my food did not feel heavy in my stomach and I felt ready to hit the trails. I wasn't cramming in snacks to try and get calories, instead I was able to have a complete, well-balanced breakfast. Today was the best I have ever felt and the best performance I have ever had on the trails. I ran 6.8 miles of single track mountain trails and I felt fantastic. The power of proper fuel is amazing.

Here is my OPT training for the day.

TRAINING:
A. Clean - build to a tough single in 10 min
B. Press - 5,5,5; rest 2 min
+
5 sets:
1 rope ascent - 20' legless
5 TnG Jerk - 155#/100#
6 x 24" box jump overs
Airdyne 20 sec @ 100%
rest 6 min actively
RESULTS:
A. 175#
B. 75#, 80#, 85#
+
:55
:56
1:02
1:01
1:01
*Rope was 14 or 15'
First time climbing a rope legless. I loved the challenge. These work outs are tough and continue to kick my ass every single day.

Double Day & Double PR!

TRAINING:
Part 1:
A. Back Squat - build to a tough single; rest as needed - NOT a 1RM
B. 85% of A - amrap x 1 set @ 30X0
+
50 HSPU for time:
every time you break you perform 4 rope climbs
Part 2:
-Max Snatch
-Max Clean & Jerk

RESULTS:
Part 1:
A. 225# (pr) saved a little, max today i would like to think @ 235#
B. 3 reps @ 190#... wow that was hard
+
12:54

all HSPU strict (15, 10, 10, 6, 9)
Part 2:
-Snatch 135#
- Clean and Jerk 165#
Wasn't really feeling the jerk. Shoulders were fatigued and I wasn't hitting 170#, and every retry I had to clean the weight again which wasn't exactly easy. So I decided to skip the jerk and max out on squat clean only and hit 185# (pr)

Max's & OPT

The first part of my training today was to find my max snatch, clean and jerk, and front squat for today.
Results:
Snatch 135#
C & J 165#
Front Squat 190#
Snatch: I was so close to 140#, and it is a little frustrating that I didn't end up getting it, but hopefully next time. 135# ties my previous PR and I hit it on my first try.
C & J: I haven't done a clean and jerk max since the 2010 norcal qualifier where I think I did somewhere around 140#. The jerk is clearly my limiting factor. I need to really work on my jerk and learn how to do it because I refuse to drop and I am always pressing the bar out.
Front squat: I am trying to build up my front squat but today I didn't feel very strong. 190# ties my previous PR, which is better than my attempt about a week ago, where I maxed out at 185#, but I really want to break 200# soon.
Part 2:
TRAINING:
5 sets @ 97%:
10 Front Squat heavy
5 rope ascents - 20'
Row 400 m
rest walk 6 min b/t sets
(add weight per set to FS)
RESULTS:
Did 6 rope climbs per round on a 14' rope, reach up to 15'

front squat load/ time

125#/5:40
130#/ 5:56
135#/6:26
140#/7:21
145#/ 7:51

all front squats were unbroken, and almost every rope climb was done in 2 pulls. i used a weight belt for my last set at 145# because my back/core was destroyed after 140#. Overall, I felt pretty good during the front squats. Last week I was squatting 150# and it was a tough triple, today I surprised myself and hit 145# for 10 unbroken reps which was pretty cool.

Saturday Morning Double

TRAINING:
part 1:
as many rounds in 10 min:
2 rope ascent - 14'
7 burpees
15 squats
rest 1 hour
part 2:
A. thruster - build to a tough single - NOT a 1RM
+
B. 20 chin ups
rest 2 min x 5
RESULTS:
Part 1:
5 rounds
Part 2:
A. Built to 150# (PR, but I did not feel like I "maxed" out)
B. Completed