Squat 5-3-1

Warmup sets
10 x 20kg
5 x 60kg
5 x 70kg
3 x 80kg

Work sets
5 x 100kg
3 x 115kg
1 x 127.5kg

Clean and Jerk
60-65-70-70

Conditioning
15 AMRAP
7 power clean@60kg
30 oh lunge@20kg
15 thruster@10kg

3 rounds with 1 min 30 remaining. Pulled the pin at this point. Enough work for one day.

Press 3's + Conditioning

Warm up
Dynamic upper body + light front squats
Press
5x 30kg
5x 35kg
3x 42.5kg

Work Sets
3x 47.5kg
3x 55kg
3x 62.5kg

Conditioning
3 Rounds
7 hang squat cleans 50kg
21 burpees
35 double unders
Time: 9.01

Comments:
Just about need a re set on the press because i have not been really consistent but the plan with this cycle is to repeat it and aim to add just a sigle rep onto the final set each week. If  i can do this i will then go a third time with two extra reps before resetting in prep for the offseason.

Squat 3's

Warm up
Foam roll + dynamic upper body
Squat
10x20kg
5x 60kg
5x 70kg
3x 80kg

Work Sets
3x 95kg
3x 107.5 kg
3x 120kg

Conditioning
30 DB snatch (15 each arm) @ 17.5kg
30 burpees
30 DB snatches
Time: 5.54

Training

5 min time trial on C2 rower
1479m
Almost died after this. Rest of session was core work, boxing, spin bike and circuit including box jumps, turkish getups, burpees, push ups and dead lifts.

Squat 5's

Was kind  of dreading this session a bit as I had had a small lay off from my weights in the past 10 days. For this reason it was crucial to get back on the horse this week as the public holiday and weather should mean a bit less volume with running at training. I am going to try for 2 full cycles at 4days a week to help bust through winter and give me a solid base for the back end of season which will be speed focussed. I am sensing a reset soon but want to stave this off as long as possible because the value of resetting will lie in the ability to up the volume and drill the assistance work and this is best to the offseason. My only focus now is to carry the strength levels through to post season. This means no maxing out on last sets and assistance work only when feeling fresh for the lower body. Workout today was:

Warmup Sets
5x60
5x67.5
3x80

Work Sets
5x87.5
5x100
5x115

Assistance Sets
Deadlift
3x10x67.5
Chins
2x8

Rest day- Sunday

Just a big sleep in and a refuel. Back into weights tomorrow. Had a month or two anaerobic focus with weights as the support act so am looking for 6-8 solid weeks of low volume strength work as the focus to get me to semi finals.

NSW Cup

Only my 4th game in this grade. Easily covered more than 8km again in this one though forgot to restart garmin at half time.
Good reports afterwards and DVD came up pretty clean.

Stretch an Roll

Friday is a rest day with just a light roll on the foam roller and some gentle stretching. Game is tomorrow at 3pm.

Narrowneck Night Run

This race is the one race of Running Wild series that I looked forward to the most. The basic premise was a 20km run as a simple10km out and back on wide 4WD track. We were to set off at 7:30pm, head lamps on at half way and return in the dark. On the way out views into the valleys on both sides with a setting sun. However the weather had other ideas.

As we drove up the mountain it was clear that the overcast weather on the flats was actually low cloud and mist in Katoomba... This was actually pretty good. I hadn't been on a misty run in the mountains for a few years. It would however throw up some other challenges.

Since I had never attempted a night run before the question of lighting needed to be answered. I had a very cheap (free) head lamp given to me. I had also read that some runners prefer a hand held as it helps with shadowing etc. I decided to cover my bases and take both. Also that fact that I was running with a mate who had a decent light meant I was confident enough. The conditions however would make my selection a foolish one. Had I not had a friend to run with I would not have had much light. Running side by side we did OK but only OK. The thick fog and later rain meant that the beam of light from the head leamp basically just made for white glare in front of my face. If I aimed further ahead it was not bright enough to bounce of anything and basically didn't work. The hand held LED fared a little better and I would consider using it again with a better head lamp. If I was ever to run again at night I would pay for at least 55 lumens of light. Lesson learnt.

The folks at Running Wild, once again put on a great event. After parking at Katoomba Pools we shuttled down to the start line in a minibus. We set off  on time and with a field of 200 runners there was plenty of traffic in the first kilometre. The track, while graded was very rocky and picking a path that didn't bruise the feet was an early challenge. I stopped to answer the call of nature just after 3km in and we cruised along easily for a while. I got a bit of a stitch under the ribs from the undualting climbs and  form was probably a bit loose down the hills so I  had to back it off  for a little bit. It passed and we came across a runner who had had a fairly decent tumble about 8km in. We reached the halfway point and it was dark enough to warrant lighting. With brief pause to have some grapes, a decent drink and a chat to the officials about the injured runner we set off on the return trip.

Watching the lights coming towards us through the dark and fog was a surreal sight. The quiet of the bushland at night time was amazing. The rain picked up and it was a bit breezy in parts but having to concentrate on the little patch of light in front of you was intense. My memory of the return trip is as though it was in fast forward but in reality it was much slower than we wanted to go. The feeling of disorentation was the thing I remember best. Not being able to tell whether you are running up or down a slope. Cresting a hill and losing the track even if only for a split second. I now have a lot more respect for those Ultra runners who tackle night running under heavy fatigue. It was definitely a unique challenge. A few times I dared to look up ahead or shift my gaze and was rewarded by kicking my toes on big rocks and almost taking some falls of my own. A couple of times we had to caution each other to watch the edges. More times I can remember my left foot stood on sharp rocks and the ball of my foot took a pounding.

When we finally finished in just over 2 hours we were wet, foot bruised and totally pumped. We were smart enough to bring a dry shirt with us to the start line but at about 12 degrees and light rain I will remember for next time to bring all of my dry clothes to the starting area. One of the older runners had hypothermia and had to be bussed out early. We finally got back to our cars at about 1030pm and the seat warmers in my mates car were a welcome respite. My head didn't hit the pillow until after midnight. Overall a great experience with a few lessons learnt and another trail to put in the diary as a great run.