The amazing Chris McCormack

Sometimes I get amazed at what people can do. One of my idols, Chris McComack just became the best Australian at an Olympic qualifier in Sydney. To qualify for the Olympics might not be the most impressive thing by itself, but let me tell you why I was impressed.

Before the Sydney Olympics, Chris was ranked number 1 in the world in Olympic distance triathlon, and was a sure shot. But political issues (that I will not go into) led him to the decision to forego his dream of going to the Olympics (though he very much was the top qualifier for his country).

12 years later, and 2 IronMan Kona wins later, he is once again trying to qualify for the Australian Olympic team. There is a difference between the IronMan and the Olympic distance triathlon, and it is not small. It is a difference of about 4 hours in length of time, or 108 miles of swimming, biking and running.

To run a marathon (26.2 miles) is not like running a 1500m (0.93 miles). The training is so different. You will never see a middle distance runner attempt to run anything remotely close to a marathon. After retiring from decathlons, I dabbled a bit in the triathlon. Many would think that I should rock because I was, after all, a champion decathlete. Let me tell you, I would get passed by women who started 2 or 3 groups behind me. My intense decathlon training certainly did not make me a good triathlete. Sprint training does not make one a good distance runner. I had spent my whole life trying to engage my fast twitch muscle fibers (for the explosiveness of decathlon) that my slow ones had gone on permanent vacation. So, the reason why you never see these athletes successfully cross from slow and long events to short and fast is that you can't train your muscles for both.

What does this have to do with anything you ask. Chris McCormack is trying to qualify for the Olympics in a distance that is 4 times faster than his normal pace. After winning his second IronMan Kona in 2010 he decided to try one last time to do the one thing he had yet to accomplish, to make the Olympic team. As of yesterday (one year after his crossover from Ironman to Olympic distance in thriathlon) he was the fastest Australian at the Sydney Olympic qualifier! All I have to say is: GO MACCA!!!

The Miche workout #6

A 20 min. workout that kicked my ass. I looked online for a cross fit workout and came across today's workout:

• 25 pull ups
• 50 dead lifts
• 50 push ups
• 50 box jumps
• 50 floor wipers
• 50 cleans and presses/arm
• 25 pull ups

This felt like a good trial run for the upcoming challenge. I felt good, but I'm sure tomorrow will be a different story.

The Miche workout #5

After a good workout yesterday I took today off. Since I didn't get to write about my workout yesterday, here it is:

• 2x15 push ups with pike (on the Flowin), followed by 8 pull ups
• 2x30 lunges followed by 10 burpies
• 6x20 sec. boxing and kicking
• 2x16 bar swings followed by 2x16 ab circles (on the Flowin)

Now I feel like I'm turning 40 soon. My body is in need of some rest before I go out and compete as a master for the first time. Los Gatos all-comers here I come!!

The Miche workout #4

Yesterday's workout left me very sore today, so I decided to do some running instead. It's amazing how many different muscles you use when you sprint and jump. Here is what I did today:

• Warm up jog around the track
• 3x100m sprints
• 10 standing long jumps
• 3x10 one legged bounding/leg
• 5 standing triple jumps

This has nothing to do with the challenge by the way. :) Let me know what you have been doing.

The Miche workout #3

For today's workout I was joined by my friend John, and I believe he had as much fun as I did. Here is what we did:

• Short warm-up
• 3x30 push ups, followed by 8 pull ups/set
• 2x15 lunges/leg, followed by 10 burpies/set
• 2x10 bicep pull ups, followed by 15 dips

It doesn't look like a whole lot, but I certainly feel it now. I think that the push ups are going to be the most challenging, and the pull ups, and ..... :)

Miche's Challenge!

This is a time based challenge. You start the timer when you begin your push ups, and stop when you finish the run at the end.

Advanced:

• 100 Push ups
• 25 Pull ups
• 100 Lunges
• 50/leg Hamstring push ups
• 100 Crunches
  
• 100 Sitting side twists
• 1 Mile run

Intermediate:

• 50 Push ups
• 50 Pull down (lat pulls) with a challenging weight
• 50 Lunges
• 25/leg Hamstring push ups
• 50 Crunches
• 50 Sitting side twists
• 1/2 Mile run

Test dates: 01/29/2012

02/26/2012

Make time for play.

Today's workout became a playful one. When the kids joined me at the track I took advantage of that. Workouts can, and should, consist of all kinds of activities. This time I did:

• 1/2 mile jog .
• 4x100m strides
• lots of jumping, with and without the girls.

As a kid, playing is the same as working out. Somehow we lose that concept as we get older. Working out is whatever you make it, within reason. Jumping around like a kid still counts as a workout,

If you know me, I'm always looking for challenges that will motivate me. Since I have finally reached the distinguished title of master, I have decided to try some long jumping this year. I have not done any track related training (speed work) in many years, so this will certainly be a challenge. The big challenge for me is to stay healthy, rather than to jump far. My mind still thinks that I'm 25, but my body does not agree.

I will still do some other small challenges along the way to keep things more fun. The first will follow very shortly. Come have some fun with me, and tell me how you do.