Jim vs. Murph (60%)

I have not given up on the Summer of Murph.

“Murph” (60%)
Run 0.6 miles
60 pull-ups
120 push-ups
180 squats
Run 0.6 miles

So, this is the new plan for the Summer of Murph: instead of adding 5% every two weeks, add 10% every three. I finished this in 23:18. That’s almost six minutes faster than when I did 60%  during the last SoM, but it brings my theoretical Murph time from 36:10 to 39:20. That’s less than pleasing, since the latter number is higher than my actual Murph time.

But maybe that shouldn’t be surprising? We’ll see how things go in three weeks.

Jim vs. The Half-Murph, Part 1 of The Second Summer of Murph

Gods help me, I’m gonna try another Summer of Murph. Organized slightly differently, but I’ll get to that. Right now, the 50% Murph.

Half-Murph
.5 mile run
50 pull-ups
100 push-ups
150 squats
.5 mile run

Finished in 18:05, again. That’s almost eerie.

We’ll see where this goes.

Jim vs. The Half-Murph

I’d like to do a full Murph again this summer.  And while I don’t plan on doing a whole ‘nother Summer of Murph, it seemed wise — considering my running performances of late — to ease myself in a bit.

Half-Murph
.5 mile run
50 pull-ups
100 push-ups
150 squats
.5 mile run

Finished in 18:05.  That’s more than eight minutes faster than when I did a half-Murph last year, a 31% improvement. At that rate, a full Murph would’ve taken me 36:10, two minutes faster than the time which was, frankly, incredible for me.

Not that I’m up to doing a full Murph that fast today, but damn if it didn’t feel like a good start.

Jim vs. Murph

The increasingly inaccurately named Summer of Murph has come to a close.

“Murph”
Run 1 mile
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 squats
Run 1 mile

I confess, I just wanted to get this thing done. What I didn’t realize is that I’d get it done so quickly.

I finished in 38:20. That’s more than three minutes faster than my 95% time, and almost six minutes faster than my best “theoretical” Murph time. Everything felt smooth on this one: I kept up a strong pace in the runs, and instead of starting with 5 pull-up/20 push-up/5 pull-up/30 squat rounds and then fading to rounds of 5/15/5/20 (or fewer) two-thirds of the way through, I maintained the 5/20/5/30 rounds throughout. I knocked out five before my first breather, three before my second, and then the last two.

Rawk.

The Summer of Murph was rarely pleasant, but I’m thrilled with how it went. Between it and my back squat linear progression, my workouts have had a strong, focused core these last five months. I’m gonna take a break for some travel, and then I need me a couple more projects.

Jim vs. Murph (95%)

Well, damn.

“Murph” (95%)
Run 0.95 miles
95 pull-ups
190 push-ups
285 squats
Run 0.95 miles

I felt like I was roaring through this one. I wasn’t setting a PR on my first run, but I was moving well. I flew through the middle section, not needing a real breather until I’d passed the halfway mark. The second half of that and the second run were unsurprisingly rougher, but I finished the whole thing at 41:47. Not only is that five seconds faster than my 90% time, it put my theoretical Murph time at 43:59, my fastest by a solid two and a half minutes.

One more to go, and I’m actually kinda looking forward to it.

Jim vs. Murph (90%)

Last week I was on vacation, and aside from practicing a bit with the kali sticks, my exercise was limited to swimming in the ocean and taking walks on the beach. I told myself I needed to give my body that kind of rest, even as I was similarly resting my mind… and it turned out to be more than just a rationalization, as evidenced by my return to the Summer of Murph.

“Murph” (90%)
Run 0.9 miles
90 pull-ups
180 push-ups
270 squats
Run 0.9 miles

I finished this up in 41:52, which gave me a theoretical Murph time of 46:31 (my fastest yet). I’m closing in on this thing.

Jim vs. Murph (85%)

Some backsliding on this one.

“Murph” (85%)
Run 0.85 miles
85 pull-ups
170 push-ups
255 squats
Run 0.85 miles

So I decided to get my Murph on two weekends in a row, on account that I’ll be traveling next weekend. I’d say that, plus the fact that I haven’t been getting enough sleep this week, contributed to this workout feeling even more miserable than usual right from the start.

I finished in 41:02, which gives a theoretical Murph time of 48:16. That’s my worst since I did the 65% version. I can try to rationalize it (see above), or just say that I had an off day, but it’s still frustrating.

Honestly, this week had a lot of these kind of frustrations. I need to get more sleep.

Jim vs. Murph (80%)

Closer to the end then to the beginning, now.

“Murph” (80%)
Run 0.8 miles
80 pull-ups
160 push-ups
240 squats
Run 0.8 miles

Finished in 37:14, which gives me a theoretical Murph time of 46:54. That’s another improvement, and it’s a full minute under my theoretical time from a month ago.

It hit me today that I’ve only got four more sessions left in this Summer of Murph, and that feels damnably good. I may not finish it before the equinox, but I do believe that I just might finish it.

Jim vs. Murph (75%)

Three-quarters Murph. Halfway through the Summer of Murph (which is looking more and more like the Summer-and-Early-Fall of Murph, but I digress). My hamstrings were tight as hell today, and never loosened up. They still hurt. But I got it done.

“Murph” (75%)
Run 0.75 miles
75 pull-ups
150 push-ups
225 squats
Run 0.75 miles

Did my best to do the full range of motion on all three exercises today, since my push-ups have been slacking in that regard, and I definitely saw improvement there. Finished in 35:24, which give a theoretical Murph time of 47:12, my fastest yet. Well worth some sore hamstrings.

Jim vs. Murph (70%)

Oh, hell yes. I have regained some measure of my Summer of Murph groove.

“Murph” (70%)
Run 0.7 miles
70 pull-ups
140 push-ups
210 squats
Run 0.7 miles

Maybe it was the cooler weather, but this just felt better, stronger, cleaner right from the start. I kept up a solid pace on both runs, and felt like I just rolled through the middle section as well. I finished in 33:33, which makes the theoretical full-Murph time for this one 47:55. I am pleased not only in the fact that this is my fastest theoretical full-Murph time to date, but also because my actual time for this one was 14 seconds faster than my 65% time from two weeks ago.

Rawk.