Wine Country CrossFit

I’m big into the efficacy of CrossFit these days. I want to convince the endurance athletes – you know, the long slow distance kinda-folks – that they could get more bang from their training buck if they would just give CrossFit a try. But we all sip our own kool-aid, and most endurance folks won’t touch CrossFit with a 10 foot pole. They could get injured. It will make them bulky, etc.

I recently discovered this letter to a CrossFit naysayer. It spells out the advantages of how CrossFit  increases the work capacity for the endurance athlete, and in less time. Please read on:

My name is Jeff Peterson, a long-time endurance athlete and current crossfit endurance athlete. I’ve been running for a long time now -High School, College (University of North Carolina) and beyond. I’ve also had some positive results in triathlon, having some overall amateur wins ( Pacific Grove ’09)and eventually earned my professional license.
I have been the athlete that has run 100 mile weeks, logged 25hr triathlon training weeks, and have lived and breathed my sport trying to improve. It has gotten me a lot and has been fun but at too great of a cost. I first learned of Crossfit and Crossfit Endurance in the fall of 2010. This was coming off of a period of doing NOTHING. I was at my wits end with endurance sport. My wife(a professional runner) and I were expecting our 2nd child and had recently taken in my 11yr old brother. That, coupled with a full time job, did not coincide with my training regime. So, when I found CrossFit Endurance, I was certainly interested. I experimented with my own programming and took to tempo runs, interval runs, and 3-5 XFIT WODS per week at TJ’s Gym in San Rafael. That November, I ran 1:09.15 for a half marathon at the “Clarksburg Country Run” (look it up if you need to). From there, I was hooked. I attended a Crossfit run seminar in San Francisco, where I met Brian Mackenzie. The knowledge gained was powerful and Brian’s willingness to help was astounding. I’ve been following his lead with endurance workouts and have been CrossFitting at San Francisco Crossfit. My workouts, which are very similar to what I was doing on my “Hard” days previous years, are going great. I feel fit, strong, but most of all I have more time for the MORE important parts of my life. My racing has been sparse but only because we just had our 2nd child, mentioned previously. However, I tested my fitness at the San Francisco Presidio 10 Mile (also the RRCA National Champs with a good prize purse). I won easily, even with the course marshals sending me the wrong way). On a hilly course, 3 weeks ago, I ran 55:36.
I run under 2:30 in the marathon, go under 9 in an Ironman, have run under 31mins in the 10k, and all under the CFE regimen.  Am I elite? I don’t know but what I do know is this….
Crossfit Endurance is an amazing community of coaches and athletes that promote a lifestyle of being VERY fit in less time. I am proud to be involved in this “revolution” of endurance fitness through Brian and through San Fran Crossfit.
Not only do I have more time for my expanding family, career, friends and social life but I feel GOOD. My energy is always high, my overall health and physical preparedness is better than it ever has been, I can hop in a pickup hoops game and not feel sore for days, and I look forward to my workouts every day – a far cry from my 100mile weeks/25 hr training weeks.
I will continue to use Crossfit Endurance because it works for me and it keeps me on “the podium”. Whether that is a 5k or Ironman.

In short, adding CrossFit to my endurance training has positively changed my life. My work capacity is dramatically increased with way less training! I’m sold.