Bam! The Obligatory is officially on vacation. I was surprised that my legs made an appearance on my run yesterday and I was able to get in a decently hard workout. I did 2 mile warmup, 3 mile float 30/1:00 w/ 30 @ mile/1:00 @ 10k, 1 mile cool down. I have also gotten in 1 hour of stairs and one gym session this week but that will probably be it.
I used to always dream about how much running I was going to do on vacation but the miles never seemed to materialize. I have realized that I tend to go into full on bum mode and not do much of anything as my schedule frees up. Oh, there will be fishing, drinking, fraternizing, gorging, sunning and just general all around good times had but probably little running. Maybe things would be different if we were heading to the mountains, but the thought of running aimlessly on mile after mile of pancake flat barrier island... just isn't overly appealing.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
The Deadlift and The Squat are for Real!
I have been struggling to find the best way to incorporate some kind of strength training into my routine, esp. stuff that focuses on the core and lower body. I have tried P90x and variations of different CrossFit workouts and the one common theme seemed to be lots of time in the gym and or doing the workout. I know that maintaining a strong core and lower body are essential to maintaining proper form when running high mileage and are a good way to keep injures such as ITBs at bay.
Maybe my efforts are misguided and the time that I am wasting at this point trying to fine tune some kind of a workout program could be better spent running. I like to think that they are not and that maybe I have found something that requires less time in the gym and provides better bang for that time. I am talking about the Greyskull LP method that is from JP over at Strengthvillian. I am in my 2nd week of doing the two day a week workout and all those muscles in my core and legs that I thought I was working using those other workouts, well, not so much. I am in and out of the gym in no time now and do two lifts per session. The bench and press don't really phase me b/c I have always done those but the deadlift and squat are kicking my arse. My posterior chain had basically ceased to exist over the years and my upper legs, esp. the top half of my hamstring and my rear end are crazy sore. This has made running a bit of slog and I was only able to manage 27 miles plus 2.5 hours of stairs last week.
While I am not super happy about the reduced mileage right now, I am convinced that this will pay off in the long run. I will be able to free up time for running by only going to the gym twice a week and spending less time there during each visit, thus making it possible to do on my lunch break. My goal is to continue to slowly shed pounds, while adding strength and mileage.
Maybe my efforts are misguided and the time that I am wasting at this point trying to fine tune some kind of a workout program could be better spent running. I like to think that they are not and that maybe I have found something that requires less time in the gym and provides better bang for that time. I am talking about the Greyskull LP method that is from JP over at Strengthvillian. I am in my 2nd week of doing the two day a week workout and all those muscles in my core and legs that I thought I was working using those other workouts, well, not so much. I am in and out of the gym in no time now and do two lifts per session. The bench and press don't really phase me b/c I have always done those but the deadlift and squat are kicking my arse. My posterior chain had basically ceased to exist over the years and my upper legs, esp. the top half of my hamstring and my rear end are crazy sore. This has made running a bit of slog and I was only able to manage 27 miles plus 2.5 hours of stairs last week.
While I am not super happy about the reduced mileage right now, I am convinced that this will pay off in the long run. I will be able to free up time for running by only going to the gym twice a week and spending less time there during each visit, thus making it possible to do on my lunch break. My goal is to continue to slowly shed pounds, while adding strength and mileage.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
199.5
I typically weigh-in at the gym on Mondays and only on Mondays. Our weight fluctuates from day-to-day and during the day, so there really is no good reason to weigh-in everyday. Well anyway, I weighed myself before my run this morning and tipped the scales at 199.5. I have not been below 200 since probably way back in high school. I got down as low as 201 in grad school right before getting married. I was working two jobs, taking 15 hours in grad school (ha! take that counselor - I got a good tongue lashing about how you should only take 9-12 hrs in grad school before the next semester), and trying to help plan a wedding. Then from that point it was a slow steady climb until I topped out around 240 a couple of years ago.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
2000 Mile Club
I see that BG has crossed over into the 2000 BF Mile Club. I don't know what my official barefoot mileage is at but I would guess in the 2,500 mile range? I did 2,400ish miles last year and about half of that was BF. I don't have a total for the year before, but I did a lot of BF running as I was a new convert. I am not great at tracking my mileage, esp. if I am not training for a race. Part of the reason that I started this blog was to have a better log of my mileage and that I heard that having a blog decreases your chances of DNFing. I know that BF Rick is blowing it out with something like 20,000+ plus BF miles. Then obviously BF Ken and the other old timers have lots of miles. I am not sure where Jason is at but he does have some kind of strange fascination with better writing and I hope he never stumbles on this mess of a blog. The point of this rambling is that the 2,000 Barefoot Mile club is pretty exclusive and way to go BG!
Week Ending 5.13.12 - Blogging is Hard! Yo!
Monday - AM - Gym, PM - 4 miles
Tuesday - 45 min stairs
Wednesday - AM - 30 min stairs, PM - 6 miles
Thursday - AM - 6 miles (2 mile warmup, 2 mile Float 30/30, MT 110, 2 mile cool down), PM - 4 miles
Friday - AM - 30 min stairs, PM - Gym
Saturday - 0 - Ugh, GI issues
Sunday - 10 miles
Total - 30 miles plus 1.75 hours stairs.
The total is obviously chump nickles without a Saturday long run but overall it was a solid week. There really was nothing I could do about Saturday as GI issues chased me back to the house before even getting down the block. This actually started on Friday night and lingered into Sunday, fun times. I continue to refine my diet and gym time and am down to 203.
As always, I continue to think of all kinds of things to blog about and then when I get some free time... I typically go to sleep!
Tuesday - 45 min stairs
Wednesday - AM - 30 min stairs, PM - 6 miles
Thursday - AM - 6 miles (2 mile warmup, 2 mile Float 30/30, MT 110, 2 mile cool down), PM - 4 miles
Friday - AM - 30 min stairs, PM - Gym
Saturday - 0 - Ugh, GI issues
Sunday - 10 miles
Total - 30 miles plus 1.75 hours stairs.
The total is obviously chump nickles without a Saturday long run but overall it was a solid week. There really was nothing I could do about Saturday as GI issues chased me back to the house before even getting down the block. This actually started on Friday night and lingered into Sunday, fun times. I continue to refine my diet and gym time and am down to 203.
As always, I continue to think of all kinds of things to blog about and then when I get some free time... I typically go to sleep!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Week Ending 5.6.12
Monday - 18 miles, MT 110, Town Lake - Austin, TX
Tuesday - 4 miles AM, MT 110, Town Lake - Austin, TX
13 mile PM, MT 110, Town Lake - Austin, TX
Wednesday - 0 miles
Thursday - 6 miles, MT 101
Friday - 4 miles
Saturday - 5 miles
Sunday - 6 miles
Total - 56 miles
Weight - 206
Nice easy week of running. I always enjoy getting out on the trails, even if they are as tame as Town Lake. I wanted to get out and run the Cactus Rose 100 course but my schedule was just too tight on this trip. I was able to catch lunch with Jim and Doom and it seems like they are up to no good with talk of some kind of podcast....
I am already down 6 lbs since starting a new diet and adding more focused lifting to my routine. That puts me on pace to lose 9-10 lbs in May (started towards the end of June) and would probably have me down to around 200. If you do the math, I'm 6'4, so that kind of weight loss isn't advisable over the long term. I would like to get down close to 180 before really ramping up the running in July and August. Then I won't have to worry about trying to lose weight between the Texas summer heat and trying to run up near 100 mpw.
This coming week marks my "official" start of Cactus Rose training. I used this last year to train for Cajun Coyote and I felt like it prepared me for the race and kept me healthy. However, I did injury my ankle a couple of weeks before CC at a local 50k and that ultimately resulted in a DNF at CC. I plan to use that same plan again but will add in 2 - 4 hours of stairs a week and will probably run more miles than the plan calls for. I would like to average 100 mpw for September before starting my taper.
Tuesday - 4 miles AM, MT 110, Town Lake - Austin, TX
13 mile PM, MT 110, Town Lake - Austin, TX
Wednesday - 0 miles
Thursday - 6 miles, MT 101
Friday - 4 miles
Saturday - 5 miles
Sunday - 6 miles
Total - 56 miles
Weight - 206
Nice easy week of running. I always enjoy getting out on the trails, even if they are as tame as Town Lake. I wanted to get out and run the Cactus Rose 100 course but my schedule was just too tight on this trip. I was able to catch lunch with Jim and Doom and it seems like they are up to no good with talk of some kind of podcast....
I am already down 6 lbs since starting a new diet and adding more focused lifting to my routine. That puts me on pace to lose 9-10 lbs in May (started towards the end of June) and would probably have me down to around 200. If you do the math, I'm 6'4, so that kind of weight loss isn't advisable over the long term. I would like to get down close to 180 before really ramping up the running in July and August. Then I won't have to worry about trying to lose weight between the Texas summer heat and trying to run up near 100 mpw.
This coming week marks my "official" start of Cactus Rose training. I used this last year to train for Cajun Coyote and I felt like it prepared me for the race and kept me healthy. However, I did injury my ankle a couple of weeks before CC at a local 50k and that ultimately resulted in a DNF at CC. I plan to use that same plan again but will add in 2 - 4 hours of stairs a week and will probably run more miles than the plan calls for. I would like to average 100 mpw for September before starting my taper.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Wisdom
Proverbs, 2 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding —
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding —
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Things That Suck #2
# 2 because this was first. Not that there was any planned order to these post.
It is simple. Recycle or use a garbage can. That simple.
Litter burns me up to no end, but regardless of my opinion on it, the senseless destruction of our planet goes on unabated. We have a few billion years left to finish destroying this place before the sun does it for us.
Super Moon? Gets a Frank in my book
Oh yeah, I've gotten in 50 miles this week and will probably add another 6 - 8 tomorrow to wrap up things.
It is simple. Recycle or use a garbage can. That simple.
 |
| Picture Taken on Local Trail by This Blog |
Litter burns me up to no end, but regardless of my opinion on it, the senseless destruction of our planet goes on unabated. We have a few billion years left to finish destroying this place before the sun does it for us.
Super Moon? Gets a Frank in my book
Oh yeah, I've gotten in 50 miles this week and will probably add another 6 - 8 tomorrow to wrap up things.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Austin, TX - A Rerun
I made a return trip to Austin, TX the official minimalist running mecca of the world according to this blog. I really wanted to get out to the Hill Country State Natural Area and run the Cactus Rose 100 course but my schedule was really tight and I was limited to running in the evenings and mornings on the trails in downtown. I managed to grind out 35 miles over two days and the legs responded nicely but then I got in zero yesterday because of my schedule, travel, and the fact that I was greeted home by a vomiting son. The little guy seems to being doing better today but I will skip my Thursday speedwork, since I usually bring him and the daughter out to the track with me. I will get in some miles tonight and might do my speedwork on Saturday morning in lieu of a long run and then I will officially start into my Cactus Rose training plan next week.
Week Ending 4.29.12
Well this week pretty much went off in the ditch from here on with only 30 min of stairs on Friday. Obviously I would have liked to have run more than 16 miles but I am not overly concerned with the lack of mileage at this point. I told myself that I was basically going to take a "break" and just run whatever felt good until I started seriously training for Cactus Rose 100. Running zero miles, sleeping late, and taking naps is what felt good this weekend.
I started a new diet and have been doing P90x and that combo has most certainly resulted in my overall lack of energy. I have been really impressed with the diet after only two weeks and will stick with that for a while but will most likely scrap the P90x here shortly. I think weight / circuit training is a vital part of any workout regime, even an ultra running training regime. I am going to take a bit of what I like from P90x, CrossFit and a few other things that I like and do a full body workout twice a week from here on out. I will then drop that to one day a week or even shelf it when the mileage gets high in August and September.
I started a new diet and have been doing P90x and that combo has most certainly resulted in my overall lack of energy. I have been really impressed with the diet after only two weeks and will stick with that for a while but will most likely scrap the P90x here shortly. I think weight / circuit training is a vital part of any workout regime, even an ultra running training regime. I am going to take a bit of what I like from P90x, CrossFit and a few other things that I like and do a full body workout twice a week from here on out. I will then drop that to one day a week or even shelf it when the mileage gets high in August and September.
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