“Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success.” – Richard Carlson
I am trying to refocus myself with more training. I know it seems like I'm always saying something like that. I just haven't really found a sustainable routine. I need to step outside of just running & work on building some strength. At the same time, I need to make sure that I stick to my 100 miles per month commitment. Pikes Peak is only 3 months away! Eek!
I attempted the treadmill incline routine. I kept wanting to grab the side rails & I did when I got tired. I decided that I needed more real world practice to keep me honest. So I threw on the 20lb vest and ran a half marathon. I use the term "run" loosely. It was more of a jog/hike. I was on the Squircle. So, I jogged the flats & downhills & hiked the uphills.
For the most part I felt pretty good. Initially, I planned to just do a couple of loops; about 10 miles. But as I settled into a rhythm I thought, "What the hell? Let's do a half." About mile 10 I passed by my car to refill my water & I was getting hot & tired. Those last 3 miles I was thinking, "What the hell!?!", in a whole different attitude... But I lugged on & stuck to my goal. I finished in just under 3hrs.
I recently got the opportunity to work with a health & wellness coach. It's basically a free 3 month program. One of our coaches, Bo, is getting certified & part of her final testing requires her to have programmed for clients. Check her out if you get a chance.
Infinite Fitness Frisco
So right now we are working on my eating habits & my training regimen. I have added more vegetables to my diet as well as not going back for seconds. I have got into a bad habit of eating until I'm just miserable. My training week will look like this while remaining flexible & allowing my body to rest when needed.
Monday - Strength training
Tuesday - Track / Speedwork
Wednesday - Medium distance easy run
Thursday - Strength training
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - Long run
Sunday - Trail run
The strength days will be varied depending on the week. I may be using the vest, hill repeats, cycling, XT, weight room. Keeping it variable will keep me from getting bored.
Since I felt like such a stud after the vest run, I decided to use it during the XT day too. Talk about taking it up a notch. Wow. I was destroyed after that workout.
All the hard training will wear you down. So you have to throw in some fun easy runs too! Those are my favorite! I setup a group run with the club & we had a blast. We also setup a Ninja Turtle run since we haven't been able to get together recently. I even let Leo take the picture. We also celebrated Sarah's 500th day of her run streak with a 5 mile run & bloody mary's!
That's enough for this month! Train hard & most importantly don't forget to have fun!
