Weight Routine

I’ve been lifting weights 3x/week since October, getting into a nice pre-work routine at Anytime Fitness in Springfield.  A gentleman “regular”, who I see routinely, recently approached me and requested that I write out what I do each day.  Apparently I fly around fast enough that he can’t quite tell.  I wrote it out, so I figured I might as well post it here. 

Focus:

• General strength
• Aerobic/Anaerobic stamina
• The ability to work one group, then work a separate/opposing group while the previous group is resting
• EFFICIENCY – trying to get in and out of the gym quickly!

 Strategy:

• Alternate UPPER and LOWER body
• Alternate “flexion” versus “extension” exercises (if applicable)
• CIRCUIT-STYLE – do one set of an exercise, the quick rotate to next
• Two sets of TWO different circuits

CIRCUIT ONE

• Horizontal Row
• Squat (either bar or dumbbell)
• Lat Pulldown
• Calf Raise
• Ball Push-ups
• Side Plank/Leg Raises

CIRCUIT TWO

• Bicep Curl
• Single Leg Good Morning
• Bent Flys
• (Roman Chair – sometimes, now phasing out due to time/redundancy)
• Leg Extension
• Pull-Ups (Assisted à Full)
• Leg Flexion

NOTES:

• I do a 2 minute elliptical warm-up
• I do TEN reps of everything except for ball push-ups (x20) and single arm/leg exercises (x10 each = x20)
• When possible I RUN/JOG between machines or lifts (if it’s more than 10’ or 20’ away)
• The entire routine – the warm-up, 300 total reps – takes <20 minutes
• The goal is NOT to rush the reps – I try to take at least 2 seconds / rep

 Runners need to RUN.  However, resistance strength is vitally important. I fault my lack of weight training in my TCM build-up for the calf/heel issues I've had since.  And you can't argue with an hour a week for that quality.

Odds & Ends

Random musings:

• Friday Confidence Boost: running "easy" 300 repeats in 4:25 - 4:40 pace and feeling strong.
• Saturday Confidence Shatter: sliding and slopping around at Hagg Lake, wondering how the hell anyone could run under 8:00 pace on that crap (as the top 3 all did), and wondering how Max King ran 3:26 on that course*.

!*Answer: the course was FROZEN in 2010!)

• This week I read one of Mr. Ball's posts about "Western States Widows", and the resulting discussion, which highlighted the importance of balance in a runner's life, with respect to The Important Things - friends, family, careers.  The discussion resonated with me; I need to do better.  Do better at sacrificing and compromising, but also a better job of involving and integrating loved ones into this "lifestyle".  I believe THAT is the key; as such, I'm so happy that my family ("the entourage") is enthusiastic about my WS100 run. 

• As such, the plan for this week:  NO Fall Creek Run-Around on Saturday; instead, on Friday afternoon: Sharps Creek Rd (road course, but BIG ELEVATION), then a weekend away in YACH-ets w/Britt.  Bonus: Britt gets to hone her crewing skills (on bike?)....or, if the weather is brutal, x3 Ridgeline/Spencer Laps

• Almost finished reading a fascinating book, Deep Survival.  Check it out.  Many, many lessons and applications to rather extreme endeavors such as WS.  I'll write about it more here in a bit...

Training: 14-20 February

Monday, 2-14-11
Skinner Butte + VRC - 6 miles
Met the Sheldon AD at lunch, then came back to work to run solo. Ran an easy Skinner + VRC, felt pretty good.

Tuesday, 2-15-11
South Eugene - 4 miles
Really tired today; rainy, cold, crappy day. Thought about running more, but I need the rest.

Wednesday, 2-16-11
Willamette Path to Owosso w/Jeff - 9.5 miles
Ran to Owosso Bridge w/Jeff again; kept it easy to the Bridge, and once across, I ran a 2-mile AT run solo. Felt a little sliggish for the whole thing, but I came around a bit at the end: 5:46, 5:38. Looped back and got Jeff, who was feeling a little rough. Jogged the last couple easy.

Thursday, 2-17-11
South Eugene/Rexius - 7.5 miles
Ran long over lunch; South + Rexius. Wasn't too swampy. Focus on keeping it easy but good hip mechanics. It helped getting rolled up on by a UO guy.

Friday, 2-18-11
Sheldon Track Session w/Jeff - 9.5 miles
It's been forever since we've done a Friday track session; Jeff's been pestering me to do one, and now that I'm healthy -- and, based on Sunday's outcome, VERY SLOW -- it's time to get back to it.

Traditional 3-mi warm-up + 2 laps strides, then the repeats. Windy today, but had the wind at our backs for the first 150, then a faceful the last 100. I led the first because I wanted to ease into them. Jeff ran 1-2, 4, 6 and 8. I did all 8. The splits:

52.9, 53.2, 52.9, 52.7, 51.6, 52.1, 51.9, 50.5

Averaged about :70 for the rest, which was 50m walk, 50m jog. Felt REALLY STRONG, except for the last 75m into the strengthening wind. Focused on mechanics -- flick and pull, more assertive pull w/lefty, etc.

Hammies a little sore after, but overall felt strong and great. 3-mi cooldown.

PM: Around SEHS w/Garrett - 2miles
Met with a coaching client to work on mechanics, some drills, then an easy 2 miles around campus.  Weather was brutally cold, rainy/snowy!

Saturday, 2-19-11
Hagg Lake Ultra (volunteer) - 19 miles
Woke up EARLY (430), packed up and drove to PDX for the 2011 Hagg Lake Ultra. Way back when, I wanted to race this, but my achilles put the kibosh on that. Instead, I went up to knock out my "mandatory volunteering" hours. Nice drive to Newburg (right past Champoeg), then country roads to Hagg Lake, about 30 miles W of PDX. The roads were ICY and going was slow -- so much so, that when I arrived at the Lake for the race, many others were just arriving -- or would not arrive at all -- due to the conditions. Ice everywhere, including the first mile(s) of the course. Despite the ice, it was a PURE SUN day -- not a cloud in the sky, making for a beautiful day from start to finish.

From 745 to noon I helped out at the start/finish, doing odd jobs. Shortly past noon, my job was to "sweep" -- or bring up the caboose on the course, behind the last person, so that the aid stations can close. I started my run, excitedly, about 30min after last place slogged through. I was hoping I'd be able to run several miles before running into them.

The course was unbelievably muddy -- EPIC mud. Ridiculous mud -- ranging from a half inch to a legit half a foot. Of the 14 mile lake loop, at least 7 of it was pure mud, puddle and everything in between. Insanity.

I ran along for a good four miles until I hit last place, so then I turned around for a few minutes, and doubled back -- this would be the theme of the day, resulting in a good 17-18mi run in 2:30. I stopped at both aid stations for 5-10min and helped them pack up.

I ran all but the last 1.5 miles of the course, when I ran into the last place woman. By this time, I was tired and my heels sore, so I walked/waddled in, amongst the sea of mud.

Overall it was pretty fun, but I would've been frustrated if I raced -- NOT worth the money, that's for sure. The only downside for me: my R achilles got aggravated after yesterday's track workout.

Post-race: had a couple hot dogs ("Whatever's free..."), then walked back to my car and rinsed my legs off in the lake -- which were CAKED in mud.

Was gonna drive to PDX to hang w/Julie but she was busy, so I rolled down OR47/99 to Corvallis to hang w/Mike, et al. Nice day!

Sunday, 2-20-11
Ex Bike at work - 0 miles (60min cross-train)
Slept in at Mike's, then drove home. Spent most of the day packing up my stuff. At 5 I made it to work, where I ex biked while reading WS100 posts -- most of which were linked from Thornley's blog. GREAT READING. I could seriously bike for HOURS while reading those.

TOTAL: 57.5 miles.
SUMMARY: Good week, ups and downs.  UPs: A good, well-deserved recovery week after a huge escalation from 0 - 75 in only a month's time; a great workout on Friday, the stride feeling and looking strong.  DOWNs: lingering achilles issues, both side; still favoring the L leg (overusing R); did not get long, rugged trail run this week -- important training for both volume and hills/terrain. 

Training: 7 - 13 February

Monday, 2-7-2011
Monday: Jeff's Noon Loop + VRC -  9 miles
Ran easy w/Jeff, then added on solo. Felt OK. Flat and easy.

Tuesday, 2-8-2011
Rexius loop from Tamarack - 5 miles
Had a patient at Tamarack Pool, so I ran from/to there, via Rexius trail, which is in great shape since it's been so dry. Tired today.

Wednesday, 2-9-2011
Willamette Path w/Jeff (to Owosso) - 9 miles
Ran a flat 9 with Jeff over lunch, felt OK but I was a little dehydrated. Jeff was really dehydrated, per usual, so when he started dragging after the bridge, we stopped at VRC for a drink. Felt a lot better after that.

Thursday, 2-10-2011
NOON: South Eugene - 4 miles
Typical South Eugene loop. Nice day.
NIGHT: SEHS Track Workout w/Maggie - 7 miles
Met Maggie at SEHS for our last K session. 3mi warm-up, then strides, then 3xROR Ks -- faster than we've done them yet: all in the 3:20s, even though she was tired. Good workout and another beautiful night -- we've gotten so lucky! 1 mile cooldown on the track for an even 7.

Friday, 2-11-2011
PRE/Hendricks Climb + Rexius - 17 miles
Ran solo after work, since Jeff was ill again. I wanted to run Hendricks + Ridgeline/Spencer, but when I changed into my running stuff I found I had NO SOCKS. With no time to run home, I ran without any. Bad move.

BEAUTIFUL DAY: nearly 60 with mostly sunny skies. Awesome!  Felt a lot better than last week, kept it easy through PRE and floated along up/down Hendricks, but by the time I finished stomping down Hendricks, I could feel my feet getting raw (even before, on Knickerbocker). Sucked. By the time I got to Hilyard they were pretty damn bad but I was 10 miles in. I ran down to Rexius; knowing it'd be disastrous to go up, I stuck on the trail. About a mile-ish in, I figured I'd just run barefoot! So I did, running >2mi along the bark. It felt GREAT when the bark was soft, but brutal when I came across gravely sections.

Ran the last 3+mi in shoes, which sucked to put back on. Finished up in exactly 2:00:00 for the run. Drank NUUN on the run for the first time, which tasted good and was friendly on the stomach.

Saturday, 2-12-2011
Oakmont Park + Skinner/Willamette Path - 6 miles
Met Sarah-Kate for a coaching session, running easy and doing some imagery. After fooling around a bit, I went on a solo run. Felt pretty good, not too tired from the long run.

Sunday, 2-13-2011
TRUFFLE SHUFFLE 4M + long cooldown - 17 miles
Very tired going into the 30th running of the Truffle Shuffle. Did an easy 3-shuffle for warm-up, then waited around for the start. Just minutes from the start I saw and met (finally) Craig Thornley and Meghan Arbogast, with whom I would eventually do a nice, long cooldown.

But not til I sucked at a 4M, first!

Got out seemingly relaxed, but running that hard -- basically running in the 5:xxs per mile -- was such a shock that I really fell off. After the first mile (5:11), I "settled back" -- fell off the back -- of the lead group of 4-6 runners. Over the next 1-2 miles we strung out even further. At mile two I heard an erroneous split: 10:20 -- so I thought I was doing a good job hanging on. But in actuality it was more like 10:40!

Focused on form and NOT getting a R-sided diaphragm cramp over the next 2 miles. Not much of a hard finish at the end, and I decided against the "B### Kick" over the last 400m, though there was a guy right in front of me.

Finished in a pedestrian 21:46. I've run marathon tempos faster, but all-in-all, it's right where I SHOULD be right now.  Splits: 5:11, 5:22, 5:37, 5:36.  Sheesh.

Changed into cooldown gear, then met a big crew for a cooldown. Ran with Craig, Meghan, Lewis Taylor (who finished right behind me, and ALSO thankfully did not b%%-kick), and Tom-something ("Tea-Bag?"). Ran very easy east along PRE, into Springfield, then to Dorris Ranch -- one of my favorite runs. Just approaching Dorris, we ran into Dan Olmstead and Dan Wojcik. Did a lap inside Dorris (:p), then ran easy back.

Felt a range of good to nasty gut-rot -- I ate something odd last night, because I had it all day -- had to stop twice in Island Park to deuce. Overall it was a fun, easy run.  It was great to meet and run with that group today; I had a great time, and I look forward to learning a lot more from these "crafty veterans"!

Good day: 3 warm-up, 4 race, 11 easy cooldown. Another double long-run for the week.

TOTAL: 75 miles
SUMMARY:  Pretty good week.  Double long runs, and a nice wake-up call that I'm very slow and out of shape.  Or, perhaps more accurately, that I can't get away with not running hard for three months, nor can I do a 17-miler this early and expect to run fast 2 days later. Really glad I met with with "Lord Balls" and "The Queen".  It was fun being one of the minions! 

Training: 31 January - 6 February

1-31-2011
Mon: River Falls, WI: RF Loop + Wasson/Campus - 6.5mi (-)
Nice AM run after my mid-night hangover! -- stride felt TERRIFIC -- "long and light", even in the snow. W/focus on proximal control through the hips, it's way easier to navigate/control on even the brown snow. Long rest of the day - 90min delay due to some guy having some health issue right before take-off, so we had to circle back to "drop him off". Got back to PDX, drove to Anytime for a lift. Then Winco, home, and Britten's.

2-1-2011
Tue-Noon: South Eugene - 4mi (-)
Unremarkable noon run.
PM: To Sheldon + Barefoot/Strides + back w/Avalon - 4 mi (-)
Ran w/Avalon after work; ran from Oakway to Sheldon, did a mile barefoot + some strides, then back to Oakway. Had a good talk about "Letting Go".

2-2-2011
Wed-Noon: Big PRE + Hendricks climb x1 - 10mi (500')
Did the Hendricks Climb again, this time with a bottle. SICK. Did not feel great at all, but I got a coffee at Borders afterwards to make it through the work afternoon. Looked like death after the run!

2-3-2011
Thu-Noon: Short South Eugene - 3mi (-)
Nice day but brutal run due to illness. Felt terrible; tired, hot, feverish. Intentionally brought money with me to buy coffee when I was done; that was the only way I'd survive my run. But low and behold, at Vero Espresso (house), 2 blocks from my work, there was "Britten" with two coffees! Very key. :) The rest of the work day went well...
PM: Track session w/Maggie (6x200m) - 5.5mi (-)
Another good track session. 2.5 WU, then 6x200 at "mile pace" (39-35) with relatively faster recovery (<1min 200m). Traded off leading, w/relaxation. Focus: Maggie's arm carriage. MY stride felt really good. These mini sessions are really fun. Felt a TON better than my noon run; more energy, less sick.

2-4-2011
Fri-Noon: Hendricks Climb + PRE - 16mi (500')
BRUTAL long run, but "good training". Worked 7-1 today; SICK. Lifted in the AM and was really tired after that, so I grabbed a coffee (a bad habit developing...)

The "idea" was to run 3-hours today -- just go "shuffle" and put in some foot-time, but from the get-go I felt terrible. Did the first segment with Jeff, so I took him on the Hendricks climb. Felt crappy 'til we started climbing up Birch St; then I felt good -- and really that was the only time. Bombing down to campus I felt like crap and stayed that way. Took some Clif Bloks at UO (and even got Jeff to take 2), then cruised back to the office.

The idea was to drop off Jeff then keep going, but I felt so crappy I decided to bag it at only 10 miles. It took maybe 3min back at the office to decide I needed to get back out there; and "practice feeling like shit". And felt like shit I did!  I tacked on the flat, easy PRE Loop but felt a new level of awfulness -- fatigue + dizzy/lightheaded, even though I'd been fueling and reasonably salting(?). I dissolved an E-Cap into my Powerade bottle, but it wasn't til I took a 100mg caffeine Clif Shot did I snap out of it and get coherent. Even still, I felt awful all the way back.

Wound up being about 16 miles (maybe 17) in 2 hours. It was an awful run but it was good practice to spend some time in that "shitty zone" and do some things, nutritionally, to snap out of it and persist.   I was legitimately sick the rest of the day, so I went home and basically slept the rest of the night.

2-5-2011
Sat: Dorris Ranch - 9.5 (200')
Slept in, then spent all morning reading the result from my Google search: "Western States Race Report". Got a lot of insight, and hopefully I'll learn from many mistakes laid out in those reports.

Despite the illness, and the tough run yesterday, I felt REALLY good on this run. Thought about a bike ride but I discovered ANOTHER flat tire on my bike so I just ran. Did a pure-Springfield run by going from our place to Dorris Ranch, as sweet filbert farm/public space along the Willamette in SE Springfield. Kept it super easy. Enjoyed the few big hills. It's a great feeling when 8-10mi feels "normal" again!

2-6-2011
Sun: South Eugene + Amazon/Rexius - 8mi (-)
Met S-K at the HS, did some barefoot running/gait training, then I ran solo. L calf a little sore overnight, but I foam rolled both beforehand and they were fine.  Kept it super-easy on the trail, trying not to either run fast or on my toes. Nice morning. Rexius was runnable due to practically no rain in over two weeks! Crazy.

TOTAL: 66.5 miles.  
Another good week.  No true workouts, but a nice -- if not aggressive -- mileage build-up. 

Waxing Philosophic

After three weeks of >40 miles and three legitimate (e.g. >10mi) long runs, I consider myself officially "back" from my "three month tour of Europe, Scandinavia, and the Subcontinent".  It's been great, though there are still minor issues I continue to work through -- namely AM stiffness in both heels.

Ultra training -- the concept as much as the day-to-day -- has been such a liberating experience thus far.  Gone is the pressure to run FAST; rather, the mindset is to "Run like you have to run a hundred miles".  Rather than forcing a pace, the focus is relaxation and efficiency.

But the interesting thing: I feel FASTER!  From a biomechanical aspect, this makes perfect sense -- before maximal speed/force, there must be technical excellence.  There's a reason why golf instructors implore their students to "swing easy" -- because one must learn to perfect the technique while relaxed before you can amplify.  To "Grip and Rip" is to risk penalty strokes.  The same is true for fast and hard running with less-than ideal mechanics.

It'll be interesting to see, in the coming weeks, if my overall footspeed truly IS faster.  

But even better: running is far more enjoyable.  With the exception of Friday's "Illness Run", every long run I've done in the past three weeks, I've felt like I could go hours longer.  I'm sure this is reflective of the "7-week freshener", but I also think it's in large part due to relaxed, efficient mechanics.  Running is FUN!

Random Musings...

...I'm almost for-sure in for Chuckanut 50K, thanks to a petition to the RD and a waitlist placing.  I look forward to that weekend, for equal parts competition/ability testing and pre-/mid-/post-race ultra running community.

...Ian Sharman just ran 7:38 pace for 100 miles at Rocky Raccoon.  Wow.  Awesome.  This is an example, and a prelude to where ultra running is heading:  Mechanics + Nutrition + Toughness = incredible performances like we've never seen before.  I look forward to "racing him" at AR50, and WS100 this year.

...I spent probably 4 hours this weekend on this Google search: "Western States Race Report".  Read about a lot of bad races, and a lot of mistakes; and I learned a lot.  Among the best, informative success stories:

Meghan Arobgast ('10);
Bryon Powell ('05);
and coincidentally, Iam Sharman ('10).

Ian ran the most simple strategy for his 8th place WS/100-mile ultra debut:  

• Run really easy early (30th place through the first third), 
• Drink nearly exclusively electrolyte drink (including his own Nuun-supplemented water), and 
• Eat early, often and a lot.  

His only hiccup: forgetting to mix in Nunn tablets into his water at Foresthill, resulting in a 18-mile hyponatremic stretch that maybe cost him 20-30 minutes.

Thus far, his is the template for my debut.

Training: 24-31 January

01-24-2011
Mon: Big PRE - 6.5mi (-)
Tired from Sunday's long run.  SORE mostly on R leg, which meant I was favoring still on the hill running Sunday.

01-25-2011
Tue-Noon: Short South Eugene - 3mi (-)
Short run because I had a complicated patient -- a new eval -- come in 10min late right before run time.  I hate that.  Felt OK. 
PM: "Amber McGown Memorial" + Tamarack - 5.5mi (200')
Ran to Tamarack pool to see if my Zoom marathoners were there -- no dice.  Really tired after work.  

01-26-2011
Wed-Noon: Big PRE + Hendricks climb x1 - 10mi (750')
Long noon run to Hendricks -- one up and over.  Righty still sore, so I made sure I was NOT favoring the L.  Worked out pretty well.  TIRED.


01-27-2011
Thu-Noon: South Eugene - 4mi (-)
Unremarkable noon run.  Focused on "long & light".
PM: Track session w/Maggie (4x200m) - 2.5mi
Met Maggie (coaching client) after work, did a mile+ on the trail, then 200m cut downs w/walk rest.  VERY SMOOTH.  She looked great; both of us felt great.  Splits: 37, 36, 35, 33, w/M leading 2 and 4.  

01-28-2011
Fri-Noon: RIVER FALLS, WI: Quarry + Golf Course + Hell's/Campus - 14mi (300')
GREAT long run back home, even though it was in the 20s and breezy.  Variable footing -- some brown snow.  I "made some brown snow" just of CTY M when I stopped to deuce.  Had to "wipe" w/POWDER snow and nearly froze off my hands.  Ran w/a water bottle to practice.  Stride felt TERRIFIC. 


01-29-2011
Sat-AM: AMERY, WI: Lake Wapo Run w/HS kids - 3mi (-)
Early AM run w/some HS kids at the 2011 Winter Retreat.  First-ever run with more than one other person at the WR, so that was cool.  Six other HSers got up before 7AM to run, including 4 girls.  Bomb.  Kept it real easy.  No other running that day.

01-30-2011
Sun-AM: AMERY, WI: Lake Wapo Run solo - 4.5mi (-)
Ran solo during breakfast, stride felt GREAT.  Variable snow footing, but "running from the hips" made the footing easier.  

TOTAL: 53 miles.  
GOOD WEEK.  Some bilat heel soreness (mostly in the AM), so I'm still stretching and strengthening quite a bit.  Stride felt AMAZING.  :)