6 Weeks: 20 Miles : Attempt #1

 Weeks: 20 Miles : Attempt #1 

What a week! This week things really got incredibly tough for me and the funniness also began to take shape. Some pretty incredible things this week and some serious laughable moments . 

In an effort to keep my body confused, and making progress, this week was the end of a build cycle, but the workouts were a bit different. The only strength day I had this week was an upper body day. Yep, always trying to keep me confused. LOL! Normally I would have had a leg workout, but nope, upper body. 

Monday, I had a 5 mile run. I just felt like I was out of power . Period. Just nothing. I warmed up well, and felt OK. But I knew that I was going to be in for it coming out of the gates. Just felt like I had 0 power. It didn't help I went one of my more difficult 5 mile loops at home. But, in the end, it was done. Wednesday, I had another 5 mile run, with 3 in an upper z3. Again, by far, not my best, but lets remember that I was on pretty decently tired legs. 

Thursdays Workout was my massage that I have scheduled. Literally, I had to have that. My legs were 100% wasted, and that helped tremendously to freshen me up for Saturday. Friday I was off and came home and got off of my legs . I knew what was awating and I wanted to have everything I could have at my disposal. 

SATURDAY : 20 Miles. Attempt #1

Saturday was the day. We had finally arrived at 20 miles. I got up at 330 am . Laid in bed till 3:45 Got up then, got my gear on, and made my oatmeal and protien powder bowl. Ate it, ran out, made my water drops, came home , and went through some runners warmup yoga to make sure I was ready. I was nervous but optimistic. As I left out , it was dark, and I felt great. Well, best as could be. I tried to hold back some. The marathon you do not want to come out fast, or your gonna regret it later. I was trying to work on that. My plan was 5k chunks. Keep 2 at around 14:30 and then the third mile, try to lower the time to under 14 without getting out of my zone 2. I managed to do this the first 2 or 3 times. Then, I had some moron try to run me down , NOT ONCE, but TWICE. Luckily, I am very heads up , and was able to move in time. IDIOTS. But it did mentally get to me. I wanted to kill that dude. Made me a nervous wreck. Things were ok, but not the best. I began to tire at mile 11. I stopped at home by mile 14. Grabbed another water and a few bites of an orange. Headed out back down town. By this time, my feet were hurting and so were my calves. they were spazzing. By the end of this loop I was at 16 or so. I was dying. It hurt. I was in tears. But I kept thinking one mile at a time , take this as you need too. Breathe. Just FINISH. DO NOT QUIT! GO! 5.5 hours after I started, it was done. 20 miles was successfully completed. Was it the way I wanted, NOPE! I was physically and mentally spent. Period. I crawled in , undressed, and was cramping so bad, I just laid down and stayed there. I was just spent. Finally regained enough strength to pull myself up and move. Wasnt' fun. I was waddling like a duck, but it got done. I left coach notes as always. I basically asked for a 2nd go of 20. Why? Because I can do better than this. I know I can. Give me it on the front of a build cycle, I can kill this. Period. I expect to shave about 15 min or so off the time in 2 weeks. Also, I have been granted permission to run the first 17 and then hop into a 5k race , but not race it and go from there to finish it up. Something to have me look froward to and give me a lil pep in my step. Teach me how to finish so to speak. Do I dread the 2nd attempt. Yes and NO. No because I know I am gonna rock the hell out of it ! Yes , because I know how tired I was. Its Monday as I write this. As of this am, when I sat down, I have not had socks or shoes except sandals on my feet since the run ended. Just cant stand them. lol. So really, thats about it for this week. A long week, culminated with a big end to a build. 

RECOVERY WEEK!!! I couldn't be happier. However, still need to work on getting the final pieces mentally glued into place. After this week, we have 2 weeks of big build left before taper. Getting to be at a couple events really gives me something to look forward too. 

So, that's it for this week. 

Until Next week: 

From one "Idiot" to another: 

-JOHN-
-IRC # 2148-

7 Weeks: Breakthroughs

 Weeks: Breakthroughs 

7 Weeks out. Finally started to feel it this week. For some reason, almost on cue, I became extremely ornery. Also, This week was the first week where I was so . flipping. tired. Some nights, instead of my training, I wanted to come in from work and SLEEP! But, were this close, and I have yet to miss a single workout, so I stayed with it. 

One of the biggest hassels we will address right now was my shoes. I am so damn picky. I don't like my feet to hurt. Period. I started last week switching shoes out. They didn't work. So I went back Monday, got a different pair. They didn't work. Finally, decided I would try a different model all together. One with less stability support. Well, they were fine, but too small and my feet blistered when they swelled Saturday during my run. So, I took them back. All I wanted was the same shoe that I had before that I called my "Magic Pair". Somehow, I got really fortunate , and they had 1 pair left in my size. Funny thing is, I really had to talk myself into them because I had moved on mentally to a different shoe. But I can say without a shadow of a doubt, I have made the right choice. 

This weeks trainings were probably one of the most solid weeks I have had yet. Monday was an EVIL , Twisted  workout from the brain of my coach. As challenging as It was, it was also quite fun. EXCEPT at the end. 2 sets of 15 Bulgarian Split squats. After I had ripped through the others. Let me be honest. I work fast. I take little rest to none between sets. Why you ask. Its real easy for me to get slack. I figure , If I can learn to push when I am tired at a high tempo, then twoards the end of a Marathon, I can bring the closing power in. So, its more conditioning for me. 

Tuesday was a HUGE day for me. Right after Leg Strength I had a progression run. You know when you open it up and it says "THIS IS NOT AN EASY RUN" Your in for it. However, I felt pretty damn solid. I flew over a hill that is placed in a spot where it hurts at home. Just cruised over it. Really happy with how it went. Was I tired and out of breath, you bet ya. But it got done. 

Wednesday was Chest and back Day. I had a hell of a time getting home due to traffic and errands, so this was a late night session at my home gym. Really had a lightbulb too. Lighterweights are killer for endurance. Sometimes, as men, we get so testostrone driven and we want to throw beasty amounts of weights up. But if you drop your weights, and focus on FROM (Full Range of Motion) & form, then you are able to get a hell of a pump and a workout. I used 5's and 10s and was shaking and quivering. 

Thursday, Huge HUGE day! Breakthrough day. Same run as a week ago. Shaved about 35 seconds off my average pace. WHY? Because I am staying dedicated. Trying to get better each day. Focusing. Getting it done. Its showing. Proof is in the puding. Again, frustrated by the shoe issue, but still brought it home. 

Friday was off

Saturday was 18 miles. I played loopty loop in loudon. LOL! Coach sent me an AMAZING video to get me going. I actually forgot it till I was on the road a couple miles in, which worked perfectly. I really enjoyed it. I never planned this but it happend. 18 is the cut for the marathon. You have 4 hours to clear it. which is a 14 min per mile pace. I finished all 18 in 4 :12 with 2 stops so literally I cleared it in 4 hours. I just cleared the time checks in a ZONE 2 . which is so much slower than what I will run at. So, any issues I thought i might have just got errased. No doubt now. 

So, it was a rather long week. I am tired as I write this even after resting yesterday. Part of the game though. 

This week is another huge week for me. Finally, after waiting and guessing when it would show up, its here. The time is upon us. 20 miles is the distance Saturday. Gonna be an early start due to football, but it will get done. 

So , thats about it. Good solid week . Loaded down the barn with some more hay. Gonna burn it down to nothing once I get done. HA! 

Until Next week, 

From one "IDIOT" to another

John 
-IRC #2148- 

8 Weeks Out: Recovery

 Weeks Out: Recovery 

This past week was 8 weeks out. Slowly but surely we are getting there. This was a recovery week. Honestly, this seemed to be the first week where it really just drug. And I mean DRUG on and on. I was completely out of the gym this week except for Wednesday to do some yoga. This was a week where I knew it would be lighter, but let me tell you, at this point, sometimes the lighter weeks are tougher. Because your body is in that mindset and when you slow it down its like what are you doing to me. 

The runs this week were nice and solid. Tuesday was 4 miles with strides, which basically  meant treat like a fartlek. No set structure, just don't take it all out. Tuesdays run was nice and solid. Thursday I had 6 miles with 3 of those in a upper z3 where my conversation would become choppy. Funny thing is , when I calculated this in K's I was like 9.77 I was like OH NO, were going 10k. Now , for the record , I have never claimed math to be my strong suit. And it showed that day because I even overshot 10k. LOL! Friday I was off. 

Saturday was my long run, as coach deemed it "Sweet 16" . I had delt with some things this past week that left me essentially drained emotionally. I tend to internalize things and deal with them my own way. I was planning to wake up at 4 am and get this in. However, I woke up and was just drained. On empty. I rolled over. woke back up at 645 . Decided nope, not today. Sent the email to coach, and then rolled over with the plan to go back to sleep. Half hour later I am wide awake, and am like , you know , the best way to deal with this crap is to do this. So , I got up, ate, made my water drops, geared up and set out. 

The first 9 were great. Nice and steady and decently even splits. Then the wheels started to woble. I had bought new shoes a half size bigger and they began to bother me. Then from where i was harboring so much stress and trying to internalize it, I began to tense. By mile 12 I was over it. I wanted to pull the plug so bad. But I carried on. Mile 13 I lost my emotions. I Just let them flow. Which helped oh so much. So cleansing. I decided I would do just what was needed to get me home. I was hurting on my feet so much it was almost impossible to run . By then it was upper 80s outside anyways and when I did try to get into a z2 rythm, everything would start spazzing . Before you say anything, I had had my nutrition every 90 min and was also through 7 bottles of water by this point. It wasn't pretty but I stayed out and got it done. took me allmost 4 hours for 16 but that wasn't the point. The run this week was my friend. There when I needed it the most. 

So , overall this week, it was a long week, but a good week. Yes I am extremely tired. Yes, I am going to bed earlier than I ever have now But these are all pieces of this puzzle that are coming together at the right time. 

This week we roll back into a HUGE build. This is the next to the last build rotation. So, these next 2 weeks are going to be CRITICAL to finishing the right way. Every rep, every mile, etc will be so important. 

So, that's about it for this week. 

Until Next week, 

From one "Idiot" to another 

John 

IRC #2148

9 Weeks Out: Total BADASSERY!!!

 Weeks Out: Total BADASSERY! 

Wow! So, here we are . 9 weeks out. Were into single digits on weeks remaining. This week was 9 weeks out. It was also the back end of a build. I expected this to be a bit more challenging this week. What I NEVER saw coming was what I would be able to accomplish this week. 

My only Gym day was Monday. It was a workout that I have done time an time again, IT Band Strength. The thing is, sure I have done this time and time again, but I can't state how important this workout really is. If your I.T. Bands get inflamed, your as cooked as a goose. No Bueno. So, this workout is more of an Injury Prevention type deal. I really enjoy it. Sure, it does burn, but in a good way. Building those muscles, getting stronger. 

Tuesday was a little 4 mile run in a slow conversational pace. I got a lil wild, and decided, why not. I took off from over near work, and there had been this trail I had wanted to follow and check out. Seemed like a good time, so i just went for it. It was nothing more than a nature trail, but it was really serene and peaceful and I gotta say I totally enjoyed it. 

Wednesday,  I had some personal things I had to take care of. But , I still had a short run that was my trail run. Just a chance to clear my head a bit. Kept it low key and laid back. Finally got to follow the trail all the way out, and it led to a wetlands area. Very Surenen and peaceful. 

Thursday, I had another 4 miler . Same thing as Tuesday. Just slow steady conversational running. Had a decent day out. Was starting to get tired from the last 2 weeks and a lack of sleep Wednesday but I got it done. 

Friday, I was off. Saturday I had a Half-Marathon as a training run. I was meeting up with friends close to where I work. They were going for 20 , I was headed out for 13.1 . I had talked with coach. This was a race situation. Treat like an impromptu race. Same gear except for shorts since i needed pockets to house everything. Otherwise, go for it. Leave it all out there on the line. 

Saturday , Let me talk you through this. I was up at 4 am to eat and get dressed for final prep. 5 am I left out to meet up with my pals. We were off by 6. I could tell I had decently fresh legs even for this late in a build. I had 1 goal. Go throw a 2:30 down. I set my watch for a 11:26 pace. That would get me there. It was only like 64 out so it felt fantastic. The first 5k went well. It was cool so I was crusing and following a map. My buddies had planned this out for me. I took the first mile and a half out the opposite way just to get a lil hill work in. Then came back and started the same route they had for me. It was on. I was crusing. I had lost a lil bit of time around mile 6 . I was like 30 seconds off my pace. I was OK. I was trying to stay steady and not use all my energy. It was so cool I didn't even think about water. Until mile 8. I started to cramp. Badly. I looked and saw how much fluid I still had. DUMMY. DRINK. But once you get behind your kinda in trouble. I wanted to give up and take EASY street. NO! I wasn't going to do that. I got a huge splash of water, shed my shirt, and got with it. Mile 8.5 was 90 min in and I needed to take on my GEL! This was my slowest mile at 13 flat. Sad thing was, I was bleeding time around this point. It got to 6 and 7 min slower. I knew I had to go to keep the losses at a min. So, I took off again. I kept a close eye on time. I wasn't letting this get away. I kept my legs rolling. Gritting and bearing it. Yelling as I needed too. Mile 12, as I was coming back, my buddies caught me and gave me a HUGE word of Encouragement. Huge Boost like you wouldn't believe!!

I managed to finish in 2:40:12 . That is a 5 min and 15 second PR from my best half that came last year in Oak Ridge. Just blown away.  

Let me put this in perspective for you. 2 short years ago, I struggled through my first half. It took me 3 hours + . I walked out the door after 2 hard weeks of training and dropped a PR down . I am now at the point where I really don't have to think about a half. Just go out and do it. To quote my coach, that is siimply BADASS! I am still not sure if it has sunk in yet. Just hard to get the head around. 

So, were to recovery week. I can honestly say, this is one I am so ready for more than any other. The first aggressive build left me a bit tired, but I can focus on rest this week and self care and be ready for the 2nd cycle. I know I have 2 aggressive builds left and they BOTH will feature a 20 miler to get ready for that big 26.2 distance. There is also a SURPRISE that awaits me to close out build. I already know what it is, but I choose to withhold that information maybe till the specified date. HAHAHAH! Something to look forward too! HAHA! 

So, that is it for this week. A week of BADASSERY! 

Until next week- 

From one "Idiot" to another- 

John 

- IRC #2148