Training thread. Goals, updates, questions, etc.

[Kattt]

 

This guy was on the beach toward the end of my run :)

 

[Kattt]

Well, given the up to 15 inches of rain we are waiting to get between Saturday and Sunday…I am calling this the end of the week…

Last Saturday I ran seven  miles, the most I have done so far, and nothing hurt  other than general soreness that evening and just a tad on Sunday. Then I ran  my usual 2 miles on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and today. Did not do anything else as far as exercise but I walked many miles and used my upper body at work quite a bit.

I feel a lot more confident on my feet, after years of ankle rolling… Running on the beach barefoot was strenuous on deeper sand but I think it helps a lot.

 

 

[W I S N E R !]

That’s cool to see your mileage climbing Kat, 7 is a decent run.  Sand is exhausting Indeed!  The CRHT across Joshua Tree has tons; it wiped a lot of us out running it years ago.

Last week:

M-off

T- 8 trail run

W- 15 road bike

Th- 8 trail run

F- 5K road run

S- off

Su- 8 trail run

for a total of 27.1 miles run and 15 biked

 

This week:

M- 12 road bike

T- 5.4 trail run

W- 5K road run

Th- 5K road run

F- 5.4 trail run

Not sure what I have on tap for this weekend.  Aiming for another 10-13 miles, likely an 8 mile trail run tomorrow and a 5 mile trail run Sunday for a total of around 27-30 miles.

I’m really feeling it coming back.  My recoveries are getting shorter and faster, the miles are passing more easily.  I’m going to hold at around 30 miles/week for another two to 3 weeks then bump it up in mileage.

One thing that’s been really good in all of this is my heart.  I had issues with an irregular heartbeat (paroxismal atrial fibrillation) and a surgery to correct it about two years ago.  This is the most regular I’ve been running since then and it’s really helped steady my rhythm; almost no flutters or issues since I’ve started doing more regular mileage over the last couple months.  My cardiologist believes- as do I- that steady running helps program a steady rhythm, reinforcing the good electrical pathways.

Another thing that I’m finding is that the road bike is just such a great way to get another workout in when calves are tight and legs are feeling a little dead from running.  I’d like to start shooting for two rides/week.

 

 

[Kattt]

Damn Craig! You spinkle those 8  mile runs in there like they  are a stroll  :-0.

Great to hear about your heart.

[W I S N E R !]

I was on vacation so it was easy to get out the door for longer runs.  Now that I’m back at work this week, a little harder to find time for the long ones.  Easy when I have no real schedule and its the only work I’m doing!  I should be going further….

I like the elephant seal by the way- pretty obnoxious farting-burping-groaning-wailing beasts on land…and then they turn into beautiful, graceful dancers in the water.  I see sea lions and seals in the water while surfing and diving all the time down here; elephant seals would be a bit more intimidating to me, especially the bulls.

[Kattt]

Not much to report…I ran my 2 miles on Mon, Tues, Thur and Friday. I was hoping to get in a longer run  over the weekend but between an iconic man’s 90 birthday party ( he still goes to work every day..)  my presentation at the resort and a whole lot of sewing , it just did not happen.

[W I S N E R !]

Those weeks happen…

I usually find that the more I work out, the more it just becomes a part of my routine and other things organize themselves around it.  But I have to be diligent…like going to bed early so I can run early AM before another commitment or putting off dinner urges until after a night run.

Solid week here:

M- 5K road

T-8 mile trail

W-5K trail

Th- 5K road

F- off

S- 8 mile trail

Su- 5.5 mile trail

Total: ~31 miles

Also managed to get in 4 good kettlebell/bodyweight sessions and stretched 6 days.  I seem to have cured a nagging rotator cuff injury from a year ago through regular stretching and shoulder exercises over the last four weeks.  The new weightlifting I’m doing seems to have really helped it too.  I’m going to do this mileage for one more week then start including one mid week steep climb and substituting one 8 mile trail run with a progressively longer and longer hike with a weighted pack and as much elevation change as I can get…basically start to focus on more specific training for the Bob Marshall Wilderness Open; snowshoeing, long back to back backpacking days, lots of elevation, cross country, etc.

The one thing that’s not coming together right now is my diet.  Too many carbs (my weakness), too many calories.  Despite all this work, I’m barely losing weight, though I know some is shifting to muscle.  But it’s frustrating to work this much and not see the scale slide….Going to make a solid effort to get it together on that front better in the coming weeks.

Yikes.  It’s 9 PM and I still have to go do 30 squats and 112 kettlebell swings….

 

 

 

[bjc]

Some weeks turn in to maintenance training rather than a week of progression. It happens to everyone. The key is to keep moving. If time is a constraint rather than fatigue, you can still progress by changing up a run by increasing the intensity during all or part of the run. It doesn’t have to be killer intensity, just something to up the heart rate a little. Either way, the fact that you completed the runs during the week is a win! All the running you are doing is building a great foundation for your fitness.

[Kattt]

@Craig you are clealy going for it. Good for you. Yes, the carbs…I hear you there.

@BJC that is good to hear. A few months ago that is all I wanted anyway, to run a couple of miles several times a week. Last week was rainy and wet and I did a lot of hopping over water and mud so it was a bit more challenging than usual. I will try and fit  in more miles when I can but nice to hear that even what I am doing now is a giod foundation, as you put it :)

 

I did some other physical stuff over the weekend : cut down a couple of fallen trees, rolled the rounds and tossed the branches, dug a fresh ditch for the coming rain, rode my dirt bike on a very iffy trail, fell down when the wheel got too committed to a deep trench on a steep rocky road, pushed said bike a ways when the chain came off and stuck etc. The only sitting I do is when I sew.

[bjc]

Katharina,

I figured you as a very active person!! . By foundation I was referring to specific changes in aerobic fitness.  When adding aerobic work to other physical activity, it can be challenging, but it has significant benefits. The following is a list of what is known to occur as the result of aerobic training. All good things!

 

1. Increased cardiac muscle mass
2. Increased stroke volume
3. Increased disposal of metabolic wastes
4. Increased oxidative enzymes and efficiency
5. Faster diffusion rates of oxygen and fuel into muscle
6. Increased left ventricle dilation and chamber volume
7. Increased carbohydrate sparing (thus greater use for fat as fuel)
8. Increase in mitochondria (energy factory of cell)
9. Increase in cell regulatory mechanisms of metabolism
10. Increased fat oxidation
11. Increased expression of fatigue-resistance slow twitch muscle fibers
(Joyner and Coyle, 2008; Pavlik, Major, Varga-Pintér, Jeserich, & Kneffel, 2010)

All the best!

BJ

[Kattt]

I have definitely noticed some of the above BJ :)

A heartfelt thank you for the help and support.

[bjc]

Hope that wasn’t more than you wanted to know! The main thing is your heart gets stronger, you use fuel more efficiently, and the whole process supports your other endeavors!  And it’s always enjoyable to help someone who is motivated. Support is what this site is all about, right?

[David Gardner]

I hike 3 miles with a 55 lb pack almost every morning.

Most work days I take several breaks and do bodyweight upper body exercises (one of the advantages of working from home) to release tension and increase metabolism. I have a set of free weights but rarely use them. Mostly to get an occasional objective assessment of maximum strength (with a spotter).

[Mike M]

Despite well below average temperatures, my January looks pretty decent thus far – averaging mid 30’s for mileage (sadly a number of those miles are treadmill miles- hard to run in below zero temperatures).

This week I started off with a 12 mile run/snowshoe on Monday as I had the day off, with two 5-ish mile runs midweek (all on trails finally), I may actually break into the 40’s by the end of the week. At least that’s the plan :).

I’ve had a rather large setback in my strength training with a violent fall on the ice- damaged my right shoulder. I am seeing improvement (about two weeks now), but it’s still a long way from resuming my normal strength routine.   At least I can run!

[Mike M]

got 6 miles in the snow on Saturday and 12 on Sunday, was hoping for an even longer run one of those days, but it was really slow to warm both days- maybe next weekend.  I did end up breaking into the 40’d however, has been quite awhile since I’ve done that.

going to give the gym a go this evening and try some very light weight training

[W I S N E R !]

I’m glad you posted here Mike, especially as we’re shooting for the same thing.  Curious what you’ll be doing.

My week consisted of two 5.5 trail runs, one four mile hike with elevation and a 20# pack, one 5K road run, and a 10 mile hike with 3000′ of gain, totaling about 28 miles.  Also did 5 days of kettlebell workouts.

This concludes 5 weeks of self-imposed “base” training, now I’m going to try and step it up and get more specific to the Bob.  I plan on three or four 5K to 8 mile runs throughout the week for maintenance, but I’m going to start adding bigger mileage days hiking with a pack.  I think the hard days will consist of one of either two approaches; weeks with back to back big hikes with a weighted pack and plenty of elevation or weeks with a single much longer hike and a medium hike, weighted with elevation.  I.e. doing back to back 15 or 20 mile hikes one week, doing a 50K and a 10 mile the following week (or building to something similar).

I also have a few hard backpacking trips on my radar between now and the Bob, 25+ miles days for two to three days.

Also need to include some snowshoeing on some of these hikes….

Hopefully I can fit it all in!  Feeling good so far.

[W I S N E R !]

I know I don’t need to tell you to watch the shoulder…Hope you get it under control.

I took a hard fall canyoneering a little less than a year ago, injured my right rotator cuff.  It nagged me for nearly the whole year.  Finally healed it with weeks of constant stretching, strengthening, and mobility exercises.  It’s good now, but stiffens quickly without constant attention.

[Mike M]

Craig- sounds like a very solid plan!  Our weather appears to finally be moderating, so I hope to get some longer days in the mountains snowshoeing/skiing .  Too bad elk season wasn’t still going, I was really getting some good conditioning in rugged county with a 20-ish pound pack.

I’m going to take it nice and slow with my shoulder- found out it’s slow healing and there are lots of moving parts in there :)

 

 

[Mike M]

another good week (my shoulder is still in the heal process however)

Monday- strength train (light)

Tues- 5.5 miles trails

Wed- 5.5 miles trails

Thurs- 4.5 miles trails

Friday- strength train- light

Sat- long run/snowshoe 16.5 miles

Sun 5 miles trails

I have tomorrow off so headed for the Elkhorn Mtns, was going to ski, but with my shoulder I think it will be wiser to snowshoe

yesterday’s run

[Kattt]

So glad you joined the thread Mike….you are inspiring.

I did not run all week and will probably not run all of next week but as soon as I am all healthy again I will post updates. Knowing when to back off is what I am getting a little better at with age.

[Mike M]

very good week for me

 

started out with a day off on Monday and a 15 miles snowshoe trip in the Elkhorn Mtns

Tues- strength training (light, still nursing a injured shoulder)

Wed- 4.5 miles on the treadmill :(

Thurs- 4.5 miles on the treadmill :(

Fri- strength training- light

Sat- 6.5 miles in the hills

Sun- 12 miles about half running, half snowshoe running- glorious day- we reached 30 degrees and it felt like summer!!!! :)

[W I S N E R !]

Nice Mike, you’re getting after it better than I did this week.  Ran 8 miles trail on Tuesday and did kettlebells/strength…felt a little odd on Wednesday, and had the full-on flu come Thursday.  I’m over the worst but still coughing a bit today.  I suspect I need another few days before I can run again.

Noticed the earbuds…what do you like listening to when you’re out there?

Hope you’re better and can get back into it soon Kat.

[Mike M]

wife had a bad flu hit her (she got the shot too)- lasted almost three weeks :(  knock on wood I seem to have skipped it

I missed it the first time around evidently, but starting listening to alternative rock/grunge from the 90’s- thanks to satellite radio and the Lithium channel

Beck, Bush, etc, etc- good music to run to  my daughters laugh at me when I ask them about a song, they say “yeah Dad that was cool when we were in high school” :)

[Kattt]

Thanks for the well wishes Craig. I will be good again before long.

I ran twice last week, a couple miles each time and all went well . Was holding back a bit as it seemed wise to do so right now.

Just ran a couple strong  miles this morning but had other kinds of workouts already….another burned tree down in the driveway so I had to go back home and wait till light and then cut/clear the fir and the many smaller trees and bushes it took down on the way. Biggest cut was just a foot but boy was the whole thing a rat’s mess. Got my heart pumping nice and early :)

[Anonymous]

I’ve been in a holding pattern since last November-low level strength training and a couple of 6 mile mountain hikes with 2000′ of elevation gain/week.  Now that the sun is noticeably higher in the sky, the juices are starting to flow again.  The past month I’ve started to stretch one of the hikes out to 10 miles with ~3000′ of elevation gain, and am slowly upping my weights in the gym.  Last week I added in 3 X 4 miles flat walks in the city @ 3.5-3.75 mph and stretched the longer hike out to 13 with 3200′ of elevation gain, for a total of 19 miles in the mountains with 5200′ of elevation gain and 31 miles total for the week.  Over the next couple of months, the city hikes will get longer, and at least one mountain hike will end up at around 18 miles with 4700′ or so of elevation gain, with a goal of 25-26 miles in the mountains with ~7000′ of elevation gain and another 15 miles or so of city hiking.   It’s looking to be a good year in the Sierra.  :0)

[Author]

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