Training thread. Goals, updates, questions, etc.

[Anonymous]

” I can see what you mean.”

It’s just one more way of listening to your body and letting it make the necessary adjustments to keep you in balance on uneven terrain.  The classic close to the body, regular arc arm form is fine when running on a flat surface, but cross country or trail running is another matter entirely.  I couldn’t find the video I wanted, but those were probably close enough to get the point across.

[Mike M]

I can’t tell you the amount of times that “flailing” arms have saved me on downhill runs (of course I have a few scars where they didn’t :) ). Huge difference in balance using your arms.

In regards to “listening to your body”- it’s probably become almost cliche now it’s thrown around so much. Agreed I don’t really want a medical professional giving me that advice, I can get that advice from anyone. I however do a much better job on my own heeding that advice, particularly with injury related incidents. Like most of us it’s tough lessons learned along the way that reinforce it.

I agree with Craig that in long distance pursuits, one often has to ignore what the body is “saying”. This one I think also comes with lots of experience; this one for me had been a more difficult cat to skin.

[W I S N E R !]

Good explanation Mike.

Experience is huge. I can generally feel a bonk coming on and I’m also pretty attuned to what dehydration feels like.  I know what to “listen” for and I can generally be proactive.  I’m also very familiar now with what the onset of various forms of tendinitis feel like and I know when to back off.

But there was a time I didn’t know these things and the “listen to your body” mantra was totally useless because I didn’t know what I was supposed to be listening for.

In the endurance world there are so many types of pain and discomfort, most of which are not anything to worry about.  But how’s a beginner to know?

[Anonymous]

“I agree with Craig that in long distance pursuits, one often has to ignore what the body is “saying”. This one I think also comes with lots of experience; this one for me had been a more difficult cat to skin.”

I learned long ago, the hard way as usual, to differentiate between 2 types of pain:  Pain that you can work through and keep moving, and pain that says STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING RIGHT NOW!!  That’s the black and white of it.  Where it gets tricky is when the former gradually morphs into the latter, especially in the latter stages of a long, hard effort, when your eyes are about 1″ apart and the endorphins are flowing.  Only experience can teach you to tap into this subtle message.

 

[bjc]

“Where it gets tricky is when the former gradually morphs into the latter, especially in the latter stages of a long, hard effort, when your eyes are about 1″ apart and the endorphins are flowing.  Only experience can teach you to tap into this subtle message.”

OK, that made me grin! I think it took me thousands of miles to get close to that lesson.  But sometimes I forgot!

[Anonymous]

“OK, that made me grin! I think it took me thousands of miles to get close to that lesson.”

If you ran thousands without grinding to a halt, I’d say you were closer than you thought.  ;0)

Until you forgot.

AKA The runner’s lament.  :0(

[bjc]

Unfortunately it took multiple times grinding to a halt!

Old runners never die, they just thin out!

[Anonymous]

“Unfortunately it took multiple times grinding to a halt!”

That part I haven’t forgotten.

[Mike M]

pretty good week

 

Monday- 7 miles snowshoeing pulling a 70-ish lb pulk

Tuesday- strength train: bench, squats, overhead presses, dips, pullups, core

Wed- 5.5 miles running on the trails

Thurs- 6.5 miles running on the trails

Fri- strength train pullups, situps, pushups, air squats

Sat- 12 miles running on the trails

Sun- 4 miles hill repeats w/ a 25# pack

[W I S N E R !]

I finally got over that illness, did a week getting back into the swing of things, and now have a week to be proud of.

M- kettlebells/crossfit

T- 8 mile trail run

W- 68 mile road bike commute (2 x 34 miles)

Th- 5 mile trail run

F- 3 mile trail run

S- 20 mile hike with 25# pack

Su- 5.5 mile trail run

Total: 68 bike / 41.5 on foot

Interesting week in that I bonked hard on the road ride in the last ~10 miles getting home, literally seeing colors and lights for a few minutes!  I’m no stranger to bike distance or hard bonks, but I did this whole day, quite foolishly, on nothing but a small bowl of oatmeal and a banana and a nectarine for breakfast.  That included a full day at work between trips.  The bonk lasted a bit into the next two days, forcing me to walk the last 2 miles of Thursday’s run and the last mile of Friday’s.  But I got everything under control for Saturday and had a great hike.  A good reminder to eat!

The hike was in perfect training/footwear testing conditions; soaked feet and pants for 18 out of 20 miles, lots of crawling through blowdowns, plenty of stream crossings.  My calorie management was perfect and I recovered really well.  Finished in 6.5 hours and averaged a hair over 3 MPH including a quick lunch stop for ramen.  Also good my legs recovered well and I had a smooth 5.5 mile jog this evening.

On tap for next week is a ~35 mile hike w/weighted pack in addition to the weekly stuff.

Only thing worrying me is the fact I haven’t had a good snowshoe day yet.  Hopefully soon.

[W I S N E R !]

I’m betting a 70lb pulk does the trick Mike!!

There’s a guy that runs laps near me that drags a large tire on chains.

[Mike M]

Craig- that’s a great week!  I think biking 68 miles in a day might do me in :)

our local trail conditions are really tricky- we had some thawing and folks on the trails were post holing pretty bad- now it’s all frozen (and currently snowing on top of the holes)- makes for some fancy footwork :)

[Kattt]

Trailing so far behind you two…but that’s ok. I ran last Friday after I was given the a-okay to do so. Busy physical weekend but no running.  I hope to be back to 4 days a week for a short run and something longer on the weekend. I do walk around 6 miles  a day at work so even on off days I am moving around quite a bit . Weight is back up 3 lbs from my lowest but that is no surprise and not a big deal. I am feeling much, much better and ready to go :)

[Mike M]

Kat- glad you’re feeling better; you’ll be back up to speed in no time! :)

[Mike M]

I had a pretty good week; helps that weather has moderated a bit too

Mon- strength train- squats, bench, deadlifts, pullups, dips, core

Tues- 5.5 miles trail running

Wed- 5 miles hill repeats

Thur- 6.5 miles trail running

Fri-strength training- squats, bench, overhead press, pullups, dips, core; short 1.5 mile run in the neighborhood

Sat- 6.5 miles w/ a 35# pack, a little over a 1000′ gain, tough trail conditions- finished in 1:55- pretty happy w/ that

Sun- 12 miles trail running

[W I S N E R !]

You did a lot better than me Mike….

Light week here.  Life conspired against me; between work, family, and grad school I only got a few sessions in.

3 hours canyoneering on Thursday (with a few hundred feet of rappelling).  Not sure on mileage but we move pretty fast.  Always fun, wet, cold, and a full body workout.  And a great opportunity to play with poison oak.

10 mile hike Saturday.  30# pack, 3000′ of gain, did it in a hair under 3 hours, so pace was decent.

5 mile trail jog Sunday.

*Hoping for that 50K hike this weekend, the same one I’ve been trying to make happen for weeks.

Was going to snowshoe on Saturday but got stopped by high avalanche danger in the snow report, lots of unconsolidated stuff on top of an earlier freeze.  I was headed for steep country solo so I thought it would be wise to back off without a partner.

Got some Black Diamond Alpine Carbon poles on their way this week, my old twist lock Leki Makalu Ultralights are about dead.  Shiny new toys always do wonders for motivation to get out :)

[Kattt]

Posting mid week, because why not..

Last week I ran Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 2 miles each time . Felt a bit slow and heavy but still did it. On Sunday I ran 5 strong miles. I skipped on Monday because I listened to my body * but  ran strong yesterday and today. Lots of upper body at work, moving yards of organic matter around ;)

Diet is on point and I am down a pound from last week but mainly the good food is giving me a lot more sustained energy and really good sleep.

* going back to “listen to your body” I find that to be solid advice in my case. I know the difference between  sticking past discomfort and ignoring my body and getting hurt. Be it competitive fencing, mountain biking and a life of physical outdoor jobs, I have experience in keeping going when tired .

 

Looks like you two are on quite the roll :)

[Mike M]

Kat- looks like a solid week :)

Craig and I are both looking ahead to the end of May where if we don’t put in the work now, we’ll likely pay.

[W I S N E R !]

“Craig and I are both looking ahead to the end of May where if we don’t put in the work now, we’ll likely pay.”

Is that a threat?  ; )

Glad you’re feeling good and getting consistent Kat.

Just came in from a three hour canyoneering run…too much fun for a work night.  There’s a 90′ waterfall in a tight slot that I just stopped in midway down, taking a nice little hang to enjoy my headlamp light in all of the water spraying around me.  A great evening.

[Kattt]

 

I have a question on protein powders. I have been using my vitamix every morning for a few months now and just started adding a protein mix I picked up at the health food store without really researching this at all. Anyone familiar with this?  Have I entered a world of its own? Am I better off to just eat an egg?

Btw I do eat a bit of meat and fish and very little cheese. I also absolutely love a little heavy cream *( unwhipped) in my tea.

 

* after eating some black beans and rice and sour kraut for lunch I made myself some tea and put a little heavy cream in it. One of the office ladies who just ate a beautiful plate of nachos and a cookie saw my cream and told me how lucky I am to have a fast metabolism. By noon I had walked 6 miles, ran 2 plus done  physical work; I bit my toungue…..fast metabolism.

 

[Mike M]

Kat- I use Whey protein (different brand, but similar I’m sure) when I make smoothies after a workout.  Boosts the protein intake of my smoothies (greek yogurt, frozen fruit, banana, little oj and water and scoop of whey protein).  Nothing wrong with eggs, but would take 3 or 4 eggs to get the same amount of protein as Whey protein.

 

Mike

[Kenneth Keating]

Using protein powders can help with getting additional protein,  especially if one is exercising and trying to maintain and repair muscle.  But the key is knowing how much protein you need and calculating what you consuming.  If you’re active and exercising a good number is 0.8g of protein per pound of muscle weight per day. There’s also high protein foods such as fish, chicken, lean meat, greek yogurt, and cottage cheese to name a few.  The advantages with eating more protein is protein helps out with curbing hunger.

[Kattt]

@Mike yeah that’d be a lot of eggs…

@Kenneth those are useful numbers, thanks. Meat and fish are sources of protein?? Get outta here! ;)

[bjc]

I agree with The above comments. Whey powder is a good source of protein, and is good after a workout. It has been a part of my morning routine or as an afternoon snack for years.  When my wife and I share, it usually has frozen berries, etc. in it.  By myself, chocolate! My curse.

[Anonymous]

“Anyone familiar with this?”

That’s the brand I use, with good results.  It has more grams of protein per ounce than any other brand I have been able to find.  Whey protein is very high quality protein.  Remember, it is derived from milk, which is the first source of protein for infants of any species where the mother produces milk.

[Author]

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