Friday, May 11, 2012

Training Checkup

Empty a day later. Crap.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote down some goals and observations of my training. I figured I would elaborate on them in this post.

Goals

1. Increasing mileage
45 mile weeks were the norm, and that wasn't going to work. 70 miles a week will be the consistent bar now. Throw in the weekly 'long run' of 20-30 miles, preferably with at least 4,000 feet of elevation gain, and then reevaluate fitness level in three months.

2. Diet adaptation
Fundamentally, eat minimally processed, real food. From there, I know my way around a kitchen. Pots, pans, cutting boards, and knives all get daily usage. My diet has never been much of an issue, but it does need adjusting and I know how to do it (and make it taste good at the same time). Slightly less protein, slightly more vegetables and carbs, but maintaining consistency on my fruit and fat intake.

3. Lowering body weight
Currently getting low-ball offers on Craigslist.

Specifically, muscle mass in upper body. I used to wear a 42R. A year ago, it was a 38R. I wore said 38R to an event this past weekend, and it was slightly too big. So I'm making progress in this area, but still have potential to shrink.

Sets of cleans, dead lifts, and snatches are no longer done once to twice a week, as they were five months ago. I now do one or two 20-30 minute sessions of light weights and core exercises as my cross training (all high repetitions).

4. Pacing 
I am the king of going out between 2-3 hours, and then coming back in 3-4 hours for my 50K's. There is no excuse for this. It's not like I'm getting a flying dive off a block. It would be quite the experience to run something closer to an 'even' split in my next race.

5. Walking speed
I have not practiced, and certainly not perfected, my walking pace. It will take some serious work, as when I tend to walk, it's slow and plodding. The ability to walk up hills briskly, and efficiently, is invaluable. This will be incorporated into training.

Potential Issues

1. Improving Baking Abilities (see photo at top of post)
Sugar. Flour. Butter. Oats. Peanut Butter. Chocolate Chips. Cinnamon Chips. Raisins. Baking Powder. Salt. Eggs. Vanilla Extract. Milk. Cinnamon.

All the above are in my pantry and fridge. Various ingredients combined in various proportions to produce more than the sum of their parts. This could become a problem.

2. Injury
Tripping over my own feet? Overuse injuries that I haven't had yet? You just never know.

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