For a long time now, I've relied on other people for my training schedule and plans. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it's important to not lose the ability to drive and push yourself. For my last few years in KC, my training was dominated by group runs with the Olathe Running Club, the Trail Nerds, and the Trail Hawks. When I moved to Pensacola, it was events with Team RWB and Running Wild that dictated my schedule and training. Then for the last 2 1/2 years, it's been the schedule and programming at Anthem CrossFit. All of those were extremely good for me, and I'm SO very grateful to all of these organizations and the people involved with them for the positives that they have added to my life. I've accomplished things I never dreamed of thanks to all of them, and learned things that I never knew I didn't know. The down side being that I lost my ability to rely on myself for training plans, scheduling my workouts, and keeping myself on track for my goals. It's just easier to let the experts tell you what you need, because programming and scheduling is hard work.
Now is the time for me to relearn that skill. When I started, and for the first several years of my fitness journey, I was all alone. No one to meet up with for workouts to keep me accountable, no one to tell me what workout to do. It's time to get back there. My goals, my focus, my schedule. Of course, I still have many great fitness friends around the country and locally that will help me stay motivated and accountable, but it's on me to set goals, make plans, and get it done. I've left Anthem CrossFit and am now primarily working out in my garage gym that I have built over the last couple of years. Much nicer and much more diverse than the little basement gym I had in Kansas City.
The goal is set: return to the marathon. I will be running the Hawk Trail Marathon in Lawrence, KS (put on by the Trail Hawks and RD'ed by my original ultra running mentor, Sherrie Klover) when I visit in September. BIG goal!! It will be 3 1/2 years between my last marathon/ultra and this one. So how do I get this done? First, get back to running and enjoying running again. Second, lots of strength training and endurance training to get my body more efficient again. Third, drop this extra fat I have been carrying for far too long. That goal is to be at 175# by race day, which would be a loss of 42# from the time I moved to primarily being in the garage gym until race day. I need a 2# per week loss average to make it happen.
So how do I go about achieving these goals? As we all know, a goal without a specific plan is just a wish that most likely won't come true. So I've spent a lot of time working on my plans to make all this happen. Again, no one is going to plan it for me. This is all on my shoulders. So let's tackle this a piece at a time. First, getting back to running. I've started getting up before work (when I used to go to Anthem) and running 5k around the neighborhood to start my day a couple times a week. It's still a struggle, but I'm getting better, and I will continue to get better. As that becomes faster and easier, I will add more days and/or more distance, and even some intervals/speedwork in these morning runs. Also, on the weekends I am getting back to more trail running. Running trails is more enjoyable than road, in my opinion, and the race is on trails, so this is important. I've written out a good outline of how to go about building that weekly mileage from now until race day so that I am ready to roll.
The second piece was building strength and conditioning to be more efficient on a long race. To that end, I'm working on strength training cycles, focusing on weight lifting (of several types) several days per week, I am doing a few CrossFit-style metcons per week, I'm rowing, swimming, and cycling again. Building muscle as I lose the fat makes the body more efficient at it's energy and nutrient usage. More efficient = better endurance. The CrossFit is great for combining the building of strength and capacity at the same time, plus it's just fun and challenging. I'm still SO glad I found CrossFit and have learned how to incorporate it into my life. Rowing, swimming, and cycling (including spin classes) are all outstanding ways to build the ability to do work over longer loads of time. Additionally, and equally important, is that they help you practice breathing and managing heart rate. People often underestimate the importance of learning and practicing how to control their breathing either while doing an endurance event or under heavy loads weightlifting. All of these are opportunities to work on that. Additionally, my endurance is significantly down since I ran my last marathon/ultra back in the spring of 2015. Doing a lot of these things will be key to getting that endurance and conditioning back to where I need to be in order to knock out 26.2 miles on a very tough trail.
Lastly, but most importantly, is healthy, consistent weight loss. Back when I started running marathons, I was in the high 175-185# range and strong. I managed my nutrition well, and I had more energy. When I started my new program on 4/16, I weighed 217.0#. That's so not a good thing. I've put on a lot of muscle the last couple of years, for sure, but I haven't lost much of the fat. I was actually 5.6# heavier on 4/16 than when I started CrossFit. So again, muscle gained, but not much fat lost. Why? My complete and total lack of discipline with nutrition. There's an old saying that "you can't out train a bad diet." I have been a SHINING example of that. I work my ass off at the gym, but don't achieve the results because I don't pay any attention to what or how much I am eating. I eat how much I want of what I want when I want. That is not a recipe for success.
Since I started my new program, I have been much more mindful of what I choose to eat. I don't believe in diets, and never have. I believe in the 80/20 rule. It always works. If you eat really well 80% of the time, and allow yourself to indulge (without going crazy) 20%, then along with exercise, you will be successful. So that's what I'm doing. And it's gone very well so far. I need to average 2# per week lost from 4/16 until race day, 9/8, to hit my target. So far, I'm right ahead of that average, even with a week where life circumstances made it near-impossible to stick with even 80/20. I minimized the damage, though, and still lost 1.2# during that tough, emotional week. Overall, in the first 3 weeks of working on this goal I am down 6.2#, which is an average of -2.1# per week! Well on my way, and I'm still working on getting into the pattern I need to be in.
So those are the goals, those are the plans, and I'm excited! I feel like I am finally ready to really step up and take charge of my own health and fitness in a way that I haven't since I first started in 2009/2010. At that time, I lost about 40# in about 4 months, so I know I can do it if I keep my eye on the target and don't let speed bumps get me down. By motivating and holding myself accountable, the encouragement of my wife, and the support of some good friends that have become a real support group for me, I know I have the opportunity to reach these goals that I've wanted to achieve for some time. It's time to lock down and get some work done. No more excuses, no more procrastination, no more accepting the mediocre. Time to hold myself accountable for my health and fitness.
So how do I go about achieving these goals? As we all know, a goal without a specific plan is just a wish that most likely won't come true. So I've spent a lot of time working on my plans to make all this happen. Again, no one is going to plan it for me. This is all on my shoulders. So let's tackle this a piece at a time. First, getting back to running. I've started getting up before work (when I used to go to Anthem) and running 5k around the neighborhood to start my day a couple times a week. It's still a struggle, but I'm getting better, and I will continue to get better. As that becomes faster and easier, I will add more days and/or more distance, and even some intervals/speedwork in these morning runs. Also, on the weekends I am getting back to more trail running. Running trails is more enjoyable than road, in my opinion, and the race is on trails, so this is important. I've written out a good outline of how to go about building that weekly mileage from now until race day so that I am ready to roll.
The second piece was building strength and conditioning to be more efficient on a long race. To that end, I'm working on strength training cycles, focusing on weight lifting (of several types) several days per week, I am doing a few CrossFit-style metcons per week, I'm rowing, swimming, and cycling again. Building muscle as I lose the fat makes the body more efficient at it's energy and nutrient usage. More efficient = better endurance. The CrossFit is great for combining the building of strength and capacity at the same time, plus it's just fun and challenging. I'm still SO glad I found CrossFit and have learned how to incorporate it into my life. Rowing, swimming, and cycling (including spin classes) are all outstanding ways to build the ability to do work over longer loads of time. Additionally, and equally important, is that they help you practice breathing and managing heart rate. People often underestimate the importance of learning and practicing how to control their breathing either while doing an endurance event or under heavy loads weightlifting. All of these are opportunities to work on that. Additionally, my endurance is significantly down since I ran my last marathon/ultra back in the spring of 2015. Doing a lot of these things will be key to getting that endurance and conditioning back to where I need to be in order to knock out 26.2 miles on a very tough trail.
Lastly, but most importantly, is healthy, consistent weight loss. Back when I started running marathons, I was in the high 175-185# range and strong. I managed my nutrition well, and I had more energy. When I started my new program on 4/16, I weighed 217.0#. That's so not a good thing. I've put on a lot of muscle the last couple of years, for sure, but I haven't lost much of the fat. I was actually 5.6# heavier on 4/16 than when I started CrossFit. So again, muscle gained, but not much fat lost. Why? My complete and total lack of discipline with nutrition. There's an old saying that "you can't out train a bad diet." I have been a SHINING example of that. I work my ass off at the gym, but don't achieve the results because I don't pay any attention to what or how much I am eating. I eat how much I want of what I want when I want. That is not a recipe for success.
Comments
Post a Comment