Well well well....... looks like I need to get my head out of my ass and get this damn thing updated. I have been asked to write an article for a 1/2 IM race packet so I figured I'd get the creative juices flowing by starting here and seeing what happens. Yup..... that's right..... I'm going to get published and I'll have about 2300 readers. Book deal here I come. But onto more important things.
"Where in the hell have you been", my mom (she said this more times that I can even possibly remember). After CDA I took some time off. Needed to recharge the batteries. That turned into going out every freaking weekend and gaining weight. I was trying to train for a race in Oregon (Hood To Coast) but I was often injured with knee, shoulder and hamstring issues. I toughed out the race and did better than I thought. My total mileage was 15 miles and I averaged about a 7:05 pace. Not too hard when you break that up into a 4.18, 4.38 and a 7.8 mile run over 23 hours. Good times as always.
Once I got back from H2C I needed a new goal because I could myself getting back into the post CDA grove I was in. If you have a goal training is sooooo much better. I needed some motivation so I did the only thing I could think of. I emailed Paul and Meredith Terranova and I told that I was doing the trail race in Bandera, TX. A 50k (31 miles American....cause we're in America) trail race over some of the toughest terrain you can get here in TX. I new if I told them I was doing the race I would have backed myself into a corner because they are 2 of the few people I would feel horrible letting down. So I asked them a bunch of questions and the more questions I asked the more I got excited to start training again. Both Paul and Mer are incredible athletes and 2 of the nicest people I know so asking them for help was a no brainer.
Once the information was there I needed to put together a plan. I had some factors that I had to work with.
1- I am fat and out of shape
2- My knee is killing me along with my hamstring
3- I haven't done a serious trail run in almost a year
4- I want to be serious about this but have some fun along the way
So this is what I came up with to address these issues.
1- Stopped drinking for a while and start eating right again. I have been really good with eating well for years now but I slipped for a bit. Not too tough to get back into that.
2- T3 now has yoga and corefit. Corefit is like crossfit with lots of strengthening stuff. Natasha is kicking my ass with it but it will help the weak parts of my body which there are many right now. Yoga is awesome but the only time I have time to do it is Friday after work and since there was a clerical error with the new schedule I am going to have to miss it for a while. NOT F'ING HAPPY ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!!!
3- Start running the Greenbelt here in Austin 2 times a week along with my Town Lake runs. Mer told me either run the Greenbelt or run hills to prep for Bandera. Right now I am wicked excited about that..... this could change after my first Hill of Life repeat that is coming Thursday.
4-I am very serious when I train. Yeah I joke around to make people get relaxed but when it's time to work you shut the hell up and start working. The fun part is that my friend Sydney is training for a trail race in Dec. so we'll be running together some. Plus, Pain asked me this morning if she could join me for a few trail runs. Ummmm..... hell yeahs you can!
Here's what my weekly schedule looks like for the month of Sept.
Monday- Corefit AM/ Coach PM
Tuesday- Swim AM/1 hr run PM
Wed.- Trainer ride AM/ Coach PM
Thursday- Corefit AM/ Hill of Life repeats PM
Friday- Was yoga but now it's a rest day or maybe something else. Not sure yet.
Saturday- Long run- Up to 2.5 hours On Town Lake until my fitness gets better. Will hit Greenbelt starting in October and that will increase up to 4.5 hours runs.
Sunday- Recovery run - 1.5 hours.
The Hill of Life is a hill that is off of the Greenbelt. It's a mutherf'er! Very steep and very rocking. Insanely techinical. Not for people with fear of falling, snakes, broken toes and weak constitutions. This thing will make a man out of anyone. What's funny about this is Mer told me that I should not only work hard going up but going down as well. Running downhill is an art. Running downhill on a trail is insanity. I'll make sure my will is up to date and I'll let Pain know when I go out there so she'll know where to search for the body.
So I have the plan in place and I started it last Thurs. It's still early in the game but things are already working out. I plan on running my first marathon (outside of IM) the beginning of Dec. and there is an awesome trail race in November out at Rocky Hill Ranch. It's a 1/2 marathon on a good course. Great for beginners and hard enough for the tough guys. I placed 3rd there last year so hopefully my time will improve this year with the solid training that I plan to be putting in.
You can check out the links to the 3 races I plan on doing at:
Bandera: http://www.tejastrails.com/Bandera.html
Dirty Du: http://www.dirtydu.com/
Double Decker: http://www.austinrunners.org/7635425_74071.htm
Right now I am very sore but very happy to be training again with focus on a goal. I am looking forward to making gains in my fitness and becoming stronger through Corefit. Natasha is a great instructor and I see her getting better with every class. Now only if Miah wouldn't hit me in the head with damn medicine ball I'd be all good.
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1 comment:
Did you get published in the packet.? I would love to read it!!
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