Well… luckily my training has been a bit more consistent than my blogging. This will change going down the home stretch of this challenge, I promise (that my entries will increase, not that my running will stop). That being said, I thought I would give you guys a bit of an update on where this journey is at. What I’ve learned these last few months
Vancouver Bound With the first few months of training in the books, I had to be honest with myself and assess if I felt strong enough to take on a BQ race at this stage in my training, and the answer was no. I was worried I was going to push to get an earlier marathon in and miss the cutoff which would have me recovering for a month at the very least, which would significantly slow my progression. Therefore, I have moved down to the half in Vancouver. But this is not going to be a cake-walk by any means. My goal is to hit the race equivalent for my BQ time in the half, which is a sub 1:28:00. I’m feeling I can hit and surpass this goal as I have been focusing my last few weeks on pushing my threshold with quality workouts, check’em out below: Looking Forward to Edmonton!... Well that’s a first
It’s official. Edmonton will be my first attempt in the 12 to BQ journey and while August seems like a long ways away, its only 16 weeks. In that 16 weeks I have to account for another week of tapering for Vancouver, 2 weeks of recovering and an Edmonton buildup. It’s certainly going to be a challenge but I am EXCITED!! Who else is in for running Edmonton this year?
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Week 2 & 3: MOMENTUM!!Sorry for the delay in sending this out. It has been a great couple of weeks of training and I’m starting to feel the momentum swing. Over the last 2 weeks I have dropped 4 pounds, bringing me 15 lbs away from my goal race weight. Below is the overview/grades for the week: Running B I was able to hit my distance goals by running 52km’s on week 2 and 48km over week 3 (including an extra rest day before a race). However, to be completely honest I didn’t execute my runs with the right purpose. By purpose I mean, I didn’t focus on what I wanted to get out of the workouts. For example Tuesdays should be a higher intensity (speed) day, Fridays are a race pace day and the others should be run at an easier, but still guided pace. Next week I am going to put more focus on getting a tough workout in on Tuesday and Friday, and focusing on mid effort for my recovery runs. Nutrition B I finally got out from under the Halloween candy and I’ve been making some awesome meals with Nicole. Not only have we included power foods into our daily meals, but we have also started looking for healthier desert alternatives. By far my favorite has been Nicole’s no flour chickpea brownies!! Stop making a face, they are delicious!! <Comment below if you would like the recipe> Strength B
I have been able to get a few workouts in, but more importantly I have finally set a workout plan (included below). To further assist with the strength and flexibility piece, I have also started doing yoga at home using Nicole’s BeachBody on Demand (2 x Week). It really is awesome, and the videos she has is part of a 21 day program, so it has a ton of different classes for whatever I’m feeling like. For example after a shorter run I usually do the class with added core, after my race/hard runs I usually do one that is focused more on recovery and stretching. If you are interested in trying these out for free reach out to Nicole for a free 30 day trial Strength (Mondays & Wednesdays) Yoga (Tuesdays and Thursdays + Whenever I feel tight) SQUAT/LATERAL LUNGE Notes: full squats followed by right and left lateral lunge.(all 3 count as 1) Step 1 (Active): Reps Planned: 12 Step 2 (Active): Reps Planned: 12 Step 3 (Active): Reps Planned: 12 WALL SIT Notes: with exercise ball in hand Step 1 (Active): Duration Planned: 1 min Step 2 (Active): Duration Planned: 1 min Step 3 (Active): Duration Planned: 1 min RUSSIAN TWIST Notes: with med ball Step 1 (Active): Reps Planned: 30 Step 2 (Active): Reps Planned: 30 Step 3 (Active): Reps Planned: 30 PUSH UPS Notes: 5 wide (wider than shoulders) 5 narrow( less than shoulders) 5 hands pointing in Step 1 (Active): Reps Planned: 15 Step 2 (Active): Reps Planned: 15 Step 3 (Active): Reps Planned: 15 SUPERMANS Notes: prone, alternating right leg/left arm/left arm/right leg Step 1 (Active): Reps Planned: 20 Step 2 (Active): Reps Planned: 20 Step 3 (Active): Reps Planned: 20 SINGLE LEG SQUAT Notes: only bend to where you can remain linear (no rotation) right and left leg Step 1 (Active): Reps Planned: 15 Step 2 (Active): Reps Planned: 15 Step 3 (Active): Reps Planned: 15 SIT UP Notes: feet locked (variations possible) Step 1 (Active): Reps Planned: 10 Step 2 (Active): Reps Planned: 10 Step 3 (Active): Reps Planned: 10 Race Report: Last Chance HalfI have to say that the Last Chance Half Marathon was a ton of fun! Not only was the course flat and scenic across downtown Calgary, but the event was perfectly staffed with enthusiastic volunteers and it concluded with an AMAZING brunch! My plan was pretty straight forward going in. Start conservative and then pick it up on the back end, and I’m happy to say I was able to execute it almost perfectly. The first 10K I held a pace of about 4:32 min/km and the last 10K was held at a 4:25 pace. Unfortunately I ran into a side stitch in the last KM that slowed my pace a bit, but I was still able to complete the race in 1:34:06, far surpassing my 1:40 goal.
Takeaways from this race:
Week 1 – Damn you Chocolate!Week 1 of 52 is already come and gone! I know you are expecting to see a detailed listing of every split I ran, my daily food journal with the every calorie accounted for, as well as a complete listing of each bathroom break… oh no, that doesn’t interest you in the slightest? Figured as much, therefore instead I have summarized my week into; Running, Nutrition, and Strength segments and included a school grade for each. I’m sure glad I didn’t get these grades in school, YIKES!! Running Grade: A With my first goal race coming up at the end of February I decided to jump right into a training plan and I went with the Hal Higdon Intermediate II plan. The reviews were great, it does miss a bit of the quality workouts (tempo, hills & repeats) but it will help in getting my base up. This week I was able to hit all of my runs and tally about 50k. While I felt like I could have done more I know what I “could do” and what I “should do” usually vary, so I am going to trust the process and stick to the plan as much as possible. Now if only training was about just running I’d be set… Nutrition Grade: D Damn you Halloween chocolates and your flashy packaging!!! Other than the fact that I had a thousand mini-chocolates, candy corn and well, pretty much everything else corn syrup based, my meals and snacks were pretty on point. But sugar has always been my struggle. To make things worse, my kids were ridiculously cute last night for Halloween (as you can see) and brought in a candy haul like no other. Fingers crossed I can stay away, because this is completely negating all of my hard work on the road and in the gym.
Strength Grade:F Not much to say here. I didn’t plan it and “shockingly” it didn’t happen. In past marathons it has been my leg strength that has killed me in the later stages. I’m currently writing this in day 2 of week 2 and I have already completed a strength workout yesterday and I have another planned for tomorrow. It’s just going to be getting into a routine and finding the right plan. I have been looking for a runner focused workout routine for a while now and yet I can't seem to find anything. Any suggestions? I need a BRA?!I always knew I needed a BRA. Especially on the long runs or when training gets difficult. And while I am sure you are trying to shake the mental image of me running down the road wearing a florescent Nike sports bra, and your welcome for that, unfortunately that is not the “support” I’m talking about. My B.R.A. is my Boston Running Allies. A collection of some of the most amazing, talented and supportive people you can imagine. This group includes a local race director, a marathon group leader, three current Boston Qualifiers, two nationally ranked age group marathoners, a multiple-time Iron Man competitor and a number of incredible weekend warriors like myself. Last night I had the opportunity to go out for dinner with a big part of this group, and as usual they had incredible insight into what I should focus on to get to Boston. Everything from specific workouts, to nutrition and recover techniques, but by far the most unified and repeated advice that I was given from all of them was to… “Enjoy the journey and not get lost in the outcome” In my last training cycle I focused solely on my running improvement to the detriment of enjoying the social aspect of training, so when I ended up getting sick at the 28km mark and then completely seizing up at the 40km mark, ultimately missing my goal by more than 25 minutes I was devastated. Therefore, this time around will be different, and while I’m obviously going to focus on improving multiple aspects of my running, I’m going to ensure that I keep up the social aspect and enjoy the journey. I’d love to know how you have balanced development with progress or even a time when you got lost in the outcome and missed enjoying the process… at least I hope I’m not the only one, lol. It is now a reality. With some encouragement from a few running friends I’ve decided to stop procrastinating and start the 12 month challenge next week, October 24th 2016. I’m still trying to figure out if I am excited or nervous. But all I can currently think of is what kind of official “send-off ” I should have with McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy’s and well… to be honest every other fast food restaurant in Calgary. My son suggested we try to do 12 drive-thrus in 12 hours for 12 meals to go along with the 12 to BQ theme. He also volunteered to drive, but since he is only 5 I’m thinking I may pass. With a late October start, I’ll then end the year racing either the Okanagan Marathon mid October 2017, or the Hamilton Road to Hope in early November 2017. Obviously I will have a number of races in between to try to incrementally bring down my race time, and some fun runs to keep everything interesting. So far this is what is on the agenda for the first quarter of the challenge (Nov – Feb): November 13th – Last Chance Half Marathon. This is to see where my current level of fitness is (or isn’t). February 11th – Hypothermic Half Marathon. A race pace practice run. February 25th – Either Phoenix Full or Texas Marathon. This will be my first full and I’ll post my target time a few weeks before the race. Any other suggestions for fun runs over the next 3 months in or around Calgary? Hi everyone and welcome to the 12 to BQ Journey. I wish I could have started this off by saying that I have been an avid runner my whole life, or that running came naturally to me, or even that I was in great shape right now and therefore I should be able to just pick up a pair of shoes and qualify for Boston. But where I sit right now I have a better chance of qualifying for a Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest then the Boston Marathon… mmmmmm HOT DOGS. With my 12 month journey getting set to kick off in just a few days, I only have a short period of time to get a plan in place in order to set myself up for success and it's looking like my first few weeks are going to be focused primarily on building my running base (i.e. building my weekly km's gradually with easy runs). Below is an overview of my next 3 weeks along with my individual nutrition modifications which i will implement in order to start on the path of peak fueling. Initial Base Training Schedule Overview Week 1 Run 4 Days (Tues 5k, Wed 8k, Thur 5k, Sat 16k = 34k) Nutrition: Eating at least 1 serving of fruit a day to increase energy Strength: Include 30 minute weightlifting on Tuesdays, Yoga on Fridays(more to come on this) Week 2 Run 4 Days (Tues 6K, Wed 10k, Thurs 6K, Sat 16k = 38k) Nutrition: Start every morning with a balanced shake (more to come on this) Strength: Include 30 minute weightlifting on Tuesdays, Yoga on Fridays Week 3 Run 4 Days (Tuesday 6k, Wed 10k, Thurs 6k, Sat 18k = 40k) Nutritional Adjustment: Build power food salads for the week Strength: Include 30 minute weightlifting on Tuesdays, Yoga on Fridays(more to come on this) |
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AuthorDan is a middle aged, overweight, desk jockey with an overactive imagination that has him convinced he can go from Burger King patron of the month to a Boston Qualifier in just 12 months. Archives
April 2017
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