Week 12 of 19 training for Badwater was decent, but I definitely have room to improve — not only my fitness, but my training patterns. I feel like I’m getting into pretty good shape and I’m making better use of my time, but I’m in the final stretch, with five hard weeks left before taper time. There is no limit to how hard I can push, because I need every drop of fitness I can get.
One thing my coach, John Loftus, has reassured me of, is that I will not show up overtrained. With what he’s done with me over the past year — getting my heart rate down from the high 140s to the high 120s on easy runs and getting my 100-mile PR down from 21:39 to 17:56 — I have complete faith in everything he tells me to do. He’s good with me rowing, lifting and doing the incline hikes as cross training, so I do those. But I won’t run a single mile more than he prescribes. As us Sixers fans say here in the Philly area … trust the process!
I got into a routine that I like that works for me — 10 km on the rower followed by upper-body weights every morning (alternating my back/shoulders routine and my chest/arms routine). Upper-body lifting after rowing isn’t easy, but this isn’t supposed to be easy and the point is to build strength and upper-body endurance. I run on my lunch break, which is usually when it’s fairly warm outside, which is what I need. Then after work, I go to the gym for my incline hike (12.0) on the treadmill. John is ok with me doing the weighted vest on alternating days.
Not surprisingly, nutrition plays a big part in all of this. I need to eat (but not over-eat), I need my whey isolate protein after workouts, I need my protein between meals, I need to hydrate, I need a casein shake before bed, I need to make sure I replenish my electrolytes … I’ve really had to lock in to make sure my body can get through everything I ask of it. But it’s getting stronger and I’m feeling really good. I don’t feel sore at all from my workouts and my numbers are getting better.
Mentally, I visualize Badwater a lot when I’m training. I also think a lot about my crew — they’re training hard just to crew me, and they’re sacrificing six days to support me, so I need to do my part and show up ready to go. They motivate me and my personal accountability to them keeps me pushing on. I have no doubt I’m in the best shape of my life and I know it’ll be even better after these final five hard weeks. I just hope it’s enough — we’ll find out.
Here’s my embedded post for the week, sauna session on Sunday night … heat game is getting there and I think the sauna I ordered is coming in this week. I hope. Also, check out the caption in there about my mother-in-law … her memory is a huge motivator for me with this. I’m living my life today, because I’m not guaranteed tomorrow.
Anyways, here’s the training log for this week … running volume isn’t too high — John spends 2-3 weeks working me back from a race and two weeks ago I had that miserable 53-mile DNF down at the Keys 100 that thrashed me a little bit. But I did my best with everything else. Life was a little challenging this week, but I’m optimistic I can be more consistent with the treadmill hikes this week.
Monday
– Rowing, 10 km before work.
– Weights, chest/arms, after rowing.
– Run, 5.14 miles easy at lunch.
– Treadmill 12.0 incline, 4.0 miles after work.
Tuesday
– Rowing, 10 km before work.
– Weights, back/shoulders after rowing.
– Run, 7.22 miles after work
Wednesday
– Rowing, 10 km before work.
– Weights, chest/arms, after rowing.
– Run, 8.27 miles at lunch. 98 real feel, this is what I need!
– Treadmill 12.0 incline with 20-pound weighted vest, 1.5 miles after work. Cut short, didn’t feel well.
Thursday
– Rowing, 10 km before work.
– Weights, back/shoulders after rowing.
– Run, 7.07 miles at alunch.
– Treadmill 12.0 incline with 20-pound weighted vest, 3.0 miles after work. Limited time.
Friday
– Rowing, 10 km before work.
– Run, 4.01 miles after work.
– Sauna, 45:05 minutes after run.
Saturday
– Rowing, 10 km, in the afternoon.
– Weights, chest/arms after rowing.
– Sauna, 55:03 evening.
Sunday
– Run, 14.01 in the morning.
– Rowing, 10 km in the afternoon.
– Weights, back/shoulders after rowing.
– Run, 6.12 miles after dinner.
– Sauna, 1:01:12 after running.
Week totals:
- 51.84 miles running
- 8.5 miles on treadmill at 12.0 incline (4.5 with 20-pound weighted vest)
- 70 km rowing
- 6 lifting sessions
- 3 sauna sessions (avg 53:47)
OK, that’s it for this week. Quick plug, most of you know I’m a charity runner at heart and I’m trying to make the most of my participation in the Badwater 135 by raising money for the National Autism Association (Pennsylvania chapter) and the Michael Lisnow Respite Center. If you ever think I’ve worked hard and want to pat me on the back, the best way to do so is with an easy $5 donation that will be split between those two organizations! Here’s the fundraiser link.
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