Thursday, September 30, 2010

September 30th 2010

Injury Prevention + Circuit Calisthenics

Injury Prevention

Most of these exercises are taken straight from sealswcc.com videos. I don't know the names of them.
  • Rotator cuff work
  • Lower/Upper back work
  • Cable leg raises/pulls
Circuit Calisthenics

5 rounds of
  • 8 Pullups
  • 10 Dips
  • 40 Situps
  • 40 Pushups

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

September 29th 2010

PTG Core + Pool Swimming

Brief PTG core
  • 2 x 20 4 count bridges
  • 2 x 60 second planks
  • 2 x 50 second side plank on each side
  • 2 x 20 4 count birddogs
  • 2 x 10 supermans
  • 2 x 25 wipers
Pool Swimming
1300 meters total
450 meter in 9:06

Some light recovery work essentially

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

September 28th 2010

A light day of recovery work

Brief PTG core
  • 2 x 20 4 count bridges
  • 2 x 60 second planks
  • 1 x 50 second side plank on each side
  • 2 x 20 4 count birddogs
  • 2 x 10 supermans
  • 2 x 25 wipers
3 Stretching/roller massage sessions

I did some research on recovery/rehab technics for an ITB band injury and most of the sources put emphases on massage. Being a busy college student, I don't have the time or the money to get out to a professional so I have starting doing the best thing I can do from home. I got a foam roller which I have been using it to help me break up scare tissue and stretch out some very sore muscles.

Also I have been compiling a list of stretches that I am going to work into my routine.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

September 25th 2010


51.4 Ultramarathon....Completed
102.8 Mile Ultramarathon....Failed

Summery

My goal was to complete the full 102.8 Mile race with the 20,000 ft of elevation that came with it (that is 2/3 of Mt. Everest). But I was not successful in it. Around mile 6, I started to feel a twang on the outside of my left knee and by mile 30, I had full blown ITBS (IT band syndrome). Any type of activity at that point which involved some shock absorption was extremely painful. The truth is though, is that I probably could have prevented this from happening and it is my fault.

The silver lining in all this is that my time for the 51.4 mile race was actually really good at a 16th/50 finish despite my early injury. Also, I have learned about a weakness and that will allow me to aggressively correct it in the future.

I will be trying a 100 mile ultra in the future at some point again.

The Event

www.virgilcrestultras.com

The race was an "Out and Back" format. For the 51.4 mile, it was one round and the 102.8 mile was two rounds. Each round had about 10,000 feet of elevation gain/loss (1/3 of everest). This works out to be about 2 miles for the 51.4 and 4 miles for the 102.8, essentially a metric shit ton. Some of the race was actually up and down black diamond ski slopes to give you an idea of what that looks like. Aid stations every 5-6 miles, weather was a comfortable 65 degrees during the day and 55 at night.
One of the most challenging parts of this race compared with the last ultra I ran was the dead leaves. Having loose rocks and roots on the trail is to be expected but when they are camouflaged with dead leaves at makes foot placement really difficult. As a result, it is hard to make good time on these parts of the course.

My Training

During my time at school in the past month, I have been doing almost all of my running on some nice park trails behind my house. Some sections are quite technical but most are not. What these trails and all of Cleveland lacks though are any good hills to work with. The result being that most of my running was on flat terrain while most of my race was not. Overall, I had a few 40 mile weeks but mostly high 30 miles. My longest run in preparation for this race was also only 18 miles.

Some mistakes were made here.

My Night before/Morning of Preperation

There were a total of 5 different aid stations and I could have a drop bag at each of them. I took advantage of this and gave myself plenty of options. For every visit to an aid station, I had available to me:
  • A slice of pumpkin pie / can of chicken noodle soup / can of raviolli
  • A snickers bar
  • A banana
  • A red bull
  • 2 Bottles of gatorade
  • A granola bar
  • A chocolate
Nutrition was never a problem for me and I felt that I stayed on top of that pretty well. I was also very will hydrated through out the entire race.

The morning of, I taped my feet but I made two critical errors. I forgot to apply vasoline and I suffered for it by having bad chaffing by mile 20. I also forgot to trim my toe nails. I am going to be loosing at least one.

My Racing Gear

Footwear:
For shoes I was wearing a pair of Asics enduros with about 200 or 250 miles on them. These shoes have served me well in the past seeing as I have owned 6 pairs of them. Superfeet insoles were also in there. As for socks, I went with my marathon and 50.2 mile strategy: a thin running sock covered by a thick thorlo cushioned sock.
Notes for myself: I have to play around with my sock shoe combo. It is just not working out like it used to. I got blisters under the calloused pads of my feet along with the inside edges of my feet.

Backpack:
I got a camel pack for this one. Good choice on my part because I stayed hydrated seeing as I had to pee every 2-3 miles. It was pretty comfy too.

Clothing:
During the day I was wearing compression shorts, short shorts and a sleeveless top. At night, I threw a long sleeve over it. This wasn't enough, I'll put on some more next time.

The Race

0-10 Miles
This was pretty easy terrain. I found a guy wearing a "SEALFIT" t-shirt and starting talking to him. It turns out that he was also an engineering student planning on enlisting after he graduates which was pretty cool. This was also his first Ultra though and he was going out at a fast pace for the 51.4 Mile. This means that me running with him for the first part was probably a bad idea but eventually passing him was probably a worse idea. Even so, this part felt easy but I started to feel that someone was up with my knee.

10-20 Miles
The terrain, for this part, was much harder. The two biggest climbs of the race were in this section. One up a black diamond ski slope and another up a very technical trail of about the same grade. I realized at this point that I had forgot to apply vasoline.....ouch. Also, my left knee continued to be giving me problems. I talked with another runner and told him about what I was feeling and he told me about ITBS.

20-30
This part was almost all on some very technical trails. My knee has gotten as bad as it was going to get here, I had spent far too much time running on something that was clearly out of commission. After the 25 mile turn around, when I got to the first aid station on the way back, a guy noticed me limping and shuffling and offered me some iburprofen. This was awesome because I could run the flat parts of the course again pretty decently.

30-40
Here I was at the bottom of the ski slopes again with a bum leg but I climbed them in pretty decent time and shuffled down them. The iburprofen wore off quick and I was back to the same story again.

40-50
The terrain on these section was relatively easy. I was doing my best to run on the easy trails, shuffle run the downhills and walk the uphills. I made it back to the start line for a 12:24 finish time for the 50 mile. A time that would put me at 16th place for the 50 mile. I got a sweet mug for it too. I almost thought about DNFing right there because every step I took was shooting pain up my leg, but I decided to try to power walk the next 50 miles and see how if the pain would ease up if I avoided running at all. At the 50 mile mark, I took off my shoes and swapped my socks. At this point, I found that I had blisters under the balls of both of me feet and a quarter sized one on the inside of my bum leg foot (probably from running like a gimp). I put a needle in all of them and drained them and it felt a lot better. Also, every application of vasoline to was getting pretty painful because the skin was/is raw.

50-62.2
About a half hour after I left the start/finish line for a second loop, it was dark enough that I needed my head lamp. Night was here and it was erie to be in those woods like that. With only a handful of people still on the course strung out along these 50 miles, seeing other runners was quite rare. I did not linger long at the 55 mile aid station. I was trying to keep my pace to a decent level. My final 5.4 miles on the course were quiet arduous. Time had proven to me, that my leg was not going to feel any better if I did not run on it and this section was quite technical. I misplaced my footing a couple times and stumbled, having to catch myself with the bum leg. I made the decision about halfway through this section that to continue on like this for 40 more miles was going to destroy my left knee beyond any reasonable "non-surgical" ability to repair.
I ended my race here.

Decision to DNF
I know that this race was not beyond my ability to complete with just "run of the mill" injuries like blisters and chaffing. Things like that hurt pretty bad, but they are only superficial wounds. An inflamed IT band on the other hand is no joke and I am going to be spending a while rehabing this injury before I can run again. Whether or not an extra 40 miles would have made my injury much more severe, I dont know but the 10 miles that I simply walked after I finished the 50 mile proved that walking on it was making it worse. I struggled with this decision from about mile 40 onward when I realized it was getting worse as I spent longer on it. Of course, I am not pretending that my IT band excuses me from quitting as I did. It is my fault that I did not prepare and I deserve the shame of having quit on this.
From this I have learned a very important lesson. Prehabing for endurance events such as this should have been a serious consideration of mine. Despite what mental endurance you might have, despite how strong, how fit, how fast you are, ugly preventable overuse injuries can ignore all of that and bring you down. In the future, as I train for events like this and to eventually complete BUD/s, I vow to make this a primary focus of mine. I foresee much more stretching and oddball exercises in my future.







Thursday, September 16, 2010

September 16th 2010

PTG Core + Max Effort Calisthenics + Short LSD Run

--------------------------PTG Core---------------------------
  • 3 x 20 Bridges
  • 3 x 60 second planks
  • 2 x 50 second side planks
  • 3 x 20 birddogs
  • 3 x 10 supermans
  • 3 x 25 wipers
------------------------Max Effort Calisthenics-------------

2 rounds of:
  • Maximum pushups in 1 minute
  • Maximum situps (anchored) in 1 minute
  • Maximum pullups
Round scores:
  1. 90/59/20
  2. 64/54/14
Notes: i have been kipping slightly when going for my maximum on pullups. I eliminated it here and my pullup scores have dropped slightly.

Hip abductor strengthening work.

----------------------Short LSD Run------------------------------------
  • 5 Miles
  • 90% on dirt trails
  • little elevation changes
  • Wore vibram five finger shoes
  • Time: 38:50
  • Pace: 7:46 per mile
Notes: I have to remember to tape my toes when wearing vibrams. I got some blisters.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

September 15th 2010

Abbreviated CHI Run + LSD Swim

--------------CHI Run--------------------------

Note: Workout abbreviated due to taper for race

1 Mile warm up
  • 1.5 Mile Run
  • Measured with google maps "My Maps" plotting function
  • On dirt trails 100% of the time
  • No elevation
  • Time: 8:35
  • Pace: 5:43 per mile
1/2 Mile cool down and 1/2 Mile walk

Total Distance: 3 Miles

Notes: 6 months ago, I don't think I could have quite done a 9 minute half mile. This is a major improvement which I attribute to the NSW PTG and increased attention to my diet. Really happy with this.

---------------------LSD Swim ------------------------------------------
  • 2750 Meters (3025 yards) (1.71 Miles)
  • Time: 1:00:39
  • Pace per 500 yards: 10:01
Note: Longest swim to date and it felt pretty good.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

September 14th 2010

PTG Core + Circuit Calisthenics + Abbreviate INT run

1.25 mile run to gym, then:
--------------PTG Core----------------------------------
  • 3 x 20 Bridges
  • 3 x 60 second planks
  • 2 x 50 second side planks
  • 3 x 20 Birddogs
  • 3 x 10 supermans
  • 3 x 25 wipers
------------- Circuit Calisthenics---------------------

7 rounds of:
  • 9 deadhang pullups
  • 10 bar dips
  • 50 situps
  • 40 pushups
1:00 of deadhang for grip endurance
then 10 "toe to hands"

Hip abductor strengthening

---------------Interval Running ---------------------
Note: This workout is abbreviated from 8 rounds due to me tapering my running at this point.

Workout Overview:
  • 1 Mile warm up
  • 4 Interval Rounds
  • 1 Mile cool down
Each Interval round consists of:
  • 400 yard timed sprint
  • 100 yard walk (duration 1 minute)
  • 200 yard jog (duration 1 minute)
  • 100 yard walk (duration 1 minute)
  • Repeat
Round times:
  1. 1:04
  2. 1:00
  3. 1:02
  4. 0:58
Average: 1:01



Total Mileage Today =~ 5 miles


Sunday, September 12, 2010

September 12th 2010

CHI Run + LSD Swim + PTG Core + Circuit Calisthenics.....long day.

------------Road/Trail Running: CHI (Continuous High Intensity)-----------

The Workout:
  1. Jog a mile
  2. Stretch
  3. First CHI Run (1.95 Miles)
  4. Active Recovery for 12 minutes
  5. Second CHI Run (1.95 Miles)
  6. Jog 3/4 Mile
  7. Walk 1/4 Mile
  8. Stretch
First CHI Run:
  • 1.95 Miles (measured with google "my maps" function)
  • 50% hardpack dirt trail, 50% sidewalk
  • Time: 11:27
  • Pace: 5:52 per mile
Second CHI Run:
  • Reverse of first run
  • Time: 11:48
  • Pace: 6:03 per mile
----------Pool Swimming: 1.65 Mile LSD--------------------
  • Total Distance: 2650 meters. (2915 yards) (1.65 Miles)
  • Time: 58:43
  • Pace per 500 yard: 10:04
Notes: I got some bad cramps during the swim. I was probably low on salt from the run I did today. Longest distance to date.

-------------PTG Core------------------------
  • 3 x 40 4 count bridges
  • 3 x 60 second planks
  • 2 x 50 second side planks, each side
  • 3 x 40 4 count birddogs
  • 3 x 10 supermans
  • 3 x 25 wipers
-------------Circuit Calisthenics Workout--------------

5 Rounds of:
  • 8 deadhang pullups
  • 10 bar dips
  • 10 push press (45 lb bar)
  • 10 incline pullups
  • 30 pushups
  • 40 situps

Saturday, September 11, 2010

September 11th 2010

Long Distance Trail Running + PTG Core + Max Effort Calisthenics

Trail Running: Ultramarathon Training Run
  • 12 Miles
  • 60% dirt trail 30% technical trail 10% road
  • Some small steep hills but no long climbs
  • Done with hydration backpack.
  • Drank little before but drank about 3 liters while running. Was very will hydrated.
  • Ate a banana and an orange at the halfway point
  • Time: 1:44:11
  • Pace: 8:40
Note: This run felt great. I feel like I could have done it many more times. Maybe due to the surplus energy I have in my from what I ate yesterday...

Also I saw a deer while I was running.....I want to go hunting.

Short PTG Core
  • 2 x 40 Bridges
  • 2 x 60 second planks
  • 2 x 50 second side planks
  • 2 x 40 birddogs
  • 2 x 10 supermans
  • 2 x 25 wipers
Calisthenics: Max Effort

2 Rounds of:
  • Maximum Pushups in 1 minute
  • Maximum Situps in 1 minute
  • Maximum Pullups
Round Scores:
  1. 86 / 56 / 22
  2. 65 / 55 / 14

Friday, September 10, 2010

September 10th 2010


Trail Running: Short LSD
  • 6 Miles
  • Rough Terrain, some very technical trails.
  • Lots of small ups and downs
  • Time: 44:38
  • Pace: 7:27
Notes: I ate a 5lb plate at Melt bar & grill with a 3.5lb grilled cheese on it. I am 1/30 to have done so. I better feel good enough to hit it hard tomorrow. I have a long to-do list.


Thursday, September 9, 2010

September 9th 2010

PTG Core + Pyramid Calisthenics Workout

PTG Core
  • 3 x 40 4 count, one leg bridges
  • 3 x 60 second planks
  • 2 x 50 second side planks each side
  • 3 x 40 birddogs
  • 3 x 10 supermans
  • 3 x 25 wipers
Pyramid Workout

Pyramid levels 1, 2, 3 .... 9, 10, 9, 8, 7

For each pyramid level:
  • Level x 1 Pullups
  • Level x 2 Dips
  • Level x 5 situps
  • Level x 3 pushups
  • Level x 2 Thrusters with 45lb bar (10 thrusters for each level greater than 5)
Total Pullups: 79
Total Dips: 158
Total Sits: 395
Total Push: 237
Total Thrusters: 110

Note: After the sets began getting easy, I stopped. Thing's to do and 5 exercises is too much for for a pyramid to 10. Ill probably cut the thrusters for next time.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

September 8th

Interval Run and Swimming benchmark

Interval Run

-- 1.5 Mile warmup run ~ 8:00 Pace

-- 8 rounds of:
  • 400 Meter timed sprint
  • 100 Meter walk (1 minute)
  • 200 Meter jog (2 Minutes) (8:00 Pace)
  • 100 Meter walk (1 minute)
  • Repeat
-- 1.5 Mile cooldown ~8:30 Pace

Round Times:
  1. 1:14
  2. 1:18
  3. 1:18
  4. 1:17
  5. 1:16
  6. 1:13
  7. 1:11
  8. 1:07
Average: 1:14.25

Pool Swim: CHI

150 Meter warm up swim
450 Meter swim (495 yards) swim in 8:33 (would have been 8:38 for 500 yard swim)
150 Meter cool down

Note: Fastest 500 yard to date. Fuck yeah.


September 4th - 7th

Rest days

I lived to do homework for these days.

August 30th - September 5th: Weekly Summery

Weekly Summery:

Total Miles Run this week: 40.0 Even, solid running week.
Total Swim workouts: 2, my goal is 3 but I got busy.
Total Swim distance: 4300 yards (2.4 Miles)
Total Calisthenic Workouts: 3 (Max) (Circuit) (Pyramid)

Notes: New record on pushups of 90. Solid week of running in preparation for the race I have got coming up at the end of this month. I might start tapering next week, but that depends on how much time I have to commit to school.


Sunday, September 5, 2010

September 4th 2010

PTG Core + Maximum Effort Calisthenics + Interval Run

2 miles of running to and from the gym.

PTG Core and Hip strengthening work
  • 3 x 40 4 Count bridges
  • 3 x 60 second planks
  • 2 x 50 second side planks
  • 3 x 40 4 count bird dogs
  • 3 x 10 4 count supermans
  • 3 x 25 wipers
Hip strengthening work with 22.5 lb

Maximum Effort Calisthenics

3 Round of:
  • Maximum Pushups in 1 minute
  • Maximum Situps in 1 minute
  • Maximum Pullups
Round Scores ( Push / Sit / Pull )
  1. 90 / 57 /19
  2. 64 / 54 / 13
  3. 60 / 54 / 13
Note: 90 pushups. Fuck yeah.

Road Running: INT (Intervals)

1.5 mile run to the track

Note: I ran down to the track planning to use it but sadly they were setting up for the football game. Instead, I ran around campus for time repeating this 6 times

6 Round of:
  • Sprint for 80 seconds
  • Walk for 60 seconds
  • Jog for 60 seconds
  • Walk for 60 seconds
  • Rinse and Repeat
Total Distance Today: 6.5 Miles

Friday, September 3, 2010

September 3rd 2010

Ultramarathon Training run: Long LSD
  • 18 Miles
  • 15% technical trails, 65% easy dirt trails, 20% pavement
  • No major elevation changes
  • 80 degrees, humid and cloudy
  • Drank about 2 Liters per 6 Miles, total about 6 Liters, this was very adequete hydration, I was having to stop for a piss every 3 miles.
  • Ate either a pop tart or banana every 3 miles
  • Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Pace: 8:20
Notes: This run felt great for how long it was. It may have to do with being adequetly hydrated for the entire time or eating while running. Either way, great run.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

September 2nd 2010

Just Calisthenics today: Circuit workout

7 rounds of:
  • 9 Pullups
  • 10 Dips
  • 40 Situps
  • 40 Pushups
  • 8 Thrusters with bar (65lb)
Total Pullups: 63
Total Dips: 70
Total Situps: 280
Total Pushups: 280
Total Thrusters: 56

Next time I should add on another round and make it 8 reps. This was hard but it could be harder.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

September 1st 2010

Trail Running + Swimming + PTG core

Trail Running: LSD (Long Slow Distance)
  • 8 miles
  • 80% on dirt trails, some of them pretty technical
  • not much elevation change
  • Hot and humid morning
  • Time: 1:03:07
  • Pace: 7:52
Pool Swimming: LSD (Long Slow Distance)
  • 2550 meters (2805 yards)
  • In 25 meter pool, not 25 yards
  • Time: 54:04
  • Pace per 500 yards: 9:38
Notes: This was a really fast LSD. Normally my pace sits really close to 10 minutes.

Total Distance Swam: 2805 yards (1.59 miles)

PTG Core + some hip abductor work
  • 2 x 50 4 count bridges
  • 3 x 50 second planks
  • 2 x 50 second side planks (each side)
  • 2 x 50 4 count bird dogs
  • 3 x 10 4 count supermans
  • 3 x 25 wipers
22.5lb weight used
11rep /15rep abduction/induction each leg