4/21/13 Workout

Today's workout was really not much. I just needed to be outside enjoying day. Hiked little over a mile at Monte Sano Mountain in Huntsville, AL, did 150 chair bridges and stretched. It was great to be outdoors, while mentally preparing for next 24 weeks. Also gave me a chance to see some area would like to do some training.

Marathon Training

    The next 24 weeks I will be training to complete my first marathon. I will not give up the training for obstacle course races because I run a Spartan Sprint 2 weeks after the marathon, but I will shift gears in my training. I will focus more on distance running 4x week. I will be running short to medium distances 3x week with a long run on Saturdays. I will be doing sprint intervals and my workouts 2x week. My sprint intervals and workouts will change every 4 weeks to prevent my body from adjusting.
     During these 24 weeks I promise myself that I will eat healthy, work my tail off, and accomplish all set goals. I will train like every day is my last. All goals will be reached and surpassed. I am determined to be leaner, faster, in better health, and the best I can at every activity.

4/13/13 Iron Warrior Dash

Yesterday AM ran the Iron Warrior Dash in GA, 15 miles of running combined with 26 obstacles. The race started flat with a couple small hills and majority of the beginning obstacles were through water. Around 3 miles the course changed and we started running more hills with some steep climbs and downhill descents. We ran about 3/4 mile through a creek, climbing small falls. When came out of the creek had a steep hill to basically crawl up, grabbing whatever could to assist pull yourself up. Felt like this was the cleanest I had ever been in a mud run cause of all the water. The end had changed that last thought. The mud pit we went through was by far the thickest I have crawled through. It took every bit of strength I had to get through. Every push with my legs, just found them sinking further into the mud and the cramps in my calves and adductors did not make it any easier. This race provided some great obstacles and a challenging running course. Except for the poor design of the Peggy Sue obstacle the race was great. Only complaints about the entire event was parking, shuttle service and bag check. The parking was 8 miles from event and we took buses to and from event. The buses were not spread out enough for continuous flow from parking to/from event. And to check bag before Iron Warrior Dash was quick, but because they put the Warrior Dash runners bags were also checked into the same tent caused long waits to pick up bags and volunteers had trouble locating the bags. Hopefully they will have more organization for future events. Over all still great day. Completed in 2:57:13...63rd overall. Time to take the week off and allow my body to heal completely. Then to start training for marathon in Oct.

Oak Barrel Half Marathon

Just finished running the Oak Barrel Half Marathon. What an awesome run! Had lots of rolling hills, few steep climbs, and beautiful scenery through Lynchburg, TN. First major climb was Whiskey Hill. It started around the 3.5 mile mark with a gentle climb. Then around 4 miles got steeper and at 4.25 did a switch back and became very steep. That only lasted a .25 mile but reminded me of running the Mt Washington Rd Race. The next steep climb came around 6.5 mile mark, it was short, thank God! After that the race followed some rolling hills until mile 9. From there it was a gentle decent to around mile 12 where it became flat to finish line. We finished at the square in Lynchburg. I enjoyed the entire event. I set my PR today with a run of 1:44:49.

4/5/13 Workout

Today was great! Did not run as far, only 3 today. That is because running half marathon tomorrow. The 3 miles I did was not just an easy jog. I increased my pace on each mile. Started at 8:10 mile pace, mile 2 was 7:09 mile pace, and finished at 6:45 mile pace. Finished workout with Tabata upper body and lower body routine. Now rest and recovery for tomorrow.
Today's workout
Run 3 miles- increase pace each mile
Tabata upper body routine 2x
Tabata leg routine 2x
Stretch

*Tabata routine same as previous post

4/4/13 Workout

Good morning for run. Raining pretty steady with little breeze, making 43 degrees feel little colder. But training had to be done. Did 6 miles in just over 50 min. One more day of training, then race day. Looking forward to attacking the Oak Barrel Half Marathon and setting my PR.

4/3/13 Workout

Today was great to get back training. I took Mon off to recoup from Saturday's run. Tues was worn out from work. Today I changed up my interval. The runs were longer with 2 sets of the Tabata routine between runs.
Today's routine
Run 3 miles
Tabata upper body 2x
Run 3 miles
Tabata leg routine 2x
Stretch

*Tabata upper body: push ups, pull ups, incline push ups, reverse grip pull ups, decline push ups, over hand supine pull ups, burpees, v-push ups. 1 min rest between sets
*Tabata leg routine: squats, static lunge right, squat thrusts, static lunge left, jump squat, mountain climbers, alt lunge jumps, sumo squat jumps