Week Summary

Mon - AM: 60 min Iller creek. 30 min strength and stretch. 

PM - 60 min upper body strength and tempo 

Tues - AM: 105 min Iller creek 5 min stretch

Rough morning...I may be pushing a little too much considering I raced on Saturday. Stomach issues and creaky legs. 

Wed - AM: needed but unwanted rest

PM: 30 min lower body strength, 30 min bouldering 

3 x 12 squats @ 135 (first time doing weighted squats for a very long time)

3 x 12 hip abduction

3 x 12 hip adduction

3 x 12 dorsiflexion 

Thurs- AM: 90 min ill creek trailhead to trailhead

This run made me question why the heck any runner would ever do weighted squats. After my race on Saturday I realized a few things:

1- I need to run on runnable terrain more often. I love to climb and descend but I don't often run on "flat" surface. 

2. I am still prone to injury hence more lower body strengthening is required. 

3. I am very much human. 

PM: 30 min bouldering, 30 min upper body strength

3 x 12 cable chest press @ 205 

3 x 12 one arm pull ups on assisted machine (40 lb assist)

3 x 8 negatives (pull ups with emphasis on eccentric phase)

3 x 12 military press @ 100

Fri- AM: more needed rest. I am anxious to be fresh again so I can really train hard. 

Sat- AM: 100 min. Iller creek

Sun- AM: 90 min. hike in iller creek

Good week, ready to hit it hard next week! It took a little while to feel fully recovered from last weeks marathon but I am there.

Last few weeks review...

The last few weeks have seemed like a whirlwind. Obviously juggling my various daily activities was probably more like procrastinating my important yet not urgent tasks. A lot of my school work piled up and I had to set aside my "two a days" and my bouldering breaks at Eastern's climbing wall and hunker down. Luckily I was still consistent in my morning training and it worked rather nicely into a taper for my race this weekend.

I ran the Sunflower Marathon in the Methow Valley on saturday and it was a beautiful course with awesome trail and very minimal gravel road stretch. As usual I got a little caught up in the mix as the gun went off but I felt like I was holding back more than usual. I had let several of the other marathoners go ahead thinking I would see them again on the back half of the course. At around the 10 mile mark I felt the affects of not having trained on long very runnable terrain (as was the terrain up to this point). My IT band (that I thought was healed and strengthened sufficiently) was screaming at me and I had to turn it down a notch. The temps soared (90º F +) and I found myself reaching for my empty water bottle more than once. At one point I actually threw myself into a creek and started slurping the bacteria infested waters like a mangy dog. That lasted until my hamstring started cramping so I got back into my slowed rhythm. Passing through the last aid I downed a ton of sports drink and fueled up with some Gu and worked my way up the final climb. I succumbed to yet another temptation as I passed a cattle watering troff and submerged my upper half while fighting the urge to take a drink. That helped me to cool down and get to the end of the final climb with just enough energy to bomb the last hill, pass a bunch of people (some marathoners and a few relay runners) and finish strong and in the top ten of a huge field. 

Looking back now I can't complain much because I did just run a marathon and finish relatively competitively. Today I feel great and got a really nice training run in this morning which tells me that I probably left way too much on the table... but that's ok. I am not willing to tear an IT band to win a race. Furthermore, running is about embracing my natural surroundings, and celebrating health. It's not about winning races or not getting 'chicked' (which did happen this weekend). This is is something I hope to be able to do for a very long time to come (and I don't mean getting 'chicked').  Now that the rush is through I can go back to my thick of thin things routine and maybe even back to my two a days  and bouldering sessions.  Next up: West Coast Trail in July!