New Exercise and Fitness Thread

[BigFatCoward]

So I finished in under six hours, even though I felt like absolute crap. Not exactly what I was aiming for, but at that point I was just relieved to finish. My previous marathon five years ago was about 4 hours and 15 minutes. This one was much slower, but also much more of a mental challenge.

So I'm happy with the accomplishment, though not 100% happy. I have to admit I'm sort of Monday morning quarterbacking of how I could have run smarter. But that's the perfectionist in me. ;)

gutting it out when you feel like crap says a lot more about you than running a quicker time would have. you are being way to hard on yourself.

[ztemhead]

back on the Smolov train this week, and again day four broke me pretty bad. I just don't see how it's possible to do three sets of 85% of your 1RM as the fourth day doing squats in the same week. If anyone out there thinks I'm being unreasonable, let me know. I suppose I could lower the number I'm using for my 1RM, but then I'd be doing less on all the other days too, and currently I can keep up with those just fine. Going forward, I'm going to eliminate every leg movement that is not squat related until I'm done with the program. No more running, no snatch grip deadlifts, nada but squats and warm up for squats.

Unrelated note, but today I saw my back in the mirror for the first time in a long time, and holy crap for deadlifts, rows, and pull ups. Yeah, I have a nice belly in front, but my back is jacked.

[Harlot]

Congrats on the marathon. I agree that having the mental toughness to push through and finish says alot more than your time. You've been an inspiration to me. I'm thinking maybe Chicago next year.

:cheers:

[ztemhead]

oh indeed, congrats on the marathon, alguien. I've been watching this special on NOVA recently about marathon training, that's some serious stuff.

[Harlot]

I'm also happy to report that I ran 4 miles this morning with no pain and no swelling. I'm still running a pretty consistent 10 minute mile even after taking a week off and then resting for another 5 days. I'm going to sign up for the local 5k on Nov. 7 and then should just keep pushing until the 10k on Thanksgiving.

[peterbound]

Harlot, good luck with that. I'm planning a similar schedule. What is your current 5k time?

[Eponine]

Hey, that's MY av! I'll fight you for it at the con.

[Harlot]

I ran 30:44 in a 5K at the end of Sept. I'm definitely building endurance more than speed right now. I'm hoping to be under 30 mins on the Nov. 7 race but I don't have a specific goal. I have a fun run 5K on Halloween that I am running with some friends, but they are much slower than me and we're doing a group costume so I'm not planning on leaving them in the dust.

[peterbound]

Hey, that's MY av! I'll fight you for it at the con.

Yep, i changed my in honor of your bad ass Jesus riding a herbivore.

I think i'll do Zombie Jesus next.

Harlot,

I'm still cruising around 28-30 min 5k's. I'd like to get that down before my attempted 10k.

[VarysTheSpider]

Harlot - if you're doing 10 minute miles in training I would have thought you should do comfortably under 30 minutes for a 5k in a race (unless you're pushing it too hard in training, I guess). I did 22.04 in August, I'm going to attack that savagely in the winter after I get done with my impending half marathon this Sunday. According to the McMillan calculator I should be able to do it in around 1hr45. Yeah, right. I'll be chuffed with anything under 1hr55.

I don't know if any Londoners are aware but on the 22nd October the Nike Grid online/reality/social competition will be starting and running for two weeks. Basically you run between designated phone boxes within post codes in London, entering a unique number at the start and end of each run. You then get awarded points for you and your team, and are awarded badges for different achievements (e.g. completing a run before 8am, or running in x number of different post codes, or whatever). Looks like good fun.

[Harlot]

The 5k in Sept was my first 5k. I definitely ran too fast the first few kilometers and too slow the last few. I have much more consistent pacing now in training. I feel confident that I'll come in under 30 mins at the Nov. 7th race.

I would like to plan for a 1/2 marathon for next year. I had wanted to train for a marathon but I'm not quite sure yet what my work situation will be. I have a murder trial scheduled for January that will likely get moved back. This trial will likely require me to travel for most of a month. Not sure how that will fit into training. It could be great though if I can't see my family. Just looking over the training schedules looks like a very serious time commitment that may be difficult either way.

[BigFatCoward]

why, no matter how much work you do on the bike/treadmill/rower/lift weights etc do you feel like absolute death the first time you play a proper sport for a long time. not a particularly hard game of 5 a side has me lying on the sofa wondering how i'm going to get up.

[alguien]

Thanks for the congrats, Harlot, ztem, and bfc.

Ran for the first time last night since the marathon. Just three miles. No ipod, no watch. Just me along the lake under the night sky.

Felt oddly cleansing. Legs felt fine. Perhaps I should have waited another day, but I was getting almost impatient.

Next up, I have a half marathon on 10/31. I'm still not sure the best way to train for that. I mean, I'm sort of ready for it now, but I also don't want to lose fitness or anything.

[Harlot]

I had a similar experience playing tennis a few weeks ago. I felt fine while playing but the next day all these muscles I don't use running were screaming, especially in my feet. Just shows you why cross-training is important.

[VarysTheSpider]

The 5k in Sept was my first 5k. I definitely ran too fast the first few kilometers and too slow the last few. I have much more consistent pacing now in training.

I'm terrible for pacing. I can do it fine in a training run but in a race I lose all discipline. At my last 10k I did the first 2km in 8:30, then panicked that I was going to fast and it was another km before I sorted myself out into my target pace.

Next up, I have a half marathon on 10/31. I'm still not sure the best way to train for that. I mean, I'm sort of ready for it now, but I also don't want to lose fitness or anything.

Wow, that's pretty hardcore. In your shoes, if I was committed to running it as a race rather than as a training run, I would substitute some of your normal easy miles for cross-training to minimise the risk of injury , do one long slow run of around 12 miles, then taper for half a week before the run. And I'd still think that's a bit too risky. But then I know next to nothing about your fitness or running regime.

[Eponine]

Next up, I have a half marathon on 10/31. I'm still not sure the best way to train for that. I mean, I'm sort of ready for it now, but I also don't want to lose fitness or anything.

There's a good schedule for consecutive long races in a short period of time in Pfitzinger's advanced marathoning.

The 31st is only two weeks though, so alternate fairly easy runs (4-6 miles) with cross-training (preferably swimming or aquajogging). If you feel good halfway through a run, gradually increase your speed so that you finish near tempo pace - don't force it even if you never feel that good. Do an easy 8 mile run a week out. In the second week, start doing strides after each run. You won't lose significant fitness in two weeks, and it's better to be undertrained than overtrained.

[CelticKnight]

Well it's been about 3 weeks since I started my bulk, and so far so good. Been eating about 3500 calories a day, 4000+ on my heavy upper and lower workout days. Gained 2.5 lbs so far so roughly on track, I weigh in at 153 lbs..

My strength has gone up a decent amount, faster than usual. Deadlift went from 315 to 335, squat from 260 to 275 (kinda surprised about this one actually), and bench from 200 to 205 (kinda disappointed about this one).

Here's a progress pic for those interested.

I actually feel that my back is thicker, as well as my shoulders...but those have always been my strong points. My chest and arms have always lagged behind so hopefully those pick up more as my bulk progresses.

Oddly enough, I also feel like I have more libido...hmmm.

[Eponine]

Did an 8 mile group trail run tonight, which took forever, partly because it was dark and we were slightly lost. Not incredibly lost, but every time there was a split in the trail, we had to stop and consult the maps. I was amazed at how good it felt and have resolved to keep doing it.

Peterbound - well the problem is, every time you post and I look through the thread, I think that you were me.

[Lightning Lord]

Did an 8 mile group trail run tonight, which took forever, partly because it was dark and we were slightly lost. Not incredibly lost, but every time there was a split in the trail, we had to stop and consult the maps. I was amazed at how good it felt and have resolved to keep doing it.

Peterbound - well the problem is, every time you post and I look through the thread, I think that you were me.

How do you like running in groups? I've never been too keen on it, but I am considering joining a running group here. The only time I've liked it was my senior year at uni, I was in a group of people who had all been on their HS cross country teams and those guys were fast. I was in the best shape of my life because I was getting my ass hauled along on their training runs.

As an older adult, I've just never fallen in with a good pack. Thoughts?

[Eponine]

How do you like running in groups? I've never been too keen on it, but I am considering joining a running group here. The only time I've liked it was my senior year at uni, I was in a group of people who had all been on their HS cross country teams and those guys were fast. I was in the best shape of my life because I was getting my ass hauled along on their training runs.

As an older adult, I've just never fallen in with a good pack. Thoughts?

I've always been a group runner. I was on cross-country and track in high school and college. I had a friend to do a lot of runs with in Blacksburg, and also did some summer runs with the high school team.

But I'm into competitive running. The group tonight kicked my ass. When I first moved to Denver, I joined a marathon training group (quit because I wasn't recovering from bronchitis) and I never really meshed with anyone. I think it was because "running a marathon" was on their bucket list and they weren't runners, they were people who wanted to accomplish a marathon.

I like it for athletic reasons because it's easier to stay motivated when a lot of people have the same goals, it's more fun to push myself on workouts, and it's easier to tuck in the back on a bad day than trying to gut it out alone. If you're one of the weaker people in the group, hanging on to the back and letting someone else lead can get you running faster than you expected, as you experienced with your old group.

And I like it for social reasons, because I'm something like 60% introverted. I like a lot of sports for this reason - you're around people without being expected to keep up constant personal conversation. If you run in silence the entire time, no one will think you're strange. If you run outside, you start to talk about things like the moon and the mountains and how fucking cold/hot/windy it is (nothing brings people together like mutual complaints). Almost every one of my lasting female friends, I met through running.

So I'd say it's worth a try. Worth a few tries, unless you find that you hate having other people around you.