JCC 2016 Fitness Goals

I get girled all the time. You get used to it!

 

I don't care about getting 'girled'. Just realized watching that race how slow I still am.

 

Yeah, I was just being facetious. I agree, it's pretty scary watching elite athletes at work. I don't think I could keep up with a world class marathoner for any more than a couple of hundred metres, if that!

 

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Yeah then I get stupid sometimes and run too fast to start my run and pay for it later but I'm trying to be more patient. It doesn't hurt me on a three mile run but does of course on longer ones.

 

Today I did my first tempo run for the year. 2k warm up. 5k tempo. 2k warm down. I did the 5 in 20.36, which I was pretty happy with after a long break from running fast. Might try to do something similar fortnightly. Felt pretty good to have the blood pumping a bit harder.

 

Did 5 miles Saturday, 5 miles Sunday and 4 miles of hills yesterday. Will do some type of cross training today.

 

Got the green light to exercise again, even running if I want to. And if heat/mosquitos allow it...right now temps are in the high 90's. I might do something indoors on weekdays and a little jog on early weekend mornings.

 

What sort of hill work are you doing? Hill repeats are really good for speed if you're still focusing on getting your time down for 3 miles.

 

I was on a trail at a park. I'd say I was climbing at least 50 percent of the time. It was pretty brutal in 90 degree heat. I definitely still want to get faster.

 

I love the versatility of hills. They can be whatever you want them to be. Speed, strength, endurance. For speed development 200m uphill intervals is a really good workout. Straight up for 200m as fast as you can, walk or jog back down and then go again. Start with three or four and build up to eight to ten.

 

Last night was flat calm on the lake, stars and full moon reflecting perfectly, loons calling back and forth. What a great night for the first skinnydip of the year.

And there was a shooting star overhead while I was doing the backstroke too!

 

The universe approving of its view of your naked backstroking no doubt!

 

I'm really struggling to get back to barbell work after focusing on kettlebells for a while. Bar path is off in all of my lifts and the back squat feels like an alien movement right now. I'm reducing weight and focusing on volume until patterning improves. Hopefully things will feel a bit better before the comp in a few weeks

 

Clearly, the very stars themselves were falling from the heavens in awe and envy of my form.

No?

 

As if by magic my squat form today felt solid for the first time in weeks. The competition date has also changed to 31st July, so there's more time to prep and I only need a total of 356kg to qualify for Britain's (!?!) so I could get through without even bothering to bench. Looking at last year's results, there's a good chance of a podium finish at Britain's in September. Would be nice to bring home some silverware!

 

Yeah, free on the 17th now but will be prepping for comp... don't s'pose you all want to meet up and deadlift then go someplace to eat three times as much as a human?

 

Darth Punk No, I've found a powerlifting gym up the road in Barnstaple. Seems to be the only serious strength training facility in North Devon... nowhere does strongman and I have to train with kettlebells at home :-(

I train at the Commando Temple (Deptford) whenever I'm in London.

 

Due to bad weather and time pressure I passed on my usual long hill run yesterday and did 16k on the flat, the longest flat run I've done for months. The monotonous grind of it was hard! I won't need much encouragement to once again head for the hills...

 

That's almost exactly the length I ran yesterday. I'll do some hills in a couple of days. Hills definitely feel less 'boring'.

 

Yeah, much more interesting and the variety is easier on the body overall I reckon. You work hard grinding up hill, but then there's some rolling flatter stuff and some downhill coasting thrown in there. The fact that you're not generally smashing away on tar seal is also helpful.

 

Definitely. I feel a lot worse running on the pavement of the bike path here. When there's room, I run off to the side of it on the gravel.