50k Training

50k Training - My Thoughts

I'm not sure if anyone actually cares but today I'm going to share a bit about my workout today as I train for Trail Mix, Superior and there might be another one.

Yesterday I climbed 2.6 miles in 40 minutes while my daughter shot 500 shots.

Sometimes I head into a workout with a very definitive plan.  I didn't do that today.  Bear and I went to Home Depot for a bit while we waited for Chuck and Don's to open.  We need to get out more.  Then I figured out some insurance stuff and got ready to exercise. 

I try and pick my spots usually.  I can tell my training has been getting better.  I'm able to climb a little easier and even run short distances without walking.  

The next thing I feel I should address is my weight.  It's a lot of work to carry 20 extra pounds for more than 30 miles.  I'll add 10 minutes of cardio upon waking and start doing more intermittent fasting and that should come right off.  I am older now though so who knows.

My nutrition is getting tighter and I'm starting to say no at night more to that dark chocolate bar or big bowl of nuts and cheese.  Lots of celebrations here in February for my family so that makes it a little tougher too.

Strength is the next element to add.  I'd been building to this workout for some time, probably three weeks or so.  Deadlifts are one of my favorite exercises and they are always an option when it's time to workout.  

My plan today was to stay lighter with them and maybe add some speed.  That's exactly what ended up happening.  I'll caption a few pictures here if you want to see what I did.

Check out the gallery and read the captions.

Five minutes on the treadmill and some hip strength activities like band steps and bridges to get everything firing.

This is one of the best tools for activating the posterior chain. I try and squeeze gluts, tummy tight and shoulder blades together. I played around with different combinations today.

I hit the Bosu today early as I wanted to make sure everything was awake. More stability than speed here.

These simple band exercises are one of my go to's. Some days I'll just do this one and be done.

I call them phone booth squats. These are great for bending down at the grocery store really. They force you to keep your hips back stacked. And, an added benefit, when done correctly, they keep tension out of your knees too.

Same as before with a side view. You can see how my knee disappears behind my ankle there.

Still warming up with a little upper back activation and stretching with the TRX. I'm not holding my stretches for very long here. I'm just trying to loosen up a bit.

I felt like doing a set of alternating chest press. I ran my legs in and out too and kept my shoulders off the bench making sure not to strain my neck.

Deadlifts was the focus of today's workout. I did many sets and stopped once I finished a really good one. Lighter weight today but I felt the right muscles doing the work and I challenged them a bit on reactivity. No issues.

I like to loosen up between sets of deadlifts. I don't stretch to crazy cause I don't want to shut off the electricity to my muscles.

Ben's my guy. I figured a 10 minute climb here would be a nice cardio boost and it was. My legs were more shot than I thought.

High box steps are great for hip flexibility and more importantly they are great for Superior. Superior is a lot of work.

I sped up a bit here during Bosu shuffle x 80 + some balance work there. I hadn't planned on coming back to it but it was out and the trail can throw anything at you.

The benefits of stretching might be what I've learned the most so far about this season ramp up. Everything is better when we stretch.

That's it. Now I'm writing this waiting to start the evening run around. Oh shoot, I forgot to put my Son's work clothes in the wash. peace