Good workout with my trainer last night and I’m not too sore today. Today is a rest day. Unfortunately, this week’s long run will have to be on Sunday because we’ll be at the Purdue football game all day tomorrow.
BunsenBurner-very interesting article. Sometimes I feel as if I don’t know what to believe. It’s always interesting to read the comments section and get such widely varying viewpoints. I thought the info about shooting for a 2.5 hour long run, rather than a distance, was interesting.
fireandrain-now you got me searching Etsy for alternate covers for my Fitbit Surge. There are some cute options out there! But I couldn’t get just one cover because it wouldn’t coordinate with everything. I’ll probably just stick with the ugly black plastic. But maybe I should try to find something really cool in navy to be able to wear at my son’s wedding next month!
Yes, I was looking at some that have the face open - I don’t know, they are pretty but also a little clunky looking - I’m too much of a minimalist with my jewelry I guess!
Beautiful weekend here for outdoor time. Sunny and 60’s. Love summer but love when I can pull on a pair of shorts, a tshirt and a long sleeve layered top with my tennies. Plan to get out and enjoy the weather for some work AND play!
Happy birthday to all who are celebrating birthdays this month! My wife and I are also. She asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I told her I wanted an ultrasound body composition scanner. There’s really something wrong with me :).
Back to Basics - Sometimes Less is More - Some Shared Thoughts
We’ve all been there. Whether new to exercise and fitness or a “veteran”. The drive to keep pushing, to do a bit more than yesterday, to run further or faster, lift heavier or do more reps. Often this can be a good thing, leading us to improve and get stronger, to feel that we are accomplishing goals, to feel that we are achieving success in our quest for fitness and athletic performance. But there can also be a down side to a constant “more is better” approach to our fitness programs. At some point, the stresses of always pushing our limits catches up with us. Form and technique start to slip, tendons and ligaments start to be stressed in unhealthy ways, we never quite recover from yesterday’s training, we find ourselves stagnating and we start to experience little nagging injuries that impede our endeavors and if left unheeded lead to more serious injuries that put us on the sidelines. One of the toughest things to do is to recognize in advance when we are starting to go down this path and to take steps to break the cycle. Whether it’s because we are afraid we will lose performance gains, strength or muscle mass, will gain weight, because we have fallen into an obsessive mindset, or are in denial, we keep doing what we are doing day after day without heeding what our bodies are really telling us.
It has been said that a sign of insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting a different outcome. This has resonated with me for a while with my fitness programming. My resistance training had consisted of 2 days per week of hypotrophy training and one day of compound dumbbell or suspension training. I had been experiencing stagnation in my weight training with slipping form due to past increases in load, increasing bicipital tendon strain, pain in one of my acromial clavicular joints and an inability to progress or even consistently maintain my level of performance. My cycling training had consisted 12 hours of hard riding spread over 3-4 days but I felt like I never really hit my stride during this past season. Leg strength and muscular endurance were off, I was experiencing regular cramping in my legs both on and off the bike. But yet day after day, I stuck to my same routines, repeating the same actions but expecting a different outcome. Afraid to do something different lest I diminish myself.
Well, finally, I have broken the cycle. With trepidation but also with optimism I have hit the “reset button”. For the next 4 months my resistance training will consist of 1 day per week of hypotrophy training for my upper body with reduced weight or repetitions as necessary for a strict focus on form as the foundation for maintaining strength and muscle size, and 2 days per week of a progressive focused paralletes program and other body weight training designed to achieve very defined functional strength and movement goals. My cycling training will consist of 6-7 hours per week of progressive foundation base training using wattage as my primary training metric to again achieve very defined performance goals. The little voice on one shoulder that has obsessed with sticking with my past “routines” keeps whispering in my ear but on the other shoulder is the other voice that keeps reminding me of that definition of insanity. Time will tell which voice is right. It should be an interesting 4 months.
@abasket , thank you for your kind words. I actually have started a blog but am woefully inept at this point at how to really maximize its use. It’s part of my personal training website. It can be found at my www . com odysseystrength website (under CC rules I don’t thing I can just list the web address so I’ve “disassembled” it out of sequence here). I would be honored if anyone on this board participated on the blog and would be grateful if anyone more knowledgable than I about such things could give me some tips on how to actually use it with broader exposure!l
Michael, there are some posters here who run successful blogs. I wonder if they can share any tips with you. For instance, Alumother’s blog Amid Privilege has been up and running for at least 5 years… I think MOfWC’s daughter runs a personal blog, too.
Michael, really good thoughts - definitely resonated with me!
Nice group run this morning - easy 7 miles for me. We had some rain and lightning during the run so wasn’t the best day weatherwise but now it’s done. It’s really nice not to be training for anything right now and just enjoying the running. Nice breakfast out with friends after where I ate a blueberry waffle with syrup and bacon! Absolutely delicious. Tomorrow I’m scheduled for a TRX/Pilates combo class which I am really looking forward to.
Happiest of birthdays to MOWC! And to all the other September celebrants!
Thanks for the birthday wishes! I ran another successful 5K as part of my daughter’s church “team”. This was a large community event with a lot of walkers and runners (more walkers than runners). I, again, did not look at my splits or watch and dropped 42 seconds off of Monday’s time, which is really a lot. It was a cooler day, but the course wasn’t any easier. I had 28:18 for 2nd in the age group (by 3 seconds). The tshirts are a gorgeous turquoise color but I didn’t stay for the awards (son in law was ready to head out) because 2nd place was a very cheap, ugly medal. First place was a plaque. We ran from D’s church (she’s the priest there) to the race 1.4 miles and back.
I wore a yellow Nuu-Muu and my Altra Paradigm shoes since they did well last Monday.
Michael- good thoughts. The hardest thing about a blog is keeping up with it and finding enough to say.
I ventured into the local running mecca today for the first time & got my feet & stride evaluated. Pretty interesting! I came out with a nice pair of Brooks, some custom insoles & some fancy tech socks. I feel like I got “sold” a bit, and possibly spent more than I should have, but the proof will be in the next few weeks of running. I tried on some Hokas just out of curiosity - they’re different! Maybe someday…
Running a 5K tomorrow & a 10K on October 10. Got my eye on a 15K and a 10-miler in November, but that may be ambitious!
Gertrude, if you walked out with more knowledge about shoes and your feet than that will help you with future shoe purchases as well - maybe you won’t get suckered into the accessories next time!! The running stores around here have 10% off coupons on their websites often and often at races they also hand out coupons for 10% off - every little bit helps!
Challenged myself a bit today - 4.5 miles at a pace just over 10 mins- my sweet spot is more like 10:30 - I think the cooler weather - in the 60’s - helped!
So happy the race went well, MOfWC! 42 seconds on a 5k is a ton. Congrats!
Yay to cooler weather, abasket! It was 85 degrees here in my neck of the woods! Fortunately, for the two local marathons scheduled for tomorrow, the temperatures are going to drop to 70 degrees and it might even rain a bit! What a shocker!
Gertrude - good shoe inserts and socks are the two accessories where I would spend serious money. It is no fun to end races with blisters and painful feet!
Speaking of socks… If you run long distances, a minor speck of dust or a thread in your shoe can lead to painful rubbing. I discovered that if I turn my socks inside out, inspect the inner side, and snip every thread that sticks out, I finish my long runs without blisters!
Congrats on your race today MOWC. Impressive time drop from the last one. As to the blog, have you ever known a lawyer at a loss of something to say? May not be worth listening to but that’s a whole other issue!
I’m with Bunsen on the shoe/insert/socks question. Went into a running shoe store a couple of weeks ago to get some cross trainers. Asked them what they carried in socks that they thought would be good for a cyclist. They recommended a particular sock that even with a 30% discount cost $13/pair. The best, most comfortable, most luxurious sock I’ve ever used for cycling. I ought to buy 6 more pair.
Thanks all - I feel a lot better about the amount of money I spent! I took a walk in my new shoes & they felt wonderful. I’m excited to run in them tomorrow.
