Bleh, new random post

I'm tired of this blog.  Everyday posting blows....haha

My times have dropped dramatically lately as my legs have begun to catch up with my heart and lungs.  I ran 4 miles the other week at 6:15 pace for an easy run.  My mile splits for workouts has dropped from averaging 5:45 to 5:30 with minimal rest.  I even accidentally pulled a 5:12 out when I was only going for a 5:30.  Hopefully I can start adding these miles together without rest into a decent 5K time.  I've been keeping my mileage at around 10-12 per week, and I haven't been pushing too much in terms of speed...but I think that's going to change.  I'm going to be pushing for sub 5-minute miles during workouts and going all out now.  3 months into my training, things are going very well and my results are better than I expected...but with only 2 months left until the race I can't afford to keep going easy.


On that note, I just found a BMX course that is completely muddy from all the rain we've been getting.  It's right next to a huge cargo net with two 25-foot tall posts.  Since Columbus is almost entirely flat, and Warrior Dash is going to be very hilly with obstacles, I got a little creative and came up with my own practice course combining the BMX course and the cargo net. According to Gmaps pedometer, it's .3 miles per lap without accounting for terrain.  My workout was 2 laps on the BMX course and then 1 time through the cargo net with touching the top of one of the posts and going a different route each time.  I ran this 6 times with no rest.  This was hands-down my hardest workout so far.  It was basically like running through quicksand with bricks on my feet as the mud caked on my shoes pretty badly and the mud was about 4 inches thick through half the course.  It took me 33 minutes to finish the 3.6 miles and 6 passes along the cargo net (each pass took around 1:30).  In my mind, this is the worst case scenario of what Warrior Dash is going to be like in terms of wind, terrain, surface, and obstacles.

I'm heading down to Sharon Woods tonight after work to try a different trail.  Then work on the house for a few hours.  Later.

Week 11 Day 3 and Day 4

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Warrior Dashers!

The workout:

Baron:  This is a workout I created to help me ease into Warrior Dash training.

Exercise	Time
400M	1:17.70
1 min rest
400M	1:15.83
1 min rest
400M	1:17.42
1 min rest
800M	2:50.75
2 min rest
1600M	5:53.21
4 min rest
800M	2:44.33
2 min rest
400M	1:15.58
1 min rest
400M	1:15.43
1 min rest
400M	1:11.75

My total time or the workout was 32:00.40 and it’s a total of 3.5 miles.

My total time spent running was 19 minutes, which is 5:26/mile for 3.5 miles.  I’d like that to be my Warrior Dash race pace, so hopefully in 2.5 months I can get rid of 13 minutes of rest.

This morning’s workout:

So I finally managed to get myself up for a morning run…but only because of St. Patty’s day today.  I needed to work out before work so once I’m off I can go and enjoy the festivities.

Anyways, I had a 4 mile jog in the darkness in 30:52.  It felt good to get my blood pumping early…and I’ve been absolutely STARVING ever since.  Maybe it’ll be a good way to get rid of some of those extra pounds so I don’t feel like such a tank when I run.

Tomorrow evenings workout:

Crossfit’s hero workout “Griff”

Have fun and be safe tonight everyone.

-Osmosis

Week 11, day 2

It is now the mid-point in my training for Warrior Dash.  I have to keep my eye on the prize:

Unfortunately, I’ve been feeling like everything has been going downhill as opposed to improving.  I think I figured out why though.  I went from indoor running on a 12 lap/mile track (which helps me keep pace very easily) with people around watching (which makes me run faster) to running out in the wilderness on dirt, mud, and gravel with hills and rain with no one around and rarely a mile-marker.  On top of that, I went from standard running shoes to minimalist trail shoes – which is basically a completely new form for me and killing my calves. 

I’m on the fence about what I should; stick with my minimalist shoes and see what happens, or go back to my old ones?  Maybe I’ll try and ease into the new MT101’s a little bit by wearing my traditional shoes once or twice a week.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The workout:

I was sore all over so I decided to take it easy and do some light lifting.

Stretch

Set 1:

3x15 pull-ups

3x15 dips

3x15 20lb kettlebell swings

Set 2:

3x15 20lb Arnold’s

3x15 135lb bench press

3x15 2x45lb plate shoulder shrugs

Stretch

Then a quick ab routine

Tonight’s workout:

I was planning on Baron as a speed workout, but my calves are still fried.  It’s also raining out and I don’t know where I could find a good outdoor location with at the very least ¼ mile markers.  I’m going to dread this workout if it’s indoors though.  Blah blah blah, I’m full of excuses this week. 

-Osmosis

Week 11 Day 1

The workout:

Gravel/hill trail run at Highbanks – 4 miles in 27:14 – which is 6:48/mile pace.  This is a picture of an actual part of the trail that the Warrior Dash is going to be on:

My running partner got lost on the trails, so I had to loop back 2.5 miles to find her.  I didn’t time myself, but my pace wasn’t fast at all.

I think I did a decent job for my first outdoor run on hills, especially considering how sore I was.  I felt like a tank the entire run though, and felt like I couldn’t get a decent stride in at most times.  Plain and simple; my endurance is crap.

It’s time to start planning some two-a-days for the coming weeks to fix this problem.

The food:

I was avoiding carbs as much as possible but my body seemed to be craving it…so I caved and ate some homemade Lasagna last night. Being accustomed to eating huge meals, cutting carbs makes me feel like I’m never full. I think I need to find some good foods to replace that urge.  Any suggestions?

Tonight’s workout:

I’ve got “Justin” planned, which is basically just lifting so I can rest my muscles.  I’ll probably throw in a mile jog in my Vibram’s just to get the blood flowing though.

-Osmosis

Week 10, Days 5 and 6

The workout:

Crossfit’s hero workout “Forrest”

Give this workout a try and unless you religiously Crossfit, you will be feeling this for a few days.  I did this workout 6 hours after my last meal, so I was feeling drained afterwards and didn’t do the Crossfit Endurance workout afterwards.  It’s Monday and my chest is still sore from this workout and I have no clue why.

The workout is:

20 L Pull-ups

30 toes-to-bar

40 burpees

800M

3 sets, as fast as possible.

My final overall time was 48:49 for the whole workout.  I was dripping sweat the entire time, and I made sure I wasn’t taking any rest other than transitioning between exercises. My 800 times were 2:57, 2:47, 2:52 while being completely fatigued from the burpees. 

The hardest part for me was the toes-to-bar’s.  My grip isn’t strong enough to do more than a few in a row and I couldn’t build up any swinging momentum to assist me because I’m too tall for any of the equipment.

Weekend workout:

On Saturday, my buddy was in town and he’s training for a secondary NFL combine, so I was planning on working out with him.  He ended up doing a lot of speed-form drills, which won’t really help me out with the Warrior Dash, so I decided to give “Death by 10M” a try.

The workout:

Death by 10M is exactly what it sounds like.  You set up 2 cones exactly 10M apart and then start your watch.  In minute 1, you have to run 10M and touch the line by the cone.  Whatever time left in the minute is your rest.  In minute 2, you have to run 20M and touch the line at each cone.  Minute 3 is 30M, and so on.  Your goal is to sprint between the cones to gain some agility.  Also, as the distance increases, your rest decreases and the workout then becomes incredible grueling.

I finished 17 rounds.  Not bad for my first attempt.  I recovered in just a few minutes, so next time I try this, I’ll probably go for 3 rounds.

I also did some 10M sprints and 20M cone-drills with my buddy to work on my sprinting/agility.

It’s Monday and I am completely sore from this workout.  My lower back is sore from beding over, and my hip-flexors/groin are toast from the lateral movements and using my long-dormant sprinting muscles.

Tonight’s workout:

I have Baron scheduled for today, but that’s supposed to be a speed workout and considering how I feel and the weather almost reaching 50, I’m going for a long-run on the gravel and hills of Highbanks.  I’ll probably knock out 6.5-8 miles, depending on how I feel.

Take is easy Warrior Dashers.

-Osmosis

Week 10 Day 4

The workout:

4 miles run with 8 Fartlek’s.  The weather was changing from rain to snow, so it was an interesting workout.

My final mile time was 6:49 over the 4 miles.  I have to say, I'm a little disappointed.  I was running tempo runs of 7/5:50/5:50,7 indoors.  I guess the terrain/weather isn't helping, but still...my body feels like it’s dragging.  I really need to increase my mileage because I’m now recognizing that I’m building my speed on top of no distance base whatsoever. 

Tonight’s workout:

Crossfit’s “Forrest” and then I’m going to follow it up with today’s Crossfit Endurance treadmill workout, which is:

12% incline
0-30 seconds slower than 5K race pace
20:10 X 8 rounds

20 on, 10 off - all out effort.

Wish me luck.

-Osmosis

Week 10 Day 3

Let’s get into it.

The workout:

Crossfit’s Cindy workout followed by my ab routine.

The workout is:

5 pull-ups

10 push-ups

15 squats

20 minutes, as many rounds as possible.

I was able to get 25 rounds in and probably could have kept going for a few more minutes.  The push-ups are what killed me the most starting after the 9^th round.

For my abs, I followed my typical ab routine, which is 3 sets of:

Exercise

20 sit-ups

20 crunches

40 bicycles

Ab-holds - 15 seconds each, 2x through

--6 inches off the ground

--Flutter kicks

--Scissors

40 ab-twists

10 super-mans

The meals:

I’m trying to cut my carbs a little bit to slim down since I’m a 6 foot 3, 200 pound guy tying to run a fast 5K.  I’m 40 pounds heavier than I was when I ran track in college, so it’s more than needed.

Tonight’s workout:

5 mile tempo run out in the rain

How I feel today:

I feel good.  Hopefully I can keep up with my tempo run times, but if not, at least I’m getting some mileage in some crappy weather in.

-Osmosis

Week 10 Day 2

Welcome back to my Warrior Dash training blog.

The workout:

57 minute easy trail-run. 

I originally meant to run 50 minutes but I got a little ambitious with my trail choices and ended up going a bit too long.  It was worth it though.  The rain in Ohio has been non-stop lately and Columbus is under flood warnings…which makes trail running even more fun.  The trails we’re incredibly muddy, which was great Warrior Dash practice, but the water from the river is so high that a lot of them we’re completely under water by a couple feet, so I couldn’t make it a full trail run. I resorted to the normal toe-paths next to the bike trail at times.

Regardless, yesterday’s run reminded me of how much I love running in the woods and on trails. I’m excited for all of my long runs coming up, and hopefully can find some new trails around my new home in Westerville.  If anyone has any suggestions, just let me know.

I used the Google Pedometer function  to map my distance and it ended up being a little over 7 miles.  Given the terrain, I’m fairly happy with the resulting average mile time of 8:08.  This run brings my total miles to 11 for the week and it’s only the second day…and is more miles than I’ve run any week so far in my training.

The meals:

I think my body is working on getting used to the protein shakes.  I’m not feeling as worn down as I normally do at this point in the week.

Tonight’s workout:

“Cindy” from Crossfit.  I’m considering doing a Crossfit Endurance workout afterwards if I’m feeling up to it.  If not, I’ll run through my ab routine. 

How I feel today:

Like I said before, at this point in the week I start to feel a little worn down with my 12+ hour days, but not this week.  I feel great and I can’t wait to keep pushing myself.  If for some reason you’re trying to follow my workouts, good luck out there today.

 I wish my trails looked like this.

-Osmosis

Week 10 Day 1

The weather is getting nice and muddy, it’s making me think of the Warrior Dash more and more I’m outside.

The workout:

Vapor

Exercise	02/07/2011	03/07/2011
1600M	5:51.20	6:15.00
Burpees - 20, plyo jumps - 20
High-knees - 100M down, 100M back	4:31.20	4:12.99
1600M	5:56.87	6:19.09
Mountain-climbers - 50, squat jacks - 20
Jump-rope - alternate 50 low with 50 high	3:46.63	2:41.86
1600M	6:02.68	6:17.24
Floor-run - 50, plyo jumps - 20	4:28.53	3:20.70
1600M	6:13.77	6:27.62
Bear-crawls - 50M down, 50M back	2:59.38	1:13.19

I created this workout in order to incorporate both speed and obstacles without any rest in order to mirror the Warrior Dash.  I decided to run this yesterday instead of Baron because the weather was great (low 40’s) and I didn’t want to be stuck indoors on a tiny track.

I ran this workout on 02/07/2011 for the first time indoors, on a 12 lap/mile track.  Yesterday I ran outdoors, only using toe-paths and taking a lot of muddy and winding trails that probably ended up making the mileage a little longer than the mile-markers.  It was great to get out on the trails instead of the track since it’s more similar to the Warrior Dash, especially since we’ve been having a lot of rain lately.

As far as my results, I’m actually happy with my times.  I finished the workout 3 minutes faster than I did indoors even though my mile times were a good bit slower.  This means that I finished my non-running activities much faster than before, which means I was taking way too much rest a month ago.  Also, my mile times were much more consistent, so my endurance is increasing.  Again, I felt like I was fighting my body the whole workout to keep it going, but my lungs and heart were feeling just fine.

The meals:

I caved and started on protein shakes.  I mixed them with way too much milk so I’m feeling kinda gross today, haha.  We’ll see if my body can adapt.

Tonight’s workout:

50 minutes easy.  The weather is supposed to be nice again so I’m just going to go for a long run.  I’m not keeping track of miles or speed so I can focus on being relaxed during my run.  I’ll try and take as many trails as possible too.

How I feel today:

I feel OK.  My knees feel good, which is great, but my head feels a little off.  I think it’s the protein shakes and my body trying to get used to them.  I’m sure if I give it a week I’ll be used to everything.  I’m excited for my run today too!

-Osmosis

Week 9 Day 5

Welcome back fellow Warrior Dash competitors. 

The workout:

I modified the Crossfit Hero workout “Daniel” into something that might help me out a little more for the Warrior Dash 5K.

The normal workout is supposed to be:

50 pull-ups

400M run

21 thrusters

800M run

21 thrusters

400M run

50 pull-ups

I changed it to:

25 burpees

400M run

30 kettlebell swings

800M run

30 kettlebell swings

400M run

25 burpees

I took a 3 min rest and did it again.

This workout was absolutely brutal.  It was the first time I have finished a workout in the last 3 months (or 5 years for that matter) that I literally couldn’t stand after completing.  My legs just gave out from under me.  This is one of those workouts that you just think “wow, this is torture” but you keep going.

I’ll post my total time and my 400/800 times as soon as I bring my binder in from my car.

Update:

Round 1:
400M - 1:16.73
800M - 2:45.95
400M - 1:16.33

Round 2:
400M - 1:24.46
800M - 2:56.42
400M -1:19.54

The meals:

Breakfast!

I completely spaced on my body comp test this morning and ate a HUGE breakfast and put WAY too much milk in my protein shake.  I’ll post those results as soon as I get them as well.

Update:

Looks like the results are good.  My last body comp test was 11/22/10.  So this testing period included all of the winter holidays.  I went from 9.0% body fat to 7.4% for a loss of 18% of my total body fat.  I also lost 4 pounds of fat and gained 1 pound of muscle.  I also lost 11mm's according to the 7-site skin-fold caliper test. 

Tonight’s workout:

Baron.  This is a workout I created to help me build up to my current workouts.  I decided to bring it back today so I could gauge my improvement so far.

How I feel today:

I’m feeling motivated for the Warrior Dash.  I went to the Arnold over the weekend and it was nice to see some real athletes competing in the Crossfit competitions.  Yes, it was a freak show at the expo itself with all of the fake boobs and roided-out guys(and girls), but overall it was nice to see some dedication.  Speaking of, here’s the best picture I could snag over the weekend:

 Oh, and I took this picture too…at the Arnold Fitness Expo, the biggest fitness convention in the U.S.  Please notice how there is literally a line forming to use the escalator going up, yet the stairs are basically empty…

-Osmosis

Week 9 Day 4

Welcome back fellow Warrior Dash competitors. It's now the last day of the work-week and I'm feeling ready for the weekend. 

Let's get into it.

The workout:

Stretch X – This is a 50-some minute stretching workout from the P90X video series. 

The stretches do not require you to be Gumby to perform, and the holds aren’t for ridiculous amounts of time, which I think is amazing.  Also, they offer several variations of most stretches so beginners can take part in this too.  Typically this type of workout frustrates me, but somehow Stretch X doesn’t, and since the video includes warm-up and cool-down, 50 minutes is a really efficient use of time.

I typically throw a Stretch X into my routine when I’m feeling a little run-down or tight and I’d recommend the same.  Also, it’s a great Saturday/Sunday workout to help get you limber and ready for a week of difficult training.  Since I was feeling run-down/sore yesterday, this was the perfect workout.

Once I was finished, I felt amazing.  It was like a runner’s high, but I felt good all over because I was loose and limber.

The meals:

Breakfast – mixed fresh fruit, 1 Greek yogurt, 1 cinnamon raisin bagel, and 1 banana

Lunch – homemade mac n’ cheese

Dinner – 2 large spicy chicken breasts, 1 hash-brown, and two servings of peas.

I had a protein bar after my workout and I got home at around 8 and ate some peanuts and drank some V8 fruit/veggie fusion.

I still need some diet adjustments, but I woke up this morning and I’ve gone down a whole belt size, which is interesting so I must be doing something right. I’ve got a body comp. test scheduled for Monday so we’ll see where I’m at.  I think the last time I got it done was in November and I was at 8% body fat.

How I feel today:

I feel really good.  My calves are still sore from Wednesday’s workout, but overall I’m feeling energized and ready for the workout tonight.

Tonight’s workout:  My own modified version of CrossFit’s “hero” workout Daniel

I’m close to the half-way point in my training…I just have to keep my mind focused and make sure I take care of my body.  Warrior Dash, Warrior Dash, Warrior Dash….

-Osmosis

Week 9, Day 3

Hello out there,

Because I’m usually at work, working out, or fixing up a house from 6:30 AM until 9 PM, I’m going to have to post my workouts the day after I complete them.  So while today is technically Week 9, Day 4, I’m writing about the day before.

The workout:

6 miles at the fast end of my suggested “long run” pace – 6:52/mile for a total time of 41:13.  I ran at Antrim Lake, which has a 1.2 mile gravel loop.  It was windy and fairly wet so I’m getting into the trail running slowly.

To calculate your pace, follow this link - HERE –

to runnersworld.com

I put in a goal 5K time of 16:30 so my pace times are:

5K race pace: 5:18/mile

Easy Tempo Pace: 6:53/mile

Tempo Pace: 5:43/mile

Long Run Pace: 6:53 – 7:48/mile

To catch you up to speed as this is my first workout post – I have really bad knees, so I’ve kept my weekly mileage below 10 in order to preserve them.  I’ve been icing each evening, which has helped a lot and I highly recommend it.  With that said, the 6 miles today really tested me.  My lungs and heart were completely fine, but my whole body was sore and tired.  I had to mentally push through the last 2 miles.  This just tells me that it’s time to up the mileage over the next few weeks to get used to it, and what better time than with spring right around the corner.

The meals:

Breakfast – mixed fresh fruit, 2 Greek yogurts, 1 cinnamon raison bagel, and 1 spoon of peanut butter

Lunch – 4 scrambled eggs mixed with onions, mushrooms, and a large amount of asparagus

Dinner – 1 Lean Cuisine sandwich, a handful of mixed nuts, potato chips, and another Greek yogurt.  I also had 2 glasses of V8 Fusion with the fruit and veggies in it.

I ate my dinner at around 9 because I worked on my rehab house until then, so I’m not sure how great that meal was for me.  Also, I just realized I’m lacking majorly in protein, so I ordered a couple tubs of it.

How I feel today:

My calves are SORE.  I got new Balance MT 101’s, which are awesome, but I think the minimalist-nature of the shoe is going to take some getting used to when it comes to trail-running. 

For a great review of the shoe, click here:

MT 101's

Overall, I feel pretty good.  I’m fighting off a cold, and I’m a little low on energy due to pulling 3 12 hour days in a row, but all-in-all I’m feeling alright.

Well, that’s it for today.  Tonight’s workout:  Stretch X

See ya tomorrow.

-Osmosis

The Name of the Game

Hello there,

The goal of this blog is to chronicle the last 3 months of my training for the June 4^th Warrior Dash.

For those of you who have never heard of it, Warrior Dash is a 3.1 mile race with around 13 obstacles ranging anywhere from jumping over fire to crawling in a mud-pit with barbed-wire overhead. Currently there are over 20,000 participants signed up for this crazy adventure in Ohio alone.

As far as about me; I'm in my mid-twenties and I work a full-time desk-job for a living. I also enjoy rehabbing homes in my spare time, and would like to do that for a living if given the opportunity. As far as running experience, I ran collegiate track for a few years but have since been out of it for around 5 years. I have given myself only 5 months of training to get back into the game and be a top competitor in this adventure race.

As far as my training, I spent a few weeks developing workouts and combining/modifying others. My workout plan is a mixture of cross-fit, interval workouts and circuit training. Wish me luck on my adventure as I keep you posted on my progress!

Check out more details about the race HERE.

-Osmosis