Goals this week, week of 4/7

The Kevin Cain Make My Day 5K turned out great. I didn't get a PR, but I did hit a respectable time of 27:27. (My 5K PR is 26:18, Crystal City Twilight 5K).

Schedule this week:
Monday:
Jog 10 minutes (EASY)
SS A
Squat: 240x3x5
Bench: 180x3x5
Deadlift: 270x3x5
Accessory work

Tuesday:
Run 3 miles (EASY)

Wednesday:
Rest / Stretch

Thursday:
Run 3 miles (Medium)

Friday:
Jog 10 minutes (EASY)
Squat: 245x3x5
OHP: 115x3x5
Pendlay row: 100x3x5
Accessory work

Saturday:
Rest / Stretch

Sunday:
Run 4 miles (LSD)

---------------------------------------------

I'm going for 3 PRs this week. Bench 180, OHP 115, and running 4 miles. I'm bringing back the long run, which I'll do on Sunday mornings. This will give my body plenty of time to rest before I lift Monday evening.

Lifting PRs (5RM)
Squat: 255
Deadlift: 275
Bench: 175
OHP: 110
Pendlay: 150

When it comes to accessory work, I just do whatever I feel like doing, just having fun in the weight room. (DB curls, hammer curls, skull crushers, etc.) I keep track, but there's no set plan.

good run

Had a good run with Lauren yesterday, she's convinced me to keep up the running to help with my mood.

So here's my new work out regimen:
Monday:
Jog 10 mins
SS Workout A: Squats, Bench press, Deadlifts

Tuesday:
Run 3 miles (easy)

Wednesday:
walk 60 minutes

Thursday:
Run 3 miles (hard)

Friday:
Jog 10 mins
SS Workout B: Squats, OHP, BB Row

Saturday:
walk 60 minutes

Sunday:
Run 3 miles (moderate)

I'm going to start this next week. I'm running the Kevin Cain Make My Day 5K this Sunday (sponsor me!). [kevincain.org]

week 8, workout B

Week 8 of Stronglifts 5x5 starts today!

Today's lifts:
Squat 5x5 - 165
OHP 5x5 - 105
DL 1x5 - 195

The weights are getting heavy!

On Wednesday my weights for Bench Press moved up to 115 and Barbell Row moved up to 110.

I weighed in the other day at 219.0.

Running has been going well too, I ran a 15/5 split the other day with no problem. I'm looking forward to a run on either Saturday or Sunday.

Wrist is at 90%!

back on track with workout A

Last night I did a running workout on the treadmill.

Warm up walk - 5 minutes (3MPH)
Run - 15 minutes (5.5 MPH)
Walk - 5 minutes (3.5 MPH)
Run - 15 minutes (6, 5.5, 8.1 MPH)
Walk - 5 minutes (3.3 MPH)
I went 3.64 miles and burned 592 calories!

Today is workout A
Squat 5x5 - 160
Bench 5x5 - 110
BBR 5x5 - 110

The wrist is feeling much better but I'm going to keep the brace on as a precaution.

week 6, workout A

In high school we referred to the 45 lb barbell weights as the "big dogs."  Well, today is the day, my squat poundage moves up to 135 pounds.

workout A:
squat: 5x5x135
Bench: 5x5x105
BBR: 5x5x105

I didn't get a chance to do cardio in my last workout so I'll definitely do some today. I've been having the desire to do some more running, not too much though.

The wrist is still bothering me, so I have to be careful.

Y Meltdown challenge; workout B

Today I start week 6 of StrongLifts 5x5, almost halfway!

Today's lifts:
Squat: 130 (5x5)
OHP: 90 (5x5)
Deadlift:

Cardio:
20 minutes on TM, 4:1::(5.5mph:2.5mph)
Before I tried Jeff Galloway's running method and I think I'll be trying that again. I see no reason to risk injury.

If time permits, some accessory work:
tricep ext: 50x3x8
bicep curl: 55x3x8
chest flye: 80x3x8
lat pulldown: 80x3x8

Then later today, the aforementioned toe raises. I did some running on Monday and felt great afterwards, so I really do think the toe raises make a different. I see no reason to do them every day though, so I'm going to stick with at least 3x per week.

I signed up for the YMCA Meltdown challenge. I weighed in last night at 220.8, so I need to lose at least 2.2 lbs.

week 5, workout A

Finishing up week 5 today with workout A.

All 5x5:
Squat 120
Bench 100
Barbell Row 100

I'd like to get my weight down to 200 so I'm going to restrict my calories to 1500/day. I'm going to mix in some interval training on the TM after my 5x5 workout.

I injured my wrist so I need to be really careful with my strength training.

workout B SL 5x5

Today is workout B, workout 2 of week 5!

warmup
squats: 120x5x5
overhead press: 85x5x5
deadlift: 155x1x5

cardio: 1.5 miles on the TM.

For accessory work I've added toe raises featured on fitmodo.

The workout, via fitmodo:

Instructions:

• 1. Find some stairs. Actually, just one stair or a curb will do.
• 2. Turn so you're facing down the stairs. Scoot forward until just your heels are on the stair, with the rest of your foot hanging off (you can hold a wall or railing for balance).
• 3. With your legs straight, point your toes downward as far as you can, then lift them up as far as you can. Repeat.
• 4. Use a timer. Do as many as you can in 30 seconds. Do them rapidly, but with full extension and flexion.
• 5. After 30 seconds, bend your knees at a 45-degree angle (about half way). Without pausing to rest, do another 30 seconds of flexing in that position. That's one complete set. If it burns like hell, then you're doing it correctly.
• 6. Rest for a minute or two, then do another set—30 seconds with the legs straight, immediately followed by 30 seconds with the knees bent. Rest for a another minute, and repeat the two-part set.
• 7. Each day, do three of these two-part sets. The total daily routine includes 6 30-second sessions.

source: http://gizmodo.com/5902699/banish-shin-splints-forever-with-one-magical-exercise

No excuses!

today's workout 10/30

today's workout 10/30

I'm going to have a 45 minute workout today. Starting out with some light squats (no weight 1x5; bar only 1x5) to warm up then get right into it.

squat 115lbs 5x5
bench 95lbs 5x5
barbell row 95lbs 5x5

remaining time to filled in with time on the treadmill. I'm thinking about adding in some calf/shin accessory work soon, if time permits.

This morning I weighed in at 217.8 which is exactly where I want to be. My goal is to keep my weight between 210 and 220.  

I've got my eye on a turkey trot 5K and family fun walk (1.2 miles) which is on Saturday, Nov. 30th. (cardinalfoley.org)

Current stats(10/30):
weight: 217.8
Squat: 110
Bench: 85
DL: 145
OHP: 90

Run-Walk-Run begins

Time to get back to running. I haven't done any significant running in about 3 weeks so my legs could heal. I joined Planet Fitness so I could do some leg strengthening and low-impact cardio workouts. Now I'm ready to give running another go. I'm going to take a lighter approach this time around and not think about how fast I can finish a half but instead focus on how fast I can finish WITHOUT injury! So, I got Jeff Galloway's Half-Marathon - You Can Do It book and started with the beginner program last night. I have my sights on a Half this October.

Just to recap. Last year, from Jan-Apr I trained for a Half-marathon using Hal Higdon's training guide. I ran, and finished, the Garden Spot Village Half Marathon in April, but not without injury. My shins were just worn out and overused. I couldn't run for about 3 weeks. I then ran my first 5K in Crystal City in July, which was fun, but slightly painful. Running then became something I tried to do 2-3 times a week, but my shins just wouldn't heal. I totally DNF'd a 10K in October then essentially put my running shoes away.

That brings us, or really just me, to the present. As I mentioned, I started the beginner Run-Walk-Run(TM) program. I haven't done a time trial yet, so last night I went with a 9:30 mile. Using the handy chart provided in the book, this means I was to run 4 minutes and walk 1 for 30 minutes.

2-27-2012
Workout: Week 1, workout 1, 30 min run
Time: 30:00
Distance: 2.86
Ratio: 4:1

Some of my concerns:
Once I get into (better) shape, do I continue to do the Run-Walk method?
I'm thinking yes to avoid further injury, or re-injuring my lower legs.

The training program is 38 weeks long. The 35th week is the Half Marathon week.
Each week there are two 30 min runs then one long run. Through the entire training it is like this. This differs from Higdon's method, where the weekday runs were increased in length as time went on. My other concern is that week 33 has me doing a 14 mile long run. Before my longest long run was 10 miles. I guess I just need to learn pacing?

I look forward to my trial on Wednesday... Until then...

I'm going to keep this blog updated, as suggested by Galloway's back so I can look back on it and learn from past experiences.

Ben
@xbenailes
dailymile.com/people/xbenailes

44 days until 1/2

2 months later and things are progressing nicely with my running.

This past Saturday I participated in the GW Birthday Classic 10K put on by Pacers. It was quite the windy day with gusts up to 50 MPH! Let's just say it was a good idea to stay out of the porta-potties. It was an out-and-back run along Eisenhower Avenue. Going out we ran into the wind and coming back we had the wind at our backs which made for an easy negative split. My goal was to nail down a time under 54' and finished with an official time of 53:01.

I'd like to find a race to do in March to keep me motivated, but don't really want to spend the money. Can't really bring myself to bandit a race either :p So maybe I'll try to find a virtual race or something like that.

I'm in week 6 of my training (Hal Higdon) for the Garden Spot Village Half Marathon which is on Saturday, April 9th. This week my long run will be 6 miles and I'm thinking about finally making my way to the Mount Vernon Trail. We'll see...

My current shoes, New Balance 759s, still have ~350 miles left before needing replaced but I'm already on the lookout for a new pair. I'd like to stay faithful to New Balance and have started to look at taking a minimalistic approach, maybe try out a pair of NB Minimus shoes? At least I'll have a while to read reviews.

I wish to be more content with what I already have, I'm reminded to read Timothy 6:7-12 this week.

You can follow me on twitter, @xbenailes, or check me out on dailymile.

intro

ok let's get going here. I essentially just want to chronicle my experiences with running.

I still consider myself a beginner when it comes to running. I currently am running 3x a week for ~ 30 minutes and am training for a 4-mile race on New Year's Eve.

Here's a little background . . .

In mid-May (2010) I got the itch to start moving. I needed to find a release and didn't want to spend $ to do so. So I picked up this running thing. I tried to just start running without a plan and failed. miserably. Didn't give up though and came across the "Couch-to-5K" running program. [It is essentially a running program that gradually gets you from sedentary to running for 3 miles straight in 9 weeks.] Using custom playlists (mixed using a program called Audacity) and receiving encouragement from my brother-in-law, I rocked this training program. I was humbled though when I finished up this program August 9th and fell victim to shin splints. I was sidelined for almost 3 weeks and felt pretty awful. I learned pretty much to not overdo it and really listen to my body. After some time, the shins healed and I was back to it. I have been doing a combination of road, track, and trail running and that's what I'm about to do right now . . .

current stats:
weight: 189.0

today I'll be doing the 2nd workout of week 2. 29 minute run.

next post will be all about goals and I'll go over my training program.

Ben
@xbenailes