markc7

Welcome!

Welcome aboard!

You're just weird! No, I kind of like running in extreme cold and especially in new snow. I used to like running in rain until the race a couple weeks ago, now it's kinda aversive to me. I can't stand running long distances in hot and humid weather, though. it just saps my endurance.

Good luck! How are the other people in the contest doing? btw, I really enjoy the tv show.

Welcome aboard!

Thanks bunnylalu! Today I did a quick track workout. I ran at close to 5km race pace, doing repeats ranging from 100m to 1000m. My left knee started bothering me a bit on the way home, so I'll need to do some specific exercises and stretches this week to keep the surrounding muscles strong. After I got home I did a core workout then took a couple more photos. None of them really turned out well though.

Sweet!

I agree, that back picture is pretty awesome. Great stuff and keep working hard!

Welcome aboard!

Oh yes, I take lots of rest days, especially when my long run distance gets up there. Mondays are always rest days. Tuesdays I would probably do either the run or the BW workout. Wednesday/Thursday/Friday are runs + gym. Saturday is a rest day or maybe a BW workout, Sunday is a long run day. But once my long run mileage starts to get above 30km, then all bets are off. Like I said in the running thread, I have a very cautious approach to running training and will back off significantly if I start to feel sore.

Thanks man. But seriously, I wish I had flexed my abs in that picture! I look so flat. Maybe I'll take some more pics soon.

Thanks robert. Please feel free to share them anywhere you want. At the end of the contest there'll be a whole lot more. Not sure about competing just yet but I'm thinking about it someday... JW, my typical week isn't really typical. At least for the last month or so things have been a bit chaotic. I periodize my running training (base building phase, strength, speed, taper, race, recovery), and so my weight training has to fit within that structure. For example, until yesterday I hadn't been to the gym in almost a month because I was tapering and recovering from the 100. This summer my plan is to run 4-5 days per week with a weekend long run of over 15km, go to the gym three times per week, and do bodyweight workouts once or twice per week.

I made it a very short run. Maybe 4.5km. It felt good, just very hot and humid.

Thanks JW. I'm sure I have some body fat on there somewhere. Actually I lost about 6-7 pounds at the 100 mile despite good hydration, and it hasn't really come back. So I think I used up some of my fat reserves. Today I did an intense chest/tricep workout. Same kind of thing as yesterday; few exercises but changing the grip or angle throughout long strip sets. It gives me a good feeling that I'm really hitting all areas of a muscle. Today I did bench press, dumbell fly, tricep pushdown, and dips. I'm planning to go for a run this afternoon, but it's hot hot hot out there. I may make it a short one.

Welcome!

I did a tough bicep and back workout this morning. I only did four exercises, but on three of them I varied the hand position, grip, stance or whatever throughout a long stripping set. I did barbell rows, cable pulldowns, and barbell curls. Then I also did 4 regular sets of deadlifts. i haven't done them in a while, so I kept the weight nice and low. Also because my butt was sore from doing BW squats last night. After I got home I was feeling pumped so I took a couple pics: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k123/markc7/100_0982.jpg I forgot to flex my stomach in this one. Really, I do have abs. http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k123/markc7/100_0987.jpg

Welcome aboard!

Good luck robert! Can't wait to hear how you do and see some pics!

Don't get bummed out by the bad run. Those days happen. Have a great vacation!

I did a body weight workout at home today: ~150 pushups 15 1-legged squats on each leg 2x25 crunches 25 tuck-outs bent over rows with a bungee cord 2x10 pullups (still feeling it from yesterday) 2x75 bodyweight squats (one set with toes straight, one set with toes out)

Unbelievable. This makes me sad and angry at the same time. I was in NOLA six months before Katrina. People often say to me "if you ever go back it'll be completely different from what you saw". But that's not quite true. A tourist sees the French Quarter, the Garden District, and other wealthy predominantly white neighbourhoods. Those areas were hurt by the flood, but not nearly to the same extent as the poorer and predominantly black areas of town. If I went back today and visited all the same places that I went to in 2005, I'm sure I wouldn't see the level of destruction shown in your pictures.

I do a bit of barefoot running, because I think it's good for the foot to be exposed to a range of stresses. barefoot running involves a completely different type of stride than we're accustomed to, but it's more natural and I know alot of people who have eliminated injuries from their running by going barefoot. Most of the time I wear shoes, though. I am a toe runner, so I look for neutral shoes with a bit of forefoot cushioning, since that's where I wear out my shoes. As far as injuries versus health trade off, I think that everyone has the potential to run without injury. BUT some people are naturally able to run much longer distances before they risk overuse injuries. For the vast majority of us, we need to take our time and build up mileage very slowly (max of 10% increase in mileage per week is a common number), and be especially careful when adding speed training to the mix. In my training I back off speed and distance the moment I notice that something is starting to get sore, and so I have never been completely sidelined from running. It's a cautious approach and wouldn't work for someone with serious time goals, but it works for me.

I'm planning to back off the mileage for the next couple of months and concentrate on shorter faster stuff. I have a 5K PR of just over 22 minutes, and would like to see that come down a couple minutes, hopefully to 20 minutes. I find 5K's really really hard but it'll be good for me to work on speed for a while.

It is June, right? Good job on the run despite the weather.

I came across a neat, quick workout on the APK site the other day. Do 1 pushup and one pullup, rest 15 seconds, then do 2 and 2, rest 15, then 3 and 3, and so on until failure. Today I did two sets of this routine, each time reaching 6 reps of each. I could have done a few more reps but was limited by my grip on a slippery bar (it was raining out today and I was outside). Between the two sets I did a 4x350m interval workout. Repeats were 1:23, 1:16, 1:11, and 1:10. I rested about 1:30 between repeats. My legs felt good until after the last repeat, when my left knee started bothering me again. Since I've got lots of mileage in the bank and some short races coming up, I'm going to keep doing short fast workouts for the next couple weeks.