Taper Down Week.

A few more days until my half marathon and I am as ready as I am going to be. This week I plan on getting in a lot of stretching and one more light jog. On Thursday and Saturday I plan on doing Yoga to make sure I am fully stretched out before Sunday. This year I am shooting for a time under 2:00 hours and should happen, just have to stay focused and make sure I keep track of my pace. Last week on my trial run I ran a time of 1:47 for 12 Miles and so if I can keep up that pace I should be able to run a 12 minute mile or less for the 13th mile.

The Rise of Spartanettes 3

Back again for Season 3 of Spartanette Training, and am looking forward to seeing everyone again. Monday will be a "Test" day to meausure everyone and see what their conditioning is looking like. We will be performing "The Test" AKA 300. The Test will be the first of three tests and of course the easiest. The goal is to decrease your time after 30 days of working out. The two days per week camp helps, but in order to truly maximize progress, Spartanettes need to make sure they are getting some cardio and weight training on their own at least two more days. A total of 4 days per week is ideal, and people truly see results. The single most important piece of the training is DIET. I can not stress enough how important Diet is. By working out and doing cardio you will definitely see improvement with your cardio and heart, but not on the scale. You can be a very fit (Cardiovascular) person, but not fit (Appearance) or scale wise. By eating the correct foods, it not only helps shed those unwanted pounds but also helps with Energy.

I have tested this method on myself by eating GREAT over the weekend and having GREAT workouts on Mondays. However when I break down and eat poorly and drink alchol, my workouts truly suffer. The cleaner I eat, the better I feel and the better workouts I have. Because I am currently training for a Half marathon and future Triathalons I have to rely greatly on carbs, and lean proteins. I have been following The Zone Diet and this tends to work for me. There are many diets out there, so following what works for you is the best thing to do.
Looking forward to Camp on Monday..

Speed Work (Indoor and last one)

In an effort to run faster in my half, I have been working on speed work and have seen improvement. This is not the funnest of workouts but I believe they have been effective for me. I started this morning workout with a weight workout, supersetting body parts which is normally a typical workout for me. The workout today looked like this:
Warm up/Stretch
Good morning/Side to side leg Raises/Swiss Ball Roll 2X15
Bench Press/DB Pick up/Plate lifts
Flys/Arnold press with curl into Tricep extensions
Then jumped on the treadmill and ran 10X400's resting 30 seconds between set. The treadmill is set at 3% incline and 7.5 MPH which is about an 8 minute mile.

Head to work and eat..

My long run, Indoor!

This weekend was my long run, a cool 11 miles and because it was so cool outside I decided to run indoor. I do run on a treadmill but normally not more than 5 miles, that is about max. This Saturday, i went a cool 11 miles inside and it was not too bad. When running indoor, I can better pace myself and add more of a tempo run than running outside.
I started my run at a 3% incline and 6.1MPH. Our treadmills are set up where you can see a picture of a track and so on the turns I normally increase the speed and then decrease on the straightaway. So.... as I started so slow, I felt sluggish and decided that on my very first turn I bumped up the speed to 7MPH and then back to 6.1. From there I changed the speeds and after my first mile I reduced the incline to 2.5% and gradually decreased the incline and increased the speed. Towards the end of the run I was at a 1.0% incline and alternating between 6.8MPH and 7.5MPH. At the end of the run I did my last 400M at a 9MPH-12MPH for the last 200Meters. Overall it was nice to run on the treadmill and best of all stay warmp.
Tonight, I am hitting the pavement for a cool and I do mean cool 5 Miles.

Wow! Plyo-Endurance FRIDAY!

Wow, new limits this morning, we did out plyo/endurance workout and it was something else. 32 minutes of non stop action, and pain. The workout was posted yesterday, and it was not a lot of fun.

The workout progressively got tougher and tougher and the icing on the cake was the Rowing, 500 Meters in less than 2 minutes. 1:46 to be exact, which is now my PR. The best I had done before was 1:57 and I could have shaved a few more seconds. My goal is going to be 1:30 by the summertime. I also need to add a second set for true fun and pain.

In addition to the rowing being tough, I never thought the Bicep Curl and Tricep Dips would be so tough. I was gased at this point.

This will be the only workout for the day, and tonight will stretch and Girlie is getting her workout in. Tomorrow, got a cool Frosty 10-11 miles. Lets see how that goes, I hope it is not too terribly cold, but I think and know i will be wrong.

Back in the saddle, 70%.

Feeling better and getting back in the gym. I have been eating clean, but for some reason the pounds are not coming off like I would expect and like. I finally got a chance to run in my new shoes and they are great. My new Brooks Launch sure make me feel fast. I ran a pretty decent 5K the other day at 25:33 and could have gone faster. Today at lunch, I tested my mile and came in at 7:16.. This was the easiest 7:16 I have ever ran. It also helps that I had no incline and I have been running at a 3% incline.

I am really looking forward to tomorrows workout, I plan on doing a cardio/endurance/strenght workout. I will be performing one minute reps super setting with one minute of jump rope. Each exercise will be for two sets or a non stop 4 minutes.. The workout will be:

Squats/JR (one minute each for two sets for all except Biceps and Triceps)

DB Chest Press/JR

KB Swing/JR

Pull up paired with Burpee/JR

DB Step ups/JR

Bicep curl paired with Dips only one set and then JR

At the end of the workout will be the high endurance portion of the workout, we will be getting on the rowing machine and will row 500 Meters in less than 2 minutes. This will really really get the heart pumping.

This saturday is going to be a long run, going for an 11 miler, got to get ready for the 3M..

The start of a new year!

Well, what a start.. I have been sick most of the year, and have not been able to get going this year. I went out for my first run on Saturday and allergies kicked in and had a lousy run. Sunday, i was lazy all day and then Monday and Tuesday I was laid up, sick with allergies. Erghhhh..
Today was my day back to the gym, and I was not feeling too hot so I decided to do a quick weight workout along with a little biking. At lunch I plan on going for a 3 miler, lets see how that pans out. I am excited to wear my new shoes, I recently ordered the Brooks Launch and you feel fast in these shoes. These shoes are for a neutral runner (thought I was an overpronator), and are very light weight. So far, they dont have much cushioning which is the only thing I dont like, but we will see today as I try and run.
Yesterday, my wife finally said YES to doing her first Tri, so this season of the Spartanette training will be working on her Tri training along with weights. I am excited to see her results, I am sure she is going to get in super tip top shape.
My diet has been going good, however I am not dropping LBS like I wish I was. I have not cheated much, but have cheated. Stay tuned for the results on Friday, lets hope for some good numbers. I am starting to sound like someone on the Biggest Loser.
Next week I think the Girls are getting back together for their Spartanette training, but may have to move to the gym on their own while daddy watches Kendall. I need to make sure I work with Girlie on what to do when they are there.