Am I too competitive?

I know it's been a while since my last blog.  I apologize.  As a grad student, full-time federal employee, husband and father, it's often difficult to make time for my diatribes.  That's no excuse though.  I'm going to try to do better.  Now, with all of the mushy bullshit out of the way, let's jump into the meat and potatoes.

My first half-marathon is done and over.  It was a good experience.  I had a good training session.  The course was great.  The weather was great.  The expo was good (not great, but good).  I love Baltimore and I love the Ravens.  It's not always the best thing to admit that being married to a woman whose parents are die-hard Browns fans, but I digress.  Running to and from M&T Bank Stadium through "Charm City" is a magnificent experience.  Especially, if you have the opportunity to top it off with one of their incredible pit beef sandwiches. 

I even ran a really good race.  I finished in 1:41:58. That's a 7:47 pace for the mathematically challenged.  So, why do I feel like it wasn't enough?  I don't know.  I tell people all the time to run their own race.  I tell people the only person they're racing against is themself.  I mean, I acomplished every single one of my goals for this race.  Finish? Check.  Finish in less than 2 hours? Check.  Finish in less than 1:45:00?  Check.  Why wasn't it enough?

There are a few things I can think of.  #1 There were several times where I was boxed in and I knew I could have been running faster.  #2 I felt awesome at the end of the race.  Really, I felt like I could have run that past for a few more miles.  #3 I changed my goal mid race because I knew how well I was doing and how I felt.  I really thought I could finish in less than 1:40:00.  #4  I was so close.

I think the last one just really stings the most.  I was close.  How close?  9 seconds per mile.  When I see that my average mile was a 7:47, but I had two miles that were close to 8:00 that kills me.  What makes it even worse for me is those 2:00 minutes are what separates me from being considered an "elite" runner at the local level.  Yes, it's just the local level, I get that, but for me it's something.  I don't know what that something is, but it's like I have this burning desire to accomplish something.  I don't know what it is or what I want.  Maybe I've watched the video of Steve Prefontaine in the 5000m at the 72 Olympics one too many times. 

Courtesy of jdaikoku

Hell, maybe I've just watched the Prefontaine movies one too many times period.  I don't want people to get the wrong idea about me.  I'm not trying to sound conceited or anything like that.  Maybe this is a normal feeling for runners.  Although, part of me feels like I want this, I don't know if I want to put in the work for it.  I don't know if I'm willing to push through the hurt.  Am I capable of running faster?  Yeah.  I am.  A lot faster.  I've run sub 7:30 miles for as much as a 10k.  Hell, I've even done a 5K at a sub 7:00.  The question is, am I willing to accept that pain over a longer period.  Am I willing to grind it out to get that extra little bit. 

My wife and I had this very conversation over a year ago.  I told her I'm not willing to sacrifice comfort in order to finish a few minutes faster.  Now, I'm not so sure.  I think I have some decisions to make over the next few weeks and I think need to take some time and maybe let running become fun again. 

A Jittery Workout and a Good Run

It's been awhile since I last blogged and I've got a few things rolling around my dome.  This thing is probably going to be all over the place today, but hopefully you guys will get some good out of it.  Got some diet stuff, got some run stuff, injury updates and tons more.  Without further delay, let's get on with the show.

As part of my goody bag for Spartan Race, I got a sample of Gaspari Nutrition's Super Pump Max pre-workout supplement.  I wanted to wait until I had gone up in weight a little bit and use it on a training day where I thought I would notice the biggest difference.  I wanted to see if I would get any noticeable bump in strength or performance.  I knew my current weight was starting to feel light on chest/back day and I knew that I would benefit from a nice strength bump after jacking up the weight.

First things first, the flavor said something like Grandaddy's Sour Apple.  What it should have said was, Grandaddy's Sour Asshole.  Goodness, this thing tasted awful.  I downed the whole packet 30 minutes prior to my workout.  Within 20 minutes, I felt an incredible caffeine rush.  I felt like I could run through a brick wall.  I was all like "WOW!  I'm going to kick some ass!"  Yeah, not so fast there tiger.

Maybe the crossfitters love to get hopped up on caffeine and do their fish flopping pull-ups, (I mean really, who came up with that shit?  Eh, but I digress.) but that stuff is not for me.  Don't get me wrong, I can kind of understand why the crossfitters want to get hopped up on caffeine like that.  After I would get a rep in, I automatically felt like I needed almost no recovery time before going right back at it.  That's perfect for crossfit. 

As for actual performance, it was a bit of a mixed bag.  As I said, I felt like I could get back to the exercises quicker, but I felt stronger on some exercises and weaker on others.  Perhaps, it was because I wasn't completely going through my rest phases, I'm not sure.  Another thing I noticed was  I was constantly jittery and it never felt like I was slowing down.  I got a nice pump from the arginine in it, but I've been off of creatine for a few weeks so I didn't really get any benefit from that.  At 38.99 for a tub with 40 scoops and each serving being 1-2 scoops (you really need to use 2 scoops to get a full 5 grams of creatine)  I would say this is definitely a pass.

For a quick injury update, I'm still working through my lower back injury.  I'm feeling a little better every week.  It's still difficult to bend over and do certain exercise, but I feel like I'm starting to heal.  There was significantly less pain when I did my pullovers today, which has been agonizing since I first hurt myself.  I will likely schedule a doctor's appointment if I'm not healed before the end of my next two races.

Which brings me to my training for the Baltimore Half-Marathon.  Training has been going great, I am actually simultaneously training for Baltimore and Rogue Runner.  As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I've incorporated trail running into my running routine to help better prepare me for Rogue Runner.  I have to say, I'm hooked.  I did 8 miles today with about half being offroad.  I just went out there and got lost today.  I'm really excited because I found a new access route to the trails which is much closer to where I live.  Now I won't have to run two miles before I can start running offroad. 

Today was one of those perfect runs that makes you remember what attracted you to the sport in the first place.  The weather was perfect with just a slight breeze.  I kept a quick pace, but I didn't go out and kill myself.  The goal today was to maintain a good pace on the trails that would allow me to do obstacles and get right back to my normal pace.  It was just a really good run.

For Baltimore,  I do a distance run every Saturday morning.  This past Saturday,  I did 12 miles for the first time in over a year and only the 2nd time in my life.  I really want to know how I'm going to feel once I hit that 13 mile mark on the 20th.  I don't want to leave anything to chance.  I've upped my total miles again this week and I intend to run 14 miles this Saturday.  I'm a little nervous about this.

This Saturday's run wasn't exactly without its difficulties.  For whatever reason, ten miles seems to be the limit of my comfort zone.  I can usually do 10 miles without any type of hydration, keeping a solid pace and without any real discomfort.  Knowing my limitations, I knew I was going to need some water for this run, so I brought my Camelbak with me. 

I like the Camelbak, I think it's a fantastic piece of gear.  It's functional and it's not particularly intrusive.  However, it definitely slows me down.  I start to feel the extra weight as I get farther into my runs.  It's almost like the effect multiplies the farther I go.  For example, I almost never sweat until I get into my 2nd mile.  With the Camelbak, I'm sweating before I even finish the first mile.  It's not something I'm going to have to worry about on race day, but it also doesn't allow me emulate the race experience completely. 

I think this is why I started to really wear out after mile 10 on this past Saturday's run.  I was keeping a solid pace until then, but I really slowed down after that.  My legs got extremely tired and heavy.  They felt like jello and like I was running in water.  It was a lot like this.  I haven't really experimented too much with goo or anything like that, but I think I'm going to need to do that this weekend if I expect to grind out an extra two miles.  I bought some Gatorade energy chews and I'm looking forward to trying those out.  I might be being hard on myself, but this is the only way I'm going to be able to accomplish my long term goal. 

Well, it's been a pretty big update this week.  I'm going to try and update a little bit more frequently. Maybe I'll knock something out this weekend and discuss how I'm modifying my taper this time around for Baltimore and Rogue Runner.  Until then, as always, train hard, have fun and be safe.

Pushing Your Boundaries

Alfred Pennyworth: Know your limits, Master Wayne.
Bruce Wayne: Batman has no limits.
Alfred Pennyworth: Well, you do, sir.
Bruce Wayne: Well, can't afford to know 'em.
Alfred Pennyworth: And what happens on the day that you find out?
Bruce Wayne: Well, we all know how much you love to say "I told you so."
Alfred Pennyworth: On that day, Master Wayne, even I won't want to. Probably.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm a huge fan of Batman.  I'm not one of these Johnny Come-lately Batman fans either, you know the ones that love Batman because "teh Lejur Joker wuz AWSUM!!!1!"  Not only do I love Batman, but the above quote is particularly relevant to today's topic.  I was in the gym earlier this week and I decided that I was going to find out how strong I am and answer a burning question that my wife has been asking for the past few weeks all in one fell swoop.

I was doing my normal leg workout and went into my deadlifts.  I was going to keep adding weight and reducing the repetitions until I could not lift anymore weight.  On the last attempt, I got the weight off the ground and got about halfway through the repetition before I decided I needed to back off and give it another shot.  I dropped the weight and felt a little dizzy, but I was determined to get that weight off the floor.

I came back to the lift and settled into my starting position.  I rolled the bar toward my shins, took a few deep breaths and exploded up, knowing that weight was coming with me.  It was going good and I was struggling it up slowly, but then I started to get dizzy again.  I kept pushing and got the bar to about mid-thigh.  It was at this point that my vision started to blur and I felt myself starting to lose consciousness.  I immediately dropped the weight.  I got the weight up, but I sacrificed the rest of my work out for it.  I altered the rest of my plan to reduce the amount of cardiovascular stress I put on myself and the amount of strength required.  I got a decent workout, but not quite the type of workout I would normally get.

It was good to get that weight up, feel strong and play meat head for a little while, but it got me thinking, is it really good to push past your limits like that?  Was it worth sacrificing the majority of my strength in that one movement just to break through a barrier?  Arnold Schwarzenegger certainly thought so.  Anybody that has ever seen Steve Prefontaine's race from the 1972 Munich Olympics knows that he thought so also.  To paraphrase Arnold, that willingness to endure the pain and push through your limits is what makes a champion.

I often (semi) jokingly refer to myself as Batman.  That moment that I tested my limits and my desire was the first time I really felt I could reach the epitome of human capability like my hero.  I know that I'm nowhere near that level and part of that has been because of my training.  While I don't believe you should push yourself to the point where you're ready to pass out in every workout, you should push your comfort levels.  After that experience with the deadlifts, I came to the realization that my workouts, while still challenging, are not "hard."

What do I mean?  I mean my workouts still make me sweat and I work ward, but I'm not pushing myself.  When I went on my last run, I had run two miles out of a six mile run and I wasn't breathing heavy nor was sweating really hard.  I kept a solid sub-8:00 pace, so it's not like I was running slow, but I wasn't out there pushing the boundaries of my abilities.  The same can be said of my strength days, well except leg day maybe.  I'm getting stronger and I work hard, but I'm not really pushing my boundaries.  Today, I went to the gym, worked chest and back and I really pushed myself.  I was really happy with it and I was happy with my workout.

So, what am I saying?  I'm not saying you should go into the gym and try to make yourself pass out or vomit every time, like Arnold suggests.  However, I would recommend getting yourself to that level just below.  Barriers are broken with effort.  You will never improve and achieve your goals by constantly maintaining and coasting through workouts.  If you want to achieve your goals you have to be willing to tolerate that pain.  At some point, not only must you be willing to accept pain, but you have to be willing to seek out the pain. It's like the shirt says "Pain is just weakness leaving the body." 

On a completely unrelated note, my wife answered a questionnaire from Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea, the ladies behind Another Mother Runner.  I may not be a mother runner, but I thought it was a cool list, so I decided to poach it.  Besides, if their goal is to make this go viral why would that preclude me from participating.  Anyway, I figured this would be a good way to close today's blog.  Without further adieu, here's the list.

1. Best run ever:

It was about three months ago.  It was a beautiful summer evening and it seemed like everything was perfect.  I kept a great pace and it was just one of those times where I felt like I could run forever.  I wish all runs could be like that.

2. Three words that describe my running:

I GOTTA POOP!

3. My go-to running outfit is:

Shirtless, black shorts, red shoes and my phone.

4. Quirky habit while running:

I clench my toes.

5. Morning, midday, evening:

I don't really have a preference.  Whenever it's not too hot or cold, really.

6. I won’t run outside when it’s:

Lightning.

7. Worst injury—and how I got over it:

Three way tie. 

My groin/lower ab injury - I trained around it.  I limited crunches and strengthened my stabilizing muscles.

Shin splints - I switched to the Kinvara 2s and altered my training regimen.  Best. Shoe. Ever.

Back injury - Still working through it.   I train around it.

8. I felt most like a badass mother runner when:

Well, I'm not quite a mother runner, but probably when I finished Spartan.

9. Next race is:

Baltimore Half-Marathon

10. Potential running goal for 2013:

Finish the Mid-Atlantic Super Spartan in under 2 hours.  Maybe do a Spartan Beast.  I'd love to do the one in Killington, VT.

Getting Back into Things

It's been a little less than two weeks since Spartan Race.  Most of my cuts and scrapes have healed.  My strength is starting to come back and I started running again earlier this week.  As I mentioned in my last post, I seem to have injured my back.  I have been training around it and taking it easy.  I feel better, but I'm still not back at 100%. 

I realized that I began my taper too early and I lost some strength.  While my body was healed and ready to go, it would have been nice to have that extra boost.  It's a mistake I've learned from and that I don't intend to repeat for my next two races.  I do have my eye on a few other events, but I haven't committed to anything yet.  I want to just try to get my back feeling right and get through my next races without further injury.  I've decided that there a few things I want to try to do differently in training this time around to see if it helps with my performance.

One of the new training elements I'm going to add is more trail running.  Thanks to my lovely wife, I found a series of off road trails near my house that are ideal for running.  It works out really well.  I did my first run there on Monday.  The trails are about two miles away.  I ran there and back and did two miles off road.  It was a lot of fun, there was a nice steep hill that let me get a little bit of resistance training in.  I ran through a small stream and got wet and I fell off of a log trying to jump over it.  All and all, it was a good first run back and I look forward to exploring these trails more while the weather stays warm.

Trail running is definitely something I would encourage to help break up the monotony that can sometimes occur with your regular running routine.  Running, while a good form of exercise, can easily get pretty boring.  Your body gets into a rhythm and you basically just try to hold that same rhythm and tempo for the duration of your run.  With trail running, you can't do that.  There are constant barriers and variations that you have to watch out for.  Trail running requires more mental focus and you have to watch your foot placement with every stride.  I've also found that this increased focus on foot placement has improved my form and made me more aware of how my foot strikes the ground. 

I'm still a heel striker (I don't think anything is ever going to change that), but my stride and foot placement has improved.  This improved form also helps keep the stress off of my knees, ankles and shins.  Trail running is also better on your joints overall anyway.  As I'm sure most of you are aware, there's a constant pounding everytime you go out and run on blacktop or cement.  That constant pounding definitely takes its toll.  While proper shoes and form will help mitigate a lot of that, running on dirt and grass minimizes that impact.

Plus, trail running is just plain fun.  It's like going on an adventure.  Running and jumping over logs and trying to traverse difficult terrain is fun.  It takes away some of the speed elements, but it replaces that with a return to youthful activities.  It's like going back to your childhood and playing outside and getting dirty.  It really is a good time.  Like I said,  I really look forward to getting out on those trails again.  So, until next time, as always, train hard, have fun and be safe.

SPAAAAAR-TANS!!! PREPARE FOR GLORY!

I am sure everyone is dying to know how the race went.  By all accounts, I would have to say it was a success.  I wasn't thrilled with my time (a little over 2 hours), but it wasn't due to a lack of effort.  I left everything I had on that field.  There was definitely room for improvement, but there are just some things that you cannot account for.  Unbelievably, the weather cooperated.  I really couldn't have asked for a better race.  There were some things that looked like they were going to be easier on the videos and there were others things that turned out to be much easier.  From what I know so far, I actually did pretty well overall and for my age group. What will follow is pretty much a blow by blow of how the morning went and how the race was.

I woke up at around 6:30 a.m. and my wife and I got everyone ready (she did most of the work because I'm lazy).  I had a nice light breakfast of a white bagel with peanut butter.  I turned out to be an almost perfect breakfast and will likely be my new race day food of choice.  We got out of the house around 8:00 to be greeted by an under inflated tire.  Thankfully, we had to stop for gas and took care of the tire in a jiffy.  

The field was about an hour away and we got stuck in some traffic.  We got to the field at around 10:00.  There was a soccer tournament nearby and there were a bunch of pissed off soccer moms that didn't take too kindly to a bunch of scuzzy racers clogging up their field.  I immediately went to packet pickup while eating my last pre-race snack (a banana).  Packet pickup was a breeze because I followed the instructions posted on the Spartan Race website.  For the next hour, we just kind of hung out and watched the festivities. 

Me with Superman

We were lucky enough to get there to see Team X.T.R.E.M.E. parachute onto the field and do their start.  For those that don't know, Team X.T.R.E.M.E. is a group of disabled veterans that races in full combat gear.  Probably the most motivating experience of the morning.

Team X.T.R.E.M.E. Parachuting In

Team X.T.R.E.M.E. Starting Point

Within an hour I met up with my running partner and we got to the starting line.  We joked with one another for a little bit, him telling me I was too skinny, me asking him if he was going to run in a T-shirt or the natural wool sweater he was wearing underneath it.  My wife and kids followed us over to the start and snapped a few pictures of me acting cheesy.  We heard that the top men's time was 1:16:00.  We both scoffed at that.  I was certain that I would finish within 1:30:00.

Starting Line

The host bombed us with a smoke grenade and that started the race.  I was running on adrenaline at the beginning of the race.  They could have had a 30' tall wall and I would've scaled that bastard with ease.  There were a few obstacles at the beginning that were pretty easy to traverse.  A little jumping and rolling, nothing too serious.  At the end of the first field there was an obstacle that required us to jump over, roll under and jump through three separate walls.  I cracked my back going through the last part, luckily I had loaded up on my Yoga earlier this week or this may have been a problem.

We quickly ran into another field and through a water pit before going off road.  When I say off road, I mean it.  There was a trail, but it was littered with holes, fallen tree trunks and huge rocks.  Very easy to roll an ankle.  After the first mile, my running partner and I ran into the biggest hill I've ever raced up.  Honestly, I thought it would never end.  I rarely walk when I run and even I had to stop and catch my breath.  I pulled away from my partner at this point and got a massive lead.  He didn't catch back up until around mile six.

I Don't Have Any Pictures of Me Doing Obstacles, So I figured I Would Add A Picture of My Kids Acting Silly While Daddy Was Out Being A Spartan.

 



That hill was awful and seemed to last almost an entire mile.  The descent was just as difficult because it was so steep, I had to pretty much stutter step my whole way down.  After the hill of death, the adrenaline had worn off and I was starting to hurt already.  It's at this point that I should mention that we were racing around horse farms.  For much of the next mile, I spent most of my time running and jumping over barriers that horses would use for the steeplechase.  It was getting old and I was starting to get more than a little frustrated at all the jumping I was doing over these stupid things.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally made it out of the steeplechase.  We went back off road again.  Much of the next mile is pretty much a blur.   I really don't remember anything being too difficult.  It seemed like they wanted to give us a little bit of a break before hammering us again.  A few things to jump over, but nothing too serious.  Right before mile 4 we came out of the woods again and were closing in on the fairgrounds.  That's when we came to the world's longest low crawl through mud under barbed wire.  Seriously, I may be exaggerating, but not much, it seemed like this low crawl was the length of like three football fields.  It was split into three fields and in between each one was a pit of water. 

As I was running up, one of the guys told me to roll under it and put my arms up above my head.  Yeah, bullshit!  I wound up with gashes all over my back from trying it that way.  Maybe that guy doesn't do his should presses or something.  I lost a TON of time crawling under that barbed wire, oh and might I add, the mud was filled with rocks.  So, not only did I thrash my back on the barbed wire, but my knees, ribs and elbows were wrecked on the rocks and worst of all I lost my number which had my free beer ticket on it.  After the mud pit, there were a set of monkey bars, I went all Gladiator and rubbed dirt on my hands to make sure I got a grip and I destroyed those monkey bars.

One of My Battle Scars

Miles 4-6 were actually kind of tame.  There was some more jumping over steeplechase barriers and I almost fell off of one into a ravine at one point, but it was pretty tame.  There was a balancing obstacle where you had to walk across a flat log before scaling a 6' wall.  After the wall, there was another balancing obstacle where you had to walk across stumps that were varying heights all stuck in the ground, then scale a cargo net and then flip a giant tire a few times. 

Then, I got to the Hercules Hoist and I was screwed.  I'll be honest.  I though this obstacle was going to be a cake walk and it kicked my ass.  My strategy was to get a foot hold and then just walk back.  The problem was that the ground and my shoes were caked in mud and getting a foot hold was impossible.  I got it about 1/3 of the way up before I gave up and just did my burpies.  The energy I burned on those burpies and trying to get that weight up REALLY hurt me.  It was here that my running partner caught me.  I was dying at this point, but I saw a family sitting out in the middle of a field. They asked me what heat I was in and after I told them, they were impressed and told me I was "really moving."  That gave me just that extra little bit I needed to keep trudging forward.

I really don't remember a lot from miles 6-8+ (I say 8+ because I know damn well that course was well over 8 miles).  I do remember that they saved the hardest obstacles for the end.  Right after mile 6 started, they gave me a 50-60 lb sandbag that I had to haul around what seemed like forever.  I had to push that thing over logs and throw it on top of rocks and then climb on top of the rocks before throwing it down and then picking it up and carrying it some more.  It seemed like I carried that stupid sand bag for a good 10+ minutes. 

From there, I had to scale another cargo net and then do, what I thought, was one of the hardest obstacles of then entire race, "The Bunny Hop."  I know, "The Bunny Hop?"  What's so intense about that?  It was around "The Bunny Hop" that I felt my calves start to go and afterward was the only time where I walked for any significant amount of time.  They give you a big rubber strap and you hook it around your ankles.  You have to hop over logs and roll under ropes for about a hundred feet.  Doesn't sound too hard, but it was agony. 

After "The Bunny Hop" we made it back to the main fairgrounds.  It's a total mindscrew.  You think you're pretty much at the end and then they hit you with 7 ridiculous obstacles right at the end. A series of water pits, followed by walking up an inclined wall with a rope, then you have to pull a cinder block around a (I guess) 1/4 mile track, scale another 6 foot wall, rock climb horizontally across a wall with wooden blocks, a javelin throw and then a rope climb.  I was really worried about scaling the water wall, but my shoes stuck to that bitch like glue.  I went up and over it with no problem.

It was off to the brick pull.  That brick pull was awful.  All kinds of shit would get stuck under it and make it harder to drag.  Not to mention, you had to drag it with a chain.  I was dying at this point.  I just wanted that shit to be over.  I completely lost my calves doing this obstacle and I got to a point where I would yank it and then walk the chain out.  That obstacle was awful.  I was at a slow jog at this point and I jogged to the next obstacle, another 6' wall.  Surprisingly, I went up it like it was nothing (No doubt thanks to my outstanding hip drive from all of the squats and dead lifts I've been doing). 

Amazingly, my running partner was on the other side of the wall.  I was convinced I had lost to him.  Turns out the 6' wall burned him and he had to knock out 30 burpies for it.  We came back to the starting point and we knew we only had to finish the final obstacles.  We both traversed the rock climb wall, then it was the javelin throw.  He blew his completely.  Mine actually hit the target and would have stuck if the target was a little fuller. 30 burpies for the both of us.  If my calves weren't completely spent before then, they were now.  We both walked to the rope climb. 

I scaled the rope (like a boss) and hit the bell.  As soon as he heard me hit the bell, he said "You got me, Torres."  He went down and did his burpies.  I tried to get down slowly and gracefully, but my calves were gone.  They couldn't hold me on the rope.  How I got up there in the first place, I'll never know.  I was halfway down the rope and my legs gave out.  I fell about ten feet into the water below.  I crawled out of the pit and walked over to the last stretch.  I knelt down and in an homage to CM Punk, I looked at my wrist band, I got up, shuffled my fists, cupped my mouth and shouted "IT'S CLOBBERING TIME" as I sprinted toward the gladiators at the finish line.

Turns out the gladiators didn't take to kindly to my challenge and tried to crush me as I sprinted through.  One crushed me in the chest, another threw his pugil stick at me and still another one got me in "The Boyz."  The one that got me in "The Boyz" pissed me off and I shouted back at him, "Is that all you got, bitch!"  One of them chased me after that and tried to throw his pugil stick at me. He missed as I crossed the finish line. 

I Think This Is Actually Me Turning To Make Sure I Didn't Have A Gladiator On My Ass

The feeling I got when I crossed the finish line was incredible.  Life changing.  I knew that every squat, every dead lift, every pull-up, every mile, every stretch, every bench press was worth it. It was amazing.  I thought that race would be hard, but nowhere near as hard as it actually was.  After finishing, I feel like I can accomplish anything.  My gut and balls hurt from being crushed by one of those gladiators, but I was immune to it.  It was just incredible.  The hardest miles I had ever done and it was worth every second.  A few moments later I was in agony.  I was on the ground holding my calves in the fetal position and a few minutes later my thighs locked up, but even that pain was worth it.  It was amazing and I'm already contemplating doing it again next year. 

A Cornucopia of Things

I have a lot of topics to cover today, so I'll just dive right in.  I've got Spartan Race this weekend and I'm still tapering.  I have not lifted since Sunday (I pushed another new squat PR.  SWEET!)  and my last run was Saturday.  I'm really concerned about feeling weak or tired, but I think I'm going to be ok and just try to trust in my training.  It's weird.  I've got this itch to train, but I have to store all of the that energy up for Saturday. 

I went to Yoga yesterday, I've got another session scheduled for tomorrow and, if I'm lucky, I might be able to squeeze in one more session on Friday.  I want to try and be as limber and loose as possible.  I also want to use the quiet time of Yoga to help increase my mental focus for the big day.  Don't confuse me for some type of vegan, hippy weirdo.  I don't get stoned while listening to dulcimer music and whiffing incense, but I do believe Yoga plays a vital part in any training regimen and should be a part of every endurance/distance athlete's schedule.

While we are on the topic of distance athletes I would be remiss if I did not mention that I signed up for my first half-marathon today.  I will be running the Baltimore Half Marathon on October 13.  I'm excited and nervous.  The furthest I've ever run is 12 miles and I injured myself pretty bad doing that.  Since then, the longest run I've done was 11 miles and it wasn't pretty.  I know I can do it, but there is definitely a bit of a mental barrier there that I will need to overcome, this is one of the things that makes Yoga invaluable. 

October is going to be a bit of a busy month for me.  The week after Baltimore, I run my final race of the season, Rogue Runner.  I'm not really thinking about Rogue Runner right now, nor am I thinking about how I'm going to structure my training for these races.  I just want to continue to focus on what I've got going for this weekend and taking a short break before I get back to training.  Quite honestly, the thing I'm most looking forward to is having a few cold beers and a really unhealthy meal after the race this weekend.

As I mentioned previously, October is going to be a busy month, but the Torres household isn't going to be as busy as we had previously anticipated.  Unfortunately, my training partner and wife, who was working herself up for the Marine Corps Marathon, has injured herself (she has a stress fracture in her left leg).  She's my inspiration, my support system and the leader of my 3 person cheering section. 

I can't come close to comprehending how devastating it must have been for her to get that news this past Tuesday and having to pull out of a race that she had been looking forward to since the beginning of this year.  She's been training like a maniac for this race and this was her white whale.  I tried to console her as best I could, but I knew that no words I offered could give her back the lost opportunity and make up for the time and effort that she had sunk into this race. 

So, in true Roy fashion I told her to "rub some dirt on it, man the fuck up and quit crying."  Just kidding, but that would have been pretty funny if I did.  In all seriousness, I know she's going to rock that bitch come October 2013.  She's already deferred her spot until next year and is looking for ways to train around her injury.  She's a beast I tell you.

I figure I'll close on a little bit of a more upbeat note.  My mom, who is in her 50's, went to Colorado last week.  Not only did that psychopath run the Pikes Peak Half-marathon on Saturday, but she ran the full marathon on Sunday.  For those that don't know, the ascent up Pikes Peak is 13.32 miles, starting at 6300 feet above sea level with an elevation gain of an additional 7815 feet.  According to their website, trees can't grow above the 12000 ft level due to how thin the air is.  When I spoke with her on Friday, we were talking about the race and I said "Yeah... Uhhhh... Fuck that."  Kudos to her. 

Well, I think that's enough for today.  I'm going to try to provide an update on Saturday night while Spartan is still fresh in my mind, but there's a good chance I may be too busy indulging in Chicago Style Pizza, bratwurst and a few of the finest seasonal craft brews that our good friends at Sam Adams and Fat Tire have to offer.  So until next time, as always, train hard, have fun and be safe.

The Taper

As I've been promising for the last week or so, I'm finally going to talk about my taper that I've been doing for the past few weeks in preparation for Spartan Race next Saturday.  I can honestly say it's going awesome.  Below is a video of me breaking my personal squat record.  I do 205 in this video for 5 reps.  This is my final set after doing 2 sets of 185 for 10 and another set of 195 for 10. 

Overall, I'm really happy about how I'm feeling right now.  I just feel stronger all around.  Every weight I lift feels lighter.  I can do more pullups.  I can push more weight with my shoulder and bench presses.  My deadlift has gone up.  I just feel fresher and ready for Spartan.  It's tempting to try and push more weight, but I've been resisting because I don't want to burn myself out.  I am a little afraid that I might be sacrificing my cardiovascular conditioning, but I ran 8 miles last Saturday with little problem.
The natural question is, if I'm still working out so much, what have I tapered.  Well, in the last 3 weeks I've literally cut my running load in half.  It's weird not running so much.  Every time I get home from a run that's shorter than six miles I feel like I have somehow cheated.  I'm pretty confident that my stamina is going to be there when I need it next weekend. I've also slightly altered my diet to help deal with my gut issues.

I've cut back on my dairy intake by switching from regular milk to soy milk.  I'm still using whey, but mixing it with the new milk.  I've also stopped using cheese on my sandwiches and dressing with my vegetables.  I've noticed a slight difference.  I also paid a visit to the local vitamin store.  The meat head behind the counter suggested that I might be suffering from a glutamine deficit during my runs.  So, I've added a small dosage of glutamine to my regular supplementation regimen.  Both seem to be working, but I'll have a better idea of how well they're working on Saturday when I do my last run of the training cycle.

Overall, as difficult as this training has been, I have enjoyed it for the most part.  I've discovered more about my body and training than I ever thought possible.  I learned all kinds of little things that have helped increased my endurance and form which, in turn, has helped me to enjoy the experience a lot more.  It's been a bit of a journey of self discovery these past few months.  I only hope that I'm not leaving my best in the gym or on the road.  I hope to continue down this path and push my physical limits after I have completed Spartan.

I've already set my next goals, I'll be running the 10K Rogue Runner Obstacle Race (http://www.roguerunnerrace.com/) in October.  I'm also on the fence about whether or not I'll attempt my first half marathon.  My plan is to get into beast mode and do the Baltimore Half Marathon (http://www.thebaltimoremarathon.com/) the week before Rogue Runner.  That will probably end my race season for the year.  That's all for today.  Kind of a boring update this time around, maybe next time I'll get into something more exciting next time.  As always, train hard, have fun and be safe.