Just for the record

Training log 1-6-09

I'm mostly just recording this so I have some sort of record of what I'm doing...

I started my cross training in earnest yesterday concentrating on overall strength, especially involving the core.

Even though I'm training for the half marathon in February, I'm shortening up some runs during the week to substitute those with strength training. Winter is a good time for this since running outside has been hard to come by lately.

This has been my training schedule as of late:

Mondays: Walk/Run 20-30 minutes. Lower body weights. Stretch.
Tuesday: Warmup walk/jog. Core. Stretch.
Wednesday: Tempo run, hill, or speedwork 4 to 7 miles. Stretch
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 2-4 miles. Upper body weights.
Saturday: Long run.
Sunday: Rest or walk/stretch.

Weights: (upper and lower body): Up to 9 different machines. 3 sets of 25-35 reps each.

Core: I've added about 3 different routines for a total of around 7 or 8. Pushups total 100 now (2 sets of 35 and 1 set of 30 with 60 second rest in between). Reps for other core exercises are 15 to 20. Sit up variations are 3 sets of 35-40. Planks are held for 2 minutes.

All of this is no different than what I did last winter, but the reps have increased almost two-fold along with the weight. Quite a few elements were added to the leg and core workouts, with the upper body workout staying mostly the same.

The more rigorous workouts are early in the week as far away from the long run as possible so I'm not so tired. This entire routine will take me all the way into March before the St. Louis marathon in April. With my weekly mileage going into the upper 30's in March, I'll need to tone back on the heavy cross training to save energy.

For now, I'm concentrating on my long runs and trying to do negative splits. My 12 miler this past Saturday was a great start, even clocking a speedy 8 minute mile near the end.

Let's hope it keeps up!