Active Recovery Week Done!

As anticipated, I am antsy! I have taken this week to recover a bit and stretch out a bit, but it also gave me some insights to what I want and how I want to train. It is really difficult to almost completely alter a routine that you are use to for a challenge that is unlike any other you have faced, but this is exactly what I am trying to do and it is TOUGH!

Throughout the week I spent a lot of time looking into training routines and diets from weightlifting runners. This is the camp that I guess I would have fallen into a bit more so last year (even though I never really researched it) when I was training for OCR (obstacle course racing). I needed to be able to run a decent distance, between a 5k and a half marathon, while also having the strength to preform a number of different obstacles that challenged every muscle fiber in my body. This year I obviously am focused more so on the running aspect and as I have stressed in previous posts the lack of weight training has been getting to me.

This was amplified this week since I intentionally took the focus off running and used yoga and weight training as a supplement. During one of my lifts this week I felt the calluses on my hands hardening around the bar and actually had a nostalgic feeling. Remembering the days when I would lift hard and heavy and tear open these calluses and feel accomplished because I was putting up heavier weights than I previously had. This may sound strange to some, but it was a wonderful feeling and a sign that I was progressing.

Now my signs of progression are a bit less physically recognizable. They are getting my heart rate to stabilize at a faster pace and only really noticeable after I have completed my run. This is not as satisfying necessarily but still allows me to have that feeling of accomplishment. Can't I have both though? Can't I feel like I am getting both stronger and faster? This has been the question that has plagued me all week long.

If I was only training to run a half marathon, or maybe a full marathon this would be so much easier! I could take notes from other ultra/ocr athletes on their concurrent training routines that involve 3 runs and 3 lifts per week. The three runs would be about 25-30 miles in total and the 3 days would be a condensed 3 day split that would cover the entire body. The problem is that I plan to put up about double the amount of miles each week and let's be real, I have a life. A very busy life that does not allow me currently to put in 4 hours or more of training a day. Hell I struggle some days to get in 60 to 90 minutes! So what is the solution?

I am not sure I have the exact answer, but that is part of the fun in creating plans and testing limits. So my rough plan for the week is as follows:

Monday: Run and Lift
Tuesday: Run and Lift
Wednesday: Run
Thursday: Run
Friday: Rest 
Saturday: Lift and Run
Sunday: Long Run

The goal is to do roughly 7 miles per run with 15 on Sunday next week. If I can do this I will be able to hit 50 miles and still get 3 lifts in, but this week my plan is simply to get in 3 quality lifts and 6 runs. I am not going to stress too much about the miles but will still have the goal of getting to that 50 mile mark.

Through all of this I am also doing a mountain climber challenge with several former clients and a few teachers in my building. This is A LOT! Training like this is a job! But again, as I have stated before this is nothing compared to what people with colorectal cancer suffer through regularly!  

What is on your training schedule for this week? How are you going to push yourself past your limits? Leave a comment or message me @ocrlibrarian315 on both Facebook and Instagram! Until next week...