Moving Onwards and Upwards

Doubts...am I on track with my training?...why does a 2 year old groin strain play up 8 miles into my runs?...am I getting bored of running?...is my Ultra challenge achieving the body results I was aiming for when I set it?....

I'll be brutally honest...im sure its natural to have doubts when we challenge ourselves to push further than we ever have before, but after riding a wave of enthusiasm for the last 8 weeks or so it feels like ive come to a standstill.

Yet...I soldier on, I am still running my first Ultra at the end of June regardless (unless injury stops me of course...nearly 30 miles over off road gradients require me in top form even to just finish)..but im putting my doubts and concerns to one side to push on with the goal I set to run my first Ultramarathon event this year, now some 7-8 weeks away.

My longest is run is around 10-12 miles - about half the distance of where I planned to be by now, but my fitness and leg/core strength feels good and I seem to be improving all the time.

To fire me back up I am also embarking on a 12 week body transformation which I have talked about for many years but never really pulled off to the extent I'd have hoped for.
This goal is more long term in respects that I feel my body has not been where I want it to be both for my own standards and to optimise my martial arts for many years now and Im ready to commit to a training and diet programme to achieve the body composition ive always dreamt about.

Weight training/bodybuilding has been part of my exercise for the last 23 years and the programme im looking to employ is a tough 5 day a week, twice a day split bodypart method with additional high intensity interval cardio as well as maintaining my running training...I realise the very real prospect of overtraining and potential injury but I have proved this year that my body is more than capable of handling 2 hours of training per day with no problems so lets see what else is in the tank :-)

(Roughly the physique im aiming for this year)

I plan to start an additional Blog page tracking my progress over 12 weeks starting 1st May 2011 - 1st August inclusive with progress photos every 2-4 weeks...at the very least i should have a more defined, muscular body come the Summer months and be fitter and stronger in the process with a lower bodyfat percentage.

I will add that many people have a totally misinformed preconception of bodybuilders...thinking they are all steroid taking, huge ego freaks - Im sure there are many like this as there are negative aspects in all walks of life but the professionals that ive worked with have been some of the most knowledgeable, honest and disciplined athletes ive met and its good to realise that anyone who has EVER lifted any weight in the aim of altering or strengthening their body is a bodybuilder, Bruce Lee was an avid bodybuilder as are many of todays Hollywood's actors such as Jason Statham, Will Smith, Halle Berry and Angelina Jolie to name a few...none of them you would regard as a mass monster.

On an sporting level more and more sportsmen are being prescribed bodybuilding training to improve their performance, even golfers and snooker players!! Therefore my aim is not to bulk up and get blocky but more aesthetic and develop my athletic physique to a higher level.

My diet and workouts will also be listed through the page for those interested, this also helps to keep me accountable to a certain degree and maybe inspire others to follow a similar path.

Until then...thanks again for reading..im off on another 8 miler in the evening sun.

Miles to the Melon

Training is ticking along nicely, this last 2-3 weeks my focus has been on increasing leg and core strength and interval type training, some involving gradients, in the gym.
I am putting in around 2 hours a day of work, a minimum of 5 days per week, towards getting Ultra-marathon fit for my maiden Ultra in around 11 weeks time.

It certainly seems to be paying off when I tested my leg strength on a particular hilly 6 miler last week the day after an intense leg press/interval session..at the point where in previous runs I have begun to struggle I found myself powering up the hill with ease, breathing under control and an even natural stride length.

My focus now needs to be on putting some serious mileage down as all i've managed to bag in a week to date in the last 5-6 weeks has been 30 miles in 5 days...I need to up this now to around 40 initially and then 50 to ensure I have the leg endurance come race day and around 5 hours on the hills of the Sussex South Downs.

According to similar training routines posted on Ultra sites the advice is to hit a 3-4 hour long run maximum by 4 weeks before race day...hmmm...that's 3-4 times the length of my current long run, but walking is allowed when needed so im not too fazed by this task ahead and will build up gradually to hit that by mid May.

Diet wise I found the Paleo type plan, animal protein just didnt work as id hoped and experienced stomach cramps, lack of energy and enthusiasm for training all in the first 10 days, so I have switched back to a high fruit intake more along the 80/10/10 guidelines set out by Dr Douglas Graham and followed by an ever increasing number of endurance, strength and MMA athletes the world over to great effect.

Breakfast or lunch or dinner :-)

Fuelling myself on mainly fruit and greens has improved my running fitness, body composition, moods, energy levels and recovery after exercise regardless of the miles/intense intervals i have put in and a 10 banana breakfast or 4 mango lunch has not been uncommon..something no other nutrition plan has done for me in the past.

So the next few weeks will really put to the test how many miles I really CAN get to the melon!!! :-)

Thanks for reading...until next time