Hey guys, I’m still here…I just haven’t had the best April. It’s been fraught with too many half-starts and nutritional shortcomings to mention. I am looking forward with a fresh face, however; I have been pretty active this week following my performance in the Drake Relays 8K.
Obviously, having never run the 8K before, I set a PR. BUT, I set it at the same pace as my 5K PR time, averaging a 9:18/mile pace over the course. I finished the race in 46:30-something. My chip time was 46:57, but the start didn’t have a mat for activating chips, so I’m knocking off a few seconds because I was in the back at the start! I was pretty ecstatic about my results, mostly because I hadn’t run a step since the Get Lucky 7K over a month ago! I had just been focusing on the gym and forgoing any sort of endurance training. I also ran this race in my Vibrams and really tried to concentrate on good running form: short strides, keeping my body upright, higher turnover, pulling my leg up and forward with my hamstrings rather than pushing off the ground…keeping my footfalls light and midfoot. I could definitely tell that it made my efforts easier. I was so unexpectedly fresh that in the last mile I ran close to an 8:30 pace!
In strength news, I have been working on my deadlift and clean & jerk, and am proud to report that last night I set new PRs, deadlifting 130kg (286lb) and c&j-ing 80kg (176lb)!!! I can tell that my hard work has been paying off. I am also up to 130lbs in the overhead rope pressdown, which is by far my favorite cable exercise.
Nutritionally speaking, not much has changed…still start each day with the best intentions and end up crashing, if not that evening, the next day. I find it hard to stay consistent with my diet and have contemplated planning my entire week’s diet the weekend beforehand. I know it’d benefit me, I just need to block out some time and DO IT. I think that doing that, I should also pre-cook/pre-package my meals as much as possible so that the guesswork is taken out each day for me. That’s probably my biggest downfall, right there: if I don’t know what I’m going to eat, I guaran-damn-tee you I will choose the easier, unhealthier option out of sheer laziness.
Hey, I think I just had an epipheny.
Alright, I think this weekend, we’ll try out a week of planning meals beforehand and see how it goes! I’ll do my best to keep this updated more and we’ll see how it impacts my motivation/habits!
Stay safe, stay strong, and never give up. Each choice you make is either going to help or hurt you….so which is it going to be?