Good luck! I give you credit, it's tough to train for something during the season. I was supposed to do a full marathon in Feb and decided 1) i wasn't sure I want to hit that distance and 2) I really wanted some fall/winter weekends available to hunt, ice fish and snowmobile. Perhaps another 1/2 in April or so. I just completed a 1/2 marathon trail race a couple of weekends ago. I cannot believe how much better I felt after a trail race in comparison to the road/bike path races. I'm certainly surprised by it, but it makes me think twice about wanting to run anything but trail from here on out! Wishing you the best, let us know how you do!!
I did another 1.5 mile time trial today. About six weeks ago I did it for the first time and hit 12:15 over 1.5 miles. Today I did it in 11:45. I am pretty happy given that I have been sick and coughing the last two weeks. My goal 2 months ago was to hit 11:30 over 1.5 miles by January 1st. I think that is attainable.
ttt for those guys getting a winter beer belly and in need for some motivation! No place to run to baby no place to hide!
I ran 10 miles last night on a trail along the river, in the dark, with no headlamp. It was kinda surreal, creepy, and fun at the same time. I could see decently because of the moon's reflection off the river, but since I was running, my eyes couldn't adjust to focus on objects, so everything was kinda blurry. I don't think I'll do it again without a headlamp, but it was kinda cool.
Hooker, I know that creepy feeling. I run without a headlight on all the time at night. Most of the time the only time I can run is after I put my kids to bed. A couple of months ago I ran 5 feet from a doe on the side of the road. It scared the crud out of me.
Oh I run at night on roads and bike paths all the time. But this was on a single track mountain bike trail, through the woods, along the river.
Good luck GA. I am hoping to have my physical fitness test for my current job application take place here shortly. Man it sure is going to be cold!
Been working hard on my sit-ups and push-ups. I did 38 sit-ups in a row today and 64 push-ups. Full sit-ups are no joke. I could only complete about 20 of them even 2 months ago. I have had to take it easy with them because my lower back gets tight when I really push it. Luckily my lower back is getting stronger so I have been able to slowly ramp my sit-ups. I would like to be able to do 50 sit-ups in a row here in the next 6 weeks or so. I also did a half mile in 3:15 yesterday after jogging 3 miles or so. I would really like to get that half mile time down to around 3:00.
Virginia You should do some lower-back hyper-extensions. If you use a gym, there is an appliance for this exercise. If you work out at your home, there are a few different ways you can do it, including, laying flat prone on the ground, slowly and in a controlled manner, lift your knees and chest off of the ground, hold and return to prone, slowly. A strong core is the foundation for a strong body.
I don't use a gym Drop. I appreciate your feedback. The exercise you described above is something that I will incorporate into my workouts. I have been using bodyweight stiff legged deadlifts and they sure seem to be working. I could only do 10 of them in a row before my back started tightening up a couple of months ago. I can do about 20 of them now. A few years ago I had two bulging discs in my lower back(typical former football player/weightlifter issue) so this is something I am very aware of during my workouts. I am very happy that my body has responded to the workouts here the last few months. I have not had any injuries to any part of my body. I am getting a great base right now and hope to continue on strong here with my goals of 75 push-ups, 50 sit-ups and getting my 1.5 mile time down to around 11:15 here in the next 6 weeks.
I added two workouts where I did some weighted sit-ups and some flutter kicks, plus those lower back exercises you suggested DropTine. Within 5 days of doing only 38 sit-ups I exploded with 52 sit-ups in a row with no back pain today. Thanks for the help with my fitness guys, from running, push-ups, and sit-ups, to everything else. I have a serious part of my job interview process on Monday and if I can pass it, I will be over the hump so to speak and will be close to realizing a dream of mine.
I am going to do the P90X thing starting in Jan... All I have heard is good...see what transpires. I moved "out in town" with my command and don't have access to a gym as easily any more. Figure, worse case I don't like it I sell it on eBay.
I had my 10k trail run today. I had a blast! It was cold, well cold for a southern boy anyway. Temps were mid 20s starting out and around low 30s when finished with a pretty good breeze the whole time. There were a couple of really tough hills in it. All in all I am really happy, because I had set a goal of 80 minutes and ran it in 66!! Here's a link to the course map if anyone is interested. http://www.rockcreek.com/images_shared/trail-running/10K Course Map 10 rev 2.pdf
Any of you guys completed a Toughmudder, we have one coming up in March. They are a bit expensive, but man does it look cool. It may just give me the motivation I need to get back on track.
I ran in something similar. Appears like what I was in was a shorter version of it. http://www.chattanoogamudrun.com/
