After completing Tough Mudder last November, I started slacking on going to the gym – ending the year with only a couple more workouts over two months. Once I completed the Beat the Heat Sprint Triathlon, I seriously reduced my swimming and biking. And once I finished running the Space Coast Marathon and OUC Half Marathon, I didn’t run again the rest of the year. I also pigged out on cookies, pies, and holiday feasts over the final month of the year. But now it’s 2014.
I started the year committed to doing squats and increasing my leg strength – something I put off while I was training for my marathon due to my knee issues. I’ve now reached eighty squats and am doing them with relative ease – sets of twenty with less than a minute’s rest between sets. I’ve already been to the gym three times this year, though one day was only a few quick workouts after my shoulder gave out during the bench press. I have yet to do a swim yet this year, unless you include scuba diving, and I haven’t completed a bike ride this year, which I really do need to work on.
I did my first run of the year yesterday – a five mile run at lunch, which I immediately followed with my squats before my legs tightened up. I plan on going hard and fast on the running and am targeting a 20-22 miler this weekend. If I complete that, I can shoot for a 26+ miler in two weeks, then take two weeks to rest and do a 50K Ultramarathon (31 miles). I’ve been looking at ultramarathons for a few weeks now, for a new challenge, but it also presented itself as a chance to visit other parts of the country… like Los Angeles… where there’s a girl I’d like to spend a little more time with. Hopefully that motivation will be enough to get me through 20+ miles this weekend, especially after playing soccer for two hours tomorrow.
No pain, no gain. I hope.
ren3gade 