Badwater Training Week In Review (May 9 to May 15)

A couple of lessons were learned/reinforced this week.  First, doing P90X Legs and Back, at least the leg portion of it, the day prior to long training runs will have a substantial impact on on the long training run(s).  My legs were simply toast this weekend, a sign that they worked hard during training.  P90X Legs and Back is about an hour workout, and it features the following leg-focused exercises:


Balance Lunges (25)
Calf Raise Squats (25 x 15 lbs)
Super Skaters (25)
Wall Squats
Step Back Lunges (15 x 15 lbs)
Alternating Side Lunges (24 x 15 lbs)
Single Leg Wall Squats - ouch !
Dead Lift Squat (20)
Three-Way Lunge (15)
Sneaky Lunges (20)
Chair Salutations
Toe-Roll Iso Lunges (20)
Groucho Walk
Calf Raises (75 x 15 lbs)
80-20 Siebers Speed Squats


It may not seem like much, but it leaves your legs burning.  Plus, after every 2 leg exercises they throw in a back move.


Second, I've been reading a lot of posts from other Badwater veterans regarding power-walking during training and how it can be extremely beneficial at a race like Badwater.  I used to incorporate hill power-walking into my long runs, but had abandoned that quite some time ago.  I'm reconsidering adding them back in, or perhaps throwing in some power-walking focused workouts.


All is well on the injury front, with no negative effects from the bout with anterior tibial tendinitis.  Looking forward to a good effort at the Pineland Farms 50 Mile Race in 2 weeks, and a chance to see my good friends Bob G. and Natalia.

Monday, May 9

5:45 PM - P90X Chest, Shoulders and Triceps, plus 155 reps of ab work.  This was simply an awful workout.  I felt just miserable throughout.  Looking at my calender I noticed that I have done some sort of workout for the last 35 days straight (counting through Sunday's run), so I suppose a miserable one here and there is to be expected.

Tuesday, May 10

5:02 AM - 6.00 miles in 58:58 (9:49 pace).  A nice, easy run to get things moving for the week.

4:30 PM - 1 hour of Plyometrics wearing the Kutting Weight sweat shirt and pants.  Oh boy is this outfit a killer.  I cannot help but curse Brian Recore every time I put it on and do a workout .  I finish drenched in sweat and thoroughly exhausted.

Wednesday, May 11

5:25 AM - 4.20 miles in 34:30 (8:12 pace).  A short warm-up was followed by 1 minute pick-ups.

4:30 PM - P90X Back and Biceps, plus 155 reps of ab work.

Thursday, May 12

5:00 AM - 6.30 miles in 1:00:13 (9:34 pace).

Friday, May 13

3:00 PM - P90X Back and Legs, plus 100 reps of ab work.  Note to self: consider not doing the leg portion of this workout the day prior to long training runs (more on that above and below).

Saturday, May 14

5:58 AM - 25.20 miles in 3:57:19 (9:25 pace).  The first 9-10 miles were run with Eric and Dave B. at a comfortable pace.  When they split I opened things up a bit, pushing most of the miles in to the 8s and lower 9s until mile 23.  I used very little in the way of nutrition today - 4 bottles of water and 4 Hammer Gels.  That's it.  Doing the legs portion of yesterday's P90X workout absolutely took its toll as my legs certainly felt the hills.

Sunday, May 15

6:05 AM - 12.50 miles in 2:02:51 (9:49 pace).  Woke up to some serious rain and thunder outside.  Had hoped for a longer run, but....9 miles in there was this big ball of light that flashed in front of my eyes (Aaron's too).  That big ball of white light (that I can still see when I close my eyes) was followed by a loud crackle of lightning in the woods, not more than 20 yards from us.  That crackle was followed by a giant crash of thunder directly above us.  Most of you know how much of a chicken I am...enough said.  :)  Legs are tired, but a good tired.

Totals for the week:

Running Miles - 54.20

Weight Training / Cross Training - 4 Hours 35 Minutes

Days Until Badwater - 56