Making it count

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Steve Wagner

This week calls from some strategic training as I head into one of my toughest feats yet: back-to-back 15-mile trail races.

So this past weekend, in an effort to prep myself, I did a couple of double-digit training runs. While I didn’t expect those to be much of a problem, the key has been figuring out what to do this week as I balance “big-picture training” and keeping enough in the tank for racing.

That left me heading to an indoor track, where I could work a little bit with a hip machine before making rounds on the 200-meter oval. Once there, I found myself pretty amped up, anxious to start speed training in preparation of my key race. A week ago, I punched the date for Grandma’s Marathon into my training spreadsheet, which generated a new program and gave next week as the start of dedicated marathon training.

Still, after more than a year of non-structured training, I was anxious to test myself on the track, where I decided to run eight 200-meter intervals sandwiched by warmup and cool down miles. It felt great, and gave my running purpose again. It seemed like I was making each revolution around the track count. Now it’s just a matter of keeping loose for that trail experiment.

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The experiment continues

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Steve Wagner

Call it an evolution, of sorts. But it probably is just a matter of time before I branch out and explore a bit.

As a runner, I’ve managed to navigate toward endurance events, and with 13 marathons under my belt, it might be time to get a little adventurous. It’s led me to enter desert trail races, flirt with the idea of participating in ultramarathons, and keep an open mind to adventure racing, which often mixes several athletic disciplines into a single event.

That leads me to a couple possibilities, both of which are possible this year: dabbling in biking, both the road and mountain variety, as a complement to my running, and adventure events, one of which a good friend recently asked if I would be interested in doing. Both possibilities are intriguing, especially since I’ve already leaped over February in my mind (even with the extra day in 2012). My thoughts have turned to March and April, when the sun is higher and there’s warmer weather on the way.

The issue is I don’t really know much about either biking or adventure racing. But that’s never stopped me before – I didn’t know much about running when I started, either. But biking has equipment – moving, mechanical parts – and adventure racing, well, let’s just say it’s more than unpredictable. But both are intriguing, and that’s exciting to me.

In a year that I’ve contemplated what to run, and how to set a different course, adventure and new experiences are a high priority. But my running is still priority No. 1. But I have a good sense that life could end up getting pretty interesting in the next few months in my experiment of 1.

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A better plan

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Steve Wagner

Over the past few weeks, the importance of nutrition and recovery for workouts have weighing heavily on my mind, and so I needed to do a little soul searching and research.

Leading up to the Jan. 15 marathon I ran in Phoenix, there was something off but it took up until about a week before until I figured it out. For some reason, it just took my a while to figure out what was bugging me: my nutrition was off, mainly due to a very busy schedule and my lack of attention to it.

In short, I had neglected some important details of my routine. It’s not like I went crazy during the holidays – my weight was within a pound on Jan. 13 as it had been Nov. 1. Instead, it was what was lacking in my nutrition that had me struggling. Normally, weekly trips for groceries centered around getting my favorite fruits and vegetables. But for weeks I neglected this staple of my diet. Combined with another major mistake – failing to use solid recovery tactics – played a role in a general lack of excitement toward my workouts.

As I look forward to my goals for 2012, I spent some time this past weekend focusing on these topics. It helps to remember what worked in the past. Looking back to just last spring, I can point to 2 things: consistently running 10-milers during the week and a solid recovery plan.

On Saturday, I ran a 12-miler at a decent clip with a friend, and followed it up with a 10-mile run the next day. Midway through that second run, I was thinking about just ending it once I returned home with Riley. But something prompted me to head out for 4 more miles.

And pushing through that mental barrier, and realizing the importance of proper recovery, just energizes me to keep pushing. Once you establish the right mental outlook, and employ the right tactics to training and recovery, you start to build a foundation for the future.

Soon, I’ll be writing more on both nutrition and recovery, particularly important since I’ve put together a pretty ambitious plan for 2012.

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