February 08, 2010

Slacker


I hate it when I go this long without updating my blog. It's not like it really matters in the grand scheme of things, it's just that when I started this thing years ago I promised myself I'd stay diligent with it...plus I do love having an excuse to write stuff! It has not been without reason or motivation that I've been a slack ass, it's simply from being overwhelmed with life, in a good way, so much so that blogging has fallen off my radar lately. In fact I'd say it's taken a back seat for a few months now.

A friend once commented that she always knew when I was dating someone based upon how often I blogged. I laughed at first but she was dead on in her assessment. It's no secret that Tamsin and I have been together since shortly before Trans Rockies and I'd have to say my recent lack of blogging is pretty much all her fault, lol! I guess what I'm trying to say is that life is good, very good, and because of that I've been spending much less time online in my spare time than I ever have before. I still find myself writing things in my head while out running, unfortunately they just don't make it on here anymore. With that, here's a quick re-cap post HURT.

In the two weeks following HURT Hawaii I was absolutely shocked at how great my body felt, so much so that I actually felt somewhat guilty about it! I kept waiting for something to break down or catch up on me...it never did, and because of that I just finished the absolute best training week of my entire life!!

I promised myself I'd take the two weeks following the 100 miler and just chill. Run for fun, nothing more, nothing less. Week 1 consisted of all of 40km of running, week 2 bumped up to 60km. Week 3, this past week, it was back to business again, and with that I managed to hit 160km/100miles again. It was less than a year ago that this weekly distance was almost impossible for me, having done so just once prior to March of 09. It's truly amazing to see how you can transform your body with dedication, persistence, a bit of luck, and the right knowledge to keep you mostly injury free!

What made this week my best yet was the fact that not only did I cover 100 miles of terrain, but I did so with high intensity mileage, speed work, a track session, an intense gym/core workout, and some damn nasty climbing and descents. Pretty much every other 100m week I've hit before, which I think now stands at maybe seven total times, was basically just running the distance and trying to survive the week. This past week went like this:

M: 11k tempo in under 42min

T: 21k (+9k) Trails with good climb n descent, followed by 9k NSA track session

W: 18k hammer fest up n down Mtn Hwy from home w. Ryne Melcher (+2500ft), followed by 25k road ride, followed by 1hr intense gym session


T: 6k (+10k)up n down BCMC (+3000 ft in 3k) + 10k night run


F: 21k night run w. decent climb

S: 50k in Squamish w. big climbs one over 2500ft (7.5k Sun Run Clinic + 42.5k afterwards, and all with Roxy the ultra dog!)


S: 15k morning NSA run

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161km / 100 miles

PLUS great gym session and 25k on the road bike, total time = 17hr

A coupla body tweaks here and there, and ten hours of sleep last night to get back to good again today, but overall, slightly amazed at where I am in comparison to just one short year ago.

This week will be a slight down week, not from lack of desire or physical issues, but simply because The Olympics start THIS FRIDAY and I need to get on top of A LOT in the next five days to ensure I can enjoy as much of The Games as possible!

GO CANADA GO!!

GR

4 comments:

Devon said...

I can totally relate. I stopped being motivated to update my food blog when I started having someone to share my food/recipe/cooking and dining with in real life. I think its awesome when real life gets in the way of blogging, tweeting and facebooking!

Gary Robbins said...

Yeah, I don't think you'll find any of us complaining that real life is getting in the way of our internet life!
Can't wait to see you and Nate again in May. Best of luck with your training Devon!
GR

Sara Montgomery said...

Is Roxy wearing her own leash as a necklace? What a good doggie.

Great post-HURT training!

Sue said...

Glad to hear that life is so great Gary, that's the way it always should be. Can't wait to see how your next races go. That Roxy dog what can I say...she's just so darn cute :)