New look, New Challenge
I decided to start this blog back up to help document my training for the Flying Pig Marathon and Timberman 70.3 half Ironman. Since running the Louisville Marathon in May 2008, I have trained for and competed in the following races: 20 mile relay race, Air force 1/2 Marathon (1:51 PR), and the Tri for sight sprint Triathlon.
I don’t know how or why, but running the Louisville marathon set me up for a slight addiction to endurance sports. Sure there have been months in between then and now where I lay around and don’t really do anything. But deep down, I feel compelled to train for something. During training and competition, I am exposed to new challenges, both physical and mental, that I can’t find anywhere else.
For the Flying Pig, I have decided to take a more conservative approach to training. I will be running 3 days per week, including an easy day, a speed day, and an endurance building day. I am in the 4th week of marathon training and all is well. My long runs have gone over well with minimal effort to finish the runs. Since I have started training, I have only had a little soreness that I have had to deal with. Hopefully everything keeps going well.
The Timberman training is a different story. My official training starts on April 6th, so I have a while to build a great base. I have submitted to defeat on increasing my swim fitness by simply increasing my laps. I have decided to use a program called Total Immersion to learn how to balance my body in the pool. This will allow me to use energy to propel myself forward instead of using most of my energy just to stay afloat. So far the drills are going great and I am surprised how easy it has been. Check it out for yourself: http://www.totalimmersion.net/
I will be giving periodic updates on my progress so be sure to add this blog to your RSS feeds!
-ZJ
3 comments so far
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Good to see the blog back up! Keep working hard. I like the lightened training, I think you will be less likely to get injured and, equally import, less likely to get burned out.
Thanks man. I was just thinking today about how much of this summer will be spent on training. I started to think it will be a waste of the summer then I just realized that training will allow me to be outside more. Hopefully I’ll find a new way to enjoy the great outdoors.
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