Just a steady run today with a few 30 second striders thrown in to mix things up a little bit. The run was a bit blah with nothing terribly exciting to report, but I guess it’s another 5 recovery miles to add to the log.
On a positive note, I did decide it was time to kick start some strength work. I think reading about Mark’s plans over at the “On the Trail of a Welshrunner” blog has provided the motivation to add some variety to my training. It can only be a good thing in terms of my marathon and triathlon training, right?
To start with, I knocked out Week 2, Day 1 of the Hundred Push Ups plan. The workout looked easy on paper, but to be honest, I struggled a little to knock out the latter sets. To continue the strength theme I dusted down my StrEndurance DVD and prepared myself to tackle the 23 minute workout.
The program suggests you perform workouts A through F, 4 to 6 times over a 2 week period. Tonight would be the first attempt at Workout A, which on paper looks pretty easy, but in reality is quite a challenge. After a brief warm up, you start off with three sets of the following with no rest between reps:
20 seconds of push ups
20 seconds of upright rows with dumbells
20 seconds of jumping jacks
Yeah, I know, sounds a piece of cake doesn’t it? Normally I’d agree, but there’s something about this 3 minute block of exercise that is really challenging.
The second set is a combination of squats, shoulder presses and mountain climbers, and is definitely no easier than the first set. Luckily you get some rest before moving on to a set of core work (crunches/lower back extensions) and “flicks” to keep the heart rate elevated.
The whole workout doesn’t even last 25 minutes, but at the end I was pretty beat up. I’m sure I’ll adjust to the speed and combination of the exercises pretty soon, and if I can make it through the whole 12 weeks, I know I’ll be a better, fitter athlete.