Billy Blanks Boot Camp Serie DVDs

So as the days passes I have a few topic lingering I wanted to cover, the eternal procrastinator I am afraid. Tonight a friend and BeachBody Coach (BeachBody makes P90x) asked me about my experience with the Billy Blanks Boot Camp DVDs (He makes Tae Bo).  I figured I would share my experience in my blog as well since it is a form of cross-training.

Hi, I found Billy Blanks Bootcamp abs and Bootcamp Lower Body at DVD at Goodwill actually, a couple of bucks each.  I heard of Tae Bo as well, so I figured what do I have to loose.  I was looking for a "different" workout, that combines cardio and strength that I could do easily on an "off day" for cross-training purposes.  I have been lacking in cross-training as I ramped up my mileage for my last couple of marathons.  I love his DVDs actually.  One feature I love is the way he interacts with the viewers.  It feels like he is talking to me, catching me in my bad form.  For a DVD to do that I think it's great.  As I better my form I feel the burn more but I have only done the Lower Body once and the Abs twice so I have space to grow.  I don't have the right bands either for the lower body, the one I use have no feet attachment and are short, but I managed through the LOwer Body Boot camp with them.

I throw the DVDs on my off day running or like I did this morning as additional cross-training.  I hope it will also boost my fat burn and activate other muscle groups in my body that are under-utilized when I run.  I think this is a great series.  I can just pop it in my DVD player and voila.  I'll be honest I have never been a fan of DVD workouts, but these DVDs are changing my opinion.  It's a good introduction to these type of workouts I think.

IT Band and Other Update

My IT band feels better today, so does my quad.  I was conscious of both throughout the morning with shooting spikes of pain when I walked.  I went to the pool and swam some laps for 20 minutes at lunch.  The pool did wonder for my leg.  The pain receded quite a bit after the pool.  My IT band seem to be doing much better now.  I can slit feel like a split on the side of my quad.  But no more shooting pain thru my leg so definitely getting better.  I am going to roll my leg then take a nice warm shower, then top it off with heat pad ... Should be all ready for a long run tomorrow ...

Which bring the next subject ... Where to run?  I don't want to stress my body too much so I will run at least 12m/2 hours ... up to 16 miles but no more.  It'll depend how I feel ... I need to go back thru my schedule for the next couple of months.  I signed up for several event leading into the 50k.  I will run the events as training runs.  I have been trying to figure out how I can maintain my marathon level leading into a marathon next month, then transition to the Chuckanut 50k in March.  Previously I figured increasing my long runs basic distance to 20 - 25 miles but after how my leg felt from Saturday's run I wondered and worried so I went back to my notes, and increasing long run distance may not be necessarily healthy neither useful.  Well, rather than running 20 - 25 miles long runs, once a week it will better for me to start increasing daily mileage instead.  The marathon training programs I have followed recommend 3-6 miles weekdays peaking at 8-10 miles once a week usually one or two week at most in the two - or three months training cycles.  I am thinking of building that to 6-10 miles on Tuesday/Wednesday and Thursday.  Still will have a medium run on Sunday following my Saturday long runs ... I feel my cross training has been lacking too, so I want to come up with a way to incorporate some strength training ... Oh yeah believe it or not I am getting fat lol

Also, equipement check?  Been thinking I need to gear up on a few things ... compass, rugsack, waist flashlight, hand water bottles ... At some point I need a new pair of shoes ... Heard about some hybrid trail / road shoes from Brooks, or do I go for a road pair and a trail pair?  The New Balance trail shoes I currently run with are actually great when I am on soft trails but are not so good on roads.  They provide no cushion at all, and even on compact dirt and gravel I can feel a huge strike impact.  The worst is when I transition from trail to road, such as yesterday, for about a mile along the airport trail the run is on sidewalk and compact gravel.  Pain was actually shooting thru my leg up and went away as soon as I was back of softer grounds.  So ... It's a dilemna ah ah ... I'll have to think that one thru.  The hybrid Brooks sell for $139, are road/trail hybrid and water proof.  The sales guy I talked to about them at the Brooks outlet swears by them however whenever you design something for cross-application there is a performance sacrifice in each application you are covering ... Performance-wise, for road application, my Aesics Gel-Pulse 2 have been a delight to run in.  The Nimbus 12 I got last time were a piece of crap.  My road Brooks were real good too, the model escape me right now but I recall a great cushion/stability balance, though a little more pricey.  I could get the same Brooks for $80 or the Aesics for under $60, so I could get a new pair of trail shoes for 60 - 80 dollars and come under the $140 I would spend on the single pair of hybrid.  So there isn't much a cost advantage when comparing to the hybrid ... Why sacrifice performance then?  Probably, I would need to find a store that offers them so I can try them out [the hybrids by Brooks that is ...]

Well, all that writing made me hungry, time to eat some pasta yum!

  

My Spooky Spooky Moon Light Run in the Woods ...

Hello blogosphere, it's been a while since my last post.  There are several subject I wanna touch so really this will be more of a brain dump / catch all for the night.  Queensrÿche's Sliver playing and I am resting from my evening run ... I had a great run tonight, it was a good reminder of why I love running so much.  I think sometimes you get busy with the minutes details of life and forget to indulge in the things that make you a happier human being.  Bits and pieces of things I wanted to write about in the blog kept passing through my head and for an instant I wish I was able to write my blog as I run, I think that would enhance the material so much !

I completed the Last Chance Marathon about 2 weeks ago now.  I decided to go for my first 50k next and I set the P90x plans aside for a while.  I have been struggling a little figuring out what the right schedule for ramping up for that 50k ... but more about that in a different article.  I was out for 16 miles on Saturday.  The logic behind so many miles was that if I considered the slower pace marathon a training run for the 50k then heck yeah lets put in some mileage!  It was a moderately difficult run physically.  I started at the 152nd centennial trail head and continued north towards Arlington.  That new section is about only about a mile long so it was a little let down.  It connects along 67th on sidewalks and then the trail continues parallel to the railroad tracks.  That's the north section I ran before.  I ran the trail to Bryant and back, about 8.1 mile each way.

 

The first 10 -12 miles felt great but the last 4 felt much more a challenge.  In hindsight, 10 -12 miles would had been the perfect distance, which unto itself is pretty good considering I ran 26 miles the week before lol ... I though about calling SBF to pick me up in North Marysville but figured I could finish.  I broke a few tenets of training right there, pushed too hard too soon after a marathon.   Sunday my right quad and right IT band started bothering me.  I am not quite sure what I did during the run that affected my quad, maybe didn't stretch properly?  My therapist says that my quad is very tight.  We worked on it yesterday and it felt better today.  As my IT band ... rolling and stretching lol ... I hope I manage it right !

I did the stationary bike at the gym yesterday instead of running.  My cross-training has been lacking and I figure that would provide relief to my IT band.  I had physical therapy right after.   After a couple of days I felt so great the marathon then I began feeling sluggish.  It's very similar to how I felt following Vegas RnR, so I figure the sluggishness may be part of my body's recovery process ... If so by next week or so I should start feeling spectacular again!  Although I felt like crap this evening, I put my gear on and hit the Airport trail.   This run was short of amazing only because so freaky ... so freaky because I was on the trail in the woods at night ... looking at shadows following my headband light beam ... Feeling like someone was pacing me at time ... Seeing weird shapes here and there. 

I will not lie I was scared to do it to being with.  A fear similar albeit much less intense than skydiving.  There is freedom and pleasure in letting go when you jump from a perfectly good airplane thousand feet in the air ... And hitting the dark trail had that same mix of fear and excitement, more so because the danger is less so I didn't have to be so focused ... I could let go my worries and just did it ... The end I began running at started in the woods and I started there purposely: to deal with the fear.  I mean really there wasn't much to worry about but hey still sounds pretty good when I write that !  After managing 3.5 miles through mostly dark areas the path clears along the airport of trees and such so it wasn't so dark anymore ... I tried to capture the feeling there ... 

 

Anyhow ... great run :)  Tomorrow depending how I feel I will do some laps at the pool ... oooh looking forward to it !  I have not selected any specific route for Saturday.  I think I should do about 13-14 miles ... Then 8 to ten Sunday possibly.  Happy running everyone and watch those IT bands !