I decided 5 weeks ago to sign up for a 50km trail run. Why you ask, would anyone want to do that? There
are multiple reasons why…
First, I needed a personal challenge. I hadn’t done any events this year or climbed any serious mountains. Secondly, I wanted to prove that the CrossFit Endurance prescription works (from personal experience). I wanted to show that you can be strong, fast and still run very far while never training more than 8 hours per week (total – including strength days). So I put together a challenge. I picked 5 semi-random strength challenges to complete the SAME WEEK that I ran the 50K (prior to the run):
At Minimum -
Squat 1.5x’s body weight
Deadlift 2x’s body weight
Clean 1x body weight
10 consecutive muscle-ups
40 pull-ups
Some background and training info:
I’m not a big guy. I have a runner’s build to begin with. I have to work very hard for my strength gains. I don’t strictly follow CrossFit main site. I use MEBB. If you don’t know what it is, go check out
Coach Rut’s site. I also don’t follow a constant 3-on 1-off schedule. I typically do 3-on 1-off, 2-on 1-off. I find this MUCH more sustainable. Following this schedule I am able to put in QUALITY workouts most days instead of really only feeling good once or twice per week. Proper scaling also plays a HUGE role in my programming. I have been CrossFitting for about 1 year. I have done CFE in the past, but did not start a cycle of it until 5 weeks before my race. The only running I have done in the past month or two is whatever was in my metcon workouts.
What I learned:
1. Stop being so OCD with the schedule
When I add in CrossFit Endurance workouts, the whole training schedule becomes VERY pliable. Normally, I track and plan my whole week and it stays pretty set. However, when adding 2-a-days to the schedule I found that I had to change my plan constantly. So I stopped planning so much. I would schedule my CFE workouts and what strength days I would like to do for the week. But, even the strength days got pushed around often. I would choose my CF (metcon) workouts day of.
2. Recovery is not an option
It is a REQUIREMENT. If you choose to train this way, you must spend time recovering – lots of it! I used the foam roller at least 5 days a week. I used a lacrosse ball to target my trigger points multiple times per day when necessary. I used PNF stretching to keep my muscles loose and flexible. I took ice baths or contrast showers at least 2x’s per week. I iced my sore muscles after almost every workout and even brought an ice pack to work to ice during the day when needed. I never missed a post workout meal! I ate 90% Paleo – this is probably the second best thing you can for your training besides the training itself. I eat a good chunk of my carbs for the day post WOD. I do NOT Zone – although I keep this idea in mind when making meals. Nor did I limit my food intake at all. I slept at least 7 hours every night. Finally, I intermittent fast 1x per week, typically for about 16-18 hours.
3. Train like your race day
My race consisted of 13,000 ft of elevation change. This means I need to train some serious hills. I am fortunate enough to have a limitless amount of hills within an hour from my house. I trained the hills on the weekends. I also practiced eating what I was going to eat on race day – all Paleo foods. Candy, chips, Gatorade, gel packs and other typical aid station food literally makes me sick. The only non Paleo thing I used is NUUN tablets for electrolytes. I found that I could not eat a bunch of food at aid stations (designated times during practice). When I did, all of the blood went to my stomach and away from my legs and caused some pretty bad cramping. I made my own “gu” type packets made with REAL food. Eating little and often worked much better. I practiced wearing the exact clothes, backpack, headphones, socks, etc. and even underwear! I ran barefoot once a week to strengthen and toughen up my feet. Practicing and figuring out all of these things pre-race is a must!
*Post race edit* - I did not spend enough time figuring out my cramping issues
4. Test Results: Overall I was very pleased with my results. I nailed all of my lifts by more than required, hit a new PR in my back squat, and did the most consecutive pull-ups I’ve ever done. I had witness to each lift as well as video. Below is the proof and numbers.
Bodyweight (day of tests): 155ish lbs (little less)
Clean bodyweight: 165 lbs (106%) – Didn’t push a true max on this
Back Squat 1.5x bodyweight: 255lbs (165%) New PR
Deadlift 2x’s bodyweight: 315lbs (203%) – Didn’t push true max on this
Muscle-ups x10: 7 consecutive – disappointed
Pullups x40: 38 pull-ups – fingers failed me, I had this one (I did this later in the afternoon the same day that I did Muscle-ups and cleans – probably not the wisest choice)
All of the videos can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/innericon
5. Race Results:
Things were going amazingly well for the first 13 miles or so. I was blazing fast and still holding back. I was out in first place easily cruising along. I was up and over Tiger Mountain, no problem. Then on the way back down, I started feeling some slight cramping, so I backed off even more. I kept slowing down, but the cramping just kept getting worse. I was not feeling dehydrated at all and was drinking plenty of NUUN. I got passed by one guy but still came in to the first checkpoint (16 mile mark) in second place at about 3 hours. I was right on track for my goal to finish in about 6 ½ hours. At this point, I knew I was in big trouble because I have had this happen before in training. I continued on during the second leg which was 4 miles and about 2000 feet up at the beginning. By the time I reached the top of this I was completely done. My legs stopped working altogether. I could only manage to walk for 5 to 10 min at a time in excruciating pain before I would just lie down on the side of the trail to rest for a minute and then continue on. My right quad was on the verge of locking my leg straight every time I took a step. The cramping also pulled my knees out of proper tracking, altered my gait and caused some pretty good knee pain. I also got really cold. My body was so messed up that even my arms were cramping up. I managed to walk the rest of the leg to the second checkpoint at the 24 mile marker. I could’ve continued on in agony for another 7 miles but decided against it. My left knee hurt badly enough that I straight leg walked the last 2 miles to the checkpoint.
The day after the race, I felt pretty good. My muscles were barely sore at all. My knees and right ankle were very sore though. Needless to say, I was very disappointed about not finishing the race. But I learned a lot, ran 11 miles further than I ever have before and am now more than ever determined to figure out the cramping issues and try it again. Thank you for those who support me. You are greatly appreciated! As your coach, I am committed to never stop learning.
David
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LOOKING GOOD JOEY!
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 4:41pm.