I’ve officially
made it 4 weeks into my training journey & the progress remains steady,
even if it’s a little slower than I would like. I wrote a 25-day review a few
days ago where I discussed what I’ve learned, what I’ve done successfully, & what
has challenged me over the first quarter of my journey, however I still want to take time to reflect on
my progress in week 4 itself to remain consistent with the previous weeks.
As always, I’ve discussed the
good, the bad, & the ugly from week 4 below:
The Good
- Completed my first set of 30 burpees: on Saturday I was finally
able to complete my first set of 30 burpees, for a total of 70 across 3 sets. Then
on Monday I improved further, increasing my first set to 32 & completing a
total of 79 burpees across 3 sets. I am quite proud of this feat considering I
was only able to do 39 burpees across 3 sets when I first started, a challenge
that I documented in my day 15 post on burpees.
My goal will be to complete 3 sets of 40 burpees comfortably to ensure that
come race day I can attack each obstacle confidently without fear of the infamous burpee should I not be successful.
- Shaved 30 seconds off my average KM time: I got out on the
trails twice this past week & was able to shave 30 seconds off of my
average KM time on a 7KM run from 5:44 to 5:08. I will look to continue to cut
this time to 4:30, at which time I am going to start to ramp up the distance closer
to the 15KM mark while attempting to maintain pace. Around the 50-day mark, my
plan is to begin incorporating burpees during my runs to better simulate race
day conditions, however currently I am just looking to increase my running
& burpee endurance separately to establish a baseline level in both exercises.
- Completed a set of 25 pull-ups: I was happy to achieve my goal of 25 pull ups in a single set, for a total of 49 repetitions across 3 sets. Although I was happy to complete 25 on my first set, a big focus moving forward will be to improve my performance on the secondary sets where I was only able to do 14 & 10 reps. Since the Spartan Race is an endurance event involving many different obstacles that utilize the back, grip, & biceps, I must ensure to build my muscular endurance in these areas which will more be useful than 'one-time' strength. I am going to stay at 25, smooth, good-form reps on my first set, & shift the focus to improving my performance on sets 2 & 3. Eventually I will incorporate weighted pull ups once I can improve the secondary sets to over 20 repetitions each.
The Bad
- Two ‘nights out’: I wrote about my nights out in detail in
yesterdays’ post about setbacks.
This weekend I had two separate nights where I enjoyed a few adult beverages
& a few cheat meals with friends. Although I detailed in my post how to
overcome such setbacks, moving forward I want to ensure I am limiting the
amount of ‘nights out,’ especially as I draw closer to race day.
- Muscle soreness: as I discussed in my 25-day review, muscle soreness became a recurring challenge in week 4. Generally, I push through muscle soreness, however this past week my legs were sore to the point that I felt my performance was being diminished, so much so that I skipped my elliptical HIIT after I was only able to complete 16, 14, & 14 burpees on Tuesday (about 50% of what I did after a few days off). To combat this, I am increasing my protein intake, spending more time on the foam roller after each workout, & attempting to get 8-hours of sleep per night, however I will continue to monitor the muscle soreness to see if I need to make adjustments to my training schedule. I am all for ‘pushing through’ where possible, but only to the point that I do not diminish the efficacy of my subsequent workouts, because ultimately I am looking to maximize my performance on the workouts that I have chosen.
The Ugly
- Naked Sauna Sessions: evidently I spoke too soon in my day 22 post on sauna use where I quipped “When I think of saunas, I think of old, sweaty men sitting around naked.” This week in the sauna there was one gentleman who insisted on laying down, completely naked, in a sauna fit for 5-6 people that at the time was crowded with at least 10. To add to the scene, the gentleman also insisted on performing breathing techniques that mimicked what I would guess a woman in labour would sound like. You do you sauna guy, you do you.
Week 5 Goals
- Increased Sleep: as I documented in my day 26 blog post,
one major area of opportunity for me is increasing the amount of sleep that I’m
getting. Currently I’m sleeping on average 5 hours per night, which I believe
is contributing to the amount of muscle soreness that I have been struggling
with. My goal for this week is to get 8 hours of sleep each night & to
monitor how it effects both my performance in training, & the amount of post-workout
muscle soreness that I experience.
- Clean diet during Easter: with this upcoming weekend being Easter,
there is a real risk of a repeat of this past weekend, at least as far as the
unhealthy eating goes. Although I want to make sure I enjoy myself with family
& friends this weekend, my goal is to stay away from any sweets or junk food & opt
instead to indulge in lots of ham, turkey & vegetables. That said, I will make a small exception by having a few beers on Saturday night when my beloved Leafs take on the
Washington Capitals in game 2 of their series.
- Easter trail run: my family is located a few hours north of
Toronto, where there is an abundance of running trails. My goal will be to get
out on the trails at some point & complete a longer distance run (10+ KM) since I will
not have access to a gym on Saturday or Sunday. I have already augmented my
training schedule to ensure that I get in all of my workouts prior to leaving
for the weekend, but want to take advantage of the fresh air & nice trails when I can get it.
With that another
week has flown by in this Spartan journey, presenting me with a new set of
wins, setbacks, & unique challenges to face. It’s hard to believe I’ve already made
it 4 weeks, now it’s just over 10 weeks to go until race day & I’m
confident that if I continue on the path I'm traveling, I’ll be ready.
Aroo!
100 Day Spartan
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