Last Saturday was officially my longest run so far. I kept with the idea of keeping my heart rate down and I ended up going 20 miles. The interesting thing was I did not want to stop! If it wasn’t for time constraints I would have most likely just kept going. After several hours of running errands and meeting up with some friends I figured I would sleep like a log all night. At 2:30 I woke up and couldn’t sleep. After trying to fall back to sleep for an hour I decided I would go back out and run again. I hit another 8.75 and walked about a mile and a half. I finished my week and started my second week strong! I woke up the next day excited to run. This had never happened before, not like this. I have felt the NEED for a run to get some stress out, or for training purposes, but suddenly I just wanted to run!


    Throughout the weekend I started having a crazy idea, one that would be bigger than anything I had ever attempted. It would involve over 350 miles of running, and I figured I could do it all in a weeks time! This was no small feat.


    Sunday afternoon I went for a hike in some local woods and the idea persisted. I talked about the thoughts I had about it, what I would need for equipment and support, and what I needed for training. My thoughts only swelled that night when I watched the documentary “Running the Sahara”. I had learned about it just a few days prior but it had Charlie Engle in it. I had met Charlie a few times through Spartan Race briefly, and messaged with him a few times on social media. Even though he wasn’t a close friend, the personal connection pushed me to watch this film. After the film was over my mind was filled with all sorts of mental notes and even more questions. I figured I would try to reach out to Charlie and see if he had any tips for me. I did not have any real expectations, but hoped for a little guidance or at least to be pointed in the right direction.


    It wasn’t noon yet and I had been working and wondering when and how I would run that afternoon. My desire to run was stronger than it ever had been. I sent a message to Charlie and put it slightly out of mind, not expecting him to message me back right away. Then I saw his response. Things began to move quickly as we texted back and forth. By the time I was done telling him my idea and my limited experience he told me that he wasn’t a “coach” but he would be happy to help coach me! Charlie Engle, the guy that ran across the Sahara, the United States, countless adventure races, dozens of ultra races including the infamous Bad Water was going to help me and coach me. Almost instantly he put me in touch with his friend Chris Roman who had ran the exact trail that I was planning 10 years earlier. Suddenly I was a buzz! This idea was forming fast and becoming more of a plan than just a far fetched idea.


    Now I not only wanted to run, but I needed to. I needed to start my training. I asked Charlie about my biggest issue with training. Being a single parent I have very limited time to go out for runs, especially long runs. It is really not cool to leave a 5 year old alone for several hours while I am out running. What could I do? I had a stationary bike and I could run in place, which I had done a few times before for various challenges, but I wasn’t sure about if it really counted as training. Turns out Charlie has done this before and suggested to switch between running in place and the bike to break up the monotony of what both can bring. That night I decided I would run in place while waiting for things like my laundry to finish, cooking dinner, and doing various things around the house. I could have gone outside for a run, but I wouldn’t had been able to get the various choirs around the house. 2 hours later I logged a little over 11 miles of just running in my living room. I was astonished by this accomplishment and again had that feeling that I could do more.


    My training cycle is still not entirely complete. I know that I need to take some rest days and I also know that my schedule is not the exact same every week. It is hard to make Sundays my “long run” day every week when my daughter is with me every other Sunday and I also have her half the rest of the week. Through in all of the upcoming holidays and driving that I need to do having a scripted regimen would be tough. This week I decided that I would just push myself and see how far I could go in a week. I ended up crushing my goal of 40 miles and actually hit 52 even just running. Add in hiking and walking and I hit over 62. I was really excited and because I was taking it easy on my runs every time I finished I felt like I could do more!


    The lesson I have taken from this week is having a specific goal and something to train for makes a huge difference. Yes, running 50 miles is a great goal and I had a specific time frame to do this, but I wasn’t pushing myself as far as I could with this. Now that I have a much larger goal, one that encompasses the 50 mile run goal, I am pushing myself farther than I ever though imaginable! Training no longer is a struggle but a desire. I have attached my goal to a much larger purpose that will hopefully help a few people and now I do not want to let anyone down. Ever step has a purpose and brings excitement to me to achieve.


    I know I have been fairly vague about my goal in this post, but that is primarily due to the fact that I am not going to post the specifics about it until a few things are in place. Once I have these things in place however I will announce it to the world and I hope that many of you will follow along. 


    If training has become a bore to you, or you find yourself going through the motions a bit, set a specific goal that scares you! Something you are not positive you can do, but you know there is a chance! Then start chasing that goal HARD! 


    With Thanksgiving this week, training will be difficult a bit, but I know that I will do what I can. I also need to create a 14 day training schedule for myself to make sure I am hitting my running goals as well as strength training, stretching, and rest. Part of my training for this week will be research! It is a good thing I love research. Comment below and let me know what you are doing this week for training and share your goals. I want to try to hit higher numbers with my running this week as well as push the strength training a bit more. Feel free to follow me on Strava, Instagram, and Facebook and have a happy Turkey Day. Get out and run off some of those extra calories!

Ultra Training


    Originally my mission started out to run an Ironman which is something I have not done and know would be an incredible challenge. But as I started gearing up for the training portion I just wasn’t feeling it. I wasn’t as excited by it as I thought I would be. This was disappointing and obviously took a mental toll on the preparations for my training. At the same time however I started (and finished) a few books that talked about ultra endurance! One focused solely on running (Born to Run) and the other was focused on double Ironman’s, or more (Finding Ultra). Either way, these both got me really excited about the idea of running a double marathon and a 100 mile run! This might sound crazy, but the idea of running from Syracuse New York to Buffalo New York (173 miles) was more attractive to me than running an Ironman. So I started looking into training for ultra endurance and scratched together a plan quickly.


Day 1
    The three days leading up to my planned Day 1 training were not easy. I was participating in the Spartan World Trifecta Championship Virtual. A 5k, 10k, and 21k with body weight workouts in place of the obstacles over the course of three days. This would have me run more in three days than I have before by itself, but when my watched died at the 11 mile mark of my first attempt of the 21k, I surpassed just about every weekly total I had logged in about 48 hours. Over 30 miles on my feet I thought I was going to be hurting, but I wanted more! This was great motivation for my ultra prep. I felt great and wanted more.


    One of the problems I faced was finding time to run safely. With the sun going down at 530 in the evening and being pitch black by 6:15, my only option was to run in the dark… on roads… with a headlamp. Not ideal, but I have done worse. 


    I was also planning on conditioning my body and heart rate, so my runs were to be at 130bpm which is much slower than my normal pace. I would do this for the majority of my runs throughout the week and mix in a few speed days where I could let myself fly at least once if not twice a week. This way I could still work on my speed but also condition myself for the long haul I was trying to prep for.


    Things were going well on my first run. It was a struggle, but I was patient and kept my heart rate down and felt great. I was moving at about a 10 minute/mile pace, which is about 2 minutes slower than I am use to for my daily runs of 3-5 miles, but I kept thinking to myself that I could run like this all night! I was even upset that I did not have enough time to go for a long run of 10 or more miles that night because I had to meet up with some people in about an hour. Then it happened!


    My sole of my left foot was practically vertical even though I was standing upright. The pain shot through my body instantly and I was screaming before I hit the ground. My foot caught the edge of the newly paved road that rose about 6 inches up above the ground with no curb. I rolled my ankle and thought I had broken it. I stood on my right leg for a minute and gauged the oncoming traffic to ensure they were not going to hit me and assessed the injury. Within a few moments I realized it wasn’t broken but still could barely put weight on it. I attempted to use my headlamp to flash down a passing sheriff, but he did not see me. Suddenly I was alone in the pitch black dark on the wrong side of a blind turn without the ability to jump out of the way if a car was coming too fast!


    After a few minutes the immediate pain subsided and I was able to walk. Knowing that I had a few miles to go I decided to just take it easy. After a few steps though I was not in any pain. Knowing my pace was slow I figured I could run at my slower pace again. For the next 2 miles I ran at my 10 minute pace keeping my heart rate in check and feeling pretty good. I knew I was pushing my luck, but I wanted to run and felt pretty good! By the time I finished the 2 miles back to my home I was feeling so good that I figured I would hit at least 4 miles on the day, still falling short of my 5 mile easy run plan, so I continued. This is not advisable obviously and I knew it would be a potentially bad move, but onward I went until I saw a few guys working out in their garage. After a quick stop to chat I took a few steps and realized just how bad of an idea running had become.


    Walking the remaining distance home I made a few phone calls and talked to a friend about what had happened. She insisted I get it checked out, but as usual I just wanted to get home, ice it and go about my night. The pain was fairly incredible until the ibuprofen kicked in and allowed me to sleep a little. The real pain however was knowing that I was going to need to take at least a day off. That would be two days this week, during an amazing streak of beautiful weather that I would need to be off my ankle (second day I get to be home all day with my daughter since neither of us have school). I was antsy and felt like I could scream!


    Over the course of the rest of this week (finishing up my week on Friday for the purpose of this post) I took it pretty easy. I really only had one opportunity to run, but the circumstances were similar to the night I wrecked my ankle and I won’t lie, I was nervous about it. I knew though that I needed to keep working. I spent some time getting back into strength training, but differently than I am use to. Rather than seeing how heavy I could go, my new mission is endurance so I wanted to see how long I could go. This meant I needed to drop weight significantly, but in a way that would still build muscle as well as endurance.


    I grabbed my trusty “HydroRuck” sack and filled it with about 40 pounds of water and started taking it to work with me. I used it to occasionally bust out a set of 10-20 ruck swings (kettlebell swings with a ruck sack) or if I was standing at my desk I would do 10 single leg calve raises holding the ruck sack on the same side (next week I will start doing opposite side to help with balance and core). My thought behind all of this was to get my body use to being strained throughout the course of the day, not just for the time period of a workout. Since what I am planning on trying will take me 8 hours or more (8 hours for a double marathon to start) I need to be able to abuse my body for an extended period of time. The only downfall with this tactic is that it is difficult to time how long I am actually working out!


    Today I started making a log of every body weight movement I do that is specifically meant to help me prepare. My upper body will be getting minimal work throughout the week since my focus will be on core and lower body strength, but I always need to incorporate some upper body into my workout. That is my goal at least. The general plan for right now is what I have laid out below. This is only my working idea over the first 3 weeks. I do this because I know things will happen and I will need to adjust. 


Week 1:

• 26 miles of running
  • 2 days of easy shorter runs (3-5 miles)
  • 2 days of longer runs (10+ miles)
• 2 hours of indoor bike work
  • Easy pace
• 4 days of strength training for at least 45 minutes focusing on legs and core… all body weight, kettlebell or ruck

Week 2

• 26 miles of running
  • 2 days of easy shorter runs (3-5 miles)
  • 2 days of longer runs (10+ miles)
• 2 hours of indoor bike work
  • Easy pace
• 4 days of strength training for at least 45 minutes focusing on legs and core… all body weight, kettlebell or ruck

Week 3

• 30 miles of running
  • 2 days of easy shorter runs (3-5 miles)
  • 2 days of longer runs (13+ miles)
• 2 hours of indoor bike work
  • Easy pace
• 4 days of strength training for at least 45 minutes focusing on legs and core… all body weight, kettlebell or ruck

    As you can see this is an overview of what I want to do. Each week I will set up my weight training to be a little different than the last week, but I do not want to lift heavy. The heavier I am the slower and more energy I will need for the runs. So I need to strengthen for endurance, light weight with a lot of reps (100 or more). I also do not schedule my runs because my schedule is so chaotic. I set weekly goals and I will make sure to match them by the end of the week. This week with my ankle will mean long runs on both Saturday and Sunday to ensure I hit my mark. For clients, I like to be more specific, but I like to make things random or change them up frequently. Today for instance I was planning on lunges but changed in the middle of the workout to goblet squats with my ruck sack. This keeps my mind engaged a bit more from what I have experienced, rather than a scripted workout. If you do not know enough, or have enough equipment however, make sure your coach is scripting out your workouts in detail! This will be essential for your success.


    After completing my first week I have fallen short on two of my three goals. The running and biking. I have until Sunday to get the miles in, which running wise I am fairly confident I can do without going too far past my prescribed pace and distance, but hitting the bike for my prescribed time may not happen.


    I am also finding the challenges of running in the cold and dark more of a struggle than I thought. I knew I wouldn’t want to do this, but when I had the opportunity this morning I deferred to weight training rather than running. I did think about my ankle and wanted to make sure I was rested and healed before tomorrow, but deep down I know that I just wanted to stay warm! These are things I will have to get over. 


    I am also struggling to stay on the bike for longer than 30 minutes. I am going to try again tonight and find something to watch while I ride, but indoor bike riding is just so damn boring. This will be essential for me though for the endurance piece as well as quality cross training.


    Strength training was not as much of a challenge this week, primarily because it is what I really enjoy. It did get “boring” compared to what I am use to however because of the lighter weights, but that is why I try to change it up a bit. All in all, it was a struggle this week but that is because I am changing my norm. I knew this would happen and am ready to adjust and do what I need to in order to hit my goals. It is only going to get harder from here so I need to push myself if I want to make this idea a reality. I also need to remember that this is not about time/pace! It is about distance. If I can break through these mental barriers I have things will go a lot smoother for me and I will find my success.


    As for my diet, I plan to stay on my usual intake of food which focuses on a lot of natural/whole foods with my twice a week cheats (donut on Friday and pizza on Sunday). I do not want to change too much because I will need the fuel for the increased work load. I also know that my current diet has allowed me to maintain my weight and body fat percentage. If I increase the number of calories I am burning throughout the week but maintain my current intake of calories then I will shed a few pounds which will be key for distance running.


    My final reflection of week 1 is that I need to track things better! The amount of time I am putting in workouts as well as runs and biking. I also need to track my calories to make sure their is an increase from previous weeks/months. Finally, even though I like to keep my strength training a surprise at times, I need to know what is working and what is not so I need to track my body fat percentage, water density and overall weight as well. These will be things that I put together over the weekend to allow myself to see trends based off of my workouts and runs. Since I am doing the ill-advised and going at something massive without utilizing a coach (as I usually do) I need to approach this as a scientific experiment and track data like I never have before! This will require even more time that I really do not have, but the question usually comes down to how badly do I want to achieve my goal?


    I hope this has given you an idea of how to create a rough plan for your training purposes. Remember, if you are new to this you should always consult your doctor first, then talk to a trainer or a coach and create a solid plan! If you have any questions, or would like me to take a look at your plan for free or schedule a free consultation please feel free to email me at ocrlibrarian315@gmail.com or comment below and I will be sure to get back to you as soon as I can! If I do not hear from you, good luck on your goals and I look forward to writing about week 2 of my training!

If you have followed me for any period of time, you know that I am HUGE on SMART goals. Specific Measureable Attainable Relevant and T​imely. Since I preach this so often I want to set a new goal for the OCR Librarian! By the end of 2021 I want to help 5,000 people achieve their fitness goals! This seems like a lot, but between my blog, social media accounts, various races that I manage and work with, and training programs these numbers will add up quickly! 2020 has not been the year for great things, but I know many of us plan to make 2021 the best year of our lives! It is time for me to do the same!

My challenge for you! Make a SMART goal for yourself for 2021 and post it in the comment section below, tag @ocrlibrarian315 on Facebook or Instagram, email me at ocrlibrarian315@gmail.com, post it on your own or share it with one other person. No matter what, set a goal and then start working towards it every day! I look forward to seeing the goals and what you all are capable of!

This is where things start to get confusing! There are SOOOOOOOOO many different training plans, methods, ideas, and approaches out there that it is easy to get lost. The worst part is if you are training in a way that does not match your goals you could be setting yourself up for failure!

I personally experienced this during my first attempt at an obstacle course race. I talked to 2 people about the race and how to train. One was signed up with me and the other had no previous experience with OCR (great starting point), but I took both of their words seriously and trained as if they were the Gods of training. I focused on a weight lifting regimen that was great at building muscle and losing fat and ignored cardio completely. I was told if my legs were strong enough I would have no problem with the hills on the course.

I spent several months training and was feeling great. I was in better shape, which is never a bad thing, and I felt confident that I would do well. And I did do well, on the obstacles that involved upper body and leg strength. The obstacles that required more explosive movements, the running and the hills (aka MOUNTAINS) absolutely destroyed every fiber of self respect I had. I finished and had a smile on my face, but I was demoralized at my time and knew that I could do much better! I knew I would want to try one of the OCR things again someday, but I was in no hurry and felt I deserved a break! If it wasn't for sheer dumb luck I would have not ran another OCR for an unforeseen amount of time and missed out on so many experiences and changes that have happened in my life because of my participation. This is what I want to help you avoid, missing out on something you enjoy just because you trained incorrectly!

If you are anything like me you have already opened a separate tab and googled "types of fitness training" or something along those lines. Doing this might also add to your confusion. "7 Types of Fitness Training" followed by "The 4 Types of Fitness Training You Need to Know" and so on. So many different perspectives on something that everyone seems to be an expert at yet no-one can agree on many of the best practices. For easy reference I will share an article that I feel is concise as well as accurate and you can refer to along the way.

Weight Training
This is where everyones mind goes when they think about packing on muscle. The first image for me still is the bench press. You do not have to be a muscle head to weight lift though, and weight lifting is actually a great way to help you lose fat, strengthen bones and so much more. You do not have to lift heavy either! Again it depends on your goals.

If you want to lift to gain power and strength you absolutely need to lift heavy, but you should also do a low number of reps per set with a longer rest between sets to allow your muscles time to recover! Performing 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps at 85-95 % of your 1 rep max rep is what would be suggested to build power and strength.

Now if size is what you are looking for then you should change things up a bit. To build size and strength you need to be shooting for 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps at 70-80 % 1 rep max. This I would still recommend a few minutes between sets (2-3) to allow your muscles time to recover especially since you are pushing more reps per set!

For muscular endurance (which is what I SHOULD have been training for) you want to perform 2-3 sets of 12-20 reps at approximately 60 % of their 1 rep max. This will be a lot lighter, but the number of reps is much higher! You will feel much more tired from these, but you will be allowing yourself to lift for longer sessions. Many people only do a short 30 second rest with lifts like these, but I always encourage a solid 2 minute rest minimum!

You should also notice that with all of the different lifting methods they reference 1 rep max. This is the max amount of weight that you can lift with GOOD FORM! If you cannot lift it with proper form, then consider it too heavy! You will need to spend some time at the gym with a spotter to accurately determine your 1 rep max before you can do this. In order to progress you should also increase weight as you lift regularly. If you can hit more reps than the maximum listed above for whichever method you are using, add 5lbs on and push yourself. Add 5lbs every week or two if you are unsure and try to hit your target rep number.

Cardio Training
When it comes to cardio, most people think about getting on a bike or treadmill and going for as long as they can. While this is a type of cardio you can do, it is not the only one! Let's take a look at the different types of cardio workouts you can do and what some of the benefits/disadvantages of each are.

First is Continuous Training. As stated above, this is what you see most people on treadmills or running through the park. Many friends of mine that are lifters HATE this however. They feel that they never should need to run and do not want to do anything remotely close! Running, and even moving at a fast pace is not the key to continuous training. The main things you are looking for would be 20 minutes or more without rest and keeping your heart rate in the 60%-80% range of your max heart rate. This can obviously be done by running, but it can also be done walking at a STEEP incline, or using the stair master. For me, my max heart rate is 183 (220-age). That makes my target zone 109-146. I can hit a heart rate of 109 easily on a stair master or a treadmill on an incline and so could you! This is a great way to train, especially if you love running, biking, or other activities that take a longer period of time but it can also be a bit boring if you are as impatient as I am! Even with my impatience I will usually try to fit in 30-60 minutes of continuous training per day in a variety of forms. Just make sure you are getting your heart rate up and you are good to go.

Fartlek (speed play) training is often confused with interval training. Even though it can seem similar, it is more along the lines of continuous training because you do not fully stop and rest. Fartlek is continuous training, but you vary the speed, terrain, and/or elevation as you go. Something like a warm up jog (5 minutes) followed by a 30 second full out sprint, then another jog for 90 seconds, then a sprint at about 75% for about a minute with one more jog thrown in for 90 seconds would do the trick. Do that 6 times without stopping and you have a Fartlek style training. This is one of my favorite/most dreaded workouts to do. It will completely drain you by the time you are done but you will also be building a lot of muscles to help with both distance and speed. It also will break up the monotony of long runs so it does not get as boring. This is something that is difficult to do daily, but building it into your routine once a week is easy and will be very beneficial. You can also take similar methods onto the bike with this, but I prefer it as a running activity. 

Interval training is often called HIIT for High Intensity Interval Training and is a great way to drop weight and feel like you are completely out of shape no matter your skill level. Like Fartlek you go as hard as you can with an exercise for a short period of time (30-90 seconds) but then you completely rest for a period of time. The rest is the important part for Interval Training. You could do a 1:1 ratio (work for :30 and rest for :30) a 1:1.5, 1:2 or a 1:3 depending on your ability, but you normally do not want to go much more than that in my experience. Typically 8 to 10 rounds of the workout will be done before you have completed that exercise and by the end you will be dog tired and you will feel it, but finishing it is always a great feeling. The "trick" is to allow your heart rate to recover. Doing this spikes your heart rate numerous times throughout the workout encouraging your body to burn fat faster. The down side with this however is that there have been some studies that show potential heart issues with doing extended HIIT workouts over the course of several years. This basically means do not do this every day. This, like Fartlek, is something I like to incorporate a few times a week. 15-20 minutes as a warm up to whatever it is I am doing that day. This will usually wake me up and get me in the right mindset for my workout and not push the envelope or my heart too much.

There are many other types of training out there and it is best to consult your doctor and a trainer/coach to determine which is the best for you, but this guide will help you get a little more insight into what you might want to consider. You need to find something that will fit your goals and allow you to gain the most from you training. For me and my goal of the Ironman and my body fat percentage I will have a combination of many of these. If you are just starting out and want to lose some body fat the perhaps you focus on a weight training regimen and some interval training. It is good to have variety in your workout to ensure you are getting the most out of each workout and your body while all working towards the same goal.

Next week we will start talking a little about diet. I am not a dietician so I am only able to go off of personal experience, but I feel confident I can help point you in the right direction to get started! After we have hit all 3 points of the training plan (goal, training, and diet) I will script out a new training routine for myself for you to show you how I do this for myself and my clients. This will give me a day by day workout routine, based off of my schedule and goals. Things may also change for me between now and then due to a few experiences I am currently working on for future blog posts (early to mid November). Once I discover the results of these experiments I will gladly share them with all of you! As always, thank you for reading and feel free to comment on here, my social media (OCRLibrarian315) or send me an email at ocrlibrarian315@gmail.com and I will be sure to get back to you!



https://www.teachpe.com/training-fitness/training-methods




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