Lessons Learned

I'll start off saying that the LA Marathon a week ago was the toughest challenge I have ever faced. It was an incredible experience where I fought through pain and the feeling of "quitting" for a good 6 miles. It all started at around mile 18 on Sunset Blvd where I felt my right knee "pop." I had a strong pace (considering this was my second marathon - my first only being 3 weeks before) of sub 8 minute mile all through the first 18 miles. I felt good. I breezed through the first 16 miles like a 10 year old kid high on syrup. My gait and speed felt amazing and I had nothing else to do but enjoy the sunny southern California weather. But of course, I needed to experience a true challenge before I was able to say I did two marathons in less than a month. So my knee pops - 3 times! Once at mile 18, then again at 20, and again right before 21. At the third pop, the pain was so great I had to slow down to a walk. Knee was wobbly and weak. Burning, aching, and a piercing bone shattering pain was all I could think about. I was only 6 miles away, there was no way I could stop. So I kept my "walking" pace for about 3 miles and then I had to stop. My knee was throbbing from the inside out with every step. I stepped to the side to stretch a little and catch my breath. I carried on and this was possibly the slowest I have ever done a 5k. Before mile 18, I was scheduled to beat my first marathon time at approximately 3 hours, 50 minutes. At mile 20, I could've still been under 4 hours. But all that went away and I finished in 4:41:22. After crossing the finish line, I was taken to the medical tent on a wheelchair and given ice for my knee and ankle.

The following day, I was having a hard time walking and the pain in my knee was still present, but to a much lesser degree. Ankle pain was gone, and my legs were not as sore as I excepted them to be - probably from not actually running the entire 26.2 miles! Tuesday I made my way to work and made an appointment with the doctor to get my knee checked out. I turns out I wore out my the posterior surface of my patella (my knee cap) by rubbing it with the femur. This was cause by not allowing my legs to fully recover from my first marathon. During the race, my leg muscles loosened and were not able to keep the knee cap in its correct location. Due to this, the knee cap started rubbing against the femur thus providing me with a good dose of pain. Doctor gave me a few exercises to help with my Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. Week later and I am finally able to walk up and down the stairs with very minimal pain, bike 3 miles, and walk like a semi-normal person.

While in school, I learned about a process called "Lessons Learned." This is an activity in which the participants of a given event, activity, or task get together after the completion of such event and discuss what went right and what went wrong. Well I did exactly that a week after my marathon and discovered that I really need to allow time for rest and recovery! The body is our temple, and we are only given one. We must take care of it if we want it to last. Providing it with a good foundation (training) and making sure we maintain a good upkeep (recovery). So after my injury, I stepped back and revisited my Texas Ironman 70.3 training plan. I have been researching more on injury prevention and proper form (in swimming, biking, and running). This week will be my pickup week where I plan to swim two 1600+ yard workouts. Biking will wait until next weekend once I my knee gets stronger. And running, is out of the question for at least 4 weeks. Easing back into running with a gait and stride analysis in a few weeks, testing out some new running shoes (Brooks), a pair of Newtons, and barefoot running (Vibram Five Fingers). I will use this opportunity to analyse my form and make any changes to get rid of bad habits and improve my performance. I will start taking a more technical approach to my training, including my swimming and biking and maybe even using some of my engineering background ;)

For now, I will go do some upper body work to prepare for my swim tomorrow.

...keep pushing!

Crazy Russian Push-up Program

When training for my first triathlon (2009 Long Beach Sprint Triathlon) I set various goals to help me prepare for race day. One of those goals was to do 300 push-ups without stopping. I did some research and found an interesting workout that allowed me to accomplish my goal.

I started off being able to do about 70 something push-ups, if I recall correctly. A few weeks later, I was able to do 324 push-ups in one set. The is my personal best and have yet come close to touching that again. I will warn you, this work-out is time consuming, but if done right, results will be noticed within 2 weeks. So without further ado, I present to you the Crazy Russian Push-Up Program:


Week 1
Mon: 100% Test, Relative Intensity (RI) 30%, Set Frequency (SF) 60 min
Tues: RI 50% SF 60 min
Wed: RI 60% SF 45 min
Thurs: RI 25% SF 60 min
Fri: RI 45% SF 30 min
Sat: RI 40% SF 60 min
Sun: RI 20% SF 90 min

Week 2
Mon: 100% test RI 35% SF 45min
Tues: RI 55% SF 20 min
Wed: RI 30% SF 15 min
Thurs: RI 65% SF 60min
Fri: RI 35% SF 45 min
Sat: RI 45% SF 60 min
Sun: RI 25% SF120 min

Week 3
Mon: 100% test

Sooo, what do all these numbers mean??? Let's say that on Monday you start off and you get down and do 50 push-ups, until you cannot push yourself off the floor. That is your max 100%. If you did you 50 push-ups at 9 AM, then 60 minutes later (10 AM) you will do 30% of 50 (which is 15 push-ups). If you ever get a random number like 22.3 or 84.6 push-ups, don't be lazy and round up to the next whole number! So come Tuesday, you will do 50% from your original set done on Monday, which means you will be doing 25 push-ups every 60 minutes. Wednesday, 30 push-ups every 45 minutes. Now, this means that if you are walking your dog, you will stop and do your set. If you are doing an assignment or working on a report, you will stop and do your set of push-ups! Don't cheat yourself and then come back later and say the program didn't work...I will say BS.

The only one warning I do offer with this program, as you get into the 150+ push-up range, the time to complete each set will increase...but so will your strength! So go out there, and show the world how push-ups should be done. BTW, here is a quick link to proper push-up technique. Enjoy!

...keep pushing.

O-Days

I have incorporated yoga to my workout routine as a way to relax, lengthen, and strengthen my muscles during my off days. But how do you incorporate yoga to an already packed schedule - 2 hour commute, 9-10 hour work days, and get a full 6 to 8 hours of sleep? The answer is "o-days." 

I usually schedule my workouts 2-o-3-o-2-o-3-o-and so on. I work out for two days, then rest one, then work out 3, then rest, then 2 again, rest, 3, and so forth. This allows me to not burn out and maintain a level of activity all throughout the week.

My "o-days" usually are simple: 20+ minutes of yoga, abs, and I try to incorporate calisthenics exercises (such as push-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges, etc.) My o-days is when I slap on my Vibram Five Finger Shoes and get a relaxing workout that stretches my muscles (Five Finger shoes also come on during weight days). The yoga portion of this routine is fairly new to me and I follow Fiji McAlpine on Youtube. This is an easy session that focuses mostly on the lower body. I've also started to utilize a video by Youtube user RachelBreedingYoga to help with ham and hip areas (for you runners out there!). These videos have helped increase my flexibility, improve my balance, and strengthen my lower legs, hips, and core.

Strength and speed are good, but we also need to find ways to balance our bodies and mind. These "o-days" provide a channel to achieve that balance and prepare the body for the following days. Oh, and almost forgot to add - yoga (if done properly) can significantly decrease injuries!

...keep pushing.

Hello...and good bye

Just a simple test, and trying this thing called "blogging" to document my triathlon training. The purpose of this blog is to document my training, lessons learned, and feedback from workouts and races as well as provide my audience (if any) hints and advice on what to avoid based of my mistakes.

Little introduction about myself: 25 years old (as of March 6, 2013), 5'11" and 150-160 lb range, design engineer (working 45-55 hours a week), and male. I have done one sprint triathlon (Long Beach, Sept 2008) and a full marathon (Ft. Worth, Feb 2013) and used to run track in high school (LHS c/o '06) and swam (CSULB c/o 2011). Working full-time behind a desk, sitting down for hours at a time motivated me to become more active and do stuff I wouldn't normally do. I began training for the Ft Worth Cowtown marathon in late early November of 2012 getting one to two runs per week. I fought through the challenge of increasing my distance, and decreasing my pace trying to achieve my goal of finishing my first marathon in under 4 hours - Official time was 3:53:52 -- 28th place in category (Males 25-29) and 278 overall (out of 1479 finishers). During my marathon training, I decided to sign up for a half iron man (Ironman 70.3 Austin) which has ultimately brought me to this point. I have another marathon in two weeks (LA Marathon March 17, 2013) which I have lightly been training for. With a small right knee/right ankle discomfort, I've been resting trying to recover for the challenging - yet rewarding! - 26.2 miles along the beautiful streets of Los Angeles (my hometown, btw).

I will try to update this blog with pictures, workouts, races, tips and hints, and anything that I think is relevant to my training to become a healthier, faster, stronger, and clear-minded person. Feel free to follow me on twitter (@I_am_Mr_C) or add me on Facebook to follow some of the stuff that might not make it to this blog.

...keep pushing.