Exercise Log 11.2.13 (Run for Sight 5K & Back Day)

Well today was a pretty awesome day, got out in the morning to the Pitcairn area for a small time 5K on a fairly flat course, was expecting to set my personal record today and bump it up a notch, how did I do?

Flickr gallery: A run with the Monroeville Lions club

So the race attendance was very small, not a lot of runners, and the course was fairly flat and easy. The weather was perfect, which was complimented by the fact that I picked up some nice Under Armor Coldgear leggings to keep extra warm for the winter… best investment ever. That said, my expected time based on treadmill tests and pacing was right around 24:00, which was better than my time at Boyce Park which was 24:42. So I did finish under my expectation by a hair, 23:55 was the official result, and I really had a great time doing it. I was still more than a leg behind the other guys who finished earliest, but the men my age I was third. My running buddy also set her PR and finished third in her age group, which was pretty awesome! I set an average heart rate of 176, with a peak of 182, meaning I did push myself harder overall but not quite to peak. In my Flickr photo set linked in the pic above I took a pic of the 3rd place mug I got, because I’m awesome like that.

Then after that I decided to get my back workout in. I’m trying to create a more limited weight lifting routine I feel like I may go 10-15mins too long sometimes, but also try to go heavier on the weights. So after warming up my back, I went into bent over rows (2 sets of 10 reps at 90lb, 2 sets of 10 reps at 100lb, 1 set of 8 reps at 110lb). Then I did dumbbell one armed rows (3 sets of 10 reps at 65lb, 1 set of 8 reps at 70lbs).

The primary exercise in back day is deadlifting, if you guys read my blog you know I’m trying to improve my deadlift. I had a rough time I’d say, underperformed a little, but I learned from it I think. Today I tried a new weightlifting technique – hyper irradiation – as explained in the video below…

Elliot Hulse explains hyper irradiation

I would say it was helpful to know, but I did hit a wall again at my personal max at 225lbs (last time I think I did 4 at that weight) I only did one rep at that weight then just couldn’t budge it, and the only way I did it was I had one solid lift with this new “hyper irradiation” technique. I might’ve been fatigued, that attempt was after 2 full sets of 10 reps at incremented weights before the attempt and all the previous workouts (usually deadlifts are #2 on my list because I want my back to be fresh for them, but the weight room was ridiculous today so I didn’t get in right when I was hoping to). To finish off deadlifts I dropped the weight to 205lbs, and then doing 4 more reps for an even package of 25 total reps. Even these were hard. Deadlifting is definitely a challenge for me but I feel like I’m learning. I am seriously considering getting Crossfit-style shoes which should help in these kinds of lifts over my cheap running/training shoe I currently wear.

After the deadlifts were over, I did two exercises for my good ol’ scapula adductors. One was T-bar rows, second was seated rows. I could have done more, but I’m trying to keep myself from overtraining and listen to my body more, and my body said my back was good and worked out. So that was it!

My next cardio goal: prepare for longer runs by setting a more even, tempered pace that will hopefully be appropriate for the spring’s half marathon. Will start that on Thanksgiving with a 5 miler, and maybe sometime over the winter of a 10K or something else longer. I didn’t break my deadlifting goal today, but I did get to the max rep and did one clean one, and that alone made me feel pretty good, so I’ll take it.