It’s a Saturday morning, a few minutes after nine. I just woke up; with pain in my quads. Not from running, but from strength training. Three sessions again this week. Three hard sessions. If something is different compared to the way I used to train, it’s definitely strength training.
I’m easing into running again, after the Drielandenpunt Trail I did two weeks ago. The first week was a full recovery week. Something new for me as well. I used to take a couple of days off after a 50k ultra. Never a whole week. But the focus is to be good in autumn and for that I have to save energy in the beginning of the year. There is only so much running I can do.
Strength, strength and strength
The other focus is strength. I used to do strength training when I coached myself. But not as much. Especially not so much for the legs. I knew it was important, but hé, time is limited. In the weeks I ran less, I did more strength training. As my running sessions became longer, I started to do less strength sessions to give my body enough time to rest.
It does mean I’m running less than I did last year. Especially the amount of long runs is lower. No more half marathons every Wednesday, no more sessions of three, four hours or even more on the weekends. Instead we – my coach Brendan Lombard of Flat Rock Endurance and I – try to focus on high quality sessions and on strength training.
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Sexy arms
I admit the strength sessions I did when I was running a lot were mostly for my arms. I like to keep my arms in shape. Sara, my wife, loves it when I keep my arms in shape. Lots of runners have very defined legs, but don’t train their upper body. As we grow older, upper body strength is important. Plus, I power hike a lot when I’m running ultras. I need my arms to power me forward, with the help of my running poles.
Squats, lunges, box jumps, were all part of my routine. But only in pre pre-season. As soon as the races came nearer, I only did one fifteen minute session of plyometrics and two half an hour sessions of lifting dumbbells to keep my arms in shape. Now I do three sessions per week of almost an hour.
Strong legs
I still train my arms. I have to keep the girl happy. However, the main focus these days is on the legs. To make them stronger, I’ve even bought a squat rack. So now I’m doing squats with a barbell in my neck. I’m doing step ups with a barbell in my neck and I’m doing my forward lunges with my back leg on a weight plate.
At the Drielandenpunt Trail I managed to run almost all the uphills. Okay, I’m shuffling, but I’m not walking. I felt strong on the downhills as well. At the end of the race I had some problems with my right knee and my right Iliopsoas. Which means we’re tweaking my strength training a bit. Every weakness becomes a new area to target in my strength training. All with the goal to be robust when it’s time to run the CCC.
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A-races
I know, that’s months from now, but it is – together with the Rotterdam Marathon – my A-race this year. All other races are mere tests. Starting with the Chianti Ultra next month. Based on that, I will know if all this focus on strength is working. So fingers crossed.
Keep on running.
