[sgw]

I just want to thank all the authors, coaches and people offering advice in here …

tl;dr : Over the last few months I change quite some things in my way of living, along continuing my training based on the stuff I learned from the books and the website here. All this together lead to some visible and (for me) substantial improvement. That stuff really works!

More detail: went for some general medical checks, blood tests, x-rays, ultrasonic scans, bone density check … you name it. Decided to cancel alcohol (in my case: beer) completely, changed my diet from being a vegetarian to a more defined diet after TCM principles. Got some herbs mixed for my current constitution, cancelled some types of carbs and went for peas, lentils, rice etc. Going to acupuncture regularly. Established a new and more strict sleep schedule. And more. You get the picture.

This removed some blocks in my organs … and lead to a weight loss of up to 12 kg at peak time. Now I am at -11kg since begin of august, at 186cm of height. (I am m, 47 btw).

And I have more energy than before! Resting heart rate went down, pace in Z1/Z2 went up, while my “load” went down. The effort needed is lower. I run PRs since then, and feeling strong. VO2max went up (according to my watch. Yes, I shouldn’t believe it. But it feels good).

Doing all that anti-ADS work last year etc matches all this, as far as I understand. The form goes up, the weight goes down (or stays stable now: I want to keep that weight now, maybe gain a bit more muscle mass for climbing).

Ah, climbing: sports climbing works well also. Several 7b+ and 7c went down fast, quite a few 7a+ and 7a’s … all with the feeling of “I have headroom, I could perform way harder”.

Great!

Now with the snow covering Austria, where I live, outdoor climbing is getting rather uncomfy … with the Covid lockdown situation climbing gyms aren’t open yet (but soon).

I wonder what to do with my form now 😉 I consider running a (solo, unsupported) marathon soon, maybe even in the christmas holidays (I will have some free time then).

In the last few weeks I ran quite some volume, with hill work and intervals also.

For example a 28k, 1900 vert hike/run through snowy hills …

I never did a road marathon before, but completed the training plan for a 50k last year. So I wonder what I could do to set myself up for success here. And how much time I should plan for that preparation phase.

Maybe I am over-excited and a marathon would be too much. I would really like to hear some opinions on this.

Aside from that: keep up the good work, it pays!

Topic

[sgw]

sgw on December 13, 2021 at 2:16 pm #60740

I re-read my posting and notice that I should have added the original weight maybe:

At the beginning of august 2021 I was at ~81kg, now I am at 70kg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on December 13, 2021 at 6:31 pm #60762

sgw:

Congratulations to YOU for putting in the work, being patient and believing in the process.

Just know that you have only seen the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot more improvement to come in all areas.

You’re just getting started on a great journey.

Scott

[sgw]

sgw on December 14, 2021 at 2:25 am #60774

Thanks, Scott, that sounds great 🙂

[sgw]

sgw on December 16, 2021 at 2:14 pm #60888

Had my third vaccination 2 days ago, and decided to reduce activity to let my body react properly etc

Today I went for a hill walk with a friend, wanted it to be low HR, so I added 20 litres of water to my backpack and made it an ME workout. My max HR was 110 .. 79 average, never left Z1, that was recovery in a way. I sometimes mistrusted my (rather new) chest strap. I could have carried more load … did similar weights when I was still ~11 kilos heavier, so I might be able to carry more water instead of my lost body weight?

tmrw I consider some hill sprints instead. I notice that it gets harder for me to reach 165 HR, for example (my watch suggests some sprint workouts and sometimes I try those as a challenge). I would really have to dig deep to push it that high, I think I am limited by muscle power here maybe. More strength training needed, maybe? For sure I have lost some muscle mass in the last months.

I perfectly understand that these suggested workouts can’t exactly match my personal constitution. And it’s very likely that the max HR I entered there might not be correct anymore (174, I think). Should do tests …

[sgw]

sgw on December 29, 2021 at 1:30 am #61261

Getting tested right now:

Garmin tells me that I could reach 2021k of running in 2021 … if I complete ~40k more until new year. That would have been possible, but I have a slightly overloaded calf for a week now and running doesn’t really “work” right now.

So I can decide between hunting a random number, maybe (very likely) prolonging the problems or letting go, leaning back, regenerate and feel happy with the progress made and the upcoming training block that I can start when the injury is gone.

Sounds like a good lesson. Should foam roll now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on December 29, 2021 at 9:30 am #61274

DO NOT GET GREEDY CHASING A MEANINGLESS NUMBER!!!!

No one will care but you and you risk a setback that will impact 2022.

Scott

[sgw]

sgw on January 8, 2022 at 5:42 am #61772

Reduced volume lately as I have some muscle or tendon issue in my left calf/knee back. It hurts more running uphill so I do more walking/hiking, use poles etc

It seems to get slowly better. As I decided to get myself a TrainingPeaks Premium account, I tried a drift test run today. It seems I was too slow when I look at this:

http://tpks.ws/JEDK2L754IUCXTI4FEYTRMETSU

Pa:HR 1% …

So far I worked with AeT = 139 bpm, seems as if that’s not the case anymore, right?

I am trying to learn TPs various terms and come up with a useful plan for the next weeks and months. I consider a 50k mountain run in spring, that might be a motivating target (unsupported, solo).

[sgw]

sgw on January 8, 2022 at 5:48 am #61773

Scott, I only noticed your reply right now!
Thanks for the YELLED confirmation 🙂

I took it as a test of my ego … and decided to ignore it.

Aside from that there was a difference in the numbers anyway (it was at Garmin Connect, not Strava): the challenge for the 4th quartal told me I could reach 2021 kms, while the sum for the year was 70k lower … what I want to say is: (a) it’s not 100% correct anyway and (b) it doesn’t matter.

What matters: I saw progress in 2021 and I still see progress and potential. This keeps me motivated and happy (most of the time).

thanks!