There are a lot of tricks to overcoming treadmill boredom, but also consider that even that boredom itself is a training stimulus!
briguy
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ParticipantParticipant
I did Rim to Rim to Rim back in 2014, via Bright Angel so round trip about 47m.
Both the north rim and south rim are significant climbs, and depending on the time of year the conditions are a major factor. We went the earliest that they turned the water taps on (mid-May) and it was still 100+ on the canyon floor that day (which was admittedly unseasonably hot).
We didn’t make any stops except to fill bladders at the available taps and it was still quite the long day, with over half our group quitting on the north rim and taking the 4 hour shuttle back to south.
ParticipantThat’s a good way to look at it.
One thing that has kept me sane in the last 6mo of fighting weight is that while I’m at least 5lbs from Race Weight, my bodyfat % has been closer to what it was when I was actually at race weight. So I suspect my emphasis on ME & strength has contributed to at least 5lbs of muscle in my legs and core. Meaning my power-to-weight ratio is probably higher.
ParticipantOne of the Scotts will come in and answer your question I’m sure but as a mountain runner I highly recommend the gym-based ME program. I’d even venture to say it’s worthwhile even if you have access to long/steep hills.
But more specific to your question, I like to do the gym-based program and then transition to more sprints/bounding during the race-prep phase since it’s more sport-specific.
ParticipantAs someone who easily gains mass (muscle or fat) I get the OP’s POV.
When I first began marathon training 10 years ago, my weight-lifter physique changed dramatically without any alteration to my diet. I dropped 30lbs during that first cycle.
Since then however my metabolism has altered to become so much more efficient I struggle to get to “racing weight” even with 50+ mpw and 15+ hours per week of training. I’m sitting at about 10% fat right now so it’s not like I’m overfat. Granted, I know I’d be faster if I could lose another 5-10lbs but it’s not as essential/concerning to me now as it was when I was trying to meet a BQ time goal. In a road marathon, it’s been estimated that each extraneous pound is about equivalent to 2 second per mile at marathon pace. So an extra 5lbs is huge when you miss a BQ by <90 seconds.
So my TLDR is alot of it depends on your goals/interest but only sometimes is getting to “race weight” worth the stress/trouble.
Participantbriguy on September 30, 2020 at 8:34 am · in reply to: book-review & open questions – whats the authors perspective? #45570It should be again mentioned that the reviewer otherwise praises the book and recommends it in a number of areas on his site. And in general the methodology he seems to follow adheres mostly to what I see espoused on UA.
Speaking of which that particular site seems to be inactive but there is a wealth of reading material there in the archives.
The author/ownwer has a new site that has similar worthwhile reading but targeting the “veteran” athlete:
ParticipantFT athletes will shrug their shoulders and say “What’s the big deal”?
Yes! (as a FT athlete)
I also concur that the gym-based ME is my favorite (i.e. deemed most effective) thing about UA training. I love it.
Not only has it made me feel more bullet-proof as a trail/mountain runner, it’s also made me a far stronger cyclist, a sport I also enjoy. In fact, I’d wager I have seen more use of it for cycling than for running.
I’m still tweaking my approach though to the last microcycle before races though. I need to find a good transition from the gym-based ME to more strides/sprints uphill. My feeling is ME makes my legs strong, but slow.
ParticipantNice work. You should consider doing the Pikes Peak Marathon or Ascent next year.
Participantbriguy on September 16, 2020 at 8:22 am · in reply to: Maintaining strength after the ME at home plan #45095Yeah, the split squats weighted are more challenging than all the others. The vest(s) I use is pretty good, and allows for pretty good “cinching down” but it still bounces on the jumps a fair amount.
But since I’ve ended my race prep ME and entered more of a “starting over” phase I’ve been doing them unweighted and I have a significant amount of more control with these than I did when I started. I feel almost like a different person with the coordination I’m able to hold and how quickly I can do them. Makes me think it might be good to alternate in an unweighted version of these alternatively with the weighted? Kinda like how I alternated the step ups with heavy-weight or max-reps in with the standard ME 6×10 protocol.
One other observation too: I do a fair amount of cycling as cross training and I feel far stronger on the bike now having gone through the ME process. Makes sense of course but it’s clear the application definitely can cross over to other sports.
Participantbriguy on September 15, 2020 at 10:14 am · in reply to: Maintaining strength after the ME at home plan #45072I’m assuming you meant one of those 10 jump squats as split squats instead.
Doing those for the first time was an eye-opener. First of all the coordination required to land the trailing foot properly, and then I think that’s where most of my initial soreness came from.
Participantbriguy on September 15, 2020 at 7:46 am · in reply to: Maintaining strength after the ME at home plan #45065I’m naturally fast-twitch and easily put on mass/strength so I tend to gravitate towards the strength-work like ME. In addition to the ME session I described above, I also (early in the plan before overall training volume got me just too tired) would add on 2 other sessions in the week dedicated purely to strength. So instead of doing 6×10 step ups for example, I would do something like 2 or 3 x 10 but either with heavy weight or max reps. I really like the step ups a lot. One variation I’d sometimes add on as well was “sit ups” where I’d sit on a bench (the same one I’d use for steps) and “sit up” using just one leg. These are sort of a variation of pistol squats but without the danger of descending too low.
One thing I also found about the ME set of step ups, split squats, and jump squats was that it definitely made a difference what order I did them in. The jump squats take the most out of me so if I did those last I usually was not able to do as many of them well. So typically just for that reason I’d usually go in the order of step ups, split squats, and then whatever I had left in the jump squats.
Participantbriguy on September 14, 2020 at 1:43 pm · in reply to: Maintaining strength after the ME at home plan #45048davelockyer101 ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 AT 12:47 PM#45045
I didn’t add weight to the jump squats and split jumps. That must have been HARD…Yeah, it really made me question what the heck I was doing. Especially since I was often sore, as you said, for 2-3 days after each session. Made it hard to fit into a week since I was also running long 1 day and also at least one day was devoted to a speedwork session. So the ME was always within 2-3 days of either of those quality sessions. Soreness was in odd places too, like down in the groin around to the back of the high hamstring area.
Of all the UA methodology, I think the gym-based ME has been the most worthwhile though. After Pikes Peak each year usually my quads are SHREDDED for a few days and this year I had very little soreness there and instead in other strange places like my ankles where I’ve never had soreness before. I am not 100% on some of the other UA stuff but I am sold on the ME program.
Incidentally I used those cheap weight vests that are available on amazon and about 12-13lbs each. They’re cheap enough that I doubled them up to get to around 18% bw. I have a bigger weight vest that will go up to around 30-35% bw but it’s not as comfortable for the jumping around stuff.
Participantbriguy on September 14, 2020 at 12:22 pm · in reply to: Maintaining strength after the ME at home plan #45042I was curious as am an older (49) ultra runner too and I got up to the following and it wasn’t taking 90 minutes.
Core routine (3×30 pushups, 3×10 chinups, 3×50 ab rollups (3 different kinds), 30sec hold in plank, bicycles, mtn climbers, flutter kicks, plank jacks, etc)
6×10 each of the following with 30-40sec rests between
Step ups
Squat jumps
Split lunge/squat jumps
Step forwards(I got up to about 18% of bodyweight on the above)
Seems like the entire routine never took me 60min so maybe I was rushing through it?
Participantbriguy on September 14, 2020 at 11:27 am · in reply to: Maintaining strength after the ME at home plan #45037Separate but related question as I am curious. What did your gym ME routine look like towards the end when it was taking 90 minutes?
ParticipantI have some experience with deep water running and I can vouch for the benefits, but it is one of the most mind-numbing of all the cross training pursuits.
A few suggestions:
– Use headphones (bluetooth connected to poolside phone is best, but I’ve used wired headphones plugged into an mp3 player tucked under a headband for a decidedly uncool-but-effective look)
– Floatation belts are great in the beginning and I will take away those if I am wanting a more strenuous type workout
– I keep my arms a bit more compact to my body than I would when i run, it makes me use my legs more to stay afloat – using the legs is kinda the point of the cross training
– if possible do “laps” of the deep section of the pool you’re using – it’s silly but feeling like you’re going “some” where helps
– find a partner or make friends with others doing the same – suffering shared is suffering less
Good luck!