Crossfit and Endurance

Oh, and BTW, my new fancy fundraising page for Boston is up!  I'm working on putting some final touches on the page, but it usually doesn't like letting me log in.  Check it out, please donate to this incredible cause, and look for some fun/interesting ways to participate soon!

One of my Crossfit trainers defined the concept perfectly:  Crossfit is meant to prepare your body to perform any activity at any time.

I've been with my gym Crossfit Pacific Coast for almost a year now.  I actually started a regular weight lifting routine because I noticed a difference between the amount of strength training I did and the amount of endurance and injuries I had.  I was able to increase my overall pace and virtually eliminate all the nagging injuries I had experienced when I first started running.  A friend turned me onto crossfit, and I've been hooked ever since.

My concern with my Crossfit training regimen has come with my current year of marathon training.  Here's my schedule to date:

• April 16: Boston
• May 12: Santa Ynez Wine Country Half
• June 10: Camp Pendelton Mud Run
• October 14: Nike Women's Marathon
• December 2: California International Marathon

That's a lot of endurance races and I wanted to make sure I am ready for every one of them without burning myself out.  Initially, my workout schedule consisted of:

Monday        Tuesday       Wednesday        Thursday      Friday       Saturday     Sunday

5 miles          Crossfit         Track Work      Crossfit        3-4 miles   Long Run    OFF

Needless to say, I was concerned about killing myself.  My coach encouraged me to focus on resting (uh, yes please), so we rearranged my schedule just a tad so I was doing two workouts on Monday and Thursday, but RESTING Tuesday and Friday.  Three days off a week?  Yes please!  I'm curious to see how this turns out - it's going to take a lot of focus to stay with this schedule.

Honestly, I can't tell if I'm lazy or a glutton for punishment with this schedule, but full days off sound awesome to me.

Prepping for Paleo

So a few times a year, my gym does a Paleo Challenge, and we're gearing up to start again (you can participate too, just click here).  Paleo is not some "lose weight fast" gimmicky diet, it's a way to get back to your roots.  Our ancestors didn't eat all the sugars and carbs that Americans are currently consuming by the pound; they ate lean meats, vegetation, and berries and nuts.  Simple, huh?

Actually...no.  The last time I tried to do Paleo, I realized how much "crap" I was consuming on a regular basis, and it's not until you try to eat "real" food that you will realize this too.  However, after a few weeks of conscious eating, I started to get the hang of it and I now eat Paleo 80% of the time (don't get me wrong, I still LOVE mac n cheese and beer).

So, as a distance runner, doing a Paleo Challenge takes even more preparation.  Technically, I can't eat Gu during a long run...instead, I will pack some dried apricots, that are packed with enough sugar to keep the muscled fed without being fake.  Also, no more pasta for carb loading...instead, I'll have a delicious baked sweet potato with a drizzle of olive oil.

This week, I'm working on weaning myself off of all the amazing tasting, horrible-for-me-crap that I consumed during the past six weeks.  I literally feel like I'm sweating Christmas Cookies.

What does Paleo really have to do with running?  It's all about fuel.  The better the fuel you're putting in, the better the energy that comes out.  Treat your body like a Maserati and it'll perform like one.  Treat your body like a crappy weekend rental...well, you should get the analogy by now.