Around the Bay Road Race

G - glute, GN gastroc, V - vastus: look at the incredible
activation of the vastus muscle group. 

So I'm almost 2 weeks now into my training for the Around the Bay road race (30Km) on March 24. I find the best way to keep me motivated to train, is to do highly race specific training. By that I mean, if the course is flat and fast I will do a lot of track work - mile repeats, 800s, pyramids, etc. For the around the bay, the course is notorious for its fast downhill start and brutally difficult final 4km uphill. I hear that after the last hill runners are greeted by individuals in grim reaper costumes. To perform optimally on this course, my training has taken a new course - STRENGTH. Almost every workout I do now has a strength component to it, and I am finishing mostly every run with a 30-60 minute high intensity strength session. In my next post I'll have a quick video of the session. Basically, I've been stressing the quad muscles, gastrocnemius (calf), and the glutes. Here's a graph from a great study I've read on horizontal versus uphill running, notice the * indicates significance.

So here's the workout: I'm doing this now atleast three times a week - over reading week I did it three days in a row.

1. 17 - 19k run - hill based run - I've found a 2k hill loop near my house that I'll repeat 6 or 7 times - each time around is about a 35 m gain in elevation so X7 gives about 245 meters or around 700ft of climbing.
Tip: When going uphill focus on high cadence, keeping your shoulders back, elbows back, leaning from ankle not hips. Shalane Flanagan (American Distance Runner legend who holds a number of American records in track and now has branched into the marathon where in her debut she ran a 2:28 in NYC, and PR of 2:25) compares uphill running to feeling like your legs are firing like pistons in an engine.

2. Get home, grab some water and get downstairs to the weight room. For all the exercises try to move from one to another without any break. Start with 1 set of 20 squat jumps with weights. Move to the leg extensions for 1 set of 25. Back to squat jumps, repeat the circuit 4-5 times. By this point your legs should be burning.

3. Move into one legged calf raises, 4X5 sets of 20 per leg.

4. 3 sets of lunges with weights, and try to finish each lunge with a twist - to engage those obliques.

5. Get a resistance band do glute extensions (basically standing donkey kicks) 3 sets. Next go onto the floor and perform 3 sets per side of side leg raises.

6. Finish with bench press, hammer curls, and tricep dips. For these use light weight because let`s face your a endurance athlete- the upper body is not exactly bulging with huge muscles.

6. From here, you could hop on the bike trainer for a cooldown, or do what I do and finish with a 15-20 minute core workout - I`ll post my favorite 20 minute core workout in the next post.

7.  Stretch, hop in the shower, grab some milk or whatever your favorite post-workout recover drink is, and melt away into the couch to watch some Food Network. Hopefully you`ve finished before 4pm so you can see chopped and diners, drive-ins, and dives. Later that night try to have a high protein meal - my go to is an Energy Omelette here it is:

3 Large Omega 3 Eggs
0.25 c. of baby spinach
0.25 c. of red or black quinoa
0.5 red bell pepper
0.5 white onion
1 tsp. flaxseed (putting the omega 3 content thru the roof)
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. Extra Old Low-fat (blue menu) cheddar cheese

Nutrition Facts: 532 kcal, 32 g total fat (6g sat.), 150 mg of sodium (from the cheese), 34 g CHO (6g fibre, 1g sugar), 28 g of high quality protein (quinoa is a complete protein source)