Noah’s Summer Training May 31 – June 6

Monday (Memorial Day)- Nothing!

Not a great start to a training log. A storm of some Corunna boys rolling into town the night before, in combination with a few drinks and catching up, lack of sleep, and UTC the day prior did not make this a very comfortable day. Honestly I think this was a set back to recovering from UTC, but it was worth it to see my boys and enjoy a night!

Tuesday- Hour Ride

Was still pretty sore, but got in an hour ride, a few jumpers, and was just trying to do some different movements to loosen up the body, did help me to feel much better after the fact.

Wednesday- 40 Mins, Easy Strides, BBall

Slow and easy run. Slow and easy strides on the infield at the track while I was waiting for Olin to do his extra. Then was shooting some hoops and got asked to run a game, so I got one in before dinner, got torched on defense but got a couple buckets and helped my random group win the first game to 25. Then I had to leave, was very enjoyable.

Thursday- 45 Minutes

This was hot. Worked in the morning then tried to get a run in easily before dinner. 2:30 run was difficult, I was not enjoying myself in some of the later miles for certain. 6:45 average was a positive to see after 7:30 the day before felt like I didn’t have many gears left.

Friday- 30 Minutes. 8 Straights and Curves. 1.7 Mile Jog Back.

Straights and curves were my strides for the day. If you are unaware of what either of those things mean, basically to use a little speed and to try to shake some of the junk out of the legs and “prime them”, I ran the straights on the track at a faster pace and then did a very easy jog (slower than easy run) for the curves. I did that for 1 mile, any day you might want more or less, you may want to do 200m strides as we did at Wisconsin, maybe 100s, maybe diagonals across the infield, etc. I value strides a lot, they can help you mix up ways to get mileage, and will help your body remember how to pick up the pace when you are tired, and you can really think about your form.

Saturday- 9 Holes Golf. 20 Min Jog. Light Basketball.

This day was 90 degrees at peak. So that kicked my butt. Was able to play golf with former teammate Andrew Schilling, walking those holes was not an easy task by any means. I played pretty up and down, there is potential in me, but I don’t use it very often. The jog was very fun, ran around the nicest neighborhood (probably) in Madison before sitting in a park around sunset time. I got on my paddleboard, which was a bit of a shock to my ability to balance and some of my stability muscles. But this was a lovely night, I would’ve liked to do more for training purposes, but sometimes you gotta touch the brakes before you pump the gas. Safety first!

Sunday- 30 Min Run. 45 Min Bike. Core.

Ran with Schilling bright and early, was nice and easy. Getting hotter for sure. Went to work, after work I did a Monona loop on the bike (the lake right next to my house, around 12 miles) and that was a good day for me. Got in some push ups, Russian Twists, different versions of sit-ups, lunges, squats, and used the ab wheel. The amount of stability exercises and core strengthening you can do with no weight, or small weight is endless. Don’t overthink the weight room, just activate and strengthen those muscles, I found that important for me in developing a stronger kick in high school and helping me improve my ability to stay strong late in tough races.

Weekly Totals: 27 Miles. 105 Minutes Biked (not counting to work or to campus). 4 Hours of Golf and Basketball.

Weekly Summary: This could have been a lot worse, none of my soreness at the start of the week got worse, I still have some discomfort in my groin/hip, but I’m working through that. Being able to get outside as much as I did was nice, catching up on sleep helped my cause for sure as well. I am hoping for about 90 minutes of XT riding each week, about 40-55 miles depending, 1 workout (track, hills, tempo, fartlek, etc.) and hopefully a decent amount of core with a sprinkle of basketball and golf to really balance out my mind and body.

I firmly believe that being an all-around athlete will make you a better runner. Doing warm up exercises in high school track was great for me. Having the lunges, the quick feet drills, working both mobility and speed in different aspects was awesome. Having warm up I believe significantly decreases injury and makes it easier to get into the run as well. I also believe that to a certain level, playing basketball, ultimate frisbee, soccer, backyard baseball, football, or whatever the sport you enjoy may be, helps you grow a different set of muscles that do not directly get used in running a straight line, but can help you become a stronger runner. I also think that playing other sports can help you get your mind away from running, it was always a good reset for me, you are so in the moment when you are chasing after a ball, trying to grab a rebound, or upset because you suck at another sport. That’s just my 2 cents however!

Happy training everybody, 4th of July 5K, 4 weeks away (eye emoji)!