The past 13 weeks have encompassed some sweat-wicking training and simultaneously stress-filled times. From the jetlag recovery of Japan to multiple roadtrips for caregiving while fulfilling my full-time job to healing a gnarly proximal hammy squawk with countless hours of rehab, somehow I managed to train smart and keep juggling the demands of life. There were some moments when I didn’t think I’d keep everything afloat and felt like I was failing. However, by focusing on each individual day, I kept pivoting and adapting to make the best gains this off-season.

Top 5 Gains

1. Plyometric power: I’ve been able to nail my single leg lateral jumps and single leg box jumps. Single leg stability is paramount to running.
2. Pull-ups: I’ve improved my full range of motion for better quality. I still have a ways to go for my pull-up goal, but I finally have made some progress.
3. Heavy lifting: I wanted to pack a punch this off-season by lifting heavy with reduced mileage. I’ve been able to beef-up my trap-bar deadlifts and finally dig deep into the rear-foot elevated split squat.
4. Fuel: I’ve made sure to keep food as a mainstay during the #OffSzn. I haven’t over-indulged but I certainly haven’t gone into starvation mode. I’ve done well with making deposits for my energy expenditures.
5. Periodization: I’ve finally embraced the principle of periodization and I’m loving it. There are times during the year to empty the tank and go full throttle. There are also times when recovery reigns supreme. Going to the tank and not letting your body catch-up is a prime recipe for failure when you least expect it. I don’t know about you, but I certainly love having an edge up on injury prevention.

Top 5 Take-Aways

1. There is always something you can do for yourself each day. If I was road-tripping, I learned to chug my 3L of water. If I was caregiving, I learned to eat everything. If I was working, I learned to meditate during break time. If I was training, I learned to push when the body approved and coast when the body wanted a cruise-control day.
2. Sleep is my ace in the hole. Demands of life meant my battery was drained fairly often. Fitting in training around work meant some 3:45am alarms to jam out the miles before saving lives. This required a bedtime of 7:30pm at the latest. My sleep routine helped me to get some quality shuteye to keep the engine going. I still have many improvements to go to meet my sleep requirements, but I’m making decent progress.
3. Heart rate training is tough with rising temps. I’ve had a difficult time adapting to rising temps this year, more than other years. I’m still optimizing my iron stores and working on lung improvements as well. Oxygen-carrying capacity deficits with high humid mornings has meant some days have been hard to breathe and stick to target heart rate ranges. I’ve been beefing up my iron intake and working on breathing tutorials, so finally adapting to summer weather.
4. Gym time is zen time. Some weeks meant 6+ hours in the gym, which luckily for me is a quick commute down the stairs. I knew that I had to work on left side stability and get after it by lifting heavy. I was a tad over zealous early on and sacrificed a hammy for 6 weeks. I was fortunate to still train through it safely and hit the ground hard on rehab drills to remedy it. It honestly was a good awakening that I needed to cool my jets and not push to failure. I didn’t just give up when the body squawked but used it as an opportunity to “learn what I could do and get to work.” And honestly, some weeks my gym time kept me together when so many other parts of life were falling apart. Nothing better than jamming out and lifting weights while releasing buckets of stress.
5. “The results you achieve will be in direct proportion to the effort you apply.” I brought the heat to the gym, the sweat to the pavement, and the thirst for improvement to training. I am now hungrier for success. And I played my cards right to be setup for part 2 of the Redemption Tour.

Things I’m looking forward to during Week #1 of #MarathonSzn:
⁃ drop-week to let my body and mind catch-up a bit
⁃ supporting session days to unwind early for extra sleep
⁃ prepping for a return to the track with new spikes ready to dig that turf

Follow along this season if you’d like! If my off-season gains determines my marathon season games, then it’s going to be worth the journey across the pond (again).