Strength Training – Back, Biceps and Legs – Oct 11, 2008

After a rather easy run this morning, I decided to do some strength training. I missed the strength training on Tue & Thu of this week. So, I was getting back to the gym after almost 9 days. The break affects your ability to improve and I could notice that I was able to do the routines that I usually do with the same weights. I have never done any Leg exercises since I was doing all the running but the coach told me that the leg exercises would only improve the strength of the legs and stronger legs mean faster running! The leg exercises are at the end of the list below (46-61). Apparently, the hip adduction and abduction exercises are good stretch exercises for runners.

In the list below, you will notice that I switch from one body part to other. This gives more time for the body part to recover in between the exercises and you can push yourself to do more reps or weights with this rest.

Workout Date	Workout Name	Body Part	Exercise	Order	Set #	Reps	Weight	Tempo	Notes
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Cardio	Elliptical	1	1	0	0		130 Calories
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Abs	Upper Abs	2	1	30	0		Lying on the ground, with hands on the back of head, raise the legs up and bring the upper body up to left and right so that it's almost touching the knee
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Abs	Leg Raise lying, Lower Abs	3	1	20	0		Lying on back, hands behind the hip , lift the leg and bring it down leg and
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Chest	PushUps	4	1	15			Facing down on the ground, with hands on the side right by the chest, do pushups. Make sure that hands are as close as possible to the chest
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Hips	Side Bend on Machine	5	1	20	25		On the back machine, with weight in one hand, bend to the left side with the right hand on the other hip. On theo ther side of the machine, do the same on left side with hand on right hip.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Back	Back Bend one Machine	6	1	20	25		One the back machine, take the weight and place it close to chest and bend forward and come back up until the body is in one plane
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Abs	Upper Abs	7	2	30	0		Lying on the ground, with hands on the back of head, raise the legs up and bring the upper body up to left and right so that it's almost touching the knee
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Abs	Leg Raise lying, Lower Abs	8	2	20	0		Lying on back, hands behind the hip , lift the leg and bring it down leg and
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Chest	PushUps	9	2	15	0		Facing down on the ground, with hands on the side right by the chest, do pushups. Make sure that hands are as close as possible to the chest
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Hips	Side Bend on Machine	10	2	20	25		On the back machine, with weight in one hand, bend to the left side with the right hand on the other hip. On theo ther side of the machine, do the same on left side with hand on right hip.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Back	Back Bend on Machine	11	2	20	25		One the back machine, take the weight and place it close to chest and bend forward and come back up until the body is in one plane
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Abs	Upper Abs	12	3	30	0		Lying on the ground, with hands on the back of head, raise the legs up and bring the upper body up to left and right so that it's almost touching the knee
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Abs	Leg Raise lying, Lower Abs	13	3	20	0		Lying on back, hands behind the hip , lift the leg and bring it down leg and
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Chest	PushUps	14	3	15	0		Facing down on the ground, with hands on the side right by the chest, do pushups. Make sure that hands are as close as possible to the chest
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Hips	Side Bend on Machine	15	3	20	25		On the back machine, with weight in one hand, bend to the left side with the right hand on the other hip. On theo ther side of the machine, do the same on left side with hand on right hip.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Back	Back Bend on Machine	16	3	20	25		One the back machine, take the weight and place it close to chest and bend forward and come back up until the body is in one plane
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Abs	Ball upper abs	17	1	20	0		Lie on the ball with hands on ears and come up with upper abs
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Abs	Machine Leg Pullup	18	1	20	0		With both hands on the side of the machine, bring both legs slowly up so that you are hanging in the air and bring it back down
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Chest	PushUps	19	4	15	0
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Hips	Side Bend on Machine	20	4	20	25		On the back machine, with weight in one hand, bend to the left side with the right hand on the other hip. On theo ther side of the machine, do the same on left side with hand on right hip.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Back	Back Bend on Machine	21	4	20	25		One the back machine, take the weight and place it close to chest and bend forward and come back up until the body is in one plane
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Abs	Machine Pull Ups	22	1	20	0		On the Abs Pull machine, lie down on the back and pull your weight up
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Back	Cable Rope Pull	23	1	12	30		On the cable rope machine, facing the machine, feet shoulder width, pull the rope and pull the cable to the side. Make sure you slightly leaning backward.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Biceps	Bicep Curls	24	1	16	20		On one leg and do Bicep Curls. Stand on opposite leg to the hand holding the dumb bell . Alternate legs for every 8 reps
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Quadriceps	Machine Squat	25	1	12	90		With feet shoulder width, place the weight support on the shoulder and lift it up by pushing the legs with the heels and bring it back down.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Back	Hyperextensions	26	1	12	105		Wide grip rope pull sitting
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Biceps	Straight Bar lift	27	1	12	40		With feet sholulder widh, hold the straight bar at shoulder width and bring it up to chest and take it down again. Make sure that the rod is not in a resting position at any point
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Biceps	Machine Pull Ups	28	1	10	95		On the supported pull up machine, place the legs on the leg rest and the hands on the top (wide grip) and bring the body up and back down until arm is extended.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Back	Cable Rope Pull	29	2	12	35		On the cable rope machine, facing the machine, feet shoulder width, pull the rope and pull the cable to the side. Make sure you slightly leaning backward.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Biceps	Bicep Curls	30	2	16	20		On one leg and do Bicep Curls. Stand on opposite leg to the hand holding the dumb bell . Alternate legs for every 8 reps
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Quadriceps	Machine Squat	31	2	12	135		With feet shoulder width, place the weight support on the shoulder and lift it up by pushing the legs with the heels and bring it back down.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Back	Hyperextensions	32	2	12	105		Wide grip rope pull sitting
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Biceps	Straight Bar lift	33	2	12	50		With feet sholulder widh, hold the straight bar at shoulder width and bring it up to chest and take it down again. Make sure that the rod is not in a resting position at any point
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Biceps	Machine Pull Ups	34	2	10	95		On the supported pull up machine, place the legs on the leg rest and the hands on the top (wide grip) and bring the body up and back down until arm is extended.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Back	Cable Rope Pull	35	3	12	35		On the cable rope machine, facing the machine, feet shoulder width, pull the rope and pull the cable to the side. Make sure you slightly leaning backward.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Biceps	Bicep Curls	36	3	16	20		On one leg and do Bicep Curls. Stand on opposite leg to the hand holding the dumb bell . Alternate legs for every 8 reps
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Quadriceps	Machine Squat	37	3	12	180		With feet shoulder width, place the weight support on the shoulder and lift it up by pushing the legs with the heels and bring it back down.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Back	Hyperextensions	38	3	12	105		Wide grip rope pull sitting
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Biceps	Straight Bar lift	39	3	12	40		With feet sholulder widh, hold the straight bar at shoulder width and bring it up to chest and take it down again. Make sure that the rod is not in a resting position at any point
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Biceps	Machine Pull Ups	40	3	10	95		On the supported pull up machine, place the legs on the leg rest and the hands on the top (wide grip) and bring the body up and back down until arm is extended.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Leg Press	41	1	20	150		On Leg Press Machine, Lie down, with legs at the bottom of the plank and push the Leg Press
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Seated Leg Curl	42	1	20	85		On Seated Leg Curl Machine, place the legs below the cusion and push it up.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Calf Extension	43	1	20	120		On calf Extension Machine, push the plank with top portion of the leg. Make sure that the impact is left in the foot joint
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Hip Adduction	44	1	20	175		On the Hip Adduction machine, push the thigs towards the centre and back
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Hip Abduction	45	1	20	100		On the Hip Adduction machine, push the thigs away from the centre and back
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Leg Curl	46	1	12	110		On the leg curl machine, place the legs below the cusion and lift it up until there is tension and bring it down making sure there is tension on the way down as well
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Leg Extension	47	1	12	100		On the leg extension machine, with the legs below the cusion, push it up. Make sure the impact is on shin and knees
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Leg Press	48	2	20	150		On Leg Press Machine, Lie down, with legs at the bottom of the plank and push the Leg Press
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Seated Leg Curl	49	2	20	85		On Seated Leg Curl Machine, place the legs below the cusion and push it up.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Calf Extension	50	2	20	120		On calf Extension Machine, push the plank with top portion of the leg. Make sure that the impact is left in the foot joint
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Hip Adduction	51	2	20	175		On the Hip Adduction machine, push the thigs towards the centre and back
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Hip Abduction	52	2	20	100		On the Hip Adduction machine, push the thigs away from the centre and back
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Leg Curl	53	2	12	110		On the leg curl machine, place the legs below the cusion and lift it up until there is tension and bring it down making sure there is tension on the way down as well
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Leg Extension	54	2	12	100		On the leg extension machine, with the legs below the cusion, push it up. Make sure the impact is on shin and knees
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Leg Press	55	3	20	150		On Leg Press Machine, Lie down, with legs at the bottom of the plank and push the Leg Press
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Seated Leg Curl	56	3	20	85		On Seated Leg Curl Machine, place the legs below the cusion and push it up.
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Calf Extension	57	3	20	120		On calf Extension Machine, push the plank with top portion of the leg. Make sure that the impact is left in the foot joint
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Hip Adduction	58	3	20	175		On the Hip Adduction machine, push the thigs towards the centre and back
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Hip Abduction	59	3	20	100		On the Hip Adduction machine, push the thigs away from the centre and back
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Leg Curl	60	3	12	110		On the leg curl machine, place the legs below the cusion and lift it up until there is tension and bring it down making sure there is tension on the way down as well
11-Oct-08	Back, Biceps & Legs	Legs	Leg Extension	61	3	12	100		On the leg extension machine, with the legs below the cusion, push it up. Make sure the impact is on shin and knees

The Long Run Done Fast – Oct 11,2008

I was happy to know that today's long run was "only" 11 miles ! Having done 15 and 16 miles in the past 2 weeks, this was relatively a shorter run for me. So, I decided to run with the faster group (the Greg's group that does 9:00-9:30 min/mile). These guys usually run through some hills and start about half an hour earlier (at 6:30 am). I reached the spot about 5 min late but the group was still waiting for some early starters who finished about 4 miles starting at 5:45 am ! These guys were doing 18 miles.

We started running at 6:40 am. There were about 14 runners and this group had more men (12) unlike the more than 10min/mile group that I usually run with which has more girls. The interesting part is that our pace leader (of 9:00-9:30 min/mile) is a women (in her 40's). After a slow start, we picked up pace and finished about 3.5 miles in 32 min (about 9:00 min/mile). This was a good pace for me as I am targeting doing atleast 6.5 miles an hour so that I can do the DRC half marathon, 13.1 miles, (on Nov-4) under 2 hours. We took a 2 minute break so that everyone can have water etc.. I took my first and the only packet of "Gu" gel at this point. We proceeded to do another 3 miles and took a break at a park to have some water. We did about 6.65 miles in an hour. This was a moderate difficulty route since it had some small challenging hills. We went back to our starting point after running another 2.5 miles. Took a water break again here and went to do another 2 miles. I was happy to see that finished 11 miles in 1:40:16 which comes to 9:06 min/mile. This is the perfect pace at which I want to run the half marathon. This doesn't count the breaks that we took (3 breaks of 2 min each). Looks like all those interval and tempo runs on weekdays are finally paying dividends in increasing the speed !

When I started this marathon program, my average speed for 9 miles used to be 4.8 miles an hour. I have improved about 1.8 miles an hour to 6.6 miles/hour with 3 months of training ! I hope I can improve at least another 0.5 miles an hour in the next two months. This would be a great pace to have going into the marathon and I might just break the 4:00 hour barrier although I am targeting 4hr 30 min right now. Let's see what the next 2 months have in store for me !

Activity	Type	Activity	Type	Miles	Time (HH:MM:SS)	Avg. Pace (min/Mile)	Avg. Speed	Calories Burnt	Avg. Heart Rate
Morning	Morning	Evening	Evening
Running	Long Run			11.01	1:40:16	9:06	6.6	1419	155

Easy Run on Treadmill – Oct 9,2008

After a hard interval workout yesterday, I decided to do a easy run. Usually my Thursday runs are at work and more often on a treadmill. I have another colleague at work with whom I run on a treadmill on Thursdays. I went to the office gym at 12:00 pm and started running at an easy pace of 9:30 min/mile. I realized that I could push it a bit and increased the speed to 9:00min/mile. I was able to keep this pace and finished 2 miles in 17:30 min. I walked for about 1 minute and started running again at 9:00 min/mile for the next 1.5 miles. I finished doing about 4.15 miles in37.5 minutes at an average pace of 9:04 min/mile.

 

Here are the stats from the treadmill

Activity	Type	Activity	Type	Miles	Time (HH:MM:SS)	Avg. Pace (min/Mile)	Avg. Speed	Calories Burnt	Avg. Heart Rate
Morning	Morning	Evening	Evening
None	None	Running	Easy Run	4.15	0:37:30	9:04	6.64	515	161

Interval Training – Oct 8, 2008

After doing the tempo run yesterday, I wanted to stick to my original schedule and finish the track run today. It would have been a overkill if I attempted this in the morning. So, I decided to do the track in the evening. I reached the local school 400 m track at 6:40 pm. According to the FIRST program (http://www.furman.edu/first/fmtp.htm) , which I am following for my Marathon training, I was supposed to do 2x(6x400m) i.e 2 sets of 6x400 m runs with 1.5 min break between each of the 400m runs and 2.5 min break between the 2 sets. So, totally I am supposed to run 12 rounds of 400m. When I started the track workouts about a month back, I used to do the 400m in 2 min. I decided to speed up a little this time. One of my colleague who used to be a track and field athelete runs the 400m in about 1:20 min. That is my long time goal but I wanted to cut atleast 20 sec for my 400m runs today. I was successful in doing that for 11 out of the 12 rounds. Here is a break up of times

1 mile warmup – 9:30 min

12x400m breakup:

Run #	Time
1	1:38
2	1:38
3	1:33
4	1:34
5	1:35
6	1:35
7	1:35
8	1:38
9	1:38
10	1:43
11	1:39
12	1:39

 

Total: 19:25 min , Average per round: 1:37 (That's about 6:38 min per mile !)

2.75 miles cool down: 27 min

Here are the average stats from the GPS. As you can see, the average heart rate is really HIGH! This means I unduly pushed myself. Need to be more careful of this when I increase my pace from next time.

Activity	Type	Activity	Type	Miles	Time (HH:MM:SS)	Avg. Pace (min/Mile)	Avg. Speed	Calories Burnt	Avg. Heart Rate
Morning	Morning	Evening	Evening
None	None	Running	Interval: 1mile/12x400/2.75miles	6.75	0:55:52	8:16	7.2	826	172