Monte's Log, Featuring a Debate About Dotard Genetic Potential with an Ant
Brief Background
Long time lurker who recently registered. I'm 31 years old, 6'4", and 220 pounds. When I graduated college 10 years ago, I was the same height, but weighed 165 pounds. After college, I found the gym and packed on a lot of muscle over the subsequent 2 year period of working out, but did the typical broish bench/curl-centric exercise routine while rarely squatting or deadlifting (i.e. I maxed out at 330 benching and 235 squatting). Since then, I've periodically gotten back in the gym for six months or a year at a time, but never consistently.
Recent Workouts
Recently I've been doing 3 sets of 40 pushups and a total of ~25 pullups 4-5 times a week, and also playing squash a few times a week. Since beginning squash (which is very high impact), I've been having periodic weakness/pain in my right knee, but other than that no issues except chronically tight hamstrings.
My Plan
This is yet another starting SS log; I'll be doing the version with pullups/chinups and without PCs (at least to start), but I will be deadlifting for the first two weeks or so until my gains start to level off. I've read the book and the wiki, and I'll be starting on Monday. I've purchased the appropriate lifting shoes and chalk, and I'll be doing foam rolling on my problem areas post-workout. I also plan to purchase Assess and Correct or something similar shortly in order to work on my flexibility issues.
My diet is pretty decent, with a lot of skim milk/oatmeal/protein bars/lean meats/veggies on my good days (at work), with the occasional pizza and beer meal thrown in (usually weekend). I haven't been doing daily tracking, but I plugged in an average day and I'm around 2800-3000 calories with around 150 grams of protein a day.
My Goals
This log is mostly for motivation. I'm not entirely sure but I would guess my body fat percentage is somewhere between 20 and 25%, so I guess I'm shooting for recomposition. I don't have many specific goals in mind. My main goal is to get stronger, especially in my lower body (maybe get my combined deadlift+squat+bench to 1000 lbs). I'd also like to tighten up my midsection and lose the 15 or so pounds of extra weight I'd guess I'm carrying around my gut.
Questions
-I'm assuming I should up my protein intake? I'm not really sure what my LBM is exactly, but if I use the 1.5 g/lb LBM I should up the protein to between 225 and 250 g/day, correct? I can throw a scoop or two of protein powder into my morning and evening skim milk if necessary.
-I'll be lifting at lunch with a coworker; this is the first time I haven't worked out in late afternoon. I am used to having a post workout recovery shake (e.g. Endurox) and then eating my largest meal of the day 1-1.5 hours post-workout. Should that still be the case if I'm working out at lunch -- that is, should my lunch be dinner sized, and should my dinner portion be smaller?
-Any tips or suggestions from other tall guys, or people who've trained with tall guys, about pitfalls or things to avoid involving squatting would be welcome. I suspect the answer is "shut up and lift weight" but just thought I'd ask.
Thanks in advance!
8/27
AM
Recovery + Strides
7.37 mi - 1:10:54/9:37 pace/142 HR
8/28
AM
Medium Long Run
12.0 mi - 1:43:46/8:39 pace/152 HR
Yesterday was a recovery run with 100m of strides after every mile, and today was just a 12 mile medium long run; both were fine enough, but it was a bit warm so the heart rate got up a bit. I may push Friday's threshold run to Saturday in hopes that it will be a bit cooler; I'll see how I feel.
8/29
AM
A
Single Leg Press: +90 x10x3
B
Incline Bench: wu, 155 x8, x7, x5
Seated Calf: 3x14
Back Extensions: +5 x10, x9, x8
Facepulls: 4x15
C
Abductor Machine: 2x15
Adductor Machine: 2x15
D
Seated DB OHP : 45s x13, x11, x9
DB Incline Row: 70s x10, x9, x8
E
Hip Thrust Machine: +45 x10x3
Dips (paused): +0 x10, x9, x8
F
Bayesian Curl: x13, x12, x10
Lateral Cable Raise: x11, x10, x9
Fine.
8/30
AM
Threshold
7.0 mi - 57:54/8:16 pace/154 HR
Plan was to do up to 6 miles at threshold, but by the time I got out to run it was 75+, humid, and my legs were still heavy from Wednesday, so I did two threshold miles at around 7:20/mi and then called it.
8/31
AM
Recovery
6.0 mi - 57:52/9:38 pace/127 HR
9/2
AM
Long Run
20.0 mi - 2:50:53/8:33 pace/146 HR
The boys had a soccer tournament all weekend, so I figured an extra day of rest before my 20 mile run wouldn't the worst idea; my sleep wasn't great, but the weather was perfect and this went quite well. The first two hours were a pretty nice build, where I averaged around 8:41/mi for the first hour and 8:34/mi for the second hour with my HR staying below 150 the entire time outside of hills. I pushed it a bit in the last 6 miles, and did that at an 8:21/mi pace, with an average HR of around 156. Hopefully a sign of good things to come.
looks like a really nice run at that HR. Are you aiming at 3.20 ish this time around?
Yeah, 3:20:00 is my main goal, with a stretch goal of 3:15:00 if everything goes perfectly. Unlike last time, the plan is to reign myself in over the first twenty miles and negative split this come hell or high water.
9/3
AM
A
RFESS: +40 x12, x11, x10
NG Pullups: +25 x9, x8, x6
B
Bench: wu, 185 x7, x6, x5
Facepulls: 4x15
Seated Calf: 3x14
Farmer's Carries (85 lb DBs): x~40 sec, x~35 sec, x~30 sec
C
Step-ups: +30 x8x3
Incline Bench: 60s x11, x10, x8
DB Pullovers: 75 x13, x11, x8
D
Leg Adductor: 2x15
Leg Abductor: 2x15
E
Overhead Rope Tri: x13, x11, x10
DB Hammer: 25s x14, x12, x9
Fine; not a sore as I'd expected to be.
9/5
AM
Medium Run
8.0 mi - 1:09:01/8:37 pace/147 BPM
Stayed up late the night before for a fantasy draft, so sleep was poor, plus I was probably still fatigued from Monday's run - this was supposed to be 14 miles, but I was dragging, so I cut it down to 8.
9/6
AM
A
NG Pullups: x14, x10, x9
Walking Lunges: 35s x10x3
B
OHP: wu, 100 x10, x10, x7
Pallofs: x10x3
Seated Calf: 3x14
Facepulls: 4x15
C
Leg Ext: x20, x14
Leg Curl: x19, x13
D
Low Incline DB Bench: wu, 70s x8x2, x7
HLRs: x8x3
Adductor Machine: x15x2
Abductor Machine: x15x2
E
DB LTEs: 30s x14, x11, x8
DB Preachers: 20s x12, x11, x10
Fine.
9/7
AM
Recovery
6.0 mi - 57:42/9:37 pace/128 HR
Doing these recovery runs on a dirt/gravel trail by my house; hopefully will end up being helpful for overall wear and tear, plus a different bit of scenery.
9/8
AM
Marathon Pace
3.0 mi - 25:04.3/8:22 pace/138 HR
12.0 mi - 1:31:00.5/7:35 pace/167 HR
0.47 mi - 3:55.6/8:26 pace/160 HR
Pretty happy with this; I missed the first two marathon pace workouts in this plan because I was doing that mini speed block instead, so being able to hold sub-3:20:00 marathon pace (~7:38/mi) for 12 miles was pretty nice. I also set a new half marathon PR at 1:40:08 which, while nice, is annoying that it's over 1:40:00. I have an actual race in a month where hopefully I can do a bit better than this. Cooldown was supposed to be a full mile, but I cut it at two hours flat because I was tired.
9/9
AM
A
Single Leg Press: +100 x8x3
B
Incline Bench: wu, 155 x8, x6x2
Seated Calf: 3x14
Back Extensions: +5 x10x3
Facepulls: 4x15
C
Abductor Machine: 2x15
Adductor Machine: 2x15
D
Seated DB OHP : 50s x8x3
DB Incline Row: 70s x11, x10, x9
E
Hip Thrust Machine: +45 x10x3
Dips (paused): +0 x10x2, x8
F
Bayesian Curl: x14, x12, x10
Lateral Cable Raise: x12, x11, x9
Still fine enough; I'm not really lifting super hard, but given the running volume and gradual weight loss (186 this morning), maintaining is probably ok.
9/10
AM
General Aerobic
8.0 mi - 1:11:15/8:54 pace/141 HR
K.
9/9
AM
A
Single Leg Press: +100 x8x3
B
Incline Bench: wu, 155 x8, x6x2
Seated Calf: 3x14
Back Extensions: +5 x10x3
Facepulls: 4x15
C
Abductor Machine: 2x15
Adductor Machine: 2x15
D
Seated DB OHP : 50s x8x3
DB Incline Row: 70s x11, x10, x9
E
Hip Thrust Machine: +45 x10x3
Dips (paused): +0 x10x2, x8
F
Bayesian Curl: x14, x12, x10
Lateral Cable Raise: x12, x11, x9
Still fine enough; I'm not really lifting super hard, but given the running volume and gradual weight loss (186 this morning), maintaining is probably ok.
what's the lightest you've been over the last few years?
This is it; I walked around at 215-225 from the time I got back into lifting after college, and I pretty much maintained that until I cut down in 2013 to very sickly looking 186-ish (spurred by losing a ton of weight after a bad norovirus bout). I'm definitely "healthier" (whatever that means) now; might try and lose another pound or three before the marathon, but I'm not going to sweat it too hard outside of trying to keep the diet under control.
9/11
AM
VO2 Max Intervals
3.0 mi - 26:21.9/8:47 pace/137 HR
0.5 mi_1 - 3:18.3/6:37 pace/171 HR
0.5 mi_2 - 3:09.2/6:18 pace/175 HR
0.5 mi_3 - 3:12.6/6:25 pace/173 HR
0.5 mi_4 - 3:13.1/6:26 pace/174 HR
0.5 mi_5 - 3:15.4/6:31 pace/174 HR
2.0 mi - 17:55.8/8:57 pace/154 HR
Legs felt heavy today, so this didn't go extraordinarily well; I was targeting 6:25/mi pace, so I kind of got there but it was a grind. Walked during almost all of the recoveries (2:30), which I needed more for my legs than for my HR to come back down. Looking forward to a light day tomorrow.
9/12
AM
Recovery
5.0 mi - 49:28/9:53 pace/129 HR
A
RFESS: +40 x12x3
NG Pullups: +25 x9, x8, x6
B
Bench: wu, 185 x6, x5, x4
Facepulls: 4x15
Seated Calf: 3x14
Farmer's Carries (85 lb DBs): x~40 sec, x~35 sec, x~30 sec
C
Incline Bench: 65s x8, x7
DB Pullovers: 75 x14, x11
D
Leg Adductor: 2x15
Leg Abductor: 2x15
Pressed for time so cut a bit from the lifting.
9/13
AM
General Aerobic
7.0 mi - 1:02:36/8:56 pace/143 HR
9/16
AM
Medium Long Run
14.0 mi - 1:58:34/8:28 pace/150 HR
Went on a rafting trip in West Virginia this weekend, so pushed my Sunday run to today; ran the first half with a buddy at around an 8:41 pace, then picked it up for the last 6.5 miles or so. I felt decent enough.
Got sick my first day at the conference last week, and given it started in my head and went to my chest, it took until today when I felt decent enough to get back out there.
9/26
AM
General Aerobic
90:00 - 10.31 mi/8:45 pace/149 HR
HR was a little high, so definitely not all the way back, but it felt good to get back out there. Planning on trying a 5-7 mile tempo run to prep for my half marathon next weekend, then there are five more weeks until the marathon. Definitely not great timing on this illness, but I'll give it the ol' college try for sure.
that's no good re the illness but you've done so much great running this year that you must have a really strong base right now and a ton of miles in your legs. I'd think/hope that 10 more days is plenty to get your legs back and get the lungs working properly again.
9/27
AM
Recovery
5.0 mi - 48:39/9:44 pace/134 HR
9/28
AM
Medium Long Run
14.0 mi - 1:58:18/8:27 pace/158 HR
that's no good re the illness but you've done so much great running this year that you must have a really strong base right now and a ton of miles in your legs. I'd think/hope that 10 more days is plenty to get your legs back and get the lungs working properly again.
Thanks, hopefully. Today's run was at about 10 average beats higher than my last 14 right before I got sick, so I'm still not close to being all the way back.
Hopefully I can actually race the half next weekend, but if I can't no big deal; I'll just try and cruise in around 1:40 or so and enjoy myself and call it a pure training run. 3:15:00 stretch goal is almost certainly dead at this point, but 3:20:00 may be possible if I recover in the next few weeks.
Managed a few half hour treadmill runs while on the road and 7 easy-ish miles on Thursday, but I'm still not close to all the way back. My stretch goal for this half was 1:35:00, but given I'd had barely any effective training the last three weeks, I figured 1:37:00-1:40:00 was the best I could realistically hope for, depending on how my lungs actually worked.
10/5
AM
Fort Ben Half Marathon
1:39:28 - 13.1 mi/7:36 pace/176 HR
As is my wont, I went out a bit hotter than I'd planned, though for this one I didn't really see the point in cruising in given I'd probably have to self regulate because of the lungs regardless.
I averaged 7:26/mi for the first 10 miles but couldn't hold it; I had to stop to walk a few times in miles 11 and 12 (7:52/mi and 8:07/mi, respectively), but managed to hold on at something approximating respectable for the last 1.2 miles (as measured by the watch, about a 7:30/mi pace). My average HR was 180 or above from mile 5 onwards, so I didn't really leave anything out there; given how my other runs in the last three weeks have gone, I'm still 8-10 beats higher than I was before this illness, so I managed to not blow up too much at least.
Given this was a reasonably hilly course (~350 feet of elevation gain) and the health stuff, I'll take it. I ran it with a buddy that hadn't really trained, and he ran a pretty comfortable sub-1:45:00, which he was pretty happy with, so a good day all around.
Given how this went, 3:15:00 is definitely not in the cards for the upcoming marathon and 3:20:00 probably isn't either; assuming I can get in three good weeks of training and a good taper, I think the plan is going to be running a 1:44:00-1:45:00 first half and hopefully negative split enough to come in under 3:25:00. Disappointing, but life happens I suppose.
That data does not compute with previous data. Let's see heart rate graph.
Wasn't it hot today? How do you write a long post with a slow poke half marathon time and not mention hot weather? ��
I've been sick for three weeks (likely with pneumonia, since one of my kids has it), and I've run under 40 miles (excluding this race) in that time period. Believe me, I'm not pleased that this is the situation, but it is - hopefully I can be fully recovered by November because this illness has been annoying.
Was it hot or not? It's hot as fack tomorrow.
That looks like a well run race, heart wise.
It was under 60 degrees at the start, so no.
Congrats on the half and hope you feel better soon.
Re marathon times, somewhere in my memory I had that the translation from half to full is to double it and then add 10%. So 90 min half = 198 min full.
Idk if accurate?
It was 61F 8:30am and 68F 11am.
Not too bad but still will affect 1:40 half tall runners. Maybe 5%. Add the other stuff and that mostly explains it all.
One thing for sure, there was nothing left in tank here. But I still think it was run better than the marathon from earlier this year.
