Advantages of Having a Home Gym

One of the advantages of having a three car garage is that I got to create my own little home gym.  It is so much easier to get out of bed when the alarm goes off when all you have to do is put on shoes and walk out to the garage to get your workouk in -- as opposed to braving the elements outdoors or driving to some gym or other facility.

It took me about two years -- ever since we moved into our home here in Idaho -- but I've fianlly got the third car section of our garage all set up just the way I envisioned it.  I've got some leather couches and a large rug out there so it feel homey and is comfortable for people to hang out while I or someone else is working out.  I also have a treadmill and a decent set of free weights.  To top it off, I've got a 32'' TV on the wall with my PS3 out there so I can watch Netflix to pass the time.  There is one more thing -- just a little something that gives it a 'mancave' flavor -- I've got a poster of Arnold with a quote that really resonates with me: "The worst thing I can be is the same as everyone else."

This morning I took it pretty easy on the treadmill.  I walked 5 miles at a very comfortable pace, never pushing myself and keeping it set at a small incline.  The purpose of today's workout was to finish up my recovery from the 60-miler I did over the weekend and get any remaining lactic acid on its way out and allow me to hopefully go for a medium distance run tomorrow.

For good measure, I did a quick circuit upper body weightlifting session.  I make a deliberate effort to lift weights just a little bit a couple times a week, targeting my upper body, because I have a feeling that by the end of the 100-mile Ultramarathon next month I will be using every ounce of strength from everywhere in my body towards some capacity.  I know from firsthand experience that even carrying a water bottle for long enough while running gives me sore biceps the next day, so I'm just trying to cover all my bases.

My First 60 Miler

I ran my first 60 miler yesterday in preparation for the Yellowstone-Teton 100 coming up on September 19th.  I ran 30 miles out and 30 miles back.  I hid an ice chest on the side of the road 20 miles from my house so I could have access to it at both 20 miles out, and when I was 20 miles from home (40 miles completed).  This worked pretty well, for the most part.  The ice chest was fine -- I don't think anyone noticed it or messed it up or anything; the only issue is that the first time I came to it after 20 miles I wasn't really really really tired yet.  It would have been great to have had it right at 30 miles, but there is only so much I can do with these type of makeshift preparations I'm doing on my own.

I learned a few important things today:

First off, PB&J sandwiches work pretty well for me -- like they do for so many other runners.  I ate two sandwiches and wish I would have made/packed a third.

Second, I don't think eating immediately before starting my run was a good idea.  I had some oatmeal in the morning while I was getting ready to leave and it left me feeling like my chest and stomach were full of gunk.  I think I should aim to eat about an hour before starting the race.

Third, taking small doses of Ibuprofen every hour seemed to work well for me.  I've pretty much always got Ibuprofen flowing through my veins, but yesterday was the first time I made a concerted effort to keep taking it during a workout.

Finally, I think it would be to my advantage to start off the run with a large-ish sports drink in hand.  Yesterday I didn't have any hydration other than water until I hit mile 20, and I had plenty of Powerade once I had hit that first 'aid station' (ice chest), but I think it would have been a lot better to be drinking a mix of water and Powerade the entire time -- starting at mile 0.