I knew training for this 50k would be tough. After all, this entire process is new to me. However, I assumed that the difficulty would all come from running. You know, the pain I feel in my legs at mile 22 or the mental boredom I’ll suffer at mile 31. That kind of stuff.
I wasn’t prepared to be taken down a notch in other areas of my life!
For the past year or so, my fitness routine has focused on outdoor activities, CrossFit and running….in that order. I’d fill in running when I could, but it was never ahead of the other two options. As a result, I’ve experienced some epic outdoor adventure and continual success in the gym. I can even admit that I’ve become used to always hitting bigger numbers on my lifts or faster times in my metcons.
And then I began 50k training!
Yes, I’m still going to CrossFit but it has been forced to the back burner simply because it needs to be. I’m still going three times per week, but if something gets booted, it is always CrossFit. I purposely schedule tough workouts the day before long runs, just to practice running on tired legs. And if I end up at the gym the day after a long run?! Whew. I’m calling it a win that I even showed up, but I can promise my intensity may be lacking.
We worked on split jerks this past Monday and I went into the day feeling good. Overhead lifts are my least favorite because I can’t ‘get out of my head’, but jerks are the one that I can somewhat manage. Having said that, imagine my dismay when I could barely lift a weight that was roughly 85% of my previous rack! Not for nothing, but my warm-up sets felt pretty flipping heavy too!
Marilyn, my coach and frequent running partner, likely saw the annoyance on my face. I’m not competitive in a team environment, but I sure struggle to tone it down with myself. Lifting such a small {to me} weight was aggravating the hell out of me, and she could see it. After walking off some frustration in between sets, I circled back around and told her that everything just felt heavy.
“It should, right?” she responded. “This isn’t your priority right now and you’re not going to continually gain. Just remember you’re not lacking energy; it’s just diverted into other things right now. And that’s okay.”
I nodded my head as I am wont to do when I’m listening to someone but not comprehending their words. I walked back to the barbell, and Marilyn’s message echoed in my head. She was totally right.
It’s okay that I can’t crank out reps above 110#. And it’s okay that my baseline workout two weeks ago was 14 seconds slower than last quarter. While I’m never going to love seeing the decline, I am truly excited to give this 50k a shot in a couple months.
After all, that’s the beauty of CrossFit too: the barbell will always be waiting for me.
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Have you ever experienced something similar?
25 Comments
Great read for me! I’m considering doing a 50K. I just ran my second full marathon last month and when training for that, pretty much did not make Crossfit at all for a couple months or only 1-2x a week max in the beginning of training. I’m just trying to get back into it and it sucks feeling weaker, but its amazing how quickly I can bounce back to certain lifts and WODs!
I bet! Keep me posted on how it goes, eh? I’d love to hear about that light on the other side of the tunnel 🙂
While I had many issues with triathlon that was one of them….I wasn’t great at any of them individually….and when I had to mix up my training to cross train and cover them all I was effed. At this point I’m just working to get the miles in.
I’m definitely training on less miles than most people do, but thus far, my CrossFit-running combo seems to be working {knock on wood!} I just wish I could see improvements in BOTH sports, but I guess when you’re ‘specializing’, that just isn’t gonna happen. Le sigh.
Oh man, you just took me down memory lane to my tri days! Seems so long ago!
Training for any big event is tough– something always has give, but your right cross fit will always be there and who knows maybe you’ll come back even stronger. I ran a 50K and did not do the strength training.. just ran– huge mistake. It was tough, I kept repeating, “next time I will strength train.” So you’re wise to not give it up all together.
Thanks Lisa! I’m flying blind with this so any reassurance helps!
Getting out of my head in any challenge is always the hardest part especially when it’s a physical activity. It sucks but it’ll pay off in the end.
Ha me too! If only we could shut off our brains….!
When I was training for my multi-day challenge last year, I found that everything else got harder and even my runs got slower. Your body can only have so many gains at once. But woohoo for the 50K. I can’t wait to hear about it.
That’s exactly what my coach said and it makes sense…it’s just that acceptance thing that I need to work on 🙂
The mental game is always the hardest when competing. Your coach is right, Cross Fit is not the priority right now and you just need to stay positive through the whole process.
Staying motivated during long training blocks is always hard. I can’t even imagine what it is like training for a 50k!
Thus far, it honestly hasn’t been that bad– but I always have company on the long runs. I’m hitting distances soon where my running friends are going to disappear, so we’ll see how the motivation goes then 🙂
“this isnt your priority right now”
those words are happening a lot around here as well.
hard for ME TO HEAR and yet always spot on.
Why can’t we make EVERYTHING a priority?! 😉
I totally get this. Running is my number one and always will be. I do like CrossFit, but I’ve never felt I could justify the cost b/c well…running comes first and sometimes, these legs can’t do both! That said, I know you’ll be putting your loves in order again soon!
I definitely love them both equally and I think that’s why it’s so difficult to put one ahead of the other…feels so foreign!
As a strength coach and ultrarunner, you would think I would know better but I still feel a bit disappointed when I get back to the weights after a marathon or ultra and am nowhere near where I was in the strength department! Your coach is right, though — resistance training and endurance training are not concurrent. You’re using two different muscle fibers for each activity. Although some lifting during ultra training is definitely beneficial for your running goals (reduced risk of injury, more power), endurance running sucks all the strength out of your muscles. The good thing is it won’t take you long to get back to where you were. I’m back to getting lifting PRs a month post marathon. Good luck with your 50k!
On the bright side, my leg lifts seem to be maintaining if not getting a bit stronger, so I have a small glimmer of hope 🙂 That does make me feel good that you’re hitting PRs so quickly!
AHHH killing me! I still can’t decide if after honolulu marathon I should go for a 50K or a marathon PR…yes choosing a priority
Speed isn’t my friend, so I’ll always choose a longer distance…but that’s just me! Excited to hear about Honolulu! December, right?
I love the comment that you’re not lacking energy, it’s just diverted – so true and so important to remember! I think it’s good to mix things up, but it can cause a mental battle. I get frustrated with myself when I can’t fit in everything I want or things get compromised.
“You’re not lacking energy; it’s just diverted into other things right now. And that’s okay.” <– smart coach you have there 🙂 It will be worth it when you finish that 50K! Side note, why does it seem EVERY CrossFit box paints their walls bright blue?
Haha you’re right– blue and red! Maybe there is a patriotic theme going on that I’m unaware of?!
I’ve never seriously strength trained (not proud of that but what can I say, I love running!) so this is foreign to me. But I can relate to comparing your current self to your previous self. A 10:30 mile feels like a sprint right now. But progress is progress and you are working toward a great goal!
[…] to myself that something was better than nothing, but I left the gym frustrated. As I mentioned last week, I don’t have a high tolerance for weakness in myself and I was semi-disgusted at my lack of […]