I've been seeing an incredible amount of progress over the last few weeks. Just finished running today's 3-mi fartlek at an easy, solid 24:00 pace- topping out at 3:51 on the sprints. I feel like I could run a 18:00-19:00 race pace 3-mi easily. Distance is starting to become less of an issue mentally, both on the runs and on the hikes. On Saturday, I did a 5-mi ruck in full rattle over on the hills at Pendleton during the afternoon. I totaled 1:10:08 (Goal: 1:20:00) and averaged 13:56, with an elevation gain of 592 ft. I'm seeing slower progress with the swimming, but I still feel pretty comfortable in the water. Last week, I reverted back to week 2 of the *new* 10-week guide, because we were instructed to complete up to week 7 before we leave (training starts week 8). I'll have a minimum of two swim days a week from now on. I've cut out the movement cards in lieu of SOFWOD metcon's. Since I have the short card memorized, I pretty much just do it when I'm crunched on time. I average 11:00 without the pullups. The conditioning is kicking in.
Some things I've learned:
- Hydrate heavily 1 hour prior, top off 10 mins prior
- Dress socks give me soaked feet and blisters
- If lethargic, I failed on caloric intake
- The importance of stretching, warming up, and cooling down
- First mile is always the hardest
- Don't think, just do; become robotic
- Never, ever skimp on sleep
- No leg day, no leg pain (...only just cut out leg ext and curls)