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The Bounce
News and Notes from nuBound
September 2011 - Vol 5, Issue 2
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Greetings!

Welcome to the September 2011 edition of The Bounce from nuBound!

Tough Mudder Ice Wall
Last weekend I was catching up with an old friend and she asked what I was training for. The question stopped me because I don't have any races on my schedule--the last event I did was the Tough Mudder race/obstacle course back in May. I'm not planning for a long trip, like my Rocky Mountain bike ride last summer with my brother. There is no particular end point or goal that I'm working toward right now.

None the less I have been working hard doing some sort of training every day. Although, three days a week are rest days, where I'm working on skills like swimming or active recovery like stretching. The other four I'm going all out with a max effort in each.

It occurred to me that I'm training for life.

I like this notion. I like that these three words--training for life--can convey so many different meanings and can be read in several different ways. I'm training so that I'm prepared to do anything I'm called upon to do in life. Training in order that I can live. It's the training that allows me to live. Having trained, I'm strong enough to live through anything.

It's fun to parse these multiple meanings.

After four years of doing CrossFit as often as six days per week, I'd taken the past year largely off and substituted much more running, biking, triathlons and trail running in as my workout.

I shifted gears again this summer and for the last three months have been working exclusively on strength. I've put together my own program that combines two different schemes with an emphasis on lifting heavy weights for a low number of repetitions (specifically, I'm using Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 programming cycles together with the lifts in Justin Lascek's Strength & Conditioning Program). Unlike CrossFit programming which includes some sort of metabolic conditioning workout in each session, I'm only doing two short metabolic conditioning workouts per week. And again using heavy weights for short durations.

It's been working. Over the last three months I've increased my one rep max lifts back up to the levels they were at when I was training CrossFit consistently.

And so it goes. Eventually it will be time to shift gears again. There's nothing better for you than surprising your body with new challenges. For now, I'm enjoying the gains in strength and looking forward to how that will reflect once I shift back to a more standard CrossFit format.
Lean Horse 100 Mile
While I've been going short in my running this summer--limiting myself to intervals, repeats and hills--several of my friends have made the decision to go long. Two friends decided to do their first ultra-marathons this summer: Bill signed up for the Lean Horse 100 (100 miles) in Spear Fish, South Dakota and Deanna signed up for the Rio Del Lago (100K) in Folsom Lake, California. Both are marathoners and trail runners, but these were the first ultra distance races for each of them. Who knows--maybe I'll get pulled into this as well. Just not this fall!

Bill and I have done trail runs, hikes and we both did the Mount Washington Road Race last year ("Only One Hill", it's just that it's 7.6 miles and 4,650 ft vertical gain). After that race, Bill mentioned that he was looking for bigger challenges. Later that summer Bill mentioned that he enjoyed going out on trail runs with the ultra-marathoners because, he said with a wink, "They run so slow!"

Come this spring and Bill announced that he'd signed up for a hundred mile race. I did offer to crew and help support him on the race, but got off easy when he told me that I'd have to travel to South Dakota.

Bill's after race report sounds promising: "Long, slow and hot! It was almost 100 degrees during the day. After 26 hours and 24 minutes and a new collection of blisters, it was over! Other than foot blisters which really slowed me down the last 18 miles, I really felt very good. I don't have any real muscle soreness or stiffness. Although I certainly wanted it to be over, I never had an urge to stop before it was done."

Deanna, who runs several marathons a year, decided on a whim (well, okay, maybe more like short notice) that she would shift gears up to an ultra distance. So with a bit more than two months headway she committed to a 100K race.

Deanna's after race report came back positive as well: "HOT HOT HOT HOT.......Hi Mark, I did it....completed my first 100K in 14 hours and 50 minutes! The weather was crazy hot....100 degrees! It was quite a challenge and at points I asked myself why? But in the end it was great coming across the finish line and having family and friends there with big smiles and hugs to greet me. I ended up 1st female but I think there were only a handful of people that ran the 100K! I won a tile with the RDL symbol on it and received a belt buckle for finishing. Thanks for your support and encouragement! I'm using my nuBound now to recover and heal:-)"

100 degrees, 100 kilometers and 100 miles! I'm glad I'm committed to strength right now so I have a built in excuse not to do this. But, who knows what the future holds?
The new label for nuBound
Speaking of going long ... another friend, veteran ultra-runner Eva Casale will be doing the 50 mile Ocean to Sound Relay on Long Island this month as a one woman team. This will be the third year in a row that Eva will cover the 50 miles from Jones Beach on the Atlantic Ocean to Glen Cove on Long Island Sound. And, as in all her races, she'll be running to raise money in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Please take a look at TEAM EVA ... and give her a vote of support with as little as $5, $10 or $20 dollars.

Committed Like a Pig

I love the old adage about pigs, chickens and their respective involvement with breakfast. The chicken is interested, but the pig is committed.

Eva is a remarkable person, truly committed to making the world a better place. While she doesn't mention it on her Team Eva web site, you should know that five years ago, Eva discovered she was a tissue match for someone she didn't know, but who needed a kidney. Eva decided to give up one of her own kidneys to save that person's life.

It was in the process of recovering from that commitment that Eva found her vocation as an ultra-runner, and since that time she has completed over two dozen marathons and more than a dozen ultra events. If you're looking for a worthy cause, you won't find a better one than TEAM EVA.

Watch for us at races and other events this coming year. And always, make sure to catch The Bounce from nuBound!

Sincerely,

 nuBOUND
Mark Connell
nuBound

phone: 888.480.NUCLeotide (or 888.480.6825)