Yes,
The change in strategy brings skepticism, questions, confusion, and flat out disagreement.
I have been through those stages throughout my life as a runner in almost every phase of training I have participated in.
One of the greatest things I have learned as an adult is that there is a lot I do not know. And every year I get older, I realize even more how much I do not know. I also have come to the realization that "experts" usually know a lot about a subject, but often are wrong on their conclusions. If one looks back over my lifetime of 39 years, look at all of the things we (as a society) were truths and absolutes are now looked at by many with question.
Diet, exercise, and overall health are some of the best examples of these constantly changing "absolutes".
I will give one example - High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). Ask any nutritionist how they feel or what they think about HFCS and more often than not it will be received with some level of evil. Many people have gone to great lengths to blame obesity today on the entry of HFCS into the american food supply.
What one has to conclude with this think is that people gain weight because of HFCS, not the carbohydrate or caloric intake.
In my opinion, this idea is pushed so people can blame their obesity on soft drink companys, fast food companys, etc., instead of taking the ownership of their own obesity. Yes, this is hard for many people to accept, but it takes discipline and work to live a healthy lifestyle. I am guessing I will get some hate mail from this, but think long and hard about this before burning me at the stake.
Disclaimer - I consume almost Zero HFCS in my dieat. Reason - They are bad calories & bad carbohydrates. I avoid them the same as I avoid cane sugar and starchy foods.
So, what the heck does this have to do with Crossfit Endurance?
Answer - It bucks the current trend so many people believe in and have signed on to. MYSELF INCLUDED!
Yes, I look at the claims and the explanations and think "This can't be right, are these guys nuts?" (same response I get from dieticians when I say HFCS aren't any more harmful than cane sugar)
Well, like my argument with HFCS, I needed to dig deeper and do the research. I had to ignore the people who take shots at it just beacuse it doesn't fit into their fitness paradigm.
Could this work? Well, I figured there was enough data and evidence to give it a try, so that is what I am doing.
And... if you are going to say "I am doing X,Y,Z program", you have to do it to standard. So I am pushing my chips forward and going "all in".
With that said, here is what I will be doing. My goal is to do 3 Crossfit Endurane workouts (running) per week, and 3-4 Crossfit Work Out's of the Day (WODs) AT FULL SCALE. At times I will have to scale them down using this forum for a variety of reasons, will strive to do the standard WODs. (main reason - I am driving the wimp out of my body, but he still exists)
I did three "WODs" to scale last week, and my body feels trashed (in a good way). Never thought I would be deadlifting 285 lbs in an effort to run better.
Another reason for this change is minimizing burnout. I was mentally bored and burned from all of the daily 8-12 milers. This change has actually been fun.
I will be using this forum as I have in the past "This is what I am doing" or "Here is what has worked for me in the past" instead of a preaching platform.
What does success look like?
- Hard to measure, but Ice Age 50 Mile will be the best way to test my success with this program. This will be my 4th year running it, and I have improved every year. If I could run at or above my slowest time, I would call it a success.
My goal at Ice Age is to GO HARD. I want to KILL my pr of 8:41.
- Zumbro 100 Mile. It is practically around the corner. If I could break 30 hours there, I would also claim success. Although, I might take a "just finish" on that bad boy. (I really want to beat the fastest Matt who is also running)
- Kettle 100M - Will figure that one out later.
So that it is it. It is a leap of faith, but I am game for it.
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4 comments:
Since I started running ultras, the one question I always get is "What program am I on?" My reply is "Mine." Yu have to find what works for you. Time contrains; work, family, unexpected, rest, etc.
Rest probably be key as not to burn out like some I know.
Good luck with that.
The HCFC issue, it is a bad carb being 5 time denser a normal one and tougher for the body to process. My kids hate me when I bring this issue. Like you saw, we do have to take ownership of our body. When I started running(3miles, and that was more than enough at the time), I dropped 25#, It wasnt my intent, but the change came from my food intake, more so that the running. My weight has remained stable at the ultra level. They have the cause and effect backward.
I see no reason for any blowback for your comments.......stew
sounds like a great change for ya.
could you throw in a couple links to some of the data you referred to, I'm interested.
I think the way it works (for those for whom it works) is that they get in the best overall shape they can, then race often enough to keep the ability to race long. In races like a trail 100, the muscles tend to go before anything else, so the more muscle you have to work with, the longer before you crash.
I applaud your efforts to find what works for you, and admire your approach. I'm interested to see the results in your race times!
I, too, see no reason for any blowback on the HFCS issue. Everyone needs to be responsible for their own choices. Period.
I looked into this issue awhile ago, and decided to limit HFCS- but NOT for the reasons everyone was putting out there. I came to the conclusion that HFCS may compromise my liver's ability to metabolise fat while I'm running (because it's processed by the liver, not digested). I don't know if I'm right or wrong, but I did the research and made a choice. That's all I'm sayin'.
Keep rockin' it.
Psyche
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