Week one of my Endure Strong training with Jared Ward wraps up today. Overall, I think my first week went really well. I made some adjustments to my training plan as I am preparing to finish my assessment video for Mossa Power in a couple of weeks, and taught my first class in the format this this afternoon. Preparation included some practice sessions which I tied into my planned Strength Training for the week, plus a couple of extras. I was also one of the committee members for my son’s school carnival. The carnival was this Saturday so I was up at 5am and at full speed until about 3pm when we finally finished the day and wrapped up the clean-up duties. We celebrated several months of hard work pool-side after, but then it was an early night (one crammed in run streak mile), and back at it the next morning for my planned long run. I accidently ran 6 miles instead of the planned 5, but one extra mile won’t hurt!
Coaching through Endure Strong is the first time I’ve used the Final Surge app. I have to say that I’ve been impressed with it so far. The only aspect that I would say as an area for improvement (and it could be that I just don’t know how to use the feature), is I wish I could download the workouts onto my Garmin directly from the app. Not so much the easy or long run details, but the fartleks, strides, etc.
We’ve had one coaching call with Jared so far, and I’ve made use of his videos in the Resources section of Final Surge. They really helped me to make modifications to my plan and understand some of the speed work. I have never formally followed a plan like this one so didn’t know how to actually do some of these drills; those resources really helped break them down. I also like the communication on the team wall and the message board. Our coaching calls are currently anticipated to take place twice a month, with another one coming up in a couple of days. I’m looking forward to this next one as I have now officially kicked off my training.
Within the message board in Final Surge, we are given a ‘Challenge of the Week.’ Last week, it was strides, which was probably one of the more fun types of speed work that I’ve done so far. We also were given a recipe of the week of Make-Ahead Refrigerator Bran Muffins. I picked up all the ingredients early on last week and the whole family really enjoyed them. They were a great quick breakfast or snack throughout the week. I actually made the rest of the batter (it’s a large recipe) this afternoon and threw in some blueberries just to mix things up.
So far, I’m pleased with the plan. It’s definitely going to start ramping up soon, and my long runs don’t really taper until the very end. But I know it’s going to be beneficial to my training overall, so I’m excited to get further along in this process.
I also joined in the BibRave Run Streak for the month of May, and we kicked it off this Wednesday. I’m 5 days in and almost missed yesterday because of the carnival. As much running around as I was doing, none of it was a logged mile. So at the end of the night, after our friends went home and before I hopped in the shower, I got out and did a quick mile. Unfortunately, I storm was approaching so I only got half a mile in outside due to the crazy lightning, but I ran into the house and immediately hopped onto my treadmill. Got it done and no streak days missed!
Are you participating in the BibRave Run Streak?
