A modified Survival run...

Thursday, March 24, 2011

After yesterday’s success, almost pain-free run and the bone chilling cold that would prevent me from doing a ride outdoors, I returned to the Metropark with the idea that I’d do my first Back to Basics survival workout of the year. I’d really put it aside last summer because the running had been going so well and I wasn’t finding time for both, but I know I’ve been ignoring the strengthening workouts that I need and don’t see myself spending time in a weight room in the near future…so I need it.

I parked in my special survival workout place along River Road…that’s right…I’ve got more than one special parking place depending on what I’m doing. Anyway, as soon as I put on my gear (changing from work clothes to workout clothes while standing next to your car on a cold day with traffic passing by occasionally can be interesting) and immediately jumped into the woods. My plan was to run over to the cabins where I’ve done the workout in the past by way of the woods making sure to jump as many downed logs and sticks while weaving between the myriad of saplings as I went. This is a decent plan for someone trying to get the heart rate up, work on agility and balance, and strengthen core muscles while running…provided they can run on a clear path without tripping and falling. I actually managed to make the 10-minute warm-up run with only a couple of stumbles, deftly keeping my face from smacking any trees…or the ground.

I was breathing much more heavily than I would have from my normal jogging by the time I hit the open spaces around the cabins and slowed to catch my breath and look for my rocks. I’ve been keeping a couple of boulders weighing between 15-25 pounds laying there for parts of my workouts, but they were missing. I mean…who would want them? I ran over to the creek and jumped down the embankment to the water and began a futile search for something to replace my missing rocks. I climbed out of the creek bed and continued the search, but also checking the landscape for large logs that could be hoisted overhead, crawl under or balance on. I wasn’t planning on doing everything today, but wanted to start identifying possibilities for when there wasn’t three inches of freezing mud on the ground.

I jogged over to the Pavilion where, if I’d had them, I was planning on hanging my TRX bands to do part of my upper body workout. Jason had borrowed them last Fall and it was time to get them back. Instead, I did a set of 25 push-ups and sprinted up the old sledding hill, now overgrown with shrubs, high grasses and briars, slipping back slightly in the muddy turf with each step as I climbed…which only added to the workout. I ran back down and out into the open field where I did five sets of high knees to work the core before returning to sprint up the hill once more. I did a slow recovery jog before beginning my picnic table hop ups, which I did for about 75 seconds.

I knew I was getting close to overdoing it though I was still feeling pretty good. I decided to be prudent and began my jog through the woods back to the car. I had to keep on the trail past the car for five minutes so I could get the total workout time up to 40 minutes and was really feeling each step by the time I did return for my collapse.

Once home, I figured I needed a little more time, so I spent the next 30 minutes on the bike. Holly stuck her head in the office to tell me that she was going for a walk, so I showered quickly and joined her for a 45-minute hike, which was just what I needed to massage some sore, tired muscles.

Survival run duration: 40 minutes. Bike duration: 30 minutes. Hike duration: 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 145 running. 130 biking. 75 hiking.
Calories burned during workout: 675 running. 450 biking. 150 hiking.