The off season is in full swing for Wendy and I! She continues treadmill work and circuit training as I continue my cross training with biking and weights.
With the "designer steroid act" of 2014 my favorite substance to cycle on for training is much harder to get. With that said I have started pro hormone cycling and at my last race I purchased some new balance 880v4s for long distance training. The shoe is a step up from my 870s and offers comfort with mild stability control. It is a neutral foot placement shoe that is also light and very comfortable. I've done a couple successful test runs in them.
This year I'm more focused on my damaged leg veins (from a clot/knee dislocation/ankle sprain) and back injury then in the past and will be adding compression socks, and a more strict pre race anti inflammatory regiment right after I cycle off adding leg strength and other gains and during any extreme back flares. 2014 was a bad year as far as injuries and times. I had my best 4 miler time, but my worst half and 5k race. The focus this year is to keep injuries from causing such horrible time issues by trying to stay ahead of them and treat them better.
Other new things this year to help will be off time interval bike training, added leg resistance training throughout the on season, a longer lower dose pro hormone cycle, heart rate monitoring on most runs, more long distance untimed runs and joint stabilisation.
My supplementation has taken a few changes. Milk thistle, creatine, echinacea, and arginine have been boosted to 2x dosing to help with liver function, red blood cell health and muscle growth. I will also be having full blood work done after this pre and post cycle phase to ensure proper organ rebound function.
As we look forward to April I will start lessoning resistance training, take the bike miles up to January levels (80 miles a month), slowly re introduce 10-15 mile weeks of running, and move up to 20 mile weeks in mid April up until after half marathon.
My toes are crossed... This will be a make it or break it year for me as I gear up to possibly accept slower running times as I age.
