Couch2Boston

I've written this post in my head about 16 times during the month of January, so I guess today is the day to actually type it up!   This is the first time since 2011 that I don't have a spring marathon to get ready for and that's because I didn't start running until 2012 😀  I usually take a break in late fall/early winter to rest or do something different before getting back on the marathon training horse to prepare for the next Boston.  Since Boston 2021 is still in limbo, so am I.   Like everyone, I wish the world was normal but it isn't and I'm trying to embrace the opportunity to keep mixing things up. I like to test my limits and for almost a decade now that has meant swinging for the fences and finding new and unique ways to hurt myself.  The twisted logic being that if I don't go just past my limits how do I know if I've found them?  Until I'm injured there is almost always room to try doing a thing just a little bit more/harder/faster/whatev...

Power Block 50 Problem The Power Block 50's are convenient because they let you adjust the dumbbells from 10 to 50 pounds in 5 pound increments.  That makes for a lot of weight in a small footprint as long as you need a 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 or 50 pound weight.  The problem is that sometimes a 5 pound jump in weight is just too much in a dumbbell.  For example, going from 25 to 30 pounds is a 20% increase in weight.  What do you do when that is too much?  With the right tools, some steel and some magnets you make a way to adjust them by 2 1/2 pounds instead. The Solution - Attach Steel with Magnets

Let's face it, most of us with a running or a triathlon background know that we should spend more time lifting weights or at least doing strength exercises more than we do.  With the horror show that 2020 was it created the perfect circumstances to really throw myself into something new to see what would happen, so in September after Can Lake 50 was cancelled and I no longer found peace with running I stopped in favor of something completely different.  Weight lifting 😱 This shift didn't come out of nowhere.  In November 2019 a friend Jake introduced me to the weight room at the Y.  At the time it was a way to do some preventative maintenance to get my body ready for the stress of trying to tackle  The 444  and during that part time first foray into lifting  I learned a lot from him and saw some nice gains, but with all of the interference from swim/bike/run at the time it was different than the most recent time around. In the 12 weeks from mid Se...