Plateaus

Plateaus. They happen to all runners. They are those stretches where the legs feel like they are in quicksand. They are those stretches where ever run feels like a grind. I can honestly say I'm at a plateau.

This plateau should not be unexpected. Following the marathon, it has been a perfect storm of events that have contributed to a slow down of activity: shorter days, cooler/colder temperatures, a head cold, busier stretch at school, and, oh yeah, a little thing called a wedding to start planning for.

I guess I should not be surprised by the lack of ambition or energy to run. I guess I should not be too frustrated that what running I have done since the marathon (a few runs between 3 and 5 miles each) has not felt like the best miles of my relatively short running career. Although I am not too upset about my current status, I cannot help but feel some type of let down that some of that training I did for the marathon is no longer applicable. In other words, I highly doubt my ability to go out and run 13 miles next weekend -- I feel as if I would need to build back up to that mileage.

But I like to find a silver lining in everything.

As I trained for and as I ran the marathon, I found that one of my greatest limitations was strength, or a lack of it. In the weeks leading up to the marathon, on a couple of my long runs, I felt my core give out in the last few miles -- I really struggled to maintain to my posture. During these runs (and on the marathon), my quads screamed at me to stop as I approached mile 20.

Instead of trying to run my way through the plateau to find new heights, I'm going to approach this off season from a different direction. Sure, I am going to continue to run, but I'm not going to focus on adding mileage on my long runs until after the New Year. Instead, I am going to work on my leg and core strength.

A few times a week, instead of lacing up the shoes at 5:30 AM, I intend to do a series of morning exercises. I have a somewhat scripted routine (see below), but will mix up the exercises to keep the routine fresh -- there are no shortage of core and "runner" exercises, so this should be pretty easy to do. In short, the goal has been to find a set of exercises that I feel to be challenging but that I know I can perform with confidence.

The Morning Routine

• Plank (hold for 60 seconds)
• Lower-Body Russian Twist with leg extensions (12 reps)
• Push-Ups (60 seconds -- max reps)
• Hip Rock and Raise (12 reps)
• Single-Leg Deadlifts (12 reps each leg)
• Bridge (hold for 60 seconds)
• Superman (10 "lifts" hold for 3-5 seconds each)
• Squats -- Feet pointing forward (20 reps)
• Squats -- Feet pointing outward (20 reps) 
• Clams (20 reps each leg)
• Wall sit (hold for 60 seconds)
• Side shuffle (5-10 steps each direction, 3-5 reps)
• Side plank (60 seconds each side)