The Flintstone's Closet

Add another three letter acronym after my name, BDD.  I have been told I suffer from body dysmorphic disorder.  I am not sure it's a true case but I think everyone has moments where they are just not happy with how they look.  After a week of inactivity and two decent effort weekend runs, I felt the steps I made forward were in reverse.  I also think athletes are harder on themselves and sometimes we focus on how we look rather than on how we feel and perform.  
The past couple of run club events that I promoted for CW-X, I have been asked about my training, what I wear and how long I recover.  Discussions among different body types inspired this week's blog and I would like to remind everyone to choose what fits and works for you. Collecting product information and listening to opinions is always valuable but purchase products that work for you not just because someone else says that it works for them.  I am a huge proponent of product testing at running stores.  If you hear that your running store's weekly run is holding a product sponsored wear test, make it a point to attend.  There is no better way for a risk free, no cost product trial than to put it on and pound out a 4-6 mile run.  It beats 30 seconds on a treadmill or a quick try in the dressing room. 
For those that remember and for those who don't know, the Flintstones (cartoon version) family that we watched on Saturday mornings consisted of Fred, his wife Wilma, daughter Pebbles and Dino (the DOG-asaurus).  

The next paragraph may be too much personal information, so feel free to skip down.  
My shoe size is an 8 with a width of 4E.  Yes, it is an 8 4E!  Fred Flintstone like and the joke among many of my circles is my foot is as wide as it is long.  It does limit the brands I choose because of width and right now New Balance 890 and 910 Trail are in my closet.  As for bottoms, I wear CW-X. Combine the weight of Wilma and the height of Pebbles and you would be correct in saying I wear CW-X Women's XS.  Yes, Women's XS.  My bottoms I am wearing this season, especially for my races are the CW-X Endurance Generator 3/4 tights.  It is what fits and works and I have no problem announcing it.  As for tops, I stretch the spectrum of many brands but I prefer The North Face tops (Better than Naked) and Sugoi outwear.  Yes, they are always size Small and sometimes (depending on cut) I have to go Extra Small.  In summary, I am 5 foot 7 inches tall and I weigh 122 lbs.
This year I have joined the back half of the first decade of the Men's Masters category (that's 45-49)! I admit that I cannot pound miles like I used to in my thirties and I am adamant that before and after runs I HAVE to warm up, warm down, stretch and ice.  This goes out to all runners that suffer from those little aches and pains, nagging injuries and downright awful reminders that season after season we need to take the proper steps to enjoy our racing seasons.  
Before every run, whether it's speedwork, tempo runs or long weekend runs - warm up!  It could be a quick 5 minute brisk walk, or an easy mile or two jog.  Your body (legs, lungs, heart - basically every organ) needs some wake up time.  Get your workout done and warm down with special care. Walk around for 5 minutes, stretch, rehydrate, walk around some more and stretch again. However long it took you to warm up, double it and make sure that you warm down.  For me, that is an essential part of my recovery formula.  It enables me to repeat long mileage runs and allows me to log 100+ mile weeks at the peak of my training.  As you can see from the column on the right, I have another sponsor - Pacific Health Labs.  As I have posted, nothing better for a post run recovery drink than Endurox mixed with chocolate milk.  It's a serious chocolate shake!
This upcoming week's training schedule is as follows:
Sunday - 2 hour am run, 1 hour pm run (both easy 9:00 pace) *
Monday - 30 minute am tempo run (7:50-8:00 pace), CW-X run club pm run *
Tuesday - 60 minute run  (easy recovery pace) *
Wednesday - marathon speedwork or hill work *
Thursday - day off
Friday - 60 minute am tempo run (8:15 pace) *
Saturday - 3 hour am run, 2 hour pm run *
Two last things you may want to know, first my body usually falls comfortably into a 9:00/mile pace and second the * means 30 minutes of core and balance work.