End of Base 3: I Am Glad December Is Over

I even got to meet Craig Alexander, one of my Iron Man heroes.

This weekend marked the end of my third base periodization phase.  Similar to previous phases, expanding four weeks, this phase focused on endurance and continued to develop on the previous months work.  The entire principle of the base phase is to push endurance with moderate intensity. As this is my first year of training I am focusing heavily on volume building.  Unlike the previous two phases, this phase has been worse one yet.   I am just happy that it and December are almost finally over and I can move on to the next month of training.

Besides being a smart way to break my training up, a four week training cycle is a great way to allow me to have a clean fresh start if a month does not go as planned. I knew the holidays would provide wrinkles, but I caused some of my own this month.  Early in the month, I took myself out for a week and some because I got over zealous in my leg lifting routine.  It just reaffirmed what I am always telling myself, my primary job to myself is to remain injury free and not to cause myself injury.  I am still learning how to train, but it was a stupid injury.  Looking forward, I will take risks with my training occasionally, but I need to be smart about the risks chosen and how they might overall impact future training.  As I have a plan spanning months, my goal is to keep myself healthy enough to consistently train and not to cause myself injury reducing my ability to train.  Live and learn, make a mistake once just not twice.

My favorite present from my wife this Christmas. ( In triathlon a clydsdale is a class group for people over 220 pounds)

Besides taking myself out of training for a couple of weeks, I also managed to get a cold/flu shortly after starting a good week of training.  This is another area where I take caution, work to get rid of illness so I can return to my training without additional delay because I decided to train through it.  I try to make smart decisions and in this case I pretty much missed most of the month of training due to one situation I could have prevented and the second I had no control over.

Base 3 Phase Highlights

• Swam a mile for the first time and have bumped up intensity of swim workouts
• Taught myself backstroke and I am improving both free style and back stroke mechanics
• Continued to take pilates and can feel my abs under my fat, really freaky!
• Posted what I believe might be my two best posts (here and here)
• Joined USAT and Signed up for my first Triathlon
• Firmed up my 2013 schedule
• Even though I struggled I did not fall off target.  I rested and got better and picked back up.
• Turned 39 this month.
• Got to meet Craig ‘Crowie’ Alexander
• Retired my first pair of running shoes

Weekly Breakdown

Phase comparisons.

There were few things to highlight this phase as I said, injury and illness have been the dominating factors of this training phase.  It is obvious I tried to keep working in a positive direction and I kept focused through the issues. With three months or 97 days to go til I commit and put a lid on this second major milestone(running my first 5k was the first one) I set for myself back in May 2012, I need to put together   solid training months that are more similar to the previous training phases.  I believe I have the resolve to complete this and to perservere through this bad month.  Unlike my old self, I can handle the adversity and not loose focus. I have the will power and mindset to push through a bad month now.  So here is looking forward to the next base phase of training. Til next time.

Related articles

• 2013 A Look Ahead (chatterdoesfitness.wordpress.com)

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