Gunnning For Strength Standards

My new goal is to knock out the "Intermediate" level strength standards listed here: http://www.strstd.com/

Of course, those standards are somewhat arbitrary, but hey... if you don't aim at something when you're pissing, you'll end up splashing pee everywhere. 

I've already surpassed the deadlifts, so now I'm focusing on squats (3x per week) and bench and overhead press (2x per week).  My hope is that within 2 months or so, I can hit those standards and then give myself the prize for "Totally Intermediate Superstar."

I'm still trying to follow the leangains diet, with an average of about 2500 cal per day.  I think this should be a good amount for building muscle.  We'll see how it goes.

Extra Bonus: If I can add 10 lbs. to my deadlift, I'll be doing double my bodyweight.  That will rock!

The Longest Run Of My Life (So Far)

Last Monday (labor day) I completed my first half marathon.  A total of 13.1 miles made this run the longest of my life so far.  I had minimal training, doing a 7.6 mile run one week earlier, and a session of half mile sprints a few days later.  Other than that, I had done a little running a few weeks back, but nothing that even came close to the 13.1 mile mark.

The surprise for me wasn't that I finished, but how fast I was able to run!  The 7.6 mile training run was done at a 11:30 minute/mile pace, and the half marathon I completed at a 10:43 pace (including hills!)  My total time for the race was 2:20:25.

Following my mom's advice, I started slow and tried to just settle in to a comfortable pace for the long haul.  She said it's better to let people pass in the beginning, and then start passing people later in the race.  At the 5 mile mark  I was surprised to be running under a 10 minute mile.  I felt great, not tired at all, and from that point on I didn't let anyone pass me.  On the contrary, I must have passed a dozen or more people before the race finished.  (There were less than 200 people running the half-marathon so they were pretty sparsely distributed on the course).

At the last mile, I crashed.  I felt so hungry and had to start walking.  I think I could've finished 5 minutes faster if I had gotten some more calories at the rest stops.   When I finished, I drank 2 sodas, a Gatorade and a bottle of water.  I ate a ton of potato chips, brownies, m&ms, and some organic berries and cottage cheese (from home.)  Basically, I pigged out.  I learned my lesson for next time.  Although, now I have my sights set on a full marathon ...2013, perhaps?