getting energized again

Over the past two weeks I've begun to see a gradual increase in energy and strength again. As per usual Jaakko fashion though I made many big changes at once. So I have no idea what has worked or if all the changes have contributed to it.
Some notable ones:

- dropped about 50% off my school schedules. Studying for me is a huge mental burden so no doubt it has been the biggest cause fro my problems. Usually if i.e I have 15 hours of class a week, in total it takes me at least double the time to do all background stuff etc. And this fall I tried to cram so that most days were totally full of class only! Big mistake. The worst part are exams though. High stress period for one exam usually lasts 4 weeks for me (2 weeks pre - 2 weeks post) and even then simply an off-day in the exam can lead months of work totally worthless.

- the freed time has enabled me to really unwind, something I haven't been able to do in years

- diet changes: I've dropped dairy althogether, (take a lot of calcium supplements), started drinking a glass of red wine every night, have eaten mostly fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits and oatmeal (I just need my morning oatmeal!!!), have limited my coffee intake to 2 cups in the morning and then dark chocolate! (though getting bored with studying and having choc in the house is not a good combination!)

- finally I've just trained more and harder but maybe smarter as well

So some thoughts on my out-season base training. This winter I've done things differently to years past. I've really emphasized session frequency, technique, quality and recovery. I have limited my sessions to 90mis at most but might do up to 3 of those in a big day. I am bad at eating when training so I just deplete myself with longer sessions. I would need a nutrition sponsor to help get that sorted out.

So this first quality block started 4 weeks ago and will still last two weeks. I'm then headed to Italy and if I can get my bike with me and weather co-operates I'll do a cycling overload for 8 days, followed by a run camp for a couple weeks around X-mas and New Years. I'm planning a "fun" X-mas running challenge where you can join me (virtually).

well I guess that's about it for now!


-JH

Great quote...

stolen from the Rappstar:

"it's about the process. It doesn't matter what you do tomorrow and it doesn't matter what you did yesterday. It's about today, and making today count. That's especially true in training, but it's the same mentality that I carry into racing. Focus on the task at hand, not on the finish line, or the next part of the race, but what it is that is right there in front of you in the moment."