On the Schedule

Running taught me that having events on your calendar holds you accountable. It’s a powerful tool and gets you moving when you don’t feel like it. Yesterday I registered for 3 upcoming events. This helps me prioritize the things I need. Here’s what I’m training for, and what’s on my schedule.

For the past 4 months I’ve been training for the Seacoast Open, an Olympic weightlifting meet on April 20. I’ve been very focused on my technique and gaining a better understanding of the lifts (the snatch and the clean and jerk). I’ve hired a coach. He analyzes my technique and writes the program. It’s been an awesome experience and I’ve really enjoyed training these days, it’s much different than it has been for 6 or 7 years. Shoutout to York County Barbell, and to all my coach friends who’ve told me to hire a coach.

This week the CrossFit Open kicks off. Each year they release 3 weekly workouts testing to find the fittest person on earth at the CrossFit Games. I was a longtime hater after seeing the first CrossFit fail videos come out around 2009. Fast forward to 2015, we thought my friend was fit so we entered him into the Open thinking he could make it to the Games. Minutes into the first workout we realized we were drastically underestimating the skill and fitness level of those athletes and the sport has only evolved forward since then. While I haven’t been preparing specifically for it like I have in the past, I’ll keep my Open streak going another year. It’s an opportunity to push it hard and see how I stack up.

The rest of my plans rely on the Mount Washington Auto Road Race lottery. I’ve entered the random drawing for the 7th time, hoping this will be my year. If I get in, it will provide a fun training opportunity. I’ll have 7 weeks from the weightlifting meet to shift gears and get into running up big hills shape. The race is 7.6 miles with 4650 feet of gain. I look forward to the experiment. If I don’t get in, I’ll be on the search for another race to train for in June or July.

That’s what on my schedule and what I’m training for. What are you training for these days? What do you have on your schedule in the coming months?

Justin Miner

@justinminergain