First, thank you again for your continued participation - I think anyone can read and research what’s been stated before but having a bit of dialog back and forth is infinitely more valuable. I do sincerely appreciate that time you’ve taken to comment thus far and share your own experiences and knowledge.
Running used to be a big thing for me, now its more of a here and there. I found that to keep getting better, I had to keep driving up the total volume while keeping some intensity in there and it just left me feeling a bit more beat up than I would like. I’m not the biggest guy but I’m not a 60kg runner either. My current goal or objective has some running in it but the running accounts for maybe 1/3 of the total time (~15 mins of the total ~45 mins or so); I’ve been doing a little running here and there to make sure I am prepared but the volume is relatively low and the focus has been more on the quality.
Most of what I push for now endurance wise is on the rower. It’s a bit friendlier on my body and I seem to be able to hold on to muscle and strength a bit better than if pushing running volume. It also rewards being a bit bigger, stronger, more powerful than running does and frankly, I would rather have that muscle and strength while still having an engine, especially as I get a bit older. I know “hybrid” is all the rage these days and while I certainly respect and even slightly envy the folks who are bigger and stronger that can run quite a bit, I think rowing is one of those “hidden gems” that more people should give a go.
I’ll be pushing to beat an old 2k PR; most 2k’s for fit but not necessarily elite are within that 6:00 - 7:00 time domain. I’ve pushed some shorter stuff in the past (500m; ~90 secs) and longer stuff (half marathons, marathons), but the 2k is one of those benchmark tests that I just have not given a proper go - I’ve tested it but not with proper training / preparation. I want to really buckle down and put in a dedicated block to see what I can do. The 2k is also one of those distances or time domains where dealing with lactate is a real thing. The 500m is highly glycolytic and it hurts bad, but only for a short period of time as its over quick. The distance stuff I’ve done I’ve really enjoyed; it starts to hurt towards the end, but more of the dull type of hurt, but you can get into quite the rhythm for most of it zone out. The 2k hurts as it’s intense, but it hurts for a while and it’s hard to see the end of it when you’re in it.
Cardarine is certainly something I am interested in and will be adding for likely the last 8-12 weeks or so. There seems to be conflicting information regarding cancer risk; from everything I’ve looked at, it seems like the risk might be a bit overblown but at the same time, I would assume if it was, pharma would have pursued the compound more aggressively based on all the other benefits it seems to have.
I had not looked much into ostarine or any of the sarms for that matter. I will have to read more into ostarine more specifically.
And I could very well be overthinking or overemphasizing the PEDs with respect to all of this. TRT has been a lifesaver for me personally; it could be that, because of how much of a positive change it’s had, I’m putting more weight on adding to it than it’s really worth.