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So, after the moderate success experienced after undertaking my impromptu first marathon, I have decided to take on a new challenge. In this case, a good friend and I are going to head to Ohio for the Arnold Classic and compete in the 5K Pump and Run.

WHAT IS THE ARNOLD CLASSIC?

It is one of the world’s two premier bodybuilding competitions, the other being Mr. Olympia, which has been conquered by legends of the field like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu and Ronnie Coleman. Given that it is a bodybuilding festival, I am not quite sure what the rules are pertaining to performance enhancing supplements…but I am going to be representing the “all natural” contingent, and probably to my detriment! Given Schwarzenegger’s dedication not only to bodybuilding aesthetics, but to physical fitness, activity and athletics, this should be an excellent event.

WHAT IS THE 5K PUMP AND RUN?

It is basically the biathlon for gym rats with good cardio. The event involves a combination of the flat bench press and a 5K race. First, contestants bench press their body weight as many times as possible, with each completed bench press (with perfect form) being used to deduct 30 seconds from their eventual race completion time. Up to 30 reps can be used, with a maximum total deduction of 15:00. The 5K race then follows.

THE OUTLOOK

What is the outlook? Well, despite my being a pretty good athlete in pretty good shape, I am already outclassed by my buddy who is a phenomenal athlete in phenomenal shape. The event occurs on March 8, so I am beginning my training today.

Other than running a marathon for no reason a couple weeks ago, my training since before Christmas has been pretty lacklustre. By my standards, I am both slow and weak. And I don’t want to make any assumptions about the competition, but based on some of the bench press and 5K race combos from past events, these are Olympic level athletes.

DETERMINING THE BASELINE

So today, I am going to do a quick trial run to see where I am standing, pre-training, and determine how much I have to improve to get to the level required for a competitive performance on March 8. I am going to run a 5K and also do a body weight bench test. I’ll also keep track of my performance from day to day as the event approaches to determine the rate at which I progress, and how close I am to my goals as “the day” arrives.

For the sake of other runners, I will also keep track of what was on my iPod for each 5K training run. I may have a set playlist. I may just have it on party shuffle. But who knows? Some songs may arise that can shave off seconds when I need them to.

I ran a 10K race once and did it in under 42 minutes with a little bit of training. My time for the first 5K was about 19:20, so if I can get myself down to that level within a couple weeks, I will be happy. After that, I can really start to see where my potential lies. That is, unless I peaked on that one day and it’s all downhill for the rest of my life!

TODAY’S PERFORMANCE

5K Run Time: 21:35
Bench Presses: 18

iPod songs during training run (party shuffle):
1. Yaz – Don’t Go (Whorehouse Mix)
2. Linkin Park – Breaking the Habit
3. Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (1/2 Alive Edit)
4. Mariah Carey – Make it Happen

TRAINING NOTE

I almost switched songs when Mariah Carey came on but that particular song actually isn’t too bad for running, I discovered. Most of these songs are made possible by Retro-Remixes.