I'm having a rare public moment of self-doubt.
Just putting that out there.
1) I doubt what I am as a runner. Most people find some race that they love more than the other ones, mostly that coincides with the distance that they are fastest at, though its indeterminate whether there is a causal effect. After 3 years, I still don't know. I'd LIKE to be a miler, but there's no way. And since I'm not willing to put in the effort to do the shorter intensity workouts and really, really try to see if I can improve at that distance, clearly its not that important to me. I have the most goals for the 5K, but I think that's driven more by my inherent competitive nature, and the 5K is the common denominator for most distance track runners. I currently consider myself a 10K runner, but a lot of days lately I doubt that too. If I can't run a solid 5K, obviously I won't run a solid 10K. I'm too uncoordinated and injury prone for the steeplechase. I'm probably most suited to a half marathon, but my legs can only take so much road running and we're back to injury prone. I also can't get over my unrequited love affair with the track, so I'd really really like it, if whatever I am... was a track distance.
2) Related to not knowing what I am, is that since I don't know what I am, my training lacks focus and direction. I just had this pang of doubt, what if The Master Plan, the one I spent all summer researching and tweaking and obsessing over... what if it's completely wrong? Why am I doing so much tempo work at the 6:30-6:50 pace range, when that's basically too fast for half marathon pace and too slow for 10K pace? If I want to run a 5K, why bother with this crap? Shouldn't I be doing more of the 7:00 - 7:30 steady state runs and then shorter faster cruise intervals at like closer to 5K goal pace (6:10-6:20) miles and 1000m repeats? gah. I realized that I really just end up doing tons and tons of the types of workouts that I'm good at, which are, hill climbs and threshold tempo work--and when those tire me out... I get upset when there's a bad result. I realized that I have a lot of trouble executing on the theories... I make plans but then I just kind of change them around based on emotional responses and whims. I haven't DONE a steady state tempo in months, I still mostly do my base work too fast, and I do my trackwork in a very disordered and undisciplined way. Sometimes it feels like I don't know what I'm doing at all.
Sunday 01/28: 12.1 miles, 1:37:44 Palomar long loop, fantastic long run. Warm and sunny despite the forecast of rain. Felt really good and relaxed, averaging ~8:15's for the first 5 miles, then ~7:50 after that. Pushed a little bit in the last mile cuz I felt impatient... I still face the same problem that I feel like my legs are capable of so much more than my cardiovascular can support. Was kind of surpised at the overall time, faster than I should have been running, I suppose, but its hard to hold back on a day you feel good.
Monday 01/29: off. Mondays are my rest day now. I guess this is more logical given that I've got more time flexibility on the weekend, so I should make use of both weekend days.
Tuesday 01/30: 9.5 miles, tempo work at the track. Was supposed to do some pacework for the race on Saturday, but instead got sucked in by curiosity about the 3-2-1 ladder workout courtesy of Crosby Freeman via KB.
Intended: 3 miles (6:40, 6:40, 6:40), 5 minutes of rest, 2 miles (6:30, 6:30), 5 minutes of rest, 1 mile (6:10 - 6:20).
Actual: 5K (6:42, 6:44, 6:42, 0:45, total = 20:53), 2 miles (6:47, 6:51, total = 13:38), crushing realization that I'm in HORRIBLE shape and my body has failed me, 10 x 100m striders on grass. 20 minutes of warm up and 20 minutes of cool down. Arches felt sore, so didn't use the Nike Frees.
*Public Service Announcement--Please put earmuffs on small children*
AAAAARRRGHHHHHH... fuck, fuck, fuck! I was running 13:05's last week for 2 miles and that felt GOOD. I don't know what happened, but my body just failed me today. I felt good on the warmup, good, relaxed and breathing through my nose through the first mile, and then it just all fell apart. I want to just say, a bad day is a bad day--but I also have this overwhelming feeling that its not just that... the greater problem is my refusal to accept that I'm not as fast as I think I am. My threshold pacing is too aggressive, and only on my best days does it actually click and everything feels good and easy and sustainable. Then on all of the other days it feels like I'm desperately chasing the clock around the track, beating myself over the head as to why I can't do it this week, this day, this one time. Why can't it just always be like that day where I felt like I could run 6:40's forever. What is different about today?
I need to swallow my pride and take a step back. It's like this--people seem to think I'm just being obstinate about not accepting the training theory where you don't do your trackwork as fast as possible... but it's not that... it's that I'm being obstinate about the fact that I refuse to accept that "as fast as possible" isn't so different from what I'm doing. I haven't raced a 10K on the track in about 3 years, but I have this unfailing belief in myself that if I were to, the next one I do, I'll be running 39:30. The truth is, I'm not there yet. If I had to race a 10K tomorrow, the truth is that I would be lucky to be sub-41:00. Given that, maybe I shouldn't expect to do tempo work and consistently run in the 6:30-40 range. 42:03 felt so amazingly easy that one day, but it was 1.5 months ago, and things are different now ... I need to learn to be able to train without constant injury, I need to learn to let go when things are breaking, I need to learn to be more humble and more patient.
The reality is that letting go is scary. I believe that I got as far as I've come today by having the audacity to set my goals high, to believe that I could do more than people (including myself) thought. Logically I know that this cycle of pride and expectation and failure is actually preventing my progress as an athlete, but there's a part of me that thinks I'm losing part of my competitive edge, eroding mental toughness by admitting: I'm not as good as I think I ought to be.
Wednesday 01/31: 6.25 miles, 51:59 Huntington easy on grass median. I can't believe Ian and Mark run hundreds of miles of medians... those obnoxious little round seed pod thingies from all of the trees make it impossible not to twist your ankles! Felt fine, physically... frustrated psychologically...
Thursday 02/01: ~7 miles, Susan's magical mix of tempo intervals. No watch, no clue about pacing or even overall time. 5 minutes (tempo), 5 minutes jogging, 15 minutes (tempo), 5 minutes jogging, 5 minutes (tempo), 2 x 400m (tempo pace).
So much fun, I miss the team... and running in the morning! Everything goes by so much faster when you have people to talk to and run with. Felt easy and relaxed, not stressed out about pacing. There's something about Susan that inspires confidence. 400m pacework felt strangely comfortable today, 98 seconds (~6:35 pace), then 85 seconds (~5:43 pace). Breathing felt totally under control. Decided to go for the 2 mile on Saturday, this will be my first one ever. Should be interesting.
Friday 02/02: ~4.5 miles, 37 minutes of light jogging around the south field, then 6 x 100m striders. Everything feels good, definitely on the fat side, but running in general is starting to feel a bit more natural in the past two days. The race tomorrow is going to be a total crapshoot. If I feel like Tuesday, then I will probably embarass myself for all of eternity with some sort of 12:30-12:40 type result. If I feel like Thursday, then I have a good shot at 12:00 -12:15, which is ideal pacing for a 5K later in the season. Anyways, off to bed!
Saturday 02/03: ~7 miles, CMS Alumni race with Ryan, Chris, JRo, Dr. Rossi. 26 minutes warm up (ran hard for 5 minutes), 2 miles in 12:32 (6:14, 6:18), incredibly embarassing 200m relay leg, 22 minutes cool down. Ate kumquats. Delicious.
Disappointed with race time, but felt I did the best I could, already felt pretty worn out and tired on the warm up, kind of like Tuesday... blah, but ran intelligently for the most part, fell apart in the last 100m, got passed... couldn't catch Mouzakis. Maybe next week.
Target Mileage: 45 Miles
Week Actual: 46.35 Miles
Last Week: 40.95 Miles
Glad I did the 2 mile, and Lindsay kicks butt! I'll have a 5K PR for sure this year if I can stick with her. Great to see everyone again, got a lot of ribbing from Goldhammer, but managed to make it through a whole day without a snide comment from KBeck.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Week of 01/21/2007 - 01/27/2007 (Base Phase)
I'm boycotting the Superbowl. I'm also boycotting ESPN and all major news agencies, because I do NOT want to read about what happened.
It's almost 10 pm and I've barely moved from my "face down in pillow" mourning state, save for the consume some ice cream for comfort. This was the year, that our patchwork team had made it so far, despite the odds... despite being matched against stronger teams, what MY team had was heart and determination. Why, oh why... *sobs into pillow*
Sunday 01/21: ~13 miles in the Arroyo turning back at Devil's Gate, distance uncertain. 1:54:04 first long run in a very long time. Pleasantly warm, rather strong breeze (headwind both ways!?) and not even a twinge of ankle pain. Felt great to be out on the trails again, low intensity, relaxed capillary growing! Biking yesterday helped ease the soreness in quads, but still feeling a little "flat" in Ian terminology.
Monday 01/22: off. Too much work and too many distractions--swapping my Saturday off day for Monday off day. Hope this doesn't come back to haunt me next week.
Tuesday 01/23: 9 miles, 20 minutes warm up, 2 x 2 mile at threshold pace, 1 x 1 mile acceleration, 20 minutes cool down in Nike Frees. Moderately acceptable but confusing tempo workout. 13:06 (6:31,6:35), 2 min. rest, 13:05 (6:32,6:33), short chat with nice Econ consulting man, 6:10.86.
2 miles felt really good. Legs were totally relaxed, pace felt easy and smooth... *however* something is still really off with my breathing, have been coughing all day unrelated to exercise, felt sort of short of breath. Frustrating, not sure if this is an allergy/asthma type thing or a bacterial thing, so have been dragging my feet on starting antibiotics.
Tried a mile @ 5K race pace to test my speed... totally pathetic. Basically it all comes back to this breathing problem. It's really a deeply disturbing and bizarre feeling, my legs did not burn, I consciously had to hold back the pace and shorten my stride, because of this feeling that my throat was constricting and I felt like I was drowning. I keep having this recurring vision of horror, that one day I will wake up and my legs will have walked away, and the following note will be taped to my collar bone:
"Dear Heart and Lungs,
Its been a great 24 years, but we are really sorry, this relationship just isn't working for us anymore. It's not you, its us--we're not ready to settle down, we want to see other cardiovascular systems, we want to be part of a body that could win races, that will support us up to our full potential. The last year has been very hard for us, we've always been there for you, but you've always let us down when we needed you the most. There have been one too many illnesses and infections and problems that we do not understand. We are bored, and we want to run fast. We hope that you will understand, and there will be no hard feelings if we meet again in a race. We wish you the very best, goodbye.
Sincerely,
Right Leg and Left Leg"
Wednesday 01/24: 6.25 miles, 52:21, Huntington very slowly. Nice easy run, not too cold. Felt a little soreness in my ankle but went away after a few miles. 4 x 100m striders on the South Fields. Feel really out of shape. Striders used to feel like flying... now they feel like my throat is constricting. Seriously... what is wrong with my lungs?!?! Lots of coughing today at work.
Thursday 01/25: 2.5 miles, 21:36, South field laps. More distractions, so little time! Just wanted to get the heartrate up.
Friday 01/26: 5 miles, 51:24, Bailey until fallen tree... mehhhhhhh. My favorite trail is now completely obstructed by a very large tree having fallen lengthwise about 29 minutes up. I guess this means my Bailey to signpost PR will forever remain 2 seconds short at 45:02. This is really an incredibly sad turn of events. This run is what made me the runner that I am... its also the most beautiful, wonderful, perfect run ever. The gradient gets progressively steeper past the camp, until you get to the switchbacks, but that's not the worst part... the worst part is the uninterrupted steep climb up to the saddle and then that last scramble where you can see the sign post up above. It's almost like a progression run that way, like the first 3/5 are manageable, and then the intensity goes up but the scenery becomes so breathtakingly amazing that its worth it to just be up there. Anyways, goodbye favorite run....
Saturday 01/27: 5.2 miles, 44:21 easy run up and down Orange Grove at night. Waited until it stopped raining, I'm such a pansy ass about the rain. Felt okay, I guess I'm not very tired because the hill climb got cut short, but tried to run slow anyways. My body is still not really used to training again... I desperately want to get to the point where running 40 mpw just feels easy and natural.
Target Mileage: 40-45 Miles
Week Actual: 40.95 Miles
Last Week: 33.25 Miles
Trying to be flexible this week, depending on how well the running system is recovering. The signals are confusing, but circumstances conspired to keep the mileage on the low end. Next week will be interesting...
It's almost 10 pm and I've barely moved from my "face down in pillow" mourning state, save for the consume some ice cream for comfort. This was the year, that our patchwork team had made it so far, despite the odds... despite being matched against stronger teams, what MY team had was heart and determination. Why, oh why... *sobs into pillow*
Sunday 01/21: ~13 miles in the Arroyo turning back at Devil's Gate, distance uncertain. 1:54:04 first long run in a very long time. Pleasantly warm, rather strong breeze (headwind both ways!?) and not even a twinge of ankle pain. Felt great to be out on the trails again, low intensity, relaxed capillary growing! Biking yesterday helped ease the soreness in quads, but still feeling a little "flat" in Ian terminology.
Monday 01/22: off. Too much work and too many distractions--swapping my Saturday off day for Monday off day. Hope this doesn't come back to haunt me next week.
Tuesday 01/23: 9 miles, 20 minutes warm up, 2 x 2 mile at threshold pace, 1 x 1 mile acceleration, 20 minutes cool down in Nike Frees. Moderately acceptable but confusing tempo workout. 13:06 (6:31,6:35), 2 min. rest, 13:05 (6:32,6:33), short chat with nice Econ consulting man, 6:10.86.
2 miles felt really good. Legs were totally relaxed, pace felt easy and smooth... *however* something is still really off with my breathing, have been coughing all day unrelated to exercise, felt sort of short of breath. Frustrating, not sure if this is an allergy/asthma type thing or a bacterial thing, so have been dragging my feet on starting antibiotics.
Tried a mile @ 5K race pace to test my speed... totally pathetic. Basically it all comes back to this breathing problem. It's really a deeply disturbing and bizarre feeling, my legs did not burn, I consciously had to hold back the pace and shorten my stride, because of this feeling that my throat was constricting and I felt like I was drowning. I keep having this recurring vision of horror, that one day I will wake up and my legs will have walked away, and the following note will be taped to my collar bone:
"Dear Heart and Lungs,
Its been a great 24 years, but we are really sorry, this relationship just isn't working for us anymore. It's not you, its us--we're not ready to settle down, we want to see other cardiovascular systems, we want to be part of a body that could win races, that will support us up to our full potential. The last year has been very hard for us, we've always been there for you, but you've always let us down when we needed you the most. There have been one too many illnesses and infections and problems that we do not understand. We are bored, and we want to run fast. We hope that you will understand, and there will be no hard feelings if we meet again in a race. We wish you the very best, goodbye.
Sincerely,
Right Leg and Left Leg"
Wednesday 01/24: 6.25 miles, 52:21, Huntington very slowly. Nice easy run, not too cold. Felt a little soreness in my ankle but went away after a few miles. 4 x 100m striders on the South Fields. Feel really out of shape. Striders used to feel like flying... now they feel like my throat is constricting. Seriously... what is wrong with my lungs?!?! Lots of coughing today at work.
Thursday 01/25: 2.5 miles, 21:36, South field laps. More distractions, so little time! Just wanted to get the heartrate up.
Friday 01/26: 5 miles, 51:24, Bailey until fallen tree... mehhhhhhh. My favorite trail is now completely obstructed by a very large tree having fallen lengthwise about 29 minutes up. I guess this means my Bailey to signpost PR will forever remain 2 seconds short at 45:02. This is really an incredibly sad turn of events. This run is what made me the runner that I am... its also the most beautiful, wonderful, perfect run ever. The gradient gets progressively steeper past the camp, until you get to the switchbacks, but that's not the worst part... the worst part is the uninterrupted steep climb up to the saddle and then that last scramble where you can see the sign post up above. It's almost like a progression run that way, like the first 3/5 are manageable, and then the intensity goes up but the scenery becomes so breathtakingly amazing that its worth it to just be up there. Anyways, goodbye favorite run....
Saturday 01/27: 5.2 miles, 44:21 easy run up and down Orange Grove at night. Waited until it stopped raining, I'm such a pansy ass about the rain. Felt okay, I guess I'm not very tired because the hill climb got cut short, but tried to run slow anyways. My body is still not really used to training again... I desperately want to get to the point where running 40 mpw just feels easy and natural.
Target Mileage: 40-45 Miles
Week Actual: 40.95 Miles
Last Week: 33.25 Miles
Trying to be flexible this week, depending on how well the running system is recovering. The signals are confusing, but circumstances conspired to keep the mileage on the low end. Next week will be interesting...
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Week of 01/14/2007 - 01/20/2007 (Base Phase)
Back to the beginning, yet again.
Sadly, its far too late for Carlsbad, but I'm back on my feet. No more advil, no more magic sock, no more treadmill. Just me and the Trial of Miles, miles of trials... I honestly feel a little bit out of sorts. Its so cold I can't sleep at night, my favorite, favorite trail has been washed out by debris from all of the windy weather. I don't even have a plan for this week. Where to put my hill run, whether to attempt any tempo work, will my newly healed ankle withstand a long run, and if so, which surface is better, flat but hard, or soft but uneven? So many choices, and you just won't know whether you made the right choice until you pick one and see.
I'm so happy to be running again, but I also feel lost and confused. I'm really disappointed about Carlsbad. I would have been so fast by now... if only.
Sunday 01/14: off. Hung over and sleep deprived... but how 'bout them Patriots!? Watch out Indy, cuz we are taking your homefield advantage by storm!!!!!
Monday 01/15: ~6.5 miles, 58 minutes shortened Upper Arroyo with the gals. So happy to run with the team :). First run back, great to see KB and Gina. Felt really cardiovascularly out of shape, BUT... no ankle pain! holy crap it feels so weird to not hurt.
Tuesday 01/16: 6.25 miles, 46:45 Huntington. Ran a solid steady state 7:30 pace base run. Felt really good muscularly, but the effects of 2 weeks off were very apparent by the last few miles... breathing a bit too hard for effort level. Also, SO FREAKING COLD... !!! now I remember why I used to run hard every day during wintertime at Bain... because at 6 am and 35 degrees, the faster you run, the sooner you can go the heck back inside. Seriously.
Wednesday 01/17: 7.3 miles, 58:14 Huntington from Palomar to El Molino. Thank goodness for g-maps. Fantastic easy run, felt great like I could run forever and forever. Kind of almost felt like me again. I used to be able to run 8:00 pace essentially forever, feeling easy and relaxed like walking. Gradual hill up El Molino was the best part. I miss the mountains and the trails.
Still feeling a little bit sore through the quads, not sure what this means for tomorrow's tempo work, will probably scale back to 2 x 2 mile or maybe the 4.4 mile Time Trial loop A. Expecting threshold pacing to be shot after 2 weeks off (~7 min/mile? ugh...).
Thursday 01/18: 8 miles, 2 x 2 mile with 20 minutes warm up and 21 minutes cool down. Finding the right (non offensive) words to describe this workout is hard, but the message to me was loud and clear, "congratulations, you suck!"
13:30 (6:42, 6:48), 2 min rest, 13:39 (6:50, 6:49) est. (erased one lap split by mistake) felt terrible. Quads were sore going in, couldn't get loosened up on the warmup. A little short of breath, just couldn't get the breathing settled, coughed a lot in the rest period. This is one of those things were I considered just pushing this workout off a day or maybe even a week but I didn't and it was the wrong choice.
On the upside, my ankle did not hurt at all, I managed the cooldown in the Nike Frees, with a tiny bit of soreness in the arches, but in a good way. I'm going to wait another week before I start freaking out, sometimes it takes a week or two to get back into things, so I don't know yet if this is like that, or if I've really done a significant amount of damage to my fitness. When you have workouts like this, the damage is really mostly psychological. I *feel* panic, I *feel* helpless, like I KNOW just a few short weeks ago I felt like I could run 6:35-40 pace forever and forever, and now I can't even do threshold repeats. I *feel* like I'll never get back to that place, even though I know that I can. I guess you just have to work through the crazy and keep training.
Friday 01/19: 5.2 miles, 43:01, recovery jogging up and down Orange Grove at night. Can't shake this soreness, esp. L quad, I guess its not used to pulling its own weight after I've favored the left leg for so long. Everything kind of feels like on verge of being strained... my body isn't handling this first week back as well as I expected. Need a day off, desperately.
Saturday 01/20: bikes, bikes, bikes! Woke up still sore, biking for aerobic maintenance. 38 miles, 2 hours 35 minutes Mt. Wilson up to Clear Creek with frosh boys. Kangway is a taskmaster, dragged Garrett and I along at a decent clip. Not as cold as expected, great ride. Track cycling World Cup with Peter, Will, Ruby--totally a bizarro parallel universe to a track meet. Weird, but so much fun!
Target Mileage: 40 Miles
Week Actual: 33.25 Miles
Last Week: 48.1 Miles (Treadmill)
Eeeearghhh... this is pathetic. Maybe with the bike/running mile conversion we can kinda say ~7 miles for Saturday and ~40 miles for the week? Hmmm... gotta do better next week. Feeling kind of like I'm getting sick also, meh.
Sadly, its far too late for Carlsbad, but I'm back on my feet. No more advil, no more magic sock, no more treadmill. Just me and the Trial of Miles, miles of trials... I honestly feel a little bit out of sorts. Its so cold I can't sleep at night, my favorite, favorite trail has been washed out by debris from all of the windy weather. I don't even have a plan for this week. Where to put my hill run, whether to attempt any tempo work, will my newly healed ankle withstand a long run, and if so, which surface is better, flat but hard, or soft but uneven? So many choices, and you just won't know whether you made the right choice until you pick one and see.
I'm so happy to be running again, but I also feel lost and confused. I'm really disappointed about Carlsbad. I would have been so fast by now... if only.
Sunday 01/14: off. Hung over and sleep deprived... but how 'bout them Patriots!? Watch out Indy, cuz we are taking your homefield advantage by storm!!!!!
Monday 01/15: ~6.5 miles, 58 minutes shortened Upper Arroyo with the gals. So happy to run with the team :). First run back, great to see KB and Gina. Felt really cardiovascularly out of shape, BUT... no ankle pain! holy crap it feels so weird to not hurt.
Tuesday 01/16: 6.25 miles, 46:45 Huntington. Ran a solid steady state 7:30 pace base run. Felt really good muscularly, but the effects of 2 weeks off were very apparent by the last few miles... breathing a bit too hard for effort level. Also, SO FREAKING COLD... !!! now I remember why I used to run hard every day during wintertime at Bain... because at 6 am and 35 degrees, the faster you run, the sooner you can go the heck back inside. Seriously.
Wednesday 01/17: 7.3 miles, 58:14 Huntington from Palomar to El Molino. Thank goodness for g-maps. Fantastic easy run, felt great like I could run forever and forever. Kind of almost felt like me again. I used to be able to run 8:00 pace essentially forever, feeling easy and relaxed like walking. Gradual hill up El Molino was the best part. I miss the mountains and the trails.
Still feeling a little bit sore through the quads, not sure what this means for tomorrow's tempo work, will probably scale back to 2 x 2 mile or maybe the 4.4 mile Time Trial loop A. Expecting threshold pacing to be shot after 2 weeks off (~7 min/mile? ugh...).
Thursday 01/18: 8 miles, 2 x 2 mile with 20 minutes warm up and 21 minutes cool down. Finding the right (non offensive) words to describe this workout is hard, but the message to me was loud and clear, "congratulations, you suck!"
13:30 (6:42, 6:48), 2 min rest, 13:39 (6:50, 6:49) est. (erased one lap split by mistake) felt terrible. Quads were sore going in, couldn't get loosened up on the warmup. A little short of breath, just couldn't get the breathing settled, coughed a lot in the rest period. This is one of those things were I considered just pushing this workout off a day or maybe even a week but I didn't and it was the wrong choice.
On the upside, my ankle did not hurt at all, I managed the cooldown in the Nike Frees, with a tiny bit of soreness in the arches, but in a good way. I'm going to wait another week before I start freaking out, sometimes it takes a week or two to get back into things, so I don't know yet if this is like that, or if I've really done a significant amount of damage to my fitness. When you have workouts like this, the damage is really mostly psychological. I *feel* panic, I *feel* helpless, like I KNOW just a few short weeks ago I felt like I could run 6:35-40 pace forever and forever, and now I can't even do threshold repeats. I *feel* like I'll never get back to that place, even though I know that I can. I guess you just have to work through the crazy and keep training.
Friday 01/19: 5.2 miles, 43:01, recovery jogging up and down Orange Grove at night. Can't shake this soreness, esp. L quad, I guess its not used to pulling its own weight after I've favored the left leg for so long. Everything kind of feels like on verge of being strained... my body isn't handling this first week back as well as I expected. Need a day off, desperately.
Saturday 01/20: bikes, bikes, bikes! Woke up still sore, biking for aerobic maintenance. 38 miles, 2 hours 35 minutes Mt. Wilson up to Clear Creek with frosh boys. Kangway is a taskmaster, dragged Garrett and I along at a decent clip. Not as cold as expected, great ride. Track cycling World Cup with Peter, Will, Ruby--totally a bizarro parallel universe to a track meet. Weird, but so much fun!
Target Mileage: 40 Miles
Week Actual: 33.25 Miles
Last Week: 48.1 Miles (Treadmill)
Eeeearghhh... this is pathetic. Maybe with the bike/running mile conversion we can kinda say ~7 miles for Saturday and ~40 miles for the week? Hmmm... gotta do better next week. Feeling kind of like I'm getting sick also, meh.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Week of 01/07/2007 - 01/13/2007 (Treadmill Rehab Week)
In medicine, they say "First, do no harm."
I'm inclined to say that the same is true for running injuries. The goal is, to not do ANYTHING that might delay your return to normal training. Secondarily, you should cross train, only if it isn't further aggravating the injury. Other than that, the only rule of injury-land is, DON'T GET FAT. Your body will already be weak from the time off, the stress of extra weight is possibly the worst thing you can do for your joints OR your comeback.
The truth is though, that most of us do harm, all the time. I had that one thing to remember, and I screwed it up. After two weeks... I'm fat. Real, live, quads-have-lost-all-definition, poke-me-in-the-stomach, Pillsbury Dough Boy Fat. So now I have two goals for this week. Learn to run symmetrically again, and lose 5 pounds. One 65 minute session on the treadmill at a time.
Sunday 01/07: 8.1 miles, 60 minute progression run on the treadmill followed by 5 minutes of obligatory treadmill cooldown. Started at 9:34 min/mile, ended at 6:39. Last 10 minutes were past threshold. Felt good though, ending heartrate 176.
A little discouraged, based on the pacing I followed, my long run type steady state anaerobic turnover point has creeped up to ~7 minute miles... which puts a damper on the whole plan I used to have about running Carlsbad Half in 1:31:52. Maybe next year. Peking duck with the gang, oreo milk shakes with Will. Yum!
Monday 01/08: 7.6 miles, 60 minute easy run on treadmill followed by 5 minutes of cooldown. Started 9 min/mile, 8's through the middle portion, ended with 10 solid minutes of 7:30 pace. Ian/KB came to talk, thankfully, which made some of the minutes go by faster :). Every 1 minute of cooldown the treadmill automatically reverts you back to 13 min/mile pace. Annoying. Seriously.
Felt really, really sore and moderately tired on this run, but gradually improved after 30 minutes. I guess it's been a while. Ankle took a while to warm up, but mostly didn't bother me. Developed a giant blood blister on my heel that burst all over my shoe. Crikey.
Tuesday 01/09: 8.2 miles, same routine but this time on a slight incline, per Kangway's suggestion. It's been 3 days now, and the soreness is unrelenting. Mainly the quads, eesh.
Felt inadequately recovered, so started off thinking maybe another easy run, but ended up getting locked into a cold-war era armament race with the inhabitant of the treadmill to my right. Thankfully they folded after 15 minutes. Victory is mine! Finished with a 15 minute acceleration down to 6:50 pace, felt alright by the end.
Wednesday 01/10: 7.9 miles, base run on treadmill with slight incline. Felt some tweaks today, right quads felt really sore, IT bands tight. On the bright side, my athletic tape/bandaid contraption managed to make it the full hour, so no blood was shed on my shoe.
Feeling bummed out by the realization that while I try to pass some of them off as "progression" runs, all of my training this week has been glorified base miles. I'm probably in for a really ugly collision with reality when I try any true tempo work off of the treadmill. Maybe its the power of suggestion, but it *does* seem to be true that the treadmill differentially taxes the quads vs. the hamstrings. I've been wondering why my quads are so sore, when I obviously haven't done any hill climbing at all.
Thursday 01/11: 8.5 miles, finally, a small breakthrough! Felt pretty solid today--a couple warm up miles, then 7:30's down to 6:35, comfortably, no huffing or puffing. Sure feels good to break that 40 mpw. Unclear what I think about the treadmill miles, but don't care all too much. Frankly this week is about strengthening my left foot and making my heart work for an hour a day instead of sitting on its ass.
Friday 01/12: 7.8 miles, easy 8-9 minute miles on a slight incline--accelerated painfully to ~7 min/miles at the end. Felt pretty worn out, I guess this is a lot of miles all of the sudden. Legs felt really tired and heavy through 30 minutes then gradually got better.
Saturday 01/13: taking some very much needed R & R. Ankle feels pretty solid, I've been taking advil and wearing the Ian Magic Sock every day and there's been dramatic improvement. I think I'll be ready for a real run tomorrow!
Treadmill Miles: 48.1 miles
There's probably some conversion factor between treadmill miles and running miles. I have no idea though, so for now it will have to stay.
I'm inclined to say that the same is true for running injuries. The goal is, to not do ANYTHING that might delay your return to normal training. Secondarily, you should cross train, only if it isn't further aggravating the injury. Other than that, the only rule of injury-land is, DON'T GET FAT. Your body will already be weak from the time off, the stress of extra weight is possibly the worst thing you can do for your joints OR your comeback.
The truth is though, that most of us do harm, all the time. I had that one thing to remember, and I screwed it up. After two weeks... I'm fat. Real, live, quads-have-lost-all-definition, poke-me-in-the-stomach, Pillsbury Dough Boy Fat. So now I have two goals for this week. Learn to run symmetrically again, and lose 5 pounds. One 65 minute session on the treadmill at a time.
Sunday 01/07: 8.1 miles, 60 minute progression run on the treadmill followed by 5 minutes of obligatory treadmill cooldown. Started at 9:34 min/mile, ended at 6:39. Last 10 minutes were past threshold. Felt good though, ending heartrate 176.
A little discouraged, based on the pacing I followed, my long run type steady state anaerobic turnover point has creeped up to ~7 minute miles... which puts a damper on the whole plan I used to have about running Carlsbad Half in 1:31:52. Maybe next year. Peking duck with the gang, oreo milk shakes with Will. Yum!
Monday 01/08: 7.6 miles, 60 minute easy run on treadmill followed by 5 minutes of cooldown. Started 9 min/mile, 8's through the middle portion, ended with 10 solid minutes of 7:30 pace. Ian/KB came to talk, thankfully, which made some of the minutes go by faster :). Every 1 minute of cooldown the treadmill automatically reverts you back to 13 min/mile pace. Annoying. Seriously.
Felt really, really sore and moderately tired on this run, but gradually improved after 30 minutes. I guess it's been a while. Ankle took a while to warm up, but mostly didn't bother me. Developed a giant blood blister on my heel that burst all over my shoe. Crikey.
Tuesday 01/09: 8.2 miles, same routine but this time on a slight incline, per Kangway's suggestion. It's been 3 days now, and the soreness is unrelenting. Mainly the quads, eesh.
Felt inadequately recovered, so started off thinking maybe another easy run, but ended up getting locked into a cold-war era armament race with the inhabitant of the treadmill to my right. Thankfully they folded after 15 minutes. Victory is mine! Finished with a 15 minute acceleration down to 6:50 pace, felt alright by the end.
Wednesday 01/10: 7.9 miles, base run on treadmill with slight incline. Felt some tweaks today, right quads felt really sore, IT bands tight. On the bright side, my athletic tape/bandaid contraption managed to make it the full hour, so no blood was shed on my shoe.
Feeling bummed out by the realization that while I try to pass some of them off as "progression" runs, all of my training this week has been glorified base miles. I'm probably in for a really ugly collision with reality when I try any true tempo work off of the treadmill. Maybe its the power of suggestion, but it *does* seem to be true that the treadmill differentially taxes the quads vs. the hamstrings. I've been wondering why my quads are so sore, when I obviously haven't done any hill climbing at all.
Thursday 01/11: 8.5 miles, finally, a small breakthrough! Felt pretty solid today--a couple warm up miles, then 7:30's down to 6:35, comfortably, no huffing or puffing. Sure feels good to break that 40 mpw. Unclear what I think about the treadmill miles, but don't care all too much. Frankly this week is about strengthening my left foot and making my heart work for an hour a day instead of sitting on its ass.
Friday 01/12: 7.8 miles, easy 8-9 minute miles on a slight incline--accelerated painfully to ~7 min/miles at the end. Felt pretty worn out, I guess this is a lot of miles all of the sudden. Legs felt really tired and heavy through 30 minutes then gradually got better.
Saturday 01/13: taking some very much needed R & R. Ankle feels pretty solid, I've been taking advil and wearing the Ian Magic Sock every day and there's been dramatic improvement. I think I'll be ready for a real run tomorrow!
Treadmill Miles: 48.1 miles
There's probably some conversion factor between treadmill miles and running miles. I have no idea though, so for now it will have to stay.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Week of 12/31/2006 - 01/06/2007 (Injury Recovery)
Happy 2007 Everyone!!!
My New Running Year is off to a really horrible start. Luckily for all, my new years resolution is to grow a thicker skin about the disappointments in my life, running and otherwise. It took basically 4 weeks to recover from my last 2-week stretch of time off, so, with any luck, I'll be fine by the end of January, before any of the little track meets even start happening. If my last race is in May, I'm hoping that I'll still be able to peak properly despite the fact that my early stage base training has been moderately sub-optimal.
Sunday 12/31 - Tuesday 01/02: Off. Depressed. Ankle still moderately but constantly inflamed. Stretching and icing don't really help. It may soon be time for the NSAID plan.
Wednesday 01/03: In the AM--65 minute progression run on the treadmill. Started at ~10 min. miles, increased speed every 2-3 minutes then ended with 15 minutes at sustained 6:50-ish pace on a slight incline. Followed immediately with 12 oz. Cytomax and 1 Advil.
I don't think treadmills are really running, but this is for therapeutic purposes. I realized that over the past 3 weeks, I've developed a very awkward and lopsided gait to compensate for the weakness of my left ankle. I've been ever so slightly shifting my foot mechanics to take the strain off of whatever was hurting, which is why the site of the pain would shift every 2-3 days. In addition, I take one normal step with the right leg, and then a smaller shuffle step with the left side, which sort of explains why every run I did last week was abnormally slow.
The only reason that I am aware of these things is because I went to the gym to do 1 hour on the elliptical, but all of the ellipticals were in use. So I decided to test the waters with the treadmill on a low setting, which allowed me to realize what I was doing--because the ground under me is moving at a constant rate, each of the smaller weaker steps I took with the left foot results in an uncomfortable lurch backwards from where I used to be.
After some experimenting, I realized that forcing myself to run "normally" putting my full weight on the left foot with the same footstrike as the right side actually took pressure off of the current pain point, and after 10 minutes I realized I could make it through an hour relatively comfortably. So I reset the time counter to 60 minutes and was on my way.
I think I may do the treadmill workout for the rest of the days in this week, if only to force myself to re-learn proper stride mechanics. My theory is that what I was thinking of as "progress" in healing my ankle over the past few weeks was only just a series of form adjustments that gradually distorted my mechanics into something that my ankle could no longer sustain. I'm not entirely sure how to fix it, but if the aspirin can control the low level inflamation, I feel like I could gradually strengthen the ligaments in the bad ankle to support proper form.
In the PM--35 minutes on the elliptical, breathing hard. I hate the elliptical. Tried to run one lap of the south field on the grass, but it hurt a very large amount. I guess I'm not ready for real running... I miss running outside so much, it hurts (emotionally, even more so than physically). 1 Advil before going to bed.
Thursday 01/04: Oh, holy crap. Why did I do that to my body... Woke up today and legs sore, ankle stiff, can't really move very well. I think the sore is a good sore... instead of a damaged beyond repair sore... but we'll see tomorrow.
Friday 01/05 - Saturday 01/06: No excuses, I just suck. Didn't do anything other than feel sorry for myself. Tested out some light jogging, its possible I may be good to come back on Sunday.
My New Running Year is off to a really horrible start. Luckily for all, my new years resolution is to grow a thicker skin about the disappointments in my life, running and otherwise. It took basically 4 weeks to recover from my last 2-week stretch of time off, so, with any luck, I'll be fine by the end of January, before any of the little track meets even start happening. If my last race is in May, I'm hoping that I'll still be able to peak properly despite the fact that my early stage base training has been moderately sub-optimal.
Sunday 12/31 - Tuesday 01/02: Off. Depressed. Ankle still moderately but constantly inflamed. Stretching and icing don't really help. It may soon be time for the NSAID plan.
Wednesday 01/03: In the AM--65 minute progression run on the treadmill. Started at ~10 min. miles, increased speed every 2-3 minutes then ended with 15 minutes at sustained 6:50-ish pace on a slight incline. Followed immediately with 12 oz. Cytomax and 1 Advil.
I don't think treadmills are really running, but this is for therapeutic purposes. I realized that over the past 3 weeks, I've developed a very awkward and lopsided gait to compensate for the weakness of my left ankle. I've been ever so slightly shifting my foot mechanics to take the strain off of whatever was hurting, which is why the site of the pain would shift every 2-3 days. In addition, I take one normal step with the right leg, and then a smaller shuffle step with the left side, which sort of explains why every run I did last week was abnormally slow.
The only reason that I am aware of these things is because I went to the gym to do 1 hour on the elliptical, but all of the ellipticals were in use. So I decided to test the waters with the treadmill on a low setting, which allowed me to realize what I was doing--because the ground under me is moving at a constant rate, each of the smaller weaker steps I took with the left foot results in an uncomfortable lurch backwards from where I used to be.
After some experimenting, I realized that forcing myself to run "normally" putting my full weight on the left foot with the same footstrike as the right side actually took pressure off of the current pain point, and after 10 minutes I realized I could make it through an hour relatively comfortably. So I reset the time counter to 60 minutes and was on my way.
I think I may do the treadmill workout for the rest of the days in this week, if only to force myself to re-learn proper stride mechanics. My theory is that what I was thinking of as "progress" in healing my ankle over the past few weeks was only just a series of form adjustments that gradually distorted my mechanics into something that my ankle could no longer sustain. I'm not entirely sure how to fix it, but if the aspirin can control the low level inflamation, I feel like I could gradually strengthen the ligaments in the bad ankle to support proper form.
In the PM--35 minutes on the elliptical, breathing hard. I hate the elliptical. Tried to run one lap of the south field on the grass, but it hurt a very large amount. I guess I'm not ready for real running... I miss running outside so much, it hurts (emotionally, even more so than physically). 1 Advil before going to bed.
Thursday 01/04: Oh, holy crap. Why did I do that to my body... Woke up today and legs sore, ankle stiff, can't really move very well. I think the sore is a good sore... instead of a damaged beyond repair sore... but we'll see tomorrow.
Friday 01/05 - Saturday 01/06: No excuses, I just suck. Didn't do anything other than feel sorry for myself. Tested out some light jogging, its possible I may be good to come back on Sunday.
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