Breaking the curse?
Perhaps last week was kind of a cheat. But if we take it to be a valid training week... the completion of this week will signify the symbolic exorcism of the curse of the 8 weeks. In the past year and a half, it's seemed impossible by an unwritten law of physics for me to string together more than 8 weeks of training time, before having to have to take at least 2 weeks off due to injury of illness.
But yet, here I am, courtesy of the Meinhold School of Running for kids who need to chill the hell out. This is week 9, and I'm starting my third pre-base microcycle, a little bit worse for the wear after the East coast winter... but mostly healthy and pain free. Yay!
Sunday 01/06: 44:49, so squishy, so wet. Laps of variable size and enjoyability around the very soggy South field. Blech. Was planning to run around lane 6 per usual rainy day M.O., but knees and feet were feeling a bit balky, so decided to give them a bit of a break with the squishy grass. Not sure if it was just the "squeeeesh, squeeesh" sound with each step, or the slow seeping of water into my shoes, but this was not a very pleasant run. Felt pretty sluggish.
Monday 01/07: 42:22, Monterrey to bridge loop to scope out the new puddles. Determined the infeasibility of Arroyo Tempo loops in the near future. Almost slipped and ate it in some mud pits hidden under leaves, but it was pleasantly warm and sunny. Felt really good this run, and even a little bit faster than usual. Also felt pleased with the fact that 40 minutes doesn't feel like a lot of minutes anymore. Going to try to keep the runs shorter this week though, to allow for manageable increases the next two weeks.
Core strengthening at the gym by myself afterwards. Dunno how I feel about the new hamstring exercises.
Tuesday 01/08: Off. Lots of work... and apples. Honey crisp apples are really fantastic.
Wednesday 01/09: 44:56, Huntington back via Virginia in the PM. This run is always disappointing bc the first half is downhill and the second half is uphill. So in the beginning, I'm always excited that its so easy... so somehow I expect a fast overall time, but the uphill balances it out in the end, and its just the same as any other day. Meh. At least it was a minute or so faster than the last time... progress is soooooo slowwwwww. Actually that isn't that fair, progress is fine, its just that I have so far to go. So it seems like it takes forever.
Core strengthening afterwards at the gym. Managed to fall off of the exercise ball and sprain a finger pretty badly in the attempt to break my fall. So stupid! Good thing I'm not doing much riding these days, so I won't really require the use of my middle finger anyways (for obnoxious cars, only). Except for... typing... and... work... yeah.
Thursday 01/10: 43:08, Monterrey loop again. On the bright side, the mud pits have dried up sufficiently closer to the RB to try some other routes soon. Very chill today, in the AM, was worried about <24 hour recovery time since the last run, but didn't feel as bad as I thought I would. I guess my feet ARE getting stronger. Unfortunately, stomach cramps towards the end, and finger has now swollen solid into one shape and range of motion from that state is extremely limited... :(.
Friday 01/11: 44:04, 15 North Field laps. Too much work, had to run after dark again... this time found the North field gate open, so tried that. Really boring and really slow. Felt inordinately tired today. Blah. I also really do not enjoy running around in circles... and if I am, there better be an incentive in there--like winning... or... maybe more like, not last.
Core strengthening at the gym afterwards with Peter. Turns out, its useful to have the middle finger of your left hand. Meh. Not a great day for the training system.
Saturday 01/12: 39:02, one trail perimeter lap of the RB with KB and Susan. An unseasonably beautiful, clear, sunny warm day out. Half expected to be totally dead after yesterday, but wasn't too bad. Tried to run slightly faster than "jogging" for the last 5 minutes. Found out that that doesn't feel so good. Peter says its not good to "forget" how to run at different speeds and effort levels. Since its been 9 months since the last uptempo run, I think "forgot" is an understatement. Maybe try to phase in 10 minute segments of slightly faster running every so often. Let's see how my feet respond to that.
About an hour and a half of easy riding with Peter in the PM. Felt good. Really enjoyed the sun and the warm. Fun, despite feeling kind of headachey all day. Tired, went to bed at 9 pm. Hoping that I haven't contracted the plague.
Target Training for week: 4 hours
Actual training: 4:18:21
3 comments:
Great job, Megumi! Keep it up! I'm glad to hear you're in the thick of it. Are you running mornings or evenings these days? I've been trying to increase my mileage for the next few weeks, and possibly including some double days, so let me know if you're interested in meeting up for some chill miles. :)
What are the new hamstring exercises?
when i ran the marathon and my feet were all blistery, I ran 10 miles on the grass around the inside of the track. that was not very pleasant either. squishy or not I think running around in tiny circles for long periods of time is not so much fun.
p.s. I bet you didn't know that I read your blog! :) Glad you are feeling better
Honey crisp apples are really good, and this from a washington apple snob.
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