Week 2 has safely passed and overall I feel pretty good about how it went. Didn't increase training minutes, but the Thursday/Saturday runs felt a lot more solid than Week 1. Good to have a bit more variety in pace, even if its like pulling teeth.
To be conservative and mindful of my abysmal endurance levels, I'm starting off with a few 3 week microcycles, so every 3 weeks there's a down week. So far, not doing a great job of this first down week, but anticipating Saturday to be lost to skiing, so the total training minutes should be pretty low this week. Just gotta keep my fingers crossed for no ugly crashes...
Sunday 03/30: 1:00:12, some trundling around the Arroyo/RB. Was supposed to be a 50-55 min scaled back long run, but couldn't find a good route, so after some faulty mental math and mish-mashings of various loops, I ended up with a 60 minute run, oh, well. Felt increasingly better towards the end. Always go through this weird thing with longer runs where the first 20-30 min kind of feels like a drag, and then it clears up and its quicker and easier towards the end. This is why I prefer my long runs to be 90+ minutes so that the good-feeling part is larger proportion of the whole.
Monday 03/31: Off. Shot day. Not enough sleep, bad way to start off the week. L ankle not feeling so hot...
Tuesday 04/01: 41:33, 3 x Arroyo Tempo Loops in 14:12, 11:37, 14:25 plus jog to car. Waiting for that tempo section to converge to acceptable pacing is like watching grass grow. Actually, I guess I should be thankful that progress IS being made at all. At this rate, I may even be at target pace in just over a month. I'm always afraid that this week will be the week where something blows up and I get slower than last week. But, so far so good.
Not the best of runs though... woke up feeling really drained and crappy after wasting 4 of 8 hours of sleep on nightmares. Almost did not get out of bed, noticed HR was a tick higher than last week, then got attacked by 3 loose dogs about 3 minutes into the tempo loop, and just never really regained composure... I was in the *perfect* stride/effort level until the dogs, then everything got all messed up, kinda didn't settle back down. ARGH. CURB YOUR EFF-ING DOG(S) PEOPLE!!!!! *shakes fist*
Wednesday 04/02: 36:20, Parked at Monterrey and ran out 18 or so minutes in the Arroyo and came back. Feeling pretty good! First time that body isn't trashed after tempo day. Also feeling kind of tormented about the whole down week. I really don't LIKE it. I don't have enough minutes to really have room to cut any! Not that I've cut significantly yet, but today and tomorrow are going to be 5-10 minutes shorter each, then Saturday is an additional off day, so overall its a large drop in training minutes.
Thursday 04/03: 42:13, Monterrey to bridge loop. Felt alright, definitely out of that rough patch where this run was taking an inordinate amount of time. Ran into the same lady walking her dog a couple of times, on the last one, she said "wow, you're fast!". I'm not, but it was nice of her anyways.
Friday 04/04: Off. Shot day, plus traveling. Got into Denver late, but so happy to see Peter!
Saturday 04/05: Skiing! A great day. Having barely squeaked over the 3 hours of training mark, went off to play hooky with a moderately clear conscience. It's been about 10 years since the last time I skied with any frequency, so it was a little bit harrowing at first... but was really fun as I started to remember how it works. Had some nasty spills, but nothing affecting my running parts, so was pleased. Fell on my face though, wasn't so good.
Target Training this week: 3 - 3.5 hours
Actual Training: 3:00:18
NEW! courtesy of Tech Staff--Consternment Index: Medium-Low
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Week of 03/23/2008 - 03/29/2008 (Base Week 2)
The first week of somewhat structured training has come and gone, and while I feel a bit worse for the wear, I'm thinking that running semi-regularly makes me a happier person.
Tentatively, each week will follow an adaptation of the Meinhold TP for the Chronically Injured format:
Sunday - Long run (currently starting at 65-ish minutes, hopefully building to 90 before XC 2008)
Monday - Off. Shots.
Tuesday - Upper threshold tempo (currently 1 x Arroyo Tempo Loop, hopefully build to 3 or 4)
Wednesday - Recovery jog
Thursday - Moderate base run
Friday - Off. Shots.
Saturday - Currently random base run, eventually lower threshold steady state.
My biggest quibble about how this is set up is the Saturday workout. I'm operating on the hypothesis that the weekly long run should be at an easy but not slovenly pace, meaning that the 3 training elements are concentrated within Sat - Tues, and then you have 3 nondescript days in a row Wed-Fri. I considered swapping Saturday and Thursday, but Peter says that you get the most out of your uptempo days if they are the days immediately following the rest days. I guess this will be a matter for further investigation...
Sunday 03/23: 1:04:35, RB to Devil's gate, then to yellow gate at JPL, then back around the other side of the RB. I really like that ~1 mile stretch before you get to the yellow gate. Woke up at 8 am, but was still warmer than I would have liked. Felt weak and dehydrated for the first 20 minutes, and struggled up that hill to get past Devil's gate. Started feeling better over the next 20 minutes, and then much better in the last 20 minutes, so I was able to pick it up a little bit towards the end. Definitely cognisant of the accumulated fatigue from the past week, did not feel fresh and easy like last Sunday.
Monday 03/24: Off. Shot day. Felt inordinately sore. Unclear why, but it started Sunday afternoon and has persisted. Argh.
Tuesday 03/25: 42:15, 3 x Arroyo Tempo Loop, per usual in 14:36, 11:48, 14:30 plus jog back to car. Slowly chipping away at those lap times... felt really good today, from a musculature standpoint. Mystery soreness was completely gone this morning, leaving fresh and happy legs. HR is down to desirable levels (145-155 for the jog laps and 185 for the tempo lap). Breathing is still the weakest link.
Also, L shoe has begun to rub unpleasantly across the end of my metatarsals, kind of aggravating the general area around the bad toe. This was happening a little bit towards the end of Sunday's run, but was getting really bad on the third lap. Very consterning, probably will try different shoes tomorrow :(.
Wednesday 03/26: 44:34, Monterrey to bridge loop. Gah, I'm really feeling averse to this route lately. Also, today's was the third one in a row where the pace has been unsatisfactory, even for a recovery run... starting to piss me off.
On another note, breaking out the last pair of Saucony Triumph 3's solved the foot irritation problem. Unfortunately, I discovered that I actually really liked the Gel Nimbus, save for the feature where it rubs over the top of my foot. Aasics are just way too narrow for my feet, seeing as the pair I have are already the wide versions. Ugh. But they're really comfortable and minimalist with not a lot of bulk to the shoe, which I really like. The old Triumphs felt stiff and bulky in comparison, but part of that is probably just that they haven't been broken in. I'm going to have to revisit this whole shoe buying thing this weekend.
Thursday 03/27: 50:09, California to Salvia Canyon like last week. Really enjoy this route. Thursday mornings also seem to be this perfect temperature where one is a bit too cold for the first 5 minutes, and then just right. Felt pretty good, faster towards the end.
Friday 03/28: Off, shot day. Felt pretty crappy due to having stayed up late to do taxes before the TurboTax rates went up... booo taxes.
Saturday 03/29: 40:23, Monterrey to bridge. Woke up late, but fortunately it was cloudy out so it hadn't already become 80 degrees out. Still felt too warm, but this week I felt well enough to do a moderate progression run. It's really like pulling teeth these days to run outside of the comfort zone. I can't tell if it's because I'm really sold on the low HR training thing, or if it's because my body can't remember any other paces.
I started with about 10 minutes of comfortable running, then picked up the pace over the next 15 minutes, and then finished with 15 minutes at a few ticks under tempo pace. The middle segment felt the worst, due to slight uphill. Legs felt pretty good, so tried to focus on keeping good form and even effort, but mind kept wandering to how this state just did not feel as good as the easy runs, and if this indicates extremely poor fitness and whether I was taxing my balky body inordinately with this second uptempo run. At any rate, all was survived to wrap up this second week.
Target Training this week: 4 hours
Actual Training: 4:01:56
Consternation Index: Moderate
(Markkimarkkonen, "Consternment" is not a word, according to dictionary.com)
Tentatively, each week will follow an adaptation of the Meinhold TP for the Chronically Injured format:
Sunday - Long run (currently starting at 65-ish minutes, hopefully building to 90 before XC 2008)
Monday - Off. Shots.
Tuesday - Upper threshold tempo (currently 1 x Arroyo Tempo Loop, hopefully build to 3 or 4)
Wednesday - Recovery jog
Thursday - Moderate base run
Friday - Off. Shots.
Saturday - Currently random base run, eventually lower threshold steady state.
My biggest quibble about how this is set up is the Saturday workout. I'm operating on the hypothesis that the weekly long run should be at an easy but not slovenly pace, meaning that the 3 training elements are concentrated within Sat - Tues, and then you have 3 nondescript days in a row Wed-Fri. I considered swapping Saturday and Thursday, but Peter says that you get the most out of your uptempo days if they are the days immediately following the rest days. I guess this will be a matter for further investigation...
Sunday 03/23: 1:04:35, RB to Devil's gate, then to yellow gate at JPL, then back around the other side of the RB. I really like that ~1 mile stretch before you get to the yellow gate. Woke up at 8 am, but was still warmer than I would have liked. Felt weak and dehydrated for the first 20 minutes, and struggled up that hill to get past Devil's gate. Started feeling better over the next 20 minutes, and then much better in the last 20 minutes, so I was able to pick it up a little bit towards the end. Definitely cognisant of the accumulated fatigue from the past week, did not feel fresh and easy like last Sunday.
Monday 03/24: Off. Shot day. Felt inordinately sore. Unclear why, but it started Sunday afternoon and has persisted. Argh.
Tuesday 03/25: 42:15, 3 x Arroyo Tempo Loop, per usual in 14:36, 11:48, 14:30 plus jog back to car. Slowly chipping away at those lap times... felt really good today, from a musculature standpoint. Mystery soreness was completely gone this morning, leaving fresh and happy legs. HR is down to desirable levels (145-155 for the jog laps and 185 for the tempo lap). Breathing is still the weakest link.
Also, L shoe has begun to rub unpleasantly across the end of my metatarsals, kind of aggravating the general area around the bad toe. This was happening a little bit towards the end of Sunday's run, but was getting really bad on the third lap. Very consterning, probably will try different shoes tomorrow :(.
Wednesday 03/26: 44:34, Monterrey to bridge loop. Gah, I'm really feeling averse to this route lately. Also, today's was the third one in a row where the pace has been unsatisfactory, even for a recovery run... starting to piss me off.
On another note, breaking out the last pair of Saucony Triumph 3's solved the foot irritation problem. Unfortunately, I discovered that I actually really liked the Gel Nimbus, save for the feature where it rubs over the top of my foot. Aasics are just way too narrow for my feet, seeing as the pair I have are already the wide versions. Ugh. But they're really comfortable and minimalist with not a lot of bulk to the shoe, which I really like. The old Triumphs felt stiff and bulky in comparison, but part of that is probably just that they haven't been broken in. I'm going to have to revisit this whole shoe buying thing this weekend.
Thursday 03/27: 50:09, California to Salvia Canyon like last week. Really enjoy this route. Thursday mornings also seem to be this perfect temperature where one is a bit too cold for the first 5 minutes, and then just right. Felt pretty good, faster towards the end.
Friday 03/28: Off, shot day. Felt pretty crappy due to having stayed up late to do taxes before the TurboTax rates went up... booo taxes.
Saturday 03/29: 40:23, Monterrey to bridge. Woke up late, but fortunately it was cloudy out so it hadn't already become 80 degrees out. Still felt too warm, but this week I felt well enough to do a moderate progression run. It's really like pulling teeth these days to run outside of the comfort zone. I can't tell if it's because I'm really sold on the low HR training thing, or if it's because my body can't remember any other paces.
I started with about 10 minutes of comfortable running, then picked up the pace over the next 15 minutes, and then finished with 15 minutes at a few ticks under tempo pace. The middle segment felt the worst, due to slight uphill. Legs felt pretty good, so tried to focus on keeping good form and even effort, but mind kept wandering to how this state just did not feel as good as the easy runs, and if this indicates extremely poor fitness and whether I was taxing my balky body inordinately with this second uptempo run. At any rate, all was survived to wrap up this second week.
Target Training this week: 4 hours
Actual Training: 4:01:56
Consternation Index: Moderate
(Markkimarkkonen, "Consternment" is not a word, according to dictionary.com)
Monday, March 17, 2008
Week of 03/16/2008 - 03/22/2008 (Base Week 1)
It's time to get serious! If I'm ever to race again, I can't spend the rest of my life doing 40 minute jogs. Something has to kick my ass to get it together enough to make the most of my 5 days a week that I CAN run, so I've decided to officially start a base phase, with some structure to motivate myself to get my act together.
For a significant amount of time, I'm going to be on the 5 day plan, due to the 2 x week allergy shots which prohibit exercise 4 hours before and afterwards. Since I get home from work late at night, it's fairly prohibitive towards getting up at 4 am to run sufficiently before the 9 am shot.
Anyways, the condition of my foot being what it is, I'm picking my battles so far as the 5 day week. I think at this point the ability to train 5 days without accumulating injuries is better than the ability to train 6-7 days a week slowly accumulating injuries... We'll see how this turns out.
Sunday 03/16: 1:06:04, Monterrey to RB and back on the other side. Something resembling a proper distance run. A fantastic day, with a nice breeze. Went a mellow pace, 33:36 out and 31:50 back plus jog to car. Felt really good. Longest run yet. A significant jump from last week's sunday run, but feet don't feel that bad. A little bit of tenderness between the big toe and the bad toe, but taping helps. Maybe a little bit stupid to go suddenly for a longer run, but here's the thing...
Sometimes when you run, nice and relaxed and without cardiovascular pain, you get to this place of existential peace and calm, where thoughts seem to move fluidly and resolve themselves, where one is at peace with one's life and one's existence. It's this phenomena that to me is the flip side of all of the competitive angst and striving for self betterment that running also represents to me. It's clarity and peace and calm that I only feel through running.
The past few weeks have come with a whole lot of changes, stress, conflict and its only recently that I've become really aware of the mental and physical toll its been taking on me. When the intended turnaround point came, I just wasn't ready to give up this healing sense of calm that I felt at that moment. So I kept going, past that one, then the next logical turnaround point too... until finally I came all the way to the RB and realized that sooner or later this run would end, like all other runs before it.
Monday 03/17: Off. Shot day. The best part about today is that my feet don't hurt despite the longer run yesterday :).
Tuesday 03/18: 43:21, 3 x Arroyo Tempo Loops, same deal as last week. 14:48, 11:59, 15:07 plus jog to car. Times did not improve, but HR was much better across all three loops... I suppose that is mildly encouraging. Lots of work to do today, not a lot of time to feel crotchety about this workout, so oh, well. Also, very very cold today... in the 40's... wore gloves, but legs still felt nice and frosty after the first loop, eesh.
Wednesday 03/19: 44:17, Monterrey to bridge loop. Oooooooooh boy... didn't feel particularly bad but clearly tired from yesterday. Had to park far away, but can't blame all 2 minutes of slowness on that. Apparently my short and longterm endurance is about -5 on a scale of "none" to "good", if 12 minutes of upper threshold running is enough to have consequences for the next day. Also, mildly turned my L ankle, which put this unpleasant torque on the bad toe, which has begun to feel worse and worse as the day has progressed (after about a week and a half of feeling really good) .... aaaaaaarrrrrrrgggghhhh.....
Thursday 03/20: 50:43, California to RB, to the top of Salvia Canyon until the trail ends. A new run! A bit longer than it was supposed to be, but I was really excited to go up the little side trail next to the bike turnoff to get to Mt. Wilson. It wasn't long, but really liked the uphill. Also, saw Feldman and Jesse going back to the Arroyo.
Toe still felt a little bit sore from yesterday's twisting, so wrapped them again. I'm trying to wean myself from this practice, but my feet feel significantly better in the hours after the run when they are wrapped during the run vs. not.
Friday 03/21: Off. Shot day. Peter gets in today! Made cookies instead of run early this morning.
Saturday 03/22: 44:17, Monterrey to bridge loop. Argh, woke up at 7 am by force of habit, but realized it was weekend, so went back to sleep. This was a really bad decision, because it was already 75 and sunny by the time I got up at 10 am, which is approximately 15 degrees hotter than running weather that I appreciate. I definitely prefer 15 degrees too cold (45) than 15 degrees too warm (75). Felt crappy, throat was dry and scratchy feeling... legs felt okay but just that internal overheating sensation was unpleasant. Felt better towards the end but wasn't enough to salvage the overall runtime. Bah, will make an effort to get up early for tomorrow's "long" run.
Target Training this week: 3 hour 30 minutes
Actual Training: 4:08:42
Consternation Index: Moderate
For a significant amount of time, I'm going to be on the 5 day plan, due to the 2 x week allergy shots which prohibit exercise 4 hours before and afterwards. Since I get home from work late at night, it's fairly prohibitive towards getting up at 4 am to run sufficiently before the 9 am shot.
Anyways, the condition of my foot being what it is, I'm picking my battles so far as the 5 day week. I think at this point the ability to train 5 days without accumulating injuries is better than the ability to train 6-7 days a week slowly accumulating injuries... We'll see how this turns out.
Sunday 03/16: 1:06:04, Monterrey to RB and back on the other side. Something resembling a proper distance run. A fantastic day, with a nice breeze. Went a mellow pace, 33:36 out and 31:50 back plus jog to car. Felt really good. Longest run yet. A significant jump from last week's sunday run, but feet don't feel that bad. A little bit of tenderness between the big toe and the bad toe, but taping helps. Maybe a little bit stupid to go suddenly for a longer run, but here's the thing...
Sometimes when you run, nice and relaxed and without cardiovascular pain, you get to this place of existential peace and calm, where thoughts seem to move fluidly and resolve themselves, where one is at peace with one's life and one's existence. It's this phenomena that to me is the flip side of all of the competitive angst and striving for self betterment that running also represents to me. It's clarity and peace and calm that I only feel through running.
The past few weeks have come with a whole lot of changes, stress, conflict and its only recently that I've become really aware of the mental and physical toll its been taking on me. When the intended turnaround point came, I just wasn't ready to give up this healing sense of calm that I felt at that moment. So I kept going, past that one, then the next logical turnaround point too... until finally I came all the way to the RB and realized that sooner or later this run would end, like all other runs before it.
Monday 03/17: Off. Shot day. The best part about today is that my feet don't hurt despite the longer run yesterday :).
Tuesday 03/18: 43:21, 3 x Arroyo Tempo Loops, same deal as last week. 14:48, 11:59, 15:07 plus jog to car. Times did not improve, but HR was much better across all three loops... I suppose that is mildly encouraging. Lots of work to do today, not a lot of time to feel crotchety about this workout, so oh, well. Also, very very cold today... in the 40's... wore gloves, but legs still felt nice and frosty after the first loop, eesh.
Wednesday 03/19: 44:17, Monterrey to bridge loop. Oooooooooh boy... didn't feel particularly bad but clearly tired from yesterday. Had to park far away, but can't blame all 2 minutes of slowness on that. Apparently my short and longterm endurance is about -5 on a scale of "none" to "good", if 12 minutes of upper threshold running is enough to have consequences for the next day. Also, mildly turned my L ankle, which put this unpleasant torque on the bad toe, which has begun to feel worse and worse as the day has progressed (after about a week and a half of feeling really good) .... aaaaaaarrrrrrrgggghhhh.....
Thursday 03/20: 50:43, California to RB, to the top of Salvia Canyon until the trail ends. A new run! A bit longer than it was supposed to be, but I was really excited to go up the little side trail next to the bike turnoff to get to Mt. Wilson. It wasn't long, but really liked the uphill. Also, saw Feldman and Jesse going back to the Arroyo.
Toe still felt a little bit sore from yesterday's twisting, so wrapped them again. I'm trying to wean myself from this practice, but my feet feel significantly better in the hours after the run when they are wrapped during the run vs. not.
Friday 03/21: Off. Shot day. Peter gets in today! Made cookies instead of run early this morning.
Saturday 03/22: 44:17, Monterrey to bridge loop. Argh, woke up at 7 am by force of habit, but realized it was weekend, so went back to sleep. This was a really bad decision, because it was already 75 and sunny by the time I got up at 10 am, which is approximately 15 degrees hotter than running weather that I appreciate. I definitely prefer 15 degrees too cold (45) than 15 degrees too warm (75). Felt crappy, throat was dry and scratchy feeling... legs felt okay but just that internal overheating sensation was unpleasant. Felt better towards the end but wasn't enough to salvage the overall runtime. Bah, will make an effort to get up early for tomorrow's "long" run.
Target Training this week: 3 hour 30 minutes
Actual Training: 4:08:42
Consternation Index: Moderate
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Week of 03/09/2008 - 03/15/2008 (Mystery Week 2)
The Mystery continues...
On Sunday, about 10 minutes from the end of my run, I felt this intense rush of pain travel from the tips of all five toes on the left foot, radiating up towards my ankles. At first I thought, AAAARRRGGGGHHH! I've finally done it, this must be some invisible stress fracture turning into a real fracture... but miraculously, the pain was fleeting, and I kept running just fine after that. There were a few smaller aftershocks, but I finished my run with both feet feeling strong.
Feet didn't feel great for the rest of the day, but strangely every day after that, I've seen measurable improvement. For the first time in over a year I actually feel like its getting BETTER instead of that I'm struggling daily to prevent the condition from worsening into a state of not being able to run or walk at all. Wednesday's run had no pain at all... when I walk, I don't take steps anticipating pain or trying not to favor the left side. It's weird!
I hope I haven't jinxed it by noting the improvement, but I feel cautiously optimistic about this. I'm actually not sure if this has anything at all to do with the mystery pain on Sunday, or whether its a function of only running 4 days a week instead of 6... its not really clear.
Sunday 03/09,: 48:46, "long" run down to the third bridge and back on the other side from Monterrey. Tried to wake up earlier than yesterday, but still REALLY HOT. Meh. I felt pretty stiff and horrible when I started this run, but I realized that my upper body cramped and my legs felt tired in an unfamiliar way bc of the riding yesterday. As the run went along, felt increasingly better, but took it real easy anyways.
Monday 03/10: Off. Shot day. Also a lot of work, meh. Took Peter to airport at 5 am. Did not feel good after that. Want to maximize awake time together, but we need to go to sleep earlier.
Tuesday 03/11: Off. Slept through alarm. Lame.
Wednesday 03/12: 43:12, 3 x Arroyo Tempo Loops with middle one as a pick-up. 14:46, 12:06, 14:52 plus jog back to car. Soooooooooooo slooooooooooooowwwwwwww.... g-damn. Didn't feel like I struggled, breathing was pretty even, but HR was so alarmingly high, I really didn't want to push harder. Felt kind of antsy, legs really wanted to go faster. I really dislike that feeling that feeling, that the rest of me can't keep up with my legs. Its like suddenly I got transported to a parallel universe where I haven't exercised a day in my life.
Thursday 03/13: 44:02, Monterrey to bridge, gah did NOT feel good... I guess trying to run fast yesterday was tiring. Felt just groggy and out of sorts. Sometimes its hard to believe how little my body will handle... also really sleep deprived. Stressed and discouraged feeling.
Friday 03/14: Off, shot day. Also Oxy Distance Carnival day. Good to see all of the peeps, but jealous of all the folks who are racing :-/. I don't really remember what racing feels like anymore. Ankle also really bad today. Meh. Really exhausted, had to go home right away after meet was over.
Saturday 03/15: Off. Slept until about 1 pm, then took another nap from 3 - 7 pm. Dreamed fitfully of work... Something is seriously wrong with me. Mentally and physically exhausted. Felt really unwell.
Target Training this week: 3 hours
Actual Training: 2:16:00
On Sunday, about 10 minutes from the end of my run, I felt this intense rush of pain travel from the tips of all five toes on the left foot, radiating up towards my ankles. At first I thought, AAAARRRGGGGHHH! I've finally done it, this must be some invisible stress fracture turning into a real fracture... but miraculously, the pain was fleeting, and I kept running just fine after that. There were a few smaller aftershocks, but I finished my run with both feet feeling strong.
Feet didn't feel great for the rest of the day, but strangely every day after that, I've seen measurable improvement. For the first time in over a year I actually feel like its getting BETTER instead of that I'm struggling daily to prevent the condition from worsening into a state of not being able to run or walk at all. Wednesday's run had no pain at all... when I walk, I don't take steps anticipating pain or trying not to favor the left side. It's weird!
I hope I haven't jinxed it by noting the improvement, but I feel cautiously optimistic about this. I'm actually not sure if this has anything at all to do with the mystery pain on Sunday, or whether its a function of only running 4 days a week instead of 6... its not really clear.
Sunday 03/09,: 48:46, "long" run down to the third bridge and back on the other side from Monterrey. Tried to wake up earlier than yesterday, but still REALLY HOT. Meh. I felt pretty stiff and horrible when I started this run, but I realized that my upper body cramped and my legs felt tired in an unfamiliar way bc of the riding yesterday. As the run went along, felt increasingly better, but took it real easy anyways.
Monday 03/10: Off. Shot day. Also a lot of work, meh. Took Peter to airport at 5 am. Did not feel good after that. Want to maximize awake time together, but we need to go to sleep earlier.
Tuesday 03/11: Off. Slept through alarm. Lame.
Wednesday 03/12: 43:12, 3 x Arroyo Tempo Loops with middle one as a pick-up. 14:46, 12:06, 14:52 plus jog back to car. Soooooooooooo slooooooooooooowwwwwwww.... g-damn. Didn't feel like I struggled, breathing was pretty even, but HR was so alarmingly high, I really didn't want to push harder. Felt kind of antsy, legs really wanted to go faster. I really dislike that feeling that feeling, that the rest of me can't keep up with my legs. Its like suddenly I got transported to a parallel universe where I haven't exercised a day in my life.
Thursday 03/13: 44:02, Monterrey to bridge, gah did NOT feel good... I guess trying to run fast yesterday was tiring. Felt just groggy and out of sorts. Sometimes its hard to believe how little my body will handle... also really sleep deprived. Stressed and discouraged feeling.
Friday 03/14: Off, shot day. Also Oxy Distance Carnival day. Good to see all of the peeps, but jealous of all the folks who are racing :-/. I don't really remember what racing feels like anymore. Ankle also really bad today. Meh. Really exhausted, had to go home right away after meet was over.
Saturday 03/15: Off. Slept until about 1 pm, then took another nap from 3 - 7 pm. Dreamed fitfully of work... Something is seriously wrong with me. Mentally and physically exhausted. Felt really unwell.
Target Training this week: 3 hours
Actual Training: 2:16:00
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Week of 03/02/2008 - 03/08/2008 (Mystery Week 1)
Judging from the quantity and quality of foul substances my left sinuses are producing... I haven't quite kicked the sinus infection. However, the subsiding of headache, fever and facial pain meant that I embarked tentatively on my first run in just about 2 weeks.
Let's see how well I do for the rest of the days....
Sunday 03/02: 44:07, Monterrey to bridge loop, veeeeeeeerrrrrrry slowly. Didn't feel as terrible as I expected, but still felt kinda tired and out of breath. Legs sore towards the end, upper body/shoulder felt cramp-y. Also a lot of snot. Not really feeling that great, but it was such a nice day that I felt it would be a shame to not get out there. Did PT and abridged core strengthening afterwards. Really hard, its been a few weeks. L foot felt so-so. Taped it before the run, seemed to help.
Monday 03/03: Off. Working kicking my ass. Sinuses really bad today.
Tuesday 03/04: Off. Wanted to get up and run in the morning, but its not that easy when you are still a little sick and are get home from work at midnight. Came home a record early 8:45 pm today in order to make it to my Wednesday morning rematch with Slow Jogging.
Wednesday 03/05: 41:58, Monterrey loop again in the AM. Hard to get up, but glad I did. Feeling much less sick than earlier in the week. Ran a couple minutes faster to show for it. Breathing is still not great, but much better than Sunday. Felt like I really had to concentrate to keep my form, pace. Not a fantastic run by any means, but I'm encouraged by the improvement.
Thursday 03/06: Off. Allergy shot day. I'm thinking that the 5 day week is going to be inevitable for a while... at least until Minion needs less supervision... or I get promoted to the once a week shot schedule instead of the twice a week shot schedule. It's kind of a toss up as to which will happen first.
Friday 03/07: 40:55, Monterrey loop in the AM. It's damn hard to wake up after insufficient sleep, but its a really good feeling to run in the morning. I feel happy when I get to work. Running doesn't quite feel as natural or as relaxed after an extended layoff, but things are getting better. No soreness today. Feet hurt a bit, but I think it was because I wrapped the toes too tightly today. Wondering if I should wean myself off of that.
Saturday 03/08: 41:22, One trail perimeter of the RB at almost noon. Remembered that I do not handle warm conditions well. Just felt inordinately warm, but in retrospect, maybe it wasn't so hot, maybe I'm just out of shape. Felt like I ran really slow, but the overall run time wasn't disasterous. Nose sunburnt. Nuts.
A beautiful day for riding though, joined Peter for 5 laps of the RB veeeeeeeeerrrry slowly. Turns out it was perfect temperature for cycling, really nice and fun. Felt pretty weak though on the bike. Legs not liking this unfamiliar activity... wrapped the bad toe up really tight for the pedaling, which sort of cut off the circulation a bit unpleasantly, but my toe didn't feel sore and bruised afterwards which is the usual after-effect of cycling these days.
Felt good about this week. 4 days of running, my feet are still in one piece, my legs feel good, the breathing is still bad, but my sinuses are loads better than at the beginning of the week.
Target Training Time this week: I really don't know how I'll be feeling. If I run 3-5 days and get healthy, I'll be pleased.
Actual Training: 2:48:22, 63 minutes of riding
Let's see how well I do for the rest of the days....
Sunday 03/02: 44:07, Monterrey to bridge loop, veeeeeeeerrrrrrry slowly. Didn't feel as terrible as I expected, but still felt kinda tired and out of breath. Legs sore towards the end, upper body/shoulder felt cramp-y. Also a lot of snot. Not really feeling that great, but it was such a nice day that I felt it would be a shame to not get out there. Did PT and abridged core strengthening afterwards. Really hard, its been a few weeks. L foot felt so-so. Taped it before the run, seemed to help.
Monday 03/03: Off. Working kicking my ass. Sinuses really bad today.
Tuesday 03/04: Off. Wanted to get up and run in the morning, but its not that easy when you are still a little sick and are get home from work at midnight. Came home a record early 8:45 pm today in order to make it to my Wednesday morning rematch with Slow Jogging.
Wednesday 03/05: 41:58, Monterrey loop again in the AM. Hard to get up, but glad I did. Feeling much less sick than earlier in the week. Ran a couple minutes faster to show for it. Breathing is still not great, but much better than Sunday. Felt like I really had to concentrate to keep my form, pace. Not a fantastic run by any means, but I'm encouraged by the improvement.
Thursday 03/06: Off. Allergy shot day. I'm thinking that the 5 day week is going to be inevitable for a while... at least until Minion needs less supervision... or I get promoted to the once a week shot schedule instead of the twice a week shot schedule. It's kind of a toss up as to which will happen first.
Friday 03/07: 40:55, Monterrey loop in the AM. It's damn hard to wake up after insufficient sleep, but its a really good feeling to run in the morning. I feel happy when I get to work. Running doesn't quite feel as natural or as relaxed after an extended layoff, but things are getting better. No soreness today. Feet hurt a bit, but I think it was because I wrapped the toes too tightly today. Wondering if I should wean myself off of that.
Saturday 03/08: 41:22, One trail perimeter of the RB at almost noon. Remembered that I do not handle warm conditions well. Just felt inordinately warm, but in retrospect, maybe it wasn't so hot, maybe I'm just out of shape. Felt like I ran really slow, but the overall run time wasn't disasterous. Nose sunburnt. Nuts.
A beautiful day for riding though, joined Peter for 5 laps of the RB veeeeeeeeerrrry slowly. Turns out it was perfect temperature for cycling, really nice and fun. Felt pretty weak though on the bike. Legs not liking this unfamiliar activity... wrapped the bad toe up really tight for the pedaling, which sort of cut off the circulation a bit unpleasantly, but my toe didn't feel sore and bruised afterwards which is the usual after-effect of cycling these days.
Felt good about this week. 4 days of running, my feet are still in one piece, my legs feel good, the breathing is still bad, but my sinuses are loads better than at the beginning of the week.
Target Training Time this week: I really don't know how I'll be feeling. If I run 3-5 days and get healthy, I'll be pleased.
Actual Training: 2:48:22, 63 minutes of riding
Week of 02/24/2008 - 03/01/2008 (Dying Week 2)
Contrary to popular belief, being a boss if freakin' hard work.
Spent Sunday also entirely in bed, and tried very hard to be somewhat presentable for my new Junior Resource's (henceforth referred to as "Minion") first day. Did not succeed in that. It is very, very hard to retain the presence of a competent, individual that's got their shit together, when you are coughing violently, pale, and wheezing as we toddled up the one flight of stairs. Somehow, I got through the day and Minion still seemed enthused about coming back tomorrow. I guess I'll call that a victory.
Coughing gradually subsided over the course of the week, but the feeling of being perpetually out of breath took a while longer to depart. Towards the end of the week I felt optimistic about trying a run again, but then I acquired a sinus infection. Apparently my left side is cursed, because only those sinuses were affected. That is also the side with 1/2 an ACL, a metal plate holding my ankle together, and the bad toe.... wtf?
Unfortunately, the major symptoms of the sinus infection were fever, headache and radiating pain in the left side of my face, which also makes for poor running. I was starting to get pretty freaked out by Saturday, but was much improved after Herr Doctor Meinhold's mysterious voodoo remedy, the Chamomile Tea Inhalation.
Will the dying ever stop? No runs this week.
Spent Sunday also entirely in bed, and tried very hard to be somewhat presentable for my new Junior Resource's (henceforth referred to as "Minion") first day. Did not succeed in that. It is very, very hard to retain the presence of a competent, individual that's got their shit together, when you are coughing violently, pale, and wheezing as we toddled up the one flight of stairs. Somehow, I got through the day and Minion still seemed enthused about coming back tomorrow. I guess I'll call that a victory.
Coughing gradually subsided over the course of the week, but the feeling of being perpetually out of breath took a while longer to depart. Towards the end of the week I felt optimistic about trying a run again, but then I acquired a sinus infection. Apparently my left side is cursed, because only those sinuses were affected. That is also the side with 1/2 an ACL, a metal plate holding my ankle together, and the bad toe.... wtf?
Unfortunately, the major symptoms of the sinus infection were fever, headache and radiating pain in the left side of my face, which also makes for poor running. I was starting to get pretty freaked out by Saturday, but was much improved after Herr Doctor Meinhold's mysterious voodoo remedy, the Chamomile Tea Inhalation.
Will the dying ever stop? No runs this week.
Week of 02/17/2008 - 02/23/2008 (Dying Week 1)
I think I ran once this week, right after coming back from Denver. Monterrey down to the bridge loop, for about 42 minutes. I remember that my chest felt kinda tight during this run, and coughing became worse after that.
The next day, blood clots were coming up with the cough, so I decided maybe I should lay off the exercising... Basically got worse and worse, peaking on Saturday, which I spent entirely flat on my back in bed. Dying. Literally.
The next day, blood clots were coming up with the cough, so I decided maybe I should lay off the exercising... Basically got worse and worse, peaking on Saturday, which I spent entirely flat on my back in bed. Dying. Literally.
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