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.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
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.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Week of 12/24/2006 - 12/30/2006 (Base Phase)
Merry Christmas all!
Dear Santa,
Maybe I haven't quite been as good as I could have been, but I would really like a new left foot. Preferably one that's an exact mirror image of my right foot. One that's not shorter, smaller and weaker than the other one... one that will let me just get through more than 2 week of training at a time...
Sunday 12/24: 12.1 miles, 1:49:15 Palomar loop. Holy crap, I've lost the ability to do long runs at any sort of reasonable pace. Felt fine, L ankle more sore than I'd like. The pain has shifted from the inner top part of the foot, down to my inner arch, then to the heel/achilles and now has settled right under the base of the tibia on the outside. I thought, since it has gone full circle, it would go away from there, but its not.
Monday 12/25: Off. Christmas, yum.
Tuesday 12/26: 7 miles, attempted some tempo work, but it was abandoned after about 3 miles @ 7 minute pace. Pathetic. Ankle hurt quite a bit.
Happy Birthday Pat! =)
Wednesday 12/27: Off. It hurts to walk now. Something at the base of the tibia isn't sore anymore, its actively inflamed. Frick. I now don't know what the right decision for Carlsbad is. This sucks.
Thursday 12/28: 41.3 miles, 2 hours and 45 minutes, biking. Originally Mt. Wilson to Clear Creek, but brutal headwind the whole way... About 3 miles up the 2, the crosswinds picked up and made it almost impossible to 1) steer in any predictable direction and 2) stay on the bike at all. After almost getting hit by 3 cars, decided to turn back early.
Peeved about the shortened ride, so stopped on my way home to do (1 on, 1 off) x 3 Rose Bowl circuits, which were... extremely ugly. 9:30-ish a piece except for the last, which was... much slower. I suck.
Friday 12/29: Off. Too much work, and then it got too dark to ride. Meanwhile my ankle is sore again, even to walk. This is a disaster....
Saturday 12/30: 40.3 miles, Mt. Wilson to Clear Creek by bike. One lap of Rose Bowl detour with Ian. Good ride, but so cold and so slow. Complete opposite of running, felt aerobically strong, but legs just tired and killing me. I guess I don't really have any biking muscles left anymore.
Target Mileage: 45 miles
Week Actual: 19.25 miles
Last Week: 50.3 miles
Mostly biking this week to try to heal the mystery foot pain. meh.
Hoping for a clean and healthy start in the New Year.
Dear Santa,
Maybe I haven't quite been as good as I could have been, but I would really like a new left foot. Preferably one that's an exact mirror image of my right foot. One that's not shorter, smaller and weaker than the other one... one that will let me just get through more than 2 week of training at a time...
Sunday 12/24: 12.1 miles, 1:49:15 Palomar loop. Holy crap, I've lost the ability to do long runs at any sort of reasonable pace. Felt fine, L ankle more sore than I'd like. The pain has shifted from the inner top part of the foot, down to my inner arch, then to the heel/achilles and now has settled right under the base of the tibia on the outside. I thought, since it has gone full circle, it would go away from there, but its not.
Monday 12/25: Off. Christmas, yum.
Tuesday 12/26: 7 miles, attempted some tempo work, but it was abandoned after about 3 miles @ 7 minute pace. Pathetic. Ankle hurt quite a bit.
Happy Birthday Pat! =)
Wednesday 12/27: Off. It hurts to walk now. Something at the base of the tibia isn't sore anymore, its actively inflamed. Frick. I now don't know what the right decision for Carlsbad is. This sucks.
Thursday 12/28: 41.3 miles, 2 hours and 45 minutes, biking. Originally Mt. Wilson to Clear Creek, but brutal headwind the whole way... About 3 miles up the 2, the crosswinds picked up and made it almost impossible to 1) steer in any predictable direction and 2) stay on the bike at all. After almost getting hit by 3 cars, decided to turn back early.
Peeved about the shortened ride, so stopped on my way home to do (1 on, 1 off) x 3 Rose Bowl circuits, which were... extremely ugly. 9:30-ish a piece except for the last, which was... much slower. I suck.
Friday 12/29: Off. Too much work, and then it got too dark to ride. Meanwhile my ankle is sore again, even to walk. This is a disaster....
Saturday 12/30: 40.3 miles, Mt. Wilson to Clear Creek by bike. One lap of Rose Bowl detour with Ian. Good ride, but so cold and so slow. Complete opposite of running, felt aerobically strong, but legs just tired and killing me. I guess I don't really have any biking muscles left anymore.
Target Mileage: 45 miles
Week Actual: 19.25 miles
Last Week: 50.3 miles
Mostly biking this week to try to heal the mystery foot pain. meh.
Hoping for a clean and healthy start in the New Year.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Week of 12/17/2006 - 12/23/2006 (Base Phase)
I'm going cold turkey on the junk food.
Last week, the following items arrived at the office:
3 Gift Baskets, Godiva Chocolate
1 See's Candy Assortment
1 Christmas tin, popcorn and brownies
2 cubic feet of Mrs. Field's baked goods
1 frosted sheet cake
5 pounds and 5 stomach aches later, I've decided that developing adult onset diabetes is NOT the way to go for running fast. Complex carbs... I need complex carbs....
Sunday 12/17: 14 miles, 2:05:05 easy with Ian. Torrential downpour has cleared to a marvelous day. Ankle felt pretty strong despite the uneven ground. Stomach hurt on and off, felt a little bit like the inadequately oiled Tin Man, the slightest bit more exertion than usual to un-stick those joints. Sure is nice to crack the 2 hour mark though. Its been a whole lot of weeks since I've had an old school Lydiard style capillary growth stimulating long run.
Monday 12/18: 10.5 miles, 23 minutes of warm up, 10K tempo on the track (42:02.31), 21 minutes of cool down, jogging on the infield. Strangest run ever... alternately horrible and wonderful. Pissed off about the 2.31 seconds, but this actually is a new 10K PR.
It all started because of the darkness. Holiday hours apparently end at 7:30 pm, so that's when the lights went off at the track, and I had to run the entire workout in darkness. This made it extremely difficult to see my splits (press button to take split, then press "illuminate" button, then squint uncomfortably to see the tiny radioactive green numbers...) so after a mile or so, the pursuit was generally abandoned and I just tried to focus on relaxing and running on feel.
I was planning to do the default monday workout of 3 x 2 miles @ AT pace, but somehow I found a really great rhythm on the 8th lap, and so I just ran all the way through. I had only a vague idea of what was going on time-wise, so when I walked under the lamp to see my final time, I let out an involuntary "AAAAAAGHHHHHH!!!" Minutes and seconds are an arbitrary time unit in the end, but 2.31 seconds, how cruel. For some reason I've gotten the notion stuck in my head that the ability to do this workout in sub-42 at this point will equate to a sub-40 race in May, which is the irrational source of consternation over these 2.31 seconds.
I retrieved my mile splits out of my watch as soon as I got home: 6:58.35, 6:55.26, 6:45.81, 6:39.59, 6:34.12, 6:36.63, 1:32.55 (the 5K's come out to about 21:17, 20:45) I remember feeling really choppy and bad in those first 2 miles, but I didn't realize how slow they really were. Then it all cleared up mysteriously and those last 4 miles were possibly the best flat 4 miles I've ever run in my life. They just felt so fluid and smooth and easy like flying, I felt like I could just run that way forever and ever. It felt so, so, great I almost thought about running some more miles just to see how long it would last. I closed easily in 92 seconds, which in many cases would constitute the fastest lap I run in a 5K race. Interesting...
Tuesday 12/19: 6.2 miles, 53:53 easy jog Huntington up Oak Knoll. Felt great, except L achilles hurt on and off at the base of the heel... I know this is because my heel is maybe 1/4 inch lower in my shoe without the orthotic, but hoping it will eventually adjust with some stretching and icing.
Ugh, death by holidays! Two more chocolate baskets, one box of gourmet brownies and a pound cake arrived today. Apparently the etymology of a pound cake is because there's 1 lb of butter in it (!!!)
Wednesday 12/20: off. All day conference (got laughed at for use of word "ergo" during team building exercise...), got back late, achilles is still sore. Stretch, ice, bed.
Thursday 12/21: 7 miles, Bailey Canyon to Wilson Connector in the Frees again. 28:08 to camp, 46:04 to sign, 1:18:51 total. Mildly consterned. A little bit of soreness in L ankle/arch made it hard to get good leverage for the uphill, but that doesn't entirely explain the sub-par showing. Achilles soreness mostly gone though.
Regrettably, I'm also FAT. Put on a few extra pounds of holiday cheer in the past few weeks. Felt okay for the tempo, but clearly the extra weight is an accentuated liability on a hill climb.
Friday 12/22: 5.2 miles, 43:45 easy recovery jogging. Orange Grove at night again, legs felt great, but just couldn't find the right footstrike for my left side, shooting pains are gone, but ankle and arch are still sore. Its worse when it's cold...
Felt really impatient today. Legs and lungs are feeling good for the first time since being sick, but I still can't really test my body because my freaking left foot just won't heal (quickly enough). I'm still favoring the left side a lot of the time, which essentially means I don't push off of the left foot at full strength. It's been over 2 months now since I did my last long tempo run, and I'm dying to see where I am...
Saturday 12/23: 7.4 miles, 59:41 quasi-progression run through Upper Arroyo. Didn't eat anything all day before the run, thinking that may have been a bad idea. Legs felt strong, but everything else just didn't gel, like when your front shifter gets stuck in the little gear. Was supposed to be 3 miles easy, 2.5 miles base pace, 2 miles tempo pace... but the slow overall time makes me suspect it was more like 6 miles of easy pace followed by 1.5 miles of tempo pace. Oh, well.
Target Mileage: 50 miles
Week Actual: 50.3 miles
Last week: 39.6 miles
Woo hoo! I actually met my target mileage this week, how 'bout that.
Last week, the following items arrived at the office:
3 Gift Baskets, Godiva Chocolate
1 See's Candy Assortment
1 Christmas tin, popcorn and brownies
2 cubic feet of Mrs. Field's baked goods
1 frosted sheet cake
5 pounds and 5 stomach aches later, I've decided that developing adult onset diabetes is NOT the way to go for running fast. Complex carbs... I need complex carbs....
Sunday 12/17: 14 miles, 2:05:05 easy with Ian. Torrential downpour has cleared to a marvelous day. Ankle felt pretty strong despite the uneven ground. Stomach hurt on and off, felt a little bit like the inadequately oiled Tin Man, the slightest bit more exertion than usual to un-stick those joints. Sure is nice to crack the 2 hour mark though. Its been a whole lot of weeks since I've had an old school Lydiard style capillary growth stimulating long run.
Monday 12/18: 10.5 miles, 23 minutes of warm up, 10K tempo on the track (42:02.31), 21 minutes of cool down, jogging on the infield. Strangest run ever... alternately horrible and wonderful. Pissed off about the 2.31 seconds, but this actually is a new 10K PR.
It all started because of the darkness. Holiday hours apparently end at 7:30 pm, so that's when the lights went off at the track, and I had to run the entire workout in darkness. This made it extremely difficult to see my splits (press button to take split, then press "illuminate" button, then squint uncomfortably to see the tiny radioactive green numbers...) so after a mile or so, the pursuit was generally abandoned and I just tried to focus on relaxing and running on feel.
I was planning to do the default monday workout of 3 x 2 miles @ AT pace, but somehow I found a really great rhythm on the 8th lap, and so I just ran all the way through. I had only a vague idea of what was going on time-wise, so when I walked under the lamp to see my final time, I let out an involuntary "AAAAAAGHHHHHH!!!" Minutes and seconds are an arbitrary time unit in the end, but 2.31 seconds, how cruel. For some reason I've gotten the notion stuck in my head that the ability to do this workout in sub-42 at this point will equate to a sub-40 race in May, which is the irrational source of consternation over these 2.31 seconds.
I retrieved my mile splits out of my watch as soon as I got home: 6:58.35, 6:55.26, 6:45.81, 6:39.59, 6:34.12, 6:36.63, 1:32.55 (the 5K's come out to about 21:17, 20:45) I remember feeling really choppy and bad in those first 2 miles, but I didn't realize how slow they really were. Then it all cleared up mysteriously and those last 4 miles were possibly the best flat 4 miles I've ever run in my life. They just felt so fluid and smooth and easy like flying, I felt like I could just run that way forever and ever. It felt so, so, great I almost thought about running some more miles just to see how long it would last. I closed easily in 92 seconds, which in many cases would constitute the fastest lap I run in a 5K race. Interesting...
Tuesday 12/19: 6.2 miles, 53:53 easy jog Huntington up Oak Knoll. Felt great, except L achilles hurt on and off at the base of the heel... I know this is because my heel is maybe 1/4 inch lower in my shoe without the orthotic, but hoping it will eventually adjust with some stretching and icing.
Ugh, death by holidays! Two more chocolate baskets, one box of gourmet brownies and a pound cake arrived today. Apparently the etymology of a pound cake is because there's 1 lb of butter in it (!!!)
Wednesday 12/20: off. All day conference (got laughed at for use of word "ergo" during team building exercise...), got back late, achilles is still sore. Stretch, ice, bed.
Thursday 12/21: 7 miles, Bailey Canyon to Wilson Connector in the Frees again. 28:08 to camp, 46:04 to sign, 1:18:51 total. Mildly consterned. A little bit of soreness in L ankle/arch made it hard to get good leverage for the uphill, but that doesn't entirely explain the sub-par showing. Achilles soreness mostly gone though.
Regrettably, I'm also FAT. Put on a few extra pounds of holiday cheer in the past few weeks. Felt okay for the tempo, but clearly the extra weight is an accentuated liability on a hill climb.
Friday 12/22: 5.2 miles, 43:45 easy recovery jogging. Orange Grove at night again, legs felt great, but just couldn't find the right footstrike for my left side, shooting pains are gone, but ankle and arch are still sore. Its worse when it's cold...
Felt really impatient today. Legs and lungs are feeling good for the first time since being sick, but I still can't really test my body because my freaking left foot just won't heal (quickly enough). I'm still favoring the left side a lot of the time, which essentially means I don't push off of the left foot at full strength. It's been over 2 months now since I did my last long tempo run, and I'm dying to see where I am...
Saturday 12/23: 7.4 miles, 59:41 quasi-progression run through Upper Arroyo. Didn't eat anything all day before the run, thinking that may have been a bad idea. Legs felt strong, but everything else just didn't gel, like when your front shifter gets stuck in the little gear. Was supposed to be 3 miles easy, 2.5 miles base pace, 2 miles tempo pace... but the slow overall time makes me suspect it was more like 6 miles of easy pace followed by 1.5 miles of tempo pace. Oh, well.
Target Mileage: 50 miles
Week Actual: 50.3 miles
Last week: 39.6 miles
Woo hoo! I actually met my target mileage this week, how 'bout that.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Week of 12/10/2006 - 12/16/2006 (Base Phase)
So, here's the conundrum:
Orthotics --> Mystery Ankle pain
Not Orthotics --> Shin Splints
I've managed to identify the source and cause of the persistent ankle pain as being an inflammation in some tendon in my inside arch of the left foot, which percolates up across the top of my foot until it manifests itself in a burst of sharp, shooting pain at the bend of the ankle where one normally ties shoe laces. I guess I've had this pain at a low level ever since I first started training in September, but it never became prohibitive until the middle of the Tiger Run 2 weeks ago.
Observations support the theory that 2 years of wearing orthotics have weakened the ligaments in my feet and that they are no longer stabilizing my foot in the correct way . Dr. Rossi says that the problem is manifesting preferentially in the Left Ankle because of the trauma from surgery 5 years ago. Taking days off seems to have minimal effect, since resting isn't strengthening the ligaments. I've seen marked improvement after every day of running without orthotics, but the increased pronation seems to be causing the beginnings of shin splints, the ailment for which the orthotics were originally procured. Every day with the orthotics, however, seems to re-damage the inflamed tendon...
Sunday 12/10: 6.5 miles, 52:13 Arroyo back on Orange Grove, easy in new shoes, Saucony Triumph 4, without orthotics. Had to scrap the Sunday long run because yesterday's jogging seems to have aggravated the left ankle/arch again.
Monday 12/11: 8.5 miles, orthotics. 21 minutes of jogging around South fields to warm up, 2 x 2 miles, 21 minutes of jogging cool down. 13:34 (6:48, 6:46), 13:34 (6:43,6:51) on 2 minutes of rest.
UUYYYYY... seriously a new low. I just don't know what went wrong. I felt pretty confident going on, ankle felt much better after yesterday's jog, was going at a quick clip on the warm-up. Definitely expected improvement over last week, but I knew within the first few laps that something was wrong. Breathing was short, coughing, something was pulling in L calf, couldn't find a stride or a rhythm, ankle hurt increasingly more as time went on.
Lay defeated across the starting line on the track after second one... feel tired and broken, even though I didn't even get a good workout. This is where all the dreams begin and end... well for runners of events that are integer multiples of 400m, anyways. I don't even know what I am... I'm probably a 10K runner (n =25), but it feels like my dreams have already been crushed.
Tuesday 12/12: 5.9 miles, 49:15 Arroyo short loop, no orthotics. Ankle felt seriously damaged from yesterday, it took the first 2 miles to find my stride, but felt okay towards the end.
Wednesday 12/13: 7 miles, Bailey Canyon Trail to Wilson Connector, 27:29 to camp, 45:02 to sign, 1:17:33 total. Psyched about new PR to sign post. Everything felt great. I was a little nervous about wearing the Frees on the trail for the first time, but turned out to be the best decision I've made all week. Ankle and arches felt awesome, felt calves working a bit harder than usual, but legs felt strong, breathing under control, pleasant warm breeze.
Finally, some answers. I feel pretty confident about my theory about the correlation between foot problems and orthotics. I also realized that I need to be more patient about where I'm at with my strength and endurance. It's not that I'm completely out of shape, but apparently I'm just not ready to handle a full load of training elements again. Last week I had a solid track tempo session, but then tanked the hill climb. This week I tanked the tempo work, but nailed the mountain run. As consterning as this is, I need to space out my hard workouts and keep the reduced mileage load until I can consistently log a long run, a tempo session and a hill climb without exhausting my body to the point that it compromises my next workout.
Thursday 12/14: 5.2 miles, 43:58 recovery jog up and down Orange Grove (no orthotics). Felt happy to be out running. Liking the warm weather, ankle felt a bit sore, but no shooting pains. I think its a good sign.
Friday 12/15: off. Usually Saturday is my normal off day, but due to the Girls on the Run 5K buddy-being tomorrow, today will be my off day. Probably good to let ankle rest a day too.
Saturday 12/16: 6.5 miles, ~2 miles jog from California to Rose Bowl Parking Lot H, 5K around Rose Bowl with Savannah, then ~2 miles back to car. It started raining immediately upon getting back to the car, impeccable timing indeed. Savannah is one quick chick, 24:58 for a 5K off of no training, not bad for a 7th grader! Looking forward to working with her. I accidentally tripped her at the beginning of the race though... hope we're not off to inauspicious beginnings.
Target Mileage: 45 miles
Week Actual: 39.6 miles
Last Week: 39.7 miles
Dang, the lack of long run and the self imposed day off are totally killing me. The most important thing about this week though, is the break through about the orthotics. I haven't worn them for 5 days and I think my ankle is going to be okay, I won't have to take any more time off after all!
**Note: I did see various people's suggestions for the one foot with an orthotic thing, and I actually DID try a lot of these things, but it was just too weird, it felt like it threw off my center of balance and made my stride uneven. The problem is that the orthotics also pretty much prevent proper forefoot flexion. For right now I'm doing okay with a pair of soft spenco arch support inserts.
Orthotics --> Mystery Ankle pain
Not Orthotics --> Shin Splints
I've managed to identify the source and cause of the persistent ankle pain as being an inflammation in some tendon in my inside arch of the left foot, which percolates up across the top of my foot until it manifests itself in a burst of sharp, shooting pain at the bend of the ankle where one normally ties shoe laces. I guess I've had this pain at a low level ever since I first started training in September, but it never became prohibitive until the middle of the Tiger Run 2 weeks ago.
Observations support the theory that 2 years of wearing orthotics have weakened the ligaments in my feet and that they are no longer stabilizing my foot in the correct way . Dr. Rossi says that the problem is manifesting preferentially in the Left Ankle because of the trauma from surgery 5 years ago. Taking days off seems to have minimal effect, since resting isn't strengthening the ligaments. I've seen marked improvement after every day of running without orthotics, but the increased pronation seems to be causing the beginnings of shin splints, the ailment for which the orthotics were originally procured. Every day with the orthotics, however, seems to re-damage the inflamed tendon...
Sunday 12/10: 6.5 miles, 52:13 Arroyo back on Orange Grove, easy in new shoes, Saucony Triumph 4, without orthotics. Had to scrap the Sunday long run because yesterday's jogging seems to have aggravated the left ankle/arch again.
Monday 12/11: 8.5 miles, orthotics. 21 minutes of jogging around South fields to warm up, 2 x 2 miles, 21 minutes of jogging cool down. 13:34 (6:48, 6:46), 13:34 (6:43,6:51) on 2 minutes of rest.
UUYYYYY... seriously a new low. I just don't know what went wrong. I felt pretty confident going on, ankle felt much better after yesterday's jog, was going at a quick clip on the warm-up. Definitely expected improvement over last week, but I knew within the first few laps that something was wrong. Breathing was short, coughing, something was pulling in L calf, couldn't find a stride or a rhythm, ankle hurt increasingly more as time went on.
Lay defeated across the starting line on the track after second one... feel tired and broken, even though I didn't even get a good workout. This is where all the dreams begin and end... well for runners of events that are integer multiples of 400m, anyways. I don't even know what I am... I'm probably a 10K runner (n =25), but it feels like my dreams have already been crushed.
Tuesday 12/12: 5.9 miles, 49:15 Arroyo short loop, no orthotics. Ankle felt seriously damaged from yesterday, it took the first 2 miles to find my stride, but felt okay towards the end.
Wednesday 12/13: 7 miles, Bailey Canyon Trail to Wilson Connector, 27:29 to camp, 45:02 to sign, 1:17:33 total. Psyched about new PR to sign post. Everything felt great. I was a little nervous about wearing the Frees on the trail for the first time, but turned out to be the best decision I've made all week. Ankle and arches felt awesome, felt calves working a bit harder than usual, but legs felt strong, breathing under control, pleasant warm breeze.
Finally, some answers. I feel pretty confident about my theory about the correlation between foot problems and orthotics. I also realized that I need to be more patient about where I'm at with my strength and endurance. It's not that I'm completely out of shape, but apparently I'm just not ready to handle a full load of training elements again. Last week I had a solid track tempo session, but then tanked the hill climb. This week I tanked the tempo work, but nailed the mountain run. As consterning as this is, I need to space out my hard workouts and keep the reduced mileage load until I can consistently log a long run, a tempo session and a hill climb without exhausting my body to the point that it compromises my next workout.
Thursday 12/14: 5.2 miles, 43:58 recovery jog up and down Orange Grove (no orthotics). Felt happy to be out running. Liking the warm weather, ankle felt a bit sore, but no shooting pains. I think its a good sign.
Friday 12/15: off. Usually Saturday is my normal off day, but due to the Girls on the Run 5K buddy-being tomorrow, today will be my off day. Probably good to let ankle rest a day too.
Saturday 12/16: 6.5 miles, ~2 miles jog from California to Rose Bowl Parking Lot H, 5K around Rose Bowl with Savannah, then ~2 miles back to car. It started raining immediately upon getting back to the car, impeccable timing indeed. Savannah is one quick chick, 24:58 for a 5K off of no training, not bad for a 7th grader! Looking forward to working with her. I accidentally tripped her at the beginning of the race though... hope we're not off to inauspicious beginnings.
Target Mileage: 45 miles
Week Actual: 39.6 miles
Last Week: 39.7 miles
Dang, the lack of long run and the self imposed day off are totally killing me. The most important thing about this week though, is the break through about the orthotics. I haven't worn them for 5 days and I think my ankle is going to be okay, I won't have to take any more time off after all!
**Note: I did see various people's suggestions for the one foot with an orthotic thing, and I actually DID try a lot of these things, but it was just too weird, it felt like it threw off my center of balance and made my stride uneven. The problem is that the orthotics also pretty much prevent proper forefoot flexion. For right now I'm doing okay with a pair of soft spenco arch support inserts.
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Week of 12/03/2006 - 12/09/2006 (Base Phase)
Tuberculosis? Negative.
Now that I've been electronically fingerprinted, and deemed pulmonary disease-free, I'm cleared to work with the kids at the school. Woo hoo! (Though this does eliminate one explanation for the persistent cough that I've managed to retain...) Next up, surviving one 90 minute instructional period with the bigger, taller and tougher-than-me inner city LA kids. I don't suppose they are amused by Ligand Field Theory...
Sunday 12/03: 11.5 miles, 1:40:08 quality time with el Life Coach. Outing to Morro Bay was regrettably cancelled due to inclement weather up north, so nice run up the Arroyo to JPL and back, distance uncertain. Discussed training theories and life theories, great to have Dr. Rossi around. L ankle still feels tweaked from the race, but apparently there's nothing to be done.
In other news, Happy Birthday Mark! Ran your 22 miles a tad fast, eh?
Monday 12/04: off day, oh boy doesn't that feel good! Actually, worried about ankle, hurts to walk sometimes. Didn't have a rest day last week, so figured I'd cash in an injury time-out.
Tuesday 12/05: 10 miles, 3 x 2 miles @ AT pace - wow its been a long time. 2 miles warm up with Mark, ankle felt pretty shaky. 13:27 (6:43, 6:44), 13:22 (6:41, 6:41), 13:19 (6:40, 6:39) with 2 minutes of rest. 2 miles warm down in Nike Frees, which strangely alleviated a lot of the ankle pain.
I'm really hoping that this ankle thing goes away soon. The track actually hurts it the least which is why I chose to go through with this workout. Its been a really long time since I've been able to complete a set of 3 x 2 miles, so I'm not too worried about the slow-ness. Legs felt like they had so much energy left, but the breathing system felt out of whack. Suboptimal coughing.
Wednesday 12/06: 5.2 miles, 46:24 recovery shuffle, up and down Orange Grove, which is very surreal at night with those big globe lights. Just now realizing that I'm still kinda worn out in many ways from the Tiger Run, its not clear that my ankle is improving... but its not getting worse.
Thursday 12/07: 7 miles, Bailey Canyon to Connector Trail, 28:47 to camp, 47:52 to sign post, 1:21:08 total. meh, I hardcore suck. I know my body is tired and I didn't expect a particularly strong showing, but it shouldn't have been THIS (>2 minutes worse than last week) slow.
There was nothing *wrong* with the run, per se. It didn't feel horrible, it was just slow. They say that when you're getting back into shape, some days and weeks will feel great, but then you can't consistently recover and perform the way that you're used to. Last week felt almost normal, but then something's just been off this week. Its demoralizing to have those big swings, but I feel motivated to change this situation. Easy days for the rest of the week, gotta heal and rest before I can start the mileage ramp again.
Friday 12/08: Off, again. I feel like crap. Hurts to walk.
Saturday 12/09: 6 miles, 50 minutes easy. Random pasadena and track. L ankle/arch is still not really okay. Stretched and iced, felt better. My ankle strangely feels the best in the Frees, so I'm going to give Dr. Rossi's suggestion to lose the orthotics a shot. Stopped by Steve's, he seemed uncharacteristically happy to see me--didn't even charge me the "you're not a student so I don't like you" inflated price!
Target Mileage: 45 miles
Week Actual: 39.7 miles
Last week: 53 miles
Some weeks you just don't meet your goals. Apparently, some weeks you don't even crawl over the 40 mpw line. I think it was the right decision to rest the ankle on Friday, but I just don't know. Trying to fight that creeping depression that comes with partial training... it's just such an emotional no man's land. mehhhhhhhhhhhh...
Now that I've been electronically fingerprinted, and deemed pulmonary disease-free, I'm cleared to work with the kids at the school. Woo hoo! (Though this does eliminate one explanation for the persistent cough that I've managed to retain...) Next up, surviving one 90 minute instructional period with the bigger, taller and tougher-than-me inner city LA kids. I don't suppose they are amused by Ligand Field Theory...
Sunday 12/03: 11.5 miles, 1:40:08 quality time with el Life Coach. Outing to Morro Bay was regrettably cancelled due to inclement weather up north, so nice run up the Arroyo to JPL and back, distance uncertain. Discussed training theories and life theories, great to have Dr. Rossi around. L ankle still feels tweaked from the race, but apparently there's nothing to be done.
In other news, Happy Birthday Mark! Ran your 22 miles a tad fast, eh?
Monday 12/04: off day, oh boy doesn't that feel good! Actually, worried about ankle, hurts to walk sometimes. Didn't have a rest day last week, so figured I'd cash in an injury time-out.
Tuesday 12/05: 10 miles, 3 x 2 miles @ AT pace - wow its been a long time. 2 miles warm up with Mark, ankle felt pretty shaky. 13:27 (6:43, 6:44), 13:22 (6:41, 6:41), 13:19 (6:40, 6:39) with 2 minutes of rest. 2 miles warm down in Nike Frees, which strangely alleviated a lot of the ankle pain.
I'm really hoping that this ankle thing goes away soon. The track actually hurts it the least which is why I chose to go through with this workout. Its been a really long time since I've been able to complete a set of 3 x 2 miles, so I'm not too worried about the slow-ness. Legs felt like they had so much energy left, but the breathing system felt out of whack. Suboptimal coughing.
Wednesday 12/06: 5.2 miles, 46:24 recovery shuffle, up and down Orange Grove, which is very surreal at night with those big globe lights. Just now realizing that I'm still kinda worn out in many ways from the Tiger Run, its not clear that my ankle is improving... but its not getting worse.
Thursday 12/07: 7 miles, Bailey Canyon to Connector Trail, 28:47 to camp, 47:52 to sign post, 1:21:08 total. meh, I hardcore suck. I know my body is tired and I didn't expect a particularly strong showing, but it shouldn't have been THIS (>2 minutes worse than last week) slow.
There was nothing *wrong* with the run, per se. It didn't feel horrible, it was just slow. They say that when you're getting back into shape, some days and weeks will feel great, but then you can't consistently recover and perform the way that you're used to. Last week felt almost normal, but then something's just been off this week. Its demoralizing to have those big swings, but I feel motivated to change this situation. Easy days for the rest of the week, gotta heal and rest before I can start the mileage ramp again.
Friday 12/08: Off, again. I feel like crap. Hurts to walk.
Saturday 12/09: 6 miles, 50 minutes easy. Random pasadena and track. L ankle/arch is still not really okay. Stretched and iced, felt better. My ankle strangely feels the best in the Frees, so I'm going to give Dr. Rossi's suggestion to lose the orthotics a shot. Stopped by Steve's, he seemed uncharacteristically happy to see me--didn't even charge me the "you're not a student so I don't like you" inflated price!
Target Mileage: 45 miles
Week Actual: 39.7 miles
Last week: 53 miles
Some weeks you just don't meet your goals. Apparently, some weeks you don't even crawl over the 40 mpw line. I think it was the right decision to rest the ankle on Friday, but I just don't know. Trying to fight that creeping depression that comes with partial training... it's just such an emotional no man's land. mehhhhhhhhhhhh...
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