They say that distance running is an exercise in patience. I'm so screwed.
Sunday 03/18: ~7.25 miles, 1:10:03 jogging around the North Fields at 155 bpm. 4 x 100m striders, felt good. At night, slightly groggy at first, better as time went on. Got locked into the field, had to hop fence to get out, slightly scary, but didn't fall.
Margaritas with PAA boys at Amigos. Found out that there is an official term for people like me: "Fred" = a person for whom the value of their bike exceeds their talent as a rider...! meh.
Monday 03/19: 3.1 miles, 32:51 recovery jogging, 10 laps around North Fields at 140 bpm. Lap times have decreased from 3:30 per lap to 3:15-20 per lap at same HR. Felt good about that until I measured the North Field loop at exactly 500 meters!!! Eeeeeee....what is WRONG with my cardiovascular system?!?!?!?!
Tuesday 03/20: 7500m = lets just say 4.65 miles. 7 laps of North fields at 150-155 bpm, tried mostly in vain to learn how to do drills correctly (ofcourse, the Shapiro unit was cranking out perfect sets of them next to me, which didn't help :)) 10 x 100m striders, then 6 laps of North fields at 150 bpm. Tried to run with good form, hamstrings all the way up through lower back feels tired! Oh, dear... I certainly have a lot to work on...
Wednesday 03/21: 8K, 4 x 100m striders. 16 laps of North Fields at 165 bpm, 46:20, really sore. Definitely slowed down per lap at same HR. Feels like I'm learning to run all over again. Pace/HR ratio depressing. Although, mysteriously the arch is a lot less sore when I concentrate on keeping my hips under me. Striders felt really good.
Thursday 03/22: 6.25 Miles, Huntington up Oak Knoll at 165 bpm, 47:45, concentrating on shoulders relaxed and hips under center of mass... so exhausting. Was undesirably warm. Drills lite, then sushi buffet with Dr. Rossi ---> thinks I *might* a hopeless case :). Ate 7 cream puffs. Definitely losing the battle with obesity.
Friday 03/23: 5K, 10 laps of the North Fields at 145 bpm, then coordination drills and abs at the track with Matt and Ian. Still feeling moderately exhausted, sore and out of sorts. Who knew how hard it is to keep your hips under you. Tried to analyze my natural stride tendencies, unpleasantly reminded of Rosen's story about "this guy who ran like he was mashing cockroaches!"
Saturday 03/24: 6 miles, 20 minutes of jogging, 15 minutes of 185 bpm, 20 minutes of jogging around the South fields at night. I love the track at night without lights. Felt good to run fast, but wasn't really quite a tempo effort. I guess this is okay given how exhausted I feel this week. Soreness is starting to subside. Feeling kind of uneasy about impending race(s).
Target Mileage: 40 Miles
Week Actual: 35.35 Miles
Last Week: 38 Miles
I feel like, if the improvement I need to make is denoted by the variable "x", then my current rate of improvement is something like 0.001x per week... this is especially depressing because x is so large, that the weekly improvement seems like you ought to be getting somewhere...
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Week of 03/11/2007 - 03/17/2007 (Revised Base Phase Week 2)
A small breakthrough.
Finally the cough has gone away for the most part, unless something makes me laugh unexpectedly. The soreness has subsided, and the jogging feels *almost* almost normal. I want to do it right this time. Somehow I just want to make it through some extended training un-interrupted by catastrophe.
Being conservative feels counterintuitive. Its also kind of counter to my neurotic personality. I'm one of those people where the answer to every question is the same: Clearly, more mileage is necessary. Preferably, they should also be uphill both ways and run as close to your threshold as possible. Now that I'm starting to feel better, I'm also feeling that call of the wild, like I just want to go ahead and go crazy. I'm not exactly sure why I'm like this, but I figure I have to quell the crazy in order to avoid the next round of training disasters.
Sunday 03/11: All I have to say about this day is that my capillaries better be growing, and they better be liking it. 50 miles of biking and 11 miles of running at 150-160 bpm. New way to River Trail with Peter, fun until last 10 miles or so, after which I felt really, really bad. Hot and sunny, refused to wear sunscreen--burnt to a crisp.
Took 1 hour nap, then left for run at dusk. Followed 10.8 mile tempo course with short detour due to lack of daylight. Legs felt slightly groggy at first, but progressively better. Relaxed, thought about form a lot. Did not enjoy the pavement portions, but it was worth it not to be running circles around the North or South fields. This run took absolutely forever at 155 bpm.
Monday 03/12: 3 miles, 31 minutes at 145 bpm around North Fields at night in Nike Frees. Joined by Ian for latter portion, talked about running. Felt really good, not tired or sore at all. Core strengthening at the gym, then laundry.
Tuesday 03/13: 5.5 miles, 20 minutes warm up at 150 bpm (Frees), 20 minute of coordination drills, 16 x 100m striders with jog turn recovery in 8 grass laps (trainers), 23 minutes of cool down at 150 bpm around North fields (Frees - arch felt a tad bit sore maybe should have kept the trainers).
Combination of drills and striders is deathly. Body definitely not used to such stresses. Feeling better about form though. Definitely worse for the wear on the cool down, slower per lap of North field at same HR. Everything feels better than last week though. As they say, movin' on up.
Wednesday 03/14: 7 miles, 1:01:24, Huntington medians back up El Molino, then one lap of North Fields at 165 bpm. First training in many many weeks that could actually be classified as a "run" vs. a slow jog. Coordination drills, 4 x 100m striders, 4 x accelerations then core strengthening at the gym. Striders felt really really good for a change. Drills still sloppy and poor. They make me really tired. Not sure what to do about that. Need videotaping session.
Thursday 03/15: 3 miles, 31 minutes around North Fields. To borrow an entry from the Brain: "felt like basura". L arch feels questionable, was huffing and puffing but couldn't get the HR over 145, classic symptoms of fatigue. Decided wasn't worth it to try damage my body further by going on. Miserable day on all accounts.
Friday 03/16: 800 meters, warm up with KB prior to her successful record attempt (good to see new 10K record in sub-7 min/mile pace, congrats girl, you worked really hard and you really deserve this!). Oxy Distance Carnival to support the crew--big day for Caltech. Matt, KB, with impressive races. Great to see everyone, but felt really jealous of those running.
Some key competitors also had big results.... meh. Definitely sets the bar higher, but I feel extra motivated to exceed them (... some day). I just have to think of it in terms of losing the battle, winning the war.
Saturday 03/17: 8 miles, first attempt at tempo work = complete disaster. Woke up still full from yesterday's giant burrito. Dehydrated, hot. Intended: 2 x Arroyo tempo loops at probably 11:30's a piece, real easy, ~180 bpm. Actual: started out well, ~180-5 bpm, steady and controlled felt good, then HR started to climb coming down the second half of the first loop, tried to slow down but I guess I already had crossed the threshold, first loop in 11:15, then stomach started to complain loudly, cramped up early into the second loop. Felt dizzy and bad, HR totally out of control at this point, had to abort halfway through second loop, jogged it in.
Disaster. Something like 25 minutes a piece to jog from house to start of Arroyo tempo loop. This workout is cursed. A similar thing happened the last time I tried this one, except for without the gastrointestinal difficulties.
Target Mileage: 45 Miles
Week Actual: 38 Miles
Last Week: 40.25 Miles
Really looking forward to a short tempo session this week. Want to know if my body can still handle it. (um, the answer to that last one is, no. apparently. *big sigh*.)
Finally the cough has gone away for the most part, unless something makes me laugh unexpectedly. The soreness has subsided, and the jogging feels *almost* almost normal. I want to do it right this time. Somehow I just want to make it through some extended training un-interrupted by catastrophe.
Being conservative feels counterintuitive. Its also kind of counter to my neurotic personality. I'm one of those people where the answer to every question is the same: Clearly, more mileage is necessary. Preferably, they should also be uphill both ways and run as close to your threshold as possible. Now that I'm starting to feel better, I'm also feeling that call of the wild, like I just want to go ahead and go crazy. I'm not exactly sure why I'm like this, but I figure I have to quell the crazy in order to avoid the next round of training disasters.
Sunday 03/11: All I have to say about this day is that my capillaries better be growing, and they better be liking it. 50 miles of biking and 11 miles of running at 150-160 bpm. New way to River Trail with Peter, fun until last 10 miles or so, after which I felt really, really bad. Hot and sunny, refused to wear sunscreen--burnt to a crisp.
Took 1 hour nap, then left for run at dusk. Followed 10.8 mile tempo course with short detour due to lack of daylight. Legs felt slightly groggy at first, but progressively better. Relaxed, thought about form a lot. Did not enjoy the pavement portions, but it was worth it not to be running circles around the North or South fields. This run took absolutely forever at 155 bpm.
Monday 03/12: 3 miles, 31 minutes at 145 bpm around North Fields at night in Nike Frees. Joined by Ian for latter portion, talked about running. Felt really good, not tired or sore at all. Core strengthening at the gym, then laundry.
Tuesday 03/13: 5.5 miles, 20 minutes warm up at 150 bpm (Frees), 20 minute of coordination drills, 16 x 100m striders with jog turn recovery in 8 grass laps (trainers), 23 minutes of cool down at 150 bpm around North fields (Frees - arch felt a tad bit sore maybe should have kept the trainers).
Combination of drills and striders is deathly. Body definitely not used to such stresses. Feeling better about form though. Definitely worse for the wear on the cool down, slower per lap of North field at same HR. Everything feels better than last week though. As they say, movin' on up.
Wednesday 03/14: 7 miles, 1:01:24, Huntington medians back up El Molino, then one lap of North Fields at 165 bpm. First training in many many weeks that could actually be classified as a "run" vs. a slow jog. Coordination drills, 4 x 100m striders, 4 x accelerations then core strengthening at the gym. Striders felt really really good for a change. Drills still sloppy and poor. They make me really tired. Not sure what to do about that. Need videotaping session.
Thursday 03/15: 3 miles, 31 minutes around North Fields. To borrow an entry from the Brain: "felt like basura". L arch feels questionable, was huffing and puffing but couldn't get the HR over 145, classic symptoms of fatigue. Decided wasn't worth it to try damage my body further by going on. Miserable day on all accounts.
Friday 03/16: 800 meters, warm up with KB prior to her successful record attempt (good to see new 10K record in sub-7 min/mile pace, congrats girl, you worked really hard and you really deserve this!). Oxy Distance Carnival to support the crew--big day for Caltech. Matt, KB, with impressive races. Great to see everyone, but felt really jealous of those running.
Some key competitors also had big results.... meh. Definitely sets the bar higher, but I feel extra motivated to exceed them (... some day). I just have to think of it in terms of losing the battle, winning the war.
Saturday 03/17: 8 miles, first attempt at tempo work = complete disaster. Woke up still full from yesterday's giant burrito. Dehydrated, hot. Intended: 2 x Arroyo tempo loops at probably 11:30's a piece, real easy, ~180 bpm. Actual: started out well, ~180-5 bpm, steady and controlled felt good, then HR started to climb coming down the second half of the first loop, tried to slow down but I guess I already had crossed the threshold, first loop in 11:15, then stomach started to complain loudly, cramped up early into the second loop. Felt dizzy and bad, HR totally out of control at this point, had to abort halfway through second loop, jogged it in.
Disaster. Something like 25 minutes a piece to jog from house to start of Arroyo tempo loop. This workout is cursed. A similar thing happened the last time I tried this one, except for without the gastrointestinal difficulties.
Target Mileage: 45 Miles
Week Actual: 38 Miles
Last Week: 40.25 Miles
Really looking forward to a short tempo session this week. Want to know if my body can still handle it. (um, the answer to that last one is, no. apparently. *big sigh*.)
Monday, March 5, 2007
Week of 03/04/2007 - 03/10/2007 (Revised Base Phase Week 1)
Everybody else is training, and I'm not.
I'd been dawdling on getting started with my first run back, pursing my lips and puffing out my cheeks, slowly letting out a raspy exhale. Maybe I'm still too sick. Its awfully hot out. I'm already dehydrated. My chest hurts from all of the coughing. This sucks.
Then I saw an e-mail from Markimarkonnen, more SCIAC results. Idly browsing through numbers, realizing that everyone else is getting faster. Oh, God, I can't keep up with the kids anymore... this is not acceptable, can't let this happen. A familiar fiery warm feeling started to build deep within me--no, not heartburn--lets call it motivation. Furiously pulled on some shoes and made a beeline for the door. Everyone else is training, and I'm not. Gotta get to it.
Sunday 03/04: 9 miles, 1:23:11 in the Arroyo at ~150 bpm heartrate. Felt pretty awful for 30 minutes, then got slightly easier. Legs feel creaky and heavy, L arch hurts a little bit on and off, throat still raw, hard to take deep breaths. Took detour back to Garfield Park to do 4 striders on grass. Too many people, had to avoid running over small children. Legs still felt heavy and tired, but everything felt better after the striders. Jogged back home. Just glad to complete a run, its been so long.
Monday 03/05: 3.5 miles, 37 minutes around North Fields in the dark in Nike Frees. 4 x striders with Mark on the South Fields. Core strengthening exercises in the gym, then home. Vaguely unproductive. Strange man was flying a home made contraption in the North Fields that seemed to upset the heart rate monitor, kept reading 180-225... eeeeeee. Was supposed to be ~140 bpm. Not sure what it really was, *sigh*. Coughing mostly subsided, but still feel a bit short of breath....didn't feel as good as I had hoped.
Tuesday 03/06: 5 miles, 22 minutes warm up around South Fields, 20 minutes of drills on grass, 10 x 100m striders, 22 minutes cool down around North Fields in Nike Frees. So exhausted, good grief the coordination drills are hard. Felt really out of breath, can't seem to maintain form through all of it, very clumsy, but at least didn't fall on my face. Striders were really painful after that, glad for 20 minutes of jogging at the end. L arch hurt a bit towards the end, maybe need a few days off from the Frees.
Wednesday 03/07: 6.25 miles, Huntington up Oak Knoll, felt really tired. Intended 50 minutes at 160 bpm, actual probably closer to 165 bpm, still took 55 minutes, what a disaster. Went too hard in the beginning, and spiked the heartrate, everything felt really crappy after that. 4 x 100m striders and core strengthening at the gym afterwards. Legs feel heavy and sore. Running doesn't feel good yet. Still some coughing.
Thursday 03/08: 6.5 miles, slowly around the South fields 1:01:30 at ~155 bpm. Really peeved that the North fields were locked today, I'm not sure entirely why but the fact that its just 1 minute larger of a loop makes such a big difference in terms of reducing the ennui of going around constantly in circles. Good relaxed easy run nonetheless. HR much more under control than yesterday. Really, really sore this morning, still had to do the deathly coordination drills again... its seriously only a matter of time before I'm observed by someone I know, flailing and falling all over the place, good grief. Definitely looking forward to a rest (jogging) day tomorrow.
Friday 03/09: 3 miles, 32:30 slow jogging around South fields at 140 bpm, core strengthening at gym. Relatively uneventful. Legs are sore, thank goodness for no drills today.
Saturday 03/10: 7 miles, finally, some fast running! 20 minutes warm up jogging (as if I needed further warming, as it was already like 80 degrees out...) then HR test at gym with Kangway and Ian. 0.3 mph increase every 400m on treadmill starting at 10:00 min/mile until I couldn't make it through the next segment. Painful in the last few segments, would have liked to make it through the 5:40 one, but wasn't going to happen, not today. 20 minutes cool down jogging. Legs definitely not used to the higher speeds... felt exhausted.
Max HR = 212, threshold is somewhere in the 190 range, but not entirely clear from the graph (x-axis is kmph, raw data available upon request). Probably should have tried to push a little harder at the end, but since I did not have the cushion of pillows like in the Bannister test, I elected not to risk getting shot out the back.
Target Mileage: 30-40 Miles
Week Actual: 40.25 Miles
Last Week: Miles? hah.
Trying not to stress out about mileage, just have time quotas and heart rates for each day. No workouts, just base miles and recovery.
I'd been dawdling on getting started with my first run back, pursing my lips and puffing out my cheeks, slowly letting out a raspy exhale. Maybe I'm still too sick. Its awfully hot out. I'm already dehydrated. My chest hurts from all of the coughing. This sucks.
Then I saw an e-mail from Markimarkonnen, more SCIAC results. Idly browsing through numbers, realizing that everyone else is getting faster. Oh, God, I can't keep up with the kids anymore... this is not acceptable, can't let this happen. A familiar fiery warm feeling started to build deep within me--no, not heartburn--lets call it motivation. Furiously pulled on some shoes and made a beeline for the door. Everyone else is training, and I'm not. Gotta get to it.
Sunday 03/04: 9 miles, 1:23:11 in the Arroyo at ~150 bpm heartrate. Felt pretty awful for 30 minutes, then got slightly easier. Legs feel creaky and heavy, L arch hurts a little bit on and off, throat still raw, hard to take deep breaths. Took detour back to Garfield Park to do 4 striders on grass. Too many people, had to avoid running over small children. Legs still felt heavy and tired, but everything felt better after the striders. Jogged back home. Just glad to complete a run, its been so long.
Monday 03/05: 3.5 miles, 37 minutes around North Fields in the dark in Nike Frees. 4 x striders with Mark on the South Fields. Core strengthening exercises in the gym, then home. Vaguely unproductive. Strange man was flying a home made contraption in the North Fields that seemed to upset the heart rate monitor, kept reading 180-225... eeeeeee. Was supposed to be ~140 bpm. Not sure what it really was, *sigh*. Coughing mostly subsided, but still feel a bit short of breath....didn't feel as good as I had hoped.
Tuesday 03/06: 5 miles, 22 minutes warm up around South Fields, 20 minutes of drills on grass, 10 x 100m striders, 22 minutes cool down around North Fields in Nike Frees. So exhausted, good grief the coordination drills are hard. Felt really out of breath, can't seem to maintain form through all of it, very clumsy, but at least didn't fall on my face. Striders were really painful after that, glad for 20 minutes of jogging at the end. L arch hurt a bit towards the end, maybe need a few days off from the Frees.
Wednesday 03/07: 6.25 miles, Huntington up Oak Knoll, felt really tired. Intended 50 minutes at 160 bpm, actual probably closer to 165 bpm, still took 55 minutes, what a disaster. Went too hard in the beginning, and spiked the heartrate, everything felt really crappy after that. 4 x 100m striders and core strengthening at the gym afterwards. Legs feel heavy and sore. Running doesn't feel good yet. Still some coughing.
Thursday 03/08: 6.5 miles, slowly around the South fields 1:01:30 at ~155 bpm. Really peeved that the North fields were locked today, I'm not sure entirely why but the fact that its just 1 minute larger of a loop makes such a big difference in terms of reducing the ennui of going around constantly in circles. Good relaxed easy run nonetheless. HR much more under control than yesterday. Really, really sore this morning, still had to do the deathly coordination drills again... its seriously only a matter of time before I'm observed by someone I know, flailing and falling all over the place, good grief. Definitely looking forward to a rest (jogging) day tomorrow.
Friday 03/09: 3 miles, 32:30 slow jogging around South fields at 140 bpm, core strengthening at gym. Relatively uneventful. Legs are sore, thank goodness for no drills today.
Saturday 03/10: 7 miles, finally, some fast running! 20 minutes warm up jogging (as if I needed further warming, as it was already like 80 degrees out...) then HR test at gym with Kangway and Ian. 0.3 mph increase every 400m on treadmill starting at 10:00 min/mile until I couldn't make it through the next segment. Painful in the last few segments, would have liked to make it through the 5:40 one, but wasn't going to happen, not today. 20 minutes cool down jogging. Legs definitely not used to the higher speeds... felt exhausted.
Max HR = 212, threshold is somewhere in the 190 range, but not entirely clear from the graph (x-axis is kmph, raw data available upon request). Probably should have tried to push a little harder at the end, but since I did not have the cushion of pillows like in the Bannister test, I elected not to risk getting shot out the back.
Target Mileage: 30-40 Miles
Week Actual: 40.25 Miles
Last Week: Miles? hah.
Trying not to stress out about mileage, just have time quotas and heart rates for each day. No workouts, just base miles and recovery.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Week of 02/25/2007 - 03/03/2007 (oh, so very sick...)
I've contracted the plague...!
Unfortunately this is just about the last nail in the coffin for me running at Ben Brown in two weeks. Prognosis is also uncertain for Oxy Distance Carnival. Time passes both so slowly and so quickly, since November I've just been trying to hold it together for these races, just trying to remain healthy and log some base miles so I could open the season with a solid 5K, and it seemed like forever, so many weeks to NOT screw up, so many weeks to put it all together, but now I'm here, flat on my back with an icepack on my forehead and a cup of tea under my nose, and these races are about to pass me by. When it all crashes, it crashes so fast.
Goals for the week: cure the plague, re-work the training plan, optimistically get some light jogging in if health permits. I'll hopefully also be armed with new allergy medication and test results from all of the doctor appointments. The battle may be lost, but the war can still be won--I will conquer this.
Sunday - Tuesday 02/25 - 02/27: off. Feel like crap. Headache and fever are main symptoms, developed cough on Monday, basically bedridden with chills and feeling progressively worse on Tuesday. I don't like this...
Wednesday 02/28: Couldn't make it through the day without some Tylenol Cold. Still dying... oh, please won't somebody save me....
Thursday 03/01: Finally feeling better, headache gone, but still a lot of coughing. Whole chest area is sore from coughing. Hurts to swallow, but managed some solid foods today.
Also, calamity of the world! Stepped on the scale today, and to my horror, I've gained 4 pounds! Apparently ice cream for 3 meals a day is not a good idea. What a disaster...
Friday 03/02: Went to the doctor, the plague is NOT strep, thank goodness. Also, no major diseases, so apparently I'm still stuck with the allergies. Still a prohibitive degree of coughing, taking one last day off.
Revised training plan (with Peter, only moderate arguing :)) for new target race: Oxy invite on 5/12. Should be far enough away, barring any more catastrophes in the interim. FYI, biting off more than I can chew: I may need to start getting over my distaste for being last, starting now... the slowest person last year was 19:34, and she was last by like almost 30 seconds. meh.
Saturday 03/03: 23 miles, biking with Peter, around Rose Bowl with one loop in the hills by Art Center. Ran into Sladek and Ruby. Nice roads, but felt like drowning, better after first 45 minutes. Wish I didn't have this cough, and that I remembered how to drink while riding... but felt good to get out there, fun.
I want to be healthy so, so, much.
Unfortunately this is just about the last nail in the coffin for me running at Ben Brown in two weeks. Prognosis is also uncertain for Oxy Distance Carnival. Time passes both so slowly and so quickly, since November I've just been trying to hold it together for these races, just trying to remain healthy and log some base miles so I could open the season with a solid 5K, and it seemed like forever, so many weeks to NOT screw up, so many weeks to put it all together, but now I'm here, flat on my back with an icepack on my forehead and a cup of tea under my nose, and these races are about to pass me by. When it all crashes, it crashes so fast.
Goals for the week: cure the plague, re-work the training plan, optimistically get some light jogging in if health permits. I'll hopefully also be armed with new allergy medication and test results from all of the doctor appointments. The battle may be lost, but the war can still be won--I will conquer this.
Sunday - Tuesday 02/25 - 02/27: off. Feel like crap. Headache and fever are main symptoms, developed cough on Monday, basically bedridden with chills and feeling progressively worse on Tuesday. I don't like this...
Wednesday 02/28: Couldn't make it through the day without some Tylenol Cold. Still dying... oh, please won't somebody save me....
Thursday 03/01: Finally feeling better, headache gone, but still a lot of coughing. Whole chest area is sore from coughing. Hurts to swallow, but managed some solid foods today.
Also, calamity of the world! Stepped on the scale today, and to my horror, I've gained 4 pounds! Apparently ice cream for 3 meals a day is not a good idea. What a disaster...
Friday 03/02: Went to the doctor, the plague is NOT strep, thank goodness. Also, no major diseases, so apparently I'm still stuck with the allergies. Still a prohibitive degree of coughing, taking one last day off.
Revised training plan (with Peter, only moderate arguing :)) for new target race: Oxy invite on 5/12. Should be far enough away, barring any more catastrophes in the interim. FYI, biting off more than I can chew: I may need to start getting over my distaste for being last, starting now... the slowest person last year was 19:34, and she was last by like almost 30 seconds. meh.
Saturday 03/03: 23 miles, biking with Peter, around Rose Bowl with one loop in the hills by Art Center. Ran into Sladek and Ruby. Nice roads, but felt like drowning, better after first 45 minutes. Wish I didn't have this cough, and that I remembered how to drink while riding... but felt good to get out there, fun.
I want to be healthy so, so, much.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Week of 02/18/2007 - 02/24/2007 (Base Phase, training block 2, Week A, take two)
Here we go now.
I still don't know exactly what to make of all of my persistent running and non running related illnesses, but somehow I've got to get back on the ball before everything falls apart. The important races are less than a month away now, and I gotta do everything I can to be prepared. Honestly though, I'm just scared and frustrated. I don't understand what's wrong with my body and I think that's worse than knowing what something is and that it's fixable, even if that process takes a long time.
Sunday 02/18: off. Making the long drive back from AZ. It just all hurts, everything from my face to my arch. Forgot to wear the sock. Arghhhh.
Monday 02/19: ~9 miles, 1:30-ish total adventure run in the mountains with the Brain. Intended: Mt. Lukens to the summit, Actual: got lost immediately, descended pleasantly for 30 minutes before realizing we missed our turn off.
Detoured up a steep little trail and explored along the ridge. Rugged and beautiful, but also steep and narrow with harrowing drop-offs, almost peed my pants. Dying hazard = Extremely High. Hardest climb I've ever done, was maybe 18 minutes at most, but thought I would go into cardiac arrest. 35 minute climb back UP to the starting point was miserable. Legs felt okay, but the running system felt bad. Breathing out of control, heartrate probably also out of control, kind of felt like drowning. I just need consistent training... arrrrrghhhhhhhhh......
Tuesday 02/20: 6.25 miles, 56 minutes, slowest I've ever done this run, but heartrate spiked anyways. I've always had this intuitive sense that I have an above averagely weak cardiovascular system, but its sort of discouraging to see an actual number quantifying that... like it stresses my heart so much to do a slow run, I can't imagine how I'm ever going to run any faster.
Wednesday 02/21: ~5 miles, 47 minutes at enforced heart rate of 145-155 around South Fields in Nike Frees. I guess 5 miles might actually be generous on this one, sooooo slow. Exercise in patience, may have achieved a state of zen by the end. Saw Mark and Ian doing miles, so jealous.
Thursday 02/21: ~7 miles, 1 hour random Pasadena, started with team, tried to do 6 x 3 on, 2 off but felt like crap, then right quad started cramping, had to jog back home. Total disaster. There's just something really wrong with my body, and I can feel it, but its not entirely clear what the issue is. Going to the doctor tomorrow.
Friday 02/22: off. Spent all day at the doctor, felt pretty crappy. Lets hope I'll find out what's wrong with me next week. meh.
Saturday 02/23: 6 miles, 62 minutes around North Fields in Nike Frees at enforced heartrate of 140, felt like 10 minute miles, then 4 striders, felt great. Arches are starting to feel a lot stronger, no pain since Monday, good to do jogging in Frees on grass. Now if I can just fix the rest of my body... I could be headed for some training sometime soon :).
Target Mileage: 40 Miles
Week to date: 33.25 Miles
Last Week: 29.8 Miles
I don't know if I can even do any real workouts this week. I just want to be un-sick and un-broken :'(
I still don't know exactly what to make of all of my persistent running and non running related illnesses, but somehow I've got to get back on the ball before everything falls apart. The important races are less than a month away now, and I gotta do everything I can to be prepared. Honestly though, I'm just scared and frustrated. I don't understand what's wrong with my body and I think that's worse than knowing what something is and that it's fixable, even if that process takes a long time.
Sunday 02/18: off. Making the long drive back from AZ. It just all hurts, everything from my face to my arch. Forgot to wear the sock. Arghhhh.
Monday 02/19: ~9 miles, 1:30-ish total adventure run in the mountains with the Brain. Intended: Mt. Lukens to the summit, Actual: got lost immediately, descended pleasantly for 30 minutes before realizing we missed our turn off.
Detoured up a steep little trail and explored along the ridge. Rugged and beautiful, but also steep and narrow with harrowing drop-offs, almost peed my pants. Dying hazard = Extremely High. Hardest climb I've ever done, was maybe 18 minutes at most, but thought I would go into cardiac arrest. 35 minute climb back UP to the starting point was miserable. Legs felt okay, but the running system felt bad. Breathing out of control, heartrate probably also out of control, kind of felt like drowning. I just need consistent training... arrrrrghhhhhhhhh......
Tuesday 02/20: 6.25 miles, 56 minutes, slowest I've ever done this run, but heartrate spiked anyways. I've always had this intuitive sense that I have an above averagely weak cardiovascular system, but its sort of discouraging to see an actual number quantifying that... like it stresses my heart so much to do a slow run, I can't imagine how I'm ever going to run any faster.
Wednesday 02/21: ~5 miles, 47 minutes at enforced heart rate of 145-155 around South Fields in Nike Frees. I guess 5 miles might actually be generous on this one, sooooo slow. Exercise in patience, may have achieved a state of zen by the end. Saw Mark and Ian doing miles, so jealous.
Thursday 02/21: ~7 miles, 1 hour random Pasadena, started with team, tried to do 6 x 3 on, 2 off but felt like crap, then right quad started cramping, had to jog back home. Total disaster. There's just something really wrong with my body, and I can feel it, but its not entirely clear what the issue is. Going to the doctor tomorrow.
Friday 02/22: off. Spent all day at the doctor, felt pretty crappy. Lets hope I'll find out what's wrong with me next week. meh.
Saturday 02/23: 6 miles, 62 minutes around North Fields in Nike Frees at enforced heartrate of 140, felt like 10 minute miles, then 4 striders, felt great. Arches are starting to feel a lot stronger, no pain since Monday, good to do jogging in Frees on grass. Now if I can just fix the rest of my body... I could be headed for some training sometime soon :).
Target Mileage: 40 Miles
Week to date: 33.25 Miles
Last Week: 29.8 Miles
I don't know if I can even do any real workouts this week. I just want to be un-sick and un-broken :'(
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Week of 02/11/2007 - 02/17/2007 (Base Phase block 2 Week A)
Don't be a pussy.
Advice given to me prior to a XC race last fall. Advice that needs to be given to me now. After weekend of debacles, now is the time to keep my head in the game and get it together. Just focus and do what you need to do to get better. Except, I'm not entirely sure WHAT that is. How do you you fix something you don't understand--for example, WHY I am suddenly allergic to the entire world? I have eye drops, nose spray, antihistamine cream, tablets, antibiotics... I'm basically a freaking walking pharmacy and still I feel like crap at least half of every day lately. Everybody just keeps throwing drugs at me, but no one can tell me what the root of the problem is!
I feel like at this point my life could just be declared a success if I could just NOT live in fear of what part of my body will inexplicably become inflamed and infected and swollen on THIS day. How am I supposed to train and be an athlete, if I can't manage to be a healthy human being? What the hell did I do to deserve this!?
Sunday 02/11: off. Eyes swollen shut, miserable.
Monday 02/12: ~8.8 miles, 1:17:32 easy Huntington medians followed by 5 laps of the North Field. Therapeutic easy run, goal was to run for 75 minutes, not stressed about pacing, mostly on grass. Distance uncertain, don't really care. Totally calm today, felt good, liked the gradual hill on Los Robles, just needed a day to cleanse all of the angst and want to run again.
Tuesday 02/13: more medical problems... this week is turning into a disaster, and its only tuesday!
Wednesday 02/14: ~8.5 miles, oh holy crap... disaster! Aborted 3 x arroyo tempo loops. Became 1.5 x arroyo tempo loops. L arch hurts intensely... heart rate alarmingly high, aborted on second loop after cramping, limping, and heartrate pushing 190... just not worth it. There's something seriously, seriously wrong with my whole body, even after some slow shuffling, my heartrate still wouldn't go under 167 the entire way home. Oh, dear...
Thursday 02/15: off. plantar fasciitis has reared its ugly head again.. what to do, what to do... starting wearing the magic sock again.
Friday 02/16: ~12.5 miles, 1:44:33 fantastic uncharted, uncertain distance run in the Arizona desert. Dirt roads all the way into the hills, until I heard some gunfire... apparently thats what people do out in the middle of nowhere--shoot things. Perfect, packed but soft sand for miles and miles, strong breeze offset the sunny and hot. Kind of like Hesperia but less hilly. This is the perfect surface for my embattled arches, feet didn't hurt at all on this run, miraculously.
Saturday 02/17: off. Non plantar fasciitis related medical problems. Eyes swollen shut again. This seriously, seriously needs to go away IMMEDIATELY.
Target Mileage: 40 Miles
Week Actual: 29.8 Miles
Last Week: 33.45 Miles
One year I was fast running 30 miles a week. If I can just average 40 miles a week until May, there's just got to be one non-embarassing 5K in there for me this season... there just HAS to be...
...or I could spend the rest of my life being riddled with disease and never be fast again. We'll see which it will be.
Advice given to me prior to a XC race last fall. Advice that needs to be given to me now. After weekend of debacles, now is the time to keep my head in the game and get it together. Just focus and do what you need to do to get better. Except, I'm not entirely sure WHAT that is. How do you you fix something you don't understand--for example, WHY I am suddenly allergic to the entire world? I have eye drops, nose spray, antihistamine cream, tablets, antibiotics... I'm basically a freaking walking pharmacy and still I feel like crap at least half of every day lately. Everybody just keeps throwing drugs at me, but no one can tell me what the root of the problem is!
I feel like at this point my life could just be declared a success if I could just NOT live in fear of what part of my body will inexplicably become inflamed and infected and swollen on THIS day. How am I supposed to train and be an athlete, if I can't manage to be a healthy human being? What the hell did I do to deserve this!?
Sunday 02/11: off. Eyes swollen shut, miserable.
Monday 02/12: ~8.8 miles, 1:17:32 easy Huntington medians followed by 5 laps of the North Field. Therapeutic easy run, goal was to run for 75 minutes, not stressed about pacing, mostly on grass. Distance uncertain, don't really care. Totally calm today, felt good, liked the gradual hill on Los Robles, just needed a day to cleanse all of the angst and want to run again.
Tuesday 02/13: more medical problems... this week is turning into a disaster, and its only tuesday!
Wednesday 02/14: ~8.5 miles, oh holy crap... disaster! Aborted 3 x arroyo tempo loops. Became 1.5 x arroyo tempo loops. L arch hurts intensely... heart rate alarmingly high, aborted on second loop after cramping, limping, and heartrate pushing 190... just not worth it. There's something seriously, seriously wrong with my whole body, even after some slow shuffling, my heartrate still wouldn't go under 167 the entire way home. Oh, dear...
Thursday 02/15: off. plantar fasciitis has reared its ugly head again.. what to do, what to do... starting wearing the magic sock again.
Friday 02/16: ~12.5 miles, 1:44:33 fantastic uncharted, uncertain distance run in the Arizona desert. Dirt roads all the way into the hills, until I heard some gunfire... apparently thats what people do out in the middle of nowhere--shoot things. Perfect, packed but soft sand for miles and miles, strong breeze offset the sunny and hot. Kind of like Hesperia but less hilly. This is the perfect surface for my embattled arches, feet didn't hurt at all on this run, miraculously.
Saturday 02/17: off. Non plantar fasciitis related medical problems. Eyes swollen shut again. This seriously, seriously needs to go away IMMEDIATELY.
Target Mileage: 40 Miles
Week Actual: 29.8 Miles
Last Week: 33.45 Miles
One year I was fast running 30 miles a week. If I can just average 40 miles a week until May, there's just got to be one non-embarassing 5K in there for me this season... there just HAS to be...
...or I could spend the rest of my life being riddled with disease and never be fast again. We'll see which it will be.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Week of 02/04/2007 - 02/10/2007 (Base Phase - Rest Cycle Week)
This saturday marks the 2 year anniversary of the only race I am somewhat proud of.
I was reflecting on this the other day and realized that this is incredibly sad. I had my only good race after about 1 year of running, and then have just been going through repeated cycles of injury, overtraining, stupid training, and disappointed expectations for 2 years. Looking back, this race changed my life... this was the turning point, when I stopped thinking of myself as a hopeless case, and started thinking of myself as someone with a mild degree of potential.
Prior to then, I thought of myself as someone who would be lucky, in her lifetime ever to break 20 minutes for a 5K. I imagined that one day, I would once run 19:59.9 and then move happily and directly into retirement. Then one day in February I ran 5:46 for a mile (a PR by 18 seconds) and 11:26 for a 3K (a PR by 1 minute and 5 seconds) at a tiny pre-season meet at Caltech. I closed the last lap in 86 seconds, drawing even with the leader coming into the last straightaway, and lost a sprint finish in a moment of weakness in the last 20 meters or so. This must have been the only race in my life where my last lap was my fastest, and I felt strangely fine--fine despite losing a sprint finish and having run a hard mile an hour or two before, fine enough to be chided that one should not be smiling when one crosses the finish line... but it was absurd to me at the time that I should even BE a participant in a sprint finish, and absurd to me that I was on pace for a 19:04 5K with ease through 7.5 laps... it as absurd enough to be completely hilarious.
But that race forever altered my perception of "fast" and "slow" and where I fell in that spectrum. This was my first race of my second track season ever as a distance runner... and surely 2 more months of training, some intervals, some long runs and minus a mile race prior to my event, surely a 19:15 - 19:30 5K was easily within the limits of what I could do. If this was me in my second year of running, I saw myself eventually running 19:00, 18:45, 18:30. A tiny flicker of potential had opened up a Pandora's box of expectations.
I don't think I ever really recovered from the disappointment that followed in that season. I trained myself into the ground, and could barely race my first and only 5K that year. Now the demons born of the disparity between perceived potential and actual achievements follow me every step of every run, the weight of disappointment and the pressure of redemption pound in my head every time I take the starting line.
I want this to be the year to leave that all behind. I realize that its less about needing a big PR to exorcize the demons, and more that I need a paradigm shift in terms of how I view running and racing and myself.
Sunday 02/04: ~10 miles, 1:26:21 in Hesperia with CMS girls team. Sunny but windy, fantastic dirt trails on rolling hills going on almost indefinitely. 4100 feet of elevation, felt somewhat worn out, but probably less to do with altitude and more to do with legs being tired. Easy 46 minutes out, 40 minutes back, refrained from pushing the pace. Stomach hurt last few miles. Goldhammer wouldn't let us run the 4 extra minutes, so doesn't meet the > 90 minutes criteria for a long run. *Consternation*
Monday 02/05: Off day today. 9 hours of sleep, so good! Throat felt scratchy in the morning, but mostly gone now. Slightly concerned.
Tuesday 02/06: 8 miles, 26 minutes warm up with Mark and Ian, 11 x 200m @ 5K goal pace with 200m jog rest, 4 x 100m striders on grass, 24 minutes cooldown with Ian. Core strengthening, bench at gym after. More talking than training today, great to see everyone.
41, 46, 44, 44, 43, 45, 45, 44, (mystery), 42, 39. Forgot to run the watch on the 9th one, had to do an extra. Presumably this is a neuromuscular workout, so really tried to focus on form and turnover. Felt crappy on warm up, 200's were comfortable, then felt better on the cooldown.
Generally feel tired and flat, despite day off. I'm about 4 weeks back from injury now, so by my calculations i *ought* to be starting to feel better right about now. Still feel like I'm behind where I was the week before Christmas, which is really discouraging.
Wednesday 02/07: 6.25 miles, 51:08 easy on Huntington. Running at night, kind of distracted, took a nasty spill on concrete about 1.5 miles in, not exactly sure what caused it, but fell on my face--literally. Skinned R knee, R elbow, nose. Really sad. Ran a little bit faster after that because bleeding and wanted to get home quicker.
Thursday 02/08: R knee swelled up and painful to bend. No running... arrrrghhhh....
Friday 02/09: 5.2 miles, 45:08 up and down Orange Grove also at night. Felt really really crappy for about 2 miles, then slightly better after that. L arch is tight, R knee is sore, breathing is choppy. Eyes are really really infected, hard to see...
Saturday 02/10: 4 miles total, 2 miles warm up, 3K race (11:57, on pace for ~800m then complete and total implosion... gave up on the last 2 laps, got passed by like 5 people in that span), 200m sprint to undisclosed location, 20 minutes of crying, 1 hour of staring blankly into space, then straight home without cooling down.
People think I'm like this crazy, insanely driven and motivated person, but there are some days where even I think that no matter what I do, apparently it doesn't make a difference anyways, so why bother. Apparently my career peak was the first race of my second track season ever and I will spend all of eternity not even coming within 30 seconds of that. In the words of Steve Slattery, "fuck this shit". Seriously.
Target Mileage: 30-35 Miles
Week Actual: 33.45 Miles
Last Week: 46.35 Miles
Adopting the training block system where every few weeks there is a recovery week. This is my first "recovery" week... we'll see how it goes.
I was reflecting on this the other day and realized that this is incredibly sad. I had my only good race after about 1 year of running, and then have just been going through repeated cycles of injury, overtraining, stupid training, and disappointed expectations for 2 years. Looking back, this race changed my life... this was the turning point, when I stopped thinking of myself as a hopeless case, and started thinking of myself as someone with a mild degree of potential.
Prior to then, I thought of myself as someone who would be lucky, in her lifetime ever to break 20 minutes for a 5K. I imagined that one day, I would once run 19:59.9 and then move happily and directly into retirement. Then one day in February I ran 5:46 for a mile (a PR by 18 seconds) and 11:26 for a 3K (a PR by 1 minute and 5 seconds) at a tiny pre-season meet at Caltech. I closed the last lap in 86 seconds, drawing even with the leader coming into the last straightaway, and lost a sprint finish in a moment of weakness in the last 20 meters or so. This must have been the only race in my life where my last lap was my fastest, and I felt strangely fine--fine despite losing a sprint finish and having run a hard mile an hour or two before, fine enough to be chided that one should not be smiling when one crosses the finish line... but it was absurd to me at the time that I should even BE a participant in a sprint finish, and absurd to me that I was on pace for a 19:04 5K with ease through 7.5 laps... it as absurd enough to be completely hilarious.
But that race forever altered my perception of "fast" and "slow" and where I fell in that spectrum. This was my first race of my second track season ever as a distance runner... and surely 2 more months of training, some intervals, some long runs and minus a mile race prior to my event, surely a 19:15 - 19:30 5K was easily within the limits of what I could do. If this was me in my second year of running, I saw myself eventually running 19:00, 18:45, 18:30. A tiny flicker of potential had opened up a Pandora's box of expectations.
I don't think I ever really recovered from the disappointment that followed in that season. I trained myself into the ground, and could barely race my first and only 5K that year. Now the demons born of the disparity between perceived potential and actual achievements follow me every step of every run, the weight of disappointment and the pressure of redemption pound in my head every time I take the starting line.
I want this to be the year to leave that all behind. I realize that its less about needing a big PR to exorcize the demons, and more that I need a paradigm shift in terms of how I view running and racing and myself.
Sunday 02/04: ~10 miles, 1:26:21 in Hesperia with CMS girls team. Sunny but windy, fantastic dirt trails on rolling hills going on almost indefinitely. 4100 feet of elevation, felt somewhat worn out, but probably less to do with altitude and more to do with legs being tired. Easy 46 minutes out, 40 minutes back, refrained from pushing the pace. Stomach hurt last few miles. Goldhammer wouldn't let us run the 4 extra minutes, so doesn't meet the > 90 minutes criteria for a long run. *Consternation*
Monday 02/05: Off day today. 9 hours of sleep, so good! Throat felt scratchy in the morning, but mostly gone now. Slightly concerned.
Tuesday 02/06: 8 miles, 26 minutes warm up with Mark and Ian, 11 x 200m @ 5K goal pace with 200m jog rest, 4 x 100m striders on grass, 24 minutes cooldown with Ian. Core strengthening, bench at gym after. More talking than training today, great to see everyone.
41, 46, 44, 44, 43, 45, 45, 44, (mystery), 42, 39. Forgot to run the watch on the 9th one, had to do an extra. Presumably this is a neuromuscular workout, so really tried to focus on form and turnover. Felt crappy on warm up, 200's were comfortable, then felt better on the cooldown.
Generally feel tired and flat, despite day off. I'm about 4 weeks back from injury now, so by my calculations i *ought* to be starting to feel better right about now. Still feel like I'm behind where I was the week before Christmas, which is really discouraging.
Wednesday 02/07: 6.25 miles, 51:08 easy on Huntington. Running at night, kind of distracted, took a nasty spill on concrete about 1.5 miles in, not exactly sure what caused it, but fell on my face--literally. Skinned R knee, R elbow, nose. Really sad. Ran a little bit faster after that because bleeding and wanted to get home quicker.
Thursday 02/08: R knee swelled up and painful to bend. No running... arrrrghhhh....
Friday 02/09: 5.2 miles, 45:08 up and down Orange Grove also at night. Felt really really crappy for about 2 miles, then slightly better after that. L arch is tight, R knee is sore, breathing is choppy. Eyes are really really infected, hard to see...
Saturday 02/10: 4 miles total, 2 miles warm up, 3K race (11:57, on pace for ~800m then complete and total implosion... gave up on the last 2 laps, got passed by like 5 people in that span), 200m sprint to undisclosed location, 20 minutes of crying, 1 hour of staring blankly into space, then straight home without cooling down.
People think I'm like this crazy, insanely driven and motivated person, but there are some days where even I think that no matter what I do, apparently it doesn't make a difference anyways, so why bother. Apparently my career peak was the first race of my second track season ever and I will spend all of eternity not even coming within 30 seconds of that. In the words of Steve Slattery, "fuck this shit". Seriously.
Target Mileage: 30-35 Miles
Week Actual: 33.45 Miles
Last Week: 46.35 Miles
Adopting the training block system where every few weeks there is a recovery week. This is my first "recovery" week... we'll see how it goes.
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