Installment #2 (Contains Weeks 4 - 6)
Day 23 (11/29/2009): 6.8 miles, 58:06 (8:33 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop
Lousy and tired continues. Vaguely feeling like how I did on my last day in Colorado. I think part of it is related to a build up of allergies (my family has a long haired cat), towards the end of the week, I just start to feel not so good as a whole. R arch seems mostly healed up now though.
Day 24 (11/30/2009): 6 miles, 46:46 (7:52 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Red eye back to Boston, followed by work, followed by a really nice night run. The red eye was actually surprisingly much more pleasant than from Denver, because you actually get 5 consolidated hours of sleep, even if its crappy airplane sleep. I didn't feel so deathly at work, and felt positively exuberant on my run. Started out easy but naturally picked it up, feeling great! Yay my first sub-8 min/mile run--aerobic fitness feels like its maybe actually within reach now. Also of note: fancied that I saw Chief and Anton running the opposite way on California, but it was dark and I have poor voice recognition.
Day 25 (12/01/2009): 5.3 miles, 47:01 (8:52 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Yikes, I guess I'm feeling that red eye today. Feeling beat, so went super easy... thought I was hoping it would have been a little faster. Sore legs and felt a twinge in the L hipflexor again, gotta keep on top of those PT exercises...
Day 26 (12/02/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:33 (8:36 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
I guess I needed another day to recover. Still feeling lousy, though this time I was bothered to pick it up a little bit at the expense of breathing a little harder than I would have liked. L foot a bit tweaked out, but I've learned that this is fairly easily fixed by taping the metatarsals together for a few days. I would worry about this more, but it always seems to clear itself up pretty quickly.
Day 27 (12/03/2009): 7.1 miles, 59:02 (8:19 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
Finally, a solid day. Cruising at a nice steady pace, feeling pretty good. I'm excited to finally get this run under an hour--I hadn't been seeing improvement over 7 miles really until now, so hopefully that indicates my endurance is improving. R foot was unhappy this time in the beginning, but I've identified the cause of why my feet have been complaining a lot this week: my shoes are getting past the 350 mile mark, and both have significant holes on the outer edges, from which rocks enter and my little toes sometimes protrude.
Day 28 (12/04/2009): 6 miles, 49:54 (8:23 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Super easy in the PM (allergy shots in the morning), proactively avoiding fatigue, since that seems to be an issue for me recently. This was one of those runs where I secretly hoped the pace would be faster than it was, despite the extremely mellow effort. Was disappointed on that account, but did confirm another Chief/Anton sighting. I think Anton secretly likes running more than he may care to admit.
Day 29 (12/05/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:28 (8:23 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Some easy days does a body good. Felt alright, but apparently a little unbalanced today--almost ate it twice. Gah, ran out of time to buy new shoes!
Week 4 Musings: What does this all mean? This week has seen a few minor breakthroughs, good pace/effort ratios on Monday and Saturday, a solid 7 miler on Thursday... but also a fair share of painful slogs. Say 8:30 pace is where I started, I'm having more variance on that than in weeks past. Does that mean I'm becoming more fit, more fatigued... or both? This is going to be a long process, isn't it...
Day 30 (12/06/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:19 (8:33 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
New shoes arrive! They're hot pink! I don't think I'm really fast enough to pull off this look... but here goes. Got a late start, which meant that I ran into some horses in the Arroyo, which is always really annoying bc you have to slow down/stop and hope that you don't get kicked. Also sprained L ankle, gah. Not really feeling it today...
Day 31 (12/07/2009): 6 miles, 46:21 (7:47 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Mmmm, you can really feel the difference new shoes make on the pavement. I'm not liking this new trend of sleeping in on Mondays and running in the evening, but this was a pretty good run. A moderate effort yielded my second sub-8 min/mile run. Improvement is good!
Day 32 (12/08/2009): 6 miles, 48:23 (8:04 min/mile) 2 x Arroyo 3 mile Loop
Terrain a little rough due to the rains yesterday, and got up a little bit late, so there were a lot of dog walkers, but I felt inspired to push it a little bit. Wasn't expecting much due to the 12 hour recovery, but felt pretty good. Effort was definitely higher than yesterday, but it felt controlled, and the second lap came in under 24 minutes, so I was hitting a decent pace by the end.
Day 33 (12/09/2009): 7.8 miles, 1:08:21 (8:46 min/mile) California around RB trail perimeter
Gah, I knew a bad day was coming... having some GI tract issues. Ran in the early afternoon after going to the doctor. It was uncomfortably warm, and I was feeling uncomfortably weak. As I was slogging as quickly as I could to get home on the last little stretch in the Arroyo, a large dog jumped on me, causing me to fall pretty hard. I was already unamused at that point, so I unleashed a tirade on the owner, who didn't appear to speak much English and looked terrified. I felt bad afterwards, but not while my knee and hip hurt while trudging even more unhappily the rest of the way back.
Day 34 (12/10/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:57 (8:29 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Still feeling a little bit low on energy, but no where near as horrible as yesterday. Picked it up a little bit on the second half, was a somewhat decent run. Nothing more to report.
Day 35 (12/11/2009): 6.7 miles, 54:16 (8:06 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Chester
I really didn't want to run today. Felt tired, physically and mentally, so I dragged myself out the door promising myself I'd just do the shortest circuit, but when I got to Allen where I usually turn around, I realized that I felt calm and re-energized. Continued on to the end of Orlando and came around on Chester. Felt really zen and blissed out the rest of the way back. I must have picked up the pace significantly when I started feeling better, because I was surprised to see the pace at the end.
Day 36 (12/12/2009): 6.2 miles, 51:05 (8:14 min/mile) Huntington/Oak Knoll
There was a break in the rain just long enough for me to squeeze this run in. Somehow I really didn't want to run nonetheless. I sat in my car in the parking lot for a while even after the rain started to let up. Went out too hard and felt lousy and tired the majority of the way. Coming uphill on Oak Knoll was especially crappy feeling. I also felt irate because I've done this run so many times, there's just too much data. I can't believe I used to finish this in 46-48 minutes.
Week 5 Musings: I kind of feel this emotional funk coming on.... like running every day is this unstable equilibrium, and I'm just not really in control of what's going on. Part of it too is the unclear trajectory. I guess this week contained 3 good runs, and a few horrible runs. Sort of like last week. If you stand on your head and look just right, maybe there's some improvement? But its still sort of nebulous. Still, I'm over 35 days in now, and it's much better that my head's a little broken than my body. There's still some aches and pains, but I feel like I've got it under control.
Day 37 (12/13/2009): 6 miles, 49:06 (8:15 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Ski date with Peter, Will and Ruby. The timing just didn't work out for me to run before, so I had to run after we got back. Ooof. Got home with no broken bones and my 1.5 ACLs still intact, but quads were a little thrashed. The motion of running felt a little bit unnatural, but honestly this run didn't feel as bad as I expected and the pace was decent all things considered.
Day 38 (12/14/2009): 6.2 miles, 49:55 (8:03 min/mile) Huntington/Oak Knoll
Gah, another morning slept through... but this turned out to be a surprisingly good run. Quads and calves still angry at me from the skiing, but I started out real easy and they loosened up nicely. Started feeling actually very good on the grassy part and picked it up on the hill at the end. Much, much better than two days ago!
Day 39 (12/15/2009): 5.3 miles, 47:24 (8:57 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Maybe all exercise hits you two days afterwards, because today was downright miserable. I felt a little bit foggy from lack of sleep, and just generally weak in the legs. It was really all I could do to stumble through this run and narrowly avoid running my first 9 minute mile since this experiment started.
Day 40 (12/16/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:45 (8:38 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Gahhhhh, still feeling weak and tired. To add to the disgruntlement, I got tripped by ANOTHER dog in the Arroyo. I guess this is what happens when I don't get up early enough. But seriously, curb your friggin dog people!!!
Day 41 (12/17/2009): 10.2 miles, 1:27:15 (8:33 min/mile) Random Pasadena
A truly inspired, calm, relaxing, awesome run at night that started out with a bad day and a desire to just run for a really long time. I didn't really have a plan for this run, but just went where-ever I felt like, and it was great. Started out pretty easy but felt better and picked it up towards the end. Relaxed and easy, despite the fact that this is my longest run in a pretty long time.
Day 42 (12/18/2009): 6 miles, 50:20 (8:28 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
R glut a little bit tight and sore, so went easy, but wasn't intending to go quite so slow. Felt a little bit irate when I got home, but since I did an out of the ordinary run yesterday, I'll let this slide.
Day 43 (12/19/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:01 (8:30 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
R glut better but still a little sore, gave it another day to just take it easy. Focused on really keeping my shoulders relaxed and breathing calm and realized that this helps a LOT when one is tired. Kind of felt like I discovered something completely new... I guess I'm kind of a tense person to begin with.
Week 6 Musings: When I look back on this, there were some pretty (mentally) tough weeks in there, but I really think the turning point for me was that 10 mile run on Thursday. This is when the emotional funk started to dissipate, and the whole "running every day" thing really snapped together for me. I always thought that it would happen when my body was ready, that one day I'd comfortably start churning out 7:30 miles, and then it would all come together, but it was more of a mental shift more than anything else. That was the day that "running" truly felt like it integrated into my daily life, in a primal way like eating and sleeping.
Unfortunately, I would have to stop the experiment before I reached any sort of a physical breakthrough, but the next few weeks of running were some of the most interesting, satisfying and zen training that I've ever done in my life.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
64 and out
Running Streak (11/07/2009 - 01/09/2010) RIP
So, I suppose it is safe to say that it actually MAY be an utterly asinine assertion that there exists a causal relationship between posting my runs on the internet, and acquiring injuries... however, superstitions being somewhat of a placebo effect as it is, I had stubbornly resisted posting my running until, alas, injuries were acquired, albeit without the intervention of the internet.
The rules of the game are simple: Run every day, where "run" is defined as an honest effort of 5 or more miles.
I started because I wanted to reclaim my identity as a runner, I ended because of a strange numbness/swelling in the proximity of my 3rd metatarsal (L foot). It was an awesome experience with a range of emotions attached, some expected, some not. I got a lot out of it, including but not limited to feeling like running was a natural part of my day, and getting to the point where I could modulate the fatigue and enjoy most of my runs. I am injury prone, so I don't know if I'll start another streak, but I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested. For the record, I know multiple people who've run every day for many years... this streak may pale in comparison, but it's the culmination of my personal struggle to overcome the past 3 years of injuries.
64 Days of Running
Day 1 (11/07/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:03 (8:30 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
First day back, and I feel almost as if the 6 weeks of semi-running I've done in the past two months never happened! Mostly reflected in heavy breathing, legs actually feel okay.
Day 2 (11/08/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:43 (8:49 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Exactly the same as yesterday, except slower and legs feeling much more tired. It was also warmer than I'd like bc I ran later in the day than usual. Slogged through.
Day 3 (11/09/2009): 6 miles, 49:46 (8:22 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Pavement is always a lot faster for me, but don't let the improvement in pace deceive you... I'm still feeling like my legs are really weak under me, and the breathing just won't settle down. I'm sort of in that state where my fastest pace and my slowest pace are one and the same.
Day 4 (11/10/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:04 (8:30 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Feeling a little bit better, run time was about the same as Day 1, but the difference was that I started out more conservatively and held up a little bit better coming back. Somehow that made me feel like I'd made some sort of an improvement... even though it doesn't make that much sense.
Day 5 (11/11/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:01:11 (8:37 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
I'm no longer struggling quite as much as the first few days, so naturally, I started feeling somewhat obliged to try a run that was a little bit longer. I hung in there for 7 even though I was feeling a little bit tired and sub-optimally warm. It turned out not as badly as I expected.
Day 6 (11/12/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:55 (8:29 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Good times! This is the first run that's genuinely felt easy. Felt a little groggy at first, but felt progressively better. I'm really glad that the "weak" feeling in my legs has gone away, it finally feels like I'm getting back into the swing of things (well, relatively speaking).
Day 7 (11/13/2009): 6 miles, 48:35 (8:10 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Evening run today due to allergy shots in the morning. Maybe the extra 12 hours of rest did me good--this was a super pleasant run with a favorable effort/speed ratio. Feeling really pleased today, maybe my fitness may return quicker than I thought!
Day 8 (11/14/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:25 (8:23 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Easy and good again, despite slightly less rest this time around. Funny observation is that I run the first half of this out and back run at approximate the same pace every time... all variations in total run time occur on the way back. I can't really figure out why.
Week 1 (+ 1 day) Musings: In general, this feels like a relatively normal first week back, with some rough spots at the beginning, and some brighter ones towards the end. I'm going to add some hindsight commentary by saying that when I started, I was not fully recovered from this hip flexor injury that had been plaguing me for the past 4 weeks, despite 2 weeks essentially off. It hurt a lot even walking around Days 1 -3, but I nuked that sucker with some creative rehab exercises and disciplined good form running. Against all odds, my hip steadily improved over the course of this week and hasn't bothered me since. And we're off to an excellent start!
Day 9 (11/15/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:12 (8:43 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Hmmmmm... here's about where my body is totally expecting a nice rest day, which it didn't get. Nope, keep going. Felt lousy. In my log I noted that I didn't understand why I felt lousy, but I'm pretty sure its because this is the juncture where I'd normally have had a recovery day.
Day 10 (11/16/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:02:14 (8:46 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Feel tired? Clearly the answer is... more mileage! I was determined to tough out this run, for some reason, I just can not quell the desire to combat tiredness with more effort. I think this still stands as my slowest running of this route this year. Legs just feel thrashed... it was also warm out. I'm slightly discouraged that the fatigue is setting in so soon.
Day 11 (11/17/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:38 (8:25 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
A vaguely acceptable run after a few days of lousy. That thrashed feeling in my legs started to dissipate a little bit on the second half of this run, and I was able to pick it up a little bit.
Day 12 (11/18/2009): 6 miles, 48:18 (8:07 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Legs still feel like lead, it was sort of a chore to keep putting them in front of each other, but breathing was basically steady and the pace was a nice break from an extra slow few days. The pavement days kind of feel like my "recovery" day these days... I'm not exactly sure why its so much easier than the trails.
Day 13 (11/19/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:00:37 (8:32 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
Felt lousy on the way out, then good on the way back. The whole lousy feeling resolving on the second half of the run continues. It is true that the way back is slightly downhill and the way out is slightly uphill, but I also kind of think its an indication that I'm starting to come out of the really fatigued state... because days DO exist when both ways suck. Unclear
Day 14 (11/20/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:10 (8:30 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Denver, after my evening flight. Dark, cold, snow and ice on the ground. Honestly it wasn't that cold... or dark... and the snow wasn't too slippery so I kinda ended up feeling cheated out of some "hardcore" factor here. (21:56/22:14) second lap slowdown kinda bugged me, but generally felt pretty good for the altitude, just took it easy and it was actually a fairly pleasant run.
Day 15 (11/21/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:34 (8:34 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Got up again in the morning and did the same run. The daylight made things worse, because the snow had started to melt and the footing was much worse than yesterday. (22:05/22:29) felt a little tired, but not gonna sweat it. Not significantly slower than yesterday adjusted for terrain.
Week 2 Musings: Yikes, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore... this is new territory. I was definitely hoping that the fatigue from lack of off days would not set in until at least a few weeks in, but it's definitely hit me hard this week. It's also harder to absorb life circumstances, like visiting Peter in super cold super de-oxygenated Colorado... I'm trying to keep the 'argh' under control though, just gotta power through this or I'll never see what's on the other side.
Day 16 (11/22/2009): 5.2 miles, 45:15 (8:42 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Gahhhhh, I'm getting sick of this run... and I felt super extra lousy today. (22:22/22:53) I just could not hold it together the second lap. Aren't you supposed to start feeling BETTER after a few days to adjust to the altitude?
Day 17 (11/23/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:58 (8:39 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Okay, the lousiness isn't resolving as quickly as it might at sea level. (22:44/22:12) Felt pretty much as lousy when I started as where I left of yesterday, but when I saw the first lap split, I decided that I had to put my foot down somewhere, at this rate + the usual second lap slowdown, I was going to log a 23+ minute lap if I didn't put a stop to this. Dug deep and pulled out a semi decent second lap... and I'm done! Oxygen, here I come!
Day 18 (11/24/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:00:49 (8:34 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
Back in Pasadena. I've got all of 10 hours here between my flight in from Denver and my flight out to Boston. Squeezed in a run in the glorious warmth and sunshine in the interim. I wasn't exactly feeling the amazing restorative effects of oxygen... but I may also have been in a bad state due to traveling, lack of sleep, dehydration etc. I also experienced my first seriously disturbing ache/pain so far: about 35 minutes in, I started feeling a stabbing pain in my R arch, followed by the sensation of popping or tearing. I was so terrified I stopped and took off my shoe to see if I had ruptured my plantar fascia. Upon poking and prodding, I decided that nothing had ruptured, at least not yet... so I rubbed it out and limped a little bit more slowly back the rest of the way. The arch started to feel a little bit more normal after 10 more minutes, so I picked it up a little bit at the end.
Day 19 (11/25/2009): 5.3 miles, 43:51 (8:16 min/mile) Smallest River Loop from house
Boston, for Thanksgiving week. Run after no sleep on the red eye. The river paths are mostly pavement, so I got a good clip going, but to be completely honest my R arch is killing me. I'm really afraid that my streak is over, and also that I've torn my plantar fascia. Crap. Okay, I'll give it one more day, if it hurts tomorrow, I gotta call this thing off...
Day 20 (11/26/2009): 6.8 miles, 56:07 (8:15 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop
It's Thanksgiving, and I gotta run before I turkey! Peter's here too, and its a big day because the fate of my continued running experiment rests on this run. In a fit of inspiration, I remember the correct way to tape an arch, so I break out the athletic tape and my foot feels loads better. Felt so much better, I went a little farther today and felt like I was going decently fast. There's a huge hill on the way home, which is why this speed is not reflected in my average pace. Happy Thanksgiving! I'm grateful, in addition to various other things, that my streak is still going strong.
Day 21 (11/27/2009): 6.8 miles, 58:30 (8:36 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop backwards
My turkey hasn't fully digested yet by morning, but its time to run again... gahhh... Felt lousy and hard to move the legs. Decided to go backwards to avoid seeing how far off from yesterday's splits I am. The super super lousy feeling dissipated slowly over the first 15 minutes or so, which inspired me to do the longer loop, but it was still slow. The hill was extra painful today.
Day 22 (11/28/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:34 (8:47 min/mile) Smallest River Loop
Lousiness continues... wtf? I'm grouchy though, so I'll blame the weather, the wind and why is there this bigass hill always in my way??? On the upside, my feet are doing pretty well with the taping.
Week 3 Musings: I find myself struggling internally about the nature of running every day. I'm tired, I haven't had a "great" run in a while, and I'm resenting that all of this travel hit before I'd gotten a chance to work through the fatigue from Week 2. The altitude in Colorado, then the hills in Boston are pissing me off. It's not fair to them though, because if I were in shape, I'd be loving it. Since when didn't I love hills... why am I doing this again?
Things improve after this week, but I can't transcribe all 64 days in one sitting, so I'll post some more installments later.
So, I suppose it is safe to say that it actually MAY be an utterly asinine assertion that there exists a causal relationship between posting my runs on the internet, and acquiring injuries... however, superstitions being somewhat of a placebo effect as it is, I had stubbornly resisted posting my running until, alas, injuries were acquired, albeit without the intervention of the internet.
The rules of the game are simple: Run every day, where "run" is defined as an honest effort of 5 or more miles.
I started because I wanted to reclaim my identity as a runner, I ended because of a strange numbness/swelling in the proximity of my 3rd metatarsal (L foot). It was an awesome experience with a range of emotions attached, some expected, some not. I got a lot out of it, including but not limited to feeling like running was a natural part of my day, and getting to the point where I could modulate the fatigue and enjoy most of my runs. I am injury prone, so I don't know if I'll start another streak, but I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested. For the record, I know multiple people who've run every day for many years... this streak may pale in comparison, but it's the culmination of my personal struggle to overcome the past 3 years of injuries.
64 Days of Running
Day 1 (11/07/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:03 (8:30 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
First day back, and I feel almost as if the 6 weeks of semi-running I've done in the past two months never happened! Mostly reflected in heavy breathing, legs actually feel okay.
Day 2 (11/08/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:43 (8:49 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Exactly the same as yesterday, except slower and legs feeling much more tired. It was also warmer than I'd like bc I ran later in the day than usual. Slogged through.
Day 3 (11/09/2009): 6 miles, 49:46 (8:22 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Pavement is always a lot faster for me, but don't let the improvement in pace deceive you... I'm still feeling like my legs are really weak under me, and the breathing just won't settle down. I'm sort of in that state where my fastest pace and my slowest pace are one and the same.
Day 4 (11/10/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:04 (8:30 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Feeling a little bit better, run time was about the same as Day 1, but the difference was that I started out more conservatively and held up a little bit better coming back. Somehow that made me feel like I'd made some sort of an improvement... even though it doesn't make that much sense.
Day 5 (11/11/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:01:11 (8:37 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
I'm no longer struggling quite as much as the first few days, so naturally, I started feeling somewhat obliged to try a run that was a little bit longer. I hung in there for 7 even though I was feeling a little bit tired and sub-optimally warm. It turned out not as badly as I expected.
Day 6 (11/12/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:55 (8:29 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Good times! This is the first run that's genuinely felt easy. Felt a little groggy at first, but felt progressively better. I'm really glad that the "weak" feeling in my legs has gone away, it finally feels like I'm getting back into the swing of things (well, relatively speaking).
Day 7 (11/13/2009): 6 miles, 48:35 (8:10 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Evening run today due to allergy shots in the morning. Maybe the extra 12 hours of rest did me good--this was a super pleasant run with a favorable effort/speed ratio. Feeling really pleased today, maybe my fitness may return quicker than I thought!
Day 8 (11/14/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:25 (8:23 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Easy and good again, despite slightly less rest this time around. Funny observation is that I run the first half of this out and back run at approximate the same pace every time... all variations in total run time occur on the way back. I can't really figure out why.
Week 1 (+ 1 day) Musings: In general, this feels like a relatively normal first week back, with some rough spots at the beginning, and some brighter ones towards the end. I'm going to add some hindsight commentary by saying that when I started, I was not fully recovered from this hip flexor injury that had been plaguing me for the past 4 weeks, despite 2 weeks essentially off. It hurt a lot even walking around Days 1 -3, but I nuked that sucker with some creative rehab exercises and disciplined good form running. Against all odds, my hip steadily improved over the course of this week and hasn't bothered me since. And we're off to an excellent start!
Day 9 (11/15/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:12 (8:43 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Hmmmmm... here's about where my body is totally expecting a nice rest day, which it didn't get. Nope, keep going. Felt lousy. In my log I noted that I didn't understand why I felt lousy, but I'm pretty sure its because this is the juncture where I'd normally have had a recovery day.
Day 10 (11/16/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:02:14 (8:46 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Feel tired? Clearly the answer is... more mileage! I was determined to tough out this run, for some reason, I just can not quell the desire to combat tiredness with more effort. I think this still stands as my slowest running of this route this year. Legs just feel thrashed... it was also warm out. I'm slightly discouraged that the fatigue is setting in so soon.
Day 11 (11/17/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:38 (8:25 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
A vaguely acceptable run after a few days of lousy. That thrashed feeling in my legs started to dissipate a little bit on the second half of this run, and I was able to pick it up a little bit.
Day 12 (11/18/2009): 6 miles, 48:18 (8:07 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Legs still feel like lead, it was sort of a chore to keep putting them in front of each other, but breathing was basically steady and the pace was a nice break from an extra slow few days. The pavement days kind of feel like my "recovery" day these days... I'm not exactly sure why its so much easier than the trails.
Day 13 (11/19/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:00:37 (8:32 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
Felt lousy on the way out, then good on the way back. The whole lousy feeling resolving on the second half of the run continues. It is true that the way back is slightly downhill and the way out is slightly uphill, but I also kind of think its an indication that I'm starting to come out of the really fatigued state... because days DO exist when both ways suck. Unclear
Day 14 (11/20/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:10 (8:30 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Denver, after my evening flight. Dark, cold, snow and ice on the ground. Honestly it wasn't that cold... or dark... and the snow wasn't too slippery so I kinda ended up feeling cheated out of some "hardcore" factor here. (21:56/22:14) second lap slowdown kinda bugged me, but generally felt pretty good for the altitude, just took it easy and it was actually a fairly pleasant run.
Day 15 (11/21/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:34 (8:34 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Got up again in the morning and did the same run. The daylight made things worse, because the snow had started to melt and the footing was much worse than yesterday. (22:05/22:29) felt a little tired, but not gonna sweat it. Not significantly slower than yesterday adjusted for terrain.
Week 2 Musings: Yikes, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore... this is new territory. I was definitely hoping that the fatigue from lack of off days would not set in until at least a few weeks in, but it's definitely hit me hard this week. It's also harder to absorb life circumstances, like visiting Peter in super cold super de-oxygenated Colorado... I'm trying to keep the 'argh' under control though, just gotta power through this or I'll never see what's on the other side.
Day 16 (11/22/2009): 5.2 miles, 45:15 (8:42 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Gahhhhh, I'm getting sick of this run... and I felt super extra lousy today. (22:22/22:53) I just could not hold it together the second lap. Aren't you supposed to start feeling BETTER after a few days to adjust to the altitude?
Day 17 (11/23/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:58 (8:39 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Okay, the lousiness isn't resolving as quickly as it might at sea level. (22:44/22:12) Felt pretty much as lousy when I started as where I left of yesterday, but when I saw the first lap split, I decided that I had to put my foot down somewhere, at this rate + the usual second lap slowdown, I was going to log a 23+ minute lap if I didn't put a stop to this. Dug deep and pulled out a semi decent second lap... and I'm done! Oxygen, here I come!
Day 18 (11/24/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:00:49 (8:34 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
Back in Pasadena. I've got all of 10 hours here between my flight in from Denver and my flight out to Boston. Squeezed in a run in the glorious warmth and sunshine in the interim. I wasn't exactly feeling the amazing restorative effects of oxygen... but I may also have been in a bad state due to traveling, lack of sleep, dehydration etc. I also experienced my first seriously disturbing ache/pain so far: about 35 minutes in, I started feeling a stabbing pain in my R arch, followed by the sensation of popping or tearing. I was so terrified I stopped and took off my shoe to see if I had ruptured my plantar fascia. Upon poking and prodding, I decided that nothing had ruptured, at least not yet... so I rubbed it out and limped a little bit more slowly back the rest of the way. The arch started to feel a little bit more normal after 10 more minutes, so I picked it up a little bit at the end.
Day 19 (11/25/2009): 5.3 miles, 43:51 (8:16 min/mile) Smallest River Loop from house
Boston, for Thanksgiving week. Run after no sleep on the red eye. The river paths are mostly pavement, so I got a good clip going, but to be completely honest my R arch is killing me. I'm really afraid that my streak is over, and also that I've torn my plantar fascia. Crap. Okay, I'll give it one more day, if it hurts tomorrow, I gotta call this thing off...
Day 20 (11/26/2009): 6.8 miles, 56:07 (8:15 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop
It's Thanksgiving, and I gotta run before I turkey! Peter's here too, and its a big day because the fate of my continued running experiment rests on this run. In a fit of inspiration, I remember the correct way to tape an arch, so I break out the athletic tape and my foot feels loads better. Felt so much better, I went a little farther today and felt like I was going decently fast. There's a huge hill on the way home, which is why this speed is not reflected in my average pace. Happy Thanksgiving! I'm grateful, in addition to various other things, that my streak is still going strong.
Day 21 (11/27/2009): 6.8 miles, 58:30 (8:36 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop backwards
My turkey hasn't fully digested yet by morning, but its time to run again... gahhh... Felt lousy and hard to move the legs. Decided to go backwards to avoid seeing how far off from yesterday's splits I am. The super super lousy feeling dissipated slowly over the first 15 minutes or so, which inspired me to do the longer loop, but it was still slow. The hill was extra painful today.
Day 22 (11/28/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:34 (8:47 min/mile) Smallest River Loop
Lousiness continues... wtf? I'm grouchy though, so I'll blame the weather, the wind and why is there this bigass hill always in my way??? On the upside, my feet are doing pretty well with the taping.
Week 3 Musings: I find myself struggling internally about the nature of running every day. I'm tired, I haven't had a "great" run in a while, and I'm resenting that all of this travel hit before I'd gotten a chance to work through the fatigue from Week 2. The altitude in Colorado, then the hills in Boston are pissing me off. It's not fair to them though, because if I were in shape, I'd be loving it. Since when didn't I love hills... why am I doing this again?
Things improve after this week, but I can't transcribe all 64 days in one sitting, so I'll post some more installments later.
A Whole Bunch of Time Off
(10/25/2009 – 11/6/2009)
After barely hanging on to some crappy 20-30 mpw weeks, the wheels finally came off the bus. I got sick, that’s the official line, but that was really all the motivation I needed to go ahead and take a whole bunch of time off. I guess that’s okay, in hindsight. My relationship with running had already soured by this point. Gone were the days that I awoke with a twinkle in my eye (even at 6 am) just so very happy to run at all.
Too many setbacks leave a scar, somewhere… not that easily scuffed away by the newness of another season, another opportunity. The honeymoon phase ended when I got my weird hip flexor injury. It so quickly wiped away the optimism of a new start, with the hard realities of those who are injury prone stay injury prone. I didn’t want to get up in the morning, because I didn’t want to run, because I didn’t want to feel that first pain when you know a lot of time off imminently awaits. So, I started sleeping in, I started thinking, maybe three off days is still an okay number for one week… and then I got sick, and then I had my reason to leave.
I basically did two runs during this period:
10/25/2009: RB Perimeter from California, 7.9 miles, 1:13:49 (9:21 min/mile)
This is probably one of my worst runs in years and years. I see that I logged it at 7.9 miles due to the dubious nature of the arroyo… but let’s face it, this run has always been 7.8 miles, so long as I’ve been running it. 9:20, 9:30… does it really matter at that point? To my credit, it was hot when I ran, and I was already coughing up a storm.
10/29/2009: Hillcrest/Orlando/Hill/California, 6 miles, 52:18 (8:47 min/mile)
The guilt crept in once I realized that I could no longer use the excuse “bedridden” to avoid running anymore, so I went on this nice evening jog. It wasn’t such a bad experience, I only felt mildly barfy while I was running. When I returned, however, the coughing returned with a vengeance and I barfed up my dinner. Thankfully I had felt too barfy to eat a large one, so I guess it wasn’t too much of a loss.
After that I stopped running altogether and got fat. If only running fast were as easy to do as getting fat.
After barely hanging on to some crappy 20-30 mpw weeks, the wheels finally came off the bus. I got sick, that’s the official line, but that was really all the motivation I needed to go ahead and take a whole bunch of time off. I guess that’s okay, in hindsight. My relationship with running had already soured by this point. Gone were the days that I awoke with a twinkle in my eye (even at 6 am) just so very happy to run at all.
Too many setbacks leave a scar, somewhere… not that easily scuffed away by the newness of another season, another opportunity. The honeymoon phase ended when I got my weird hip flexor injury. It so quickly wiped away the optimism of a new start, with the hard realities of those who are injury prone stay injury prone. I didn’t want to get up in the morning, because I didn’t want to run, because I didn’t want to feel that first pain when you know a lot of time off imminently awaits. So, I started sleeping in, I started thinking, maybe three off days is still an okay number for one week… and then I got sick, and then I had my reason to leave.
I basically did two runs during this period:
10/25/2009: RB Perimeter from California, 7.9 miles, 1:13:49 (9:21 min/mile)
This is probably one of my worst runs in years and years. I see that I logged it at 7.9 miles due to the dubious nature of the arroyo… but let’s face it, this run has always been 7.8 miles, so long as I’ve been running it. 9:20, 9:30… does it really matter at that point? To my credit, it was hot when I ran, and I was already coughing up a storm.
10/29/2009: Hillcrest/Orlando/Hill/California, 6 miles, 52:18 (8:47 min/mile)
The guilt crept in once I realized that I could no longer use the excuse “bedridden” to avoid running anymore, so I went on this nice evening jog. It wasn’t such a bad experience, I only felt mildly barfy while I was running. When I returned, however, the coughing returned with a vengeance and I barfed up my dinner. Thankfully I had felt too barfy to eat a large one, so I guess it wasn’t too much of a loss.
After that I stopped running altogether and got fat. If only running fast were as easy to do as getting fat.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
One day at a time...
10/18/2009 - 10/24/2009 (Week 8)
I've decided that the biggest issue for me with injuries is the loss of motivation, ergo the loss of momentum. The damage is more psychological than it is physical, and so I've decided that the key for me right now is just to re-establish the habit of running again.
Just take it one day at a time, rather than try to increase distance, or stress out about mileage, I feel like the key is just to run as many days as possible. The more days that I sleep in, the worse I feel, both physically and mentally. Consistency is key. Okay, here we go now:
Sunday: 5.2 miles, 42:49 (21:06/21:43) 2 x Washington Park Loops (8:14 min/mile)
After yesterday, I didn't really feel like I had 3 laps in me, so I decided to just do 2 and not feel bad about it. Felt better than yesterday, but still felt kind of buggered about the pace... maybe its not really a pace issue, actually its an endurance issue. The first lap felt fine... I also had someone to run with. I forgot what his name was, but we kept passing eachother back and forth so finally I decided to run next to him to avoid the competition. He was nice, but he was only doing one lap, so I think I slowed down a lot after he left.
Monday: Off, travel. Feeling lousy, not sure why, since I got a lot of sleep this weekend.
Tuesday: 6 miles, 47:25 Hillcrest, Orlando, Allen (7:58 min/mile)
Woke up feeling really beat, legs feeling really heavy... but force of habit is strong, it's Tuesday, so I figured that I should try to run a little faster than usual. Unfortunately my body just wouldn't go today. I felt like I expended an inordinate amount of effort not to get anywhere. My shoe came untied at Lake/California and I caught a glimpse of my watch. Seeing that I was 30 second behind last week's split, despite having worked a lot harder, I became discouraged and jogged the rest of it in. Bah, humbug.
Wednesday: 7.1 miles, 1:00:27 from Monterrey to RB (8:31 min/mile)
Hard to get up again, but was glad to make it on this nice, easy run. Was hoping it would be a little faster, but it felt good to take it easy after a few days where running felt more like struggling.
Thursday: 6.5 miles, 50:21 Hillcrest, Orlando, San Marino (7:45 min/mile)
An excellent night run in between baking a delicious chocolate cake. I kinda remembered what good base runs used to feel like today... I started off at a nice, controlled medium pace, and then pushed a little harder towards the end. That last part from Los Robles back to home always feels like a chore, so I tend to push through it. Felt good. Wish there were more runs like this.
Friday: Off, shots. Giving the hip and the feet and whatnot a precautionary day off by not trying to cram in a night run.
Saturday: 6.7 miles, 59:40 RB Perimeter to yellow gate at JPL (8:54 min/mile)
Good grief, I honestly don't know what happened here. I felt like I was going an "easy" pace, but it didn't feel like it was THAT slow. I also felt really wiped out on anything that went uphill, which meant that I really really struggled on the climb over the reservoir. I was so freaked out that I re-mapped this route immediately when I got home. Unfortunately, I didn't find a magical half mile or so that I forgot to measure... so I spent the rest of the evening feeling unsettled and irate.
Week total: 31.5 miles, some good, some bad... but making some progress!
I've decided that the biggest issue for me with injuries is the loss of motivation, ergo the loss of momentum. The damage is more psychological than it is physical, and so I've decided that the key for me right now is just to re-establish the habit of running again.
Just take it one day at a time, rather than try to increase distance, or stress out about mileage, I feel like the key is just to run as many days as possible. The more days that I sleep in, the worse I feel, both physically and mentally. Consistency is key. Okay, here we go now:
Sunday: 5.2 miles, 42:49 (21:06/21:43) 2 x Washington Park Loops (8:14 min/mile)
After yesterday, I didn't really feel like I had 3 laps in me, so I decided to just do 2 and not feel bad about it. Felt better than yesterday, but still felt kind of buggered about the pace... maybe its not really a pace issue, actually its an endurance issue. The first lap felt fine... I also had someone to run with. I forgot what his name was, but we kept passing eachother back and forth so finally I decided to run next to him to avoid the competition. He was nice, but he was only doing one lap, so I think I slowed down a lot after he left.
Monday: Off, travel. Feeling lousy, not sure why, since I got a lot of sleep this weekend.
Tuesday: 6 miles, 47:25 Hillcrest, Orlando, Allen (7:58 min/mile)
Woke up feeling really beat, legs feeling really heavy... but force of habit is strong, it's Tuesday, so I figured that I should try to run a little faster than usual. Unfortunately my body just wouldn't go today. I felt like I expended an inordinate amount of effort not to get anywhere. My shoe came untied at Lake/California and I caught a glimpse of my watch. Seeing that I was 30 second behind last week's split, despite having worked a lot harder, I became discouraged and jogged the rest of it in. Bah, humbug.
Wednesday: 7.1 miles, 1:00:27 from Monterrey to RB (8:31 min/mile)
Hard to get up again, but was glad to make it on this nice, easy run. Was hoping it would be a little faster, but it felt good to take it easy after a few days where running felt more like struggling.
Thursday: 6.5 miles, 50:21 Hillcrest, Orlando, San Marino (7:45 min/mile)
An excellent night run in between baking a delicious chocolate cake. I kinda remembered what good base runs used to feel like today... I started off at a nice, controlled medium pace, and then pushed a little harder towards the end. That last part from Los Robles back to home always feels like a chore, so I tend to push through it. Felt good. Wish there were more runs like this.
Friday: Off, shots. Giving the hip and the feet and whatnot a precautionary day off by not trying to cram in a night run.
Saturday: 6.7 miles, 59:40 RB Perimeter to yellow gate at JPL (8:54 min/mile)
Good grief, I honestly don't know what happened here. I felt like I was going an "easy" pace, but it didn't feel like it was THAT slow. I also felt really wiped out on anything that went uphill, which meant that I really really struggled on the climb over the reservoir. I was so freaked out that I re-mapped this route immediately when I got home. Unfortunately, I didn't find a magical half mile or so that I forgot to measure... so I spent the rest of the evening feeling unsettled and irate.
Week total: 31.5 miles, some good, some bad... but making some progress!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Hip-hip hooray?
10/11/2009 - 10/17/2009 (Week 7)
I've decided that I'm still too young to have a metal hip... which means that I've got to come up with some way to fix this hip injury. Actually, at this point "hip" injury may be a misnomer. A variety of upper leg muscles have been hurting in turn at this point, so I'm not really sure what's going on anymore.
On the upside, it doesn't seem to make a difference whether I run fast or slow, and it's basically manageable with a smattering of core exercises, extra stretching and massage. Something always feels rusty and sore at the beginning of each run, but it seems to feel okay after 50 meters or so. It doesn't hurt me while walking around during the day any more, so I figure its improving and/or workable. I'm not 100% comfortable with it, but I think its good enough to proceed. Now to get that mileage back up. Last week I ran 3 days... this week I ran 4. One step at a time, I guess.
Sunday: 5.3 miles, 42:42 for Monterrey to bridge loop (8:03 min/mile)
I just decided, after yesterday, that I'm going to start running 8 minute miles now. Just like, in the beginning, I decided that I was going to run 8:30 miles. And I did, well mostly... and eventually it started to feel comfortable. I'm not sure why now, but it's time. Legs still feeling good and fresh, but breathing is kinda raspy. Overall a pretty good run though.
Monday: Off, slept in. Feeling lousy in that "under the weather" sort of way.
Tuesday: 6 miles, 46:10 Hillcrest, Orlando, Allen (7:46 min/mile)
Got up a little late, and it was drizzling out. Couldn't really decide what type of a run I wanted this to be. Went out hard, then backed off for most of the middle part, but then picked it up again coming back on California. Mostly, it was because the rain was picking up, I couldn't see anything, and I just wanted to get home sooner rather than later. Totally soaked when I got home, but I was super pleased to see my first solidly sub-8 minute mile run!
Wednesday: Off, slept in again. Feeling really fatigued and exhausted, not sure why.
Thursday: 6.5 miles, 54:30 Hillcrest, Orlando, San Marino (8:23 min/mile)
Slept in again, feeling really lousy... forced myself to go on this evening run though, to avoid 3 consecutive off days (counting shot day tomorrow). I was tired when I got home from work, and it was really humid. I remember thinking 5 minutes into this run that I was really hot and uncomfortable. Took it easy, but not THAT easy... so I was kind of pissed to see the slow run time. Oh well, try again on Saturday, I guess.
Friday: Off, shots, traveling.
Saturday: 5.2 miles, 42:18 (20:49/21:29) 2 x Washington Park Loops (8:08 min/mile)
First loop with Peter in Denver. Felt really lousy, I was feeling the altitude pretty early on, and it just got worse from there. The second loop felt a little bit more controlled, but I was pretty discouraged. Made some super delicious ginger bread men with Peter afterwards, and I decided to put this run behind me.
Week total: 23 miles. Well, whatever my hip needs to get better, so be it.
I've decided that I'm still too young to have a metal hip... which means that I've got to come up with some way to fix this hip injury. Actually, at this point "hip" injury may be a misnomer. A variety of upper leg muscles have been hurting in turn at this point, so I'm not really sure what's going on anymore.
On the upside, it doesn't seem to make a difference whether I run fast or slow, and it's basically manageable with a smattering of core exercises, extra stretching and massage. Something always feels rusty and sore at the beginning of each run, but it seems to feel okay after 50 meters or so. It doesn't hurt me while walking around during the day any more, so I figure its improving and/or workable. I'm not 100% comfortable with it, but I think its good enough to proceed. Now to get that mileage back up. Last week I ran 3 days... this week I ran 4. One step at a time, I guess.
Sunday: 5.3 miles, 42:42 for Monterrey to bridge loop (8:03 min/mile)
I just decided, after yesterday, that I'm going to start running 8 minute miles now. Just like, in the beginning, I decided that I was going to run 8:30 miles. And I did, well mostly... and eventually it started to feel comfortable. I'm not sure why now, but it's time. Legs still feeling good and fresh, but breathing is kinda raspy. Overall a pretty good run though.
Monday: Off, slept in. Feeling lousy in that "under the weather" sort of way.
Tuesday: 6 miles, 46:10 Hillcrest, Orlando, Allen (7:46 min/mile)
Got up a little late, and it was drizzling out. Couldn't really decide what type of a run I wanted this to be. Went out hard, then backed off for most of the middle part, but then picked it up again coming back on California. Mostly, it was because the rain was picking up, I couldn't see anything, and I just wanted to get home sooner rather than later. Totally soaked when I got home, but I was super pleased to see my first solidly sub-8 minute mile run!
Wednesday: Off, slept in again. Feeling really fatigued and exhausted, not sure why.
Thursday: 6.5 miles, 54:30 Hillcrest, Orlando, San Marino (8:23 min/mile)
Slept in again, feeling really lousy... forced myself to go on this evening run though, to avoid 3 consecutive off days (counting shot day tomorrow). I was tired when I got home from work, and it was really humid. I remember thinking 5 minutes into this run that I was really hot and uncomfortable. Took it easy, but not THAT easy... so I was kind of pissed to see the slow run time. Oh well, try again on Saturday, I guess.
Friday: Off, shots, traveling.
Saturday: 5.2 miles, 42:18 (20:49/21:29) 2 x Washington Park Loops (8:08 min/mile)
First loop with Peter in Denver. Felt really lousy, I was feeling the altitude pretty early on, and it just got worse from there. The second loop felt a little bit more controlled, but I was pretty discouraged. Made some super delicious ginger bread men with Peter afterwards, and I decided to put this run behind me.
Week total: 23 miles. Well, whatever my hip needs to get better, so be it.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Another one bites the dust...
10/04/2009 - 10/10/2009 (Week 6)
Things fall apart. Shit. The worst part is that I'm still not entirely sure what has broken, but something has definitely gone awry, because I wasn't walking normally on Tuesday after the workout. The best case scenario is a tweaked L hip flexor, which has happened to me with some regularity, and can be resolved with more diligent implementation of core strengthening. The worst case scenario is a stress fracture of the femural joint. I've been taking my gummy calcium bears, dammit! Clearly my runty left side doesn't respond to encouragement, so fine... die, left leg, die.
Sunday: 11.6 miles, 1:42:11 in the Arroyo then around the RB perimeter (8:49 min/mile)
Aaaaaahhhhh... turtle turtle. Why is not my long run pace improving?! I really didn't want to run today, but around noon, I finally cobbled together enough motivation to head out. It felt fine, except for I could tell that I was getting tired, and I was really dehydrated towards the end. I knew I should just have stopped for water at the RB or the casting pond, but for some reason I was determined not to stop. I think that the reality is that I run all of my runs as accelerations... in the Arroyo, I think I start out at 8:45 pace and then pick it up on the second half to average 8:30, but on this run, the picking it up thing never happened. It didn't feel particularly horrible... just long, and slow. I think it was too early for this jump, I should have stuck with a few more weeks of the 9 mile long run. Blahhhh.....
Monday: Off. I had felt really good immediately after yesterday's run, but woke up today with some aches and pains that distinctly felt like the beginning stages of injury, rather than a good healthy sore. Took a precautionary day off.
Tuesday: 6.5 miles, 2 x 700m, 2 x 1500m, 2 x 700m pickups with 100m jog rest at Lacy
Woke up at 6:50 am and realized that I wasn't going to run today if I didn't rush to 7 am practice (team has started T/Th morning workouts again). The prospect of 2 continuous days off scared me more than the twinge I still felt in my L hip, so I rushed out, and then sprinted again to Lacy bc I had missed the start yet again.
Felt like a good workout, my goal was to practice running fast, but still remain comfortable and consistent. I'm just not ready for a super high intensity thing right now, so these continuous loops are really ideal. Times were 3:03, 3:00, 6:44, 6:54, 3:13, 3:14. Legs were comfortable throughout, but I struggled cardiovascularly on the 1500's and that carried over towards the end. Not exactly sure how to fix this gap, cardio always lags leg strength for me, but its usually not as bad as this. (Strangely on the bike, its the reverse... )
Wednesday - Friday: Off. L hip took a turn for the worse after Tuesday, should have listened to the tweak while it was just that. The joint seemed to seize up after Tuesday's workout, I had trouble walking normally. Tried to sort out exactly what was wrong, but it was difficult. Just kept trying to stretch and loosen it, but a number of things seemed to have clenched around the joint. Kind of scary. There was a large improvement in the first day, but residual issues persisted for many days afterwards. In addition, some small muscles keep spasming in my calf. Bad news bears.
Saturday: 4.2 miles, 33:21 Glenarm/Hillcrest (7:56 min/mile)
Short run to test out the hip. Smelled like burnt tires out. Ran at noon, so it was warmer than I would have liked. I felt sluggish and my breathing was out of whack, but I assumed I was going really slow and I just felt badly bc of the days off, and the temperature. Felt better about the run once I got home and realized that I was going a decent pace. Did a lot of stretching and exercises afterwards. I felt like my L hip was different from my R hip, but it felt like a difference of strength vs. a difference of injuredness. It may have been better to take it a bit easier on the first day back, but I'm actually heartened to see the faster pace because it demonstrates that I'm still getting full extension out of my stride. Towards the end of my last cycle of injuries, I couldn't run faster than a 9 minute mile, simply because I had shortened my stride drastically to minimize the pain.
Week Total: 22.3 miles, ack, wrong direction!
Things fall apart. Shit. The worst part is that I'm still not entirely sure what has broken, but something has definitely gone awry, because I wasn't walking normally on Tuesday after the workout. The best case scenario is a tweaked L hip flexor, which has happened to me with some regularity, and can be resolved with more diligent implementation of core strengthening. The worst case scenario is a stress fracture of the femural joint. I've been taking my gummy calcium bears, dammit! Clearly my runty left side doesn't respond to encouragement, so fine... die, left leg, die.
Sunday: 11.6 miles, 1:42:11 in the Arroyo then around the RB perimeter (8:49 min/mile)
Aaaaaahhhhh... turtle turtle. Why is not my long run pace improving?! I really didn't want to run today, but around noon, I finally cobbled together enough motivation to head out. It felt fine, except for I could tell that I was getting tired, and I was really dehydrated towards the end. I knew I should just have stopped for water at the RB or the casting pond, but for some reason I was determined not to stop. I think that the reality is that I run all of my runs as accelerations... in the Arroyo, I think I start out at 8:45 pace and then pick it up on the second half to average 8:30, but on this run, the picking it up thing never happened. It didn't feel particularly horrible... just long, and slow. I think it was too early for this jump, I should have stuck with a few more weeks of the 9 mile long run. Blahhhh.....
Monday: Off. I had felt really good immediately after yesterday's run, but woke up today with some aches and pains that distinctly felt like the beginning stages of injury, rather than a good healthy sore. Took a precautionary day off.
Tuesday: 6.5 miles, 2 x 700m, 2 x 1500m, 2 x 700m pickups with 100m jog rest at Lacy
Woke up at 6:50 am and realized that I wasn't going to run today if I didn't rush to 7 am practice (team has started T/Th morning workouts again). The prospect of 2 continuous days off scared me more than the twinge I still felt in my L hip, so I rushed out, and then sprinted again to Lacy bc I had missed the start yet again.
Felt like a good workout, my goal was to practice running fast, but still remain comfortable and consistent. I'm just not ready for a super high intensity thing right now, so these continuous loops are really ideal. Times were 3:03, 3:00, 6:44, 6:54, 3:13, 3:14. Legs were comfortable throughout, but I struggled cardiovascularly on the 1500's and that carried over towards the end. Not exactly sure how to fix this gap, cardio always lags leg strength for me, but its usually not as bad as this. (Strangely on the bike, its the reverse... )
Wednesday - Friday: Off. L hip took a turn for the worse after Tuesday, should have listened to the tweak while it was just that. The joint seemed to seize up after Tuesday's workout, I had trouble walking normally. Tried to sort out exactly what was wrong, but it was difficult. Just kept trying to stretch and loosen it, but a number of things seemed to have clenched around the joint. Kind of scary. There was a large improvement in the first day, but residual issues persisted for many days afterwards. In addition, some small muscles keep spasming in my calf. Bad news bears.
Saturday: 4.2 miles, 33:21 Glenarm/Hillcrest (7:56 min/mile)
Short run to test out the hip. Smelled like burnt tires out. Ran at noon, so it was warmer than I would have liked. I felt sluggish and my breathing was out of whack, but I assumed I was going really slow and I just felt badly bc of the days off, and the temperature. Felt better about the run once I got home and realized that I was going a decent pace. Did a lot of stretching and exercises afterwards. I felt like my L hip was different from my R hip, but it felt like a difference of strength vs. a difference of injuredness. It may have been better to take it a bit easier on the first day back, but I'm actually heartened to see the faster pace because it demonstrates that I'm still getting full extension out of my stride. Towards the end of my last cycle of injuries, I couldn't run faster than a 9 minute mile, simply because I had shortened my stride drastically to minimize the pain.
Week Total: 22.3 miles, ack, wrong direction!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Rest week devolves to lazy...
09/27/2009 - 10/03/2009 (Week 5)
First rest week, and I've got two things going against me. One is that pre-season is over, so there isn't 6:30 am practice to get my lazy ass out of bed in the morning. Two is that I have a history of post-achievement motivational issues. And yes, running 42 miles last week is an achievement... because that's only happened twice so far in the past 2 years. Sad, yeah, I know...
The wheels kind of came off the wagon early this week, with the dreaded 2 consecutive off days, but I rallied to cobble together 35 miles in 5 days. I think the situation is under control, but I was afflicted by some serious ennui for a while there. Part of the problem is that I've been requiring a ridiculous amount of sleep recently. Since I returned from Colorado, 7 hours isn't cutting it. Kind of disturbing... but I'll chalk it up to recovering from altitude.
Sunday: 7.8 miles, 1:07:03 for 3 x Washington Park Loops in Denver (8:36 min/mile)
(22:00/22:38/22:25 lap splits) Argh, feeling lousy today. Not sure exactly why, but it was harder and slower than yesterday. It didn't feel like a complete meltdown, so I just tried to keep some sort of a steady pace and not do anything crazy. Glad to be done. ~ 6 mile hike to ~9000ft with Peter and his parents afterwards.
Monday: Off. Traveling. Didn't perceive that I was super tired, but apparently I was.
Tuesday: Off. Slept in, and then had to work late... decided not to do a late night run, such that I could get up for a proper run tomorrow.
Wednesday: 7.1 miles, 1:00:32 Monterrey to RB and back (8:32 min/mile)
Felt lousy again, can't imagine why after so much rest... but my body usually feels sort of groggy and out of sorts after days off. Started really easy, picked it up a bit on the second half, but it was still slow overall. Not too stressed out about it, just needed to get out and do something today to get back on the ball.
Thursday: 9.2 miles, 1:16:25 Hillcrest/Sierra Madre/Huntington/El Molino (8:18 min/mile)
Still couldn't get up in the morning, but this time I forced myself to run after work. Running at night around Pasadena is actually really nice, but this time I was afflicted by gastrointestinal distress, which made it... less nice. Went easy planning to do ~ 10 miles, but had to cut off the last part and head home early due to the stomach situation becoming intractable. Felt really good other than that. I was kind of sad that I didn't get to work the El Molino hill, because I had to concentrate on not crapping my pants. Stomach hurt for hours afterwards, couldn't eat anything... bad times.
Friday: 6 miles, 49:20 Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen back on California (8:18 min/mile)
Shots in the morning, but had to run after work to account for the unintended rest day on Tuesday. Felt kind of sore and weak presumably due to lack of food, and stomach still feeling kind of bad, but it was much better than yesterday. Easy until last 0.4 miles down Marengo to get home, felt really good picking up the pace a little bit. Running on the pavement is starting to feel really good and easy, and the paces are coming down. Not sure what it is about the trails that makes it that much harder.
Saturday: 5.3 miles, 45:21 Monterrey to Third Bridge Loop (8:33 min/mile)
This run kind of felt like a chore. The 12 hour turnaround is still hard for me, but I decided to sacrifice this run to get back on the morning schedule rather than Sunday's long run. My legs felt mostly okay though, so I think the badness came from forgetting to take my Zyrtec yesterday night, so I was stuffy and chest felt tight and congested in the morning. Mostly easy, but had to pick it up the last 5 minutes, to avoid being passed by Old Guy.
Week Total: 35.4 miles, why don't I feel more rested? Oh, because of the sub-optimal configuration of off days...
First rest week, and I've got two things going against me. One is that pre-season is over, so there isn't 6:30 am practice to get my lazy ass out of bed in the morning. Two is that I have a history of post-achievement motivational issues. And yes, running 42 miles last week is an achievement... because that's only happened twice so far in the past 2 years. Sad, yeah, I know...
The wheels kind of came off the wagon early this week, with the dreaded 2 consecutive off days, but I rallied to cobble together 35 miles in 5 days. I think the situation is under control, but I was afflicted by some serious ennui for a while there. Part of the problem is that I've been requiring a ridiculous amount of sleep recently. Since I returned from Colorado, 7 hours isn't cutting it. Kind of disturbing... but I'll chalk it up to recovering from altitude.
Sunday: 7.8 miles, 1:07:03 for 3 x Washington Park Loops in Denver (8:36 min/mile)
(22:00/22:38/22:25 lap splits) Argh, feeling lousy today. Not sure exactly why, but it was harder and slower than yesterday. It didn't feel like a complete meltdown, so I just tried to keep some sort of a steady pace and not do anything crazy. Glad to be done. ~ 6 mile hike to ~9000ft with Peter and his parents afterwards.
Monday: Off. Traveling. Didn't perceive that I was super tired, but apparently I was.
Tuesday: Off. Slept in, and then had to work late... decided not to do a late night run, such that I could get up for a proper run tomorrow.
Wednesday: 7.1 miles, 1:00:32 Monterrey to RB and back (8:32 min/mile)
Felt lousy again, can't imagine why after so much rest... but my body usually feels sort of groggy and out of sorts after days off. Started really easy, picked it up a bit on the second half, but it was still slow overall. Not too stressed out about it, just needed to get out and do something today to get back on the ball.
Thursday: 9.2 miles, 1:16:25 Hillcrest/Sierra Madre/Huntington/El Molino (8:18 min/mile)
Still couldn't get up in the morning, but this time I forced myself to run after work. Running at night around Pasadena is actually really nice, but this time I was afflicted by gastrointestinal distress, which made it... less nice. Went easy planning to do ~ 10 miles, but had to cut off the last part and head home early due to the stomach situation becoming intractable. Felt really good other than that. I was kind of sad that I didn't get to work the El Molino hill, because I had to concentrate on not crapping my pants. Stomach hurt for hours afterwards, couldn't eat anything... bad times.
Friday: 6 miles, 49:20 Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen back on California (8:18 min/mile)
Shots in the morning, but had to run after work to account for the unintended rest day on Tuesday. Felt kind of sore and weak presumably due to lack of food, and stomach still feeling kind of bad, but it was much better than yesterday. Easy until last 0.4 miles down Marengo to get home, felt really good picking up the pace a little bit. Running on the pavement is starting to feel really good and easy, and the paces are coming down. Not sure what it is about the trails that makes it that much harder.
Saturday: 5.3 miles, 45:21 Monterrey to Third Bridge Loop (8:33 min/mile)
This run kind of felt like a chore. The 12 hour turnaround is still hard for me, but I decided to sacrifice this run to get back on the morning schedule rather than Sunday's long run. My legs felt mostly okay though, so I think the badness came from forgetting to take my Zyrtec yesterday night, so I was stuffy and chest felt tight and congested in the morning. Mostly easy, but had to pick it up the last 5 minutes, to avoid being passed by Old Guy.
Week Total: 35.4 miles, why don't I feel more rested? Oh, because of the sub-optimal configuration of off days...
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