Uuuuuuuunnnnnngggghhhhh.....
Timing and space has never been my strong suit. It always happens that the injuries and illnesses and all-nighters and all sorts of random misfortunes always happen right before target races, and despite possibly also being a drug cheat (Prednisone is a steroid of some sort) I can't even seem to run a halfway decent time trial. All I want is a freaking legitimate chance at a race.
Why is my 5K PR a race I ran with an injury that made me hobble even to walk? Why is my 10K PR a tempo run I did at midnight in trainers by myself on the Caltech track? Why is my 3K PR my only good race despite it being my first meet of the season and coming off of a mile PR double? Why is this so? It's just NOT fair, and I don't want to be judged on the basis of these results... because I don't feel like its a fair measure of my potential. What does it feel like to train for a season and peak and taper and run a race thats like a culmination of something? If I can answer that question sometime before hell freezes over, I think I could be ... a little bit more peaceful, if not exactly, happy.
Sunday 04/15: 9 miles, Arroyo to Rose Bowl bathrooms and back in 1:23:49 at ~155 bpm. First 5 miles felt like crap, HR still weird, lungs felt like they were stuffed with cotton. Then, magically something in my throat cleared up, the HR settled down and running felt strong and fluid again, I freaking hate allergies. I just don't know how to make this stop, or if there's even a way... it all seems so nebulous. Mildly encouraged by the first instance of a few miles of running that actually felt good in about a week, but R knee felt kind of ... funny. Really made an effort to keep good form, and it subsided a bit, but still concerning.
Monday 04/16: 3.1 miles, 10 laps around North fields at 145 bpm, HR baseline has magically returned to normal! Woohoo! Felt pleasant for the first time in a lot of days... happy for the first day that 145 bpm = sub-10 minute miles. Something about eventually being able to run at a reasonable pace AND a low HR some day... Core strengthening at the gym. R knee still feels a bit off, but better than yesterday.
Tuesday 04/17: 7 miles, 7 laps warm up around North fields, then 7 on 1 off x 3 on grass in Nike Frees. 185-190 bpm for the ons, jog rest for the off. Felt really easy and really good... if Mark's measurements of the North field are correct, likely to be just about 1 mile per interval. Slightly slower than on the track with short rest felt really good. Drills on the South field, not as exhausting as usual, felt like form has improved. Everything feels good. 8 laps cool down around South fields.
Wednesday 04/18: ~5 miles in the Arroyo, jogged ~150 bpm with one ~10 minute segment at 165 bpm, then jogged home--48:23 total. Felt relaxed and good, except pretty significant pain on outer edge of L foot, consterning. Feels fine on trails, but pretty painful on the concrete. Core strengthening at home. Definitely some odd aches, probably from the first instance of higher intensity running with the Frees yesterday. Ungh... why is my body falling apart...???
Thursday 04/19: ~5 miles in the Arroyo, drove to end of California to avoid pavement. Outer edge of L foot felt bruised and painful, made it through ~25 miutes before admitting defeat. Pain affecting stride, couldn't get HR over 150 due to shuffle-jog favoring the left side. Turned L ankle twice before heading back, second time caused significant damage... hurts to walk. Somehow made it back to car, extremely consterned. Iced but not much help.
Friday 04/20: completely off. Hurts to walk. Rain. 4 hours at the doctor. Miserable day. Had an unusual and extreme reaction to skin patch testing for allergies. Direct quote from doctor: "Hmmmm... you seem to be extremely, extremely allergic to everything that is green and moves in the wind. We haven't even started on the indoor allergens--that's next week!"
Saturday 04/21: 63 miles, 4 hours 15 minutes, fantastic solo ride out on the River trails and back. SO FUN!!! Easy gears, high cadence, tried to practice shifting to maintain cadence instead of shifting to maintain speed. Relaxing and cathartic, exactly what I needed to stay sane during this time of injury and consternation. When there's a slight downhill and you're going 25 mph at a HR of 145, I pretend that its actually flat and I'm actually fast and I could maybe even be a good athlete some day. Forgot to stop and eat until hour 3, felt pretty crappy in the last 10 miles (lost a lot ground on the avg speed metric...), then the food kicked in and felt good again but by then was almost home.
Target Mileage: 40 Miles
Week Actual: 29.1 Miles
Last Week: 30.35 Miles
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