End of week 12, post fracture. This week was 12 miles of “real running” and 80 “miles” pool running, plus 90 minutes on the bike and 30 minutes elliptical -- training log is here.
Whew – what a week. I had to travel to Chicago mid-week, just in time to have my Thursday morning return flight canceled due to a massive east coast snowstorm – this was a significant issue as a) my home doesn't always handle snow that well (meaning that I like to be there to operate pumps to prevent water damage), and b) I was scheduled to close on the refinancing of my mortgage on Friday morning (and my rate lock-in would expire, and I'd lose my super-spiffy new rate of 3.875%, if I didn't close on Friday).
Short version is: flight after flight got canceled on Wednesday night – I'd be woken up by an automated call from the airline, then spend 30-40 minutes on the phone/net rebooking, then sleep for about 15 minutes before being woken again for another cancellation. By 3:30 am local time, my flights (I was parallel booking on two airlines, since all penalties and change fees were waived) had both been pushed back to around 1 pm, and I was fairly certain neither of those would be leaving either. So I bought a ticket on the 7:30 am flight to Richmond, VA (about 100 miles from DC), figuring that once I was back on the east coast, I'd have expanded options for getting home (and I'd cancel the other fights upon landing in Richmond). Then I headed to O'Hare, got through security, and decided to kill the few hours before my Richmond flight by camping out at different gates to see if anything would work. As it turned out, I managed to get off of standby onto a 6:00 am flight to Dulles Airport, which I believe is one of the only flights from Chicago that made it to the greater Washington area that day. One 90 minute flight plus 70 minute cab ride and I was home. Exhausted, but home.
All of which is a long winded explanation for why I did NOT do a tempo pool-run on Thursday.
My trip to Chicago also meant that I missed my Wednesday “baby jog” and pool-run. There was no pool near the hotel open early enough to fit an pool-run in, and the great deal of walking I did made my foot achy enough that I decided it was smarter not to push the foot with a baby jog. I'm not crazy about missing the run, but sometimes that's life.
Dailies
Monday: In the morning, I first did a “baby run” of 20 minutes, then a 1 minute walk break, before 10 more minutes, for a total of 3.5 miles. Then I hopped in the pool for “11 miles” pool running, including a “track 800s workout” of 10x3:00 at hard effort, with 1:00 recovery, followed by full recovery, and then 20 minutes at aerobic effort.
In the evening, a weights session with a personal trainer, followed by 30 minutes easy pool-running for “3 more miles”.
Tuesday: In the morning, “12.5 miles” – 2:05 hours easy pool-running. Lugged suitcase around airport in afternoon.
Wednesday: Due to travel plus achy foot, skipped run and pool run in favor of 90 minutes on the bike at easy effort, plus 30 minutes on the elliptical (trying to mimic good running form and pushing off of ball of foot). Spent Wednesday night on phone with United and American airlines travel reservations all night.
Thursday: In the morning, drag luggage around airports. In evening, “11 miles” - 1:50 hours in the pool (skipped my tempo – too exhausted), followed by upper body strength-training.
Friday: A “baby run” of 30 minutes straight (count as 3.5 miles – watch GPS was off). Followed by “10 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging – 1:40 hours. Also did a Pilates class in the afternoon.
Saturday: “20.5 miles” – 3 hours pool running, including 2:30 of alternating 5 minutes at tempo effort and 10 minutes easy. Followed with upper body strength-training.
Sunday: An easy run of 40 minutes (8:17 pace, for just under 5 miles), followed by “12 miles” – 2 hours easy pool running.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Heart rates and pool running
When running on land, I regularly use a heart rate monitor. I'm not one of those people who "trains" by heart rate zones -- I think that there's too many other variables that can come into play. For example, I can bump my heart rate up by nearly 10 beats per minute just by daydreaming about the last race I ran.
When running, I do like to get some HR feedback, though. I've had workouts where a ridiculously high HR has convinced me to bail (where otherwise I might have struggled through and dug myself into a hole), and I've had other workouts where a low HR reinforces my perception that I can up my training paces the next time round.
The one time that I do "train" by heart rate zone is on my non-workout, easy days. There, I program a HR ceiling into my monitor, so that it squawks at me any time I push the pace. It's a nice way to ensure my easy runs stay easy.
Usually, my heartrate hits the following ranges when running:
very easy run -- under 150 (this is hard to do)
aerobic (a bit slower than marathon pace) - around 160-165
tempo - between 172 and 182
speedwork - peaks at about 190-193.
My resting HR is in the low 40s (when in bed, drifting off to sleep), and my max HR is somewhere near 200 (though I haven't seen a true 200+ reading in about 2 years, so it may have lowered a bit with age, as max HRs can do).
All of that is when I'm running. Which I'm doing little of right now.
I haven't been using my HR monitor while pool running. I use a Garmin 310xt as my HR monitor, and while both the monitor and the strap are waterproof, the strap can't transmit to the band while submerged -- the signal fades in the water. So, I've been pool-running off of perceived effort (which is how to do it).
Until today. Today I had a rare flash of insight -- if the components both worked, but the signal couldn't traverse the distance in the water, then the device might work if I held my wrist right next to the chest strap.
And it did. So while I can't get continuing information, I can do spot checks as often as I like, and it's easier to do so than to take a pulse (I can never find mine anyway).
So, here's the results:
a) my "easy pool run" HR seems to range between 128-135 BPM.
b) an "aerobic" HR in the pool is around 150 BPM
c) my HR peaked at 176 BPM during my last, hardest "drive the HR up as high as possible" interval this morning.
Each of which correspond to about 15 BPM below my land HR for the same effort. Which matches everything I've read about heart rates in the pool -- that they are depressed by 15-20 BPM in the water due to three reasons:
When running, I do like to get some HR feedback, though. I've had workouts where a ridiculously high HR has convinced me to bail (where otherwise I might have struggled through and dug myself into a hole), and I've had other workouts where a low HR reinforces my perception that I can up my training paces the next time round.
The one time that I do "train" by heart rate zone is on my non-workout, easy days. There, I program a HR ceiling into my monitor, so that it squawks at me any time I push the pace. It's a nice way to ensure my easy runs stay easy.
Usually, my heartrate hits the following ranges when running:
very easy run -- under 150 (this is hard to do)
aerobic (a bit slower than marathon pace) - around 160-165
tempo - between 172 and 182
speedwork - peaks at about 190-193.
My resting HR is in the low 40s (when in bed, drifting off to sleep), and my max HR is somewhere near 200 (though I haven't seen a true 200+ reading in about 2 years, so it may have lowered a bit with age, as max HRs can do).
All of that is when I'm running. Which I'm doing little of right now.
I haven't been using my HR monitor while pool running. I use a Garmin 310xt as my HR monitor, and while both the monitor and the strap are waterproof, the strap can't transmit to the band while submerged -- the signal fades in the water. So, I've been pool-running off of perceived effort (which is how to do it).
Until today. Today I had a rare flash of insight -- if the components both worked, but the signal couldn't traverse the distance in the water, then the device might work if I held my wrist right next to the chest strap.
And it did. So while I can't get continuing information, I can do spot checks as often as I like, and it's easier to do so than to take a pulse (I can never find mine anyway).
So, here's the results:
a) my "easy pool run" HR seems to range between 128-135 BPM.
b) an "aerobic" HR in the pool is around 150 BPM
c) my HR peaked at 176 BPM during my last, hardest "drive the HR up as high as possible" interval this morning.
Each of which correspond to about 15 BPM below my land HR for the same effort. Which matches everything I've read about heart rates in the pool -- that they are depressed by 15-20 BPM in the water due to three reasons:
- pool running is not fully weight bearing
- the coolness of the water keeps your HR down
- the pressure of the water acts like the best compression suit evah, meaning that the heart works much less hard to circulate blood at the same velocity.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Training log - Week ending 1/23/11
End of week 11, post fracture. This week was 12 miles of “real running” and 96 “miles” pool running -- training log is here.
Rehab and recovery continues, and I'm pleasantly surprised by how good I feel (though definitely not where I was when I was injured). The foot hasn't been hurting, but I do have a heightened awareness of it. This makes me paranoid that I am not holding back as much as I should – on Monday and Friday, I let myself flow into a pace that wasn't strenous, but wasn't easy. On Wednesday, I kept the brakes on somewhat, but also ran on concrete sidewalks in a somewhat hilly area. This week, I am going to try to slow down the pace. There is absolutely no reason to be pushing it at this point, and a lot to lose.
Dailies
Monday: In the morning, I first did a “baby run” of three intervals of 10 minutes each on the track, with one minute walking between each – averaged about 7:50 pace for roughly 4 miles (paces for each interval were 8:15, 7:50, and 7:23). I followed this with “14 miles” pool running, including a “track 800s workout” of 10x3:00 at hard effort, with 1:00 recovery, followed by full recovery, and then 25 minutes at aerobic effort.
In the evening, a weights session with a personal trainer.
Tuesday: In the morning, “12.5 miles” – 2:05 hours easy pool-running, plus leg strength training.
Wednesday: In the morning, “test-jogging” on asphalt of three intervals of 12 minutes each, with one minute recovery, summing up to about 4.5 miles of (paces of 8:46, 8:31, and 8:29). Followed by “9 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging (1:30 hours). “3 miles” easy pool-running (30 minutes) at night.
Thursday: In the morning, “14 miles” - 2 hours in the pool, including a tempo workout of 2x20 minutes at tempo effort with 1 minute recovery, followed by 3 minutes at interval effort. Full recovery, and then eight intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery. Followed with strength training. In the evening another 3.5 minutes easy pool running for “3.5 more miles.”
Friday: A “baby run” on the track of two intervals of 15 minutes each, with one minute recovery, summing up to just under 4 miles of running (paces of 8:11 and 7:40). Followed by “10.5 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging – 1:45 hours. Also did a Pilates class in the afternoon.
Saturday: “18.5 miles” – 3:05 hours pool running, most at easy effort, but threw in twelve intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery near the end. Later, a yoga class.
Sunday: “11 miles” – 1:50 hours easy pool running.
Rehab and recovery continues, and I'm pleasantly surprised by how good I feel (though definitely not where I was when I was injured). The foot hasn't been hurting, but I do have a heightened awareness of it. This makes me paranoid that I am not holding back as much as I should – on Monday and Friday, I let myself flow into a pace that wasn't strenous, but wasn't easy. On Wednesday, I kept the brakes on somewhat, but also ran on concrete sidewalks in a somewhat hilly area. This week, I am going to try to slow down the pace. There is absolutely no reason to be pushing it at this point, and a lot to lose.
Dailies
Monday: In the morning, I first did a “baby run” of three intervals of 10 minutes each on the track, with one minute walking between each – averaged about 7:50 pace for roughly 4 miles (paces for each interval were 8:15, 7:50, and 7:23). I followed this with “14 miles” pool running, including a “track 800s workout” of 10x3:00 at hard effort, with 1:00 recovery, followed by full recovery, and then 25 minutes at aerobic effort.
In the evening, a weights session with a personal trainer.
Tuesday: In the morning, “12.5 miles” – 2:05 hours easy pool-running, plus leg strength training.
Wednesday: In the morning, “test-jogging” on asphalt of three intervals of 12 minutes each, with one minute recovery, summing up to about 4.5 miles of (paces of 8:46, 8:31, and 8:29). Followed by “9 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging (1:30 hours). “3 miles” easy pool-running (30 minutes) at night.
Thursday: In the morning, “14 miles” - 2 hours in the pool, including a tempo workout of 2x20 minutes at tempo effort with 1 minute recovery, followed by 3 minutes at interval effort. Full recovery, and then eight intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery. Followed with strength training. In the evening another 3.5 minutes easy pool running for “3.5 more miles.”
Friday: A “baby run” on the track of two intervals of 15 minutes each, with one minute recovery, summing up to just under 4 miles of running (paces of 8:11 and 7:40). Followed by “10.5 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging – 1:45 hours. Also did a Pilates class in the afternoon.
Saturday: “18.5 miles” – 3:05 hours pool running, most at easy effort, but threw in twelve intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery near the end. Later, a yoga class.
Sunday: “11 miles” – 1:50 hours easy pool running.
Friday, January 21, 2011
7 WTF/Duh!/Huh? Moments/Observations About Pool Running.
So, there's a meme going around: "7 Things About Yourself". Since this is effectively a pool-running blog, I'm modifying to "7 Pool Running WTF/Duh!/Huh?" things.
- I don't really buy into the barefoot running thing in general, but I have found that it really works well for pool-running. Far better than running shoes. Who knew?
- Early on in my aircast/crutches days, when getting around was challenging, a lifeguard noted my struggles, and insisted on grabbing my aqua-belt and returning it for me, so I wouldn't have to traverse the deck.
"Thanks, you're a lifesaver."
"Yup, that's actually exactly what I am."
Um, duh.
- You can replicate intervals, tempos, long runs, and easy runs in the pool. I haven't yet figured out how to replicate hill repeats. If you figure it out, let me know.
- Lifeguards are generally wonderful people, but a big demerit to the one who informed me that my use of an aircast was in violation of the policy against street shoes on the deck, and told me to leave it in the locker room (I won this discussion).
- This past Saturday, I was doing some intervals -- a somewhat elderly woman asked my pool running buddy what I was doing. Said buddy explained that I was doing intervals. Elderly woman then asked what charity I was doing the intervals for...
Apparently the conversation lasted nearly the entire duration of my 5 minute interval, with said elderly woman unable to comprehend the fact that I was pool running to preserve fitness, and not marking off intervals to raise money for others.
- I am told that there is an outdoor pool in Colorado that stays open year round. When temperatures drop down into the 20s and teens, the mist rises thickly from the pool, to the point where visibility is reduced and you can't even see the far end of the pool. So, there are lights on the deck at each end for each lane to indicate a) the edges of the lane and b) the # of swimmers in the lane.
- The original meme made some mention about "stylish blogger." Well, there's absolutely nothing stylish about pool-running. Your hair will need to be redyed every 2-3 weeks, your nails will not hold polish, your skin will resemble a raisin when you're in the pool and a flour tortilla the balance of the day, and your bathing suit will fade to a uniquely nauseating shade of gray.
If you're lucky, you'll at least find a suit that fits well; if not, you'll have to settle for "covers the naughty bits", like I did. Aqua-belts flatter no body type and the constant pressure of the belt will stimulate burping. You sacrifice dignity for fitness.
But, if you shift to 100% pool running, you will grow back and maintain all 10 toenails. And that's worth something, right?
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
So, does it work?
That's been the question on my mind since I started this pool running extravaganza, some 10 weeks ago. My progression has been:
a) 7 weeks of nothing save pool-running and the few other things I could do in the aircast (upper body strength-training, modified pilates, front and reverse planks, and hamstring curls/knee extensions using machines).
b) one week of the above plus the arc-trainer, yoga, and walking.
c) 3 weeks of very carefully reintroducing running and leg strength-training.
So, where do I stand, versus where I came in? Well, I'm a numbers/stats person - here's the numbers/stats.
Fact 1: my resting heart rate has remained in the low 40s throughout.
Fact 2: When I first started the arc-trainer after 7 weeks of nothing but pool running, I was able in short order to crank out slightly less than two hours at an equivalent resistance and RPMs to what I had done before, with my heart rate only about 5 beats per minute higher on average.
Fact 3: On my very first yoga class back, I was able to make it through the full class, including holding my warrior 3 and half moon poses on the bad leg (I was shocked). I noted a slight loss of flexibility (especially in hamstrings and hip flexors), but strength and stability were there.
Fact 4: As of 10 weeks out, I am using the single leg press at a higher weight than I did pre-injury (was 130# for the single leg press before; now it's 145#). I haven't reintroduced barbell squats yet, but that's coming shortly.
Fact 5: After about 3 weeks of running in short dribbles with frequent walk breaks, I'm able to hold ~7:30 pace for 10 minutes without too much effort. In fact, that's what I did yesterday morning. It wasn't intentional -- I was just running by feel and focusing on pushing with my glutes, and was shocked by the pace on my Garmin (which was confirmed by timing a few 400m splits on the track I was running on).
I think I could do a tempo run at about 6:50-7:00 pace right now (no worries, I'm not going to try, just yet), which is not too far off of my pre-injury tempo pace of 6:40.
My fitness feels fine; my main limiter seems to be foot and calf muscular strength. And I've GAINED strength in my hip flexors, resulting in improved running form.
So, in a nutshell, the majority of my fitness seems to have endured (pun intended). Oh sure, I've gained a few pounds (less than 5), lost some flexibility, and my feet and calves need a lot of work. But I am NOT starting at zero, and I don't feel all that far behind. Even better yet, running feels natural, and not strange (as I feared it would).
Wow. The pool running worked. You hope and hope, but you're never quite certain.
a) 7 weeks of nothing save pool-running and the few other things I could do in the aircast (upper body strength-training, modified pilates, front and reverse planks, and hamstring curls/knee extensions using machines).
b) one week of the above plus the arc-trainer, yoga, and walking.
c) 3 weeks of very carefully reintroducing running and leg strength-training.
So, where do I stand, versus where I came in? Well, I'm a numbers/stats person - here's the numbers/stats.
Fact 1: my resting heart rate has remained in the low 40s throughout.
Fact 2: When I first started the arc-trainer after 7 weeks of nothing but pool running, I was able in short order to crank out slightly less than two hours at an equivalent resistance and RPMs to what I had done before, with my heart rate only about 5 beats per minute higher on average.
Fact 3: On my very first yoga class back, I was able to make it through the full class, including holding my warrior 3 and half moon poses on the bad leg (I was shocked). I noted a slight loss of flexibility (especially in hamstrings and hip flexors), but strength and stability were there.
Fact 4: As of 10 weeks out, I am using the single leg press at a higher weight than I did pre-injury (was 130# for the single leg press before; now it's 145#). I haven't reintroduced barbell squats yet, but that's coming shortly.
Fact 5: After about 3 weeks of running in short dribbles with frequent walk breaks, I'm able to hold ~7:30 pace for 10 minutes without too much effort. In fact, that's what I did yesterday morning. It wasn't intentional -- I was just running by feel and focusing on pushing with my glutes, and was shocked by the pace on my Garmin (which was confirmed by timing a few 400m splits on the track I was running on).
I think I could do a tempo run at about 6:50-7:00 pace right now (no worries, I'm not going to try, just yet), which is not too far off of my pre-injury tempo pace of 6:40.
My fitness feels fine; my main limiter seems to be foot and calf muscular strength. And I've GAINED strength in my hip flexors, resulting in improved running form.
So, in a nutshell, the majority of my fitness seems to have endured (pun intended). Oh sure, I've gained a few pounds (less than 5), lost some flexibility, and my feet and calves need a lot of work. But I am NOT starting at zero, and I don't feel all that far behind. Even better yet, running feels natural, and not strange (as I feared it would).
Wow. The pool running worked. You hope and hope, but you're never quite certain.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Training log - Week ending 1/16/11
End of week 10, post fracture. This week was 7.5 miles of “real running” and 96 “miles” pool running (per my conversion below) -- training log is here.
The return to running seems to be going pretty well. I'm following the “Pfitzinger Return to Running” schedule, which calls for intermittent walking and running. I am making one change, in that I've cut back on the “walk periods”. For example, when the schedule called for “run 5, walk 5” I ran 5 minutes and then walked for 90 seconds. The reason? It's been unseasonably cold here, and I'm doing my “return to running” in about 20-25 degree weather. I don't handle cold well at all, and 90 seconds of walking is about all I can handle before I start shivering. I think Pfitz will pardon me this slip.
Dailies
Monday: In the morning, I first did a “baby run” of three intervals of 5 minutes each on the track, with one minute walking between each – averaged about 8:30 pace for roughly 1.75 miles. I followed this with “12 miles” pool running, including a “track 800s workout” of 10x3:00 at hard effort, with 1:00 recovery.
In the evening, a weights session with a personal trainer, followed by “3 miles” easy pool-running (30 minutes).
Tuesday: In the morning, “12.5 miles” – 2:05 hours easy pool-running, plus leg strength training. In the evening, a yoga class.
Wednesday: In the morning, “test-jogging” on asphalt of three intervals of 7 minutes each, with one minute recovery, summing up to about 2.25 miles of jogging (kept it very easy, since this was my first time on asphalt – averaged about 9:20 pace). Followed by “9.5 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging (1:35 minutes). “3 miles” easy pool-running (30 minutes) at night.
Thursday: “15.5 miles” total – in the morning, “12.5 miles” - 1:50 hours in the pool, including a tempo workout of 40 minutes at tempo effort. Full recovery, and then twelve intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery. I also did leg strength training.
In the evening, upper body strength training plus 30 minutes easy pool running for “3 more miles.”
Friday: A “baby run” on asphalt of three intervals of 8 minutes each (but did 10 minutes for last) , with one minute recovery, summing up to just under 3.5 miles of running (averaged about 7:45 pace - wasn't intentionally pushing the pace, just having fun, and oooops). Followed by “11 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging – 1:50 hours. Also did a Pilates class in the afternoon.
Saturday: “18.5 miles” – 2:40 hours pool running, alternating 5 minutes at tempo effort and 10 minutes easy, preceded by strength-training.
Sunday: “11 miles” – 1:50 hours easy pool running.
The return to running seems to be going pretty well. I'm following the “Pfitzinger Return to Running” schedule, which calls for intermittent walking and running. I am making one change, in that I've cut back on the “walk periods”. For example, when the schedule called for “run 5, walk 5” I ran 5 minutes and then walked for 90 seconds. The reason? It's been unseasonably cold here, and I'm doing my “return to running” in about 20-25 degree weather. I don't handle cold well at all, and 90 seconds of walking is about all I can handle before I start shivering. I think Pfitz will pardon me this slip.
Dailies
Monday: In the morning, I first did a “baby run” of three intervals of 5 minutes each on the track, with one minute walking between each – averaged about 8:30 pace for roughly 1.75 miles. I followed this with “12 miles” pool running, including a “track 800s workout” of 10x3:00 at hard effort, with 1:00 recovery.
In the evening, a weights session with a personal trainer, followed by “3 miles” easy pool-running (30 minutes).
Tuesday: In the morning, “12.5 miles” – 2:05 hours easy pool-running, plus leg strength training. In the evening, a yoga class.
Wednesday: In the morning, “test-jogging” on asphalt of three intervals of 7 minutes each, with one minute recovery, summing up to about 2.25 miles of jogging (kept it very easy, since this was my first time on asphalt – averaged about 9:20 pace). Followed by “9.5 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging (1:35 minutes). “3 miles” easy pool-running (30 minutes) at night.
Thursday: “15.5 miles” total – in the morning, “12.5 miles” - 1:50 hours in the pool, including a tempo workout of 40 minutes at tempo effort. Full recovery, and then twelve intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery. I also did leg strength training.
In the evening, upper body strength training plus 30 minutes easy pool running for “3 more miles.”
Friday: A “baby run” on asphalt of three intervals of 8 minutes each (but did 10 minutes for last) , with one minute recovery, summing up to just under 3.5 miles of running (averaged about 7:45 pace - wasn't intentionally pushing the pace, just having fun, and oooops). Followed by “11 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging – 1:50 hours. Also did a Pilates class in the afternoon.
Saturday: “18.5 miles” – 2:40 hours pool running, alternating 5 minutes at tempo effort and 10 minutes easy, preceded by strength-training.
Sunday: “11 miles” – 1:50 hours easy pool running.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Look at MEEEEEEEEEEEE
So, you take a few hesitant steps, then a few more. Wait a day.
Then you repeat the process, tentatively.
And read the tea leaves of your own aches, and wait another day.
Then you test it, just a bit longer. Still delicately, still holding your breath.
Then you wait.
Then one day, you step on the track, hit "start", and place one foot in front of the other, with a bit of suspension between each step, for a few minutes straight.
And you walk, and you repeat.
And you walk, and you repeat.
And sometime during that third rep, you forget to look at your watch and you forget to worry about your foot and you forget that it's twenty degrees out and still dark and some idiot left hurdles out on the track.
And you remember briefly, that first bike ride, when Daddy let go of the back of the banana seat, and you were moving forward on your own.
And you want to spread your arms wide and laugh.
"Look at ME, Daddy! I'm RUNNING!"
(and then the Garmin tells me that the 5 minutes is up, and also tells me that I was slow and my heart rate was ridiculously high. But damn, that was fun while it lasted. Let's do it again. Soon)
Then you repeat the process, tentatively.
And read the tea leaves of your own aches, and wait another day.
Then you test it, just a bit longer. Still delicately, still holding your breath.
Then you wait.
Then one day, you step on the track, hit "start", and place one foot in front of the other, with a bit of suspension between each step, for a few minutes straight.
And you walk, and you repeat.
And you walk, and you repeat.
And sometime during that third rep, you forget to look at your watch and you forget to worry about your foot and you forget that it's twenty degrees out and still dark and some idiot left hurdles out on the track.
And you remember briefly, that first bike ride, when Daddy let go of the back of the banana seat, and you were moving forward on your own.
And you want to spread your arms wide and laugh.
"Look at ME, Daddy! I'm RUNNING!"
(and then the Garmin tells me that the 5 minutes is up, and also tells me that I was slow and my heart rate was ridiculously high. But damn, that was fun while it lasted. Let's do it again. Soon)
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Training - week ending 1/09/11
End of week 9, post fracture. This week was ~3 miles of “real running” and 96.5 “miles” pool running (per my conversion below) -- training log is here.
Foot feels better and better, with no achiness after running. The main issue right now appears to be my calves and feet, which clearly have lost a lot of strength. Even a bit over a mile of jogging leaves the calves very tight and painful – I have my work cut out in rebuilding those (I’ve been doing a lot of rehab-type strengthening exercises, as well as foamrolling/sticking/tennisballing the heck out of them).
The one thing that still causes achiness is biking, of all things. I hopped on the bike for 30 minutes easy on Wednesday, and decided to stop after 10 – the foot was aching more and more, even though I wasn’t putting pressure on it. Since I don’t really like biking anyway, this is not a major concern.
Dailies
Monday: In the morning, “11 miles” – 1:35 hours pool running, including an “800s” workout of 10x3:00 at hard effort, with 1:00 recovery, followed by full recovery and then 25 minutes at aerobic effort. Prior to the pool run, I did a test-jog on the track summing up to a half mile of jogging.
In the evening, “5 miles” of aqua jogging - 50 minutes in the pool, plus a weights session with a personal trainer.
Tuesday: In the morning, “12 miles” – 2 hours easy pool-running, plus leg strengthwork. In the evening “4 miles” – 40 minutes easy pool-running.
Wednesday: In the morning, “test-jogging” on the track summing up to a mile of jogging. Followed by “12 miles” in the pool – 2 hours of easy poolrunning. 10 minutes easy biking at night.
Thursday: In the morning, “14 miles” – 2:05 hours in the pool, including a tempo workout of 40 minutes at half-marathon effort. Full recovery, and then ten intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery. Followed with leg strength training.
Friday: A “test run” on the track summing up to 1.25 miles of jogging, followed by “8.5 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging (1:25 hours), and then upper body strength training.
Saturday: “18 miles” – 3 hours pool running, mostly easy, but with twelve intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery.
Sunday: “12 miles” – 2 hours easy pool running (was going to do 1:45, and then just kept going)
Foot feels better and better, with no achiness after running. The main issue right now appears to be my calves and feet, which clearly have lost a lot of strength. Even a bit over a mile of jogging leaves the calves very tight and painful – I have my work cut out in rebuilding those (I’ve been doing a lot of rehab-type strengthening exercises, as well as foamrolling/sticking/tennisballing the heck out of them).
The one thing that still causes achiness is biking, of all things. I hopped on the bike for 30 minutes easy on Wednesday, and decided to stop after 10 – the foot was aching more and more, even though I wasn’t putting pressure on it. Since I don’t really like biking anyway, this is not a major concern.
Dailies
Monday: In the morning, “11 miles” – 1:35 hours pool running, including an “800s” workout of 10x3:00 at hard effort, with 1:00 recovery, followed by full recovery and then 25 minutes at aerobic effort. Prior to the pool run, I did a test-jog on the track summing up to a half mile of jogging.
In the evening, “5 miles” of aqua jogging - 50 minutes in the pool, plus a weights session with a personal trainer.
Tuesday: In the morning, “12 miles” – 2 hours easy pool-running, plus leg strengthwork. In the evening “4 miles” – 40 minutes easy pool-running.
Wednesday: In the morning, “test-jogging” on the track summing up to a mile of jogging. Followed by “12 miles” in the pool – 2 hours of easy poolrunning. 10 minutes easy biking at night.
Thursday: In the morning, “14 miles” – 2:05 hours in the pool, including a tempo workout of 40 minutes at half-marathon effort. Full recovery, and then ten intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery. Followed with leg strength training.
Friday: A “test run” on the track summing up to 1.25 miles of jogging, followed by “8.5 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging (1:25 hours), and then upper body strength training.
Saturday: “18 miles” – 3 hours pool running, mostly easy, but with twelve intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery.
Sunday: “12 miles” – 2 hours easy pool running (was going to do 1:45, and then just kept going)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Liars and Osteoblasts and Hot Tubs
"Listen to your body" is a mantra that gets repeated a lot. By doctors, by physical therapists, by yoga instructors, and on running boards of all stripe.
The problem is...bodies are bullshit artists extraordinaire. Frankly, my body is a petulant 4 year old, and would like for me to do nothing save eat jelly beans and take hot showers for hours on end. Activities that are pleasant, but do little to advance my long term health. Bodies, you see, are focused on the short term.
This short term focus leads to a two level response by one's body to stress. First the body sends signals to the mind, encouraging the mind to do whatever it can to avoid the stress (the funniest example of this is how my nose always itches or my shoe feels loose before a hard track interval). When this doesn't work, and you do the workout anyway, then the body adapts to meet the needs of the stress. These two levels come into play in training all the time, as we work to push our bodies past the delaying tactics and into the place where we place stress and adapt.
By working out, we do a measured bit of destruction to our bodies, so that they can grow back stronger. Tiny muscle tears from a workout knit back in a way that is able to handle that stress in the future; a cardiovascular system that is overwhelmed develops additional capillaries and increases blood volume. Osteoblasts and osteoclasts work on bones to remodel them properly to handle the additional load. The key is to push the body hard enough to get to that adaptive level without pushing your body past the point where the destruction overwhelms it and it can no longer adapt. And part of this is constantly evaluating whether your body is telling you the truth when it sends you "can't do this" signals.
This delicate balance of just the right amount of physical strain and stress applies to general fitness development, but also to injury rehabilitation. In injuries, there's an acute stage, where the body part in question has been overwhelmed and needs to rest completely (hence no running and an aircast), and then a repair stage. During that repair stage, the body part needs a certain bit of intelligently applied stress to encourage it complete the process -- avoiding pain (heeding those delaying tactics and "listening to your body") means that you're stuck in limbo, and never quite heal.
(and this is where physical therapists shine -- in hand-holding one through applying just enough stress to complete the process).
In bone injuries, this repair stage includes remodeling. The raw material has been laid down, and "[r]emodeling of the bone occurs slowly over months to years and is facilitated by mechanical stress placed on the bone. As the fracture site is exposed to an axial loading force, bone is generally laid down where it is needed and resorbed from where it is not needed."
My foot is firmly in the remodeling stage. So, the trick for me, right now, is to put enough stress on the foot to encourage the bone to remodel itself to support the impact of running. I need to send the right signals to the foot, so that it refines the bone correctly -- if I don't send those signals, the bone will remain weak and unfinished.
But, I can't overdo it, or I overwhelm the remodeling process and go back down the rabbit hole into the aircast. The big trick is to figure out how much stress is enough but not too much. And at the same time, my foot, supported by my body, is arguing strongly for 100% jelly beans and hot tubs.
Hence the continuing dialog between me and my whiny foot. As my doctor warned me, my foot protests when I run. Not loudly, but I know it's there. And there's always the constant wondering of whether my foot's achiness and mild soreness (which again, I've been told to expect as part of the process) is just noise and complaining as I push it to the correct level, or an actual indication that I'm going too far.
And so I run a tiny bit every other day, paying close attention to what my foot is saying, assessing whether it speaks truth. It always aches when I run, but then improves. I take every other day off; when it ached on Friday evening after jogging Friday morning, I took that as a cue to rest it an extra 24 hours, delaying my next jog until Monday morning.
Was that the right call? I have no freakin' clue. All I really know is that there's a very fine fracture line between salvation and damnation here, and I don't trust the foot to tell me which direction is up.
The problem is...bodies are bullshit artists extraordinaire. Frankly, my body is a petulant 4 year old, and would like for me to do nothing save eat jelly beans and take hot showers for hours on end. Activities that are pleasant, but do little to advance my long term health. Bodies, you see, are focused on the short term.
This short term focus leads to a two level response by one's body to stress. First the body sends signals to the mind, encouraging the mind to do whatever it can to avoid the stress (the funniest example of this is how my nose always itches or my shoe feels loose before a hard track interval). When this doesn't work, and you do the workout anyway, then the body adapts to meet the needs of the stress. These two levels come into play in training all the time, as we work to push our bodies past the delaying tactics and into the place where we place stress and adapt.
By working out, we do a measured bit of destruction to our bodies, so that they can grow back stronger. Tiny muscle tears from a workout knit back in a way that is able to handle that stress in the future; a cardiovascular system that is overwhelmed develops additional capillaries and increases blood volume. Osteoblasts and osteoclasts work on bones to remodel them properly to handle the additional load. The key is to push the body hard enough to get to that adaptive level without pushing your body past the point where the destruction overwhelms it and it can no longer adapt. And part of this is constantly evaluating whether your body is telling you the truth when it sends you "can't do this" signals.
This delicate balance of just the right amount of physical strain and stress applies to general fitness development, but also to injury rehabilitation. In injuries, there's an acute stage, where the body part in question has been overwhelmed and needs to rest completely (hence no running and an aircast), and then a repair stage. During that repair stage, the body part needs a certain bit of intelligently applied stress to encourage it complete the process -- avoiding pain (heeding those delaying tactics and "listening to your body") means that you're stuck in limbo, and never quite heal.
(and this is where physical therapists shine -- in hand-holding one through applying just enough stress to complete the process).
In bone injuries, this repair stage includes remodeling. The raw material has been laid down, and "[r]emodeling of the bone occurs slowly over months to years and is facilitated by mechanical stress placed on the bone. As the fracture site is exposed to an axial loading force, bone is generally laid down where it is needed and resorbed from where it is not needed."
My foot is firmly in the remodeling stage. So, the trick for me, right now, is to put enough stress on the foot to encourage the bone to remodel itself to support the impact of running. I need to send the right signals to the foot, so that it refines the bone correctly -- if I don't send those signals, the bone will remain weak and unfinished.
But, I can't overdo it, or I overwhelm the remodeling process and go back down the rabbit hole into the aircast. The big trick is to figure out how much stress is enough but not too much. And at the same time, my foot, supported by my body, is arguing strongly for 100% jelly beans and hot tubs.
Hence the continuing dialog between me and my whiny foot. As my doctor warned me, my foot protests when I run. Not loudly, but I know it's there. And there's always the constant wondering of whether my foot's achiness and mild soreness (which again, I've been told to expect as part of the process) is just noise and complaining as I push it to the correct level, or an actual indication that I'm going too far.
And so I run a tiny bit every other day, paying close attention to what my foot is saying, assessing whether it speaks truth. It always aches when I run, but then improves. I take every other day off; when it ached on Friday evening after jogging Friday morning, I took that as a cue to rest it an extra 24 hours, delaying my next jog until Monday morning.
Was that the right call? I have no freakin' clue. All I really know is that there's a very fine fracture line between salvation and damnation here, and I don't trust the foot to tell me which direction is up.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Training - week ending 1/02/11
End of week 8, post fracture. This week was 1 mile of “real running”, 95 “miles” pool running (per my conversion below), and 1:30 hours on the arc-trainer. -- training log is here.
A lot of odd workouts this week. Basically, I’m trying to keep my total volume up while gently transitioning back to weight-bearing and impact, so many of my workouts combined deep water pool running with the arc-trainer, shallow water jogging, and/or some walk/run combinations outside.
I did a walk/jog combo on both Wednesday and Friday (alternate walk 100m and jog 100m for 4 reps, and then finish off with 400m continuous jogging. On Wednesday, I felt fine after, but on Friday, my foot was pretty achy and sore after, as well as warm in the area of the fracture. I think I may have overdone it a touch, due to the combination of walk/jogging, arc-trainer use, and shallow water pool running.
It’s hard to know how careful to be – I know (and have been reminded by my doctor and others) that discomfort and soreness is part of the healing process at this stage. The foot felt fine the next day, but I opted to delay my next walk/jog another 24 hours, to tomorrow morning (Monday)
Dailies
Monday: In the morning, “14 miles” – 2 hours pool running, including an “800s” workout of 10x3:00 at hard effort, with 1:00 recovery (went for 4:00 straight for the last), followed by full recovery and then 25 minutes at aerobic effort. I did the last 15 minutes without an aqua belt in the shallow end of the pool, for some “low impact” poolrunning. In the evening, an hour on the arc-trainer, plus a weights session with a personal trainer.
Tuesday: In the morning, “10 miles” – 1:40 hours easy pool-running, plus strength training. In the evening, another “4 miles” – 40 minutes easy pool-running.
Wednesday: In the morning, “test-jogging” on the track summing up to a half mile of jogging. Followed by “13 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging, with the last 30 minutes done in the shallow end. Pilates at night.
Thursday: “16 miles” total – in the morning, “13 miles” - 1:50 hours in the pool, including a tempo workout of 2x20 minutes at tempo effort with 1 minute recovery, followed by 3 minutes at interval effort. Full recovery, and then eight intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery. Followed with strength training.
In the evening, 30 minutes easy pool running for 3 more miles..
Friday: 30 minutes on the arc-trainer before a yoga class. Later a “test run” on the track summing up to a half mile of jogging, followed by “9 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging, with the last 10 minutes done in the shallow end.
Saturday: “18 miles” – 2:35 hours pool running, alternating 5 minutes at tempo effort and 10 minutes easy, plus upper body weights.
Sunday: “11 miles” – 1:50 hours easy pool running.
A lot of odd workouts this week. Basically, I’m trying to keep my total volume up while gently transitioning back to weight-bearing and impact, so many of my workouts combined deep water pool running with the arc-trainer, shallow water jogging, and/or some walk/run combinations outside.
I did a walk/jog combo on both Wednesday and Friday (alternate walk 100m and jog 100m for 4 reps, and then finish off with 400m continuous jogging. On Wednesday, I felt fine after, but on Friday, my foot was pretty achy and sore after, as well as warm in the area of the fracture. I think I may have overdone it a touch, due to the combination of walk/jogging, arc-trainer use, and shallow water pool running.
It’s hard to know how careful to be – I know (and have been reminded by my doctor and others) that discomfort and soreness is part of the healing process at this stage. The foot felt fine the next day, but I opted to delay my next walk/jog another 24 hours, to tomorrow morning (Monday)
Dailies
Monday: In the morning, “14 miles” – 2 hours pool running, including an “800s” workout of 10x3:00 at hard effort, with 1:00 recovery (went for 4:00 straight for the last), followed by full recovery and then 25 minutes at aerobic effort. I did the last 15 minutes without an aqua belt in the shallow end of the pool, for some “low impact” poolrunning. In the evening, an hour on the arc-trainer, plus a weights session with a personal trainer.
Tuesday: In the morning, “10 miles” – 1:40 hours easy pool-running, plus strength training. In the evening, another “4 miles” – 40 minutes easy pool-running.
Wednesday: In the morning, “test-jogging” on the track summing up to a half mile of jogging. Followed by “13 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging, with the last 30 minutes done in the shallow end. Pilates at night.
Thursday: “16 miles” total – in the morning, “13 miles” - 1:50 hours in the pool, including a tempo workout of 2x20 minutes at tempo effort with 1 minute recovery, followed by 3 minutes at interval effort. Full recovery, and then eight intervals of 90 seconds very hard/60 seconds recovery. Followed with strength training.
In the evening, 30 minutes easy pool running for 3 more miles..
Friday: 30 minutes on the arc-trainer before a yoga class. Later a “test run” on the track summing up to a half mile of jogging, followed by “9 miles” in the pool of easy aqua-jogging, with the last 10 minutes done in the shallow end.
Saturday: “18 miles” – 2:35 hours pool running, alternating 5 minutes at tempo effort and 10 minutes easy, plus upper body weights.
Sunday: “11 miles” – 1:50 hours easy pool running.
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