Training log - Week ending 11/4/12

This week was  44.5 miles of “real running” plus 24 running equivalents on the arc-trainer (call it 68.5 miles total), plus 8 “miles” pool running and 500 yards of swimming breathing drills -- training log is here.  

First week of taper, modified by some distractions and workoutus interuptus.  Monday ended up being a no-running day – hurricane Sandy was imminent, and though I could have run outside on Monday morning, I opted not to for a pretty individual reason – I was afraid of losing my ability to shower at any time due to the worsening weather conditions, and I didn’t want to risk running, then being unable to shower, and riding out the rest of the hurricane like that.

Fortunately, Sandy blew over pretty quickly for those of us in the DC area, and I was able to double on Tuesday, with an easy run in the morning and intervals in the mid-afternoon.  But then the underside of my left heel became sore during my cool-down jog – a bit of plantar fasciitis.  I stopped my cool-down immediately, and swapped to cross-training (the arc-trainer) the next day to be careful.  Three weeks out from my marathon, I’m not risking anything.   And I’ve established before that the arc-trainer substitutes very well for most runs.

The rest of the week was spent getting massages and keeping my workouts careful and restrained, and also substituting the arc-trainer or other cross-training after massages.  Fortunately, this tweak happened at exactly the right time – all the work is done, and I have enough time to get rid of it before my race.   The good news is that the foot feels better each day, and I could run my marathon on it right now if I needed to.  The trick is just to make sure I don’t aggravate it, or give myself a compensatory injury.

Some would say that I should just stay off of it completely for the next two weeks, however I’ve learned from past bouts of plantar that resting it completely is just about the worst thing I can do – I just end up with tons of scar tissue and inflammation.  Easy and careful running, combined with massage and sleep, is the best way to get rid of it (and to that point, it feels the best it has so far today, which is the day after running 15 miles).  Luckily I’ve got two weeks of easy and careful running combined with sleep planned.  Score! 

(programming note: this week also noted the two year anniversary of my darn broken foot, which was the impetus for this blog.  It's a funny thing to track, but I do anyway.  In the depths of that injury, I promised myself again and again that I'd come back stronger, better, and smarter.  And I like to think I've done just that.  With some help from friends and teammates and coach, of course.)

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, upper body strengthwork and injury prevention work.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  In the morning, 4.5 miles easy (8:17 pace); another 8.5 in the afternoon including a track workout of 8x800 in 2:57, 3:01, 2:56, 2:54, 2:55, 2:55, 2:54, 2:53.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 90 minutes on the arc-trainer at easy run effort – we’ll call it 11.25 miles, followed by injury prevention work.  Another 35 minutes on the arc-trainer later (call it 4.25 miles), followed by a massage focused on the heel (he REALLY dug in good).  

Thursday:   In the morning, 30 minutes of easy pool-running for “3 miles” and 500 yards of swimming breathing drills, followed by injury prevention work.    5 miles easy (7:55 pace) in the afternoon,  followed by foam rolling.

Friday:  In the morning, 10.5 miles on the track, including a cautious 8K tempo in 32:40 (6:35 pace, splits of 6:32, 6:36, 6:31, 6:35, 6:26), followed by injury prevention work and 20 minutes of shake out pool-running.  Pilates at night, plus another massage focused on calves/feet.

Saturday:   In the morning, 70 minutes on the arc-trainer at easy run effort (call it 8.5 miles).   Weights in the afternoon, plus a 1 mile test jog to test the foot (and my use of the low-dye taping method).  Also foam rolling.

Sunday:   In the morning, 15 miles at easy to aerobic pace (averaged 7:44) followed by some injury prevention work and 30 minutes of shakeout pool-running.  Gentle yoga and foam rolling at night.