Training log - Week ending 3/20/16

This week was 6 miles of running, 19 "miles" of pool-running, and 4000 yards of swimming;  -- training log is here.

This week looks a whole lot like a normal first week post-marathon.  Which is appropriate, since last week's half-marathon felt a whole lot like a marathon.

After that race, my coach had asked me to take some time off.  The fact that I didn't want to argue with him for even a second over this was a pretty strong indication that I really needed the rest.   For much of this week, I was really tired, and didn't mind the lack of activity at all.  I just slept a lot, ate a lot, tried to minimize the work stress, and pool-ran a little bit.

I did manage to get into the doctor for a physical exam and bloodwork - the physical exam found a white patch on the back of my throat, but fortunately all the tests came back negative for mono, strep, etc.   The conclusion was that I have some random persistent virus, just like umpteen other people each year.  And the remedy is traditional (if unfulfilling) - fluids and rest until I feel better. 

As for that whole yellow skin after last week's race thing?  There's no indication of either any liver issues (very good news) or that oh-so-cool Gilbert's syndrome.  The explanation is simple - I raced a half-marathon when I was still recovering from this virus, and my body's response was to wave a yellow flag of "hey dummy - this was not a good idea."

[in my defense, I honestly thought I had kicked the bug pre-race.  Plus I was pretty sick right before the 3M half, and that still went well.  Being sick before a race doesn't always mean that you'll run a bad one.  Some of my best races, including 3M, have been preceded by a bad headcold a few days before.  But I guess that's also the difference between a head cold and a virus.]

Friday morning was the first day I started missing running/physical activity.  I ramped things up slightly by adding some yoga/easy swimming to the mix, and then tried an easy run on Saturday.  I didn't feel great on Saturday, but I don't know how much of that is an indication of still being weak, versus being stale and stiff from doing almost nothing for a week.  I didn't feel any worse on Sunday morning, though, which is a good sign.  If I'd overdone it, I'd expect to feel lousy the next day.

I kept Sunday in the pool just to give the legs a bit more rest - they felt very stiff and heavy on Saturday.  But I was very cranky and annoyed about not running (trust me - this is a good sign).  Tomorrow (Monday) I'm going to run again - depending on how that goes, I may show up for the Tuesday morning workout and do something careful and restrained.

Dailies

Monday:   Off, except for some foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  5 "miles" easy pool-running.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday: 6 "miles" easy pool-running.  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   5 "miles" easy pool-running.  Foam rolling at night.

Friday:  Yoga, 1500 yards of easy swimming, and 3 "miles" easy pool-running, plus some foam rolling.

Saturday:  6 miles aerobic (easy pace of 8:33, but didn't feel easy).  Followed with injury prevention work, yoga, and foam rolling.

Sunday:  2500 yards of swimming, including drills and some up tempo stuff. (500 yards of 75 easy/25 hard).  Foam rolling at night.