Training log - Week ending 1/27/19

This week was 58 miles of running, 16 "miles" of pool-running and 3000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.

The week did not get off to a good start - Tuesday's track workout was one of the worst I've ever had.  It was fairly cold for this area - 14 degrees - but the real issue for me was not the temperatures but the dryness of the air, which triggered my breathing issues.

I have both asthma (constriction of the bronchial tubes in the lungs) and vocal chord dysfunction ("VCD" - my vocal chords sometimes close when they should be opening).  It's not uncommon for people to have both, especially if you also have acid reflux issues.  The asthma is treatable by inhaled medications, while the vocal chord dysfunction is best managed with breathing exercises - essentially trying to relax one's throat.

The kicker is that the inhaled meds that fix my asthma also irritate my throat and worsen the VCD - a catch 22 situation.  And that was the mess I found myself in on Tuesday.  My asthma got triggered, so I puffed on my inhaler.  Which helped with the asthma, but worsened the VCD.

From a physical training standpoint, I really should have just bailed on the workout.  Contrary to the running mythos - toughing it out through a bad workout that has turned into a race effort does not make you stronger, it just sets you back. 

[related to this, it drives me NUTS when people go on and on about how they dug so deep and fought so hard during every workout of a cycle.  When you have to fight that hard during your routine workouts, what do you have left on race day?]

Despite the above, I decided to back off and finish the workout anyway, as I thought it was important to do so for other reasons.  To explain:  VCD is a very physical, real thing (one's vocal chords closing) but has a mental component - basically the tenser one gets (especially in one's upper body and in one's mind) the worse the VCD.  Asthma can also be made worse by how anxious one gets during an attack.

[and of course, when you are struggling to breathe, it's quite challenging to stay relaxed and not clench up in one's chest/throat.  Don't judge until you've been there.]

I could tell on Tuesday that, though I was having a very real physical issue, I also wasn't handling it very well mentally.  And I know myself well enough to understand that mental issues can linger if I don't work through them immediately.   So Tuesday's workout ended up being an exercise in coping with the breathing issues, so that I could put them off to the side and move on.

Fortunately, it worked, as I had a decent tempo on Friday (after allowing for the fact I was still a bit physically trashed from Tuesday) and a solid long run on Sunday.

Dailies 

Monday: yoga and 8 "miles" pool-running;  foam rolling at night.

Tuesday: 10 miles, including 4x1200 in 4:46, 4:58, 4:52, 4:49.  Followed with injury prevention work and 1000 yards of swimming.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday: 8 miles very easy (9:06) to yoga, yoga, and then another 4 very easy (8:52), followed by drills and strides.  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:  Upper body weights and core and 8 "miles" pool-running  in the morning.  Foam rolling at night

Friday: 12 miles, including a 4 mile tempo in 26:13 (6:41/6:33/6:35/6:25).  Followed with injury prevention work and 1000 yards of swimming.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 10 miles very easy (8:30) plus drills and strides and upper body weights and core.  Foam rolling at night.

Sunday: 14 miles, split as first 4 averaging 8:36, next 5 averaging 7:31, last 5 averaging 6:50.  Followed with injury prevention work and 1000 yards of swimming.  Foam rolling at night.