Training log - Week ending 3/29/2020

This week was 55 miles of running and 7 miles walking -- training log is here.

Still building back up, and strengthening, with a focus on hills and aerobic work.  I had a bit of a scare when my right hamstring got sore near the end of my Tuesday workout, but that cleared up quickly.  Other than that, things continue to improve - Sunday's long run felt good.  And encouragingly, I felt better after that run (in terms of nerve/back/hamstring pain) then I did before.

I rented a treadmill for the next 3 months, which was delivered to our house on Wednesday.  I'm now gently phasing treadmill running into my routine, so that I can swap to 100% treadmill running if necessary.  I don't want to immediately swap to only treadmill running - I'm concerned that I'll get hurt if I do.

Dailies

Monday:  Upperbody weights, core, and 4 mile walk.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday: 9 miles, including a hill/tempo mix of two short hills (around 70 seconds), a 1.5 mile tempo at 6:37 pace; two more short hills, a 1.5 mile tempo at 6:29 pace, and one more short hill.  2-3 minute jogging recovery after each hill or tempo segment.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday: Yoga, some pull-ups, 3 miles walking.  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday: 7 miles (9:25), upper body weights/core, 2 miles on treadmill (9:56).  Foam rolling at night.

Friday:  12 miles, including 8 modified Iwo Jima hill repeats (extended distance going up; no downhill stride).  Followed with injury prevention work.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 4 miles on treadmill (9:04), live streaming yoga, 6.5 miles very easy (9:03) plus drills and 2 uphill strides. Foam rolling at night.

Sunday: 14.5 miles, including 12 miles progression (split as first 4 averaging 9:27, next 4 averaging 7:43, next 4 averaging 7:04) and a 2.5 mile cooldown.  Followed with injury prevention work. Foam rolling at night.

Training log - Week ending 3/22/2020

This week was 43 miles of running, 9 miles walking, 6 "miles" of pool-running, and 1000 meters swimming -- training log is here.

I managed to get in to see my prolotherapy/PRP doctor on Tuesday, who agreed that I needed another set of injections to stabilize my sacrum.  Essentially, it's a reoccurrence of an issue I've wrestled with before - loose ligaments in my sacro-iliac joint and lumbar area mean that things can shift around in ways that they should not, pressing on nerves.  Which results in intermittent weakness, pain, and burning.  The injections irritate and tighten those ligaments, pulling everything together.

He was able to give me prolotherapy injections that same day, doing my entire SI joint, all the vertebrae facets from L3 on down, and both hamstrings at the attachment just because.  Then he sent me home with instructions to take it easy for a few days, which I translated to walking.

[All the pools are closed in my area, as are the gyms (fine with me - I had already decided not to go after Monday), so I've decided to shift to long walks as my cross-training of choice.  I've seen a friend have good results using walks to supplement her running, so it's worth a try.  It's definitely not as refreshing as pool-running; on the other hand, it's much more visually interesting, as I explore all around my area - walking roads that I don't normally run.]

The injections left me sore, but also feeling much more stable. PT exercises that were challenging before are now much much easier - confirming this was the right decision.

So now, my goal in these next few weeks is to literally get my butt in gear - doing a combination of easy runs, aerobic running, and hills to get myself strong.  As long as I can, I'll keep going to my normal locations for hill workouts.  If those get locked down, then I can find decent enough hills close to my house.

Dailies

Monday: Core work, 1000 meters swimming (in an SCM pool), and then an hour of pool-running.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday: 12 miles, including a hill/tempo mix of two short hills (around 70 seconds), a 1.5 mile tempo at 6:43 pace; two more short hills, a 1.5 mile tempo at 6:29 pace, and two more short hills.  2-3 minute jogging recovery after each hill or tempo segment (plus a bathroom break after the first tempo).  Got prolotherapy injections in the afternoon.

Wednesday: 4 miles walking.  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday: 5 miles of walking and upper body weights/core.  Foam rolling at night

Friday:  DIY yoga and 10 miles easy (9:35).  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 12 miles, including 8 modified Iwo Jima hill repeats (easier going up; no downhill stride).  Followed with injury prevention work.  Foam rolling at night.

Sunday: 9 miles (9:28) and streaming yoga. Foam rolling at night.

Training log - Week ending 3/15/2020

This week was 54 miles of running, 12 "miles" of pool-running, and 1000 yards swimming -- training log is here.

Really good progress from a week ago.  The soreness is fading and the hamstrings no longer burn when I run, as long as I maintain good posture (as soon as I start hunching my shoulders or arching my back, it all goes to hell)  The very tight feeling is also gone (well...when running.  Driving still sucks, and sleeping on my side is also a no go).  I also feel just generally wobbly and a bit uncoordinated.  But...the more strength work I do, the better.   

I feel like I'm relearning the skill of running, in one sense.  I added in some gentle hills and a short progression run towards the end of the week, not for fitness but so I could practice holding correct posture while running faster, either uphill or on the flat.  I held up well, so I'll do more of the same this week, trying to progress.

Like many others, I have no races scheduled in the next 6-8 weeks, so I'm using this time to get really strong and healthy.

Dailies

Monday: 2.5 miles very easy (9:43), yoga, and then 7.5 miles very easy (8:46), plus drills and two gentle uphill strides.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday: 8 "miles" of pool-running, upper body weights/core. Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday: 4 miles very easy (9:34), yoga, 7 miles very easy (8:49), and drills and four uphill strides.  Sports massage in afternoon.

Thursday: 11 miles, including 8 cautious hill repeats of 70-80 seconds with 2:30 recovery.  Followed with injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night

Friday:  2 miles easy (9:35), 4 "miles" pool-running, upper body weights/core.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 10 miles, with the first 9 miles progressive (split as first 3 averaging 9:04, next 3 averaging 7:35, next 3 averaging 6:56), plus a cooldown mile.  Followed with injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night.

Sunday: 10 miles easy (8:36)  DIY yoga and foam rolling at home later.