Training log - Week ending 11/28/2021

This week was 43 miles of running, 1000 yards of swimming, and 21 "miles" of pool-running -- training log is here.

After a few days off, I started running again on Wednesday.  I didn't feel any better for the time off - in fact I felt a bit less stable.  This is not surprising, since I seem to do better when I'm practicing the skill of running and worse when I don't.  However, I did steadily improve, and by Saturday I was about where I had left off. 

I've been playing around with different drills, form cues, etc - trying to figure out what is wrong with my running gait and how to fix it.  In general, I'm not a big fan of focusing too much on form - everyone's gait is unique.  I have witnessed many many runners end up much worse off after trying to force themselves to land on their forefoot, fire their glutes, etc.

[you can actually identify the people who have gotten messed up - there's a characteristic stiff-backed, floppy-handed way of going, accompanied by the ability to simultaneously overstride while landing on one's forefoot.] 

At the same time, my form is already screwed up, and so anything I can do to unwind that is worth trying.  Simply running up and down hills has been a big help, along with the arsenal of running drills.  After doing some reading, I started playing with some running drills from cross-fit, of all things.  And one drill that seems to really help me is to think about lifting my heels to my butt while running.  Obviously they don't get all the way there, but holding that thought in my mind seems to really help with my current gait issues.  It helps the most when I am running downhill - as soon as I feel wobbly, I try to lift my heels up with each stride, and I'm immediately more stable.  Very interesting.

Dailies:

Monday: 6 "miles" of pool-running.   Foam rolling at night. 

Tuesday: 6 "miles" of pool-running.  Foam rolling in evening.

Wednesday:  Streaming yoga and 8 miles very easy (9:37), plus drills, two flat strides, two downhill strides.   Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 10 miles including 8 hill repeats of about 2:15-2:20 each.  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night. 

Friday: 10 miles very easy (9:40), drills, two strides, and upper body weights/core.  Foam rolling at night. 

Saturday: 14.5 miles progressive, split as first 5 miles averaging 9:32 pace, next 5 miles averaging 8:25 pace, next 4.5 miles averaging 7:17 pace, and then a half-mile jog.  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling in afternoon.

Sunday:  Streaming yoga and 90 minutes of pool-running.  Foam rolling in afternoon.

Training log - week ending 11/21/2021

This week was 30 miles of running, 1000 yards of swimming, and 24 "miles" of pool-running -- training log is here.

I started the week off with an attempt at a track workout.  It went OK - no feeling like I was going to fall, not much wobbliness.  My legs were incredibly tight and stiff even after a 3 mile warm-up, and didn't feel even half-way normal until the end.  Just the oddest feeling - like I was wearing pants that were way too tight.  No pain, no soreness, no fatigue.  The legs just couldn't move.  

But again, I was running in a straight line, so that was an improvement.

Wednesday's run felt surprisingly good - as if Tuesday had loosened me up.  Which is just par for the experience here - the more I do, the better I feel.

That being said, after a pretty good hill workout on Friday, I decided to take a break for a few days.  My reasoning being that I was way overdue for a break.   I honestly don't want to take a break (especially now that things are finally on the upswing).  But I know that they are necessary, and the only reason I hadn't taken one yet was that I was worried about a setback in dealing with whatever I'm dealing with if I backed off of stuff.  But a clean neuro exam and EMG/NCS eased that worry some.

So I scheduled myself for 4 days of doing anything from nothing at all to 60 minutes of pool-running, lasting from Saturday to Tuesday.  Definitely not as big a break as I would take after a season-ending marathon, but it should do the job of a reset.

Dailies:

Monday: 9 "miles" of pool-running and upper body weights/core.   Foam rolling at night. 

Tuesday: 10 miles, including a track workout of 5x800, 400, 2x200 in 3:48, 3:38, 3:20, 3:19, 95, 48, 49.  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling in evening.

Wednesday:  Streaming yoga and 10 miles very easy (9:26), plus drills and two strides.   Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 9 "miles" of pool-running and upper body weights/core.  Foam rolling at night. 

Friday: 10 miles including 8 hill repeats of about 2:15-2:20 each.  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night. 

Saturday: 6 "miles" of pool-running and foam rolling.

Sunday: Cheering at Philadelphia Marathon and foam rolling.

Training log - Week ending 11/14/2021

 This week was 55 miles of running, 1500 yards of swimming, some stuff on the arc-trainer, and 18 "miles" of pool-running -- training log is here.

It was a good news/meh news week.  

I had a nerve conduction study/EMG on Tuesday.  For the NCS, they place two sensors on each muscle a measured distance apart and then apply a mild electric shock to the muscle and record how fast the electric impulse travels.  For the EMG, they stick a very small needle in each muscle and then have you use the muscle while a machine (attached to the needed) assesses how the muscle activates.    It's a bit uncomfortable, but also kinda geekily cool.

I've have several of these over the years, since I have a significant family history of ALS and also benign fasciculation syndrome (meaning my calf muscles twitch all the time for no good reason).  They've always come back clear; this one was also mostly clear, with just some slight issues with the left ankle, which the neurologist wasn't worried about.

On Friday, he did a full neurologic exam, which meant that I did some exercises with my eyes and mouth, touched my nose with my finger, got my knees and ankles tapped, and did some funny walks while he watched.  That was all good too.

So the good news is that he hasn't found anything (he did order a set of MRIs to be complete - those will take a few weeks).  The meh news is that I was hoping for a (benign and easily fixed) diagnosis, and I don't have anything yet.  

The neurologist suggested that the issue might actually be orthopedic - something is off in my muscles/bones/tendons and the body is protecting itself.  So that's one avenue I have to pursue.  Additionally my primary care had suggested checking in with a vascular specialist, so I have that appointment in December.  In the meantime, I'm a bit frustrated that I've missed my entire fall racing schedule, but that I still have no idea what is wrong or how to fix it or prevent a reoccurrence.  But all I can do is keep looking for answers.

At least whatever it is seems to be improving.  I'm feeling steadier and stronger, especially the last few days.  But I've got a long way to go before I get back to where I was even 8 weeks ago.

Dailies:

Monday: 9 "miles" of pool-running and upper body weights/core.   Foam rolling at night. 

Tuesday: 5 miles (10:12), an arc-trainer workout of three sets of 4x(90 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy) with 60 seconds easy between each set, and then 3 miles (9:27).  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling in evening.

Wednesday:  Streaming yoga and 8 miles very easy (9:45), plus drills and hill strides.   Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 12 miles including 8 hill repeats of about 2:15-2:20 each.  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night. 

Friday: 9 "miles" of pool-running and upper body weights/core.

Saturday: 8 miles (9:24), streaming yoga, and 4 miles (9:21) plus drills and strides

Sunday: 14.5 miles progressive, split as first 5 averaging 9:24 pace, next 5 miles averaging 8:12 pace, next 4.5 miles averaging 7:18 pace, plus a half-mile cooldown.  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.

Training log - Week ending 11/7/2021

This week was 60 miles of running, 1500 yards of swimming, some stuff on the arc-trainer, and 18 "miles" of pool-running -- training log is here.

More of the same holding pattern.  I'm trying to run a small bit each day just to keep practicing the act of running, because it feels like that is helpful.   Doing hills once a week and a progressive long run once a week gives me a chance to practice some faster running, while doing the arc-trainer workout once a week lets me get my HR up and preserve some of my aerobic fitness.

I do feel like the wobbliness is improving - it now goes away in about 2 miles instead of 4 or so.  On Saturday I managed to run on my treadmill for the first time in a long time - I had to keep the pace very slow and use the handle bars for intermittent support during the first two miles, but then things got better.

Right now, I'm actually feeling similar to how I did about 18 months ago, right after dropping out of the One City Marathon (my notes back then in my training log show that I had some wobbliness/balance issues then as well).  I've re-developed the sciatic/burning pain down both legs that I had then (though not quite as bad this time around).  All stuff to mention to the Neurologist when I see him this week, I guess.

Dailies:

Monday: 8 "miles" of pool-running, upper body weights/core, and 3.5 miles (10:18).   Foam rolling at night. 

Tuesday: 4.5 miles (9:53), an arc-trainer workout of three sets of 4x(90 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy) with 60 seconds easy between each set, and then 3 miles (9:45).  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling in evening.

Wednesday:  10 miles very easy (10:02), drills, strides, and streaming yoga.   Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 10 "miles" pool-running followed by 2 miles very easy (10:05), drills, strides, and upper body weights/core.  Foam rolling at night. 

Friday: 11 miles including 8 hill repeats of about 2:20 each.  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night. . 

Saturday: 8 miles (9:59), streaming yoga, and 3.5 miles (10:05) plus drills and strides

Sunday: 14.5 miles progressive, split as first 5 averaging 9:55 pace, next 5 miles averaging 8:48 pace, next 4.5 miles averaging 7:42 pace.  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.

Training log - Week ending 10/31/2021

 This week was 45 miles of running, 1000 yards of swimming, some stuff on the arc-trainer, and 24 "miles" of pool-running -- training log is here.

(Belated entry)

This was another week as a holding pattern.  I was going to try a hill workout on Tuesday, but felt very wobbly, so swapped to arc-trainer intervals.  Friday was a bit better.

Throughout the week, I experimented with different pre-run regimens.  Pool-running before running outside seems quite helpful.  However, it's also inconvenient to try to pool-run BEFORE land running (for some strange reason, the reverse order works much better).

I also experimented with some stretches.  It seems that deep sustained stretches of my calves, hamstrings, quads, and lower back (and by sustained I mean holding the stretch for at least 60 seconds), helps a lot.  As much or more than the pool-running.  

I've always done dynamic stretching and mobilization before running, but it seems that static stretching actually works better for me now.  Very interesting.

Dailies:

Monday: 8 "miles" of pool-running and streaming yoga.   Foam rolling at night. 

Tuesday: 3 miles (11:28), an arc-trainer workout of two sets of 5x(90 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy), and then 2 miles (9:41).  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling in evening.

Wednesday:  3 "miles" pool-running, 7 miles very easy (9:27), and upper body weights/core.  Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 3 "miles" pool-running, and then 9 miles including 8 hill repeats of about 2:20 each.  Followed with leg strengthwork.  Foam rolling at night. 

Friday: 8 "miles" pool-running and upper body weights/core.   Foam rolling at night. 

Saturday: 2 "miles" pool-running and then 14.5 miles progressive, split as first 5 averaging 9:36 pace, next 5 miles averaging 8:48 pace, next 4.5 miles averaging 7:32 pace.  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.

Sunday:  9.5 miles very easy (9:42), plus drills and four strides, and then streaming yoga.  Foam rolling at night.