Training log - Week ending 9/22/2024

This week was 46 miles of running, an hour of hiking, and 2000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.

I had twin goals this week (well...every week) of improving my fitness while also working on my weaknesses. One of those weaknesses is downhill running, and I haven't done much of that at all the last few months.  So, I did my Wednesday easy run in an area with some very steep hills (8-12% grade) on the theory that it would make less steep downhills easier.  I'm not sure how valid that theory is, but it seemed worth a try.  The downsides of doing this were a) it was impossible to hold a steady low heartrate, since I was either carefully shuffling my way down or working fairly hard to run up; and b) it was a lot more stress on my body than a normal easy run.  So I may table this plan or limit it to a mile or two in the middle of an easy run.

For fitness, I had planned on Tuesday and Friday workouts, and then a Sunday long run.  However, it's now late enough in the year that the sun doesn't rise until about 10 minutes after the workout has started.  On Tuesday, it's apparent from my splits when the sun rose....

On Friday, I made the mistake of trying to run in super shoes for the first time since May at the same time I was trying to warm up in the dark.  Basically, super shoes reduce one's ability to feel the ground and the resulting proprioception.  And my proprioception is lousy to begin with, meaning that I'm very dependent on my eyesight to know where the ground is.  And of course, I couldn't see well in the dark.  Even after switching back to normal shoes my balance was just completely off, so I pushed the tempo back to Saturday.  

On Saturday I did the tempo in super shoes and also in daylight, and it was hard but doable.  The tempo even was a bit faster than last week's workouts would predict (Saturday's split for a continuous 4800m was faster than the sum of last week's 3200+1600).   One could say that it was because I was wearing super shoes, but right now I honestly think the super shoes slow me down.  (They'll help me more once I get used to running in them again).

Since I planned to take Sunday as my easy non-running day, I did a long cool down on Saturday to get to 12 miles.  12 miles used to be my normal mileage for a workout day, so it was odd to have it feel like a long run on Saturday.  But hopefully I'll get back to that level of fitness.

Next week I'll try for an interval workout, a tempo, and a long run.  I'll do the interval workout with the team in normal shoes (since it starts in the dark) and the tempo by myself in super shoes after the sun rises.

Monday: 6 miles (9:47) and streaming yoga.  Foam rolling in evening.

Tuesday: 9 miles on track with a workout of 2x800, 1600, 2x800 in 3:55, 3:47, 7:27, 3:36, 3:36 recoveries of 5:44 after the 1600 and 2:5x-3:0x after each 800.  Followed with leg strengthwork.  Foam rolling in evening.

Wednesday: 6 miles running very easy (10:54) on steep hills plus 1000 yards swimming.  Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 6 miles very easy (11:16) on trails in the morning.  Pilates and foam rolling in the evening.

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Friday: 7 on the track with a warm-up fartlek and the first half-mile of a tempo.  Followed with upper body strengthwork and core. Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 12 miles, including a 5K tempo on the track in 23:38 (7:45/7:33/7:24/0:55) followed by leg strenghtwork. Foam rolling in evening.

Sunday: 1 hour hiking and 1000 yards swimming. Foam rolling in evening.

Training log - Week ending 9/15/2024

This week was 44 miles of running, 4.5 miles of walking, and 1500 yards of swimming -- training log is here.

Almost a full week's worth of training.  Two track workouts (the second better than the first) but no real long run for a combination of reasons including scheduling.  Switching my recovery day from pool-running to walking/hiking/swimming has made it tough to schedule my recovery day on Monday (when I also have to go into the office).  However, if I'm going to do long runs, I'm either going to have to figure out a non-pool-running recovery plan for Monday, carefully reintroduce pool-running, or move the track workouts around so that I can do my long run on Saturday.

I had another PT evaluation this week, with the revelation that my glutes and hamstrings are notably weaker than my quads.  So much for my theory that I needed to get my quads stronger. I do think that some of this is because I really backed off of the squats and barbell lunges while my hip was healing.  So I've added those back in, plus some regular deadlifts and prone hamstring curls for the hamstrings, and banded glute pull-backs for the glutes.

On the track, I'm focusing on running with my glutes only, while keeping the rest of my body as relaxed as possible.  It seems to be working so far - I just need to regain fitness.

Monday: 7 miles (10:00) and streaming yoga.  Foam rolling in evening.

Tuesday: 8.5 miles on track with a workout of 1600, 4x800 in 7:47, 3:52, 3:51, 3:46, 3:44; recoveries of 5:14 after the 1600 and 2:36 after each 800.  Followed with leg strengthwork.  Sports massage in evening.

Wednesday: 1 mile walking on trails and 4.5 miles running very easy (11:13) on trails plus 500 yards swimming.  Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 7 miles very easy (9:43) in the morning.  Pilates and foam rolling in the evening.

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Friday: 7 on the track (9:38) including a workout of 3200, 1600 in 15:26 (7:49/7:37) and 7:27 with 5:27 recovery between.  Followed with leg strengthwork. Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 10 miles very easy on the towpath (10:00) and upperbody weights/core. Covid and flu vaccinations in the afternoon; foam rolling in evening.

Sunday: Walking and cheering at the DC Half-Marathon (3.5 miles), followed by 1000 yards swimming. Foam rolling in evening.

Training log - Week ending 9/8/2024

This week was 31 miles of running, 3:50 hours hiking on trails, 30 minutes on the arc-trainer and 2500 yards of swimming -- training log is here.

More cross-training this week to make up for missing miles.  Since pool-running is currently not an option for easy-day cross training (too much stress on a healing pelvic floor) and the arc-trainer is also out (too hard for an easy day) I went with a mix of hiking and swimming.  The hiking gets me moving at a relatively low intensity while also working on my dynamic balance and the swimming is good for my lungs and can also sub in for upper-body lifting.  I also tried a few careful miles of trail running, which demonstrated that I need to relearn that skill.

[I should also note that I use hiking and trail walking interchangeably because I'm honestly not sure what the distinction is.  Except that hiking sounds more impressive.  I guess it's like running versus jogging.]

I took my first stab at a track workout on Saturday.  I had planned to do this on Friday, and then I screwed up and took my meds at the wrong time and my gait was a mess on Friday morning, so I pushed stuff back to Saturday.  

The workout itself went better than I had expected.  Given how I've felt when doing strides, I sincerely doubted my ability to run much faster than 8:00 pace to start.  But my splits ended up significantly faster than that.  The secret to satisfaction is, as always, low expectations.

Since it was my first workout back, I limited myself to four 800s, which felt like plenty.  Then I swapped to the arc-trainer for 10 reps of 1 minute hard/ 1 minute easy (1/2 of a normal arc-trainer workout).  My hip felt fine the next morning, which was a good sign.  For the next workout, I'll try for a solid 3 miles of work.  I'm keeping stuff on the track for the next week or two, and then will start adding some hills back in.

Monday: 80 minutes of hiking and 500 yards swimming.  Foam rolling in evening.

Tuesday: 7 miles on track (9:29) - mostly easy but with a warm-up fartlek (3:00, 4x0:30, 4x0:10) and four hill strides.  Followed with leg strengthwork.  Streaming yoga and foam rolling in evening.

Wednesday: 5 miles very easy (9:51) plus 4 hill sprints and 1000 yards swimming.  Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 1 hour walking on trails and 3 miles very easy on trails (11:29).  Pilates and foam rolling in the evening.

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Friday: 5.5 miles very easy on the track (9:38) plus upper-body weights/core.  Later did another 2.5 miles very easy (9:40) plus 4 hill strides.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 8 miles including a track workout of 4x800 in 3:44, 3:42, 3:40, 3:38, with 2:4x recovery between each, followed by 30 minutes on the arc-trainer with a workout of 10x1:00 hard/1:00 easy, and then leg strengthwork. Foam rolling in evening.

Sunday: 90 minutes hiking and 1000 yards swimming. Foam rolling in evening.

Training log - Week ending 9/1/2024

This week was 33 miles of running, 2:30 on the arc-trainer and 9 "miles" of pool-running  plus some walking on trails-- training log is here.

This week was less pool-running and more arc-trainer-ing.  I also really pulled my mileage back at first to let the muscle get a bit less angry before rebuilding.

The good news is that my hip felt good by the weekend (I guess it really was the pool-running that was aggravating it).  The only discomfort I had was some annoying buzzing down my right leg, which I know is just the sciatic nerve taking its time to calm down.  The bad news was that I had very little power in my legs when I tried to run a bit faster on Sunday.  I've got work to do there.

I also realized by the end of the week that, for me at least, the arc-trainer is not a good substitute for an easy run.  This is because I have to work somewhat hard to keep the pedals moving, meaning that any arc-trainer run is always at least a moderate effort (I can reduce the resistance more, but at some point the pedals are just floating around and it becomes difficult to use the machine). Doing a portion of every run on the arc-trainer means that I never get a truly easy day - not good.  So, I'm going to limit my arc-trainer use to the 2-3 days of each week that are dedicated to hard workouts.

Monday: 7 "miles" pool-running and upperbody weights/core.  Foam rolling in evening.

Tuesday: 2 miles very easy on track (9:57) and 60 minutes on the arc-trainer, including a workout of 8x3:00 with 2:15 recovery.  Followed with leg strengthwork.  Sports massage in evening.

Wednesday: 4 miles very easy on track (9:31) and 40 minutes on the arc-trainer.  Yoga and foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 40 minutes walking on trails and 40 minutes on the arc-trainer in the morning.  Pilates and foam rolling in the evening.

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Friday: 6 miles very easy on the track (9:55) and 45 minutes on the arc-trainer with a workout of 20x1:00 very hard/1:00 easy.  Followed with leg strengthwork.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 4 miles very easy (9:25) on track, an hour of walking on trails, and upper body weights/core. Foam rolling in evening.

Sunday: 6 miles on the track, mostly very easy but with a very casual fartlek to see if I could get my legs moving faster (9:39) and then 45 minutes on the arc-trainer with a workout of 20x1:00 very hard/1:00 easy.  Followed with leg strengthwork.  Foam rolling in evening.