Training log - Week ending 1/13/2025

 This week was 33 miles of running and 4 "miles" of pool-running.

I tested negative for Covid this week, but a combination of slight residual fatigue, bad weather, and other commitments meant that my training was reduced in both volume and intensity, as well as completely inside.

Related to the above, I've decided to DNS the Houston Marathon for a second year in a row.  With a week to go, I don't feel like I have any reserves.  Part of this is from having Covid recently, but it's also because our new kitten, Karma, has now had three unexpected surgeries for the same issue in the past month, and staying on top of her needs has been physically and emotionally exhausting (though hopefully worth it).  I just don't feel rested and ready to go at all - and that's not a good thing for a marathon. Plus, I don't necessarily want to leave town when Karma's still recovering from surgery. And of course there's that risk of getting long Covid from pushing stuff too aggressively after a recent Covid infection.

So it's better to skip the marathon, get my batteries recharged, and focus on the spring.  The fall training cycle wasn't a waste at all - I started it coming off of an injury that had me miss two months of serious training, and by the end I was back to my normal training volume without re-aggravating anything.  I feel like I'm old enough now that simply accomplishing that is something to appreciate.

So, this week was reduced mileage, with "fun" workouts that were deliberately run at a lower than normal intensity.  Basically, staying active with some upbeat running without doing anything really stressful.  I also stayed on my treadmill the whole time, first because of ice and snow, and then because when it gets too cold my muscles get tight and I feel more likely to pull something.

As part of my treadmill "fun" I decided to test out my Lever Runner again.  And...I made a pretty cool discovery.  

Essentially, two major flaws that I'm always fighting are a tendency to bend at the waist and a tendency to overstride. - both of these are neurological in origin - it feels like I'm upright, but I'm not.  However, when I use the Lever Runner, it is really awkward to do either, to the point where I immediately self-correct into a better balanced form.  This applies independent of how much or little weight I have the Lever Runner set at.

So...I've started doing my easy treadmill runs with the Lever Runner set so that it barely removes any weight at all (using my bathroom scale, it's set at -5 pounds from my body weight).  Running with it this way isn't that much different from running without, but I still get the benefits of the instant form correction.  It will be interesting to see how this pays off when I return to running outside.

Dailies:

Monday:  Off except for some foam rolling in the evening.

Tuesday: 5 miles on the treadmill, including a workout of 5x4 minutes with 72 seconds jog.  The on part was at 7.6-7.7 mph, the jog was at 6 mph.  Followed with some leg strengthwork; foam rolling in the afternoon.

Wednesday: 6.5 miles very easy on the treadmill (8:50), using the Lever Runner at -10 pounds.  Pilates and foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 7.5 miles on the treadmill, including a "Iwo Jima Hills" workout of 8 reps of 2:00 at 7.6 mph on a 3% incline, 90 second flat jog (6 mph), 30 second stride at 8.3-8.5 mph, and a 60 second jog (6 mph).  Followed with leg strengthwork. Foam rolling in evening.

Friday: 4 miles pool-running and yoga.  Foam rolling in evening.

Saturday: 7 miles very easy on the treadmill (9:32) using the Lever Runner at -5 pounds.  Upper body strength/core and foam rolling in the afternoon.

Sunday: 7 miles on the treadmill, including a workout of 4x5 minutes with 60 seconds jog.  The on part was at 7.7 mph and the jog was at 6 mph.   Foam rolling in evening.