Training log - Week ending 1/19/2025

This week was 44 miles of running and 6 "miles" of pool-running.

Our weather has not been good for running this week.  The local trails have been either snow/ice covered or visually clear but subject to patches of black ice.  And the weather has been frequently very cold - I find now that when it gets into the mid-20s or lower, my muscles get super tight and I'm prone to injury.  The air has also been very dry, which aggravates my asthma.

So, because of the weather, I was on the treadmill all week.  Saturday actually seemed like it would be a good day to do a hill workout outside, but black ice quickly sent me back to my treadmill.  Sunday morning was another opportunity to run outside, but I slept in after getting my second Shingles vaccination on Saturday afternoon (basically checking off that box before starting to train for One City/Cherry Blossom/Boston).

Since I'm between training cycles right now, I spent this week doing hills and tempo intervals - giving me a chance to work on power and stamina. My paces have continued to speed up as I come back from Covid - which is much better than the reverse.

I also continued to experiment with my Lever Runner.  When it's set at -5 pounds, it feels essentially like normal running, but with constant reminders to not hunch over or overstride.  On Sunday, I tried running at -35 pounds, and I think that's a helpful setting for me also, though I wouldn't want to train with that much of an assist all the time.

Running while weighing 35 pounds less feels very much like running downhill, which is a good opportunity to practice staying relaxed while the ground falls away from me.  

Another bonus is that running with that much weight reduction allows me to run with a very big stride and proper cadence while still keeping my heart rate and effort in the recovery zone.   From a Parkinsons/neurologic standpoint, it would be idea to run with a big fast stride every time.  However, from an orthopedic/endocrine standpoint I need easy low effort days.  Using the Lever runner at this setting lets me do both.

I obviously can't train with the Lever runner, or even the treadmill, all the time.  I need to be running outside on different surfaces and with downhills and cambers.  But I think that after the weather clears I'll still try to run with the Lever runner regularly, just so I can reap some of its benefits as well.

Dailies:

Monday:  6 "miles" of pool-running and yoga.  Foam rolling in the evening.

Tuesday: Upperbody weights/core and 8 miles very easy on the treadmill (9:10) with the Lever runner set at -5 pounds. Foam rolling in the afternoon.

Wednesday: 5 miles very easy on the treadmill (9:17) at midday.  Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 5.5 miles on the treadmill, including a tempo intervals workout of 3x7:30 at 8 mph with 90 second jog at 6 mph.  Followed with leg strengthwork. Foam rolling in evening.

Friday: 7.5 miles very easy on the treadmill (9:12) with the Lever runner set at -5 pounds. Upperbody weights/core in the afternoon. Foam rolling in evening.

Saturday: 8 miles on the treadmill, with an "Iwo Jima Hills" workout of 8 reps of 2:00 at 8 mph on a 3% incline, 90 second flat jog (6 mph), 30 second stride at 8.5-8.8 mph, and a 60 second jog (6 mph).

 Leg strengthwork and foam rolling in the afternoon, followed by second Shingles vaccination.

Sunday: 10 miles very easy on the treadmill (8:13) with the Lever runner set at -35 pounds.  Foam rolling in evening.