Training log - Week ending 7/27/2014

This week was 66 miles of running and 6000 yards of swimming  -- training log is here.  

A bit of a departure from the norm this week - the normal Tuesday workout was cancelled because most of my teammates were racing a track mile on Wednesday.  I'm not racing miles this summer because I feel they're too risky for me - I'm still close enough to my long period of injury to need to be careful.  (and when I mentioned the possibility of racing a mile to my PT, he gave me a raised eyebrow that confirmed I was right in skipping it....)

So...that left me with a gap - what to do?  

The answer ended up being fun and (I hope) productive.  I've felt myself straining and tensing up a bit in workouts recently, so I took advantage of a relatively clear track and did a random selection of 400s, 600s, and 800s.  With all of these, I focused primarily on staying relaxed while running fast, rather than pushing the workout hard or hitting a specific split.  Also focused on my form, how I was breathing, was I clenching my hands or hunching my shoulders, etc.   Think extended stride, rather than workout.

During my recovery between intervals (which was often a bit longer than I'd take during a "normal" workout), I would do some drills to nail in form.

It was definitely different, and I think very helpful.  I ended up running about 4.5 miles worth of fast stuff, which is a lot.  On the other hand, the "fast" was a second or two per lap slower than I'd normally run, and I also took extra recovery, so it ended up not taking any more out of me than a traditional workout. 

This type of workout probably didn't do much for my fitness, but it allowed me to work on some other stuff.  I'm really happy I did it.

Other than that, more of the same.  We had cool weather on Friday, so I opted for a 5 mile tempo.  (fun fact derived from browsing back in my training log - the last time I had run a 5 mile tempo was November 2, 2012....).  I didn't feel great during the tempo, and it had some tough patches mentally, but my coach pointed out afterwards that I was right where I should be pace wise.  So yay.  And I was happy to get it under my belt.  For one thing, I know that nothing gets me in shape like longer tempos - short fast anaerobic stuff fries me, while stuff at the middle to top end of my aerobic range does awesome things.  For that reason, I love long tempos.

But I also despise and dread them, because continuous track tempos are always the toughest workouts for me, mentally.    Intervals I only have to concentrate for 6 minutes or less, and then I can recharge; long runs are just fun, with changes of scenery and terrain, and gels to consume.  On the track, the continual running in circles for 25-35 minutes starts to drive me a bit (more) insane and I have to visualize cruising on the towpath or MV trail to get through them.  It's not the pain (tempos should never hurt) but the tedium that drives me bonkers.  I was happy that the old mental tricks still worked against the long track tempo bugaboo.

Dailies

Monday:   Yoga in the morning, foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  In the morning, 11 miles, including a workout that included about 4.5 miles of mixed 400s, 600s, and 800s, run "fast but relaxed."  800s run in 3:04-3:06, 600s run in 2:14-2:18, and 400s run in 91-92 (except the last, which I ran "hard" in 83 to see how my relaxed form translated).  Followed with 800 yards easy swimming.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:  In the morning, 5 miles very easy (8:51 pace), followed by a yoga class.  Later another 7.5 miles aerobic (8:32) and 1500 yards easy swimming.  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, yoga followed by 6.5 miles easy (8:21).  Foam rolling at night.

Friday:  11 miles, including an 8K tempo on the track in 33:39 (6:43/6:45/6:44/6:45/6:42).  Followed with injury prevention work and 1500 yards easy swimming.   Foam rolling in the afternoon.

Saturday:   12 miles very easy (8:46); later did some upper body and injury prevention work, and 1000 yards easy swimming.  Foam rolling in afternoon.

Sunday:   14-ish miles (we did 3 loops of Burke Lake, which is supposedly 4.7 miles per loop).  Kept this easy for the most part, though I ended up picking it up slightly to an aerobic effort (I'm guesstimating around 7:30 pace - Garmin was useless) for the last 2-3 miles.

Followed with yoga and then 1200 yards swimming (felt really good - the 200 tacked on the end was to bring me to an even number of yards for the week - 'cuz that's how I neurotically roll).  Sports massage in the afternoon.