Training log - Week ending 10/11/2020

 This week was 64 miles of running, 1000 yards of swimming and 18 "miles" of pool-running -- training log is here. 

This was the last week of a training "mini-cycle."  I'm getting PRP injections in my right ankle this Tuesday, which will require a day or two off completely and then a rebuild over a week or so.  Essentially a forced down week.  

Once I confirmed the injection date, it made sense to do a short cycle of slightly higher mileage combined with three careful workouts a week - track Tuesday, tempo intervals Friday, and 15 progressive on Sunday.  I did that for four weeks in a row, with some nice progress each week.  Now...I'll get my foot fixed and take a bit of downtime to consolidate the fitness gains before starting to map out some winter/spring racing plans.

(the irony of this fall is that I've been registered for several races that have gone off - I just haven't been able to run them because of injury issues).

I'm pretty happy with the progress over the past month - I'm still not where I was this spring, fitness-wise, but I've gone from WOW I AM REALLY OUT OF SHAPE to normal-beginning-of-training-cycle out of shape.  

In separate but related news, I bought some ankle supports (think compression socks, but shorter and tighter) and started wearing them over the weekend.  They seem to help a fair bit - my gait feels more stable and I'm running faster for the same effort.  Which makes sense, when you consider that running with bad loose ankles is kinda like running in shoes that are too big/too loose - not all the power you generate gets translated to forward motion.  

For years I've taped my ankles before races or any time I've worn super cushioned shoes.  However, even after I get my ankle fixed, I think I'm going to need a bit more support, and need it for workouts as well as races.  The supports work a bit better than taping, and they also don't irritate my skin the way that taping does.  So they may end up being my thing from now on.

Dailies 

Monday: 7 "miles" of pool-running and upper body weights/core. Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday: 12 miles, including a track workout of 2x1600, 2x800, 2x400.  Splits were 6:34, 6:24, 3:07, 3:05, 90, and 89.  Recoveries were around the same duration as the intervals except for 3:30 after the second 800.  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.   Foam rolling at night.

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Wednesday: 12 miles very easy (9:30) with drills and 6 hill sprints, followed with streaming yoga. Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:  6.5 "miles" of pool-running and upper body weights/core in the morning; foam rolling at night.

Friday: 12 miles, including a tempo workout of 2x2 miles at 10 mile race effort with 5 minutes recovery between. Splits were 13:18 (6:38/6:40) and 13:17 (6:38/6:39).  Followed with full recovery and then 6x30 seconds hard, 60 seconds off.  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 12 miles very easy (9:09), plus 6 steep hill sprints and drills, and streaming yoga.  Foam rolling in afternoon.

Sunday:  16 miles, structured as the first 5 miles averaging 9:14 pace, the next 5 averaging 7:49, the next 5 averaging 6:58, and then a mile cooldown.  Followed with leg strengthwork and streaming yoga.  Doubled back with 4.5 "miles" pool-running and foam rolling in afternoon.