Training log - Week ending 11/6/2022

This week was 29 miles of running -- training log is here.

I had planned to return to the track this week, but life had other plans.  On Monday I woke up with a mild head cold (negative covid test).   By Wednesday I was starting to feel better.  Then my partner picked up my head cold.  And tested positive for Covid on Thursday morning.

So I took a second Covid test and yup, that was positive.

So how does one train when one is presently asymptomatic, but has a positive Covid test?  Obviously one answer is to take a total break for a week, but my ongoing neurological issues/dystonia make that a not great choice.

 I found this article from the Journal Sci Med Sport- key paragraph:

In terms of safety for individuals themselves, we are fortunate to be in an era where elite athletes have baseline data of training efficiency such as defined heart rate zones in relation to intensity of exercise and subjective scoring for training sessions. Immediately achieving at or close to pre-morbid fitness values post-COVID represents evidence of uncomplicated recovery. Our experience in Australia during the Omicron wave is that this has been achieved by Days 7–14 in most vaccinated elite athletes. Advice to the recreationally active individual, where there is less pressure to return to maximum fitness levels quickly, is to do so in a more conservative fashion. There is strong evidence that moderate physical activity (e.g. doing 7000 steps per day) is associated with reduced all-cause mortality.25 Therefore, we should encourage a quick return to moderate exercise with a more cautious return to higher intensity exercise.

So with that as my guide, I returned to running on my treadmill, but intentionally reducing both the duration and the intensity.  Half-ass workouts, essentially, keeping an eye on my heart rate to ensure it was lower than what I would normally maintain for a workout.  For example, the "hard parts" of Sunday's tempo workout were at a heart rate in the 160s, when my tempo workouts are usually in the 170s.

According to the CDC, I'm supposed to isolate for 5 days post-symptoms and then only go outside with a mask for the next 5 days.  Since I can't run with a mask (trust me, I've tried) I'll just stick to my treadmill until the CDC guidelines say I no longer need to wear the mask.

Dailies:

Monday: Off.

Tuesday: Streaming yoga.  Foam rolling in evening.
 

Wednesday: 5 miles (10:12) and drills/strides.  Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: Upper body weights/core and 3 miles on treadmill (10:19). Foam rolling in evening

Friday: 7 miles, including a very minimal fake Iwo Jima hills workout of eight sets of 2 minutes at 9:50 pace and a 3% incline, 90 second jog, 30 seconds at 7:30-8:30 pace, and 60 second jog.   Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 5 miles easy on treadmill (9:45) and streaming yoga.  Foam rolling at night.

Sunday: 9 miles on treadmill, including a relaxed tempo workout of 6x4 minutes (7:30-8:00 pace) with 72 second jog, and then 4x0:30 seconds strides (6:40-7:00 pace) with 90 second jog.  Followed with some leg strengthwork.  Foam rolling at night.