Training log - Week ending 2/26/2023

This week was 55 miles of running, 1000 yards of swimming and 18 "miles" of pool-running -- training log is here.

A lot of this week was spent focusing on how (and whether) my feet behave inside my running shoes.  My hips are working well now, but my feet tend to scrunch up (technical term) when I start trying too hard or get distracted or uncomfortable.  So I'm now doing PT exercises to relax my feet (things like using a wobble board while keeping my feet relaxed, and also contracting the arch of my foot while keeping the toes relaxed).

I also played with different shoes.  Essentially, I've become Goldilocks when it comes to shoe fit - specifically toebox size.  If the toe box is snug, my toes grab up because they are compressed.  If the toebox is too loose, then my toes curl to try to keep the shoe from shifting around.  And when my toes curl my ankles get really stiff, and then my running gait goes to hell.  I need to find the perfect middle ground, shoe-wise, to keep my foot/ankle acting like a foot/ankle and not a ski boot.

On Tuesday, I ran with a shoe that was too snug, and it quickly became obvious to me how limited I was by my feet.  For Friday morning, I made a big point of getting my shoe fit just right and was rewarded with a much better workout.   Ditto for Sunday.   

During Sunday's run, I could feel my feet start to grab up at times.  At that point, I would think about spreading my toes, and also spread my fingers wide in my mittens to reinforce the signal.  And as soon as my toes spread, my toes also relaxed, my foot started working right, and my gait improved.  I had a lot of moments during Sunday's run where my gait felt like I remembered it - my legs swinging like pendulums with a bit of pounce at each end as I rolled over my foot and pushed off with glute and then calf.

So now I've got another thing to overthink.  Yay?

Monday: Streaming yoga and 9 "miles" of pool-running. Foam rolling at night. 

Tuesday: 10 miles, including a track workout of 5x1200, 400 in 5:21, 5:10, 5:06, 5:05, 5:07, and 1:41. 2:19 recovery after the first 1200 and 2:4x recoveries after all the other reps.  Followed with leg strengthwork.  Foam rolling at night. 

Wednesday: Streaming yoga and 10 miles very easy (9:23) on the treadmill.  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday: 9 "miles" of pool-running and upper body weights/core.  Foam rolling at night. 

Friday: 10.5 miles, including a 6400m tempo in 27:48 (7:09/6:58/6:544/6:47).  Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night. 

Saturday: 10 miles very easy (9:16), drills/strides and upper body weights/core.  Foam rolling in afternoon.

Sunday:  14 miles progressive, split as first 5 averaging 9:09 pace, next 5 averaging 7:54 pace, and next 4 averaging 7:28 pace.  Followed with injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night.