FIT:
Sunday (day after injury): did 35 min gym in an active ankle just in case.
Today: Walking's okay, except my knee kinda feels like cartiledge is missing, and my right hip hurts, maybe because of poor posture doing Dean's Date work, or maybe because of wacky compensation for my ankle.
I thought running was worth a try, though, so I went out on an easy 7.5, at 7:52 pace. Right knee was a bit testy, but it held. "Feels like 69ish," so I went in a sports bra to stay comfy. I've been feeling fat. Yeah... I know, might not look it, and post-run and drink weight was 105ish, down 2 from when I was at the gym about 4 days ago. But I've been constantly feeling full for the past 72ish hours because I keep eating. Here's my difficult situation: body has just had a 35-mile week with a 14-mile long run, suddenly I'm injured and not running, causing emotional stress, plus none of the regular appetite management hormones caused by exercise, plus poor sleep because of Dean's Date, plus stress from Dean's date, plus usual emotional turbulence, so lots of things are causing my natural appetite management functions to not work, and I am stressed on top of that, and I may be at a point where my body thinks it needs fuel to run 14 miles each day - in either case, I shouldn't be eating as much as I am, since stress eating is never good, and I am not actually exercising if I'm injured. But I have been anyways. Constantly eating, and a fair bit of junk, too. Lots of protein and lots of fat, plus some simple carbs. Usually protein and fat are good, but I've had too much. I usually don't have that many simple carbs, either. And not having a bike anymore means much more walking. Loss of control...
Praise God, though, the run went okay. I'm icing just in case, my knees and ankle. And the podcast I listened to during the run was on being injury free. It listed good exercises to do, and they sound easy and reasonable, so I may just do them!
Splits> 9:34 t, 4:07 p, 4:01 h, 4:18 b (22:02), 4:46 x, 2:51 w (29:40... slow, but I'm taking it easy and can always go fast on the way back If I feel like it), 2:49 x, 4:47 b (liking these splits!), 4:18 h (and again!), 4:04 p, 4:04 t, 9:16 w. Judging from this, it looks like it takes me about a mile to get warmed up.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
May 9
FIT:
14.2er w/ AB. Hot and humid. "Feels like 90ish?" Wanted to test loose cotton vs. tight synthetic, b/c I already know loose synthetic > loose cotton. Turned out that tight anything's uncomfortable. It's better to breathe. Sports bras and singlets are best. For water, I carried the 20oz for about half of the 3.75mi to the overpass, and AB took it for the other half, then we stashed it.
Had to stop at the post-Wm overpass, then at the 14.2 turnaround, then at the overpass, then before the hill back. My legs were sapped of energy it felt like. It was like having just a lot of dead weight, with the muscle not doing anything. Perhaps it's the effect of heat. From what I understand, when it's hot, more blood flows to your skin to help cool you, leaving less blood for your muscles. Breathing-wise, I was fine. It was just a lack of muscle action. When we'd stop to stretch, the breeze caused by running pace stopped, so sweat would bead up quickly. My clothes were so wet by the end.
Splits> 8:54 t, 4:00 p, 3:58 h, 4:14 b (21:07 here), 4:41 x, 2:51 w (28:41 here, stopped a/b 400m past this), 15:17 d (43:59 here), 4:30 r1, 5:17 r2, 4:16 g (58:02 here, stopped, TURNAROUND), 4:03 r2, 5:13 r1, 4:35 d, 16:33 w (stopped a/b 400m b/f this), 3:05 x, 5:09 b, 4:41 h (so slow from here on out!), 4:30 p, 4:35 t (stopped here), 10:41 (perhaps a record slow uphill)... TOTAL: 2:01:13. Tough run. Really thirsty on the last uphill. Pace: 8:32/mi.
Injury report: Knee a bit testy sometimes, esp the last half mile before the turnaround, but after that, going slower, it felt okay.
BAD NEWS: Sprained my ankle playing tug-of-war. Sucks when you get taken out of 6 weeks of training from something stupid. It's not quite like hurting yourself getting up from the couch to get the remote or a snack, or stepping out of a bathtub, but it's up there. It feels normal when I do regular walking. Any rolly action makes it worryingly painful. Not that it hurts that much, but I just know that it's a serious enough injury that I'll be out for a while. I took an aspirin, iced it, and am elevating it. When it happened, I heard multiple cracking noises successively within a second or so. It was kind of loud. It usually doesn't make noises like that when I sprain it. Kind of scary.
Maybe it's a good thing, though. I've plateaued, and maybe some forced rest time will be what I need. After taking a month completely off, with the month before that really light, with the month and a half before that completely off, I was able to make tons of progress within about a month and a half - I was really fast in March. Now, I'm slow again. It only took a month and a half to get there, even after so much time off. Maybe the rest will do me good, and maybe I can repeat that kind of fast-paced progress. It won't be quite the same because of the far hotter temps, but you gotta see the good in these things.
This will be a time to put my faith to the test. Where does my identity lie? In Christ. Like RB said, every gift we have - our health, our smarts - is something we received in the first place only by God's grace, and it is maintained only by God's grace. There's no boasting here. Whatever I happen to have, use it to glorify God and serve others - that's what it comes down to in the end. The variables are... variable. But the objective function remains the same.
14.2er w/ AB. Hot and humid. "Feels like 90ish?" Wanted to test loose cotton vs. tight synthetic, b/c I already know loose synthetic > loose cotton. Turned out that tight anything's uncomfortable. It's better to breathe. Sports bras and singlets are best. For water, I carried the 20oz for about half of the 3.75mi to the overpass, and AB took it for the other half, then we stashed it.
Had to stop at the post-Wm overpass, then at the 14.2 turnaround, then at the overpass, then before the hill back. My legs were sapped of energy it felt like. It was like having just a lot of dead weight, with the muscle not doing anything. Perhaps it's the effect of heat. From what I understand, when it's hot, more blood flows to your skin to help cool you, leaving less blood for your muscles. Breathing-wise, I was fine. It was just a lack of muscle action. When we'd stop to stretch, the breeze caused by running pace stopped, so sweat would bead up quickly. My clothes were so wet by the end.
Splits> 8:54 t, 4:00 p, 3:58 h, 4:14 b (21:07 here), 4:41 x, 2:51 w (28:41 here, stopped a/b 400m past this), 15:17 d (43:59 here), 4:30 r1, 5:17 r2, 4:16 g (58:02 here, stopped, TURNAROUND), 4:03 r2, 5:13 r1, 4:35 d, 16:33 w (stopped a/b 400m b/f this), 3:05 x, 5:09 b, 4:41 h (so slow from here on out!), 4:30 p, 4:35 t (stopped here), 10:41 (perhaps a record slow uphill)... TOTAL: 2:01:13. Tough run. Really thirsty on the last uphill. Pace: 8:32/mi.
Injury report: Knee a bit testy sometimes, esp the last half mile before the turnaround, but after that, going slower, it felt okay.
BAD NEWS: Sprained my ankle playing tug-of-war. Sucks when you get taken out of 6 weeks of training from something stupid. It's not quite like hurting yourself getting up from the couch to get the remote or a snack, or stepping out of a bathtub, but it's up there. It feels normal when I do regular walking. Any rolly action makes it worryingly painful. Not that it hurts that much, but I just know that it's a serious enough injury that I'll be out for a while. I took an aspirin, iced it, and am elevating it. When it happened, I heard multiple cracking noises successively within a second or so. It was kind of loud. It usually doesn't make noises like that when I sprain it. Kind of scary.
Maybe it's a good thing, though. I've plateaued, and maybe some forced rest time will be what I need. After taking a month completely off, with the month before that really light, with the month and a half before that completely off, I was able to make tons of progress within about a month and a half - I was really fast in March. Now, I'm slow again. It only took a month and a half to get there, even after so much time off. Maybe the rest will do me good, and maybe I can repeat that kind of fast-paced progress. It won't be quite the same because of the far hotter temps, but you gotta see the good in these things.
This will be a time to put my faith to the test. Where does my identity lie? In Christ. Like RB said, every gift we have - our health, our smarts - is something we received in the first place only by God's grace, and it is maintained only by God's grace. There's no boasting here. Whatever I happen to have, use it to glorify God and serve others - that's what it comes down to in the end. The variables are... variable. But the objective function remains the same.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
May 7
FIT:
Easy run through a monsoon w/ VP. About 6.3 mi, with stops.
Splits> (from poe) 7:09 t, 4:03 p, 4:08 h, 4:41 b, 5:03 x, 4:55 b, 4:49 h, 9:02 t, 4:27 poe. Total: 48:21.
Easy run through a monsoon w/ VP. About 6.3 mi, with stops.
Splits> (from poe) 7:09 t, 4:03 p, 4:08 h, 4:41 b, 5:03 x, 4:55 b, 4:49 h, 9:02 t, 4:27 poe. Total: 48:21.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
May 6
FIT:
Was going to run yesterday, but had a chance to make $10, so I took it. A $10 run... nah. I could just wait.
I did a shop trip today - it's been a little over a month since my last one. I the 6.2 to WF and just got a box of Nature's Path Mint Chocolate Oreos. Mmm... I still have 2d food for now, but this will be valuable later, if not before if I get a craving.
Splits> 9:19 t, 3:51 p, 3:44 h, 3:54 b (20:49 here - it's nice to see sub-4's), 2:39 wf (23:29 here), 4:42 b+ (1:30ish was the +), 4:20 h (and now I'm slow), 4:05 p, 4:06 t, 8:58 2. Total: 49:42, at a 8:01/mi pace.
Everything feels good, thank goodness. This moderate consistent thing seems to be working out. I'll have as many miles as usual, if not more. I don't feel like I'm doing that much, since there are no epic track or long run workouts. I'm not doing frisbee anymore, though, so there's more rest involved. We'll see which system works better.
Was going to run yesterday, but had a chance to make $10, so I took it. A $10 run... nah. I could just wait.
I did a shop trip today - it's been a little over a month since my last one. I the 6.2 to WF and just got a box of Nature's Path Mint Chocolate Oreos. Mmm... I still have 2d food for now, but this will be valuable later, if not before if I get a craving.
Splits> 9:19 t, 3:51 p, 3:44 h, 3:54 b (20:49 here - it's nice to see sub-4's), 2:39 wf (23:29 here), 4:42 b+ (1:30ish was the +), 4:20 h (and now I'm slow), 4:05 p, 4:06 t, 8:58 2. Total: 49:42, at a 8:01/mi pace.
Everything feels good, thank goodness. This moderate consistent thing seems to be working out. I'll have as many miles as usual, if not more. I don't feel like I'm doing that much, since there are no epic track or long run workouts. I'm not doing frisbee anymore, though, so there's more rest involved. We'll see which system works better.
Monday, May 4, 2009
GEAR GUIDE: Daniels' Running Formula
Haven't finished it yet, but at least the first half is AMAZING. It has lots of practical advice on how to design a training program, which is what I need to keep myself from driving myself to injury. It may also help me get faster, since it's now May, and I've been declining in speed since March! Don't know why. Maybe temps?
A major concept in the book is the VDOT, which is a training level that can be predicted based on times. You're supposed to train at the highest VDOT any of your best performance in any of the distances suggests. In my case, my 6-minute mile and my 21-ish 5K suggest that I'm at a VDOT of 49. According to Daniels, this means that if I train particularly for the following distances, I can get the following times: 10K - 42:50 (sounds about right, perhaps a tad bit optimistic for my level now), a 1:33 half marathon (I think the best I could do now is 1:48), and a 3:14 marathon (uhhh... no). Now, marathon fitness does take years to build up to, but 3:14... really? The BQ for women age 18-35 is 3:40, and for men, it's 3:10. Seriously? To simply BQ (haha - simply), I'd have to keep up my current estimated best half pace of 8:18-ish for another 13 miles!!! My heart grows faint at the thought of it.
PACES
Based on my VDOT, Daniels suggests paces for different levels of workout difficulties. Easy = 8:40/mi, Marathon = 7:24/mi (that's faster than how I ran my 7.t today), Tempo = 6:55/mi or 4:20/Km or 1:43/400, Interval = 3:59/Km or 1:35/400, and Repetition = 1:29/400 (right where I did many quarters during the 20x400 workout) or 0:44/200.
The purpose of Easy runs is to give you a pace for the additional run on 2-workout days, recovery runs (30-60 min), warmups/cooldowns (10-30 min), long runs (up to 25% of the week's total mileage...I totally break that rule with my 16's in 20-mile weeks... probably much to my detriment), and base training and maintenance. 75% MHR
The purpose of a Marathon pace run is to have an intermediate level that's faster than easy but slower than tempo. It can be used for some longer runs, and you can practice marathon fueling or whatever else during it. If you're feeling good on a day designated for Easy, you can jack it up to M pace. Run at this pace up to the lesser of 90 min and 16 miles). 85% MHR
The purpose of Tempo training is to work your lactate threshold. Daniels says that the ideal duration of a tempo run is 20 minutes, but that you should be able to maintain that pace for an hour in a race, so the range is 20-60 minutes. The 6:55/mi tempo is right about my race pace for a 5K. I don't know how I could hold that for another hour, so that's kind of weird. Tempo's can be split into two kinds: regular, and Cruise Intervals, where you go at tempo pace, but you get to take breaks up at minimum of every 15 minutes, with breaks lasting for 1/5 of the time you ran. This lets you go longer than the usual duration/mileage during the workout, since you're allowing some time for lactate levels to go down. (This is what I actually did on the day I did 7.5 with my 5-ish breaks necessitated by the heat.) Have the total of this type be the lesser of 10% of the week's mileage and 60 minutes. I call my wf and wm runs tempo runs, but they are definitely not tempo pace. They're btwn marathon and tempo pace. Make it comfortably hard but about 30s slower than 5K race pace. 90% MHR
The purpose of Interval training is to boost VO2max, and the pace should be sustained for 3-5 minutes, because it takes 2 minutes for V02max to be reached. If you do do less than 3, you have to cut your rest time down to be less than or equal to the running time spent (I was probably at about equal rest time during the 20x400, making it about borderline I and R training, mixing the running economy benefits of R and the VO2 benefits of I. It did require a good bit of rest afterwards, though, and my legs had been numb for the last few 400's). Make the total I training per week equal to the lesser of 10K and 8% of the week's total mileage. Go hard but not all-out. 99% MHR
The purpose of Repetition training is to boost running economy and strength, which is all about form, and tuning up your anaerobic system. Each rep is up to 2 minutes long. Rest times are allowed to be as much as you need so that you can run the next rep as fast as you did the previous one. Sounds good to me! The total R should be the lesser of 5 miles and 5% of the week's total mileage. Go hard and all-out but in control.
TRAINING PHASES
Ideally, this is a 24-week program, with four phases lasting 6 weeks each:
I: Foundation and Injury Prevention - getting cellular benefits, don't increase stress too rapidly, get into habit, easy runs and strides - EL (easy, long runs)
II: Early Quality - preparing for TQ and FQ, intro faster workouts, especially reps to improve economy and strength, also start some thresholds - RITE (reps, ints, tempo, easy)
III: Transition Quality - the most stressful, event-specific, optimize all your systems, good rest and injury prevention critical, lots of interval and threshold running - TIE (tempo, ints, easy)
IV: Final Quality - prepare for actual race conditions like heat acclimitization, threshhold - TIME (tempo, ints, mix?, easy)
May 4
FIT:
Yesterday: 30 min gym.
Today: Debated whether to run in the chilly rain, since my right knee gave hints of being aggravated, and it was raining. The other option would be to try to go to the gym later that night and maybe do the elliptical. I chose the run, and I'm so glad. It took a while for me to get out the door - it was after a 2 hour nap, and I was hungry from not eating much today, so I downed some food but wasn't quite satisfied.
Since it was 55 degrees and raining, I went out in a cotton long sleeve tee plus the Nike hoodie zip jacket and shorts, plus a visor for the rain. I shed the jacket after I reached the t, and I had to roll up my sleeves because it got hot. I went out just wanting to get in some miles, hoping first and foremost that I could run pain-free to w. I checked Daniels' Running formula for what's considered an Easy pace for someone of my VDOT level (50), and it was 8:34ish - seems fast when you compare it to my usual wright to t time of 9:40ish, when that's supposed to be about 1.15 miles. So not wearing my Garmin, I ended up feeling like I had to push it. Felt fatigued but strong coming up final hill. It helped to be listening to an inspirational podcast on Pre during the run. It had race commentary and everything.
Splits> 9:37 t, 3:54 p, 3:50 h, 4:04 b (21:27), 7:08 w (28:35), 2:44 x, 4:33 b, 4:04 h, 3:53 p, 3:43 t, 9:22 2. Total: 56:57, a 7:36/mi pace. So it wasn't quite E. It's actually closer to Marathon pace, which is supposed to be 7:17 - how am I suppsoed to do that for 26 miles??? Daniels thinks I can if I train for that distance, which would put me at a 3:15 finish time - what? I know, it's crazy. More on this in my Gear Guide for the book.
Cumulative mileage: 258.7 + 7.8 cruise interval + 16.2 + 6.1 wf tempo + 7.5 = 296.3.
Hungry for protein after, which I've been relatively deprived of besides dairy and whatever's in whole grains today. Knee feels fine for now. I stretched while I ate granola and yogurt (yet again) and a salad.
Oh, by the way, shoutout to VP, my Pton fitness partner in crime, who finished 2:01:09 in the NJ half.
Yesterday: 30 min gym.
Today: Debated whether to run in the chilly rain, since my right knee gave hints of being aggravated, and it was raining. The other option would be to try to go to the gym later that night and maybe do the elliptical. I chose the run, and I'm so glad. It took a while for me to get out the door - it was after a 2 hour nap, and I was hungry from not eating much today, so I downed some food but wasn't quite satisfied.
Since it was 55 degrees and raining, I went out in a cotton long sleeve tee plus the Nike hoodie zip jacket and shorts, plus a visor for the rain. I shed the jacket after I reached the t, and I had to roll up my sleeves because it got hot. I went out just wanting to get in some miles, hoping first and foremost that I could run pain-free to w. I checked Daniels' Running formula for what's considered an Easy pace for someone of my VDOT level (50), and it was 8:34ish - seems fast when you compare it to my usual wright to t time of 9:40ish, when that's supposed to be about 1.15 miles. So not wearing my Garmin, I ended up feeling like I had to push it. Felt fatigued but strong coming up final hill. It helped to be listening to an inspirational podcast on Pre during the run. It had race commentary and everything.
Splits> 9:37 t, 3:54 p, 3:50 h, 4:04 b (21:27), 7:08 w (28:35), 2:44 x, 4:33 b, 4:04 h, 3:53 p, 3:43 t, 9:22 2. Total: 56:57, a 7:36/mi pace. So it wasn't quite E. It's actually closer to Marathon pace, which is supposed to be 7:17 - how am I suppsoed to do that for 26 miles??? Daniels thinks I can if I train for that distance, which would put me at a 3:15 finish time - what? I know, it's crazy. More on this in my Gear Guide for the book.
Cumulative mileage: 258.7 + 7.8 cruise interval + 16.2 + 6.1 wf tempo + 7.5 = 296.3.
Hungry for protein after, which I've been relatively deprived of besides dairy and whatever's in whole grains today. Knee feels fine for now. I stretched while I ate granola and yogurt (yet again) and a salad.
Oh, by the way, shoutout to VP, my Pton fitness partner in crime, who finished 2:01:09 in the NJ half.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
May 2
It's May!?!
FIT:
Garmin Total Run Stats> Time: 45:45, Ave Pace: 7.32/mi, Dist: 6.07mi, Cal: 360.
Splits>
8:07 t (1.2 mi, 6:45/mi, 96 cal)
3:38 p (0.61 mi, 5:56/mi, 39 cal)
3:41 h (0.18 mi, 20:24/mi... clearly wrong, 17 Cal)
3:51 b (0.57 mi, 6:49/mi, 19 cal) - 19:18 here
2:31 wf (0.50 mi, 5:03/mi, 22 cal) - 21:49 for 3.06 miles here********** (pushed it)
2:48 b (0.27 mi... why so diff???, 10:16/mi, 18 cal)
4:09 h (0.60 mi, 6:58/mi, 33 cal)
3:51 p (0.52 mi... why so diff??? this one's right, 7:28/mi, 47 cal)
3:55 t (0.53 mi, 7:23/mi, 48 cal)
9:09 2 (1.09 mi... pretty diff!!, 8:25/mi, 21 cal)
I didn't end up doing strength (as an extra rest day after the full rest day following the 16) because an opportunity to make $10 came up, and when I thought about it, it meant essentially paying $10 to go to the gym to do stuff on a mat for 35 minutes... not worth it. I have a mat of my own that I could use later on even after the gym closes, if I was that desperate. So I had 2 full rest days. I HAD to run today, and I did, after watching some great performances from the mens and womens track teams. DL and LD represent, woot woot! By the way, they both have b-days close to mine - 2 and 5 days away. If only I had talent close to theirs, too. I'll take b-day, though.
I set out to do a 6 mile tempo, but ended up going pretty fast for the 3, so I decided to see how fast I could do the 3 and finished at a decent time. A little above my fastest. It was a net downgrade, but I didn't warm up, and I spent the morning hauling stuff. I feel pretty good about it. Today was a good day, and there's more good stuff to come.
Injury report: Left calf was cramped up during the two rest days - never happened before, wonder why. Mostly ok immediately before run. Post-run, cramped again. Also, usual pounding area on right knee a touchy post-run, but not as bad as post-16.
My pace was a bit slower than how I ran a full 7.5 back on 3/21/09 (where I seemed to be at my peak... maybe should've done that 3/21 National Marathon... oh well). However, I am about 9 minutes faster for this route than when I did it last time as a tempo run about 13 weeks ago. Granted, it was snowy back then, but 9 minutes for a 6-miler, for real?
FUN:
Nasty but rewarding work at the Martin House project, clearing out an old house to be used for low income housing, perhaps? Black mold, old wet trash, spiderwebs.
FIT:
Garmin Total Run Stats> Time: 45:45, Ave Pace: 7.32/mi, Dist: 6.07mi, Cal: 360.
Splits>
8:07 t (1.2 mi, 6:45/mi, 96 cal)
3:38 p (0.61 mi, 5:56/mi, 39 cal)
3:41 h (0.18 mi, 20:24/mi... clearly wrong, 17 Cal)
3:51 b (0.57 mi, 6:49/mi, 19 cal) - 19:18 here
2:31 wf (0.50 mi, 5:03/mi, 22 cal) - 21:49 for 3.06 miles here********** (pushed it)
2:48 b (0.27 mi... why so diff???, 10:16/mi, 18 cal)
4:09 h (0.60 mi, 6:58/mi, 33 cal)
3:51 p (0.52 mi... why so diff??? this one's right, 7:28/mi, 47 cal)
3:55 t (0.53 mi, 7:23/mi, 48 cal)
9:09 2 (1.09 mi... pretty diff!!, 8:25/mi, 21 cal)
I didn't end up doing strength (as an extra rest day after the full rest day following the 16) because an opportunity to make $10 came up, and when I thought about it, it meant essentially paying $10 to go to the gym to do stuff on a mat for 35 minutes... not worth it. I have a mat of my own that I could use later on even after the gym closes, if I was that desperate. So I had 2 full rest days. I HAD to run today, and I did, after watching some great performances from the mens and womens track teams. DL and LD represent, woot woot! By the way, they both have b-days close to mine - 2 and 5 days away. If only I had talent close to theirs, too. I'll take b-day, though.
I set out to do a 6 mile tempo, but ended up going pretty fast for the 3, so I decided to see how fast I could do the 3 and finished at a decent time. A little above my fastest. It was a net downgrade, but I didn't warm up, and I spent the morning hauling stuff. I feel pretty good about it. Today was a good day, and there's more good stuff to come.
Injury report: Left calf was cramped up during the two rest days - never happened before, wonder why. Mostly ok immediately before run. Post-run, cramped again. Also, usual pounding area on right knee a touchy post-run, but not as bad as post-16.
My pace was a bit slower than how I ran a full 7.5 back on 3/21/09 (where I seemed to be at my peak... maybe should've done that 3/21 National Marathon... oh well). However, I am about 9 minutes faster for this route than when I did it last time as a tempo run about 13 weeks ago. Granted, it was snowy back then, but 9 minutes for a 6-miler, for real?
FUN:
Nasty but rewarding work at the Martin House project, clearing out an old house to be used for low income housing, perhaps? Black mold, old wet trash, spiderwebs.
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