It's typical for me to start getting less excited about hard runs during the last few weeks before a race. I don't typically write or talk about this issue, because I feel like the more I talk about it, the more it becomes reality, and so I like to use little tricks instead to move along.
I train hard, and my life, although very good, is rather complex as I work FT and parent FT. As my body gets fitter, I get more tired. It is a mostly happy tradeoff, one that I embrace and consider a normal part of training. Since I want to keep my running grounded, and not give it too much focus - because lets face it, family, work, friends will always take precedence to running for me - I don't make "sacrifices" like giving up on life stuff for more sleep, and so my body gets perhaps a bit more tired than it would on say 10 hours/night, no outside home work, you get the idea! To each her own, and this is what I do!
I am at "that" point in training right now. For today, my plan (on paper) was to run 15 miles, with 5 @ 7, and then the Fresh Pond 5 miler at a pace faster than last week's (6:39), then run easy back home. This morning I found myself dilly dallying and knew that I needed to mentally trick myself into getting out the door. So, I told myself that I have to go run the first 5 miles faster than last week (7:23), and that I can do only one loop (2.5) of the race if I wanted to. This lowered pressure got me out the door and once I started running, my mind immediately went into "well, lets see how 7 feels", except that in order to assure a 7 pace I had to go a bit faster because what if I get tired and have to slow down. The results was 5 miles @ 6:45 pace. There were 2 stops at lights, but they did not bother me. I felt OK, not super, but OK.
Once I got to Fresh Pond I had to wait about 5 minutes before the race started. My plan was to start easy, and stop after one loop if I wanted (because I had already done 5 hard miles). Lots of people showed up today and the path was cleared. We started and I felt the headwind, so decided to tuck behind the second pack from the front. They were moving @ 6:35 and although I felt that might be a bit too fast, I decided to keep it there with them. I hung out for 1 mile, but then they slowed down and I moved up, trying to catch one guy in front of me so I could draft him. The first pack was long gone, and I thought those were all the 2.5 mile racers. I caught and passed the guy on the hill at mile 2, and I was on my own thereafter. I felt pretty good so went for the second lap, telling myself that I could slow down if I needed to. At mile 3.5 I saw a blue jacket in front of me, a woman. I started focusing on her and almost caught her, making my last mile with a big hill a 6:26. So 6:32 pace for 4.95 miles. Interestingly, my HR for last mile got into the 190s, which is something I rarely see outside of a 5K, but this HR did not seem that uncomfortable to me, showing that my LT has been improving, and I have the ability to reach and hold a higher HR for a longer amount of time. This is good. I was super happy to have more people at the race, and have a woman who was faster than me who I could use as a rabbit.
After the race I changed my plan again, and decided that I would do a few 800ms back home. I ended up doing 6 of them for an average of 6:42 for 3 miles. Now, I have no delusions here and I know those 6x800 are not equivalent to 3 continuous miles, and the 10-30 secs rest intervals in between helped a ton. I made this decision to rest primarily because of where I am in training right now. While my body is strong and I do not have any niggles, I am tired, my immunity is surely lowered, and I wanted to protect my body from surges in cortisol, while assuring that my legs would get stronger and prepared to run 13.1 hard miles in 3 weeks.
So this is the story of how Ana-Maria went from not really wanted to run hard today, to having a run that evolved from meh to great to super (for ME). This was a run done after many weeks of 65-70 miles, a 31 day streak averaging 10+ miles/day, a last week that included intervals (4x1 mile @ 5:55-6:04), tempo (3x10 min @ 6:15-6:20), and a moderate progression (7:23) along with 5 other 30 minute runs. I am hoping that with a nice taper, these legs and this mind will be able to run a strong winter race! We shall see:)
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Week in review and a few other things
The weather in New England has been brutal this week. I love winter running and cold weather, but running in -10-20 degrees (due to wind chill) has required a great deal of preparation. Sure, I can always choose the treadmill, but I dislike it so much that I will do anything to avoid it.
This week was a planned recovery week. It did not end up being a recovery week per se, but I made myself cut down my miles to 65. I also replaced my typical moderate progression run on Tuesday with an easy run. I did not feel I needed more recovery, because overall I feel great. My knee has been fine (untaped) for about 2 weeks now, and I have no niggles or concerns about my body. Sure, my legs are tired, but it is the kind of tired that you are supposed to feel when running hard, the kind of tired that leads to adaptation...at least this is what I tell myself:)
So here are the details:
Monday:
a.m. 8.5 miles @ 6:50 with 8x 3 min @ 5:50-6:10 on 1 min rest (full stop and walk). These were supposed to be done @ 10K pace, but I decided that I would benefit from a bit more actual speed and after the first couple @ 6:10, I pushed the pace a bit and allowed myself to walk for recovery. Competitor running had a nice article this past week about how walking for recovery leads to similar physiological adaptations as easy running for recovery (though it is so much easier for me to walk than run for recovery, ha!). These were hard for me. Funny how I used to love intervals because I was used to them, and now I hate them and really like tempos (which I used to hate) because I am doing a lot of tempo work. Ha!
p.m. 3.5 miles recovery very easy no watch.
Tuesday:
p.m. 10 miles easy with 1.5 mile uphill. No watch. Very cold!
Wednesday:
a.m. 6 miles easy on trails with no watch. Felt good so did 10x10 secs hill sprints. Very cold, did not think I would make it the entire way.
Thursday:
a.m. 10 miles @ 7:06 as progression, first 5 miles MAF+5, last 5 miles building up to MAF+10, +15 and all out last mile. Last 5 miles were sub 7 with last mile 6:13 HR 186 (my 5 K HR). Very cold and windy. Water bottles froze so had no water. My neck warmer got wet from my breathing and froze. Crazy temps!
p.m. 3.5 miles recovery no watch. Legs felt pretty good so ended up running faster than usual, no watch though.
Friday
p.m. 4 miles recovery. Felt great so added 5x20 secs strides.
Saturday
a.m 14.5 miles. Thirteen miles @ 7:05 like this: first 5 miles @ 7:25 to the Fresh Pond race; five minute bathroom stop before the race started; race: 4.95 miles in 33:09 6:41; 5 minute or so rest, then 3 miles @ 7:25. Then 1.5 mile straight uphill with no watch (made a deal with myself to take this route but allow myself to go super slow, which I did, like 9 minute miles or slower probably).
Sunday:
4.5 miles planned, no watch, on trails.
I feel pretty good about this week. My fitness in up there. This is the first time I did the Fresh Pond race with the hills added on, and, as much as I hated them, I reminded myself that they will make me stronger. The race was more of a TT, as I ran alone the entire time (only person who did the 2 loops, I think), and considering the conditions and the unstable footing (packed snow), I ran very well. I also did not push as hard as I could have, which is a theme for this training cycle. I am not pushing my workouts all out anymore, except in the last few minutes of the last interval or mile of a tempo. Not sure if this is fear of suffering or being smart, but since I am certainly getting faster, I'll keep doing what I am doing.
Four more weeks until my first half marathon. Two or 3 more Fresh Pond races to get myself used to being in a ~ race situation again. Super excited to see a huge breakthrough at a certain race tomorrow, by a certain someone who is going to surprise everyone who does not check her daily mile with her performances this year!
This week was a planned recovery week. It did not end up being a recovery week per se, but I made myself cut down my miles to 65. I also replaced my typical moderate progression run on Tuesday with an easy run. I did not feel I needed more recovery, because overall I feel great. My knee has been fine (untaped) for about 2 weeks now, and I have no niggles or concerns about my body. Sure, my legs are tired, but it is the kind of tired that you are supposed to feel when running hard, the kind of tired that leads to adaptation...at least this is what I tell myself:)
So here are the details:
Monday:
a.m. 8.5 miles @ 6:50 with 8x 3 min @ 5:50-6:10 on 1 min rest (full stop and walk). These were supposed to be done @ 10K pace, but I decided that I would benefit from a bit more actual speed and after the first couple @ 6:10, I pushed the pace a bit and allowed myself to walk for recovery. Competitor running had a nice article this past week about how walking for recovery leads to similar physiological adaptations as easy running for recovery (though it is so much easier for me to walk than run for recovery, ha!). These were hard for me. Funny how I used to love intervals because I was used to them, and now I hate them and really like tempos (which I used to hate) because I am doing a lot of tempo work. Ha!
p.m. 3.5 miles recovery very easy no watch.
Tuesday:
p.m. 10 miles easy with 1.5 mile uphill. No watch. Very cold!
Wednesday:
a.m. 6 miles easy on trails with no watch. Felt good so did 10x10 secs hill sprints. Very cold, did not think I would make it the entire way.
Thursday:
a.m. 10 miles @ 7:06 as progression, first 5 miles MAF+5, last 5 miles building up to MAF+10, +15 and all out last mile. Last 5 miles were sub 7 with last mile 6:13 HR 186 (my 5 K HR). Very cold and windy. Water bottles froze so had no water. My neck warmer got wet from my breathing and froze. Crazy temps!
p.m. 3.5 miles recovery no watch. Legs felt pretty good so ended up running faster than usual, no watch though.
Friday
p.m. 4 miles recovery. Felt great so added 5x20 secs strides.
Saturday
a.m 14.5 miles. Thirteen miles @ 7:05 like this: first 5 miles @ 7:25 to the Fresh Pond race; five minute bathroom stop before the race started; race: 4.95 miles in 33:09 6:41; 5 minute or so rest, then 3 miles @ 7:25. Then 1.5 mile straight uphill with no watch (made a deal with myself to take this route but allow myself to go super slow, which I did, like 9 minute miles or slower probably).
Sunday:
4.5 miles planned, no watch, on trails.
I feel pretty good about this week. My fitness in up there. This is the first time I did the Fresh Pond race with the hills added on, and, as much as I hated them, I reminded myself that they will make me stronger. The race was more of a TT, as I ran alone the entire time (only person who did the 2 loops, I think), and considering the conditions and the unstable footing (packed snow), I ran very well. I also did not push as hard as I could have, which is a theme for this training cycle. I am not pushing my workouts all out anymore, except in the last few minutes of the last interval or mile of a tempo. Not sure if this is fear of suffering or being smart, but since I am certainly getting faster, I'll keep doing what I am doing.
Four more weeks until my first half marathon. Two or 3 more Fresh Pond races to get myself used to being in a ~ race situation again. Super excited to see a huge breakthrough at a certain race tomorrow, by a certain someone who is going to surprise everyone who does not check her daily mile with her performances this year!
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Another training week and some observations
This was was supposed to be a recovery week, but somehow I am going to end up with another 70 mile week. I'll take it. Three in a row and next week must be 60 or less. I will make it happen:) My legs feel surprisingly good. My legs feel very fatigued when I first up the miles, but then they adjust and adapt. They certainly do not feel fresh at all and I need time to warm up, but I find that doing a 30 min slow recovery run the day after a hard run helps a ton with recovery. I am also thinking that running on tired legs would make the paces feel much easier once I am tapered...will see:)
Here is how it went down.
Monday:
a.m. Hill workout; 8.5 miles @ 7:46. Warmed up on the bike path and than ran 6x2 min @ 6% incline and 7:30 pace (equivalent to 5:43 pace on a flat road per Daniels). I wanted to do this run on the TM thinking it would perhaps leave me less sore than if I ran it outside. My glutes get a beating from hill repeats. This was hard for me. 2 minutes is a manageable interval, but felt hard to me.
p.m. Recovery on hilly terrain; 3.5 miles, no watch.
Tuesday: Aerobic run by HR @ MAF+5 beats. 7:30 pace. Very sore from the hill repeats.
Wednesday; Recovery/Easy. 6 miles on fresh snow, no watch. Still sore. Beautiful run.
Thursday:
a.m 13.5 @ 7:12 with 12x90secs 10K (ended up being 6:10-6:24) on 90 secs easy (7:30-8:15). Ran 4 miles tempoish (MAF+10 secs) before the intervals to tire the legs. Windy day, hard run.
p.m. Recovery on hilly terrain; 3.5 miles, no watch.
Friday:
Recovery 3.5 on flat soft trail. Very easy. No watch.
Saturday:
13.5 miles with 10 progression from MAF to all out. .5 warm up @ 8 pace. 10 @ 6:57 with last mile all out @ 6:06, all into 15-20MPH wind; 3 miles cool down super easy back home with 1.25 mile straight uphill. Felt manageable, but the last 4 miles of the tempo @ 6:29 pace felt very hard.
Sunday: 8 easy with 10x10 secs hill sprints on trails (planned).
######
Some observations:
# I am still hosting a "who knows what bug" and had a headcold the past 2 weeks. Did not really feel it affecting my run today. A normal person would take a Tylenol or something...ha!
# I think my pace at Hampton is going to be dictated by weather. If we get weather like today with crazy wind, I will need to adjust. I am going to go with whatever feels comfortable.
# I love the Pure Flow 2s. Hated the Pure flow 1s, but the 2s are a much better fit for me. They fit like the Cadence 1 which is interesting. I am still getting used to the pink...
# I need to make it to Fresh Pond for a few 'races' before Hampton. This means not staying up late drinking wine and eating chocolate.
# I am realizing that I am not willing to make sacrifices for running right now. See above as perfect example. Does this mean I don't "want" the PR as much as I did before? Not sure. All I know is that I really love running fast (for me!) right now.
Here is how it went down.
Monday:
a.m. Hill workout; 8.5 miles @ 7:46. Warmed up on the bike path and than ran 6x2 min @ 6% incline and 7:30 pace (equivalent to 5:43 pace on a flat road per Daniels). I wanted to do this run on the TM thinking it would perhaps leave me less sore than if I ran it outside. My glutes get a beating from hill repeats. This was hard for me. 2 minutes is a manageable interval, but felt hard to me.
p.m. Recovery on hilly terrain; 3.5 miles, no watch.
Tuesday: Aerobic run by HR @ MAF+5 beats. 7:30 pace. Very sore from the hill repeats.
Wednesday; Recovery/Easy. 6 miles on fresh snow, no watch. Still sore. Beautiful run.
Thursday:
a.m 13.5 @ 7:12 with 12x90secs 10K (ended up being 6:10-6:24) on 90 secs easy (7:30-8:15). Ran 4 miles tempoish (MAF+10 secs) before the intervals to tire the legs. Windy day, hard run.
p.m. Recovery on hilly terrain; 3.5 miles, no watch.
Friday:
Recovery 3.5 on flat soft trail. Very easy. No watch.
Saturday:
13.5 miles with 10 progression from MAF to all out. .5 warm up @ 8 pace. 10 @ 6:57 with last mile all out @ 6:06, all into 15-20MPH wind; 3 miles cool down super easy back home with 1.25 mile straight uphill. Felt manageable, but the last 4 miles of the tempo @ 6:29 pace felt very hard.
Sunday: 8 easy with 10x10 secs hill sprints on trails (planned).
######
Some observations:
# I am still hosting a "who knows what bug" and had a headcold the past 2 weeks. Did not really feel it affecting my run today. A normal person would take a Tylenol or something...ha!
# I think my pace at Hampton is going to be dictated by weather. If we get weather like today with crazy wind, I will need to adjust. I am going to go with whatever feels comfortable.
# I love the Pure Flow 2s. Hated the Pure flow 1s, but the 2s are a much better fit for me. They fit like the Cadence 1 which is interesting. I am still getting used to the pink...
# I need to make it to Fresh Pond for a few 'races' before Hampton. This means not staying up late drinking wine and eating chocolate.
# I am realizing that I am not willing to make sacrifices for running right now. See above as perfect example. Does this mean I don't "want" the PR as much as I did before? Not sure. All I know is that I really love running fast (for me!) right now.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Training this week
Another solid week of training in the books! I feel tired! I am looking forward to a nap this afternoon while my boys go to a basketball game!
This is how it went down.
Monday: 8.5miles @ 7:22 am with 4 miles fartlek 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3 @ 5K pace on 400m jog (5:30-6 pace). The intervals were unexpectedly HARD; 3.5 easy no watch 8:30-9 pace in the evening on hilly terrain.
Tuesday: 12 planned became 8 easy @ 8:06. Sick, could not inhale. Blah!
Wednesday: 6 planned became 8 easy on trails @ 8:23; 10x10 secs hill sprints. Still unable to inhale without a screechy sound. Blah!
Thursday: 11 tempo am @ 7:15 pace. 20 MPH winds. 6 miles tempo @ 6:30 pace broken down into 3 miles @ 6:39, and 2x1.5 @ 6:22 and 6:15. I would have liked to have done 6 continuous miles, but the wind was a killer. It was either 6 miles @ close to 7, or 6 quality miles broken down. I decided I would benefit from the 6 quality miles at this point. Even with the break my average HR for the last interval was 187, which is very high for me. I tell you, the wind is a killer when you try to run fast. 3.5 miles recovery in the evening, no watch, probably 8:30-9. Legs really tired. Still sick, but able to inhale deeply!!!
Friday: 4.5 recovery on trails, no watch, probably 8:30 pace. Legs felt great!
Saturday: 15.5 miles @ 7:24; first 7.5 @ 7:48 easy, then 3 @ MAF HR+5/10 beats, then 2 @ threshold, then 2 @ HR not higher than 185 (VO2 max for me). No wind today but the last 4 miles were hard! I was lucky to "race" with a speedy guy and he really pushed me so that I managed the last 2 miles @ 6:38 and 6:31. Only 5 miles sub 7 today. Legs surely tired!! Fun to run by HR!
Sunday: 6.5-8 planned, easy on trails, no watch, with 10x10 secs hill sprints.
Two 70 mile weeks in a row and 3 days/week of quality and I think I am ready for a cut back in mileage! I am also going to start going to Fresh Pond to test my fitness in a low pressure race. I have NO IDEA what my real HMP is. I am surely running more miles and much faster than in 2011 when I ran a 1:32 in February at Hampton in awful conditions and 1:28 in March at Quincy in great conditions, but running sub 6:50 does not feel anywhere close to comfortable at this point in time.
This is how it went down.
Monday: 8.5miles @ 7:22 am with 4 miles fartlek 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3 @ 5K pace on 400m jog (5:30-6 pace). The intervals were unexpectedly HARD; 3.5 easy no watch 8:30-9 pace in the evening on hilly terrain.
Tuesday: 12 planned became 8 easy @ 8:06. Sick, could not inhale. Blah!
Wednesday: 6 planned became 8 easy on trails @ 8:23; 10x10 secs hill sprints. Still unable to inhale without a screechy sound. Blah!
Thursday: 11 tempo am @ 7:15 pace. 20 MPH winds. 6 miles tempo @ 6:30 pace broken down into 3 miles @ 6:39, and 2x1.5 @ 6:22 and 6:15. I would have liked to have done 6 continuous miles, but the wind was a killer. It was either 6 miles @ close to 7, or 6 quality miles broken down. I decided I would benefit from the 6 quality miles at this point. Even with the break my average HR for the last interval was 187, which is very high for me. I tell you, the wind is a killer when you try to run fast. 3.5 miles recovery in the evening, no watch, probably 8:30-9. Legs really tired. Still sick, but able to inhale deeply!!!
Friday: 4.5 recovery on trails, no watch, probably 8:30 pace. Legs felt great!
Saturday: 15.5 miles @ 7:24; first 7.5 @ 7:48 easy, then 3 @ MAF HR+5/10 beats, then 2 @ threshold, then 2 @ HR not higher than 185 (VO2 max for me). No wind today but the last 4 miles were hard! I was lucky to "race" with a speedy guy and he really pushed me so that I managed the last 2 miles @ 6:38 and 6:31. Only 5 miles sub 7 today. Legs surely tired!! Fun to run by HR!
Sunday: 6.5-8 planned, easy on trails, no watch, with 10x10 secs hill sprints.
Two 70 mile weeks in a row and 3 days/week of quality and I think I am ready for a cut back in mileage! I am also going to start going to Fresh Pond to test my fitness in a low pressure race. I have NO IDEA what my real HMP is. I am surely running more miles and much faster than in 2011 when I ran a 1:32 in February at Hampton in awful conditions and 1:28 in March at Quincy in great conditions, but running sub 6:50 does not feel anywhere close to comfortable at this point in time.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
My nonscientific recipe for kicking a cold bug's a$$
It's winter. I run outside. I sweat a lot. I don't always get a chance to change clothes immediately after a run as I rush to pick up Petru from school, or do an errand. I work in a hospital. I hang out with kids a lot. I train hard. So, every winter I embrace the fact that I am going to be sick. However, I try to be proactive as the first signs of a cold, and most of the time I manage to kick it out of my system quickly, or at least be able to run through it.
My run Monday was harder than it should have been. I chucked it up to a "bad day", and did not think much of it. On Tuesday I felt chills and fatigue and cut my run down from 12 miles to 8. Breathing was hard. HR was high for the pace. Wednesday I ran another 8 easy, while listening to the screeching sound I made any time I tried to inhale deeply. I had a threshold run planned for today, and was concerned, so I pulled out all the nonscientific remedies:
Kambucha - love the taste, and the fact that noone in my household can stand that stuff. All for ME!
Blueberries - ate one pint/day!
Fruits and veggies: ate a huge serving of stir fry heavy on the spinach and broccoli for lunch.
Chicken soup for dinner.
Bundled up during my Wednesday run, to make myself sweat more than usual.
Took hot baths with epsom salt.
Took a nap after work yesterday.
I woke up this morning feeling much better. Sure, I still had a cough and my nose was running like a water faucet. But the screeching sound was gone. I was able to inhale deeply (which is something I need to be able to do when I run hard) and I had a great threshold run to boot!
Oh, and the knee is doing very well, in case you are wondering!
I am curious what do you do when you are sick? Take a rest day from running, ignore the symptoms, adjust your runs? Any scientific or nonscientific "tricks" to get yourself feeling better?
My run Monday was harder than it should have been. I chucked it up to a "bad day", and did not think much of it. On Tuesday I felt chills and fatigue and cut my run down from 12 miles to 8. Breathing was hard. HR was high for the pace. Wednesday I ran another 8 easy, while listening to the screeching sound I made any time I tried to inhale deeply. I had a threshold run planned for today, and was concerned, so I pulled out all the nonscientific remedies:
Kambucha - love the taste, and the fact that noone in my household can stand that stuff. All for ME!
Blueberries - ate one pint/day!
Fruits and veggies: ate a huge serving of stir fry heavy on the spinach and broccoli for lunch.
Chicken soup for dinner.
Bundled up during my Wednesday run, to make myself sweat more than usual.
Took hot baths with epsom salt.
Took a nap after work yesterday.
I woke up this morning feeling much better. Sure, I still had a cough and my nose was running like a water faucet. But the screeching sound was gone. I was able to inhale deeply (which is something I need to be able to do when I run hard) and I had a great threshold run to boot!
Oh, and the knee is doing very well, in case you are wondering!
I am curious what do you do when you are sick? Take a rest day from running, ignore the symptoms, adjust your runs? Any scientific or nonscientific "tricks" to get yourself feeling better?
Monday, January 7, 2013
The magic of kinesiotape!
OK, so I sheepishly mentioned some knee pain during my trip to Florida. It was a bit of a surprise and frankly annoying. I did cut my miles down to 49+7 miles on the eliptical that week, but ended up running 70 last week. With some pain. But not much.
A while back I purchased some kinesiotape from REI. Frankly, I am very skeptical of all runner gimmicks: ice baths (particularly in line of current research which shows that icebaths actually prevent muscles from getting stronger because it reduces inflammation, which is the body's way of getting stronger; unless I am injured, I am off the ice!), ART, Graston, kinesiotape, you name it. I am going to pay money for something if I know its efficacy is documented by science. Except the kinesiotape was cheap and pink and I could not resist. And when one is injured, the need the science kind off goes down the drain (at least for me, unless we are talking really expensive or dangerous procedures).
So 2 Saturdays ago I had 13 miles with 6@ HMP and I knew I needed to get the run done. I pulled out the tape and followed the directions on the box for "full knee support". The moment I put the tape on I felt coolness in my leg and absolutely no pain. Boom! I could not believe it. The knee had a bit of pain during the warm up, but it went away and I had no issues during that run and subsequent runs. I kept the tape on until Wednesday morning. I wore stalkings at work so took the tape off (vanity, vanity!). That day I had nonstop knee pain. I was getting worried. I got home, put the tape back on, and boom, no pain. I now had 3 runs with absolutely no pain, and am thinking of waiting a couple more days before going tapeless. Not sure what to make of this. The research is lacking. What I know for sure is that I will be taping any little niggle I might develop, as I learn what are things I can (knee pain, ITB, ankle pain, back pain - all things I was successful in managing in the past without taking a break from running) and can't (e.g., bone issues such as shin splints/stress fractures) run through.
A while back I purchased some kinesiotape from REI. Frankly, I am very skeptical of all runner gimmicks: ice baths (particularly in line of current research which shows that icebaths actually prevent muscles from getting stronger because it reduces inflammation, which is the body's way of getting stronger; unless I am injured, I am off the ice!), ART, Graston, kinesiotape, you name it. I am going to pay money for something if I know its efficacy is documented by science. Except the kinesiotape was cheap and pink and I could not resist. And when one is injured, the need the science kind off goes down the drain (at least for me, unless we are talking really expensive or dangerous procedures).
So 2 Saturdays ago I had 13 miles with 6@ HMP and I knew I needed to get the run done. I pulled out the tape and followed the directions on the box for "full knee support". The moment I put the tape on I felt coolness in my leg and absolutely no pain. Boom! I could not believe it. The knee had a bit of pain during the warm up, but it went away and I had no issues during that run and subsequent runs. I kept the tape on until Wednesday morning. I wore stalkings at work so took the tape off (vanity, vanity!). That day I had nonstop knee pain. I was getting worried. I got home, put the tape back on, and boom, no pain. I now had 3 runs with absolutely no pain, and am thinking of waiting a couple more days before going tapeless. Not sure what to make of this. The research is lacking. What I know for sure is that I will be taping any little niggle I might develop, as I learn what are things I can (knee pain, ITB, ankle pain, back pain - all things I was successful in managing in the past without taking a break from running) and can't (e.g., bone issues such as shin splints/stress fractures) run through.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Getting down to business!
I have been running well lately. I've discovered that tempo runs are really the most important factor in getting me running strong. Perhaps I have a natural talent for fast and short intervals, and so my body does not benefit from them as much as it does from tempo runs.
With about 8 weeks to go until my first half marathon, I picked it up a bit this week.
Here is how it went down.
Monday: 11 miles @ 7:17, all easy except 15X1 min 5:05-5:45. Cold and icy. Intervals felt hard probably because I did not run sub 6 since November!
Tuesday: 16 total; 12 easy @ 7:40 on ice and snow with 10x 10-20 secs hill sprints in the am, and 4 recovery on the TM @ 8:40.
Wednesday: work 7-7, no run.
Thursday: 15 total; 11 @7:20 (with 2x15 min @ 6:21 and 6:19 in the middle) in the am (-5 degrees!) and 4 recovery with no watch, probably 8:30-9 pace on hills in the afternoon.
Friday: 6 easy on trails, no watch, probably 8:30-9 pace, with 4 strides: 15, 20, 25 an 30 secs.
Saturday: 14 miles @ 7:05, with 7 @ 6:35 in the middle (4@ 6:46, stop for 1 min, then 3 @ 6:15); 16-19MPH wind, so really happy with this run. The last 3 miles of the tempo was hard on the legs, though the HR was good!
Sunday (planned): 8 miles recovery on trails, no watch, with 10x10 secs hill sprints, to finish up with 70 miles for the week!
I still have no idea what pace to shoot for for my first HM, and will decide when I get closer to the race. For now, I am really enjoying my training!
With about 8 weeks to go until my first half marathon, I picked it up a bit this week.
Here is how it went down.
Monday: 11 miles @ 7:17, all easy except 15X1 min 5:05-5:45. Cold and icy. Intervals felt hard probably because I did not run sub 6 since November!
Tuesday: 16 total; 12 easy @ 7:40 on ice and snow with 10x 10-20 secs hill sprints in the am, and 4 recovery on the TM @ 8:40.
Wednesday: work 7-7, no run.
Thursday: 15 total; 11 @7:20 (with 2x15 min @ 6:21 and 6:19 in the middle) in the am (-5 degrees!) and 4 recovery with no watch, probably 8:30-9 pace on hills in the afternoon.
Friday: 6 easy on trails, no watch, probably 8:30-9 pace, with 4 strides: 15, 20, 25 an 30 secs.
Saturday: 14 miles @ 7:05, with 7 @ 6:35 in the middle (4@ 6:46, stop for 1 min, then 3 @ 6:15); 16-19MPH wind, so really happy with this run. The last 3 miles of the tempo was hard on the legs, though the HR was good!
Sunday (planned): 8 miles recovery on trails, no watch, with 10x10 secs hill sprints, to finish up with 70 miles for the week!
I still have no idea what pace to shoot for for my first HM, and will decide when I get closer to the race. For now, I am really enjoying my training!
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