This week had its ups and downs. Ups included getting myself on the treadmill on a work trip for an 11+ mile pace workout and also getting my first 20+ miler of the cycle in the books; downs included doing only three runs and spending a couple of days fighting ALL NEW AND EXCITING is-it-or-isn't-it injury demons. Like come on, now, body. Enough of this horse poo.
Now, obviously, although my top priority is to be healthy enough to run and finish this race at all, I'm still planning to try to run as fast as I can, whatever that happens to be on race day. But as I look back over the last 12 weeks it's hard not to see a smoking, scorched-earth landscape littered with the debris of missed workouts and low mileage weeks. Oof. Not pretty.
I don't know if it's all the travel or the stress (and there is a LOT of stress right now not related to running, between work and travel and, oh yeah, the logistical nightmare that is Boston 2 Big Sur with a national speaking engagement right smack-dab in between the two) or maybe age is finally beginning to catch up with me. But man. The injury gods are not happy.
But I'm not calling it a lost cause yet! We've still got six solid weeks left, here, and I'm determined to wring every last bit of preparation out of them that my body will allow.
Grand Total: 38.25 miles
- * 10 easy
* 7.25 pace/tempo
* 21 long
Monday 2/26: Rest / fly to SoCal
- A MUCH deserved rest day after last week.
Tuesday 2/27: 2 warm up, 60:00 aerobic threshold (ie, 8:16ish), 2 cool down = 11.25 total
- Treadmill workouts are their own circle of hell, particularly longer ones, particularly when you're in an otherwise quiet hotel fitness center & the only other person in there is running at a cadence that completely clashes with yours in a way that's absolutely crazy making oh and also he's hitting one of those beepy treadmill buttons literally every thirty seconds. Thankfully when you've got 11+ treadmill miles to run no one else is ever in there that long by comparison, so that's something. I guess. File under "things I really really really REALLY did not want to do after a long work day" but also "things I did anyway because it's effing on the schedule."
(Are you sad that there's no picture of my feet standing on a treadmill?)
(Are you really?)
Wednesday 2/28: Rest / fly home.
- I woke up this day with a little niggle in my lower right leg, sort of diffused between my upper Achilles area, the back of my tibia bone (where I occasionally get shin splints), and my sort of inner calf muscle. It wasn't even what I'd call pain, but it was annoying enough that I was glad I didn't have a run that day.
Thursday 3/1: 6 easy.
- Just a slow, tired recovery shuffle. My leg didn't hurt much while I was running, maybe 1 out of 10, but the next morning it hurt (like, eye-watering pain) to even put weight on it. Cue hysterical panic.
Friday 3/2: 2 warm up + 10 x 1K @ 10K pace / 1:00 jog, 2 cool down = 11 total
- The one good thing I could say about this day was that at least it was clear-cut. There was no oh-should-I-or-shouldn't-I in terms of trying to do the run, not even a mile or two to see how it felt; even walking was super unpleasant so it was definitely a 100% rest day.
I couldn't tell exactly what it was but I could at least tell that it wasn't bone pain, just soft tissue, and it wasn't sharp, just sort of achey & diffuse, so I hoped that if I played it smart & just gave it a few days of rest, whatever it was would take care of itself. If a miracle occurred, I figured I'd do the speed workout on Saturday.
Saturday 3/3: 4 easy 2 warm up + 10 x 1K @ 10K pace / 1:00 jog, 2 cool down = 11 total
- Definitely an improvement pain-wise, but not enough to try running. Putting weight on it was a still uncomfortable and I was afraid that if I tried to push through it I might get through the workout (maybe?)
but then it would be worse the next day.
Sunday 3/4: 21 long
- Despite the torrential rain we'd had earlier in the weekend, Sunday was really about the most perfect weather one could ask for in terms of having to be out running around in it for 3+ hours. It was just warm enough, just cool enough, just sunny enough, with just enough of a breeze. Absolute perfection. Might it be too soon to suggest that spring has sprung?? (Just kidding, lolololol, this is San Francisco.)
Things didn't feel 100% when I got up Sunday but whatever was going on in my leg was markedly improved, enough that I felt okay going out for a few easy miles, seeing how it felt, & then reassessing. The main thing I've been stressing about this cycle lately has been not getting enough of the long runs in, so I wanted to at least try.
There was a little pain in the first few miles (.5-1 out of 10, maybe), mostly when I would first start running after a light, and then it would gradually mellow. At first I wasn't sure it was smart to try to go more than 6-8 miles but over time the pain melted away, and by 5-6 miles in I was thinking, "Hey, this 21-miler might just actually happen!"
In fact, I was kind of surprised how the miles just seemed to roll by and found myself thinking I was going to hit 21 before I knew it feeling great! That lasted until somewhere in the 14-15 range, after which things definitely became more like real work. I didn't struggle to finish or anything, but it was definitely a reminder that, right, I haven't run more than 16 miles since CIM 2016, so I do need to get these 20+ milers in if I don't want to slog my way through Boston.
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Boston Marathon Week 1 of 18: On your mark, Get set...
Boston Marathon Week 2 of 18: speed, snow, & vertical
Boston Marathon Week 3 of 18: Foiled By Weather & Travel
Boston Marathon Week 4 of 18: There's "hills" and then there's HILLLZZ
Boston Marathon Week 5 of 18: Not the greatest of weeks...
Boston Marathon Week 6 of 18: Winter Running: Take 2
Boston Marathon Week 9 of 18: Grumpy Hip is Grumpy
Boston Marathon Week 10 of 18: "altitude training" + should I run a birthday 10K?
Boston Marathon Week 11 of 18: How Not to Plan Your Training Week
I'm glad your leg felt better and you got your 21 in! Granted that was Sunday and now it is Monday night, so I hope it still feels okay. Better to take a few days off now than weeks off later or have to miss Boston, BUT it still sucks to be at the start of a race knowing you've missed training runs and aren't as confident, and that you've had niggles that could possibly turn into injuries post-race or worse, during the race. I feel like losing that confidence is the worst part of injuries.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think stress is playing a role in all these "niggles". Whenever I look back at a time of many, small injuries, I'm always doing too much in other places (hm, like right now, I hope I don't get injured!). Try to take it easy!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your leg is holding up! I ran 16 the day you ran 21. When I got home my husband asked how my run went and the first thing I said was, "The weather was beautiful!" Which is sort of odd because I generally prefer things foggy and cold and doom and gloom. But you are totally right, it was just sunny enough, just cloudy enough, just cold enough and just warm enough :)
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