Adarq.org

yesterday

- run/walk x 7 km
meant this to be a shortish long run but knee started feeling "thick" within the first km and the feeling wasn't going away, so i stopped and did some joint mobilization stuff (leg swings, lunges, etc.). started again and it was fine for a few mins and then started feeling thick again. so i ended up run/walking the rest of the way and cutting the overall distance and duration. oddly, knee feels better if i pick up the pace a bit, the most discomfort - it wasn't ever pain yesterday - is at more relaxed paces. no discomfort at all while walking.

very frustrating.

yesterday

- run 4 mins/walk 1 min x 27:33
knee felt fine, maybe a little something in the last few mins but not enough to prevent me from trying again today.

- rehab/prehab
-- 2 x [toe walk x 60s + heel walk x 60s]
-- 2 x [3-way calf raise x 10/position + SLRDL w/knee raise x 8]
-- 2 x [sideways band walks x 30s + SL floor hamstring curls x 12/leg]
-- 2 x [cossack squat x 10/side]

will try to run tomorrow, slowly, and as a run/walk to start. no pushing, at the first sign of discomfort it'll turn into a walk. if i feel good, will run continuously but still slowly.

went to NYC this weekend.

saturday

- run 52:54, 10.17 km
circumnavigated central park.

sunday

- run 2:01:28, 23.00 km
ran from yonkers back to my aunt's apartment near columbus circle. upper right calf started clicking and feeling a little off right away and by a few km in was uncomfortable. not so much to make me stop or limp but enough to make me know it was not great to be running on. but i was stubborn and also the only alternative way home was to get on the subway in my running kit like an idiot. it's strained now, but pretty mildly. no running for at least the next few days. damn it.

i could probably do with a proper deload week, anyway, but obviously that should have come with some planning and not because i hurt myself. the injury is, i think, probably just from jacking mileage up too quickly and leaving it there instead of deloading thoughtfully. yesterday finished off what might be my first-ever 40-mile week. oops. the timing sucks as i wanted to be training hard for the next two weeks before tapering over the final two weeks of april until my race. as it is, i'll be lucky to get one week of hard training and then a one-week taper. guess i'll see how it goes!

regarding warmups, after watching the video, i don't think i really need to change anything, except for races. a few joint circles and leg swings are enough for easy runs and for workouts i run 1.5-2+ km easy before getting into the quality work, which i seem to be able to get right into. by all accounts, HR/RPE are what counts for easy running, not pace.

what do you think changed to make you unable to do the morning 495s? or if not unable, then at least made you think it's not wise to keep doing them?

lol, it looks like he got someone to help him with lighting and, like, not wearing a t-shirt with the collar completely worn out. well, good for him. uncanny timing for the subject matter, will watch today.

- track threshold
-- warm up
-- 6 x 5 min @ threshold (4:08, 4:09, 4:07, 4:06, 4:05, 4:05), 1 min walking rest
-- cool down
threshold for me, per the jack daniels VDOT calculator, is 4:12. so by that measure, these were a little too fast, especially the later sets. OTOH, heart rate was upper 150s to lower 160s on all but the final set, and breathing was never labored. had a hard time keeping consistent pace in the first few sets. felt like a real workout, i was tired at the end. upper legs a little sore and, oddly, my left hamstring and right quad are a little more sore than their counterparts.

thanks! hopefully first of multiple this year, barring injury.

- run 1:46:19, 19.05 km
nice run. deliberately a little shorter than last week, since i ran hard yesterday. this route is hilly, for DC: about 215m of ascent and obviously same amount of descent. the patapsco valley 50k is quite a bit hillier, with 564m of ascent for each loop, or almost twice as much per km. definitely need to get some practice on trails like that over the coming months. my "A" race for the year, the JFK 50 mile, is only hilly for the first 15 miles, after that it's very flat.

my current thinking is that after the half on april 26, i'll dial back running volume and do a 5-6-week strength block, focusing on squats, until early june, when i'll start a 24-week build to the JFK 50. planning to follow the basic 50-miler plan from relentless forward commotion. it looks manageable: five days a week of running, including one day of hills or speed (i may just stick with my wednesday morning track work for all of those because i like that group and the regularity of it keeps me honest) and progressively stacking longer runs on the weekends.