Sunday, February 15, 2015

Mid February Training Update

It seems like forever ago since I last posted-If you want to consider three weeks forever! You all may have been glad I haven't posted for all I know! ;)

I have finally found a space in time where I am not working, running, sleeping, or hammering out emails to fill in those interested on the running side of things.

Let's begin with the foundational stuff first: I went back in to the Ironman Sports Medicine Institute here in The Woodlands to have my gait analysis re-run to compare 'before' and 'after' my retooling of my stride and participation in Athletic Republic's protocol. At this time the report and images are still being processed by the biomechanist but from what I can tell, things have improved.

This time I had some filming done at a faster pace wearing my Adios Boost that I use for fast training and racing. These frames yielded some interesting results (but you gotta see next post for all the details!). Before leaving the facility, I had my PT colleague whom I currently credit with finding one of my foundational weaknesses in an atrophied right foot re-check the muscle growth after the gait test and I am pleased to report that MY R FOOT LOOKS NORMAL! After months of towel pulls, walking on my big toes, and doing these weird "digging" exercises with my toes an apparent reason for why I have been able to keep working was confirmed.

This may not be a big deal to most people, but those little oft-ignored muscle groups unknowingly have wreaked some havoc over the past few seasons for me. All the core and dynamic work has made a big difference as well.

So onto the training itself: with a brief  illness interruption and a ski to follow it up, I've been able to get in nearly every workout and mile prescribed by Coach Doug.

Here's what the past couple weeks have looked like, both with total mileage a few shy of 50 per week.

2/2-2/8

M: AM  7 miles easy  PM: plyo and form work at Athletic Republic. This particular workout I did brief hill runs on the treadmill of 10-20 seconds each at 15% incline: paces ranging from 7:15 all the way down to 4:50 (bear in mind its for a few seconds!)

T: Nixed mile repeats-sick-workout consisted of trying to not pass out walking across room to get more Gatorade. I'm not kidding.

W: 5 miles at 8:15ish pace, still a little off from day before-likely from only eating like 700 calories in previous day,

TH: Modified workout from Tuesday: 7 miles total, main set 8 x 3 min at HM pace (6:44-6:52)/90 sec recovery. Energy levels returned, thank goodness! 30 mins strength training afterward. Epsom salt bath in PM.

F:  7 miles easy on golf course and core work early before getting on plane for Colorado
I almost never take pics while running. But here, I had to make an exception. And gather a little more oxygen!


S: AM 50 minutes at approx. 8500 ft. elevation (Keystone, CO; see above) before day of skiing at Keystone Mountain-for those concerned, I refused to ski any blacks!! Wasn't sure what to expect but surprised at how manageable it actually was.

SU: AM 70 mins at altitude, easy. Did not want run to end, but condo check-out time had other ideas! *One observation I made at altitude is it took me a little longer to warm up and get comfortable with reduce oxygen. After about 25-30 mins, I didn't notice much of a difference, but starting off was considerably slower. I know why there is a 28-day window for adaptation to be able to rip faster paces up there and have a lot of respect for those who train at these heights daily. I won't lie to you all-I did kinda feel like a boss running up in that snowy mountainous stuff! The challenge (and sheer beauty) I found enjoyable.

2/9-2/15 ....back to normalcy/work and recover, repeat.

M: 5 miles easy to shake the travel and mountains out of my legs. Quads took a nice beating on the slopes. Core and stretching afterward, Epsom Salt Bath. PM: Massage by Ray Arroyo.

T: 6 miles easy around Lake Woodlands, a favorite route. Best easy run in weeks. Followed up with 30 mins strength work.

W: 7 miles, with ladder session: 1600 in 6:26, 1200 in 4:49, 800 in 3:06, 2 x 400 in 90 and 88; all with 60 seconds rest in between. Clearly, Doug isn't big on recovery btw intervals! ;) Core work and Epsom salt bath afterward.

TH: Cross training day: 30 mins light strength and mobility work and 45 mins yoga, Graston Treatment by Dr. Derrick Raymer at Athletic Republic.

F: just shy of 7 miles: hybrid of gait analysis at IMSI and 3 mile tempo run at 6:56 avg pace. Another Epsom salt bath and stretch like crazy.

S: 14 miles easy. Goal to over in the 8:30s b/c of tempo run day before, did just that and nothing more. PM core work and another leg soak. This may have tied my highest mileage day of the cycle currently.

SU/Today: 8 miles by HR at the Mitchell Nature Trail. Goal to stay under 152 BPM and came in at 146 running 5 and a half loops of the trail. Boom! Core work at Villa, and then rewarded myself with a nap. Tomorrow it starts all over again!


I have another decent workload this week ending in a 5k this weekend in Gulf Shores, AL. Since my last race, I have began to feel more comfortable with running harder paces again. This past week may have been one of my most productive ones yet-I can see some of the benefits of the steady work, but more importantly I am not feeling like I'm in over my head during workouts or going into them doubting. I think my favorite run this week was the Friday Tempo; I made it a point to relax and let the pace come to me instead of over-running the thing. Strength has been something I've been lacking in my training, and it's nice to begin to see some growth in that area.

I was initially a little concerned about what missing the repeat workout and a weekend LR while skiing in the same week was going to do-then I remembered that Lauren Fleshman quote I wrote about last month, where "perfect training cycles don't exist", so it was up to me to adapt and move on. And take in an epic weekend-which was probably more awesome than my staple trek through The Woodlands on the weekend.

My process goals for the upcoming weeks are most importantly to run the 5k smartly, with some aggression, and less hesitation. I do that, things will take care of themselves. Concerning the big picture-I want to continue this trend of growing and feeling stronger. It's been a while since I've had training weeks where I've felt in a rhythm and in control and I'm liking it.

While of course the training plan and execution is a big part, I think my time investment in recovery is showing dividends as well. But I will tell you I have days where I'd rather skip it~"no harm in one day, right?!", but I know sitting most of the day with clients and some of the stress of being a small business owner makes it risky business and I have to remind myself of the big picture.

What keeps you motivated to keep doing the "right things" in your training? Isn't improvement fun?!

Next up are my results from the analysis and my final thoughts on my training with Athletic Republic's Endurance Protocol.

Stay the course.











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