Scaring the Wildlife

What happened

raincityrunner — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:45:01 +0000

I did not disappear, I did not make it to the starting line in Victoria. My family doc confirmed a grade 1 stress fracture in the same location as before at the end of September, and I’ve been very conservative with my running since then. Not a single track/speed session!

I also saw a sports medic about a month ago. I was told that I was doing everything right re:recovery, and that I could start wearing neutral shoes, which is going to mean saving some weight on the end of my leg (and money). There have been a handful of occasions when I felt some minor pain/discomfort and wasn’t sure if I was reinjuring it, so backed off immediately.

Anyway, so it was back to square one, though I’m building again and have reached the point where I need to start recording my runs to keep track of them. My approach, partly out of necessity, has been a high-monotony routine — easy running all the way, with some of it on soft surfaces, and with non-impact strength training thrown in on a regular basis (twice a week for the last month, more before).

Last week:

Monday: 30mins (~6km).

Tue: 45mins (~10km).

Wed: 45mins.

Thu: 45mins.

Fri: 30mins

Sat: rest.

Sun: 1hr35mins (20km).

Total: 62km.

Today: ~10km.

A Red Light

raincityrunner — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:22:56 +0000

I’ve been hobbling a bit since Sunday. The good news is that I know exactly what it is and what I need to do. The bad news is that it’s the same injury that took me out for a few months earlier this year. It’s nowhere near as bad as it was when I was forced to stop running then, and I’m hoping that it will clear up in just a few days. But I’m also aware that the progression of what is, I believe, just a stress reaction (rather than fracture) at this stage, would be probably be precipitous if left unheeded.

I tell my myself that I should be thankful just to make it to the starting line!

Three weeks to go

raincityrunner — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 03:12:46 +0000

Only three weeks till my goal race, and I’m pretty happy about where I find myself in training. Yesterday it rained and my legs felt very heavy (probably not just the extra weight of rainwater). But I was 7s per km faster on the previous night’s workout than I was on the previous attempt at 5x1k diminishing rest (July 31st), and with the weekend’s race still weighing on my legs perhaps it’s not surprising.

Mon: dip in the ocean

Tue: 14km.

Wed: 12km

Thu: AM – hip/core, PM – 5x1km with decreasing recovery (3:11, 3:02, 3:05, 3:09, 3:06).

Fri: 0.

Sat: 10km.

Today: 25km(Crab park – Convention Centre – Coal Harbour – Stanley Seawall – 2nd beach – Bridle/Rawlings – 2nd beach – Sunset beach – Burrard Bridge – Kits Beach – False Creek Seawall South etc.)

Coho Run 2011

raincityrunner — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 23:30:47 +0000

50:28, 3rd overall.

I’m pretty happy with my race today. I didn’t really know what to expect – the training volume has been pretty good in the last few weeks, and I actually tapered a bit for this one. On the other hand, I’d been fighting off a cold earlier in the week and it’s a totally new distance and course for me. It was also sunny and on the warm side. For these reasons, and perhaps also for the received wisdom of it, I decided to run entirely by feel today, looking only at my watch at the 4km mark (the time seemed way off, so I left it behind).

Probably having bib #1 made a difference, too. There was a sense of trepidation to start with, as people were looking at me as though they expected me to win, or something. But it was made up for by loads of random people along the way yelling things like “Go on, you’re number one!”, and so on.

I don’t really know how to interpret the time/position, but I’m very pleased with the result of having run entirely by feel, while mostly alone after 1km or so (I caught one other runner around 4km, and another about 2km before the end). My pace probably didn’t tank (I wasn’t caught at all), and I didn’t seem to have much juice left at the end. The sense of accomplishment I have from being able to successfully gauge the internal perception of effort — as well as to trust that perception after having been dictated to by the clock for most of the last five years — is as much as any I had for the personal bests I ran last year.

Definitely this is a race I’d recommend, with a lot of variety – seawall, light trail, hills, bridges and views, and the organization was pretty good overall (free beer instead of coffee is a little quirky, but I agreed with the notion once I found myself with a pint in my hands and some company). A strong turnout from VFAC, including some cheering from the sidelines!

Monday: 10km.

Tuesday: 12km.

Wednesday: hip/core.

Thursday: 12km.

Friday: 12km.

Saturday: 0km.

raincityrunner — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:40:27 +0000

Wed: rest/recovery

Thu: AM – easy core/upper body, PM – 2.5, 1.95, 1.3km(8:28, 6:22, 3:52). A repeat of 22/7, and slightly faster though missing the PM caffeine jolt, so perhaps not directly comparable. Happy that the hip isn’t complaining.

Fri: rest/recovery.

Sat: 12km

Sun: 24km (fuelled).

Frustration or Revelation?

raincityrunner — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:09:06 +0000

I was hoping to do a 12km steady-state run today, but had to pull up at 8.5km. My pace and effort level was holding up, but the complaining from my left hip/glute was getting louder. It’s disappointing because, without those last few km of the workout, the effort I did make was a bit of a waste.

On the other hand, this is really the only injury/hotspot that’s been bugging me this season — it’s clearly the weak link — and so far I seem to have been on top of it. Of course, as the race looms on the horizon there is less time to “manage” the injury, while getting in big training weeks becomes more the point.

Yesterday: 12km easy.

Today: 8.5km at 3:42 per.

raincityrunner — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:56:31 +0000

I was going to remark on how surprised I was that my legs aren’t all that sore after another series of solid workouts, and some trackwork for the first time in ages — but then I hear that the people with whom I’ve been working out were all out doing 30-35km long runs today, so I’ll leave it there!

Thursday: PM – 1-2-2-1km (3:04, 6:35, 6:40, 3:04)

Friday: AM -10km easy, PM – walking/stretching/balancing (blackberrying)

Sat: AM – 5x800m (2:30, 2:32, 2:34, 2:32, 2:30), recoveries of 1:45-2:00.
Sun: AM – 24km (1hr55mins).

Recovery Supercycle

raincityrunner — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:36:25 +0000

Loyal readers may have found my blog inaccessible in the last few days. Sorry about that — I realized that I needed a break from blogging about the same time I realized wordpress have been putting ads on my blog. After some reflection, I’ve decided that I don’t care that much, if it keeps wordpress going, as it’s still the best blogging platform out there in other ways.

I also needed a little break from running. Perhaps I put too much emphasis on recovery, but I really am only listening to my body. Possibly if I ran more according to feel and less by the clock (a work in progress) I could get away with fewer extended breaks. Anyway, my sleep was becoming progressively shallower and shorter, a sure sign of over-reaching (all else being equal).

So, I took a few days off and went to beautiful Galiano Island, where I proceeded to do almost nothing — unless you count easy cycling as doing something, which I don’t. Wow, there are a lot of pointless hills on that island. Even easy cycling doesn’t turn out to be that easy. But I felt the difference very quickly, remembered what stillness is, what quiet is, remembered that I’m not old yet, and slept like the proverbial baby, outside!

Near the island’s northern extremity I found this on the road:

Perhaps my legs weren't fully recovered, as this bird was looking at me quite expectantly.

Supercycles

raincityrunner — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 03:43:55 +0000

In the last seven days: a 10k race (Sun), a 1.5 hour run (Mon), a one hour run (Wed), hills (5x~800m) (Thu), 45mins (Fri), timed intervals (4x4mins on/off, 8x1min on/off) (Sat), and a 1.75 hour run today. It’s the biggest week of training — volume and intensity — for quite a while. Without the trackwork, I’m not quite as springy as I was this time last year, but my stride felt nice and fluid this morning.

Richmond Oval 10k 2011

raincityrunner — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:23:08 +0000

In contrast to last year, conditions today were perfect for a fast race on this flat course — mostly grey skies and not too hot. It would have been worth a shot at a PB, and I set out at 3:30 pace for the first km. Unfortunately, I was mostly on my own after the 2km mark, and I think this accounts for some erratic pacing. It was also a bit gusty, which probably didn’t help (though being an out-and-back course it shouldn’t have made any difference, in theory).

The result is a little disappointing, as I haven’t made any obvious improvement since Summerfast. On the other hand, rather than tapering, this week was more basebuilding — except for the lack of long run today. It could be that the 2x3km workout on Thursday is more easily recovered from by those already at a higher training volume. Also, I noticed that a few other people didn’t have great races, so perhaps the wind did have a net effect (could also be due to being off-season). It’s too bad that the Delta Half Marathon was on the same day, I suspect that if the organizers conspired to stagger their events they’d both clean-up in terms of attendance, and both races would be more competitive.

3:30, 3:35, 3:44, 3:27, (3:38, 3:39), 3:20, 3:48, 3:37, 3:27.

36:20 2nd AG, 9th overall.

Yesterday: 0km.

Today: 12km (10km race, 2km warm-up/cool-down).