I went out for an easy run this past Tuesday morning, made it about 3/4 mile, took a funny step that made my right groin instantly very sore/tight, and decided to turn around and hobble home. That run was really the final nail in the coffin for a season that quickly went from great to spiraling down over this groin issue that just wouldn't go away. Rather than prolong the issue, hurt myself worse in training, or race a sub-par Broad Street, I figured it was best to take an extended break from running now and give my body a chance to recover. I am hoping that taking two weeks off will do the trick, but if I need more time off or if I need to break down and go see specialist, I certainly will take what I think is the long-term best course of action.
The small part of me that is disappointed that I won't get to a chance to really blow one out of the park at Broad Street is balanced by the large part of me that is very satisfied with setting the three PR's in four weeks back in March: 35:57 10K, 17:08 5K, 1:22.19 Half-Marathon. Plus I have gotten to see my training partners all run amazing performances at varying distances this season, which is really cool to know that we were all a big part of helping each other achieve greater things than we could do individually.
I would also be lying if I were to say that I am not in some way actually looking forward to a break from the mental and physical grind of daily/weekly/monthly training since December. Four to five months is actually a long time to put your body through that kind of stress (lots of workouts/races/long runs/etc.), and it's not entirely unforeseen that something like this eventually happens.
When I do start back running, I am really going to hold myself to a few steadfast, non-negotiable rules:
1) Nothing but easy running for at least 6 weeks, and after that, just strides and fartlek-type sessions - no formal training for as long as possible to see what improvements I can make based solely on mileage increases.
2) Holding to a mileage level for at least a three week period, after which I will take a recovery week at 60-70% current mileage, before increasing mileage no more than 1 mile per week per # of sessions per week. For example:
Week 1 - 55 miles
Week 2 ~ 55 miles
Week 3 ~ 55 miles
Week 4 ~ 33-39 miles (Recovery week 60-70% of 55 miles)
Week 5 - no more than 64 miles (assuming 9 runs per week)
Week 6 ~ 64 miles
Week 7 ~ 64 miles
Week 8 ~ 38-45 miles (Recovery week 60-70% of 64 miles)
Week 9 - no more than 73 miles, etc.
3) As much as possible, run without a watch. The goal is to get in as many miles as possible while staying healthy, so the pace as which I run them is not as important. Perceived level of effort is the determining factor - therefore, all runs should feel easy and comfortable.
The goal of this type of training is to see how many miles per week I can comfortably run without feeling my body breaking down. Secondarily, I want to measure what type of improvements, if any, will I gain by just increasing mileage rather than intensity. I may decide to try a small handful of workouts prior to a race or I may just decide to use races as my barometer of fitness.
If I can stay healthy and continue to build mileage (or at least find that peak mileage which I feel is the point of diminishing returns), I feel I will give myself the best possible chance of success when I decide to move back up to the marathon.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Broad Street Training, Week 13
Monday, April 9th:
Happy Birthday, Frankie!
7:30 am, 50 degrees, 30%, 10-25mph (gusty). Mount Laurel. Nike Pegasus 28.
10m+
2m- warm up, 4x1m "Hard" with 3/4m recoveries that included a hill climb, 2m- cool down.
Paces: (6:20 5:50 6:00 5:45) - alternating against the wind, with the wind
Solid, fartlek-style workout with some hills mixed in. Ran on a loop course near Ashley's parent's house. Didn't check splits until after the run - just focused mainly on running a hard tempo-ish effort. Ashely was a little run-down from a long run yesterday, and my groin is still acting up at fast speeds, so today was the perfect type of workout where we could just run on feel and not obsess over splits. Definitely a difference running against/with the wind - I would say the effort stayed pretty even reps 2-4, even though the times don't reflect that. Will take the next 3 days very easy and try to get a more structured, hard effort in on Friday if my groin will allow it.
Tuesday, April 10th:
Off. Groin very tight. Feeling run down again. Sleeping a lot and it still doesn't feel like enough. Just giving myself recovery and keeping the faith.
Wednesday, April 11th:
Off. Same as yesterday. I know this funk can't last forever.
Thursday, April 12th:
3:30 pm, 58 degrees, 30%, 10-25mph. Kilmer Loop. Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
6m easy
Groin still a little tight, but at least I am able to run. Felt best the last 1/2m when I focused on falling forward (POSE method). Will try anything at this point to make the groin issue go away. Gonna try to get a solid workout in tomorrow - we'll see how it goes.
Friday, April 13th:
Off. Bagged the workout. Went to bed and woke up with sore groin again. Taking lots of ibuprofen and resting. Hoping I just need some extra rest. At this point, I plan on not running until I am pain-free.
Saturday, April 14th:
8:00 pm, 70 degrees, 30%, calm. Neighborhood. Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.
2m easy BOF (progressively faster each 1/2m - 8:30ish, 8:10ish, 7:50ish, 7:40ish)
Hadn't planned on running today at all. Was too busy getting a lot of housework done for Frankie's party. Running was the last thing on my mind until after dinner, when I watched a brief video clip of Moses Mosop training for tomorrow's Rotterdam Marathon. I felt inspired. I felt no pressure. I just felt like I wanted to get out and run free. So I did. It was just two miles but it felt so great. I was worried that this groin thing might be something more ominous like a sports hernia or labral tear (and for all I know it could still turn out that way), but for tonight, I just enjoyed my run. I think my body was thanking me for finally giving it the rest it has been telling me for weeks that it needed. I have been giving myself a few extra off days for the past few weeks, but I think I needed to give it a REALLY easy down week. Whatever, I just hope I wake up tomorrow feeling this same way. Because I miss feeling this good.
Sunday, April 15th:
6:30 am, 60 degrees, 70%, 0-10mph. Maple Shade - Neighborhood. Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.
2m warm up, 3mT BOF (6:05 07 08) 3:00 jog, 3/4mT BOF (6:00) 3/4m cool down
Woke up feeling fantastic and ran an impromptu workout. Had envisioned it as 3mT, 3:00 recovery, 2mT, 2:00 recovery, 1mT, 1:00 recovery and probably would have run a half-decent workout if not for the bad blood blister that developed under my right big toe pad. Started to become painful to push off so I bagged the workout even though I felt strong at that point. Happy that I got in some quality running today, but a little disappointed that I couldn't measure myself the way I wanted.
Weekly Total: 25 miles
I'll pretend this week never happened. Just happy that the groin issue seems to have cleared and that I am starting to feel natural running again. 3 weeks to go to Broad Street - I hope I can find that something that has been missing since Caesar Rodney. May revise my time goal based on my training and fitness over the next few weeks.
Happy Birthday, Frankie!
7:30 am, 50 degrees, 30%, 10-25mph (gusty). Mount Laurel. Nike Pegasus 28.
10m+
2m- warm up, 4x1m "Hard" with 3/4m recoveries that included a hill climb, 2m- cool down.
Paces: (6:20 5:50 6:00 5:45) - alternating against the wind, with the wind
Solid, fartlek-style workout with some hills mixed in. Ran on a loop course near Ashley's parent's house. Didn't check splits until after the run - just focused mainly on running a hard tempo-ish effort. Ashely was a little run-down from a long run yesterday, and my groin is still acting up at fast speeds, so today was the perfect type of workout where we could just run on feel and not obsess over splits. Definitely a difference running against/with the wind - I would say the effort stayed pretty even reps 2-4, even though the times don't reflect that. Will take the next 3 days very easy and try to get a more structured, hard effort in on Friday if my groin will allow it.
Tuesday, April 10th:
Off. Groin very tight. Feeling run down again. Sleeping a lot and it still doesn't feel like enough. Just giving myself recovery and keeping the faith.
Wednesday, April 11th:
Off. Same as yesterday. I know this funk can't last forever.
Thursday, April 12th:
3:30 pm, 58 degrees, 30%, 10-25mph. Kilmer Loop. Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
6m easy
Groin still a little tight, but at least I am able to run. Felt best the last 1/2m when I focused on falling forward (POSE method). Will try anything at this point to make the groin issue go away. Gonna try to get a solid workout in tomorrow - we'll see how it goes.
Friday, April 13th:
Off. Bagged the workout. Went to bed and woke up with sore groin again. Taking lots of ibuprofen and resting. Hoping I just need some extra rest. At this point, I plan on not running until I am pain-free.
Saturday, April 14th:
8:00 pm, 70 degrees, 30%, calm. Neighborhood. Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.
2m easy BOF (progressively faster each 1/2m - 8:30ish, 8:10ish, 7:50ish, 7:40ish)
Hadn't planned on running today at all. Was too busy getting a lot of housework done for Frankie's party. Running was the last thing on my mind until after dinner, when I watched a brief video clip of Moses Mosop training for tomorrow's Rotterdam Marathon. I felt inspired. I felt no pressure. I just felt like I wanted to get out and run free. So I did. It was just two miles but it felt so great. I was worried that this groin thing might be something more ominous like a sports hernia or labral tear (and for all I know it could still turn out that way), but for tonight, I just enjoyed my run. I think my body was thanking me for finally giving it the rest it has been telling me for weeks that it needed. I have been giving myself a few extra off days for the past few weeks, but I think I needed to give it a REALLY easy down week. Whatever, I just hope I wake up tomorrow feeling this same way. Because I miss feeling this good.
Sunday, April 15th:
6:30 am, 60 degrees, 70%, 0-10mph. Maple Shade - Neighborhood. Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.
2m warm up, 3mT BOF (6:05 07 08) 3:00 jog, 3/4mT BOF (6:00) 3/4m cool down
Woke up feeling fantastic and ran an impromptu workout. Had envisioned it as 3mT, 3:00 recovery, 2mT, 2:00 recovery, 1mT, 1:00 recovery and probably would have run a half-decent workout if not for the bad blood blister that developed under my right big toe pad. Started to become painful to push off so I bagged the workout even though I felt strong at that point. Happy that I got in some quality running today, but a little disappointed that I couldn't measure myself the way I wanted.
Weekly Total: 25 miles
I'll pretend this week never happened. Just happy that the groin issue seems to have cleared and that I am starting to feel natural running again. 3 weeks to go to Broad Street - I hope I can find that something that has been missing since Caesar Rodney. May revise my time goal based on my training and fitness over the next few weeks.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Broad Street Training, Week 12
Monday, April 2nd:
Off.
Tuesday, April 3rd:
7:00 pm, 63 degrees, 20%, 5-10mph. Maple Shade Loop (S). Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
4m easy
Got extra sleep in the morning. Regretted not putting in some miles, so I ran very easy this evening. Groin still feels a little "off" - can't exactly pinpoint it. Left heel situation still hasn't completely gone away either. Don't think I will shake these chronic symptoms until I take extended time off in June (hopefully not before). But despite these annoyances, the run felt pretty good.
Wednesday, April 4th:
4:30 am, 53 degrees, 60%, calm. Neighborhood. Adidas Adizero Tempo 4.
2m warm up, 4x strides, 4m wave run (1/2m waves), 1.5m cool down
Target paces: (5:45-50/6:15-20)
Actual splits: (5:46 6:22, 5:47 6:23, 5:46 6:15, 5:49 6:18)
Ran a very slow warm up - even strides felt slow. Once I started the workout, though, I was able to just turn it on. Aerobically felt reasonably comfortable, although it definitely felt more difficult to hit the "recovery" splits then the "fast" splits. Developed a bad right side stitch in the middle of the 4th "fast" split - fought my way through the last "recovery" split. I did, however, recovery quickly after the workout and felt solid on the cool down. Overall solid workout.
Thursday, April 5th:
4:45 am, 42 degrees, 45%, calm. Kilmer Loop. Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
6m easy
Did a bunch of hamstring stretching last night, which did wonders for my tight groin. This morning was the best easy run on the day after a workout in a long time. Felt fluid and strong from the start.
4:00 pm, 60 degrees, 30%, 10mph. Neighborhood. Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
4m easy
Groin tight at the start of the run again. Doesn't impede ability to run, but I am aware of it and that annoys me. Will continue to stretch and do the old-fashioned Jane Fonda side leg lifts.
Friday, April 6th:
5:45 am, 38 degrees, 60%, 5-10mph. Moorestown. Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.
10m easy
Much better than yesterday. Nice, casual run with Rich. Seemed to get looser and stronger the longer I ran. The side leg lifts are really helping.
Saturday, April 7th:
6:00 am, 40 degrees, 40%, 5-10mph. Moorestown. Nike Pegasus 28.
2m warm up, 10MP+ BOF 6:48 (6:38 47 52 53 53 51 54 50 44 34), 2m cool down
I should preface this entry by stating I had about only 4 hours sleep last night. Janine wasn't feeling well, so I slept on the couch, but had a difficult time dozing off and never fell into a deep sleep. Nonetheless, I felt surprisingly refreshed when I left the house this morning, and (having watched Apocalypto and been inspired by Jaguar Paw) decided I would run today based on feel versus obsessing over splits. I had hoped to average 6:30-40 pace, and the effort surely felt like that. The nice thing is I did fall into a pretty constant rhythm -- miles 2-8 varied by only 7 seconds -- but my groin did start to tighten up a little after 6 miles of pace running and I did my best to try to finish a little stronger in spite of it. Glad I closed well, but again, I was surprised I ran about 10-15 seconds slower per mile than I thought. I still think the pay off will come on race day, when I didn't overdo workouts like this one and let my body dictate the pace instead of the watch.
6:00 pm, 60 degrees, 15%, 5-15mph. Merchantville Loop (S). Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
4m rejuvenation pace
Definitely the most ENJOYABLE run I have had in a long time. Sun was just starting to set, light cool breeze blowing, trees in full bloom for spring, and the pace very comfortable. Best news - no groin pain! I totally focused on going as slow as I needed to while maintaining proper POSE stride. Great way to end the week, as I am taking off tomorrow for Easter.
Sunday, April 8th:
Happy Easter!
Off.
Weekly Total: 50 miles
I would be lying if I said the workouts went according to plan this week, because neither one really did. My groin flared up at times, some doubts crept in here and there, but my evening run Saturday (at 8:30-9:00 pace no less!) restored my love and passion for running. As much as I do this to compete, to test my limits, to find out what I got - at the end of the day and week, I get up and do this activity because I love to do it. Sometimes you need a week like this to put things in greater perspective. 4 weeks to go until Broad Street - and I am now more focused than ever on the task at hand.
Off.
Tuesday, April 3rd:
7:00 pm, 63 degrees, 20%, 5-10mph. Maple Shade Loop (S). Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
4m easy
Got extra sleep in the morning. Regretted not putting in some miles, so I ran very easy this evening. Groin still feels a little "off" - can't exactly pinpoint it. Left heel situation still hasn't completely gone away either. Don't think I will shake these chronic symptoms until I take extended time off in June (hopefully not before). But despite these annoyances, the run felt pretty good.
Wednesday, April 4th:
4:30 am, 53 degrees, 60%, calm. Neighborhood. Adidas Adizero Tempo 4.
2m warm up, 4x strides, 4m wave run (1/2m waves), 1.5m cool down
Target paces: (5:45-50/6:15-20)
Actual splits: (5:46 6:22, 5:47 6:23, 5:46 6:15, 5:49 6:18)
Ran a very slow warm up - even strides felt slow. Once I started the workout, though, I was able to just turn it on. Aerobically felt reasonably comfortable, although it definitely felt more difficult to hit the "recovery" splits then the "fast" splits. Developed a bad right side stitch in the middle of the 4th "fast" split - fought my way through the last "recovery" split. I did, however, recovery quickly after the workout and felt solid on the cool down. Overall solid workout.
Thursday, April 5th:
4:45 am, 42 degrees, 45%, calm. Kilmer Loop. Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
6m easy
Did a bunch of hamstring stretching last night, which did wonders for my tight groin. This morning was the best easy run on the day after a workout in a long time. Felt fluid and strong from the start.
4:00 pm, 60 degrees, 30%, 10mph. Neighborhood. Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
4m easy
Groin tight at the start of the run again. Doesn't impede ability to run, but I am aware of it and that annoys me. Will continue to stretch and do the old-fashioned Jane Fonda side leg lifts.
Friday, April 6th:
5:45 am, 38 degrees, 60%, 5-10mph. Moorestown. Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.
10m easy
Much better than yesterday. Nice, casual run with Rich. Seemed to get looser and stronger the longer I ran. The side leg lifts are really helping.
Saturday, April 7th:
6:00 am, 40 degrees, 40%, 5-10mph. Moorestown. Nike Pegasus 28.
2m warm up, 10MP+ BOF 6:48 (6:38 47 52 53 53 51 54 50 44 34), 2m cool down
I should preface this entry by stating I had about only 4 hours sleep last night. Janine wasn't feeling well, so I slept on the couch, but had a difficult time dozing off and never fell into a deep sleep. Nonetheless, I felt surprisingly refreshed when I left the house this morning, and (having watched Apocalypto and been inspired by Jaguar Paw) decided I would run today based on feel versus obsessing over splits. I had hoped to average 6:30-40 pace, and the effort surely felt like that. The nice thing is I did fall into a pretty constant rhythm -- miles 2-8 varied by only 7 seconds -- but my groin did start to tighten up a little after 6 miles of pace running and I did my best to try to finish a little stronger in spite of it. Glad I closed well, but again, I was surprised I ran about 10-15 seconds slower per mile than I thought. I still think the pay off will come on race day, when I didn't overdo workouts like this one and let my body dictate the pace instead of the watch.
6:00 pm, 60 degrees, 15%, 5-15mph. Merchantville Loop (S). Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
4m rejuvenation pace
Definitely the most ENJOYABLE run I have had in a long time. Sun was just starting to set, light cool breeze blowing, trees in full bloom for spring, and the pace very comfortable. Best news - no groin pain! I totally focused on going as slow as I needed to while maintaining proper POSE stride. Great way to end the week, as I am taking off tomorrow for Easter.
Sunday, April 8th:
Happy Easter!
Off.
Weekly Total: 50 miles
I would be lying if I said the workouts went according to plan this week, because neither one really did. My groin flared up at times, some doubts crept in here and there, but my evening run Saturday (at 8:30-9:00 pace no less!) restored my love and passion for running. As much as I do this to compete, to test my limits, to find out what I got - at the end of the day and week, I get up and do this activity because I love to do it. Sometimes you need a week like this to put things in greater perspective. 4 weeks to go until Broad Street - and I am now more focused than ever on the task at hand.
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