Running Log 2011: Week #23

7 Days of running this past week for a total of 86 kills. I finished the week up feeling strong and knowing I could have easily logged another dozen or so kills on my legs. It's a nice feeling to know you finish a week up in solid fashion and still have some left in the tank.

This coming week is a LOW week for me as I gear up for the New Balance 1500m night our club is hosting at the TD Waterhouse Stadium this Saturday. I'll be toeing the line that line for my first 1500m race in over a decade and here's hoping everything goes to plan this week...I don't want to scratch out of this 1500m race like I did last time.

If you're interested in joining us for the 1500m night, here are the event details: http://www.londonrunner.ca/page.php?content=RCLDS

A General Running Update

I've now been back for nearly three weeks and I thought since I'm nearly half done the year that I should look at the last 5 months and the next month or so. Retrospection is a great learning tool!

So the year kicked off with a less than stellar late December and January. I was working through some foot pain.  Once I got over that I was into my first winter base training phase ever, and let me tell you this was not the winter to dive head first into a heavy base season. But I did it, and I was hoping it was working. It had to be working, right?

Well my first test came in the form of a road 10km in late February and I had recently done a 5km time trial that would indicate to me that I would be in sub 38 shape, and on a great day, close to 37 minutes.  Race day came and my stomach was not cooperating. I nearly dropped out of the race at the 7km mark, but managed to work through it and posted a horrible time.  That didn't do much for my confidence.

Workouts kept progressing, and I was putting in solid weeks of running, peaking at just shy of 100km/week and then it all came together in late April for the Downtown 5km.  I smashed my most recent best from last fall by nearly 60 seconds, but I had developed a rather irritating case of shin splints. Those lingered for a while, but it wasn't until I was sidelined with an achilles injury and took 2 weeks off completely that the shin splints sorted themselves out.

And now I'm sharpening up for some track races, FINALLY! After I had to bow out of my return in early May I am just aching to toe the line and feel that rush of adrenaline.

Another Workout in the bank...

Well, another scorching workout Tuesday and today's workout consisted of

20min warm up with 4min pickup @ 3:50/km
Dynamic warm up drills
4 x 100m strides
10 x 10 sec hill repeats with 60sec easy
6 x (3min hard, 2min easy)
4 strides
20min cool down

For a grand total of 18km today in scorching temperatures, 99F with the humidity! I felt strong throughout the workout, finally my legs were able to keep up to my will and lungs, it took about two weeks to get them back after Italy.

Peace.

Random Running Thoughts

This is just a brain dump of a few things that have crossed my mind while running, thinking about running or daydreaming about running.

Men and running in the heat

Last Tuesday was a scorcher, with humidity near 100% and the humidex at 42C, and we had a workout scheduled at Gibbons Park. Figures.

We got there for 6PM and it was slow going. It felt as though we were running through water and we knew it would be a tough workout, especially when your legs feel like they weigh 3 times more than normal. We did mile repeats, and as I ran I started to notice a rather interesting trend: There was a large disparity in the number of female runners compared to male runners.

We mentioned it amongst ourselves as we ran, but we couldn't think of any real obvious reasons for this disparity. The ratio must have been 4 to 1. Was there a hockey game that night? Were the men at a patio drinking beer? BBQing?

Regardless, the women were definitely out in the peak heat of the day, logging kills by the droves and most men were nowhere to be found.

Farting & Running: The Ugly Truth

This may not be what we want to hear, but it's so pervasive in my running that I felt I may as well talk about it.  Apparently, some study came to the conclusion that runners on average produce twice as much gas as non-runners. Dunno how reliable that study was, but I can attest to an increase in gas production the moment I took running back up last year.

So yeah, I fart when I run. Some days more than others, some days not at all. I'm sure it has to do with my diet and eating schedule, but I'm not too concerned. What concerns me is I always seem to need to fart as I'm passing a cyclist/walker/runner or running through a neighborhood that is packed with people working away on their lawn.

It seems to happen without fail some days, the need to pass gas as I pass someone. I can't explain it. Does this ever happen to you?

Want to Run Smoothly?

Do you find yourself wishing you were lighter, smoother, and more efficient while running? If you want to run smoothly, I've discovered the key. Hopefully it works for you too...

Stop thinking about running while you are running.

Yup, it's that simple. Clear your mind, look ahead and not down at your toes, and think about anything else but running. Everything will smooth itself out. The key here is to look ahead and not trying to control every step you take. Your body knows what is best and natural, let it run it's course.

Running Log 2011: Week #22

Gah, it seems I repeat this every week and doing a weekly recap truly makes this sink in: Where does time go?

I'm so busy that it almost feels like time is seeping away, accelerating as I age, disappearing ever quicker and quicker.

I need to figure out how to fight that, or just give into it and trust that I'm spending my time doing the right things. Anyways, this week was my first full week of running since returning from Italy and I logged a solid 84km on the road and on the track. I'm staying away from hills as much as possible, but the Achilles is still feeling good and not hurting me while I run.

After my long run on Saturday my Achilles started to tighten up, not i had no discomfort, so I figured it was just my calves pulling things too tightly. I've been stretching massaging and took yesterday off, and I will continue to approach my running with caution this week, I need to continue to look towards the future, not just the run I had planned today.

Woes of an Injured Runner

Blah. I haven't run in two days now and it feels like an eternity. I had to pull out of my first track race of the season.  I really shouldn't be so worried, it's only been two days. Some runners go on the injured list for months at a time.

This is something I wrote over two weeks ago when I had just injured my achilles. It's crazy how perceptions change with time. Now that I read this, and considering I took two weeks away from running, my view on not being able to run has done a full 180. In the end, the two weeks away are exactly what I needed. After coming back to training in December, I haven't had a single week off in nearly 6 months, a stretch of running my body has never experienced before.  I guess my achilles decided to make the decision for me.  There's always a reason for injuries. It's just so hard to step back and analyze it, but at least we humans were given hindsight. :D

I've been back for 11 days now and have put in 11 very solid days of running and my previously injured achilles is handling everything very well. I'm making sure it's taken care of, as I'm stretching, massaging and running on nearly flat roads as much as possible. My mileage is back to pre-Italy numbers and aside from some stiffness from the track workouts, I'm feeling great. My confidence continues to rise with each workout, and I'm gearing up for a massive night of 1500m races in mid June!