Ankle ouch…
Ow, quit it. ~ Bart Simpson
So going into SFO, my right ankle was bothering me. Felt like I sprained it but I have no recollection of doing so. During the race (report to come), it felt fine. Seriously, zero issues. Post-race, however, is a totally different story. Not a happy runner does this thing make.
I ran last Thursday because I felt like running. My ankle had other plans, however and I had to bail a little early. So I jumped on the bike(s) for the next three days. Singlespeed Friday, Mountain bike on Saturday and a road ride on my 'cross bike Sunday. Good times, actually. First time in about 10 years for me to log 3 days in a row on bikes. Ran again Monday. Not happy. So I am in recovery/rest/cycling mode for a bit. The ankle feels a lot better today (Wednesday) so I am planning to cross-train again today and then play tomorrow's race by ear. It would probably be smart to skip it but you know how I am when it comes to being smart...
~stubert.
Slowly but…
Slow and steady wins the race. ~ Marge SImpson
Been really just recuperating over the past few weeks and started running some longer, more focused efforts in the last week or so. One mistake I made after the Denver Marathon last fall was to jump back into hard training too early which resulted in having to take some extra down-time to get my legs back. Post-Boston, though itchy to get going again, I resolved to not make that same mistake.
I have been following Mark Plaatjes' orders and took two weeks REALLY slowly then added a regular regimen of somewhat reduced duration workouts over the last couple of weeks. This past week featured an increase in intensity with mile repeats on Saturday followed by what turned out to be a good 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3 pyramid workout on Tuesday. I felt a bit slow but my spits proved otherwise. I backed off going purely by pace on this one and just tried to hang with some of the faster runners in the group. They typically would gap me after about 15-30-seconds of each interval then I would maintain that distance through the remainder. My last set was still strong where others were fading so I am marking it up in the "plus" column for the overall effort.
Wednesday's run was a good one as well. Tried to rally the #DenverLunchRun crew but people were either tapering for this weekend's Colfax Marathon, stuck in meetings or too ill to get out in cold, rainy conditions. Twenty minutes before I was scheduled to head out, it was pouring rain and high 30° temps. Not fun weather in which to start a run but by go-time, the rain had tapered off a bit. I definitely came back wet but at least I was able to get my core temp up before getting too soaked. Stayed warm throughout the run, Cherry Creek Path was a ghost town and it felt good to be out braving the conditions. Some training is more mental than physical and this run definitely counted in that arena.
I signed up for the Bolder Boulder race on Memorial Day. It will be good to get in a short effort with a lot of people. Hoping to use the race to hone some skills which I currently am lacking and get some more experience with race day focus and big crowd racing. The course is difficult and I am not sure if I will be rested fully to run a PR or not but my big plan is to not get too frustrated in the early going, work the course and see what kind of finish I can put together. Still targeting my schedule for June and July in prep for the SFO Marathon and am excited to get rolling on some longer runs with faster finishes in the weeks to come.
Stay tuned for more...
~stubert.
Slackin’…
Condolences. The bums lost. My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. ~ Jeffrey Lebowski
I have been slacking in many ways but working is not one of them. We have been slammed and this, coupled with Relish Studio's move to Lakewood, has been keeping me super busy. I have been running – rather quickly, it seems – but have logged neither the consistency I would prefer nor the volume. Alas, that is – as they are known to say – how it goes.
The sluggishness I felt in my legs immediately post Leadville has worked its way out and I have had some great, fast (for me) runs over the past couple of weeks. It has been really nice to just cut loose on these runs and I feel that my form is coming along well. Just need to regain the consistency I had during the run-up to the LT100 with a serious dial down of the overall volume. Training for that race was difficult. It was a commitment I am glad I made because the results were impressive, however, I would caution anyone seeking to commit to a similar program about the life and relationship sacrifices one will have to make to put that plan in place. In all ways, it was challenging.
So what does the future hold? Right now, I am enjoying a certain lack of structure associated with a more free-form approach to running and may target another event in the future but not another 100-miler. I feel I have tackled that elephant and a repeat performance at this point would be merely redundant. Adventure running has a strong appeal as does the allure of a sub-3-hour marathon. Unfortunately, these are mostly combative when considering the nature of training required for each. So we'll see what happens.
As always, I'll keep you posted.
~stubert.
Recovering well…
Big ass buckle.
Yeah, it's a lazy dog-dangling afternoon. ~ Homer Simpson
Relaxed on Sunday and Monday but then got back after it on Tuesday and Wednesday. I have found that getting the legs moving again shortly after a big effort really pays off and Tuesday's run was no exception. It is remarkable how well I feel after the race – especially given how poorly I felt post-race in '07. I attribute both the success over the weekend and the relative ease of my recovery to good form, consistent and voluminous training and great nutrition. So bonus!
More short recovery efforts (or lack thereof) scheduled for tomorrow and the weekend. Very psyched to be in this kind of mode this early post-race.
~stubert.
Quick recovery…
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. ~ Randy Pausch
Mon 15 Feb: 00:30, 2.96 miles, 'Hood loop night run
Tues 16 Feb: 00:41, 4.05 miles, Janet's house surges
Wed 17 Feb: 1:39, 10.73 miles, Watson tempo
Really not sure how much "recovery" I had to do post-race as I felt fine immediately afterward (once I got rehydrated and some food in me) but training this week has progressed without incident. I took Sunday off then did a quick night run on Monday. Love running at night. It was quite chilly, however (~5°F) so it wasn't really a run I wanted to extend in any way. Felt a bit fatigued at the start but as time went by I felt better and better.
Tuesday, I met with Janet and did a few surges and shot some video. We're making a lot of micro-adjustments now as I seem to have done a pretty good job of evolving my stride to be more efficient and fluid. I still don't make it look effortless but am getting there.
Yesterday, I headed down to Boulder early and warmed up around Boulder Reservoir. Just took it easy, didn't worry about pace or anything but loosening up and getting warm. After a few surges, we started the tempo portion of the run along the streets north of Coot Lake. I was planning to roll 8s but felt so well I decided to just let it flow and ended up in the mid-to-low 7s for the 5-mile tempo. Cooled down and called it good. Which it was.
Working today then heading to the Butte with Pete tomorrow for a weekend of skiing. Looks like the conditions aren't terrible there so I am looking forward to getting in a couple of fun days on the home turf. I am in terrible ski shape right now so we'll be taking it pretty easy. Still skiing all the fun stuff but not raging all day like usual. Other than hoping A-Basin opens up hiking terrain on East Wall (mostly so I can log some high-altitude stair repeats), I am considering this season a bit of a wash. Happens... just hasn't in a long, long time.
Tentatively putting the 24-hours of Moab back on the schedule as a team event with Sean. That should be fun. We'll just do the 12-hour event and I'll keep you posted about that being finalized.
~stubert.
Archives:.
Support:.
