Watt's Running

I had to do: “Tempo run: 2 miles easy warmup, 4 miles at Half m goal pace, 1 mile cooldown”. Well I tried, but I didn’t do very well in my humble opinion. After about 5 miles I was just out of energy, and I had two more miles to go. Maybe it’s because I didn’t have breakfast beforehand, but then I don’t do this normally. Maybe it was the humidity since it was cloudy out. Whatever it was I had to stop and walk a few times. I never do that. My legs felt like logs. Heavy and stiff, and I just couldn’t catch my breath. When I got home I immediately went in and got a bottle of water and then finished it off. After stretching I was still wiped. I was almost dizzy. Sheesh! After breakfast, I noticed a 5″ puddle of sweat under my chair. Wow that’s never happened. Upstairs I weighed myself and I was down 6 pounds from 3 days ago which is more than I expected. Especially after chugging the water and eating breakfast. Next I took a shower. Yet while I was in it I didn’t feel well. My stomach was upset. Maybe it was all the water I chugged down. I don’t know, but I finally began to feel better after getting dressed for work. I just don’t know why today was so tough, but it was.

I’ve been traveling and haven’t run since last Monday. Maybe I’ll do the long run tomorrow and see how the ankle feels. The run is a recovery week of 10 miles. This might be pushing it since (1) I need new sneakers, and (2) I’ve gained weight over the past week which will stress my ankle. Hmmm, I gotta think about this.

I’ve been on vacation traveling and have not run since last Thursday. No morning runs, no long runs, nada, nothing, no running. To make matters worse I’ve sat in a car for 2 1/2 days barely moving. This might help my sore ankle, and it’ll probably crush my ability to run Chicago.

So on Monday I ran only 3 miles around my neighborhood. Mile 1 was OK, and at the end of the mile I stopped and stretched my legs while holding on to a stop sign. I was barely feeling the burn in my ankle. Then on mile 2 is began to burn more so again I stopped at the end the mile to stretch it. Finally on mile 3 I could feel it with each step. So far it’s not getting better – it’s always there. The only thing that’s increasing is my weight. When I get depressed I eat and when I stop running I get depressed. That isn’t a good combination.

Today I exercised on my stationary bike to keep pressure off my ankle, then did some weights. Tomorrow is my “new” beginners class and they’re doing a time trial. So I sent a note to the coach saying I won’t attend. I gotta keep it easy for about two weeks, and then see what’s what.

Well I had my second message today and it was just as intense as the last one. Boy can she make me squirm. She worked my left calf and foot very well. She wants me to continue my stretching and return in two weeks. As part of our discussion the therapist suggested I greatly reduce my mileage over the next two weeks. This means that I’ve got to drop my goal of qualifying for Boston at Chicago, and switch classes from the qualifying group to another less intense class such as the Wednesday evening beginners group. I’ve been coming to that opinion too, but had been putting off the decision. Well now is the time to decide. So I’ve sent a note to my current coach, Mac Allen, telling him my decision. Then I contacted Carolyn asking her if I can get into the new class. Also I’ll only run 3-4 miles a few times a week which means no long runs on Saturday morning for a few weeks. Ugh! This is very depressing, but I have to get better.

I called Lisa S., the massage therapist, on Wednesday and she had an opening on Thursday at 11 AM. So I took off from work for a 30 minute appointment. She worked mostly on my ankle and lower leg muscles. She knew how to make me squirm. It wasn’t exactly painful, but I really felt it. During her massage she found some internal scar tissue on the muscle above my left ankle. This might have caused tension and therefore the burning sensation. Afterward my muscles felt as if I had really worked them out. Wow! Lisa said that the first message is always the hardest. She told me that I have to do the following for the next week. (1) Stretch my calves 3-5 times daily. (2) Ice my ankle when in pain after a long run by keeping the ice pack on for 1 minute after it numbs. (3) Stretch my hamstrings while laying on my back with a tie or strap in the evenings. She finally suggested that I skip doing trails for a few weeks. We set up another 30 minute appointment for next week at the same time. I’ll keep you posted in this saga…

After explaining to my coach that my ankle still burns/hurts (actually it began last January), he suggested I go to a massage therapist and/or doctor. This’ll be a first… I’ll keep you informed as to what takes place.

I did trail running again, and I have found that I quite like it. My only problem is that it stressed my sore ankle.

I was on vacation last week and did not follow the prescribed running. I ran on Tuesday for 5 miles (50 minutes), and on Friday for 4 miles (maybe 40 minutes). I missed Monday (was driving), Wednesday and Thursday (was lazy). That’s it. I was not very good in getting up each morning and running as I had planned. Finally I was driving home on Saturday so I missed the long run. So I did my long run (10 miles on Town Lake trail) today (Sunday).

Here is my long run heart rate. I stopped after a few miles when my iPod died (ugh and double ugh). And then I stopped at 5 miles and 8 miles for water. My ankles are still a bit sore and a weeks worth of vacation (that is, minimal running) made me feel sluggish and out-of-it.

Each Sunday after my Saturday long run I have been doing trail running. There is a local park, Walnut Creek Park, about 1.5 miles from my home. My running course requirement is to do 5 miles with 4-5 strides (speed up for 50 meters). However after running my butt off on Saturday, I’ve liberally interpreted the strides to be the mini-hills found in this park. Since there is over 6 miles of trails I just run a trail until it comes to an intersection and then I randomly choose another trail. Basically I try to get lost. Sometimes I had to cross the creek jumping from stone to stone. Every so often I pop out of the park into some local neighborhood. Depending on how tired I am I either head home on the local roads or I turn around and head back into the maze of trails. Today I found a neat trail that wandered back and forth in the shade. Finally I headed back home covered in sweat. It was straining on my sore ankle, but I hope that running trails will help strengthen it. In any case I’ve been enjoying this for the past three weeks.