Last week's shoe test results are in: my new GT-2160s are not part of the achilles problem. In fact, they may even be helping with the healing. Tuesday's run in my old GT-2150's clearly showed that those shoes are well past their prime; for the entire 20 minutes it felt like I was running on concrete! Even just walking around in the old sneaks earlier in the day left me with achy heels. Needless to say, the rest of the week's runs were done in the new shoes. Still no major developments on the achilles front which is good and bad. Good because it means things aren't getting any worse; bad because it means they're also not getting an better. I take that back. I do think things have improved slightly compared to a few weeks ago. But I also think (know) that I'm far from being in the clear yet. That being said, here's next week. I'm hoping to add a couple miles and maybe try a one-mile tempo (if there is such a thing) to prep for the upcoming 4-miler (yes, still on the schedule, albeit it with different goals in mind. Stay tuned for a race plan/goals post soon!)
Monday -- 02/28 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Tuesday --03/01 -- Strength Class
Wednesday -- 03/02 -- Pool/Cross-train 30 minutes, Stretch
Thursday -- 03/03 -- OFF
Friday -- 03/04 -- Run Easy 3 mile w/ 1 mile @ 8:15-8:30, Strength, Stretch
Saturday -- 03/05 --OFF
Sunday -- 03/06 -- Run Long 4 miles, Stretch
Total: 10 miles
Showing posts with label training plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training plan. Show all posts
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
What To Do, What To Do...
Last week didn't exactly shape up to be the wonderful pain-free training fest it was supposed to be. On each of the three excruciating slow and short runs I did, I felt my achilles to some degree. The good thing was that things had drastically improved from a couple weeks ago; each run I only felt a mild discomfort, almost just like a tightness, rather than pain. This suggests that the lift did in fact play a role, which is good to know. Still, I'm apprehensive to start building miles and intensity if things aren't feeling 100%. Talk about frustrating. While on one hand, I'm thinking I need another run-free week (if not two or three) to avoid full blown achilles tendonitis that sidelines me for months, I also just want to move forward to reach my weight loss and fitness goals. That and I really hate most cross-training . With maybe the exception of road biking (tis not the season for that, sadly), I would take a day of running over anything low-impact a gym has to offer. This is probably true for most runners but most runners would probably also do things like the elliptical (gross) and the stationary bike (barf) knowing it will help their return from injury. Me, on the other hand, if I can't run, I will almost assuredly opt for the couch over the gym leading to a loss of fitness and a likely expansion of the waistline; the antithesis to my goals. I accept this is something I need to probably get over but I haven't quite made the leap to do so yet.
Nor do I plan to next week. Tonight I have convinced myself that there may be another solution to this achilles nonsense: my new shoes. As I mentioned last time, I really noticed a uptick on the issue following runs in brand new ASICS GT2160s (with lifts) a couple weeks ago. While I was lift-less this week, I was still in these new shoes. This next week I will test the theory that, in addition to the lifts, the new shoes are also problematic. To do this, I'll throw on my trusty GT-2150s for this week's three slow n' short trots. If the pain/discomfort persists, well then I guess I'll be getting over my aversion to cross-training sooner than later. Here's how the week looks:
Monday -- 02/21 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/22 -- Strength Class
Wednesday -- 02/23 -- OFF
Thursday -- 02/24 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Friday -- 02/25 -- Cross-train/Pool 30 minutes, Stretch
Saturday -- 02/25 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/26 -- Run Long 3-5 miles (depending on achilles), Stretch
Total: 8-10 miles
Monday -- 02/21 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/22 -- Strength Class
Wednesday -- 02/23 -- OFF
Thursday -- 02/24 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Friday -- 02/25 -- Cross-train/Pool 30 minutes, Stretch
Saturday -- 02/25 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/26 -- Run Long 3-5 miles (depending on achilles), Stretch
Total: 8-10 miles
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Just Kidding Again?
After all that back and forth last Sunday, I ended up taking last week off after all. My achilles hurt quite a bit Sunday evening (as did my tummy from all the Superbowl goodies I ate!) into Monday and I decided it was just not worth it to run. Better to lose a week now than several weeks down the road, right? I massaged, iced, and anti-imflammatory'ed all week which appears to have worked; today my achilles is pain-free. It's actually been that way since about Wednesday, with the exception of Friday when it flared up a bit as a result of a little experiment I did.
I can't remember if I blogged about this back in January but last month I learned that my right leg (the one with all the problems) was a centimeter and a half shorter than the left. While that seems like nothing, it's supposedly clinically significant. The orthopedic said that this difference likely causes excessive pronation on my right side which was likely why I had the post-tibial tendinitis. This issue was easily remedied with the addition of a 0.75cm life to my right orthotic. Hurray! Hizzah! A cure! A fix! Let the injury-free running begin! And began it did for a short while, including through the 1/2 marathon. The lift was an instant fix to the post-tibial tendinitis which was super encouraging. However, the euphoria was short-lived; a week after the lift's debut, I was having this achilles problem.
Things only got worse when I got my new running shoes. Last month I upgraded from the Asics GT-2150's to the GT-2160's; not a major change in shoes by any means but a change none the less. However, something must be different because my achilles issues amplified once I started running in the 2160's with the lift. I did notice my heel sliding in and out of the shoe more in the 2160's than in the 2150's but comparing the two shoes side-by-side, the back of the 2160's aren't any shorter than the 2150's. Perhaps there's more cushioning in the 2160's? Who knows. All I know is that when I wore the 2160's with the lift just walking around on Friday, my achilles was irritated versus when I wore the 2160's sans lift.
Anyway, I've decided to nix the lift all together in the new shoes for a bit to see what happens. While this'll likely mean a return of the post-tibial tendonitis, I want to see if it also means a disappearance of the achilles pain. Besides, the post-tibial tendonitis was going away without the lift (albeit slowly) so hopefully it's absence wouldn't mean I'm doomed to have shin pain for the rest of my life. I should probably run this all by my doctor and my orthotics guy, and I will, I just want to test this hypothesis out on my own first. I'm a scientist; it's just what I do.
With that all said, here's what next week'll look like. I've cut way back on miles from my original plan due to last week psuedo-unanticipated hiatus and have even replaced a run day with a day of cross-training.
Monday -- 02/14 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/15 -- Pilates or Strength Class
Wednesday -- 02/16 -- Cross-train/Pool 30 minutes, Stretch
Thursday -- 02/17 -- OFF
Friday -- 02/18 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch, Strength
Saturday -- 02/19 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/20 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Total: 7 miles
Hopefully I'll be reporting on happy, achilles-pain-free runs next week!
I can't remember if I blogged about this back in January but last month I learned that my right leg (the one with all the problems) was a centimeter and a half shorter than the left. While that seems like nothing, it's supposedly clinically significant. The orthopedic said that this difference likely causes excessive pronation on my right side which was likely why I had the post-tibial tendinitis. This issue was easily remedied with the addition of a 0.75cm life to my right orthotic. Hurray! Hizzah! A cure! A fix! Let the injury-free running begin! And began it did for a short while, including through the 1/2 marathon. The lift was an instant fix to the post-tibial tendinitis which was super encouraging. However, the euphoria was short-lived; a week after the lift's debut, I was having this achilles problem.
Things only got worse when I got my new running shoes. Last month I upgraded from the Asics GT-2150's to the GT-2160's; not a major change in shoes by any means but a change none the less. However, something must be different because my achilles issues amplified once I started running in the 2160's with the lift. I did notice my heel sliding in and out of the shoe more in the 2160's than in the 2150's but comparing the two shoes side-by-side, the back of the 2160's aren't any shorter than the 2150's. Perhaps there's more cushioning in the 2160's? Who knows. All I know is that when I wore the 2160's with the lift just walking around on Friday, my achilles was irritated versus when I wore the 2160's sans lift.
Anyway, I've decided to nix the lift all together in the new shoes for a bit to see what happens. While this'll likely mean a return of the post-tibial tendonitis, I want to see if it also means a disappearance of the achilles pain. Besides, the post-tibial tendonitis was going away without the lift (albeit slowly) so hopefully it's absence wouldn't mean I'm doomed to have shin pain for the rest of my life. I should probably run this all by my doctor and my orthotics guy, and I will, I just want to test this hypothesis out on my own first. I'm a scientist; it's just what I do.
With that all said, here's what next week'll look like. I've cut way back on miles from my original plan due to last week psuedo-unanticipated hiatus and have even replaced a run day with a day of cross-training.
Monday -- 02/14 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/15 -- Pilates or Strength Class
Wednesday -- 02/16 -- Cross-train/Pool 30 minutes, Stretch
Thursday -- 02/17 -- OFF
Friday -- 02/18 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch, Strength
Saturday -- 02/19 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/20 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Total: 7 miles
Hopefully I'll be reporting on happy, achilles-pain-free runs next week!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Training Plan 01/31-02/08
If you follow my log, you'll notice that last week's training didn't pan out exactly as I wrote it. I ended up skipping out on pilates after deciding to work from home to avoid campus Tuesday (classes are back in session and campus is a zoo) and Friday I didn't run as I was busy getting ready to have some friends over. The decision to not run Friday was also motivated by the fact that I was just damn tired. This was particularly true for my legs which have felt heavy since I started running again after the 1/2. I am seeing some improvements in the fatigue but I think I may have jumped back on the road a bit after sending my body through that 13.1 mile hell two weeks ago today. Taking Friday off thus seemed like a good way to give my body an extra day to recover without setting me back too far.
That was the thought anyway until I ran on Saturday AND today. I guess I just really wanted to get the miles in. In some respect, this attitude is great as it gets me out the door. However, it also could very likely lead me to injury, especially given that I'm clearing not recovering so well right now. That being said, this week I will to take an extra day off. I may do some light cross-training on this day but most likely I'll just take it off. With that in mind, here's how the week's shapin' up:
Monday -- 01/31 -- OFF or Bike Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/01 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Strength (I wanted this to be pilates but, as of today, my ID doesn't work at the gym (probably due to some registration issues I've been having) so I wouldn't be able to get in to the class. Hopefully this'll change in the next couple weeks.), Stretch
Wednesday -- 02/02 -- OFF
Thursday -- 02/03 --OFF or Bike Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Friday -- 02/04 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Saturday -- 02/05 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/05 -- Run Long 6 miles, Stretch
Total: 12 miles
That was the thought anyway until I ran on Saturday AND today. I guess I just really wanted to get the miles in. In some respect, this attitude is great as it gets me out the door. However, it also could very likely lead me to injury, especially given that I'm clearing not recovering so well right now. That being said, this week I will to take an extra day off. I may do some light cross-training on this day but most likely I'll just take it off. With that in mind, here's how the week's shapin' up:
Monday -- 01/31 -- OFF or Bike Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/01 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Strength (I wanted this to be pilates but, as of today, my ID doesn't work at the gym (probably due to some registration issues I've been having) so I wouldn't be able to get in to the class. Hopefully this'll change in the next couple weeks.), Stretch
Wednesday -- 02/02 -- OFF
Thursday -- 02/03 --OFF or Bike Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Friday -- 02/04 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Saturday -- 02/05 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/05 -- Run Long 6 miles, Stretch
Total: 12 miles
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Training Plan 01/24-01/30
Per usual, there may be some changes due to weather this week but such is winter!
Monday -- 01/24 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 01/25 -- Pilates
Wednesday -- 01/26 -- OFF
Thursday -- 01/27 -- Run Moderate 3 miles, Stationary bike 20 minutes, Stretch (may move to Wednesday if it looks like a storm's moving in on this day)
Friday -- 01/28 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Strength, Stretch
Saturday -- 01/29 -- OFF
Sunday -- 01/30 -- Run Long 5 miles, Stretch
Total: 13 miles
Monday -- 01/24 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 01/25 -- Pilates
Wednesday -- 01/26 -- OFF
Thursday -- 01/27 -- Run Moderate 3 miles, Stationary bike 20 minutes, Stretch (may move to Wednesday if it looks like a storm's moving in on this day)
Friday -- 01/28 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Strength, Stretch
Saturday -- 01/29 -- OFF
Sunday -- 01/30 -- Run Long 5 miles, Stretch
Total: 13 miles
Monday, January 17, 2011
Training Plan 01/17-01/23
Given how yesterday transpired, my original training plan for this week had to be modified slightly. The only major thing is that I am no longer running today. This is fine for multiple reasons including that today's my birthday! Here it is:
Monday -- 01/17 -- OFF
Tuesday -- 01/18 -- OFF (Flying back to NH... hopefully anyway. Sounds like more bad weather's on the way)
Wednesday -- 01/19 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Thursday -- 01/20 -- Pilates (This'll be dependent on how I'm feeling)
Friday -- 01/21 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Saturday -- 01/22 -- OFF
Sunday -- 01/23 -- Run Long 5 miles, Stretch, Core work
Monday -- 01/17 -- OFF
Tuesday -- 01/18 -- OFF (Flying back to NH... hopefully anyway. Sounds like more bad weather's on the way)
Wednesday -- 01/19 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Thursday -- 01/20 -- Pilates (This'll be dependent on how I'm feeling)
Friday -- 01/21 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Saturday -- 01/22 -- OFF
Sunday -- 01/23 -- Run Long 5 miles, Stretch, Core work
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